Anne Winston - The Millionaire's Cinderella

Joanna couldn’t sleep. Maybe it was the strange house, the strange bed, the knowledge that she was all alone again.

Since retiring for the night, she had listened carefully for the sound of Rio’s return but hadn’t heard a thing, even from Gabby who was still outside, as far as she knew. Of course, Gabby didn’t strike her as being much of a watchdog.

Joanna had gone to her room following a meager dinner of tuna casserole and an hour spent watching some inane sitcom. Now she sat in bed and tried to read materials to prepare for a continuing-education course she was due to take in the spring. She quickly abandoned that for a glitzy magazine heralding the breakups of rich and indulgent celebrities. Tiring of that, she tossed the magazine aside and stared at the ceiling.

Maybe if she took another shower, she might relax. A hot bath…The hot tub? Well, that was an option. Since Rio was gone, she could hide away in there without notice. But what if he came home? Gabby would warn her, hopefully giving her enough time to sneak back inside.

Joanna rose from the bed and rummaged in the dresser for the only swimsuit she owned. It was black, basic, the only thing daring about it came in the form of sheer netting that covered the midriff but revealed little more than a hint of flesh.

After donning the suit, she retrieved an oversize towel from the linen closet and padded down the stairs. Just to be on the safe side, she tiptoed to Rio’s room. The door was partially open and it creaked when she gave it a push. Her heart jumped, but thankfully she found the king-size bed still made, its owner absent. She took a chance and snapped on the light for a better look.

The bedroom was without embellishments, masculine, from the heavy pine bed covered in a black and gold spread to the posh tan carpeting. Several artifacts were set out on the tables in a small sitting area to her right, clay pots of every shape and size, a few polished stones, some small sculptures. On the wall over the black marble fireplace’s mantel hung an odd-looking calendar sporting a moon, stars and the sun. Yet the enticing scent exclusive to Rio appealed to her most of all.

Feeling nervous over invading his privacy, Joanna retreated out of the room and started down the stairs and into the backyard. The night was moonless, cold, and she almost reconsidered, but she’d already come this far, no use turning back now. After her eyes adjusted to the limited light, she headed for the hot tub, pulling up short a few feet away when she caught sight of the dark, imposing figure cast in shadows spilling across the water’s surface.

Rio.

Joanna saw a chance at escape until Gabby whined from her perch on the ground near the steps that led to the tub.

“Looks like you and I had the same idea.”

His deep voice stopped Joanna’s departure, nearly stopped her heart. “I couldn’t sleep, so I thought this might help me relax.” She was anything but relaxed at the moment. “But since you’re—”

“There’s plenty of room for us both.”

Even if the tub spanned the length of the yard, she doubted there would be enough room for her and Rio Madrid, together. Not if she wanted to keep her guard up, her head on straight and her clothes on.

“Join me,” he said in a seductive voice that promised untold pleasure. “The water’s great.”

The water wasn’t her main concern at the moment. Rio’s unexpected presence was. Did she dare join him?

She was afraid to move forward, afraid to move at all. She could do this, act like an adult, not some flighty, smitten teenager. Stay for a little while. Only a little while.

Clasping the towel to her chest, she moved on sluggish legs. She managed the steps but couldn’t manage to take her eyes off him once she reached the top. The darkness didn’t allow her to make out much more than his shadowy form. Probably a good thing since she noted that his clothes were piled on the bench in the corner. All of them, she suspected.

Keeping the towel close to her body, she sat on the ledge opposite him and dangled her feet in the water. “Wow. This is much hotter than I realized.”

She saw a flash of white teeth. “The temperature just rose a few degrees, among other things.”

Don’t look, Joanna. But she did, and luckily she couldn’t see anything much, not that she didn’t really want to.

Then he reached behind him and snapped on the light. The jets whirred to life, setting a foaming mound of bubbles into action, along with Joanna’s pulse.

She looked away, afraid she might see something she didn’t need to see, namely all of Rio’s body now reclined in one corner of the tub. Every fine detail.

“Are you going to get in, Joanna, or just sit there until you turn into an ice cube?”

She ventured a look in Rio’s direction. His hands were stacked behind his head, his hair wet and much too sexy for words. She chafed her palms down her arms. “It is kind of chilly.” Chills that were a direct result of viewing his bare chest, his sultry smile.

“It’s warm enough in here.” He gave her a lingering assessment. “Nice suit.”

She looked down, then back up again. “It’s all I have.”

“I mean it, Joanna. It looks great on you.”

Searching for a switch of subjects, she asked, “How did the birth go?”

“Without a hitch. In fact she delivered in two hours. A healthy baby girl. A little underweight, but okay.”

“Then you’ve been in the hot tub all this time?”

A deep chuckle rumbled in his chest. “Now if that were true, I’d be shriveled up like a prune. Believe me, I’m not.”

Again she wanted to look below the water’s depths, find a break in the bubbles, find his tattoo and the territory beneath. But she forced her eyes to remain on his face. “How long have you been home?”

He dropped his arms and stroked one hand across his chest. Joanna couldn’t help but imagine her own hand there. “Long enough to take a quick swim then get in here. I stayed at the hospital until she said goodbye to her daughter.”

“Said goodbye?”

“She’s putting the baby up for adoption.”

Joanna’s heart began to ache with that knowledge. Being without Joseph for the past few months had been devastating, and only a temporary situation. She couldn’t begin to imagine how heartbreaking it would be to give up a child permanently. “I’m sure that was a difficult decision,” she said with a sigh.

“Yeah, but for the best. She wants to continue with school. She doesn’t have any money since her parents kicked her out, but she’s got a relative willing to take her in, as long as it’s only her and not a child.”

“I hope they find a nice family for the baby.”

“I hope so, too. It’s tough not being wanted.”

How odd that he would say such a thing since he’d spoken so fondly of his mother. How strange that he sounded so sad. “I wouldn’t know.” At least not from a parental standpoint. On the other hand, she knew quite well how it felt not to be wanted by a husband. “Sounds like you might have had some experience with that.”

His sudden slight shift was the only thing that indicated his discomfort. “Oh, my mother wanted me, all right, until she married my stepfather.”

“You never mentioned him before.”

“I did. The colonel.”

“The man your mother worked for?”

“Yeah. And after they married, they sent me away to boarding school. Expected me to conform, be what they wanted me to be, in his case, white. It wouldn’t do for a decorated military man to have a poor multiracial brat running around, now, would it?”

The venom in his tone caused Joanna to flinch. “But his last name was Madrid.”