Millionaire in Command(14)

He was realizing more and more  every day that he wouldn't let Bianca  keep his child from him ever  again. Even if she returned, he would  still play a major role in Nina's  life. "Bianca got fired a week into  the rehearsals. Then it seems she  just disappeared. No credit card use,  nothing. But there's no indication  she's met with foul play, either."


"That's a relief at least." Phoebe grasped the banister on the way down the winding inside stairway that led to the garage.

"At least the judge is on our side with the temporary custody order."

She glanced over her shoulder at him. "How long do you think we'll need to keep up this charade?"

"Let's  just take it a day at a time." He swept open the garage door.  "Or  rather, one evening at a time." He palmed her waist on his way past  the  SUV for towing the boat and on down the line of family vehicles.

Phoebe tapped his hand on her shoulder. "Kyle? Kyle, that's your Mercedes."

"We're not taking it." He passed his car and stopped in front of their ride for the night. "I leased this for a few days."

A 1965 Aston Martin convertible.

"Oh my God," she gasped. "James Bond style."

He opened the passenger door and passed her a scarf. "Let's make it a ride to remember."

After  settling in behind the wheel and maneuvering out of the estate,  he  opened up the engine on the shoreline road. She threw her head back  with  an abandon that stirred thoughts of uninhibited sex. He  downshifted  around a curve, houses spacing farther and farther apart  until there was  nothing but shoreline stretching ahead.                       
       
           



       

She hooked her arm along the open window, her hair and the scarf streaking behind her. "This is amazing."

"Wait until I drive you along the shores of Greece."

She laughed, along for the fun of the daydream. "Then we could go to the Parthenon. I've always wanted to see it for real."

"I can make that happen tomorrow."

Phoebe pulled her arm back inside. "Nina has a well-baby checkup."

"Then  we'll go the next day." He slowed the vintage car, angling off to  the  side of the road, easing to a stop. He needed to recapture the joy  on  her face from earlier. "What else is on your tourism wish list?"

Her  face creased with incredulity. "Well now, if we're dreaming, let's   dream big." Her eyes tracked fast as if she was overwhelmed by the   possibilities. "I'd want to see all the regular stuff, Big Ben, the   Eiffel Tower, but mostly I want to see the street-side cafés, the   people, the feels and tastes of the … " She shook her head, scooting down   in her seat. "I'm being silly."

"Not silly at all. Seeing the  world has always helped me put life into  perspective." His job as head  of the international offices for the  Landis Foundation offered a lot of  travel, the main reason he had been  all right with ending his military  career.

Phoebe wrapped her arms around her waist as she took in  the open  marshlands on one side of the car and boats bobbing on open  water on  the other. The humid air hung heavy through the evening and  brought  cooler weather. "Thank you again for the outing. I can't believe  you  planned this for me. It's perfect." She turned her head along the  back  of the seat to look at him. "You've really been wonderful all week.  I  appreciate your trying so hard."

"Don't go getting soft on me now. Remember that love talk we had."

She thumped his shoulder, laughing. "Egomaniac."

He  laughed along with her, wondering how in the span of just a week it   could have become so important to him to see her smile. Her eyes held   his. She stilled, waves crashing in the silence between them. He angled   to kiss her and found she was already on her way over to meet him   halfway.

A kiss. Just a kiss but the feel of her soft lips  against him stirred  him more than … Hell, he didn't want to think about  anyone else. Only her  and how damn good she felt against him. Her  breasts brushed his chest,  and he had to feel her skin. Now. He skimmed  his hands under the hem  of her cotton shirt and stroked up her back,  urging her closer to him.  Not near enough.

The sexy sound she  made-a high sigh, half moan-sent his hand higher to  span her back and  feel every available inch of her. His heart rate  kicked into overdrive  faster than the Aston Martin, all systems go.  He'd waited for her ever  since that kiss on their wedding day, but it  felt as if he'd been  waiting forever.

If he could guide her across to straddle his lap-

She nipped along his mouth and rested her cheek against his, her breath gusting over his ear. "We can't do this."

His  pulse was more jacked than if he'd run all the way here, but he  slowed  his breathing to try and rein himself in. He'd hardly done more  than  kiss her, yet she had a way of shredding his restraint. He  caressed up  and down her back, massaging. "I have birth control in my  wallet."

Phoebe buried her face against his shoulder. "That's not what I meant. It's too soon. We've only known each other a week."

Hadn't he thought the same thing a few seconds ago? But he couldn't bring himself to fuel her argument. "We're married adults."

Arching back, she cupped his face, her hands firm. "Do you have a hearing problem? I've only known you a week."

The real answer knocked around inside his head. "You're not over your dead husband."

She flopped back in her seat and shouted to the open sky, "Damn it, Kyle, I've only known you a week!"

"How long had you known him?" Frustration-and, hell yeah, jealousy-made him push when he damn well knew better.

Phoebe  hesitated so long he wondered for a minute if she was simply  going to  blow off his question. He was just about to start the car  again when she  sighed.                       
       
           



       

"I'd known him all my life," Phoebe said softly. "He  told me he loved  me the first time when we were seven years old and I  fell off my bike.  We had a great marriage right up to when he died five  years ago." She  looked down. "That probably sounds corny to a cynic like  you."

It sounded exactly like the sort of unconditional  commitment a woman  like her deserved. "My parents had that kind of  marriage before he  died. She loved him so much I didn't think she stood a  chance at  finding it again. But man, was I wrong." Her stillness  stopped him.  "What?"

The moonlight illuminated the confusion in  her eyes. "You're making an  argument for falling in love twice, but I'm  not supposed to fall in  love with you."

Ah, crap. "Wait, uh … "

"Gotcha." She winked.

And that surprised the socks off him. "You're wicked, Phoebe Landis."

"Not really."

Something  had shifted between them when she'd opened up enough to talk  about her  past and, all jealousy aside, he wasn't letting that progress  slip away.  He draped an arm over the steering wheel. "Oh, I think  you've got a  seriously untapped bad girl in there."

She tightened her wispy scarf around her head again. "Well, I can tell you for sure you won't be tapping any of that tonight."

He  let his gaze wander over her, begrudgingly enjoying this bold,   confident side of her. At least her eyes didn't have that haunted look   anymore. In fact, with her swollen lips and tousled hair, she appeared   vibrant. Vital. And very, very touchable.

Good thing he already had his hands on the wheel.

Kyle cranked the engine. He would let her go for now, but he had hopes for a lot more next time. "Lady, you're killing me here."

"Somehow, I believe you'll survive until morning."

"I'll  be thinking of you all night." And he'd already arranged it so  when she  climbed in bed, she would find a surprise gift that ensured  she would  think of him, too.





Seven



"Thanks,  Jonah," Phoebe said softly, walking up the side steps to the  porch just  off her suite. The sandy wind stung her legs, her skin still  overly  sensitive from one sensory-igniting kiss. When he didn't  answer, she  moved closer, reassured by the steady drone of the nursery  monitor on  the table.Her brother-in-law sprawled in a chair at the  table, his head  back and eyes closed. His laptop computer also rested  on the table, open  to a full-screen shot of a girl with a backpack, a  panoramic mountain  range in the background.