Taming The Beast (Wife, Inc. #3)

"Oh." She sighed heavily, her body warm and soft against his chest. "I fell down once and cut my knee. It hurt for a very long time."

Richard felt the back of his throat burn. In her own way she was being sympathetic, trying to understand. It made Richard's heart ache, because she shouldn't have to try so hard. "I was so lonely till you came here, Kelly."

"Me, too, Daddy." Her little arms squeezed, her hand against his torn throat, but she didn't seem to notice. "I love you," she whispered, then yawned.

Unconditional love, Laura had said. And forgiveness? He rubbed her back, rocking her, never wanting to let go of this precious gift. Her arms slackened, and he knew she was falling asleep. He moved the kitten, laid his daughter down and tucked them together. Both yawned adorably.

Richard slid from the bed.

"Don't go yet, Daddy."

He smiled tenderly and whispered, "I won't, honey. I'm right here." He sat in the rocker, taking up a storybook. Kelly's eyes opened briefly, and in the dark, he whispered softly, "Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a beautiful young girl…"

* * *

Beyond the hill, beyond the stone wall surrounding the grand house, Laura stood on the shore, her toes curled in the sand, her hands shoved deep in the pockets of her jacket. She felt bad for pushing Richard, but she never met a man more stubborn than the lord of Blackthorne Castle, she thought with a wry twist of her lips. Moonlight skittered across the surface of the water. The wind whipped at her hair, snapped at her thin cotton slacks, and a shiver pushed up her spine. More rain, more storms, she thought, and reminded herself to watch the news and see if there was a hurricane watch. She glanced back at the house, and saw a figure trotting down the slope from the house. Richard. He disappeared near the gates, then appeared again on the beach, heading her way in a steady jog. She headed back immediately. He was hooded, his dark sweatsuit making him nearly invisible in the night, the only light coming from the dozens of security floodlights surrounding the big stone house.

When he noticed her, he stopped.

She hesitated for a second, then walked briskly toward the house. "Laura," he said as she passed, not looking at him.

"I don't want her in the house alone."

"The alarms are set."

"That makes little difference if she wakes in the middle of the night and starts wandering around looking for me."

Her, not him, Richard thought, and felt a pang of jealousy skip through him. That's why she was here, he thought. To care for and love his daughter. To do the things he couldn't. "Laura, wait."

"For what? For another argument? You know my feelings."

"Do I? You come apart in my arms one night and the next you want to take my head off."

"With good reason for both," she snapped, and the air between them sizzled. "That kiss in the stairwell has nothing to do with your daughter and how much she wants to be with you."

"I know." He moved closer. "I wanted to make certain you did."

She stepped back. "Let's not talk about it," she said, fighting the ridiculous urge to launch into his arms and kiss him again. How did he do it, she wondered. How did he always manage to find the shadows to stand in?

"That won't make it go away," he said. There was a hard stretch of silence, and she could hear his breathing, the rustle of his clothes in the wind, and then in a low rough voice he said, "And I don't want it to."

Neither did she. Still, though, she had to say, needed to say, "I won't be used."

"I appreciate the glowing vote of confidence. But I'm not the bastard that hurt you."

"That really doesn't come into this. That kiss showed us both how volatile it can get between us." How incredibly exquisite, how wonderful, she added silently. "I'm convenient, and I don't think it would matter who I was."

"Dammit, you only cheapen yourself when you say that!"

"I like the truth. It's easier to swallow."

"Then you're living a lie." Suddenly he stepped forward, looming over her, and this time she didn't back away. "I wouldn't begin to know how to use a woman. I've only loved once in my life." He drew in a long breath and said, "And not one moment of it compares to what I feel when you're near."

Laura felt her knees soften, her heart skip. "It's just lust."

"Lust I know. Lust is just a temporary comfort."

She tried to keep her voice even. "And I'm only temporary in your life, Richard."

"Good God, what the hell did he do to you?" he demanded, hating this cold side of her and needing to know where it was born.

She tipped her chin up. "He proposed, and I made the mistake of saying yes, of believing he honestly loved me. Two days before our wedding, I learned he was marrying me for my award-winning face." Richard groaned in sympathy, but she didn't want pity from him. She'd had enough of that from her friends and sisters. "Paul fully intended to keep the mistress he'd been romping with, after the marriage. I was to be his trophy wife. Smile pretty, be at his side, keep his home, give great parties and produce a couple of heirs." She shook her head, looking briefly out at the sea. "It's so antiquated, it makes me sick. I would have wanted for nothing, though." She looked at him, still always hidden in the shadows. "Except his love."