Her Billionaire Bodyguard Bridegroom (12 page)

“It’s okay. I don’t want finesse. I just need you. Now.”

He shook his head in mute refusal, then lifted her up into his arms. Setting her down outside the shower, he tenderly wrapped her in a fluffy bath sheet before carrying her to the bed to resume what he had begun. Pausing only for as long as it took to don protection, he made them one.

Outside, the storm continued to rage. Trees genuflected to the ground under the force of the wind, and hail plummeted the windows. Inside, Brianna was bringing Luke to his knees, too. Her cries of satisfaction mixed with his as they reached the pinnacle of ecstasy together.

She’s exquisite.

He’d known they’d be good together, but he’d had no idea their coupling would be so perfect. He no longer knew where she ended and he began, and he didn’t care if he ever found out.

He was cradling her in his arms when a sudden flash of lighting lit the room, making her jump. “It’s okay,” he soothed. “There’s nothing to be frightened of. The hotel is built to withstand this kind of storm.”

“Of course it is,” she agreed. But the slight tremor in her voice betrayed her apprehension.

As if to mock his words, the lights flickered and went out. At her swift intake of breath, he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Hey, relax. It’s all good. We’re safe here. Hang tight. I’ll get us some light.”

It was a sound plan, and it would have worked if she hadn’t moved at the same time he did.

“Oww,” she complained as his forehead bumped hers. “You have a hard head.”

“Sorry. Let’s try this again, shall we? Stay put this time.”

Making his way carefully through the inky blackness, he retrieved his flashlight and turned it on, sending a beam of light cutting through the darkness.

“That’s better,” he pronounced while subtly scanning the suite’s possible entry points for signs of a breech. Moving to the window, he surveyed the perimeter of the hotel grounds. To his relief, everything appeared secure.

“Not that I’m complaining, but why is it that you happened to pack a flashlight?” Brianna asked.

“I wasn’t kidding when I told you I was a Boy Scout. They taught us to be prepared.”

“Speaking of being prepared, doesn’t the hotel have a backup generator?”

“I’m sure they do. Generators aren’t the most reliable pieces of machinery, though. Sometimes they don’t cooperate.”

And sometimes they’re sabotaged.

Striding over to the window again, he blew out a frustrated breath, angry at his lack of self-control. He’d assuaged the physical demands of his body at the risk of Brianna’s safety. He needed to reign in his rampaging libido.

Brianna wasn’t about to make it easy for him to accomplish that feat. Scooting out of bed, she wrapped her delectable, naked body around his. “I know how you can take my mind off the storm,” she murmured seductively, her hands roaming over his chest, then lower.

The feel of her pressed up against him like that was electric, and pushed all thoughts of duty aside. He shouldn’t cave, but he wasn’t made of steel. He doubted even a cape-sporting superhero could resist such temptation.

They tumbled back onto the bed in a tangle of bare limbs, heated flesh against heated flesh. Poised above her, he rained kisses along the length of her neck.

“You’re driving me crazy,” she whispered.

She was driving him mad, too. “Am I?” he queried innocently. “Would you like me to stop?”

“No,” she insisted. “I like your brand of crazy.”

Ignoring the urgent pulsing in his groin, he focused on bringing her to the edge, continuing his sensual onslaught until she trembled with need.

“Tell me what you want,” he demanded.

“You. All of you.”

He couldn’t fulfill her request fast enough. Swiftly donning protection, he slid home, absorbing every nuance that was Brianna. His hands danced over her body, taking her higher and higher until she shattered beneath him. He followed her over the edge, shaking from the intensity of a climax that raged stronger than the storm.

And still it wasn’t enough. He was beginning to think it would be impossible to get his fill of her.

The new day brought the complete antithesis of the tempest that had raged overnight. The sun shone brightly in a cloudless sky, promising perfect weather for traveling. After a leisurely breakfast, Brianna and Luke checked out of the hotel and resumed their drive to Maine.

Brianna had expected facing Luke in the light of day to be awkward. Not only had they crossed some major lines last night, they’d annihilated them. Despite the new territory they’d ventured into, there wasn’t a hint of morning-after stiltedness between them. It was obvious Luke had no desire to resurrect the barriers last night’s intimacies had demolished, and that made this gorgeous day an even more spectacular one in Brianna’s eyes.

A pleasant, anticipatory kind of heat pooled low in her belly at the memory of how masterfully Luke had obliterated all her defenses last night. An even more satisfying glow coursed through her courtesy of the crackling buzz of sensual energy still pulsing between them. The lovemaking they’d shared had been beyond her wildest dreams. She’d known they’d be good together, but she’d had no idea they would click on so many levels.

She was jolted out of her pleasant ruminations when Luke pulled off the main road and turned into a private drive. One glimpse of the palatial estate it led to set off a cacophony of alarm bells in her head.

This
was his vacation home? It made Trevor’s place look like a yurt by comparison. The sprawling architectural masterpiece was a disconcerting reminder that he shared the same tax bracket as the men who had made her mother’s life a living hell.

After disarming the security system, Luke invited her inside. Despite her intellectual disdain for the trappings of Luke’s wealth, she had to admit the place was breathtaking. She was immediately struck by the home’s warm and welcoming ambiance.

He reset the alarm, then grabbed her luggage and led the way up a gorgeous circular staircase of polished oak.

“I forgot to mention that my butler has the week off. He’s on a cruise with his sister. One of her friends is getting married on the cruise, and she’s part of the wedding party. She wasn’t excited about travelling alone, so he went along as her plus-one.”

“He sounds like a great guy.”

“He’s amazing. He keeps this place running like a well-oiled machine.”

Brianna trailed up the stairs after him, taking in the tasteful artwork that graced the walls. She paused beside him when he stopped at the threshold of a beautifully appointed—yet very masculine—master bedroom.

“This is my room, but if you’d prefer your own space, you can have one of the guest rooms.”

He was giving her an out, clearly reluctantly. She should grab it, but she didn’t have the willpower to walk away from the chance to share his bed again. Despite this indisputable reminder of his wealth, her delighted hormones were happy-dancing at the thought of sampling more of the pleasures he’d gifted her with last night.

“Your room is fine.”

“Good.” Setting her luggage down on the floor, he stalked toward her with a predatory gleam in his eye.

So I’m not the only one greedy for more.

Pressing her up against the bed, he held her captive between the unyielding hardness of his body and the cushy softness of the mattress.

“I’m glad we’re in agreement.”

In a frenzy of need, he stripped off her clothing, obliterating the barriers standing between him and the satisfaction he craved. Then he dealt with his own garments and stood, gloriously naked, before her.

Brianna drew in a reverent breath, her eyes absorbing the beauty of his muscular, honed torso the way a parched desert greedily soaked up a long-awaited rain.

With a low growl of satisfaction, he gathered her into his arms. Reveling in the sensual gratification of heated skin against heated skin, Brianna moaned her encouragement as he proceeded to explore every inch of her, playing her body like a master musician.

Lying in his arms in the aftermath, she felt utterly sated and immensely satisfied. Intensely breathtaking, his lovemaking elevated desire to something ethereal and transforming, transcending pleasure. She felt secure. Loved.

Whoa.
Where had that come from?

That particular
l
-word absolutely, positively could not factor into this. Especially not when she was the one who’d insisted she wanted nothing more than a fling. Hastily tumbling out of bed, she shimmied into her jeans. She needed to put the brakes on before she slid further out of control.

“Hey, what’s the rush?” he asked, his brow furrowing in confusion at her abrupt departure.

“There’s no rush,” she assured him. She unearthed her blouse from the pile of garments on the floor and pulled it on, fumbling with the buttons as she hurried to fasten them before she changed her mind.

Her overly emotive hormones were whining for her to join him in bed again for the round two his lust-filled gaze was promising. She was a heartbeat away from giving in to their urgings. Instead of taking the edge off her hunger for him, the intimacy they’d just shared only fueled it. How could this attraction between us keep gaining momentum, growing stronger by the second? Shouldn’t it burn out?

She hated that she needed him with such intensity. She was beginning to think she might be insatiable where he was concerned.

“I thought it might be nice to take a walk. Would you be my tour guide? I’d love to see more of the grounds.”

“That depends,” he replied, wiggling his brows playfully. “Do you prefer your tour guides in or out of uniform?”

Laughing, she scooped his shirt and pants up off the floor and tossed them to him. “I seem to remember seeing a couple of rose gardens on the way in. I don’t think a clothing-optional stroll would be very prudent. Those thorns could damage certain, umm,
sensitive
body parts.”

“Good point,” he winked, pulling on his jeans. “Come on, I’ll show you around.”

The estate was magnificent. While there was no arguing the main house was the pièce de résistance of the property, a gorgeous English-style cottage tucked away at the edge of the woods easily snared second place.

Opening the front door to the cottage, Luke extended a hand, inviting her in. Brianna’s eyes widened in surprise as a dozen canines greeted them with a chorus of excited barks.

She laughed, delighted by their enthusiastic greeting. “I didn’t know you were a dog lover.”

Luke bent down to give a grinning golden retriever a belly rub. “I’m crazy about them. All animals, actually. These guys aren’t mine, though. This property houses a no-kill animal shelter. The lower level of the house is for dogs, and the upper level is for cats. They have a safe harbor here until they find a family. My staff works diligently to match them up with loving homes.”

Just like that, all of her preconceived notions about him popped like a balloon under a pin. She’d believed Luke’s wealth put him on the same moral plane as her mother’s former employers. She could see, now, that his affluence hadn’t negated his ability to be compassionate.

Following Luke up to the second floor, she swallowed past the lump of emotion clogging her throat.

The cottage’s upper level had been converted into a utopia for felines. The cats had plenty of space to explore, as well as private nooks to escape to should they need some alone time.

“It’s an amazing thing, what you’re doing here,” she enthused.

He shrugged, uncomfortable with the praise. “I had the space and the resources to start the shelter, as well as friends who were eager to lend a hand with the project. It seemed like the least I could do.”

“Being in a position to make a difference and choosing to actually do so aren’t the same. You acted. That makes you special in my book.”

“This wasn’t an entirely unselfish venture. I’ve always been crazy about animals. I wasn’t allowed to have a pet growing up, so I volunteered to walk dogs at the local animal shelter as a teen. Of course, I wanted to save every stray I met. I would have given anything, then, to have been able to help. Now that I can, this shelter seemed the most logical way. Besides, how could anyone walk away from a face like this without doing something to help?” he asked, handing her a tiny, mewling kitten that was all fluffy gray hair and huge green eyes. “This is Dusty.”

Brianna eagerly accepted the kitten from him, cuddling its warm body close. She understood why he had such an affinity for these rescued animals. They’d been stripped of security and love, just as he and his sister had. “He’s gorgeous.”

She tried to tell herself the sweet fur ball in her arms was responsible for her melting heart, but who was she kidding? It was this glimpse of Luke’s softer side and his obvious passion for these four-legged creatures in need that had her heart pooling in a puddle of adoration.

He was revealing more of himself to her, and with each disclosure he divulged a new depth of character. Despite her vow not to get sucked into anything serious, she found herself falling for him more with each layer he peeled back.

Luke wasn’t sure what had compelled him to include the shelter in his tour. He only knew it had been important for him to share it with Brianna. His original plan had been to explain the structure away as the guest house it had formerly been. Very few people knew he was the owner of the haven he’d created for abandoned dogs and cats. He hadn’t founded the project because he was looking for accolades. His sole impetus had been to create a sanctuary for animals in need.

But for some reason he had yet to fathom, sharing the shelter with Brianna had been important to him. Like a toddler anxiously anticipating Christmas morning, he’d been eager to see her reaction to his facility. And so, instead of simply pointing out the building and moving on, he’d opened it up to her—and a huge chunk of his heart right along with it. He’d hoped she’d share his enthusiasm for the cause, and she hadn’t disappointed him.

He was beginning to see that Liz was right—Brianna was different from Tanya on so many levels. Tanya had made no secret of her disdain for the strays his shelter housed, but the tender gleam in Brianna’s eyes as she played with the kitten made it clear she shared his empathy for his cause.