by Alta Hensley
Adira reached over and gave her a hug. “We may not be blood sisters, but we are definitely made from the same cloth.” She looked up towards the sky and smiled. “It’s getting late. How about we head back and pretty ourselves up so that any hand to butt action will be the yummy kind?”
Zoya giggled and stood, the two running side by side through the woods and back to the road. It wasn’t until they crested the last rise before reaching the house that she saw a truck driving towards them in the distance.
“They’re home!”
“Go,” Adira said.
Zoya didn’t even hesitate, her feet flying as she ran full out. When the truck slowed and then stopped and Stryder stepped out of the back seat, she could feel her heart leaping into her throat. When he opened his arms, she could feel the tears streaming down her face, and when she reached him and he caught her, lifting her off her feet and crushing her to his chest, she knew she loved him with her entire soul.
Chapter 19
“You can put me down, now,” Zoya said. “I didn’t have time to shower and pretty myself up.”
Stryder grinned and only hitched her higher, her legs having gone around his waist as he’d caught her in mid lunge. “You’ve never looked more beautiful and don’t tell me that all it took was a couple of days of Jennie’s influence to have you believe you are calling the shots.”
“Of course not,” Zoya said. “Jennie thinks all you men walk on water.”
“Does she now?” he asked as he quirked his eyebrow, adoring the look in her eyes as it arched higher. “And what does Adira think?”
“Um…”
“That’s what I thought,” Stryder said. “Well, young lady, let me remind you that if I want to hold you for every moment for the rest of my life, that is exactly what I’m going to do.” He adored the flash of pure pleasure on her face at his words. “Think of the water we’ll save since we’ll have to share the shower. Earth mother Jennie will be extremely pleased, don’t you think?”
Her giggle was the most delightful sound in the world and the flush on her cheeks, the sparkle in her eyes, an incredible sight. Of course, the feel of her exquisite body pressed against his, her perfectly shaped ass resting on his forearms was simply the absolute best of all. He’d been hoping that Zoya would be willing to talk to him upon his return, but this… this homecoming was much more than anything he’d dared imagine.
He carried her down the road, not even aware of her weight but very aware of her breath against his neck, her cheek pressed against his shoulder, and her fingers playing with his hair. As he climbed the steps of the porch, she pulled back just enough to look into his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
Stryder couldn’t deny that for the briefest moment, he considered just accepting her apology and letting the rest of it go. But he’d had nothing else to do on the long flight home but think. He’d never openly admit it, but Anson was right. If he truly loved Zoya, if he was ever to feel free with anyone, he would have to tell her about his past.
“I’m home and we’re going to have that talk,” he said.
“I know and this time, I promise I’ll listen.”
He bent forward and gave her another kiss. “That’s all I can ask.” Once inside, he grinned when she squirmed a bit as he walked towards the kitchen.
“I’m serious, I need to clean up before I see your father—”
“I was serious as well. I’ll put you down when I’m ready,” he said, cutting her off. “The family always has a debriefing in the kitchen after a return from a mission. It keeps the same questions and answers from being repeated.”
“But I’m stinky,” she whispered, the color rising on her cheeks.
He chuckled and gave an exaggerated inhale. “Nope, you smell like sunshine, but we are still most definitely going to be sharing a shower.”
“Yes, Sir. Whatever you say, Sir.” The fact that her long dark eyelashes were rapidly batting over gorgeous azure eyes caused him to chuckle.
“Hmmm, perhaps Adira isn’t such a bad influence after all,” he teased, kissing the tip of her nose as he stepped across the threshold into the kitchen.
He did set Zoya down in order to give Jennie a proper greeting. “Thanks,” he said softly.
Jennie just smiled and patted his cheek. He bent and gave Adira a kiss on her cheek as she sat on Maddox’s lap. Scooping Zoya back into his arms, he took her place on the chair and settled her on his lap. “Where are Pops and Anson?” he asked.
“In the ops center. Something about checking to see if the info they are expecting has come in yet,” Maddox explained. “They’ll be here in a minute.”
Jennie brought a tray holding cups of coffee to the table.
“Here, I’ll get you some tea,” Stryder offered.
“No need,” Zoya said, reaching for one of the mugs. “I’ve discovered that I love coffee. Adira still likes tea in the afternoons but we both drink coffee in the mornings.”
“Since when have you enjoyed jogging and coffee?” Maddox asked, the news obviously a surprise to him.
“Geez, can’t a girl exercise without being grilled?” Adira said, reaching for a cup as well.
Stryder and Maddox exchanged a look and then glanced at all three women. Jennie just grinned while the other two were concentrating far too hard on adding just the right amount of almond milk to their cups. When Maddox just grunted, Stryder knew the real answer to Maddox’s question would be asked of Adira and Zoya separately and their answers compared. Stryder had no doubt that it would be but the first of many times these two would find themselves praying their answers matched. The possibilities had him grinning.
Anson entered the room and took a seat, followed by Drake. Once everyone had their coffee, Drake began the debriefing, leaving out some details that didn’t really need to be shared. Stryder kept his eyes on Zoya as she learned that the man who had kidnapped and then sold her was no longer a threat. He wasn’t surprised to see the relief on her face but when she reached out to Adira, taking the hand she’d extended and whispered, “An eye for an eye, as it should be,” he knew that Adira had shared specifics about her story and that these women had bonded far more than he’d realized.
“Thank you, all of you,” Adira said. “And Jidd, he is well?”
“Yes, your grandfather is very well and sends his love,” Drake said. “He will be speaking to you soon.” He looked around the table. “Poplov is where he belongs but we aren’t yet done. News of his death is racing around the world and people will begin to make mistakes as they attempt to gobble up shares of his operations. We’ve already begun to take advantage of those mistakes and could be called upon to leave at a moment’s notice. Anson and I will let you know if and when you are needed. Until then, go do what people do who have spent time apart.”
Chairs scraped back but no one rose when the family patriarch lifted a finger. “Oh, one more thing.” He stood and walked into the large pantry off the kitchen, returning with one of the canvas tote bags that Jennie used when shopping. He walked to the end of the table, where Jennie was seated, and pulled something from its depths. Stryder’s eyes widened as first one, then another, and finally, a third empty wine bottle was set on the table. He shot a glance at Zoya, whose eyes were practically bugging out of her head, Adira, who was looking a bit green about the gills and finally Jennie, who just smiled, her entire being exuding innocence.
“Exactly what part of ‘behave yourselves’ didn’t you understand?” Drake asked in a tone that Stryder and his brothers knew meant business.
When Zoya began to speak, she only managed to get out “I’m so—” before Jennie interrupted.
“I don’t tell you how to run your missions, Drake Steele, so don’t tell me how to run mine. A glass or two of wine is not going to hurt anyone when enjoyed in moderation…”
“A glass or two?” Drake said, his hand sweeping over the bottles lined up like little soldiers before him. Shaking his head, his hand dipped into
the bag again, adding another bottle that Stryder instantly recognized and though not empty, the level was definitely lower than it had been the last time he’d poured a shot.
“And whose bright idea was it to mix hard alcohol with copious amounts of wine?” Drake asked, setting the bottle onto the table.
“I know what you are thinking,” Jennie said, shaking her head. “Vodka is distilled from potatoes which, of course, are carbohydrates—”
“That is definitely not what I’m thinking,” Drake cut in but Jennie barely paused.
“It is perfectly reasonable for me to want to make our newest member feel welcome by joining her in a few toasts to her homeland. After all, Zoya has been nothing but polite in eating, without a word of complaint, mind you, every dish I’ve set before her. I can’t say the same about the rest of you.”
Stryder couldn’t help but cut his eyes to his brothers, seeing them both flash a quick grin. It wasn’t often they were witnesses to conversations in which they were mentioned without worry that they’d need to explain their actions. He thought that even his father would have a tough time countering that logic. When Drake reached into the bag yet again, Stryder knew he never should have counted Pops out.
He set the silly troll down in front of the bottles and Stryder had the fleeting thought that the chubby little guy looked rather pleased to have been invited to yet another party.
“I distinctly remember the words ‘role model’ being spoken. Go ahead, I can’t wait to hear your excuse for this one,” Drake said.
Stryder watched as Jennie reached out to give the troll’s head a little pat as if greeting a friend before she looked up at Drake. “Stress is the number one killer, especially for men your age. A few tokes of my special blend, which contains not one iota of any chemical or preservative, allows one to release all that harmful stress and center themselves so that they are open to hear the answers they’ve been seeking.”
“Smoking contains carcinogens—”
“And The Flying Pig’s offerings contain animal fat, gluten, sugar—”
“Good God, woman, do you have some hippie answer for everything?”
Jennie grinned and Stryder suddenly had a feeling he understood why she’d managed to appear completely unaffected by Drake’s questioning. If he was right, she was about to play her trump card. Jennie didn’t disappoint.
“I really don’t need to give you an answer, hippie or otherwise, because I was given carte blanche to do whatever I thought was appropriate.”
“And, pray tell, what idiot thought that was a good idea?” Drake asked.
“Uh oh,” Stryder said, drawing Zoya’s eyes to him, hers remarkably going even wider. Standing, he said, “That idiot would be me. I’ll be glad to discuss it with you later but right now, I’ve got to prioritize what’s most important, and frankly, Pops, learning that our women had a little party in our absence is extremely low on that list.”
Maddox stood as well. “I’ll do a bit of investigating on my own and can promise that if additional facts come to light that need attention, I won’t sleep until I’ve taken care of what I consider my part of the problem.”
Anson chuckled and stood, holding his hands up, palms out. “I don’t have a dog in this fight so I’m gonna find a game on TV and just chill until I get the signal that the data searches I’ve set up are done.” Plucking the vodka bottle from the table, he moved towards the door.
Drake said, “That’s fine, boys, you do that, and I’ll do what I have to as well.” The three brothers were all grinning when they heard Jennie’s laugh and utter the words she often did, “Promises, promises.”
“How did he know?” Zoya asked once they were clear of the kitchen and the others.
Stryder chuckled. “Babe, this entire house is state of the art. You know we have the intercom system, right?” When she nodded, her cheeks pinkening with the memory of Jennie’s voice, he grinned. “Well, there are also cameras everywhere. I’m betting that while Anson probably did go to the center to check on his equipment, Pops just ran through a few tapes and gathered his own intel.”
She was silent as he pushed open the door to her bedroom, extremely grateful that she was in his arms and not behind a locked door. It wasn’t until he had her on her feet in the bathroom, the shower on and beginning to steam, her sneakers already untied and pulled off, her socks discarded, and he had her running shorts halfway to her ankles that she gave a little shriek and grabbed at his hands.
“No!”
“No? Babe, what’s wrong? I thought you understood we were going to share a shower,” Stryder said, retaining his squatted position but not attempting to pull her shorts further down.
“You said cameras are everywhere!”
His laughter might be inappropriate as she truly did look horrified, and yet he couldn’t help it. “Zoya, I didn’t mean everywhere. There are none in the bathrooms.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. I helped install them, so relax.”
She released her hold on his hands and stepped out of her shorts when they reached her feet, repeating the move when he lowered her panties as well. She didn’t even balk when he had her lift her arms so that he could pull off her t-shirt. Her bra quickly followed and he stripped out of his own clothes, guiding her into the shower stall and joining her.
“Stryder?”
“What?” he asked, his cock already rock hard and pressing against her ass as he held her against him beneath the spray.
“Are there cameras in the bedrooms?”
“No. The intercom is enough if someone needs to communicate. I prom… I swear, the only cameras that are constantly running are those areas outside the house. Where did you have your little party?”
“On the porch.”
“That explains it then. Zoya, our job is to keep those people we bring to the ranch safe. It is just a fact of life. You don’t need to worry about it because again, I prom… I assure you that no one is going to be seeing you naked or watching you come apart in my arms except for me. All right? Like I said, the cameras are outside the house, and in case you’re wondering, they aren’t at the lake or anywhere else where I’d make love to you.”
He’d just bent to nibble on her neck when she pulled away, turning her head to look at him. “That still doesn’t explain how Drake had the bottles. I’d think that Jennie would have thrown them away.”
Stryder chuckled. “Jennie doesn’t throw anything away unless she absolutely has to. Hell, she even scrapes our plates into a pail and adds that to a compost pile to use in her garden. Which, if you ask me, is a little like cannibalism… I mean, plants feeding off those already harvested.” He chuckled again at the look on her face and then shrugged. “Next time you are out on the porch, take a closer look at the table. It was just an old barn door until Jennie used pieces of broken glass to make a mosaic. Pops was right about one thing. Our Jennie is a bit of a hippie in that she not only enjoys a bit of weed, she loves doing crafts. Just don’t get her started on recycling unless you’ve got a spare hour or two.”
“What about the vodka bottle? It wasn’t empty.”
“That I can’t explain, except that Pops usually enjoys a shot when we get back from a mission, though his drink of choice is whiskey. How he noticed the vodka bottle, well, I don’t really know… unless ya’ll took it outside as well?”
“No, but I can’t promise I put it back exactly where I got it, either.”
Stryder grinned. “I notice you didn’t mention the little fellow, you know, the troll.”
He watched as her cheeks flushed. “Um, I mean, he does live on the porch, which is outside. You’re not mad, are you? I only smoked a little.”
“Nah, I trust Jennie to know when to put her pipe away. Pops does too, he just likes to give her a hard time.”
“Do you think… I mean, he isn’t going to…”
“I can’t say and frankly, I don’t want to know. They are both adults and while I’m into all that family
togetherness stuff, there are some things that need to remain private.” He bent to nibble on her neck again, his palms moving to cup her breasts as he lifted his lips to her ear. “Don’t you agree?”
“Definitely,” she purred, turning to wrap her arms around his neck. Bending, he kissed her and then, as he had that day in the lake, he lifted her, pressed her against the tile wall and lowered her onto his shaft. The moment he slid home, she moaned and wrapped her legs tighter around his waist. And like the first time, it didn’t take but a few strokes before she cried out his name, the walls of her pussy contracting around him and causing him to give a final thrust before joining her.
Once he caught his breath, he pulled out, and set her on her legs which were still a bit wobbly, a fact that he loved. They took turns washing each other until both were breathing a bit harder and his cock had risen again. He reached to shut off the water, adoring the fact that she gave a little moan when he stepped out and wrapped a towel around his waist. He had every intention of making love to every inch of her body, but as great as it had been, the shower wasn’t his first choice and they had other things to attend to.
“Come on, let’s get you dry,” he said, wrapping her hair in a towel and using another to dry her body. Fifteen minutes later, her hair was floating down her back in soft waves and she was dressed in a pair of white lace panties and matching bra under a sky-blue sundress. He had changed into a fresh pair of jeans and a t-shirt that he pulled from the duffel he’d found in her room, most likely courtesy of Anson.
Walking into the bedroom, he knew that if they stayed, he’d have her naked and beneath him before they’d had the talk they needed to have. “Let’s take a walk.”
“I’d like that,” she said, and with her hand in his, they left her room and the house.
It wasn’t yet completely dark but stars had begun appearing in the sky. The night was full of the sounds of crickets chirping, squirrels chattering, and horses whinnying. They were sounds that always had Stryder relaxing, knowing he was home. Zoya didn’t speak, walking beside him as he led her through the trees, coming out the other side where the stables could be seen. Knowing she wasn’t particularly comfortable around the horses, he walked a little further until he came to a large oak tree. It was a place where the men who worked the horses often took their breaks, sitting at the large picnic table beneath the shade. At this hour, they had the area to themselves. He released her hand and stepped onto the bench but sat on the top of the table, extending his hand to her. Once she was settled in his lap, the view of the mountains in front of them, he knew it was time.