Authors: Collette Scott
“Stay with me,” he said quickly. “The crew is discreet; no one has to know. Diana, stop this torture and stay with me.”
The feeling in his voice betrayed the depth of his longing, and it filled her with a strange joy. Though he was leaving the decision in her hands, he had not been lying when he said he wanted her desperately. The realization was all she needed.
“Yes,” she breathed.
With a triumphant smile, Devlan’s head dipped swiftly in a move that took her breath away. Before she even caught her breath, she was kissing him back with the same urgency. Her arms wound around his neck tightly, and she pressed her full length against his. Without another word, he bent and gathered her into his arms. Feeling as light as a fairy, she was momentarily soaring through the air, and she gasped with delight.
His stateroom was right next to the stairs, and he deftly opened the door and switched on the lights before he allowed her feet to touch the ground once more. As her body slid against his, he groaned aloud. The familiar determined look appeared on his face as he gazed down at her.
“Do this because you want to, not because you think you’ve some stupid debt to pay.”
Diana reached up to cup his face in her palms. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I want this as bad as you, Devlan… It’s just that I’ve made mistakes before. Big ones.”
With a pained look on his face, he grasped one of her hands and placed it over his thundering heart. “Does this feel like a mistake to you?”
“No. Yes. I don’t know,” she whispered.
“How can something that feels so strong be a mistake, Diana?” he pressed urgently.
“I’m just so scared.”
“Good lord woman, how can you be afraid of me? Don’t you know the power you have over me?”
“Um, no,” she whispered.
“It’s time I show you then.”
The door closed behind him with a kick from his foot, and suddenly they were alone. No interruptions this time. Out to sea, it was just the two of them and Hannah sleeping peacefully across the hall. L.A. was a memory, thousands of miles away. Tonight it was only two people, eager to explore each other’s bodies, discover likes and dislikes, and ease the ache of unfulfilled longing.
Though casual encounters were new to Diana, it all seemed so natural with Devlan. His soft encouragement mingled with his awe when he touched her made her feel like a goddess instead of a failure. What she had done to capture his intense interest was beyond her reasoning, but he touched her with the gentleness and reverence of a man who treasured her completely. Diana could not help but melt into him. Tomorrow would be the day to regret her actions. Tonight he was finally hers.
Much later, Devlan dimmed the lights and drew her close. His strength filled her with contentment while the light silk sheet felt cool against her burning skin. Unable to resist him, she snuggled against his chest, a move that brought a satisfied sigh from him. His arm tightened around her.
“Stay with me tonight,” he whispered. “All night. Sleep beside me.”
“I couldn’t move even if I wanted to,” she admitted.
“Good. Because I don’t think I could either and following you to another stateroom might be impossible.”
She could not hide her giggle in the darkness. Not only had he just shown her how gentle a lover could be, but his tireless desire had nearly rocked her world off its axis. She felt as though she had died and gone to Heaven, and she was pleased that he felt as satisfied.
“You’d follow me if I left?”
“I finally got you where I’ve wanted you for forever. There’s no way I’d let you leave again.”
She heard his chuckle against her ear and placed a lingering kiss over the spot his heart beat most strongly. For the first time since her parents had died, Diana felt treasured. Everything about the way he had touched her that evening, even the way he was smoothing her hair down her back, was reverential. This was one special moment, and she knew in her heart she would treasure it always. Amazed with his gentle spirit, Diana drifted off to sleep feeling fortunate instead of scared that she had been able to experience it.
Chapter 11
Diana’s eyes flickered before her long lashes fluttered open. The room was dark. It was the middle of the night. All was quiet except for the soft purr of the ship’s engines. They were heading south back to Oahu on their second night of the vacation of her life, and the yacht was moving smoothly beneath her. All appeared to be well. So what had disturbed her?
Snuggling back under the covers, Diana closed her eyes and tried to relax back into sleep. Both she and Devlan had collapsed into bed that night, exhausted from their magnificent turkey dinner and quick sightseeing trip with Hannah to Kauai that day. Like a true family man, Devlan had escorted her and Hannah around enthusiastically, taking pleasure in Hannah’s excitement and happy chatter until she had finally crashed into a deep sleep. Diana and Devlan were not long on her heels, and she now longed to find that deep, dreamless sleep that she enjoyed just moments ago.
Then she felt Devlan’s hands on her. It was he that had disturbed her sleep, and he was pressing insistently against her back. She opened for him drowsily, and she sighed in pleasure as he began to move. Even though she was still half-asleep, her body responded to the feel of him as if from pure instinct.
“Jesus, Diana.”
Coming fully awake, Devlan suddenly went tense against her. But it was too late. Unable to stop, his body stiffened then shuddered as he found his release. He buried his face in her neck with a ragged groan.
“Well that was a completely reckless and foolish thing to do,” he said softly into her hair.
Fully awake now too and feeling fairly stung, Diana rolled away from him. “Reckless?” she asked sharply
“Yeah, I don’t know what happened.”
“Well it’s okay, I’m clean.”
“What?” he asked in confusion.
“Don’t you think I immediately got tested after Peter?”
“What? Wait a minute.” He reached for her but she resisted. “That’s not what I meant… aw, hell!”
Devlan reached over to switch on the bedside lamp. Groaning, she squinted in the sudden bright light and brought a hand to shade her eyes. The relaxed feeling from a few moments ago had just about completely gone away. She grimaced.
Devlan was frowning at her, but his tousled hair and drowsy eyes softened the effect. His finger came up to trace a small scar under her eye. She turned away from the knowledge of what was coming.
“Why did you stay with him?”
She sighed deeply. “I don’t want to discuss it.”
“We’re going to have to sooner or later,” he said.
Diana shrugged and rolled back onto her side. “Then we’ll discuss it another time. Just not tonight.”
“He hurt you, I know. I would never treat you the way he did.” Devlan tugged on her shoulder, once more rolling her onto her back.
“Then why do you care so much?” she asked. “You made a simple mistake, but it’s fine.”
Devlan shook his head. “It’s not that, Diana. Other things could happen…” He fell silent, his blue gaze studying her intently. When she did not respond, he spoke softly. “Like a baby. What if you got pregnant?”
“I see,” she whispered, feeling tears fill her eyes. “I wasn’t really concerned about that. I’m sorry.”
In truth she could not blame him for his hesitation. A child could be confining for a man like him. Even though he truly seemed to love Hannah, the fact remained that he was single at present.
Oh, but he would make a fine father. The attention that he lavished upon Hannah was so wonderful for her, certainly better than the spare moments Peter had granted her. It was amazing how she realized after seeing Devlan with her daughter just how shallow Peter’s parenting skills went. He had always been considered a doting father, but to him Hannah was only his little beauty. While he never reprimanded her, he never took the time to get down on the floor and interact with her either.
“It’s not your fault, it was mine. But that sort of decision should be thoroughly discussed and agreed upon by both of us if the time came. Don’t you agree?”
“I do agree, wholeheartedly,” she said softly.
Bending his head, Devlan pressed a warm kiss on her shoulder. “At any rate, I’m so very sorry, Diana.”
“For what?”
“Every day I wish I had known what was going on with Peter.” He took a deep breath. “Please believe me when I say that had I known, I would’ve put a stop to it a long time ago.”
She snorted. “You would’ve been too busy to bother with him.”
His face lowered to hers, and he studied her with deadly serious eyes. “No, I wouldn’t. You’ve absolutely no idea how quickly I would’ve snatched you away from him.”
“Oh.” She could feel a softening in her face that belied her attempt to be emotionless and hard. The way he was staring at her, as though she was the most exquisite thing in the world to him, inundated her with joy. She was on the verge of letting him in for good; she was so close to trusting again. It was not difficult to imagine Devlan coming to her rescue. She could easily believe he would have intervened had he known the truth.
“I’m sorry for the way he treated you. I’m sorry that he scarred your beautiful face.” Devlan bent to kiss her small scar. His lips were soft and moist, and his voice lightened as he continued. “And I’m sorry I was groping you in the middle of the night. It was a very ungentlemanly thing to do, but I just can’t seem to get enough of you.”
A small smile erased the concerned lines on Diana’s face, and she reached up to hug Devlan tight. “Don’t apologize. It was a nice way to wake up.”
He chuckled. “It was an amazing way to wake up, actually.”
Reaching over her head, he shut off the light again before returning her hug and pulling her onto his broad chest. He kissed her one more time.
“Go to sleep,” he said softly. “I’ll try not to do that again.”
Diana closed her eyes, listening to the steady thumping of his heart and the rhythmic music of his breathing. Devlan was fast burrowing his way into her heart, and she knew that she was helpless to stop it. Perhaps it was that he had come into her life in such a lonely period. Or perhaps it was that he showered her with kindness when so few did. But whatever the reason the one fact remained: she was fast losing her heart to the big, softhearted man.
Foolish
, that voice reminded her.
Oh, she agreed with that voice, and she knew she needed to protect herself from hurt again. The question was just how she was going to do it. Devlan was making it so hard. How could she refuse the man that treated her as if she were a princess?
By making sure she remained clear that it was only temporary. She and Hannah would be heading back to Colorado in a few short weeks, and what she needed to do was keep reminding them both of that fact.
~
The surf was high due to a storm further out at sea. Though it had passed south of the islands and continued east, Diana watched the waves cautiously as Devlan hefted Hannah up high over his shoulders and ran towards the pounding surf with a loud yell. Hannah was shrieking with delight, and her hands were balled into fists in his thick hair. With one last shout, Devlan rushed into the large crashing waves where he dunked himself and Hannah with him.
Both came to the surface sputtering. Hannah was clinging to Devlan like a monkey. Although coughing, her laughter was audible all the way back to the towels. Diana watched nervously from the shore. Shielding her eyes from the glaring sun, she worried what would happen to Hannah if Devlan did not calm himself down. Even though they were at one of the safest beaches in the island chain, Diana feared the waves were still large enough to sweep her away.
“Will you go get him?” She glanced at Mike. Having joined them on this day at the beach, he lounged on a towel nearby, totally at ease with Devlan’s actions.
One fair brow raised in question as he lazily glanced over at her.
“Aren’t you supposed to be a bodyguard? Can’t you,” she waved her hands, “guard his body?”
He raised his sunglasses and stared at the two in the water. “Leave them alone, Mrs. Somerset. They’re both having a blast. No one needs rescuing here.”
No one except me, Diana thought, shooting a peevish frown at Mike as he lay back down to improve his tan. She stared out at the waves again, remembering how just that morning Devlan had again proven his infinite generosity and caring.
Early that morning he had slipped away to pick up Hannah’s new physical therapist in Honolulu. They were back by breakfast, much to Diana’s surprise. To top it all off, he showed her the fantastic resume and introduced her to a most charming and cheerful young woman. Diana was surprised that she immediately liked the woman he had hired and had to admit that there was a reason Devlan was so successful in business. He was a good judge of character.
In addition to his thoughtfulness, he was wonderful with Hannah, attentive to her every need, and he truly seemed to draw pleasure in being with her. As she watched Devlan help Hannah move in the water, Diana was filled with so many more tender emotions for the man that she could not put into words. It was plain as day that she was falling hard for him.