Cinderella Busted (The Cinderella Romances #1) (31 page)

The room had an enormous king-size bed, an office space with desk and computer setup, and a completely furnished sitting area and fireplace taking up half of the room. The masculine décor had Rhett written all over it, and Lily wondered whether Delia had a hand in the decorating. She immediately forced the mutinous thought from her head. She’d had enough unpleasantness tonight to last a lifetime, and she suddenly had a more pressing issue to deal with—Rhett was tugging off her sneakers and socks.

“Um, Rhett?”

He glanced up. “You okay?”

She nodded.

“We need to get out of these smoky clothes, and I know you want a shower,” he said and gave her such a tender look her heart turned over.

Tears stung her eyes and blurred her vision.

“Lily?” His hand came up to cup her cheek. His expression grew anxious.

“I don’t have any clothes except these,” she whispered.

Looking almost relieved, he pulled her into his arms. “Oh sweetheart, I’ll buy you a store full of clothes tomorrow. I’ll get you a robe for now, and we’ll wash and dry these clothes tonight.”

She hugged him tight. “Thank you.”

He pulled back and palmed her cheeks. “You’re going to be okay, Lily. I’ll make sure of it.”

She could tell from the look in his eyes he meant what he said. Rhett would make sure she was okay. Life was funny. She had just lost everything she owned—up in smoke—and she didn’t think she had ever felt happier. Here was the Rhett she had fallen in love with. He had come back to her. Her heart ached from wanting to hold him, and just this morning, she had thought they were through forever.

She leaned forward and touched her lips to his, desperate to feel that same connection they had shared earlier in the evening, to be sure she hadn’t imagined the whole scene.

Rhett held very still and made no effort to press closer.

Had
she imagined everything earlier? No more guessing for her. She would know for sure where she stood. Now, not later.

“You’ve been through a lot tonight, Lily,” he said against her lips, and his voice had that wonderful husky sound he always got when they kissed.

“Yes,” she whispered and pressed her lips harder against his and tentatively brushed the tip of her tongue across his bottom lip.

He groaned low in his throat, and his arms snaked around her, pulling her hard to his chest. His tongue passionately stroked into her mouth, and in the next instant, he gentled the kiss, tasting and sampling and allowing his tongue to play sensual tag with hers. She melted against him and threaded her fingers into the curls at the back of his head, tightening her grip and pulling him closer to deepen the kiss.

He chuckled against her mouth, and she felt herself smile. He pulled back in full grin, his eyes had gone black as onyx, his breath as labored as hers.

“You drive me crazy,” he said hoarsely.

“Ditto,” she whispered and leaned in for another mind-numbing explosive kiss.

He leaned back keeping the distance between them. “We need a shower, sweetheart. We smell like a fireplace.”

The fire reference sliced through her sensuous haze. Rhett meant to shower
with
her! He’d said
we
.

“Rhett, I—”

Puzzled, he waited.

“I can’t.”

His brows went up. “Can’t shower?”

Lily looked away. What had she gotten herself into? Why hadn’t she just gone home with Rob?

“I c-can’t shower with
you
.”

“I see.” He stiffened. “I hadn’t asked you to, but okay.” He huffed out a hard exhale. “Geez, Lily, I wasn’t going to pressure you tonight. Give me a little more credit than that.”

She had hurt him. She could see the pain in his eyes. Everything was going south and quickly. She reached up and brushed a hand along his cheek and over his hair.

“I’m sorry. I just got nervous.” She blurted, “I’ve never showered with anyone before. I mean, with a man.”

He looked stunned for a moment and then stared intently into her eyes as though searching for something. She held her breath and waited for his suspicions to resurface, an affirmation of what he believed to be her earlier betrayal. She held his gaze and prayed he could see through to her very soul. Moments passed, and still she was afraid to move, to blink, to breathe. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears.

“Oh my God, you’re telling the truth,” he said quietly.

She silently thanked God she saw no incredulity in his eyes, but rather what resembled awe.

Emboldened, she added, “I’ve never lied to you, and I never will.” She swallowed hard. “I only left out a few things before. And I won’t do that ever again.”

“A
few
things,” he repeated slowly.

“That I owned the nursery, and I haven’t ever . . .” She hesitated.

Better he find out now, rather than later in a moment of passion. Tonight she would find out what
they
were made of, if there was even a
they
. She tried to find the right words as he held her gaze, this man who made an art, and a fortune, out of reading people.

His eyes suddenly widened.

There it was! Understanding had just dawned like a newly risen sun, glaring with newfound brightness.

“You truly
are
innocent,” he whispered.

She nodded slowly and almost mouthed the words
I’m sorry,
a throwback from past dating experiences when the news had always started an argument. Tonight she kept silent and refused to say the words aloud. She wasn’t sorry. She would be overjoyed to give her precious gift to this man she loved. At the right time.

Would he be overjoyed? Or angry at waiting like the rest?

Hank had always assured her Mr. Right would cherish her gift, and so she could never squander it. She had to be sure since the gift could be given only once, and Rhett had never said those precious three words she so longed to hear.

“You’re a virgin,” he said almost reverently, enunciating each word.

“Yes,” she whispered.

One second, she was staring into his awe-stricken green eyes and the next she was crushed tight to his chest, his arms around her and his face buried in her hair.

“Oh Lily, my precious Lily,” he repeated over and over.

Tears welled up and overflowed. She felt them streaking down her cheeks and onto his shirt, and she didn’t care. He wouldn’t leave her as the others had. She just knew it. There was no mistaking the tenderness in his eyes when he pulled back to stare into hers.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked softly.

She couldn’t tell him about the others, but he seemed to sense her reasons without an explanation.

He tugged her back into his arms, more gently this time. “There’s no more precious gift a woman can give a man, a gift to be treasured,” he said, and just held her until her tears subsided.

They showered, separately, and Rhett brought her a feminine nightgown—not too risqué, thank goodness—and a bathrobe to wrap in after her shower. Amazingly, both garments fit perfectly. Did he keep them in every size for his bevy of supermodels, or did this lingerie belong to one dark-haired woman in particular? He didn’t offer an explanation, and she didn’t ask or want one. As far as she was concerned, their future started tonight.

After her shower, she grabbed up her clothes and padded back down the hall, hesitating a moment at the doorway to the master suite. She took a deep breath and vowed she wouldn’t be nervous tonight. She would take this relationship one minute at a time until she felt comfortable, then one hour at a time, one day at a time.

He heard her at the door. “Lily?”

She stepped in and inhaled sharply. He stood holding a document in his hand at a desk across the room. Fresh from his shower, his hair lay in damp curls along his neck. He wore a navy-blue bathrobe belted at the waist, and her eyes were drawn to the dark hair at the V-neck. Just looking at him sent shock waves vibrating through her already sensitized system.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded. “I’m just a little nervous.”

He took a step toward her. “Lily, you have—”

“—nothing to fear. I know.”

“Come on.”

He laid the document on the desk, gathered up their smoky clothes, and led her downstairs to a laundry room the size of her living room at the cottage, or at least the size her living room had been. She refused to think of that now.

While their clothes washed, he led her to the kitchen and made them sandwiches. Pulling two beers out of the refrigerator, he held them up. She grinned, and he handed one over. They finished their sandwiches and beer in companionable silence, and Rhett swapped the clean clothes from the washer into the dryer.

“How about a walk on the beach?” he said, taking her hand.

“Like this?” she squeaked.

“Why not? We’re wearing more than most folks wear at the beach, and there’s no one out there. The park closed at sunset.”

“
We
snuck out there after sunset,” she reminded him.

He looked chagrined. “Yeah, but we snuck through this property. I’m sorry about that, Lily. I kept secrets, too.”

She held two fingers to his lips. “Let’s go for a walk.”

The storm had finally passed, and the air acquired a nice chill. Breaking waves provided a melodic backdrop for the romantic moonlit scene. Neither of them said a word as they strolled down to the secluded beach at Sea Turtle Park. Her small hand gripped tightly to Rhett’s larger one, and she had never felt so safe in all her life. They walked alone beneath a star-filled sky, the moonlight glistening on the ocean surface like so many sparkling diamonds.

Rhett tugged her gently into his arms, and her breath caught in her throat. “I should have put you to bed and made you rest,” he said softly against her hair. “Instead, I dragged you out to the beach.”

She leaned back and smiled up at him. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else on earth.”

“Lily.” His voice went hoarse. “We stood right here that first night.”

She nodded unable to speak or breathe.

“I brought you back here tonight to start over. I know I don’t deserve it, but I want a fresh start. Everything new between us. Always truth, no holding back. What do you say?”

“I say . . . perfect.”

He palmed her cheeks and lightly brushed his lips across hers. The tenderness made her tingle from her lips to her toes. The tip of his tongue stroked lightly along her lower lip, and she swore every hair on her head tingled. He pulled back, and she released the breath she’d been holding. She reached for him, but his eyes looked so serious, she stilled.

“I don’t have much experience with innocence.” He ran a nervous hand through his still damp hair. “Hell, I don’t have any actually.”

A jolt of panic struck her. Their conversation had started to sound eerily familiar.

“I’m sure guys have tried to tell you it’s too hard for them to wait until you’re ready, or that it’s uncomfortable or even painful for them to hold back.”

Her skin goose-bumped with a sudden chill. He stared and waited for her response.

“Yes,” she said finally and hated how tiny her voice sounded. She tried to pull free of his arms, but they tightened around her. She couldn’t meet his gaze.

“Lily, I lost you once already. I don’t want to do anything to screw this up. I’ve got hang-ups, and I’ll work through them. Be patient with me, please. I’m sorry for not believing in you, and I swear I’ll make it up to you somehow.”

“Your trust and understanding is all I want,” she said softly. “All I need.”

“We’ve both spent a lifetime protecting ourselves against others taking advantage of us,” he said, his eyes trained on hers.

She felt a flood of warmth sweep over her. He did understand. He truly did.

“But I know now you would never take advantage of me. I trust you, Lily. And I’ll
never
take advantage of you. You have to trust me.”

He had put so much emphasis on the
never
, she filled with hope.

“Other men may not have been willing to wait, but not me,” he said. “I’ll wait. As long as I have to. You can count on it.”

Her eyes locked on his.

“You call the shots, Lily. No pressure. When we make love, you’ll have to come to me. I’m not taking any more chances.”

He had said
when
, not
if
. She couldn’t swallow past the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. His gaze burned into hers as though willing her to believe in him, to trust in him.

“You’ll be safe with me,” he said softly. “Always.”

She placed her hand on his cheek, needing the connection to be sure this was real. He rubbed his cheek in her palm like a puppy. She smiled.

“Take as long as you want. I’ll be waiting. I won’t change my mind,” he said, his voice so low and husky her toes curled in the sand.

She couldn’t stop the tears that tracked down her cheeks.

He looked stricken. “Please don’t cry. It kills me to see your tears.”

One stubborn sob squeaked out before she could capture it. “They’re happy tears,” she said and cupped his cheeks, pressing a tender kiss to his lips.

“You’re sure?” he asked against her lips.

She nodded.

“We still get to kiss and hug all we want, right?”

She smiled. “Yes, of course.”

“And make out on the couch?” He wiggled his eyebrows.

“Yes.” The smile became a grin.

“Starting now?” He grabbed her and swung her in a circle and then kissed her dizzy. “You’ve always made me feel like a high school boy, and now I get to act like one, too.”

They retrieved their clothes from the dryer and went upstairs to cuddle in that enormous bed. And Rhett remained true to his word.

They talked until the wee hours of the morning along with some kissing and hugging—okay, a lot of make-up kissing and hugging—and Lily knew Hank had been right all along. The right man
would
treasure her gift, and she believed she’d finally found the right man. She had fallen in love with Rhett Buchanan all over again tonight out on the beach, but one niggling thought kept her from easing forward past that point of no return.