His heart turned over. He drew her closer to him, felt her soft body yielding to his. Ryland fought down his body’s reaction, knowing she needed comfort. He could feel the pain throbbing in her head. “Did you take something for your headache?”
“I wouldn’t take anything from them, I waited until I came home. I’m not sleepy or tired so much as just wanting to lie in the dark and feel sorry for myself.”
He brushed kisses over her face. Feather light. Tender. “You need a cup of hot chocolate. I’m going to call Arly and have him get a doctor here to look you over.”
“No! You can’t do that, Ryland, you don’t know them. Arly, John, Rosa, they’ll be crazy. I’m fine, really, just a bump and a headache. And it gives me a great excuse to miss work for a couple of days and no one here will think anything of it.”
“I don’t want you to ever go back there. There’s no need.”
“Don’t, Ryland.” She touched her finger to the sculpted perfection of his mouth.
“Don’t what? Want to protect you? I’m sorry, Lily but there’s no way that instinct is going to go away. I knew. That day you walked into the room. I knew right then in that heartbeat of time when my brain was going crazy and my skin crawled and my insides were knotted up so tight I was going to explode. You walked into the room, Lily, and you were so damn beautiful it hurt.”
“I don’t remember it quite like that.”
He crushed her silky hair in his large hands, brought the strands to his face to rub them along his jaw. “You tore out my heart on the spot, lady. It’s been yours ever since. Damn it, I can’t do anything else, feel anything else, but wanting to protect you.”
“Ryland…” She looked up at him, her heart in her eyes. “I feel the same way about you, but we’re both enhancers. Anything we feel is just more intense.”
He took the rose from her pillow and placed it carefully on the nightstand beside the candle. “I’ve thought about this, came at it from every angle. I don’t believe what I feel for you has anything at all to do with enhancing, Lily. I’d walk through hell to protect you. I’m not one of the nice men you’ve always known in your protected world. Don’t see me like that, because it isn’t who I am. You’re stuck with the man I am.”
“I don’t want you to be any different, Ryland.” It was true. In spite of herself, she couldn’t help but love the way he was so protective.
“You’re magic, Lily, sheer magic. And you’re mine, Lily, my everything. I’m drawn to you because you’re Lily Whitney with more courage in your little finger than most people have in their entire body. You have a brain, a sense of humor, a smile that knocks me over, and every single time I’m near you, I want to tear your clothes off. And damn it, I’m not going to lose you.”
“You’re not going to lose me.” Her lashes lifted to give him a glimpse of her startling blue eyes. “I knew you would get around to sex sooner or later.”
His hands slipped around her to cup her breasts beneath the sheet. She fit into his palms, warm and petal soft. “I forgot to say you always smell good too.” He inhaled deeply, taking her scent into his lungs where it swirled, a potent temptation. “Stop deliberately distracting me, Lily, I want to give you a lecture.”
Her mouth curved, her intriguing dimple appearing. “I believe you have your hands on my body, Captain Miller, not the other way around.”
He closed his eyes briefly, groaning aloud over the possibilities her murmured words conjured up for him. “The idea of your hands on my body is alarming, Lily. Then I start thinking about what might come next. You have such a beautiful mouth. The things you could do with your mouth might be interesting.”
A small laugh escaped; she opened her eyes to look at his face hovering inches from hers. “Life with you would be exhausting. You know that, don’t you?”
“Deliciously exhausting,” he agreed.
“And sinfully wicked.”
His grin was a satisfied smirk. “Deliciously sinfully wicked.”
He was simply cradling her breasts in his hands, his fingers wrapped possessively, but she felt the heat begin to spread from his hands to her body. A slow smolder. A delicious smolder.
His breath caught in his throat. She was looking up at him without guile, without hiding anything from him. Her heart was in her eyes. Love. Acceptance. Unconditional. Lily Whitney was on his side always. And that was both good and bad. Good because she belonged to him. Bad because she believed she had to protect him. She could make a tough man fall hard.
The flickering candlelight flared, the light spilling across her bruised face. She winced, looked away from him. “I feel so stupid. My father spent a fortune on the best self-defense instructors in the world. Worse, the minute the alarms went off, even before the alarms went off, I knew there was going to be trouble.”
He remained silent, knowing she needed to talk about it. She was trembling, her soft body very close to his. His gut was still churning, all too aware she hadn’t reached out to him at the time of the attack. His reaction swung back and forth between hurt and anger.
“I was looking through Dad’s office, hoping to find something that might point me in the direction of whoever killed him. I’ve been through his office a dozen times and I know Thornton had to have gone through it thoroughly, but I keep thinking I’ll find something.”
He kissed the bump over her temple, feathered kisses down her face to her swollen cheek. “It’s natural to want to find the people who murdered your father, Lily. And we will.”
“I found the recorder behind a loose brick of cement. I stubbed my toe when I was pulling out the chair to sit down at the desk. When I grabbed at the desk to steady myself, I knocked the mouse onto the floor. So I got down on the floor and had to crawl under the desk to pick up the mouse and I could see the brick wasn’t flush with the wall. There was a hollowed-out area and I just pulled out the case.”
“And of course, they must have a hidden camera in his office, so were watching every move you made. They probably figured the recorder either had the notes on the experiment that would tell them how your father managed to enhance our psychic abilities or it had something incriminating. Either way, they couldn’t let you have it.”
Lily slumped back against the pillow. “I knew they’d have a camera. I was always aware of it, but when I found the recorder, I was so completely caught up in finding out what was on it, I had tunnel vision.”
“Let it go, honey. Anyone would have checked the recorder out.” His lips skimmed the pulse beating in her neck, trailed to the hollow of her shoulder, and settled. “Are you thinking of falling asleep on me?” He knew she would lie there thinking about the attack on her, about the lost tape.
“Yes, I hurt everywhere. If you’re staying with me, blow out the candle. I’d hate for the house to burn down.”
“I’d like to stay all night with you, every night, but I don’t sleep in clothes.”
There was a small silence. “Fine, take them off.”
Ryland shed his jeans quickly, not wanting her to change her mind and send him away. He lay back down, gathering her close, inhaling her warm scent, and trying to control his body when he fit his body protectively around hers. There was a small silence while his heart beat and his blood pounded through his body.
Lily sighed. “You’re breathing too hard.”
He laughed softly. “I have a plan, honey.”
“Well, keep it to yourself for a while. And don’t move so much, my head hurts.”
She sounded drowsy, grumpy. Intimate. Warmth spread through his body, did curious things to his heart. No one else saw her like this. Lily Whitney, so in control, so perfect at work or in public. With him she was different. Soft. Vulnerable. On fire. Grumpy. His smile widened until he was grinning like an idiot. Lily was wrapped so deeply in his heart and mind he knew she would never be out.
He concentrated on the candle, stirring the air until the flame was gone and the room was once more dark. Holding her was heaven and hell but he
would take it. His teeth nibbled on her bare shoulder. “I’m hungry, Lily.”
She made a soft, contented noise and snuggled deeper into his body. “You can be hungry tomorrow.”
His smile was in his voice. “Do you realize you’re a tiny bit grumpy when you’re hungry? I’ve noticed it before.”
He was massaging her skin, his hands warm and strong and comforting in the night. Lily’s body was relaxing and her headache eased under his ministrations, but she sighed heavily. “You’re going to pester me until you get your way, aren’t you?”
His strong teeth teased her earlobe. “Absolutely, honey. I have to have food. And I know you haven’t eaten a thing.” He slipped out from under the covers.
“I wasn’t feeling very hungry,” Lily pointed out. Ryland took her breath away with how completely uninhibited he always was. He didn’t seem to know the meaning of the word “modest.” His muscles rippled and his body glided, fluid and powerful. She couldn’t take her eyes from him. With a little sigh of regret for lost sleep, she threw back the sheet and followed him, dragging on his shirt without buttoning it.
“I’m starving.” Ryland didn’t turn around; he continued to walk, magnificently sensual, padding from her bedroom like a great jungle cat. As he walked through the open space of her hall, he caught up several candles from a mahogany shelf.
“You’re always starving,” Lily echoed. “You’re going into the kitchen? You’re crazy—it’s the middle of the night.” She hurried after him, the tails of the shirt teasing her bare thighs as she walked. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I couldn’t cook. I can’t even microwave properly.”
“I’m a good cook. Besides, I have plans for later on when you aren’t hurting so much.” He glanced back at her over his shoulder, his gray eyes glinting wickedly. His gaze moved over her body possessively, hungrily, caressing her soft curves openly. “I need to build up my strength.”
“You do not need any more strength, Ryland.” She sounded prim, but her nipples tightened under his hot look and deep inside excitement blossomed. “You’re going to do us both in. And for your information, I have enough meds in me to numb an elephant.”
“It didn’t seem too numb when I was examining you.”
“You pressed right on the bruise! Honestly, I’m fine.”
“You’d better be telling me the truth.” As they entered the kitchenette Ryland nonchalantly lit the candles and set them up on the counters to give himself light. He grinned at her. “Cooking by candlelight makes all the difference in the world. That’s where your gourmet chef went wrong. He had no soul.”
Lily burst out laughing. “You must have been a terrible little boy. I’ll bet you got away with anything when you gave your mother that killer smile of yours.” She leaned against the far counter and studied him, taking in every detail of his superb body. He was fit, each muscle defined. And he was moving easily around the kitchen, totally nude, semihard and unconcerned with it. His body fascinated her almost as much as his mind did. She loved his lack of modesty and the way it never seemed to bother him that he couldn’t hide how much he wanted her.
Ryland enjoyed having her eyes on him. He bent to peer into her refrigerator, mulling over the contents, pulling out various items, all the while knowing she was looking at him. His body swelled even more at the knowledge of her perusal. He was content when she was near to him. Listened for the sound of her laughter. Needed to hear the quiet tone of her voice. He ached for her, to be with her, but not just a joining of their bodies; he wanted a commitment.
His shirt on her was far too large, draping her body yet gaping open to reveal intriguing glimpses of her soft breasts. He could see the shadow of the dark triangular thatch of curls at the junction of her legs. The edges of the shirt teased his senses with quick little glimpses then moved when she moved, hiding treasures.
“I was a wonderful little boy, Lily,” he told her. “Just as our son will be.”
Her eyebrow shot up. “Are we having a son?”
“At least one. And a couple of daughters too.” He moved past her, slid his hand down her flat belly, caressing, stroking, his fingertips teasing the black curls at the junction of her legs before he moved on to the sink. “Lily! Look at this. You have bread dough here.”
A shiver of excitement went through her. Her body clenched in reaction to his touch. “Rosa often leaves bread dough for me because I love fresh bread. I do manage to put it in the oven all by myself.”
He paused in his movements to look skeptically at her.
Lily shrugged. “All right, fine, she wrote the instructions down and I keep them in the drawer right by the oven.” She moved closer, wanting his touch again. “You want children someday?” The thought of having his child growing inside of her moved her. She placed her palm over her stomach, unconsciously guarding an unborn baby.
“Not someday,” he corrected; “soon. I’m not getting any younger.” He whisked the small tea towel off the rising dough. “Cinnamon rolls sound good, what do you think?” He reached over to turn the oven on preheat.
“With me? You want to have children with me, Ryland?”
He made a rude noise as he began combining ingredients in a bowl. “Try to follow along, honey, you have a high IQ. I know you can do it if you try.”
Lily rubbed the pad of her thumb across her lower lip. “You must have been a monstrous child, Ryland. You must have been in trouble all the time.” She made her way to the other side of the counter, watching him intently, a daring idea forming in her head. He was so sure of himself. And doing his best to ignore her while he worked.
She wandered around the counter to stand beside him.
Ryland looked up again. “I’m working here, and the candlelight across your breast is distracting. Go stand somewhere in the shadows.”
Lily shook her head. “I think you could use some assistance.” She was looking at his hands working the bread dough, not at him, but her voice had a husky, sensual rasp to it, exciting him, arousing him instantly.
Dark heat spiraled through him, robbed him of breath. He didn’t dare speak, not wanting to break the sexual spell Lily was weaving. He began to whip ingredients together in a small mixing bowl, his movements sure and practiced.
Lily tugged at the roped muscles along his legs, forcing him to step back away from the counter. She pulled out a small shelf directly in front of him, a small board that had been used as a stepping stool when she was a child.
The air slammed out of his lungs. “I can’t imagine how you’re going to help me,” he ventured, his voice so hoarse he barely recognized it.
“I used to stand on this when I was a little girl and wanted to get into the cupboards.” She swung the board all the way out so he could see the legs unfolded on it. “I thought I’d just sit right here and watch you work. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Sit.” He gave the command gruffly. The one word was all he could manage.
Lily sank down slowly onto the small stool, seating herself directly facing him. His naked body was close and hot and hard. “I knew it would be the perfect height. You just work and let me see what I can do to keep you relaxed.”
She had dreamt of this. Wanted this. It was too tempting to resist. His thighs were strong columns, and Lily brushed them carefully with her fingertips. He was already thicker, harder, anxious for the silken heat of her mouth. Her hands found his buttocks, stroked, urged him a step closer. “Are you certain I won’t be distracting you?” Deliberately she prolonged the moment, stretching it out, her warm breath flowing over the thick, velvety, very engorged head. Before he could answer, her tongue danced in a single caress. “Because I wouldn’t want to distract you. Cinnamon rolls sound very good. Warm and frosted and spicy.”
Ryland’s breath shot out of his lungs. “Lily.” It was a command. Nothing less.
She laughed softly. “You have no patience, do you?” She wanted to drive him crazy, to feel powerful and in control, yet she had little experience and now tha
t she’d insisted, she was afraid of disappointing him.
“I can read your thoughts, honey,” he said tenderly. He bunched her hair in his hand, crushing the strands in his palms. “Everything you do pleases me. When we’re both like this, it’s so intense between us, it’s easy enough to pick up what we want. Open your mind to me, the way you open your body for me. It’s all there in my head, every erotic fantasy I’ve ever had about you. And every single one you’ve had about me.”
“You have some interesting ideas,” she admitted.
“So do you,” he pointed out.
Lily leaned forward and took him into her mouth, hot and moist and tight, sucking gently, her tongue teasing and dancing all over so that the pleasure shot up his body and exploded like a volcano in his gut. A shudder ran through him as her mouth tightened and her tongue played, her hands urging his hips to find her rhythm. For a moment his mind wanted to shatter with the pulsing pleasure ripping through him.
Candlelight played over her face. She was so beautiful with her silky hair and the dark passion in her eyes. His hands stilled as he watched himself gliding in and out of her mouth, wanting the sight etched in his brain for all time.
This was the way it was supposed to be. Lily loving him, teasing him. Ryland giving her the same back. Their world. His fantasy. And he was determined to make every fantasy their reality. Lily needed him in her perfect world. She needed passion and love and to be shaken up now and again.
Ryland forced his hands to move, shaping the dough he was making, spreading it out on the counter in front of him. All the while, pleasure coursed through his body. He kneaded the warm mass, his hands rhythmic, his hips surging forward as her mouth tightened, going from playful to insistent. Her fingers were like the flutter of butterfly wings at times, then strong and demanding. She wrapped her hand around the hard length of him, tight, her hand following the rhythm of his, her mouth so hot flames were roaring in his belly.
A sound escaped his throat. “I think we’ve found where your creativity lies. You have wonderful form.” His entire being, his very existence seemed to be focused in the heat of her silken mouth. He caught at her, stilling every movement before it was too late. “Too much, Lily, I want this time for you, not me.” He dragged her off the small stool. Her body slid up his, soft and tempting. Ryland snapped his teeth together, biting off another groan as he lifted her onto the counter. “Sit there, don’t do anything, just sit there.”
Shadow Game (GhostWalkers) Page 25
