Drake Sisters 06 - Turbulent Sea

members are. I've never had sex with any of them, nor would I. It would be gross.'
    He shrugged. 'I believe you, but that doesn't negate the fact that you find Rick attractive. In any case,' he added before she could protest, 'he can't meet your needs.'
    'My needs?' She stumbled over the last word. Her chin went up a little, and there was defiance in her tone as well as her expression. 'And you think you know what I need?'
    He leaned toward her. 'I know exactly what you need. Why do you think you fight me so hard?
    Joley scowled at him. 'You have an archaic view of relationships, Ilya. You think the man should dominate the woman, and that's so last century.'
    'How do you know what I think? You've never bothered to ask me.'
    That shut her up. She sat back and studied his face. 'Well then, what do you think makes a good relationship?'
    'Two people who complete one another. They should each complement the strengths and weaknesses of the other person. And they should meet one another's needs, spiritually, sexually and intellectually. I can do all those things for you. I can also protect the life you want to have. If you keep going as you're doing, you'll burn out in another couple of years. You're already starting to do that. I can provide the buffer you need between you and everyone else in order to allow you to continue with your career.'
    Okay, that sounded like heaven, too good to be true, but Joley knew life wasn't like that, so perfect and uncomplicated. 'Why do you have to say all the right things, Ilya? You and I both know it wouldn't be that easy.'
    'It would if you let it, Joley.' His voice turned tender. 'You're exhausted and upset. Lie down and I'll get you to sleep.'
    'I never sleep.'
    'Unless I'm with you.' He held out his hand to her. 'You slept just fine the last time I was here. That's another item for the pro side of that list you were making.'
    Joley took his hand and let him tug her to her feet. 'You got me in trouble with Sarah. That earned a lot of negative points you'll have to make up.'
    He settled her on the bed and brushed a kiss across her temple. 'Fortunately I have a lot of other skills to make those points up fast.'
    Joley looked alarmed - and intrigued. 'Really? Well save them for another time. I'm wiped out.'
    'I know, lyubimaya moya , go to sleep and I'll watch over you.' He stretched out beside her. 'And this should go on the pro side of your list as well,' he muttered under his breath.
    Joley curled close to him and smiling, closed her eyes.
    Chapter Ten
    Lying beside any attractive woman for three hours could give a man a raging hard-on, but watching Joley sleep, with her lush, curvaceous body and her soft skin, had created a monster.

    In those hours she barely moved, her face young and relaxed, the fingers of her hand curled against her palm as if protecting Ilya's mark. Dawn crept in through the blinds, spilling light across her face. She looked like an angel, with her silky hair in disarray on the pillow and her long lashes curving in two thick crescents on her cheeks. And then she moved restlessly, turning toward him, whispering his name, and he lost all pretense of control.
    There was nothing saintly about him, and there never would be. There was no way he could lie beside her and not need to touch her soft skin or taste her wild, honeyed flavor. He had known, when the doors of the bus had closed, that he was going to seduce her. She wanted him. The truth was in her eyes when she looked at him, in the feminine fragrance of her body and the seductive sound of her voice. She was fighting her attraction because she didn't trust him, she didn't fully believe he wasn't the bad man he was reputed to be - but she wanted him with every cell in her body, in just the same way he wanted her.
    His reaction to her, the first time he'd actually laid eyes on her, had been so physical, so sharp and strong, the ache in his body becoming a permanent part of him in her presence. He'd tried to convince himself he could have her and not be emotionally touched by her. She'd dashed that ridiculous hope completely.
    Joley was a strong woman with strong moral convictions. The chemistry between them flared bright and hot, but he was a man in the shadows -and he had to remain there. It would take finesse to overcome Joley's convictions, and there would be repercussions, but damn, he'd waited as long as he could wait.
    He needed to touch her silken skin, stroke his hands over her lush, curvy body, sink into