Soldier's Redemption (16 page)

“You’re gaping,” she said, reaching forward to turn the hot water back on. At least there was finally a trace of the old Skylar in her voice.

“You’re gorgeous and you’re naked,” he explained. “And I’m a man.” He touched the blue in her hair and realized for the first time it wasn’t real, it was a clip, pinned up under her thick tresses.

“Very clever,” he said, opening the clip and pulling the blue strands free. “I thought you dyed your hair a different color every night.”

“Now you know the truth.”

He set it aside. “If you’re sure you’re not going to pass out and drown, I’ll go order you something. Soup?”

“Soup would be wonderful,” she said, lying back in the big tub as steam filled the air around her.

He called housekeeping to come collect her clothes for laundering, then dialed room service. Skylar’s phone began ringing again as he hung up the hotel phone, and he quickly dug it out of her coat pocket. The screen identified the caller: Uncle Luca.

What would Luca Futura do if he knew Cole was in a room with his naked niece? How about if he knew someone had attacked her and that the odds were real good it was something Futura had said or done or condoned or whatever that had precipitated it? And what would he say if Cole announced his true last name, the one he hadn’t used since he was two years old?

“Was that my phone I heard?” she asked when he returned with news that fortification was on its way.

“Yeah. Your uncle tried to call you.”

“He’s been trying all day.”

“Maybe it’s your aunt—”

“I thought of that and called her, but nope, it’s just Uncle Luca wanting me to come home, and I’m not quite ready for that.”

“What’s with the
Raiders of the Lost Ark
music?”

A fleeting smile crossed her lips. “It’s my father’s favorite movie. I must have seen it a hundred times. The ring reminds me of him and of home.”

“And home reminds you of a time when you weren’t involved in murder and attacks.”

“I guess. My dad is a great guy. You’ll like him. I mean, you would if you ever met him. Not that you will or should or anything.”

“Skylar? Calm down. It’s okay. I hope I do meet your dad someday. But right now, we have some serious things to talk about.”

She sat up, seemed to remember how undressed she was, and slipped lower in the tub. “Can it wait just a bit?”

“Absolutely. But I do think we should alert the hotel.”

“About what?”

“You getting attacked on their premises. The police might find something that reveals who did it.”

“And then they can call Uncle Luca and get him going on about how dangerous being around you is and upset my aunt in the process? I don’t think so.”

Face it, he was glad she’d reached this conclusion on her own. No way did he want to give Futura any clue that anything was wrong. He sat down on the edge of the tub, but it was hard to concentrate. When she’d been zombie-like she’d been exquisite and sexy but remote enough where he could separate his feelings for her from his physical reactions. Now that she was starting to move and look and sound like herself, those lines blurred.

“Cole?” she said.

He raised his eyes from her chest and felt like an idiot. “Er, yeah?”

“I see a robe on the back of the door I can use, but did you happen to find my carry-on?”

He’d already stood and moved off, now unable to find a safe place to rest his gaze. “Your carry-on? No. Oh, you mean where I found you?”

“No. On the pier.”

“It wasn’t up there. Just a tube of your lipstick. Maybe the bag fell with you.”

“I know it didn’t. I remember landing on it, but that was when I was still on top of the pier. Wait, you found a tube of lipstick?”

“Yeah.” He realized he was still wearing his jacket, and he reached into the pocket and brought out the gold tube.

“It’s not mine,” she said. He opened it and wound out the stick, not exactly sure why he did. “I wear a much lighter shade, and I didn’t bring it with me,” she added. “That’s not mine.”

“I found it in the snow on top of the pier. It looks like the color Aneta’s mother wore, doesn’t it?”

“Lots of women wear that shade,” Skylar said, but her voice was subdued.

“I guess another guest dropped it earlier today.” He set the golden case on the counter. “By the way, I called housekeeping before I ordered the soup. They’re sending up grooming kits for each of us.”

A light knock on the outer door followed this announcement. He escaped the bathroom, closing the door behind him, relieved for a few moments to get his emotions—and his body—under control.

* * *

“W
HAT EXACTLY AM
I supposed to mind my own business about?” Skylar asked as she stared at the soup. Those hissed words replayed themselves in her head. She could buy being the target of a random act of violence, but what in the world had she done to warrant such a sneaky confrontation?

She’d visited Aneta’s family and asked about Aneta’s little sister. But how could that possibly be connected to this? Or was it her involvement with Svetlana? Could it have been Ian Banderas who came at her? She frowned in concentration, and her skin prickled. It didn’t help that Cole kept glancing at his watch and toying with his food.

And to top it off, she hurt everywhere.

“There was something about the person who attacked me,” she said, pushing the half-eaten soup away. Cole, sitting across from her at the room’s small round table, set his fork down as though relieved not to have to pretend to eat food he didn’t want.

“You said he kicked you once the blanket covered you,” he said.

“Over and over again.” She stood up, wincing as her weight settled on her left foot. That was the side she’d landed on, and it ached now like she’d been slugged repeatedly with a mallet.

She walked back into the bathroom and returned holding the lipstick tube. “I know what it is,” she said.

“It’s lipstick,” he deadpanned.

“No, what it is about my attacker. I was standing there when I heard footsteps. I thought it might be you, so I turned but realized almost immediately that the size and shape and gait was wrong. The person asked for help, and I thought they might be holding an ill child. A moment later, the blanket came at me. I didn’t have time to process it before, but I’m almost positive it was a woman.”

“A woman? Really?”

“I think so. And that’s why the kicks felt so pointed. It was a woman’s shoe instead of a man’s. Smaller toe box.”

“And that might be why she threw the blanket at you. If she wasn’t that much bigger than you, she might not have wanted to chance getting too close.”

“She got close enough to kick the blazes out of my knee. She was strong.” Skylar wrapped her arms around herself. The shivers were back as though all the hot water and warm food in the world couldn’t reach that frozen, frightened core still inside her.

Oddly enough, a sort of lethargy set in as she stood there, a deep fatigue that spread like creeping tendrils. Cole was suddenly at her side, holding her arms. He looked down into her eyes and she tried to smile, but to her horror what came were tears, quiet ones, sliding down her cheeks, dripping onto her chest where the thick white terry cloth absorbed them.

She tried to explain, but there were no words.

“It’s okay,” he said, leading her to the bed. He sat down and pulled her onto his lap, wrapping both his strong arms around her. “I think you’re having a delayed reaction.”

She nodded as the tears kept coming, and for several seconds, they sat there entwined, her crying, him comforting. She’d never felt so sheltered in her life. In that moment, she knew she could trust him, that he wouldn’t hurt her, that she was safe with him.

“Any better?” he asked.

She nodded as he handed her a tissue. “I was just so sure it was going to be you, and I was so glad. I wanted to know how your meeting went and have a warm drink together...and then it turned brutal....”

He buried his head against her chest. “I’m sorry it wasn’t me,” he whispered. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you.”

“It’s not your fault. You can’t always be there for me.”

“Can’t I?”

She stared into his eyes. “No, sweetheart,” she said. “Life doesn’t work that way.” She took a breath, trying to gather control over herself. “How did your meeting go?”

“My meeting. Oh. Fine.”

“Did it turn out like you wanted? Are you going to buy something from them? Is that how it works?”

He licked his lips. “It’s a co-op of women who spin their own wool and create hats and scarves and things. I think it’s too small an operation to go global.”

“That’s too bad.” She took another deep breath and added, “You said earlier that you wanted to tell me something. What?”

He searched her face for a moment. “Not tonight.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive. Tomorrow morning, okay?”

“Okay,” she said.

He finally helped her slide under the sheets. Between the blankets and the thick robe she still wore, the chill began to recede. She curled on her right side and watched him set the room service tray outside the door. The do-not-disturb sign came next. For her part, she never wanted to leave this room again.

Someone was out there waiting for her, waiting for her to stop meddling, stop asking questions although it seemed to her she’d done very little of either. She closed her eyes for a second, putting the fear, the pain and the uncertainty of the past few days aside for a moment, and drifted, the sounds Cole made as he moved around the room comforting to her until sleep swept her away.

* * *

H
E AWOKE TO
a cry. As usual, he was able to instantly go from dead sleep to wide-awake. He found himself in a very plush bed.

Another cry reminded him he wasn’t alone, and he turned on the bedside light. Skylar lay facing him, too far away to touch, curled on her side, obviously still asleep but flinching, shoulders twitching, eyebrows furled, lips parting as if in pain.

He scooted across the mattress and touched her arm. It took her a moment, but when she opened her eyes at last, it reminded him of when she’d first come to after the fall: fear followed by relief.

“You’re okay,” he said. “I’m here.”

He’d been inured to terror a long time ago—at least when it came to his own fate. As of today, he knew he could still experience it when it came to her—the thought she was beaten and bruised and frightened made him want to find the jerk behind it and permanently turn off all his lights.

She snuggled into him, her face pressed into his bare chest. When he put his arms around her, he found her robe had come untied. His hands met bare, warm flesh, scented with soap, scented with the essence of her. His head spun as he tried to ignore the physical ramifications of lying with her in this bed in this room, but he was only a man and he’d wanted her for days now.

But he couldn’t have her. Not when she was vulnerable like this and not when he had so much to tell her that would probably forever color the way she thought about him. He tried to withdraw his arms, but she grasped him tighter.

“Don’t leave me,” she said, her breasts pressed against his chest, warm and weighty and delectable, her breath hot against his throat. She titled her face up and looked into his eyes.

“Kiss me,” she said.

“I can’t.” He whispered it but it sounded like a blast from a bazooka.

“You want me,” she said, kissing his neck, her hands in his hair, running along his shoulders.

“God, yes,” he said.

“Then take me.”

He found her lips and kissed her. There was no need to tease her lips apart. Her mouth was open, and the touch of her tongue against his shot through his body like a cattle prod. For a moment, he lost his head. Skylar was all there was in the world, all he wanted. He didn’t want revenge, he didn’t want justice, he didn’t want brothers or even tomorrow. All he wanted was her.

“I can’t,” he said, coming up for air as his hands cupped her breasts and his mouth longed to follow.

“Why? Were you hurt...there...too?”

“No,” he said.

She touched his rock-hard maleness, and a chuckle sounded from deep inside her. “I didn’t think so,” she said. “I take the pill. It’s safe.”

“It’s not any of that,” he said, though talking was damn near impossible as she hadn’t stopped touching him. “Skylar, please.”

Her gaze was suddenly riveted to his again. “No. You listen to me. Unless there’s a wife at home you neglected to mention, I don’t want to hear it right now. Okay?”

He kissed her lips again, sucking on the lower one. He’d make a meal out of her if he could. “Are you sure?”

“Oh, yes,” she said as her head disappeared down his body, kissing him as she went until her lips touched his erection, and he almost shot through the roof. He immediately pulled her back up beside him. He didn’t want it to end too quickly especially since she was obviously as aroused as he was. Her nipples were hard beneath his fingertips, begging to be sucked.

“I love you,” she said softly, and that caught him off guard. He could think of nothing to say that wouldn’t compound his duplicity, so he kissed her instead, long and deep, his burning need for her turning him inside out.

He’d come so close to losing her.

He clutched her soft, naked rear and pulled her against him. As he lowered his head to devour her luscious flesh, he knew there was only one way for this night to end. Tomorrow would come soon enough.

Chapter Thirteen

Skylar awoke to find herself alone in the huge bed. She spent a moment stretching and yawning and reliving the exquisite sensations that had kept her awake half the night. Cole Bennett was a hell of a lover. She wasn’t exactly a pro when it came to sex, but she knew enough to know when a man was selfish and when he was innately generous, and Cole was generous, seeing to her needs before his own.

She sat up at last and found the bathroom door open. Until that moment, she’d assumed he was in there, but now it was clear the room was empty. Where could he have gone? She got out of bed and slipped back on the heavy robe before noticing her clothes from the day before were now draped across a chair, encased in laundry bags, looking clean and pressed. Her shoes were even polished. She took everything into the bathroom and emerged a few minutes later, dressed and suddenly ravenous.