Read Online ROCKY MOUNTAIN RESCUE by Cindi Myers - Free Book Online
Authors: Cindi Myers
Tags: ROMANCE - - SUSPENSE
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Unconditionally. At least, that was what she imagined having a sibling would be like. “No girlfriend?” She wished she could take the question back as soon as she asked it. She didn’t want him thinking she was interested in him that way, not with him lying next to her in bed like this.
He was silent a long moment before answering. “This kind of job is hard on relationships.”
“Life is hard on relationships.” At least, the life she knew. Her parents had been together for years, but that was more out of stubbornness than anything else. The Giardinos stayed together because divorce was dangerous. Sammy had made it clear that if she tried to leave him she would lose everything—the money, Carlo and even her life.
She squeezed her eyes shut. She didn’t want to think about Sammy or the Giardinos. She needed to stay focused on the present. Right here. Right now. Talking to Patrick was calming her down. She felt as if she could say anything to him here in the dark, knowing he was close, but not touching him. Not seeing his face to read whether he was judging her or not. Just laying it all out there. “Do you ever get lonely?” she asked.
“All the time.”
“Yeah.” She licked her lips, tasting the salt from her tears. “Me, too.”
She gave up resisting then and let her body slide toward his. She lay alongside him, and rested her head in the hollow of his shoulder. He stiffened. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing,” she said. “Just...hold me. That’s all.”
Gradually, he relaxed, and brought his arm up to cradle her close. “I just...don’t want to feel so alone right now,” she said. “Don’t make a big deal out of it or anything.”
She was prepared for him to argue, or to try to take advantage. If that happened, she’d have to move away. But he merely let out a long breath. “All right,” he said. “Get some sleep.”
But she was already sinking under, lulled by his warmth and strength, and the sensation that here was a man who could protect her, the way no man ever had.
Chapter Six
Patrick woke from restless sleep, aroused and all-too-aware of the woman nestled against him. Though Stacy was fully dressed, the soft fullness of her breast pressed against his side, and her hand, palm down, lay on his stomach, tantalizingly close to the erection that all but begged for her attention.
A lesser man—one who didn’t have the job of protecting a witness in a federal case and tracking down her missing child—might have taken advantage of the situation. He could have rolled over and pulled her close and sought comfort and release for both of them in the act of lovemaking.
But even if Stacy Giardino had been open to the idea of sex with him—and considering her wariness of him the day before, that was doubtful—she was off-limits to him. She was his responsibility and his duty, not a potential lover.
Reminding himself of this didn’t do a lot to quell his desire, but it enabled him to ease himself away from her and out of bed. He pulled on his shirt, then checked his phone on the way to the bathroom. A text from his office informed him a four-wheel-drive Jeep had been left for him in the parking lot, the keys under the driver’s-side floor mat. Someone had picked up his other car from its parking place two blocks over, along with the sample of mud from Stacy’s hotel room that he’d left on the backseat.
A second text informed him that Nathan Forest had died before regaining consciousness. So far nothing new had surfaced about his identity or his connections.
The bedsprings creaked as he stepped out of the bathroom and Stacy let out a soft moan. He moved to the side of the bed. “Stacy?” he asked softly.
She blinked up at him, confusion quickly replaced by the pain of remembering all that had happened. He tensed, prepared for her to break down, but she pulled herself together and shoved herself into a sitting position. “Have you heard any news?” she asked.
“We have a
He was silent a long moment before answering. “This kind of job is hard on relationships.”
“Life is hard on relationships.” At least, the life she knew. Her parents had been together for years, but that was more out of stubbornness than anything else. The Giardinos stayed together because divorce was dangerous. Sammy had made it clear that if she tried to leave him she would lose everything—the money, Carlo and even her life.
She squeezed her eyes shut. She didn’t want to think about Sammy or the Giardinos. She needed to stay focused on the present. Right here. Right now. Talking to Patrick was calming her down. She felt as if she could say anything to him here in the dark, knowing he was close, but not touching him. Not seeing his face to read whether he was judging her or not. Just laying it all out there. “Do you ever get lonely?” she asked.
“All the time.”
“Yeah.” She licked her lips, tasting the salt from her tears. “Me, too.”
She gave up resisting then and let her body slide toward his. She lay alongside him, and rested her head in the hollow of his shoulder. He stiffened. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing,” she said. “Just...hold me. That’s all.”
Gradually, he relaxed, and brought his arm up to cradle her close. “I just...don’t want to feel so alone right now,” she said. “Don’t make a big deal out of it or anything.”
She was prepared for him to argue, or to try to take advantage. If that happened, she’d have to move away. But he merely let out a long breath. “All right,” he said. “Get some sleep.”
But she was already sinking under, lulled by his warmth and strength, and the sensation that here was a man who could protect her, the way no man ever had.
Chapter Six
Patrick woke from restless sleep, aroused and all-too-aware of the woman nestled against him. Though Stacy was fully dressed, the soft fullness of her breast pressed against his side, and her hand, palm down, lay on his stomach, tantalizingly close to the erection that all but begged for her attention.
A lesser man—one who didn’t have the job of protecting a witness in a federal case and tracking down her missing child—might have taken advantage of the situation. He could have rolled over and pulled her close and sought comfort and release for both of them in the act of lovemaking.
But even if Stacy Giardino had been open to the idea of sex with him—and considering her wariness of him the day before, that was doubtful—she was off-limits to him. She was his responsibility and his duty, not a potential lover.
Reminding himself of this didn’t do a lot to quell his desire, but it enabled him to ease himself away from her and out of bed. He pulled on his shirt, then checked his phone on the way to the bathroom. A text from his office informed him a four-wheel-drive Jeep had been left for him in the parking lot, the keys under the driver’s-side floor mat. Someone had picked up his other car from its parking place two blocks over, along with the sample of mud from Stacy’s hotel room that he’d left on the backseat.
A second text informed him that Nathan Forest had died before regaining consciousness. So far nothing new had surfaced about his identity or his connections.
The bedsprings creaked as he stepped out of the bathroom and Stacy let out a soft moan. He moved to the side of the bed. “Stacy?” he asked softly.
She blinked up at him, confusion quickly replaced by the pain of remembering all that had happened. He tensed, prepared for her to break down, but she pulled herself together and shoved herself into a sitting position. “Have you heard any news?” she asked.
“We have a
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