LITMIR.BIZ

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of the fact that Joanna Blake seemed the type who deserved something solid and steady. “First rule, call me Rio. Second, you can stay as long as you like. Other than that, there are no rules.”

      Her smile was hesitant, but had an immediate effect on Rio’s suddenly sensitive libido. “With our schedules, you won’t even know I’m there,” she said.

      Unable to help himself, Rio reached out and brushed a curl from her face. He might have serious doubts about how this was going to work, but he had no doubt she wouldn’t be easy to ignore.

      “Believe me, I’ll know you’re there.”

      Joanna had her doubts about moving in with Rio Madrid. But when moving day came, she brought along her few possessions and a whole lot of misgivings. Being near him threatened her common sense, uncovered dormant urges best left hidden away, reminded her that she had very basic feminine needs. Needs she had no business acknowledging. But she had to do this for Joseph.

      She kept telling herself that very thing while standing on Rio’s front porch, hangers full of clothing draped over her arm, waiting for the doctor—dressed in tattered jeans and black leather jacket—to open the door. Today he’d pulled his hair back on the sides and top, the rest falling to his shoulders. He looked like an A-1 fantasy, a woman’s dream. So did his residence.

      She’d heard about the King William district, but nothing could compare to witnessing its splendor. The well-kept house resembled an English manor, beautiful and bigger than any home Joanna had lived in during her thirty-four years. Unlike her neighborhood, the area was absent of noisy cars and deafening music. No threatening characters and criminal activity, at least on the surface.

      “There’s something I forgot to tell you.”

      The declaration drew Joanna’s attention to Rio, his hand on the brass knob, a box tucked underneath his arm. Nothing in his expression gave any indication of what that “something” was.

      She backed away from the porch and studied the facade all the way up to the third-story dormers. “Let me guess. You have a commune living here.”

      “No, but I do have a roommate.”

      Before Joanna had the chance to unpack, the secrets had already begun. Now she would have to explain to her mother that she was not living with only one man, but two. “You should have told me before I agreed to come here.”

      “I didn’t want to give you any reason to change your mind. Besides, I think you’ll like her.”

      Her? He had a woman living with him? A lover? That shouldn’t matter one way or the other to Joanna, but for some reason it did. “Your roommate’s female?”

      “Yeah, Gabby. She’s great.” His tone was full of pride and affection.

      Joanna tried to mask her shock, hide her frustration with an even tone. “What does she think about me moving in?”

      He grinned, his white teeth set off against his warm brown skin. “I haven’t told her yet.”

      That set Joanna’s teeth on edge. “You didn’t tell her?”

      “She wouldn’t understand.”

      Oh, marvelous. What had Joanna gotten herself into? What if this woman refused to let her live here, forcing Joanna to reside in her own car or a seedy motel? “Well then, maybe I should wait out here until you make sure it’s okay.”

      “She won’t mind. She’s pretty friendly.”

      “Are you sure you don’t want to talk to her first?”

      “Nope. Just be prepared for the welcome.” Rio pushed open the door and waited for Joanna to move past him.

      The roommate was all but forgotten when Joanna stepped inside the circular foyer. The floor’s majestic white marble tile glistened like the surface of a frozen pond. A chandelier hanging from the two-story ceiling dripped diamond-like crystals. Straight ahead, a staircase with a black iron banister climbed upward until it took a turn to the left at a large landing. Above that landing, a window set with stained glass shot laser beams of light over the walls and white-carpeted stairs. The panes shaped a black cat with exotic gold eyes. Breathtaking, but almost out of place among the traditional elegance. Joanna continued to stare as if cemented in place by the animal’s metallic gaze.

      “That’s a beautiful window,” she said.

      “Thanks. I designed it.”

      She studied Rio Madrid, now facing her at the bottom of the stairs, amazed at how much he resembled the animal, how he possessed the ability to hold her captive with his topaz eyes. Maybe this was Rio Madrid’s idea of a self-portrait, because in Joanna’s opinion, he, too, contrasted with the environment. Rugged appeal surrounded by refinement.

      Danger in the midst of majesty.

      Click-clack noises that sounded like hooves drew Joanna’s attention to the hallway flowing into the vestibule from her right. Before Joanna could brace herself, a huge black and gray mottled thing came bounding into the foyer, streaking past her to Rio.

      “Some watchdog you are.” The beast rose on hind legs, massive front paws propped on Rio’s chest. “Get down, Gabby.”

      This was Gabby, the mysterious roommate?

      Rio slid the box and dog to the floor then shucked off his jacket and hung it over the banister. He scratched the head of the monstrosity with heavy jowls and pointy ears. “Gabby, this is Joanna. Joanna, my roommate, Gabby.”

      Joanna wasn’t sure whether to be really angry or really relieved. “Very funny. I thought you meant you lived with—”

      “A woman. I know, but I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about residing with an overgrown lapdog.” Rio tried to affect little-boy innocence with a shrug, but it was lost on Joanna due to his toxic smile, the snug fit of his longsleeved white thermal shirt and soft, washed jeans that molded him in all the right places, leaving no doubt he was all man.

      She looked down at the dog, whose tongue hung out one side of her mouth, her head cocked as if totally enthralled by her master. Joanna couldn’t blame her. The doctor made her want to pant and fawn, but she sure as heck wouldn’t do that.

      Joanna clutched the hangers to her chest when Gabby cautiously moved to sniff her feet. At least the dog’s tail was wagging, a good thing, Joanna decided, considering the size of the canine’s teeth.

      Uncertain what to do next, Joanna said, “Hey, Gabby.”

      As if totally disinterested in Joanna’s greeting, the dog turned her attention back to her master with a look that could best be described as love-struck.

      “I found her on the side of the road about three years ago,” Rio said, scratching Gabby behind the ears. “She was starved, I think maybe even beaten. It took me a year to get her to trust me and not to cower.”

      Obviously Rio Madrid made it a habit to pick up distressed females. “She looks healthy now. And big.”

      “She’s a big baby.” Rio pointed at the floor. “Stay.” Gabby tucked her tail between her legs and stretched out on the black Oriental rug at the foot of the stairs, her head resting on crossed paws.

      Joanna suspected that many females, regardless of their species, would gladly drop to the ground in answer to his command. Not this female. Joanna was stronger than that. At least she hoped so, although at times she greatly questioned her strength in his presence. Especially now.

      Rio gestured toward the staircase. “You, Ms. Blake, may come with me.”

      Joanna silently followed behind him trying hard to avert her gaze from the roll of his narrow hips as he took the stairs with a long stride. Even when they arrived on the second floor, she couldn’t seem to stop looking, imagining, remembering the night he’d kissed her, the night he’d taken off his shirt at her apartment. And that tattoo. Below that tattoo…

      “My

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