The Millionaire's Cinderella: Renegade Millionaire / Billionaire Bachelors: Gray / Her Convenient Millionaire. KRISTI GOLD

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СКАЧАТЬ beyond all bounds, stronger than most men in many instances. They deserve to be treated with the utmost respect.” He turned his head toward her. “You’re a single mother, Joanna. You have a responsibility to your son as well as to yourself. You don’t need to be involved with someone like me.”

      “Then you’re saying you’re not worthy?”

      “I’m saying that I probably can’t give you what you need beyond sex. Do you really want to settle for only that?”

      Joanna didn’t know what she wanted at the moment. She only knew that when she was with him, no matter what the circumstance, she experienced some sort of spiritual connection. That in itself was ill advised, something that had become painfully obvious the moment Rio had admitted that he could offer her nothing more than a little sexual satisfaction. A quick roll now and then.

      Weary and exhausted, she saw no reason to continue a conversation that would get them nowhere, at least not now. She needed to go to work, fulfill her responsibilities, leave Rio to his remorse while she dealt with her own. She had to learn to accept him for who he was— a man who wanted no ties, a man very much like her ex-husband in that regard though that’s where the similarity ended. Still, she couldn’t make those same mistakes again, not when it came to her threadbare heart and her son’s welfare.

      Tipping up her chin, shoring up her frame, she dropped her hands to her sides and fisted the robe in a death grip. “Now that you’ve cleared everything up, I’ll get ready for work. We can forget this ever happened.” She would never forget. Ever.

      As she turned away, he caught her hand, jolting her, unnerving her, but she didn’t dare face him.

      “I wish things were different, Joanna, and maybe someday you’ll understand.” His voice held a trace of sadness, of regret. “But right now, you only have to understand one thing. I can’t remember ever wanting a woman as much as I want you.” When his warm lips slid over her wrist, a flash of memory, sharp as a needle stick, bolted into Joanna’s brain—the memory of his mouth caressing her thoroughly. Every part of her.

      It would be so effortless to give into those memories, to go to him and experience each one again. To accept the fact that he could give her everything she desired when it came to lovemaking, yet he couldn’t give her love.

      In the silence of the room, with her hand still steadfastly wrapped in his hand, her life reluctantly meshed with his life, she secretly admitted that a part of her needed his love.

      Pulling from his grasp, Joanna rushed back to her room, away from him. As she had that first night in the ballroom, she instinctively knew that she might never escape the hold he had on her, no matter how far or how fast she ran.

      Rio had opted to drive to the hospital on the bike this morning in hopes that some cold air might clear his head. It hadn’t. Now in the process of making morning rounds, the mental fog cluttering his mind wouldn’t dissipate, even after two cups of espresso he’d made at home and one mudlike cup of coffee he’d managed to gulp down in the doctors’ lounge.

      Exhaustion wasn’t hindering his thought processes; Joanna was. He couldn’t halt the guilt trip he seemed determined to take. He couldn’t shake what had happened between them earlier. Nor could he stop thinking he wanted it to happen again.

      Right now he had to quit considering everything but his duty to his patients.

      He strode down the hospital corridor running on autopilot. When he arrived at his destination, he snapped the chart from outside the door and pushed his way into the room. The woman whose baby he’d delivered only a few hours ago looked up from the bed expectantly.

      Though she appeared thoroughly worn out, she managed a bright grin. “Good morning, Dr. Madrid.”

      He returned a courteous smile that felt much too forced. “How are you doing, Mrs. Rutherford?”

      “I’m doing great, but I’d be even better if they’d bring me my baby.”

      Rio glanced at the empty crib near the bed. “Have you seen him since the delivery?”

      “No, but the nurse told me that right after they had him bathed and dressed, they’d bring him right in.”

      “How long ago was that?”

      She glanced at the wall clock. “About two hours ago, I think. I drifted off. I do hope they bring him soon because my husband’s coming back before he has to leave for work. He’s bringing our daughter.”

      Rio dropped the chart on the bedside table and said, “I’ll be right back.”

      Returning to the hallway, he dashed to the nurses’ station and found the charge nurse charting at the desk. “Sara, do you know why the Rutherford baby hasn’t been brought to his mother?”

      The woman looked up and shrugged. “Sorry. I didn’t know he hadn’t been. She’s not my patient. We’ve been swamped since the shift change.”

      Rio was swamped by sudden anger. But he reined in his temper knowing she didn’t warrant his frustration. “The mother is breast-feeding,” he said, taking the edge from his voice. “Mind calling the nursery to find out what’s going on?”

      “Sure, Dr. Madrid. Anything else?”

      “Nope, that’s it.”

      Her gray eyes narrowed and she frowned. “Rough night?”

      Rough morning. “Just the usual.”

      She closed the chart and gave him her full attention. “Well, I hope you get some rest this weekend. We’ve got a full moon on Monday. You know what that means.”

      Yeah, he knew what full moons meant. All hell breaking loose in the baby department. He thought about his mother, in part because Sara reminded him somewhat of her—kind eyes and a worldly wisdom—but anytime he considered the moon, he thought of her. She’d wholeheartedly believed in the powers of the universe, legends learned from her Mayan heritage, but most of all she believed in the infinite power of love. And she’d loved Rio’s stepfather, though God only knew why. The man had been anything but lovable.

      He sent Sara a brief smile and a muttered, “Thanks,” then headed away.

      An unexpected sadness settled over Rio as he walked the quiet corridor. An overwhelming feeling of loss, but he considered that it only had to do in part with his mother, and more to do with losing Joanna. That realization made him take a mental step back. You couldn’t lose something you’ve never really had, he decided. And he couldn’t have Joanna, not beyond what they had shared this morning.

      By the time he made it back to his patient, Mr. Rutherford had returned to his wife with their five-year-olddaughter in tow. Rutherford stuck out his beefy hand. “Great to see you, Dr. Madrid. Thanks for everything you did last night.”

      Rio took the hand he offered for a quick, robust shake. “Your wife did all the work. I was just there to make the catch.”

      Both Mr. and Mrs. Rutherford chuckled while their frowning daughter looked on, twirling a blond curl around her finger with a vengeance.

      The door swung open to a nurse carrying a yellow bundle in her arms.

      “Looks like the guest of honor has СКАЧАТЬ