No. She felt angry.
She seriously wanted to find out who’d dared to break in and toss around her mother’s belongings like they were trash. Then she wanted them thrown in jail for a very, very long time.
She met Griff ’s watchful gaze. “Actually, I’d like that.”
“Good.” His expression eased, as if he’d been prepared for a battle that hadn’t happened. “I want to see if we can discover who made the tracks in your driveway before we return to Louisville. I’ll run into town and get something to eat.”
She wrinkled her nose. The nearest town had one small grocery store that was locked up tight by five o’clock and a gas station that sold milk and bread.
“I doubt anything will be open, but I always keep food in the freezer,” she said. “And there will be a few bottles of wine in the root cellar.”
A slow, wicked smile curved his lips. “Perfect.”
Carmen forgot how to breathe.
Chapter Sixteen
December 25, Rural Indiana
Dinner turned out to be a frozen pizza and garlic bread that Carmen had pulled from the freezer along with a bottle of Merlot that Griff had found in the cellar.
For a man who was accustomed to being wined and dined in some of the finest restaurants in the world, it should have been a huge disappointment. Instead, it was the best meal he’d ever eaten.
A part of his enjoyment was their surroundings. He’d lit a fire from wood he’d found stacked in the barn, and laid out a blanket on the floor in front of the cheery blaze. Outside, the moonlight frosted the ground in a shimmer of silver, making it look like a picture on the front of a Christmas card. He’d even pulled out a few decorations to add a festive air.
Holly was hanging from the mantel, an elf was perched on a shelf, and a tiny tree that played “Jingle Bells” when he plugged it in was set in a corner.
The largest part of his enjoyment, however, was solely due to his dinner guest.
Carmen fascinated him in a way that no other woman ever had.
It wasn’t just her beauty. Or her feminine charm.
It was her cunning intelligence. Her wary vulnerability. And her persistent determination to pierce through his natural reserve to discover the man he kept hidden from the world.
Eating pizza in front of the fire, she managed to coax him to talk about his childhood. Something he never did. Not even with Rylan. He told her about the Sunday afternoons that his mother insisted they spend together. They would choose some new activity, like visiting the zoo or attending a Cubs baseball game, or just walking along the edge of Lake Michigan. It didn’t really matter what they did, as long as they were together. He even told her about visiting his grandparents’ farm, where he would sleep beneath the stars and dream about becoming an astronaut.
Once dinner was done, he poured the last of the wine into their glasses and tossed the paper plates into the fire. Then, scooting toward her, he brushed a golden curl behind her ear before he allowed his fingers to trace the curve of her throat.
“I forgot to ask about the cut on your arm,” he murmured. “Is it healing?”
Her cheeks were lightly flushed, her eyes as brilliant as sapphires in the firelight.
“It’s fine,” she said. “It wasn’t very deep.”
He gave a tug on the scooped neckline of her sweater, pulling the knit material over her shoulder to reveal the thin line of red that marred her pale skin.
She was right, it wasn’t deep. And it didn’t look like it was infected. Still, the sight of it made fury burn through him like a corrosive acid.
“When I get my hands on the son of a bitch who hurt you—”
His threat was cut short when Carmen pressed a finger to his lips.
“No,” she murmured softly.
“No?”
“Not tonight.”
He studied her upturned face. The wide, impossibly blue eyes. The narrow blade of her nose. The lush lips.
Heat swirled through his body that had nothing to do with the nearby fire.
Allowing his hip to press against her side, Griff used the tips of his fingers to trace her lovely features.
She felt delicate beneath his touch. Fragile. Utterly feminine.
For too long she’d been out of his reach.
First he’d feared that she was merely using him to further her fame. And then he’d been overwhelmed by his fierce need to protect her.
Tonight, however, was different.
They were alone in the middle of nowhere, with the doors and windows locked up tight. Including a window in the mudroom that Griff had discovered didn’t have a latch. He suspected that was how the intruder had managed to get into the house and steal the safe. Now it was firmly nailed shut. No one else was going to be sneaking in.
But even as he savored the feel of her skin, warm and satin smooth beneath his touch, he sensed that she kept a part of herself locked away. He understood her need to protect her heart. She’d been through hell. But that didn’t halt his increasing need to break through the invisible walls that surrounded her.
Why?
There was only one answer.
He wanted more than her body. He wanted her mind. Her heart. Her trust.
His hand moved to trace her full lips, his erection hardening as desire blasted through him with a sharp-edged need.
“You take my breath away,” he whispered.
He was braced for her to pull away. She might be sexually attracted to him, but he knew she was feeling raw and vulnerable from the past few days.
He wouldn’t blame her for being reluctant to become intimately involved.
With anyone.
But even as he watched a hint of uncertainty flare through her eyes, she released a slow breath. Then, snuggling closer, she slid her hands beneath his sweater. The soft tinkle of her bracelet was like music to his ears. She hadn’t taken it off since he’d placed it around her wrist. The knowledge warmed his heart in a way he couldn’t fully explain.
“I could say the same,” she assured him in soft tones.
Griff hissed at her touch. Raw, delicious heat jolted through him. It felt like he was being branded.
Claimed by this woman.
Tangling his fingers in her golden curls, he lowered his head and kissed her. Electricity zapped him, a thousand watts of sheer pleasure sizzling between them.
He heard Carmen’s soft gasp. A smug satisfaction raced through him. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who was shocked by the sheer power of their attraction. A mere kiss wasn’t supposed to scorch through you like wildfire.
“You’ve haunted me for months,” he muttered against her lips.
“Haunted?” She tilted her head back, studying him with a darkened gaze. “That doesn’t sound very nice.”
“It wasn’t,” he assured her in a gruff voice. “I’ve endured more restless nights and cold showers since I met you than I have in my entire life.”
Her fingers skimmed over his chest. “Are you sorry I approached you on the beach?”
“Hell, no,” he rasped.
Another kiss. He used the tip of his tongue to trace the seam of her mouth, groaning in appreciation when her lips parted to allow him to fully taste her sweetness.
At the same time, he lowered his hands to find the hem of her sweater. Then, with one smooth motion, he was tugging the fuzzy material over her head. With a flick of his hand the sweater was tossed onto a nearby chair.
He locked his gaze on the frilly bra, taking a second to appreciate the lacy concoction before it was joining the sweater on the chair.
His breath hissed between his teeth as he lifted his hands to cup the soft swell of her breasts.
There was another blast of desire, and unable to resist temptation he lowered his head to suck the tip of one breast between his lips.
Her nails dug into his chest, her back arching. “Griff.”
“What about you?” he demanded, circling the hardened peak with his tongue.
“What?” Her voice was distracted as she trembled beneath his teasing strokes.
He kissed a path to her other breast.
“Are you sorry you approached me?”
She arched against him, her head tilting back to allow her curls to tumble down her back in a blaze of gold.