Free A Promise for Her Love by Elaina Lee Page A

her body too, and it was screaming for her to forget what she’d heard.
    Ignoring the heat coursing through her veins, she patted his chest and whispered, "I have."
    A low growl sounded in his throat and he rested his forehead against hers. Sighing, he braced his hands on the wall above her. "Then I guess I have too."
    Tears of both gratitude and disappointment burned as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you."
    "I love you, too... and that trouble-maker brother of yours."
    She giggled and then sniffled back the tears still threatening. "Hey, for once he's keeping us honest. We should thank him."
    He sucked air between his teeth and then kissed her neck, causing her knees to grow weak. "That's not going to happen."
    "All right," she agreed, hoping he didn't do anything more.
    Cold air replaced the heat of his body when he stepped away so suddenly, she almost fell forward. "Kyle!" he shouted.
    She gently wiped her smeared lip gloss off from around her mouth and followed Rick up the stairs. His feet fell in heavy steps. The framed pictures on the wall jostled and Caylie paused, fixing the wedding picture of her parents. Smiling, she touched her mother’s beaming face and knew instantly they'd made the right decision. How Rick felt though, was an unknown.
    "Get your stuff and let's go!" he yelled again.
    "What are you talking about?" came her brother’s equally loud voice. Why did men have to scream everything?
    "Caylie didn't tell you? You're coming with us this weekend. Like we go anywhere without you," he said with playful sarcasm.
    Kyle snorted and disappeared into his void of a bedroom, the door slamming shut. Arms crossed, Caylie leaned against the wall.
    "Is there room for him?"
    "Of course." He closed the distance and then rested his hands on her hips. "I never for a second thought we'd be going alone."
    Slack-jawed, she stared at him. "What?"
    "Come on, we've been together for six months and not once have we even been able to sneak across the hall to each other’s rooms. It's like being back in high school. Only," he leaned close and whispered, "I think Kyle's worse than my parents ever were."
    She chuckled. "Mine too." Then a thought came to her, and she leaned over, her focus on her brother’s closed door. "Do you think he said what he did just for my benefit?"
    Rick shrugged. "Who knows? I like the idea of us being some sort of a role model for something so important, so let's just go with it for now, shall we?"
    If she could love him more, she would have in that moment. Nodding, she said, "Okay."
    "Hey!" Kyle said in disgust when he spied them.
    Rick moved away and winked. Caylie's face heated, and she ducked into her bedroom to close up her suitcase. Rick stopped in the doorframe, his wide shoulders making the space seem so much smaller. Leaning against the frame, he crossed his arms.
    "Do you want me to send my driver, Dan, up to get that?"
    Rolling her eyes, Caylie shook her head. "No, I am perfectly capable of bringing my own suitcase down."
    "It's what I pay the man to do."
    Fingers wrapped around the handle, she slid the suitcase off the bed. With a heavy thunk , the case landed on the floor with more weight than she'd expected. Rick uncrossed his arms and straightened.
    "Can I at least help you?"
    She pressed an index finger to her mouth in thought. "Okay, that's fine."
    His dark green eyes danced with laughter. "Don't mind a servant as long as it's me, huh?"
    When he was within reach, she grabbed the edges of his jacket and rose on her tiptoes. She pressed a firm kiss to his lips. Against his mouth, she said, " You're supposed to be helping me when I need it. Not some man you pay."
    "Eventually you'll have to get used to this lifestyle."
    The lifestyle that came from generations of money on his mother’s side and an entrepreneurial father, who started a marketing firm Rick still ran. She thought of the man downstairs, and hoped he was either in the house, or inside a running