SLEEPER (Crossfire Series) (12 page)

The elevator door opened and two men came out, one of them holding a box. They stopped short at the sight of him.

“Are you all right, Mr. Vincenzio?” the older man asked, a concerned look entering his eyes.

“I’m fine, Petr. Sorry for dropping by so suddenly. Now you know why I couldn’t walk through the lobby,” Reed said wryly. He opened the passenger door. “Thank you for coming down so quickly.”

Petr took in the whole situation at a glance and, nodding at the man standing by him, he took a few steps forward. “Do I need to call a doctor?”

Reed slowly slid Lily out of the car so he could gather her into his arms. Petr helped him wrap the blanket around her. At the touch of her cold body, the older man exchanged a glance with him. Reed knew he probably hadn’t missed the blood either.

“Go ahead, Carlo, and call me when you get back,” Petr said, then followed Reed into the elevator. He punched the floor number. After a few moments’ silence, he added, “Here’s the keycard to the suite and elevator, sir. I’ll send up a fresh change of clothing and hot cocoa for you—and the lady.”

“Thanks again, Petr. I really appreciate your taking care of things.” Reed frowned worriedly at Lily. He’d never seen a woman in such deep sleep. He was pretty sure she hadn’t fainted in the car. “Be on call, just in case I need medical help.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll also inform your father that you’re here.”

The ping of the elevator signaled their arrival at the floor. Reed paused by the open doors. “Not yet,” he said. “I’ll call him myself after I’ve taken care of my guest, if you don’t mind. In fact, Petr, shut off the phone system till I say so.”

The suite was more a spacious penthouse, with every possible amenity to make life very comfortable. His family used it for short stays as well as a guest suite for business clients.

He strode past the elegantly decorated living room into the master bedroom. His shoes were probably leaving mud marks on the white carpet. He’d forgotten how huge the place was as he walked into the adjoining bathroom, which was the size of a small bedroom.

Hesitating a moment, he lay his bundle down carefully on the small lounge chair by the tub. She mumbled something as she stirred.

“Lily,” he called softly.

She looked so frail cocooned in that blanket. When she didn’t answer, he went to the shower stall, looked around, and turned on all four of the sprays. There was a tiled seating area at the back wall for use when the bath was converted into a steam room. He played with the spray positions, so that the spray from the shower heads would hit back there. As he waited for the water to heat up, he took the opportunity to get out of his soggy shoes. He knelt before Lily and took off the one shoe that was left. He hesitated, wondering what her reaction would be when she woke up and found herself in the shower with him. Only one way to find out.

He got up and opened the door to the shower. Steam poured out. He went back and gathered Lily into his arms again, stepping into the stall. Spray from four different directions hit their bodies.

He shook the water out of his eyes, then headed for the back, where there was a tiled ledge for sitting. She made a small sound and wrapped her arms around him, tucking her head under his chin. Reed looked at the muddy rivulets streaming off their clothes onto the tile. He could smell the river in their clothes. Maybe it was better Lily didn’t wake up.

He had to hand it to Petr. Beyond the initial show of surprise, his father’s regional assistant hadn’t asked anything about his disheveled appearance. Petr had always had that unruffled demeanor that was butlerlike. In his quietly efficient way, he administered Reed’s father’s hotels in the Eastern European division.

It took a minute or two before Reed actually felt blood flowing back into his legs. Used to hostile conditions in his job, he’d ignored the bite of the cold. He checked Lily’s face tucked against his collarbone. Her cheeks were flushed, her wet eyelashes incredibly dark against her skin. He slowly reached out and wiped the dirty smudges off her face, the pads of his fingers moving over her nose and her lips. Funny how vulnerable she looked when she was out like this. His hand combed her hair away from her face.

“Cold,” she mumbled, her voice a soft echo in the stall.

“I know,” he said.

There was no getting around it. He had to get her out of her clothes. Being in the icy water and wearing wet clothes had made her body lethargic. It was natural for the body to shut down and go to sleep. Besides, he couldn’t put her into bed in these clothes.

Her shoulder. Like it or not, he had to see how badly she was injured. And to do that…he pulled her top off her shoulders, sliding her arms off him so he could see her front. There was a nasty crimson gash on her forearm, but it wasn’t bleeding profusely. The bullet must have grazed her when she had leaned down to look at their assailant.

Get her clean first, then take care of the wound. Reed pulled the rest of the fabric down to Lily’s waist, trying to ignore the soft skin revealed underneath. Water washed over her as he tried to take the top off. He pulled it lower, his fingers working around the edges, concentrating on the flesh rather than what part of her body he was touching. He then realized it was the kind of dress a woman had to pull over her head.

Reed looked down again. He couldn’t keep his eyes from wandering. Her breasts were high and small, her nipples pink and erect. Drops of water settled on each areola, shimmering as they grew in size before toppling over, running down the sides of the soft mounds. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath.

“Dress,” he told himself firmly. “Off.”

He gathered her upper body against his bare chest as he worked with the zipper in the back. The damn thing just wasn’t coming off easily. All the while he could feel her slick breasts against him, sliding up and down, as he struggled with the top. He thought of the pink, erect nipples. Not good. His jeans were growing tighter by the second.

He tugged harder and heard the material tear. It came off easily then. He ran a tentative hand over her shoulder, wiping off the red and brown streaks. He caught sight of the bar of soap sitting on the dish nearby. He paused.

This was going to be harder than he thought.

He looked down at Lily again. Okay, he could skip soaping the front. She would understand…. The thought made his lips twist in self-mockery. He looked lower and shook his head. Whatever happened to underwear? He could see right through the thin material of her dark panty hose. There were tears here and there, caked with clumps of mud. Those had to come off too.

Water splashed on his head as he leaned forward and hooked his thumb under the material, tugging it downwards. He’d never taken panty hose off a woman before. They didn’t slide off like he’d thought they would. His hand went lower. He closed his eyes and pulled hard. He could feel the clingy material pulling away and felt the bare skin with his knuckles. He patted the area awkwardly.

You can’t get her clean if you don’t open your eyes, Vincenzio.
Besides, he had to carry her out of the bathroom sooner or later.

It’s just a human body.
He’d seen naked women before. Reed opened his eyes. And wished he hadn’t. He was never going to get out of his jeans in this condition.

CHAPTER 7

Lily had never felt such bone-deep cold before. All she wanted to do was go back to that nice, deep sleep. It’d been the best she’d had in months, the kind of sleep that had no dreams; dreams where she was always running.

Water. She was drowning all over again. She was too exhausted to fight. Maybe that limbo feeling was her dying or something. But the water wasn’t cold like before, it was deliciously hot. She could feel the steam in the air as she breathed. She stirred.

Ouch. “Hurt,” she said.

Someone was holding her very close. She could hear a heartbeat thudding against her ear. She wanted to open her eyes, to investigate, but even that seemed like an impossible task. Her eyelids felt as if there were weights over them.

She felt hands on her, moving over her body slowly. Someone was tearing off her clothes. An awful thought entered her mind. Maybe she was back at the brothel. Maybe she was being…no, she didn’t want to wake up. She retreated back into the darkness again. It was always easier to be unconscious.

But the heartbeat pounding under her ear kept interrupting her sleep. It was strong, and it was beating faster. The water splashing her body felt like a shower. What was she doing showering? Wasn’t she in the river?

Snippets of memory entered her consciousness again. She remembered the car, the river, and then the awful cold. Reed. She opened her eyes to slits, peering out.

Her face was buried in someone’s bare chest. In fact, from the way she was positioned, she was sitting on that someone’s lap. She frowned. In a shower.

A hand slid up the length of her thigh, moving over her hip bone. Her body shuddered at the sensation.

“I know. I’m sorry your shoulder hurts,” a voice said above her. It was Reed. And his heart was pounding like he was running. “Almost done here.”

Lily realized he was talking to himself; he wasn’t aware she was awake.

“Just a leg. Thigh. Kneecap.”

A hand caressed her thigh and her kneecap. It was softly rubbing her skin. She had sensitive thighs and had to resist the urge to squirm.

“Other thigh. Kneecap. Nothing to it.”

He was
washing
her. And naming her body parts while doing it. She frowned and was about to say something when she went very still. That hand was moving higher. The sound of his heartbeat was echoing like thunder now. She felt her teeth biting down on her lower lip as he slid his hand between her thighs, the water feeling very warm. She bit down harder as the hand nudged intimately. There was a pause. The hand didn’t move, as if Reed had encountered some problem.

Finally, it moved, sliding downward. Her leg was lifted at the bend of the knee and braced against the wall. Her legs parted. She heard him cough. Then his hand was pulling at something clinging to her skin. Her leggings.

“Inner thigh,” the voice above her muttered. “The…”

There was silence. He moved, and her face was buried deeper into his chest as he leaned forward to…
oh, my God. He could see everything
. She tried to move but her limbs felt like lead. She could only squeeze her eyes tighter with embarrassment as the silence continued.

“The…the…” He seemed to be at a loss over what to name the part as his hand kept pulling at the rest of the legging under her. “Damn you, come off, will you?”

She could actually feel his sigh of relief when the material under her gave way. He moved away, and she stiffened again when water splashed onto her…ahhh…

Nooo
! Her body protested.
No, it’s good. Thank God.

But her body certainly didn’t agree. She kept her eyes closed as she felt herself lifted and then placed on a hard surface. She was on some kind of a seating area in this shower room. There was silence again. She knew he was looking at her, trying to see whether she was conscious. Hell no, she wasn’t going to open her eyes and look into his.

“Lily?”

She didn’t answer. Couldn’t. Not when seconds ago, she had almost….Finally, after a few long moments of inactivity, she peeked. His back was toward her, his head bent in fierce concentration. She realized suddenly that he still had his jeans on and was trying to get the things off him.

Spray hit his body, and she could see how dirty his back was as brown rivulets ran down his equally muddy pants. He finally pulled the jeans down, squeezing out of the tough denim. Her eyes opened wide at the sight of his bare ass followed by muscular thighs.

“Fucking things,” he muttered, as he pulled and tugged.

She closed her eyes quickly, but the temptation to peek again was too much. She wondered whether the man was as magnificent to look at from the front. The back muscles of his calves stood out in cords as he finally freed himself from the jeans. Kicking them aside, he picked up the bar of soap and began to briskly lather himself.

He soaped his hair and face in the careless way only a man could, then turned to face one of the shower heads, his eyes shut. Lily was given a whole frontal view for a full five seconds. She caught sight of a wide, athletic chest that narrowed down at the waist. Magnificent pecs. Magnificent abs. Her eyes traveled lower. And a magnificent something protruding rather obviously.

She closed her eyes again, knowing that he would look in her direction as soon as the soap was gone from his head and face. It was good that the bathroom was steamy because she certainly didn’t feel cold any longer. In fact, her whole body felt flushed all over.