'I'm inspecting the damage,' he said. And he was. There was the beginnings of a bruise on her thigh.
'It's on my backside and my chest,' she murmured sleepily. 'I hurt everywhere, Ryland. Thank you for taking the cuffs off, I know it wasn't easy.'
He gently took possession of her hands, turning them this way and that, frowning down at the dark matching bracelets of bruises. 'How did you get the bruise on your leg?' There was rage building in the pit of his stomach, but he fought to keep it under control, fought to keep his voice gentle.
'I don't know. I got in a fight. Hilton slapped me and I lost my mind for a minute.' She turned on her side, snuggling closer to her pillow. 'I went after him.'
'He slapped you? What else did he do?' Ryland pushed the material of her top up her back. Her buttocks had two bluish smudges. He was beginning to wish he could kill a man twice.
'Don't worry, I got him back,' she answered. There was satisfaction in her voice. 'I would have beat the holy hell out of him if Higgens hadn't interfered. I probably got the bruise on my thigh when he shot at my desk. Wood splinters went everywhere. I was so angry I wasn't feeling much in the way of pain.'
'He shot the desk right next to your leg?' Ryland rubbed his hand over his face. 'Damn it, Lily.'
She didn't open her eyes but she smiled. Rather smugly. 'You say that a lot.'
'Don't sound so pleased. I'm getting gray hair. You got in a fistfight with this man? I would have thought the daughter of a billionaire would be more sophisticated than that.'
'I'm too modern to let some caveman beat me,' she defended.
His fingers were massaging her scalp, searching for damage. 'And he hit you in the chest? Let me see.'
'I'm not letting you see my chest.' Her laughter was muffled. 'Go away and let me sleep. That's a lame excuse to look at my breasts.'
'I don't need a lame excuse to look at your breasts,' he pointed out. 'I want to see the damage.' He simply caught the hem of the shirt and tugged until she gave in and lifted her body enough to allow him to pull it off.
'I really am tired, Ryland. Take the disk to Arly and see if it's worth all the trouble we went to. Give me an hour to sleep and we can go to General Ranier and see if he'll help us.' Her voice was dropping lower and lower until Ryland was certain she would just drift off.
He drew the sheet over her body and lay next to her until he was certain she was asleep. Ryland lifted Lily's limp hand and examined her bruised wrist in the light from the morning sun. 'Damn it.' He said the words softly as he bent his head to kiss the purple circles, trying to find a way to heal her. He held her hand to his chest, over his heart as if somehow the way his heart beat for her would remove the marks.
He was so completely immersed in his desire to heal Lily's bruises, so focused on her, he didn't hear or feel any disturbance. There was no sound but something made him look up and he found himself staring at an older woman. She was framed in the doorway, a mixture of shock and fear on her face.
Very slowly and gently Ryland placed Lily's hands on the sheet and sat up. 'You must be Rosa,' he said in his most charming tone. 'I'm Ryland Miller. Lily and I are…' He sought hastily for a word. Any word. He didn't want to say 'lovers' but 'friends' seemed ridiculous when he was sitting on Lily's bed and she was naked beneath the sheet. The woman was making him feel like a teenager who'd sneaked into his girlfriend's room. He had absolutely no idea what he would do if she ran screaming through the house.
'Yes, I'm Rosa.' She glared at him. 'Why hasn't Arly told me about you? He must know you're in the house. No one can be in the house without his knowledge.'
'Well, ma'am.' The woman had pinned him with her steely eye and Ryland-whom full-grown men could not make afraid-squirmed. 'It's complicated.'
'It doesn't look very complicated to me.' Rosa swept into the room, clucking her disapproval as she approached the bed.
She spotted the dark purple circling Lily's wrists and shrieked in horror. Rosa actually smacked her own chest.
Ryland was stunned into silence. The woman took up the entire room with her presence, intimidating him as no one had ever done. He couldn't tell if she were going to faint, or scream, or grab something and strike him over the head.
'What happened to my baby?' Rosa's gaze fell on the discarded handcuffs and her eyes went wide with shock. There was a sudden hushed silence.
Ryland felt color creeping up his neck. His shirt suddenly felt too tight and beads of sweat began forming on his skin.
Rosa stooped to pickup the offending manacles and dangled them in front of his face. She broke off into a torrent of Spanish. The tirade lasted so long she ran out of breath. It was the only thing that saved him. He had the feeling she had used up every curse she knew and some she'd just plain made up.
'Now, ma'am. Don't go getting the wrong idea,' he said. 'I didn't put those cuffs on her. Someone else did that.'
'There is another man in here?' Rosa's head whipped around and she stalked to the closet, yanking open the door. 'This is one of those menage romances? You teach my little girl this?' She inspected every corner of the closet. 'Tell him to get out here and face me!'
'Ma'am…' Ryland was torn between laughter at what she was thinking and desperation at the idea that she might try to toss him out. 'Rosa, it isn't that at all. Lily was attacked tonight by an enemy. They tried to kidnap her.'
Rosa screeched, her voice hitting high C and rattling the windows. She actually threw the handcuffs at him so he was forced to duck. Ryland leapt from the bed and tried to stop her. 'Don't, for God's sake, woman, you're going to wake the dead. Stop it, will you?'
On the bed, Lily stirred, lifted her head slightly, and turned over to regard Rosa with sleepy eyes. 'Did Ryland frighten you?'
'Me?' Ryland worked his finger around his shirt collar. 'How can you say that? She thinks I've been playing some bondage game with you.'
Lily's eyelashes fluttered, drifted down. 'Well, you wanted to play a bondage game with me, didn't you?' There was amusement in the soft sleepy notes of her voice.
'Lily, I was making you laugh, cheering you up.' He was beginning to sweat under Rosa's disapproving gaze.
Someone snorted loudly in derision. Ryland whirled around to find Kaden and Nicolas standing in the doorway with Arly right behind them. Several other men were pressed behind him, trying to see in, drawn by Rosa's screams. With the door wide open, the soundproofing had done no good at all. Ryland threw his hands in the air in defeat and sat down heavily once again on the edge of Lily's bed. 'Lily, wake up. This is your crazy household and you can deal, with it.'
Lily's soft laughter played over his skin like the touch of her fingers. 'My knight's armor appears to have chinks in it. Rosa's harmless, a sweetheart, just be nice.' She rolled over and the sheet dipped dangerously, exposing tempting creamy flesh.
Rosa gasped in outrage. Ryland caught the sheet and dragged it to Lily's chin. 'Don't move. The neighbors have arrived.'
Lily's lashes lifted and she gaped at the crowd gathering in her room. 'Good Lord. What happened to the privacy acts? I'm certain I'm entitled.'
'Not if you're screaming,' Kaden pointed out.
She clutched the sheet to her. 'I wasn't screaming,' she denied adamantly. 'That was Rosa! All of you go away. I want to sleep.'
'I don't think you had sleeping in mind,' Kaden ventured. 'I distinctly heard you say Ryland was interested in bondage. Are you planning on putting cuffs on him, because I want to stay around for that.'
'You were watching my movies,' Arly accused.
'What movies?' Gator chimed in. 'Are you holding out on us? You have some good bondage flicks and you're not sharing?'
'You're all obsessed with bondage,' Lily felt compelled to point out.
'Lily!' Rosa's voice silenced the room instantly. 'Who are these people and what is going on in my house? I demand an answer immediately.'
Lily looked around for a robe. Ryland found one for her and, using the sheet for a screen, helped her into it so
