Читать книгу Medical Romance June 2016 Books 1-6 - Lynne Marshall - Страница 20
ОглавлениеADVENTURES IN THE sky were nothing new to Rafael. He’d enjoyed hang gliding, glider planes, and skydiving many times all over the world. At the time, he’d thought every one of those adventures was enjoyable, but nothing came close to the evening he’d just spent with Gabriella.
Holding her close as they’d stood in the basket of a hot-air balloon, able to see for miles across the awesome expanse of the Rocky Mountains, they’d floated through a quiet so deep he’d felt it all the way to his soul. Filled with a tranquil contentment he couldn’t remember ever feeling in his life.
Listening to her cries of delight as she’d pointed at beautiful blue-green lakes below, at the snow still covering the jagged peaks, at mountain goats picking their way across vertical rocks in a feat that seemed nearly impossible, he’d smiled and laughed and held her closer.
Her hair had blown across her face, and he’d tucked it behind her ears more than once, both to feel its softness within his fingers and so he could better see the joy on her face and in her eyes.
Joy he’d wanted to see there from the moment he’d observed them shadowed with sadness when she’d sat next to Skye’s incubator. Joy he’d known was a big part of who she was, or had been until something had chipped away at it. Minimized it. Maybe even crushed it.
As the balloon had sunk back to earth, they’d watched the sun set in a blaze of glorious red and gold behind the mountains. Colors so vivid they’d almost rivaled the strands highlighting Gabriella’s beautiful hair.
He’d wanted to have her to himself for a little while longer, away from L.A. and whatever was there that might be the reason she carried that sadness around. Again, he knew that was damned selfish of him, but he’d been having a tough time battling it. And since fate had seemed to give him exactly what he’d wanted, did he really have to fight it?
All he knew was that he didn’t seem to have a lot of fight left in him when it came to keeping away from Gabriella.
He opened the door of the hotel restaurant, sliding his hand around hers before they meandered out onto the huge stone patio, warmed by several fire pits surrounded by cushioned chairs. And, lucky for him, it was nearly deserted.
“Would you like to sit out here? Or are you too full to sit after you ate a steak big enough for two people?” he couldn’t help but tease.
“Haven’t we already discussed how not at all suave it is to talk about how much I eat?” Her eyes gleamed up at him. “All women need iron in their diets. The occasional steak is good for me. But I’m not sure what your excuse is, because you ate even more than I did.”
“Fresh out of excuses.” That was true for pretty much anything he did around Gabriella, and he didn’t care anymore. “Where would you like to sit?”
“By the fire. It’s getting chilly, don’t you think?”
“We can go inside if you like.”
“No. It’s so beautiful, I want to stay out here.” He followed her gaze over to the timeless mountains, silhouetted by the darkened sky that was still slightly lit with pale pink streaks. Across the creek covered with small chunks of ice and snow, slowly melting in the springtime temperatures. “I can’t believe there’s no one around to enjoy this.”
“May is off season for Vail. Too late to ski and too cold for most other sports.”
“Except hot-air ballooning. Bundling up in a ski coat, gloves and hat were part of the fun.” Her eyes smiled at him through the darkness. “And since I don’t even own a coat, it’s a good thing the hotel keeps winter stuff guests have left behind for people like me to borrow.”
“I’m sure you’re not the only Southern Californian to come here unprepared.”
“Unprepared?” He nearly laughed at her indignant expression. “I was a Girl Scout. Believe me, I know how to be prepared.”
“If you say so. How about we sit here?” He tugged her down to a thickly pillowed settee, and he could feel the warmth of the fire reaching out to him. Much like Gabriella’s warmth did, touching him in ways he couldn’t remember being touched before. “I’m glad you liked it.”
“I loved it. It was the most special thing I’ve ever done. Thank you.”
“The most special thing I’ve done too. So thank you.” And the reason it had been so special was because he’d done it with her. How he felt about her was something he couldn’t quite figure out, but he suspected that feeling might not happen again for a long time. Or maybe ever.
“I know that can’t be true, but it’s sweet of you to say so.” She laughed softly. “You’ve been all over the world, but I haven’t left L.A. in two years.”
“You haven’t?” He couldn’t wrap his brain around not getting out of town even once in all that time. “That’s got to be a record. I haven’t stayed in one place more than two months since I graduated from medical school.”
“Yours is more likely to be a record than mine.”
He saw her shiver a little in the crisp mountain air, despite the orange flames licking upward, ending in gray smoke that disappeared into the starlit sky. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and tugged her close to his side, and the way she snuggled against him felt damn good. “Cold?”
“A little. My Washington State blood, used to damp, chilly weather, must have thinned after living in California.”
“I’ve been wanting to ask you something.” If she was feeling even a little of the closeness, the intimacy he was feeling right now, sitting next to her in this beautiful place, maybe now was the right time to learn what secrets she might be keeping to herself. Secrets she might need to unload.
“What?”
“I’ve noticed that sometimes when you look at newborns, or after you’ve helped bring a baby into the world, that there’s a sadness in your eyes. Why?”
“Sadness?” She made a sound that was probably supposed to be a laugh but didn’t get there. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. There’s nothing more joyful than a successful delivery and healthy baby, and you know it.”
“But sometimes a pregnancy doesn’t end successfully. Or with a healthy baby,” he said quietly, his gut telling him there was some kind of history for her that was tied to that reality.
“True.”
She stared fixedly at the fire, her relaxed expression more tense now. He hesitated, wondering if asking her more questions would ruin her evening. And his too. But he’d wanted to provide an ear in case she wanted to unload on him, so he’d try just once more. “Why did you leave Seattle to come to L.A.?”
More staring into the fire, and just when he was regretting ruining the intimate comfort they’d been feeling by digging into her life, instead of keeping it light and superficial like he usually did, she sighed and started to talk.
“I was engaged to be married. Thought I had it all—a job I adored, a family who supported me, a man who loved me. But it turned out he didn’t love me, at least not enough. Something...bad happened, and he left me. I decided to start fresh in L.A., and that’s it in a nutshell.”
He wanted to say that any man who had her in his life, planning on forever, then left was a fool and an idiot. But he knew that was just the way relationships turned out most of the time. Unfortunate for people who believed in that kind of love, but it was reality. Either someone left, or a couple stuck together long past the time they should have gone their separate ways.
Her boyfriend’s abandonment, causing her pain, was just more proof that relationships weren’t meant to last for the long haul, and that planning to get married was just a road leading to unhappiness.
“I’m sorry. That must have been hard for you.”
“It was. But I’m over it now.”
Somehow he didn’t believe that. But he knew her well enough to know she was done talking about it, even though he was sure it couldn’t be the whole story. He slipped his fingers beneath her chin, tipping her face up to his, and all he could think of to do for her was kiss away the sadness on her face, replacing it with the desire he’d seen there on and off all day. Desire that he’d battled with a whole lot of effort, because he didn’t want to hurt her. A battle he had to win now that he knew her ex had already caused her pain. But just as he was about to draw back and start some unimportant chitchat, she wrapped her cold hand around his nape, brought his face close, and pressed her mouth to his.
He could see her eyes closing just before his own did, and the way she sighed and sank into him knocked every good intention out of his head and had him gathering her close. He cupped her soft cheek in his hand, angling her mouth to his, and when she sighed again it felt like a siren song, driving him a little crazy. He couldn’t help but deepen the kiss. The wet slide of her warm tongue against his felt as erotic as full sex with any other woman, and it was only through some miracle that he managed to remember that, deserted or not, they were in a public place and pulling off her clothes right then and there wasn’t an option.
Or a good idea. He absolutely was not going to be the next man to hurt her.
“Gabriella.” He sucked in some much-needed air. “It’s too cold out here to be comfortable. Let’s go inside and talk in the lounge.”
“I’m very comfortable.”
Well, damn. What was he supposed to say to that? She pressed her chest to his, and while he couldn’t really feel her breasts against him, knowing what softness lay under all the layers of clothes they wore nearly made him moan. Her cold hands cupped his cheeks and she brought his face to hers again for another mind-blowing kiss that had him thinking about risking arrest and getting naked with her right there after all. Thank God the murmur of other voices on the patio cut through his fog and helped him get his libido at least marginally in check.
Which then helped him remember the paparazzi and how he needed to keep Gabriella safe from the media. While he hoped they hadn’t gotten wind of them coming to Vail, he’d learned not to count on that.
He dragged his lips from hers and sucked in a deep breath of chilly mountain air that barely cooled the heat pouring through his veins. “Bad idea to do this out here. Cameras, you know?”
The brown eyes that met his looked a little dazed, but she nodded. “Cameras. I remember. How about we go to the room?”
Knowing she wanted that, too, made what he had to say nearly impossible. But he forced himself. “Gabriella, it’s better if—”
“Stop.” She pressed her fingertips to his lips. “You asked me things. There are things I want to ask you too.”
He braced himself, not being in the mood for true confessions. Mostly because he hated to see her shock and disappointment and disapproval. But she probably had a right to know.
“Ask away.”
“Why are you hiding out in L.A.?”
“What makes you think I’m hiding? I’m visiting.”
“I don’t live under a rock, Rafael. I know there was a scandal with some woman.”
The way she smiled and cupped his cheek in her hand relaxed him a little. At least she knew that much, and was still there with him. He turned his face to press his mouth to her palm for a moment, deciding what he wanted to say.
“Then you know I dated a woman who some people thought was not the kind of person a prince should be dating. It wasn’t as though we had anything more than a casual relationship, but the media hounds ran with it, as they love to do. Since my face had been plastered on television and tabloids quite a lot the past couple years, there was more uproar than usual back home.”
“Do you care about it? And if you do, why do you do things you know the media will have a field day with?”
At first, he thought she was judging him, and the pain of that stabbed his chest. But when he looked into her eyes, really looked, he could clearly see that she was just asking, not judging. Her hand still softly caressed his cheek, and the touch weakened him. Or made him stronger, he wasn’t sure which. Either way, he realized he actually wanted to talk to her about it, which surprised the hell out of him.
He drew in a fortifying breath before he spoke. “First, half the stuff said about me isn’t true. Or is greatly exaggerated. Second, if I read that stuff and worried about it, I’d spend all day doing it and I have more important things to think about.”
“So why hide out at all?”
Good question, and one he wasn’t sure how to answer. “My parents get upset about it. And this time the hubbub was so loud they demanded I lie low and keep my face out of the press. And since I’m a grown man and can do as I please, my only explanation of why I did so is that I care about their opinion of me. Because their opinion’s been pretty low for a long time, and I guess that’s always bothered me.”
His words rang in his ears, and it was like being given a good whack on the side of the head. Apparently there was some part of him deep inside that was still that boy who was the second prince. The spare heir. The one who didn’t always follow rules and had embarrassed his parents when he’d left the kingdom to become a doctor. The one who refused to ever marry, despite having very good reasons for that.
The son they were always disappointed in, whether he lived up or down to his reputation in the media. Pathetic that it hurt that they felt that way, but there it was. The truth.
“What do you mean, their opinion of you is low? That’s ridiculous.”
“Not ridiculous.” He pressed his lips to her forehead and let them stay there, because the simple connection felt good. “I told you before that they wanted me to stay in the family business, so to speak. They never understood or approved of my wanting to be a doctor, and were more than disappointed when I did it anyway.”
“Rafael.” She grasped his face in her hands, and he felt a little like he was drowning in the sweet sincerity of the brown eyes staring into his. “I don’t know your parents. But I have to believe you’re wrong about a lot of this. Maybe they wanted you to do more traditional duties at home, but surely they’re proud of the hard work you put in to be a doctor. Of the lives you save and the good you do. When you go home, promise me you’ll talk to them. Share how you’ve felt, and clear the air. I bet you’ll be surprised at how they respond.”
Gabriella knew a lot about human nature—hadn’t he seen it first hand in so many ways? That didn’t mean she knew a thing about his family situation, but he realized he didn’t have anything to lose by talking things over with his parents. Who knew, maybe they could come up with a relationship less full of stress and more full of the kind of closeness he’d seen in other families. Including royal ones like those of the Sheikh they’d met today, who obviously cared deeply about his extended family.
“I don’t expect anything would change, but for you I’ll think about it.”
“Not for me, for you. Because after another week or so we won’t see each other again.”
A good thing for her. Not so much for him. She was the most special woman he’d ever known, and he wished they could spend more time together. But he was a man who generally disappointed the people in his life, and she was a woman who’d already been badly disappointed by someone else. She deserved someone who believed in love and happy-ever-after. He definitely didn’t, but maybe she’d somehow find that one day.
The thought made his chest feel oddly tight and he stood to end the torture of being with her when he shouldn’t be. “We have an early morning. The Sheikh wants to get going as soon as we check once more that his wife’s not in labor.”
Her gaze stayed on his as she slowly pushed to her feet. Searching. Questioning. Not a surprise, since moments ago he’d been kissing her like a man on a mission to get horizontal with her as soon as possible.
Much as he still wanted that more than his next breath, she deserved better.
They walked in silence to their rooms, which were connected by an interior door, and Rafael knew he wouldn’t get much sleep, thinking about her warm, soft body curled into a bed so close to his. The same way he’d been unable to sleep the night he’d tucked her into the guest room of his house, and he hadn’t even known her then.
Now that he did, now that he knew the attraction was mutual, staying away from her would require Herculean strength, but for her sake he could do it.
Stopping at the door to her room, he somehow managed to kiss only her cheek, though he knew his lips lingered there too long. “Good night, Gabriella.”
“This is totally unfair, you know.”
“What is totally unfair?”
“Getting James to include me on this trip, then making me sit close to you, look at you, feel the touch of your hand while we drove, and it was all so distracting I barely noticed the gorgeous scenery. Then you took me on a romantic balloon ride with your arms around me, which was the most incredible thing I’ve ever done. More romance and kissing and touching by a fire under the stars. And now you dump me like a hot rock in front of my door?”
The flash of fire in her eyes, the annoyance in her voice and her words were so surprising and adorable he couldn’t help but laugh, even though having to leave her now wasn’t in the least amusing. “Dumping is a strong word. I’m simply dropping you off after a wonderful day together.”
“Why?” A challenge in her brown eyes joined that single word.
“For the reasons we just talked about outside, Gabriella,” he said quietly, hoping she’d understand. “You deserve so much more than someone like me can give you. I’m leaving soon, and I don’t want to be another man who disappoints you.”
“You can’t disappoint me if I’m not expecting anything.” Her fingers slid up the front of his jacket to grasp his neck again, on up to trace his jaw and cheekbones, and even that simple touch made him want her even more. “You’ve made me see that I’ve been living in a cocoon this past two years. Hiding. But unlike you’ve had to do in these past weeks, I haven’t been hiding from outside forces. Haven’t been hiding because someone asked me to. I’ve been hiding from myself, and now I know it’s time to change that.” Her eyes softened, and her voice dropped to a whisper. “Being with you tonight is all I want. Breaking out of my shell to enjoy just one more incredible night with an incredible man. Is that so much to ask?”
He didn’t even realize he’d wrapped his arms around her until his hold tightened and he couldn’t make himself let her go. He warred with himself about the right thing to do. “Gabriella—”
She rose on tiptoe and buried her hands in his hair. Pulled his mouth to hers for a kiss so long and sweet and hot it fried every last working brain cell he had left.
He somehow broke the kiss and stared into her beautiful eyes. “You promise you won’t regret it when I leave? That you won’t feel hurt that I can’t stay?”
“I won’t regret it. I won’t be hurt. Unless you walk away this second. In which case I’ll have to become like autocratic Rafael Moreno was the first day we met and ‘take control of the situation.’”
How a woman’s eyes could be amused, sensual, and flashing all at the same time he had no idea, but it was an irresistible combination. He loved how Gabriella made him smile and laugh and want her so much he ached. “You already know I hate to give up control of any situation, mi ángel,” He touched his mouth to hers and began to walk her backwards ten feet down the hallway to his own door. “So how about we take control of it together?”
“I like that idea a lot.”
And with that she plastered her body close to his, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, which was so distracting he had a hard time remembering in which pocket he’d stuffed his room key. “Can you wait for just two seconds while I find my key?”
“I don’t know. But I’m happy to help you look.”
She peppered kisses on his face at the same time she put her hand caressingly into his pants pocket, obviously looking for something other than his room key, and he laughed then nearly moaned.
“I’d never have dreamed that charming midwife Gabriella Cain could be such a vixen.” Thank God he finally found the key in his jacket pocket, because she was driving him crazy and they were both still fully clothed. He shoved the door open and nearly stumbled as he backed her inside because now that they weren’t in a public hallway and he’d abandoned all worries of hurting her, he couldn’t get his hands and mouth on her fast enough.
“I’ve never been a vixen, I don’t think.” She pushed his jacket off at the same time he was unzipping hers. “Apparently, you bring her out in me.”
“I’m about to show you what you bring out in me. Didn’t you say you felt like Cinderella at the charity ball? I think I may be turning into the Beast.” And while it was a joke, it wasn’t far from the truth. He’d already stripped off her sweater and was in the process of unbuttoning her pants, and couldn’t remember a time he’d felt as desperate to make love with a woman as he felt right now.
“You’re mixing up your fairy tales. But since you are a prince, I guess that’s okay.”
She lost him on the conversation because he’d gotten her pants off and he took a moment to look at her, holding his breath at the vision before him. At her slim body, her luminous eyes, her hair a little tousled and her beautiful lips parted. He reached to unclasp her bra and as she stood there in near-naked perfection, he felt humbled. Incredibly lucky to be the man she’d chosen to break out of her shell with.
“Gabriella.” He drew her close and kissed her, drinking in the taste of her and the sweetness of her, then scooped her up against his chest. A couple of steps to the bed and he’d deposited her in it, stripping off the last of his clothes to slide in next to her, loving the feel of her skin against his.
He captured her wrists in his hands and raised them above her head, letting his other roam in a gentle touch over her breasts and down her ribs as his mouth captured her nipple.
“I guess you were serious about taking control.” She gasped. “How can I touch you if you’re holding my hands?”
“Later. First, I want to make you feel good.” So good, so special for her that she’d never feel regret. Just memories of what it had been like between them, which he knew he’d never forget.
He moved his mouth back to hers, slipping his hand between her legs to feel the wetness there, caressing her for long minutes, and with any other woman he might have joined with her right then. But this was Gabriella, and he wanted to touch her all night. Could listen to her little moans forever as she writhed and gasped, but finally her hands broke free of his hold and she reached for him.
“I thought we agreed we were going to share control tonight, hmm?” she said, grasping and stroking him until he was the one moaning.
“Take pity on me, bella. The truth is I have little control around you.”
He could feel her smile against his lips. “That’s what I like to hear, Dr. Moreno. And remember how I said I was a Girl Scout? Always prepared?”
He laughed when he saw she had a condom in her hand, and where she’d grabbed it from he had no clue. Didn’t care either, because after she slid it in place she rose up and sheathed herself on him. Rafael had never seen anything so beautiful in his life as this woman moving gracefully above him, looking down at him through eyes shining with the same intense desire that clawed into his very soul, leaving him weak. He held her hips, moving faster, wanting to see her expression as she came undone. When she did, arching her back and crying out, he was again filled with awe that he’d been privileged enough to be the one to put that look of ecstasy on her face. Then he followed her with his own cry of rapture as he gathered her close to his pounding heart. A heart he knew would never be quite the same again.
* * *
Rafael awoke to the feel of a slender shoulder pressed against his collarbone and a round, firm bottom spooned against him, and instantly began to harden at the sweet sensations and memories of last night’s incredible lovemaking. Never had he experienced something so beyond the physical with a woman. Something that had demanded engagement from his heart and mind and soul every bit as much as his body.
He softly kissed Gabriella’s hair, the hair he so loved to look at and touch. The golden fire that was such a part of who she was both inside and out, feisty and angelic, determined and dazzling. He moved his lips to the soft curve behind her ear, which he’d learned was a sweet spot she particularly enjoyed him kissing, but she didn’t stir. Apparently she felt as worn out by their time together as he did. Worn out by the emotion of sharing their secrets with one another as much as their late-night lovemaking.
Finally hearing her story about her ex had been satisfying. Not completely, because he had a feeling there was more to the story than she’d wanted to talk about last night. But knowing she’d trusted him enough to share at least part of the reason she confessed she’d hidden away the past two years felt good. He wanted to be the person she danced with in the sunlight now that she’d decided to come out to play.
But he couldn’t be that person, couldn’t risk hurting her, and that reality blasted his sense of triumph to smithereens. He wouldn’t be here for her. Couldn’t be her forever love, because such a thing didn’t exist.
He tucked her warm, captivating body closer, closing his eyes to breathe her in, and the ache in his chest told him one thing for certain. At least one person would hurt like hell when he moved on from L.A., and it would be the first time in his life that ending a fling would make him feel anything but guilt or relief.
The muffled tones of his cellphone had him searching for it in the bed, finally finding it when he slid his hand beneath Gabriella’s pillow. This time she did stir, and his good morning murmur in her ear got cut off in mid-word when he saw who was calling.
His brother.
What could he possibly want? His brother’s life was full of responsibilities that Rafael was more than happy to not have. Also more than happy that his brother rarely called, because when he did it was usually to scold him for embarrassing the royal family, as if it wasn’t enough to hear it from both his mother and his father.
He nearly ignored the call, but finally swung his feet to the side of the bed and stood, striding to the bathroom so as not to disturb Gabriella. “To what do I owe the honor, Alberto?”
“Unfortunately, I have bad news. Mother has had a heart attack, and you need to come home right away.”
