Longing to be one with this man was driving Casey to the brink of making a fool of herself.She struggled to help as he undid her bra.But when he hooked his thumbs in the waistband of her bikini briefs and started pulling them down, she moaned and closed her eyes.
Ryder leaned down and kissed the valley between her breasts.
His breath was soft against her face as he moved to her lips.“Are you okay?”
“No,” she gasped, and tunneled her fingers through his hair.“Unless you hurry, I may never be okay again.”
After that, he came out of his clothes with no regard to order, and when he threaded his fingers through hers and stretched out beside her, he closed his eyes and said a last small prayer of thanksgiving that he’d been given this chance.
Then Ryder Justice made love to his wife.
* * *
Casey propped herself on one elbow, looking at Ryder as he slept.She knew the shape of his, face, the nearly square, stubborn jaw.Her gaze moved to his hands—broad and strong with long, supple fingers.She shivered, remembering what they’d done to her body in the name of love.Dear Lord, but he knew the buttons to push to make a strong woman weak with longing.
His chest rose and fell with each even breath that he drew, yet a short while ago, she’d felt the thunder of his pulse as he’d lain down upon her and driven himself into her, over and over, in mindless repetition.
Her body quickened in response to the memory and she glanced down to the bulge of him covered just below the waist with a sheet.Hers.He was hers.Before, they’d traded vows and made empty promises in front of Judge Harmon Harris.Today, they’d pledged their love in a way that would endure.
She reached out, gently laying her hand in the middle of his chest just so she could feel the steady rhythm of his heart, and as she did, he sighed and shifted in his sleep.She watched the thick brush of his eyelashes fluttering as some nameless dream pulled him further away from her.From his thick, black hair to those stormy gray eyes, she knew her man well.But she knew nothing of what made him tick.
Astute businesswoman that she was, she knew that in business, the swiftest way to achieve success was to know all there was to know about an enemy…or a competitor.And while Ryder was neither of those, he still had too many secrets for her peace of mind.He wasn’t the type of man one would expect to find wandering the highways and byways of the Mississippi Delta.His education was obvious, his breeding even more so.Delaney would have called him a thoroughbred.Casey had an overpowering need to know this man who called her wife.There had to be more to him than a man who knew how to love and make love with a fine-burning passion.
She laid her head down on his chest and closed her eyes, smiling to herself as he pulled her to him.Even in sleep, his claim on her was strong.
Tomorrow.She would start the wheels of an investigation rolling tomorrow.But quiet.She’d keep it low-key and quiet.And it wouldn’t be like she was snooping.She had a right to know all there was to know about the man she had married.Didn’t she?
* * *
Royal Justice raced his daughter, Maddie, for the phone.He lost.Her tiny fingers curled around the receiver as she lifted it to her ear, speaking fast in order to get it all out before her daddy could snatch it out of her hands.
“Hello.This is Maddie.Is this you?”
Roman Justice kicked back in his chair and propped his feet on the top of his desk, absorbing the sweet sound of his only niece’s voice.
“Well, hello, little bit.Yes, it’s me.Is this you?”
Maddie giggled just as Royal got to the phone.
“Let me talk!Let me talk!”she shrieked, as Royal lifted it out of her hands.“It’s Unca Roman.He called to talk to me!”
Royal shushed her with a finger to his lips and then lifted the receiver to his ear.“Roman?”
Roman flipped open a folder on the desk before him.“Brother, you’re gonna have to get yourself some skates.If you can’t beat a three-year-old to the phone, you’re already in hot water.Just think what it’ll be like when she’s a teenager.”
“Bite your damned lip,” Royal muttered as Maddie danced around his legs, begging to be put back on the phone.“I assume you have a reason for calling.”
As always, Roman Justice did not waste words.“Ryder’s alive.”
Royal turned and sank into a nearby chair with a sigh of relief.“Thank the good Lord.What have you learned?Why hasn’t he called?Is he all right?”
“Hell, you’re just like Maddie.One thing at a time.Your guess is as good as mine as to why he hasn’t called, but if I had to bet on a reason, I’d say he hasn’t turned loose of the guilt.”
“But it wasn’t his fault.The FAA told him that.We told him that.Lord have mercy, even the preacher who preached Dad’s funeral told him that.”
“Yeah, well you know Ryder.The only person he ever listened to was Dad and he’s—”
“Yeah, right,” Royal said, and pulled Maddie onto his lap, whispering a promise that she could talk when he was through.
