By Request Collection April-June 2016. Оливия Гейтс

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      TUCKER WAS ABOUT AS HARD as he’d ever been, but there was no way on this earth he was going to disrupt Annie’s bliss. She could barely stand, which he took full credit for, and the bathtub was ready and waiting. He was going to massage her neck, even though there was no really comfortable place to sit. But then there didn’t seem to be much comfort at all in his immediate future. Which was okay. He wasn’t the one who’d had to deal with that joke of a shower in her farce of a cabin. He hadn’t given up every luxury, every piece of himself, to hide from an uncertain future.

      He’d tried to think what he would have done in her situation, at least what he knew of it, and he doubted strongly that he would have devoted himself to the care and feeding of abandoned animals.

      “Oh, my God,” she said, stirring as he pulled his hands from out of her panties. He’d made sure not to linger inside her after her orgasm, because she was sure to be sensitive and there was so much more of the night left. But it took a lot for him to stop petting her just below the line of her underwear.

      “Are you ready to get into the tub?”

      She nodded. Her arms dangled by her sides, her head lolled to the right. Even her eyes were half-lidded. “That was…”

      “Yes,” he said, kissing her lightly on the top of her shoulder. “Can you stand? Just for a minute. Let’s get those panties off so you can get in the tub.”

      “Ohhh. The bath. Yes. Okay.”

      He waited for a sign she intended to move at all. Finally, just when he was planning how he could carry her into the tub without causing a horrible mess, she shifted her weight from him to her own two feet. “There we go.”

      “I’m perfectly capable of standing on my own,” she said, awfully petulant for someone swaying as if she were drunk.

      “I am very aware of that fact, Ms. Sheridan. You are capable of so much.”

      She sniffed, then smiled. “Are you getting in the tub with me?”

      “Nope. That’s all yours.”

      “But what about…” She turned around and put her hand directly over his cock.

      He jerked back as if she’d burned him. “That’s fine. We’ll take care of that later. It’s your turn to relax.”

      “That’ll probably be gone by the time I’m done.”

      “It won’t be gone for long, I promise.”

      She sighed, and he could see her returning from her orgasmic haze. With a two-handed push and a hip wiggle, her underpants dropped to the floor. “That was better than any massage I’ve ever had at any spa.”

      “I should hope so. Damn. What spas do you go to?”

      “I wasn’t being literal.” She walked over to the tub and put her fingers in the water. The bubbles weren’t as plentiful as they had been, but there were still enough. “Perfect.”

      “Good. I’ll let you get settled, then come back to lend a hand.”

      She smiled as her eyes widened. “Like the one you just gave me?”

      “I was thinking of a shoulder rub, but I aim to please.”

      She left her bath and circled her arms around his neck. “This is the best vacation ever. You’re not what I expected.”

      “In what way did I disappoint?”

      “Funny.” She tipped her head back. “I mean. You’re still here. You’ve been generous, and I don’t mean just the check. Generous with yourself. Your time, your attention. I thought I’d show you paperwork, and take you for a tour. That would be that, and then we’d find out later whether Safe Haven made the grade. You were definitely a surprise.”

      “I guess we were both caught off guard. You’re not who I pictured, either.”

      “I’m just a hermit who’s found her calling.”

      He huffed. “Not even close.”

      She kissed him and there was no possibility his erection was going down a centimeter when he held her naked against him, when each kiss was better than the last.

      When he finally pulled back, it was with great reluctance. “Your water’s getting cold.”

      “There’s more where that came from.”

      One more peck on the tip of her nose, and he moved out of her arms. “Go relax. Enjoy. Soak until you’re one big prune.”

      “Oh, that’s so sweet…what an image.” She laughed and stuck a foot in the water.

      He left the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He rested there for a minute, waiting for his cock to settle down.

      As soon as he checked his phone and saw that he had three voice mails, he cooled off. Too anxious to wait and listen, he checked the list of incoming numbers. None from George or Christian, only business associates. The pressure in his chest eased. It wasn’t as if he was expecting the other shoe to drop at any second. He knew Annie was safe. So was his mother. No reason to think anyone, criminal or otherwise, was lurking in the shadows.

      Only George knew Tucker had actually found Leanna and that they were in Montana. As far as Christian and Irene were concerned, they thought maybe Leanna had been located, no certainty there. He pondered for a moment, unable to recall if he’d told Irene he was in Montana. Shit. He couldn’t remember. He had a feeling he had told her, but she obviously hadn’t passed the information to Christian.

      Restless, he picked up his iPad. The amount of work piling up and the panic he sensed in Darren’s email was enough to put a damper on his mood under normal circumstances. Now it barely provided a distraction.

      This wasn’t like him. None of this. His original goal was met the moment he’d realized Annie was in fact Leanna Warner and found corroborating evidence. The next step should have been a phone call to the New York district attorney’s office and a return trip home.

      He hadn’t even been gone that long, which made no sense. He felt as though he’d known Annie for weeks. Longer. The connection with her had been fast and deep, unlike anything he’d experienced before.

      His unromantic soul had dismissed such a thing as possible. And yet here he was, having willingly put his life on hold. He’d written her a twenty-thousand-dollar personal check. That did not happen.

      He’d been raised to be cautious not only with money but with his trust, his admiration, his affection. She’d broken through all his barriers with no apparent effort.

      Looking at the bathroom door, imagining her soaking in the tub, eyes closed, the water lapping at her skin, he realized he wouldn’t have changed a thing. Not that there wasn’t more work to do, because now that he had her, he wasn’t about to lose her to false identities and an overeager D.A.

      The thing with Christian wouldn’t be easy, though. Their relationship was already so muddled, and now with his mother pinning all her hopes for the future on winning her son back, Tucker had no idea СКАЧАТЬ