Ryland laughed at her. "Yes they would. He looks at her with that look in his eye. Men know these things." He dropped his clothes on the floor and slid beneath the sheet, wrapping his body around hers protectively.

"I don't want to know so don't let me in on it if you find out Arly and Rosa are seeing one another. Do you think General Ranier and Delia are really okay?"

"I think Ranier is a wily tiger and Higgens grabbed the wrong tail. He's gone somewhere to stash his wife. That's what I'd do, and he'll come back prepared to fight a battle. He won't stop until he's dead or he's won." He circled her body with his arm, cupping her breast in his palm possessively. "I didn't much like having all those men in here knowing you were wearing nothing but a sheet. We're going to have some serious talks about underwear."

Lily laughed and turned over to face him. Her gaze drifted lovingly over his face. "You're the most beautiful man I've ever seen. When you're around, I can't see anyone else." Her fingertips traced the contours of his face. Found the rough-edged lines, the small scars, his stubborn jaw. All the while she looked at him with love.

"I'll have to make certain I'm always around, won't I?" he said.

"I think that would be a good idea," Lily agreed.

Nineteen

RYLAND came awake just after nightfall. He lay listening to Lily's soft breathing. She lay close to him, her body pressed tightly against his, fitting up against him like a glove. When he shifted, the texture of her skin, rose petal soft, slid over his rougher skin, reminding him always of the beauty of a woman.

He had checked on the men several times throughout the day. Most slept but Nicolas was always awake, always on the watch. He simply grinned or saluted or nodded, but rarely spoke. Ryland stretched lazily, trusting to Arly's alarm systems, but not to the easy way everyone seemed to treat Lily's bedroom.

He slipped from the bed and locked the door, ensuring complete privacy. Naked, he padded to the window and slowly slid the heavy drape to one side so the moonlight would spill across the bed and illuminate Lily's skin. He found it astonishing that she didn't recognize her own beauty. She took his breath away as she lay there sleeping, her dark hair tumbling like so much silk on the pillows.

It was exciting to stand there in the shadows and watch her as she slept. To be able to pull the sheet from her body and simply enjoy the lush sight. To devour her with hungry eyes. The cool air hit her body and she moved, sprawling out in the bed, one hand flung across his pillow as if reaching for him. His body hardened into a painful ache. Every cell needed her. His heart pounded when he looked at her. Lily. Where had she come from? How had he managed to find her? Elusive Lily. Sometimes he felt as if she were water he held in the palm of his hand, tantalizing a thirsty man, only to slip away just when he went to take a drink.

He wanted her. All of her, not just her body, but her heart and soul and her brilliant mind. His jaw hardened. Few things escaped him when he hunted. Lily was too important to him to let her slip away.

Lily turned her head toward him unerringly, as if sensing danger in the darkness. "Ryland? Is everything all right?"

"It's just perfect, Lily," he answered.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking at what's mine." He waited a heartbeat. "Thinking about all the ways I want to make love to you."

"Well, then." There was soft amusement in her voice, soft invitation. "Is all that thinking getting me anywhere?"

His hand cupped his body, slid over the hard thickness, testifying to his response, to his indulgence in fantasies. "I think so."

"Come here where I can see." Lily laughed softly, joyously in invitation. "I've always thought indulging your every fantasy would be fun. What is it you want right this minute?"

Ryland thought about it. "More than anything, I want to take away every bruise on your body. I want to get rid of every sore spot and replace it with feeling good. I want you to forget nightmares and sadness and think only of me, even if it's only for a few minutes. I want you happy and I want to be the man who makes you happy."

Lily felt a curious melting sensation in the region of her heart. Her body turned instantly to liquid heat. It wasn't at all what Lily expected him to say. Ryland was a wild man when it came to sex and he was standing over her with a predatory look on his face and raw hunger in his eyes. His body was hot and hard and demanding urgent relief. How was it possible to resist him when he could say things like that so sincerely?

"Come here, then, Ryland," she called softly.

He walked to the side of the bed, watched her turn on her side, reach for his body with caressing fingertips. She stroked his thighs and he let her, wanting to make her happy, knowing instinctively she wanted to explore his body in the same way he needed to explore hers. Her palm was hot on his thigh, her fingernails raking his skin lightly. Then her hand cupped his sac, squeezed lightly and teased so that he gasped with pleasure, shifting his stance to move closer.

"Lily," he protested, but it was a plea for mercy.

"No, just let me. I want to memorize you. Your shape. I love the way I can make you feel." The moonlight was spilling across his body. She liked watching her fingers on him, shaping him, dancing over him, teasing and making the breath slam out of his lungs. He could make her lose her mind so easily. With his hands. His mouth. With his body. She wanted to know she could do the same. That they had equal power between them.

Ryland could see it mattered to her. His body was as hard as a rock and her lingering caresses just might kill him, but he figured he'd die happy. "Someday, when the others aren't around, I'll share this with you, the way you make me feel. You'll feel it too," he said. The words came out between his teeth. He was watching her face emerge from the shadows, slowly inching toward him. She was beautiful, every classic line, her small patrician nose, her full, generous mouth. Her long feathery eyelashes. And her eyes. She looked up at him and he felt himself falling forward into her eyes.

Her mouth was hot and tight and wet, sliding over him, her tongue doing some kind of dance that had his brain exploding right out of his skull. His hands fisted in her hair, thumbs caressing the silken strands. He allowed his head to fall back and he closed his eyes, giving himself up completely to her, to the pleasure she brought him.

Her hands were everywhere, shaping his firm buttocks, exploring his hips, sliding along the columns of his thighs. She traced his ribs, his flat belly, urged his hips to a slow, leisurely rhythm all the while the flames of sensuality licked over his body.

When he knew another moment would take away all control, he gently, reluctantly, moved away from her. It was a struggle to get his breathing back, to find a way to force his leaden legs to move. Ryland made his way to the end of the bed and knelt there, looking down at her.

"Lily, I want this night for you. I want you to feel how much I love you. When I'm touching you and kissing you, when I make love to you, I want you to always know it isn't just about sex. There's so much more between us. I don't have pretty words to wrap it up in. All I can do is show you."

"You have beautiful words, Ryland," she protested. His fingers were massaging her calf muscles, taking her breath, robbing her of speech. It was always like that with him when he touched her. And he was right. She could feel his love. It flowed through his fingertips when he caressed her scars and each sore muscle. It was in his lips as they touched each bruise. In his tongue as it swirled over the discolored marks in a lazy sweet healing. The way he loved her brought tears to her eyes.