He reached for the light switch and doused the room in darkness. Then he crawled beneath the covers he’d arranged and closed his eyes. His muscles screamed their protest, and fatigue beat relentlessly in his head.
He had almost drifted off when he heard her soft whisper.
“Rio?”
He opened his eyes and half turned in her direction so he could hear her.
“Are you awake?”
It was said so softly he almost didn’t hear her.
“Yeah. You okay?”
There was a long pause.
“Grace?”
“Would you…” She trailed off like she was having difficulty asking what it was she wanted. “Would you sleep with me? On the bed, I mean? I feel…safer…when you’re near.”
His chest did funny things. His heart turned over at the fear and hesitancy in her voice. Hell, he’d move a damn mountain for her.
He pushed himself upward and then flipped on the lamp. She blinked and then peered anxiously up at him.
Then he pulled the covers back and crawled into the bed. He reached back to turn off the light. Once again darkness settled over the room, and he turned back so they were facing each other, though he could barely make out her features.
They lay there silently, so still he couldn’t hear her breathe. She was stiff and completely immobile, but he could tell she hadn’t relaxed or gone to sleep.
“Come here,” he said quietly.
He lifted his arm and she immediately snuggled into his embrace. Her body was a warm shock to his, flush against his chest, her legs touching his.
He remained still, waiting to see if she’d react or if she seemed uncomfortable with his proximity, but to his surprise, she burrowed farther into his embrace, emitted a sweet-sounding sigh and then settled limply against him.
“This better?” he asked.
She nodded against him, her head bobbing just underneath his chin.
For several long moments, he lay there, unsure of what to do next. Finally he lowered his arm, curling it around her midsection and anchor
ing her to him. She didn’t even stir. She’d already fallen asleep.
He relaxed, letting his head and hers sink farther into the pillows. She felt small and slight next to him, and he was further reminded of just how fragile she was and yet how much inner strength she possessed.
He turned his mouth nedy immodown until his lips brushed over her hair. “Good night, Grace,” he whispered.
CHAPTER 15
GRACE awoke with a throbbing headache. Her brow wrinkled at the effort it took to open her eyes. She lay there a moment as she evaluated her body and her injuries. Then she lifted her arm, examining the place where the bone had broken. She flexed and extended her fingers, but other than a little stiffness, all seemed well.
Her dreams had been fractured, a mixture of reality and a product of her fears. She’d tried repeatedly to reach out to her sister, and at this point she hoped she hadn’t been successful because Shea would have been terrified for Grace, and the very last thing Grace wanted to do was upset her sister. Especially now that Rio had told her she was happy.
In love.
Protected.
Envy bit hard and guilt crowded swiftly in for thinking even for a moment that she was jealous of what her sister had.
She sat up, realizing that Rio had likely long vacated the bed. Sunlight streamed through the one window at the very top of the wall. She thought it odd that all the windows in the house were positioned that way. There was no view to the outside. Nor were they large enough for a person to fit through. She wondered if Rio had given thought to being able to escape in a fire.
She shook her head. Somehow she didn’t think such a thing would ever escape Rio’s planning. He seemed too focused and calculating to miss something so simple.
She moved slowly, though she did feel better and not as broken. She didn’t want to take anything for granted, however. She wanted—needed—to be whole again and not just physically. There was a need that transcended simple desire for the woman she’d been before this whole nightmare began.
She found a pair of jeans and a T-shirt on top of the dresser. Frowning, she let her fingers run over the worn softness of the material. She was struck by a longing sensation so keen that she yanked her hand away, palming her fingers with the other hand.
Tears stung her eyelids as she stared down at the clothing. Shea’s clothing. When had she been here? How had Rio gotten these things?
Her heartbeat thundered against her chest until she was dizzy and swaying. She hated the anxiety that gripped her every time she considered that she’d been too trusting of Rio and his men. What if they were the ones she should fear the most? Here she was in Belize, God knows where on some river way out in the middle of nowhere.
She closed her eyes and reached for Shea’s clothes again, pulling them to her chest for comfort. For a brief moment it was like holding her sister again.
She’d spent the night in Rio’s arms because she’d been lonely, afraid, and she’d trusted him. Now she wondered if she hadn’t been incredibly stupid, but then this was an argument she’d waged with herself since they’d been in the mountains.
More than anything, she was afraid of making the wrong choice and trusting the wrong people. For so long, she’d refused to trust anyone else. Only Shea. And now that link was gone.
She pulled Shea’s T-shirt over her head and down her body. Normally Shea’s clothing wouldn’t fit her. Shea was smaller, shorter, not as muscled as Grace, but Grace had suffered in the last months. Now Shea’s shirt hung loosely on her.