Page 69 of Just What She Needed

Rhett groaned as she stretched on the luxurious, high-thread count hotel sheets. Every muscle in her body was liquified, and all her nerves endings still sizzled. She looked over at Rhys who was propped up on one elbow next to her wearing a Cheshire cat grin.

"Ordinarily I'd be all kinds of pissed off at that satisfied smile of yours." The smile in question widened, and Rhett tried to repress one of her own. "But I'll let it slide this time because you so deserve it."

"I had to step up my game. When we left the radio station you said you were tired." Rhys leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose. "There was no way I was going to let you fall asleep on me."

"Like that'll ever happen," Rhett said. "But I was only tired when you dragged me out of this wonderfully amazing bed at seven o'clock after I'd only slept in it for an hour. By the time we left the radio station I was exhausted. Don't get me wrong, I had fun today. But I'm not used to running on so little sleep."

"I need to get you acclimated to my schedule then." He wrapped his arms around her and rolled her on top of him. "But we'll stay in and order room service tonight, and I guess I'll let you sleep after that."

"But I don't want to sleep. I have to leave tomorrow, and before I do I want to be the one wearing the satisfied smile while you groan next to me." With delight, Rhett wriggled against him, loving the way his body felt against hers. "I can sleep on the plane or something."

"Yes, you can." He took her face between his hands and pulled her down into a scorching kiss. "But you'll need to let me recharge a bit first."

"I will. Just make sure room service brings up a lot of coffee, because my batteries need a charge, too."

A knock at the suite's outer door made them raise their heads in unison.

"Did Sara say anything to you about coming by?" Rhys asked.

"No. In fact, I told her I'd personally strangle her if she interrupted us." Rhett rolled to her own side of the bed and pulled the sheet up over her breasts as if whoever was at the door had X-ray vision. "It can't be her."

The knock came again, this time accompanied by a voice calling out, "Dad! It's me."

"Shit." Rhys sat up like he'd been shot from a cannon. "That's Sienna."

"Your daughter?" Panicked, Rhett dropped the sheet and scrambled at the foot of the bed for the plush hotel robe she tossed there earlier. "Did you know she was coming?"

"No." Rhys was already out of the bed and pulling on his jeans. He got one leg in and hopped on the other as he tried to pull them up. "When I saw her last week she didn't say anything about coming to New York."

Rhett finally located the robe and yanked it on. She tied the sash in a hasty knot and ran her hands through her hair, even though she was sure it wouldn't do any good.

"Dad?" Sienna's voice sounded again. "Seriously. Open the door."

"Do you know what happened to my shirt?" Rhys flung the sheets back as he searched the bed.

"Um..." Closing her eyes, Rhett tried to think back to when they returned from the radio station where the band was interviewed. By the time they got through the door, she already had his shirt unbuttoned, and...

"It's in the living room. I took it off you and threw it...somewhere." She rushed into the suite's outer room and looked around frantically until she located the shirt on the floor in front of the couch. "Here." She held it out so he could slip his arms in the sleeves.

By this time, Sienna's knocking escalated into hammering. Not bothering with the buttons, Rhys jerked the shirt up over his shoulders and rushed to the door. The minute he opened it, Sienna danced in, her eyes sparkling at the success of surprising her father.

"Betcha didn't expect to see me again so soon, did you?" She wrapped her arms around Rhys and gave him a quick hug. "But here we are."

"We?" Rhys took her by the shoulders and pushed her back enough so that he could see her face. "Who's we?"

"Surprise!"

The sultry voice from the doorway made Rhys go rigid and sent Rhett's heart plummeting to her feet. Hayley Hamilton Collinsworth Monroe stepped into the room like she owned the damn thing.

"Isn't this great?" Sienna was bouncing on her toes with excitement. "We're going to take you out to dinner, and then we're going to come to your concert tomor—” Her voice cut off when she caught sight of Rhett. "Who are you?"

Stunned, Rhett recoiled from the instant hatred that flared in the girl's eyes. Her hand rose to the neck of her robe and bunched it together as though it would shield her from the malevolence that flowed from Rhys's daughter.

Rhys stepped to Rhett's side and put his arm around her shoulders. "Sienna, this is Rhett. She—”

"I don't care who she is." Sienna folded her arms across her chest. "She's not invited to come with us."

Rhys sighed and tried again. "Rhett is my girlfriend. She and I already have plans this evening since she has to leave tomorrow. I'm sorry, but if I'd known you were coming I would have scheduled things differently. Tomorrow’s full, but I’ll see if I can find some time to—"