Renegade Millionaire by Kristi Gold Page A

she decided, not that it mattered. The only thing that mattered was Rio and what he was doing to her body and her brain.
    His lips drifted down the column of her throat, leaving a wet tingling path in their wake. His hand came to rest on the placket of her blouse, causing Joanna’s heart to beat in a crazy cadence. He slipped the buttons with ease, allowing a cool draft of air to caress her heated skin. But the heat came back when his lips floated over the rise of her breasts.
    Joanna laid her hands on his bent head, lost in the feel of his mouth on her skin, the deep, damp heat settling between her thighs.
    He lifted his head and studied her with a potent golden gaze. “¿Me quiere usted?”
    She couldn’t deny that she wanted him. She wanted this, wanted more, even though she shouldn’t. “Yes.”
    â€œDiga mi nombre.” He made the demand in a low, persuasive voice.
    She understood the Spanish, but not his request. “What?”
    â€œSay my name.”
    Rio, her mind shouted, but she feared forming the word in her mouth. If she dispensed with the formality, he would no longer be the elusive doctor. If she continued to allow this heavenly assault on her senses, this prelude to pleasure, he could very well be her lover. And once more, she would be vulnerable to a man who wasn’t what she needed at all.
    But she did need this physical contact, to be desired as a woman. To satisfy cravings that had long been missing from her life. To forget herself in the arms of a man whose name meant “river.” A man as seductive as dark waters, his lure a strong current promising to carry her away into uncharted territory.
    She hesitated a moment longer, searching his eyes for a reason to stop. She saw only questions, then disappointment before he turned away from her.
    Hands fisted at his sides, he muttered, “I promised myself I wouldn’t do this.”
    Joanna clasped her shirt closed. “Do what?”
    â€œPush you.”
    â€œYou didn’t push me. I let it happen.”
    He finally turned to her. “You’re not ready.”
    She’d certainly felt ready. More than ready, and willing. “How can you say that?”
    â€œBecause you can’t say my name. I’ll be damned if I make love to a woman who calls me ‘doctor.’”
    Her gaping shirt forgotten, she braced her hands on her hips. “ Rio. There, I said it. Are you happy now?”
    His gaze went to her exposed bra and a half smilecurled the corners of his mouth. “Yeah, you said it, but not like you meant it.”
    He was driving her to distraction, making her insane. “I don’t understand this at all.”
    â€œYou understand it. You won’t acknowledge it.”
    She redid her blouse with shaking fingers. “Forget it. This was a mistake anyway. All of it.”
    â€œIs it, mi amante? ”
    Her eyes snapped from the buttons to him. “I’m not your lover, remember?”
    His smile disappeared, making way for a look that could dissolve the pool table behind her. “You will be, Joanna. When you’re ready.”
    She hugged her arms to her middle. “You’re mighty sure of yourself, aren’t you?”
    He folded his arms across his chest, his face an unreadable mask. “You can lie to yourself. You can pretend that nothing’s going on between us. But I can’t lie. I know how I feel when I’m holding you, and it’s not just minor affection.”
    Why, oh, why hadn’t she stayed home New Year’s Eve? Stayed in her wretched apartment? She’d been comfortable with her existence, her celibacy, her choices. Why did he have to come along and disrupt her life? Why him, of all people—a man who made her ache, made her want, made her realize she possessed desires beyond all bounds?
    The shrill of the phone startled Joanna and caused her to physically jump.
    Rio grabbed up the cordless phone. “Dr.