"How did you lose the ranch?" Melo asked quietly.
Cade turned the question around in his mind. It wasn't something he normally talked about, but somehow, here in the perfumed darkness it seemed right to tell her.
"My father wasn't a bad man, but he had a gambling problem." It was something he'd managed to hide from Cade's mother, for a while anyway. Until it was too late.
Melo just sat silently and waited for him to continue.
Cade pulled in a deep breath, and pushed the hair back from his face. "He won a few times on a poker game, and that fed his addiction." His mouth twisted at the memory of his father's good mood the day he'd come home with tickets for a holiday for them all. His father's pride. Misplaced, as it turned out. "Then he gambled heavier, and before he knew it, he was in debt." A bitter taste filled Cade's mouth, tainting the words that followed. "He could have sold off some of the land, paid his debts. But he was in too deep. And in addiction's grip. He bet the ranch, and lost."
Melo gasped, and her soft hand gripped his.
"And then?"
"He shot himself in the barn." The memory of the last conversation he'd had with his father rose to the surface of Cade's mind, and he allowed himself to remember for a moment.
The look of utter desperation on his father's face had been terrible to behold. Cade had tried to offer solace, asking what he could do, what his father needed. He heard his father's long ago answer echo in his mind.
"Money."
The one thing Cade didn't have. It wasn't his fault; a boy couldn't solve the financial worries of a man living on the edge. But when his father died Cade had known the only way to help those he loved was to provide for them financially, so they would never suffer the agonies his father had.
The year that followed had been the worst year of his family's life. Dealing with his father's death was one thing, but dealing with the loss of their home-their eviction, was a nightmare it had taken long years to fade.
Cade made it through school, and had won a scholarship to college, funding it by working two jobs, weekends and evenings. His determination paid off, and through hard work he made enough to secure his family's future.
The moonlight glinted off Melo's hair, adding silvery lights to its rich darkness, and when she turned to him her eyes were almost navy. "I'm sorry it was so difficult for you."
He'd never kissed anyone who knew so much about his past before. For the first time in years he felt vulnerable, exposed.
Her lips parted, and she leaned closer.
Soft. Tempting. Inviting. He had to kiss her. He stroked along her jaw line, and then grasped her nape, pulling her closer to kiss.
She tasted of honey. Of champagne. Of Melo. The scent of her perfume filled the air as his hands slid lower. Heat flared in his abdomen. His palms skirted over her shoulders, and when she moaned into his mouth, his desire flared out of control. His heart pounded and his breathing quickened. The elegant line of her neck arched in an invitation he instantly accepted, and she gripped his shoulders as if she was in fear of falling. Maybe she was-he sure was.
Falling out of control, and fast.
"Sit on my knee."
She couldn't straddle him, not in that dress, but at least if she sat on him he'd have better access.
She stood, towering over him in her high heels.
The seductive curve of her mouth sent a wave of molten lust through him.
Her gaze flickered to the open French windows. Muted music drifted in the air, and she swayed slightly to its beat.
They could be seen from the doorway. It wasn't nearly private enough. The dress had to go. He wanted to run his hands and his mouth all over her. Have her naked beneath him, as they'd been earlier.
She pulled in her bottom lip, and bit gently.
He reached for her hand, pressing a kiss into her palm.
She shivered, but didn't move. Cade got to his feet, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.
"Let's go."
Chapter Six
Thank God neither of them had to drive. The road from the Palazzo wound down the hill to the hotel, and there was no way he'd be able to pay attention to those curves, he was too fascinated with Melo's.
The driver concentrated on the winding road.
Melo rested against Cade in the darkness. Her hand was on his thigh. He wanted it higher. With an intensity that had him sliding a hand down to caress the soft skin revealed by the deep dip in the back of her dress. It was too tight to investigate further; so he grazed the slide of her neck instead, loving the shiver trembling through her.
"Here we are," the driver said.
They'd covered the miles in mere moments. Cade grasped her hand and was out of the car faster than a sprinter with the finishing line in sight.
The large courtesy car turned on the sweep, spraying gravel as it accelerated up to the Palazzo again.
Cade's heart was thundering in his chest, but he had to ask. "Are you sure?" The velvety blackness surrounded them like a cloak. Perfumed with the lavender and rosemary, silent and seductive. Like the woman before him.
"Yes," Melo said huskily.
Her sapphire eyes gleamed in the moonlight. No hesitation. No second thoughts.
Her hand in his infused him with power, flooded him with a frantic longing. They walked silently into the hotel, not speaking until they reached the safe, private haven of his room.
Melo turned at the click of the door. A tall, graceful mermaid, caught. It was difficult to breathe. Cade's erection swelled as she gazed at him earnestly.
"Where were we?" Cade whispered.
Her mouth tilted at the corners. She raised her shoulders in a graceful little lift that pushed her breasts out toward him a little.
He ran his tongue over dry lips. "Ah, I remember."
When she reached out a hand and undid his top button, Cade's iron control melted. He groaned, her fingers fumbled. He reached around to slide the long zip down to the curve of her bottom. The straps fell from her shoulders, slid down her silken skin.
She shimmied, and the dress pooled at her ankles. The green lace bra matched the dress perfectly, and a green garter belt spanned her tiny waist.
His gaze scanned the triangle of green at the apex of her thighs as his hands gripped her hipbones, pulling her closer. She smiled such an open and giving smile that his heart leaped in his chest. He breathed in her scent. And felt his heart melt.
A finger poked his chest, flicked over the buttons. "Unfair." Full lips pouted. "You have too many clothes on. Help me."
She was right. He had too many clothes on. Their fingers tangled in frantic need to get them off.
"Bugger this." Cade grabbed the open flap of shirt and tore the two halves asunder, scattering buttons across the room.
Melo's eyes widened, and she gasped.
He unbuttoned the cuffs, loving the way her black irises expanded, banishing the blue. Her hungry hands were at his belt, unfastening the buckle as he undid the cuff buttons.
He pulled the shirt off at exactly the same moment as her fingers slid his fly down, brushing against his erection. He tensed, pulled in a breath, and shuddered. Stripped off the rest, picked her up in his arms, and carried her to the bed.
Her fingers reached around her, scrabbling for the bra clasp.
"Stop." He leaned away, caressing her stomach as his eyes lingered. "I just want to look at you."
She'd been lean and boyish, but the woman lying on the bed, her hair fanned out over the pillow, bore little comparison to the tomboy he'd known. Color flooded her cheekbones, and she pulled in her lip, worrying it with her teeth.
"Now, roll over, I'll never get all these catches undone without looking."
He pushed on her hipbone gently, angling her away from him. His hand stroked her shoulders slowly. Fingers traced the bumps of her spine. He undid the bra clasp, then traced the vertebrae to her waist, unhooking there too. He slid his fingers under the lace band of her panties, stroked her bottom.
Melo gasped, flipped, and reached for his face. "Enough playing." Her voice was husky, aroused. "Kiss me."
He didn't have to be told twice.
****
The sensation of Cade's finger tracing her spine sent shudders of reaction to Melo's core. Who knew the spine was an erogenous zone? As Cade's lips teased hers, and his hands pushed off the remnants of her clothing she realized her mistake. With Cade touching her, everywhere was an erogenous zone.
His hair brushed her cheek, the soft bristles of his jaw rubbed against her. There'd be beard rash in the morning, and she didn't care. Didn't care about anything but the sweet torture of his soft caresses. She wanted more, needed more. Her hand caressed his waist, pulling him on top of her. The weight of his body was delicious. She sighed and wriggled.