Rules of Engagement Read Free

with
need.
    And clearly, made her mind
run with crazy ideas.
    “ It’s a big estate. Lots of
grounds and pretty gardens.” Gina hoped he’d go away before the
crazy got ahead of her good sense. Her appetite—and her fork—gone,
she set the cake aside. “You could take a break in another part of
it.”
    “ Trying to get rid of
me?”
    Gina blinked, surprised
that he sounded a little hurt.
    Peering at him, she saw the
downward tilt of his lips and heavy set of his
shoulders.
    Nice . She wrinkled her nose. Just because she pouting over the
never-to-be-fulfilled need to straddle his body and ride him like a
racehorse was no excuse for bad manners.
    “ And being very rude about
it, too.” Gina gave him a sheepish look and waved a hand at the
rock wall she was sitting on. “I’m sorry. Have a seat, enjoy the
view.”
    “ The party too tame for
your tastes?” He lowered himself to the wall and leaned back. Gina
could actually see the tension seep from the hard, sexy planes of
his body, like the water pouring down the rocks behind him. She
wondered what it must be like for him, coming home from
war.
    “ The party’s fine,” she
said. “It was a great wedding.”
    “ But...?”
    She grinned. “But, it was a
little overwhelming. You have a very large family.”
    He shot her a sympathetic
look, then glanced back toward the party. “You’re not into large
families?”
    Gina’s eyes widened and her
lower lip trembled. A big family would be amazing. Any family
would, she figured. But that was a silly dream. One of those things
she’d never have. Right up there with being prom queen, a lifetime
supply of delicious fat-free fudge and Rico asking her to get
naked.
    “ I’m an only child of an
only child. Sophia’s the closest I’ve got to family, and she’s been
hiding from you and the rest of your family for most of the time
I’ve known her.”
    Rico’s smile was quick and
naughty. Gina sighed, her fingers itching to trace those indentions
in his cheeks. They were too manly to be termed dimples, but she’d
just bet they’d been adorable when he was younger.
    “ I notice you’re hiding
from all of us, too,” he teased.
    “ Not hiding,” she
corrected. “Taking a break.”
    Rico shifted his body,
angling toward her in a way that made Gina’s breath catch in her
throat. The warmth of him wrapped around her, filling her senses.
He was so gorgeous. So intense. So damned sexy.
    And so off limits.

    Rico watched the moonlight
dance over Gina’s features. Softening, highlighting. Enticing. She
was beautiful. Wild and sassy, with the red tips of her black hair
glowing against her milky-pale shoulders. But it was the sweet
curve of her lips and the hint of sadness in her eyes drew him
in.
    He’d come out to escape the
noise, yes. But also to get away from the disappointment. He’d
spent the last two hours dancing, dining and flirting with a
half-dozen women who fit his idea of the perfect wife. He’d been
bored to death. All he’d been able to think about was Gina. Her
smile. Her sweet toast to the happy couple. Her sassy tattoo of a
winking dragon.
    And despite his better intentions, he hadn’t
been able to stop wondering. Wondering what she tasted like.
Wondering how her skin would feel against his. Wondering if she was
as wild in bed as she was out of it.
    And wondering how the hell he could find
out.
    “ You confuse me,” he
confessed.
    “ Me?” She pressed one hand
to her breasts, her black fingernails vivid against the red fabric.
“I’m an open book.”
    “ Hardly. See, Sophia talks
about you. A lot. She’s sent pictures over the years, mentioned you
in letters. I’ve watched you two together when I visit. You’re best
friends with my sister, who is about as conservative as they
come.”
    “ Your sister runs an art
gallery focusing on the erotic,” Gina countered. “Her latest photo
exhibit features a black and white study of women’s naked
asses.”
    “ Besides that,” he
dismissed