The Ties That Bind Read Online Free PDF Page B

bad.”
    “It was a disaster. For both of us. I don’t want to make it worse by opening up old wounds.” They’d gone through hell together. They’d managed to repair the damage for Kayla’s sake, but they’d left so much unresolved.
    “What are you so afraid of, Lisa?”
    “You and I have a ton of history. Not all of it was good.” They’dbeen so young, their notions foolish and filled with fantasy. Reality had been entirely different. Harsh.
    “True enough. But we’ve created a new kind of relationship.”
    “That’s my point. I don’t want to screw it up.”
    He slid his fingers through her hair. Cupped the back of her neck. She shivered at the warmth of his touch. Her nipples tightened and she felt the awakening fires between her legs, the all-too-familiar wetness there.
    Rick leaned in and she was mesmerized by the unique turquoise of his eyes. Had they become even bluer over the years? She hadn’t been this close to him in so long.
    “If nothing else,” he said, his breath whispering over her cheek as he drew in closer, “we’ll have a great time. God knows we both work so damn hard, Lisa. We need to have some fun.”
    “Yes.” She wrapped her fingers around his forearm, felt muscles that hadn’t been there twenty years ago. He’d been no more than a boy when she’d last seen him naked. Her mind was awash in visuals of how it felt then, what it would feel like now. “Fun would be nice.”
    His lips hovered a fraction of an inch from hers. If she leaned in, they’d touch, tangle, and she could taste him. Oh, how she wanted to take that step. But she hesitated, her mind whirling with the what-if’s, the why she shouldn’t’s.
    Rick pulled back. “Not here. Let’s go up to the room.”
    Her eyes widened. “You got the suite.”
    He smiled. “Yeah. You deserved a real vacation.”
    “It’s utterly extravagant.”
    He held out his hand and pulled her up. “I have a really good job and I haven’t had a decent vacation in years. We both deserve this.”
    He tucked her hand in the crook of his arm and they left the bar, taking the elevator to the penthouse. His suitcases were inside the door.
    “We’re going to stay here together?” she asked, then felt stupid. Of course they were. It wasn’t like they were strangers, and yet in many ways, they were. It would be like starting over.
    “There are two bedrooms.” He stared down at her through his lashes. “The decision is up to you.”
    He meant the decision as to what bedroom he’d sleep in. Well, hell. “This is all happening so fast.”
    He nodded, laid his hand on the small of her back, and propelled her into the room. “Let’s order some dinner and relax. We’ll talk.”
    “Okay.” She needed a breather, time to take it all in, think about what this could mean before she made some monumental decision, took a step she couldn’t reverse.
    They studied the room service menu and ordered food. Rick selected a bottle of wine to go with their dinner. Having the penthouse suite had some advantages, because their food was brought up within minutes, and Rick had them set it up out on the terrace.
    Torches were lit below, leading from the palazzo all the way to the beach. Music drifted upward and Lisa could see people strolling on the beach, the walkway alongside it as well as throughout the resort grounds. There was no room next to them, completely isolating them from other people and giving them complete privacy. She felt like a queen overseeing her kingdom. It was peaceful and private and very romantic, having dinner on their small table for two with its starched white linen, a bottle of very expensive wine chilling in a stand next to them.
    The seafood was to die for, and Lisa realized she hadn’t eaten since earlier that day. She settled into her normal routine with Rick, talking about Kayla. Kay had arrived in Rome with Amelia a week ago. They’d both talked to her on the phone yesterday, but knew she’d be busy a lot so