Twisted

by HELEN HARDT

  She reddened even further.

  “That’s a compliment.” I pushed my groin into her. “See? I’m hard for you right now, and we haven’t even kissed.”

  I was crazy hard for her most of the time. It wasn’t her hot-as-hell body, her gorgeous face and hair, the fact that she’d tried so hard for so long to be invisible…

  No. It was because she was Ruby. The woman I loved.

  Still, I was afraid to go there. She knew who she was.

  I did not know who I was.

  Not anymore.

  The only thing I knew for sure was that right now, as of this very moment, I craved her. Needed her. Ached for her.

  I crushed my lips to hers.

  She opened for me at once, our tongues swirling together. She tasted as she always did, of sweetness, freshness, berries and cream.

  I had never thought of myself as a natural dominant before, but with Ruby, who in her daily life was about as far from submissive as anything, I was finding my dominant desires.

  I broke the kiss.

  “We need to talk,” I said.

  “Now?” Her nipples protruded through her tank top.

  I had to physically stop myself from reaching for them.

  “You’re still so innocent, baby. I’m not sure where I can go with you.”

  She laughed. “Ryan, you are six-three and your muscles have muscles. But trust me. I can stop you if I want to.”

  I didn’t doubt it. With her background and her training as a cop, not to mention that killer body that she kept through working out hard, she didn’t have much to fear from another person without a weapon. Still, I felt the need to say, “All you have to do to stop me is to tell me no.”

  She sobered. “Yes, I know that. You would stop if I asked you to. I trust that completely. But I’ve told you before. I don’t do anything I don’t want to do.”

  “Then…”

  “What?”

  “What would you say about…” God, I’d had no idea how hard it would be to actually give voice to these desires.

  “Spit it out, Steel.”

  I’d known for a while that both of my brothers—as well as my father, according to Wendy—enjoyed the darker, baser side of their dominant personalities. Not that we talked about that shit. We never had. But Jonah had a dungeon in his house. I’d come across it once while I was house- and dogsitting for him. I hadn’t said anything to him. He’d probably be mortified if I knew.

  I had never tried anything like that, but now, with Ruby, her sweet submission so intoxicating, I wanted to.

  But how to bring it up? Ruby had two sides. Her tough cop side, who wasn’t afraid of anything and knew how to take care of herself. But she also had a vulnerable side. The side who’d been nearly raped by her own father and who’d left home at fifteen. Who’d spent her whole adult life, until now, as a virgin, afraid of getting close to a man.

  The two times I’d gotten a little rough and forceful with her, she’d taken it. Had seemed to enjoy it, even.

  And as she said, she didn’t do anything she didn’t want to do.

  “Would you be willing to try some…new things in the bedroom?”

  She closed her eyes for a few seconds. Then, “Like what?”

  I opened my mouth to respond, when I suddenly realized I didn’t know exactly what to ask her for. I burst out laughing.

  “Ryan. You’re freaking me out here.”

  “I’m sorry, baby. I really am. I’m just trying to say that I like taking the dominant role in bed, more than I imagined I would. And I’m not sure whether it’s because I’m naturally dominant, or because you seem to be naturally submissive, which, frankly, surprised me a little bit.”

  She arched her eyebrows. “Ryan, honestly, it surprised me a little bit too.”

  “But you’re okay, right?”

  “Yeah. I’m fine. Like I said—”

  “You don’t do anything you don’t want to do,” I finished for her.

  Now she burst out laughing.

  And I realized how absurd this whole thing was. “How about this? We continue doing what we’re doing, and if you don’t want to do something, you just tell me no.”

  “Sounds reasonable,” she said. “Since that’s pretty much what we just said.”

  “Oh, for God’s sake.” I grabbed her. “Just kiss me.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Ruby

  His kiss nearly paralyzed me. It was so passionate, so full of fire, and my whole body throbbed, the sensation culminating between my legs. He wanted to get more dominant in the bedroom, and he wanted me to be more submissive…

  The whole idea was making me shake with desire.

  For someone like me to submit in the bedroom…

  It seemed unreal. I’d ask Melanie about it sometime…

  Sometime…later.

  For now, I was kissing Ryan Steel, our mouths fused together, sighs and groans leaving both our throats and vibrating into each other.

  After several amazing moments of the most passionate kiss I’d yet experienced, he broke away from me, panting.

  “Bedroom,” he grunted, and then scooped me up in his arms.

  Had anyone suggested to me a month ago that I’d enjoy being given the caveman treatment, I’d have laughed. But being in the arms of Ryan Steel, easily the best-looking man on the planet, being carried into his bedroom where he would fuck me wildly…

  I couldn’t wait.

  When we arrived, he set me down gently and then eased the band out of my ponytail, letting my long hair fall over my shoulders and down my back. I’d secretly been hoping that he’d pull on it again, but clearly that wasn’t his plan tonight.

  His plan…

  His plan.

  I wanted it to be his plan. I wanted him to take the lead, to dominate me, to push me into submission.

  My juices trickled just thinking about it.

  Ruby Lee. Assertive police detective by day. Submissive by night.

  My mind whirled with the concept and then kaleidoscoped with only images, feelings, as Ryan literally tore the tank top from my body.

  The lavender tatters landed on his dark hardwood floor. I met his gaze. He wasn’t sorry that he’d ruined one of my only shirts that wasn’t a white button-down. No, his eyes were not in the least remorseful. They were full of fire, of desire, of unrelenting passion.

  My nipples hardened further against the fabric of my bra.

  Within seconds, that same bra had joined the cotton tatters of my tank on the floor, and I stood before him topless, my nipples aching.

  “Fucking beautiful,” he said, pinching one.

  I gasped.

  “Too much?” he asked.

  “No. Not too much. Please. Do whatever you want to me.”

  I truly meant those words, not even knowing what they might entail. I hadn’t experienced everything that was possible in the bedroom. Not even close. Acts might exist that had never even entered my mind.

  I didn’t care.

  At this moment, I wanted whatever he wanted, whatever he longed for. I’d give him what he needed when he needed it. Always.

  Because this was who I ultimately was and I hadn’t known it?

  Or because I was in love with Ryan Steel?

  Probably a mixture of both.

  Whatever. I’d figure it out later. Right now, I wanted to please him more than I wanted my next breath. If he wanted to shred every piece of clothing I owned, I’d let him.

  He pushed me down so I was sitting on the bed and then removed my shoes and socks, my jeans and panties.

  “No thong?” he grunted.

  “I only own one,” I said, breathless.

  “Let’s remedy that.” He spread my legs and inhaled. “God, you smell so good. So ripe.”

  Ripe I was. Ripe enough that if I were a tomato, I’d have fallen off the vine a while ago.

  He ran his fingers through my slick folds, and I tensed. I wanted more. So much more. He knelt by the side of the be
d and swiped his tongue across my slit. And God almighty, I nearly flew into an orgasm just from that one small touch of his tongue to my pussy.

  Pussy. Funny how I could think the word now without feeling embarrassed.

  “You taste so good, baby. Sweetest pussy on earth.”

  For a few seconds, I wondered how many pussies he could actually compare the taste of mine to, but then I fell backward, melting into the bed as he tugged on my labia and then on my clit. He ate at me, sucking me, licking me, and I reveled in it. He shoved his tongue into my channel, and though I wished it were his cock, I shuddered anyway. So good.

  Melting… Slowly melting into the softness of the bed, my pussy being pleasured so completely by this amazing man. Ryan Steel.

  My fingers found my nipples, and I started toying with them, first gently, and then not so gently. They were hard as berries, aching for the pleasure I was giving them, aching even more for Ryan’s touch.

  “So hot when you touch yourself like that, baby,” he said, his voice muffled between my legs.

  That made me even hotter. Not only was I pleasing myself, I was pleasing him. My new goal in life. To please Ryan Steel.

  “Here, let me.” He reached upward, his mouth still between my legs, and covered my hands with his own. Then he pushed my hands away and twisted both of my nipples while he sank his tongue into my heat.

  I moaned, closing my eyes, floating among the silk of his covers. My hips began moving of their own volition, my feet still on the ground. I grated against his face, sliding my slit up to his nose and then down to his chin, his tongue hitting every part of my pussy.

  “Ryan. My God. Ryan!”

  I shattered into his face, his tongue. He lapped at me as I rose in orgasm, my body shaking, my mind whirling.

  “You’re so hot, Ruby.” He sucked on my clit, igniting more fire within me. “So fucking hot.”

  All cognitive thought left me, fractured images replacing it as my mind raced with the sensations flowing through my quivering body. His mouth never left mine, even when my clit became so sensitive I wasn’t sure I could take it. Still he kept at it, torturing me with pleasure.

  “Come again, baby.”

  And with his command, I did, flying high this time, the convulsions traveling through my arms, my legs, into my fingers and toes, and then catapulting back between my legs, to the very core of me. That private place known only to Ryan Steel.

  My mind left my body, floating above me, watching him pleasure me but still feeling every ounce of sensation.

  The clink of a belt buckle. The zing of a zipper. And then his cock filling me as still I pulsed around him.

  So full. Never empty again. Never empty with Ryan Steel in my life.

  “Ryan!” I cried out with each thrust.

  “Ruby,” he gritted out in response. “My God.”

  He pushed into me harder, again and again, until he thrust so deeply I was sure he’d touched my heart. As I spasmed around him once more, he groaned, his weight atop me, and I never, ever wanted this feeling to end.

  When we both returned to earth, panting, he moved from me and lay next to me on the bed, our legs hanging off.

  “God,” he said. “It’s never been like this before. Never with anyone but you.”

  Warmth spread through me, and I waited for those three little words.

  But they didn’t come.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Ryan

  Ruby hadn’t spent the night. I’d driven her back to Talon’s to pick up her car, and then she went home. She had work early this morning. Now, I was pulling up to Bryce’s aunt and uncle’s house in the city. Chase and Victoria Walker had lost their son, Luke, to the same three men who’d abducted and tortured Talon.

  Bryce’s car was already there, so I walked to the door and rang the bell.

  Bryce answered, holding Henry. “Hey, Ry. Come on in.”

  I walked in as Bryce’s mother, Evelyn Simpson, came up and took Henry. This was Tom Simpson’s widow. I opened my mouth to say something—I had no idea what—but she turned quickly and took Henry to another room.

  “Sorry about that,” Bryce said.

  “No problem. I wasn’t sure what to say anyway.” I handed him his father’s ring.

  “She’s still trying to cope. Being around Henry helps, and being here with her sister, who’s also trying to heal, helps a little too. But honestly they’re both still a mess.”

  “And your uncle?”

  “He’s better. I mean, at least now he knows what happened to his son. Closure, he says.”

  I cleared my throat. Chase Walker was the Freemason we were going to talk to today about the future lawmakers ring. “So…I don’t mean to sound stupid, but should I mention Luke?”

  Bryce shook his head. “No. Like I said. It’s closure to him. He’d rather not dwell on it. Not like he’s in denial or anything. He’s just trying to move on. He doesn’t want to hold my mother responsible for her husband’s actions. Neither does my aunt. But it’s hard.”

  “I can imagine.”

  “He’s in his study. We’re supposed to go on in.”

  I nodded. Here went nothing. I followed Bryce to the study. Chase Walker sat behind a large oak desk. He was a big man, bearded and burly, nothing like his son Luke had been. Then again, Luke had only been ten when he was killed. He could have grown into anything.

  I shook my head to clear it. I couldn’t go there right now. Couldn’t think of the life that might have been for Luke Walker and so many others. I had to move forward, not backward. If we could unravel the mystery of the ring, maybe we could finally nail Theodore Mathias and avenge his victims.

  “Uncle Chase,” Bryce said, handing him the ring. “This is Ryan Steel.”

  “Ryan,” Chase Walker said. “I haven’t seen you in forever.”

  The Walkers had left Snow Creek shortly after Luke had disappeared. I hadn’t come into contact with them since. This man had last seen me when I was seven years old.

  “How have you been?” I asked. And then wanted to strangle myself. How did I think he had been?

  “We’re dealing with everything as well as we can.” He held up Tom Simpson’s ring, eyeing it. “Give me a few minutes to take a look here.” He grabbed a jeweler’s loupe and started taking notes.

  I held my breath. Seconds seemed like hours.

  Then Chase cleared his throat. “There are some markings on the inside of the band that I’m going to need a stronger magnifier to see, but this symbol is enigmatic.”

  “How so?” Bryce asked.

  “It’s nothing I recognize, but it has similarities to several symbols that I am familiar with. Hmm.” He typed on his computer. “Let me try something.”

  We waited a few minutes while he continued.

  “I’ve been using this new program developed by archaeologists to interpret oddly shaped symbols. I’m going to input a few things here.”

  More tapping on the keys.

  After a few more minutes, Bryce asked, “Finding anything?”

  Chase’s brow was furrowed. “Yeah, as a matter of fact.” He turned the computer screen toward us. “Can you see the screen okay? Any glare?”

  On the screen was the symbol from the ring, an elongated oval with an X next to it, one of the ends of the X touching the oval, enlarged.

  “No glare,” I said.

  “Good,” Chase said. “Now watch. I’m going to twist the ellipse into a circle.”

  Slowly the oval rounded into a perfect circle, the X still attached.

  “Does that make sense to you?” Bryce asked.

  “Not yet. Not like this. But if I take the other part of the symbol and twist it the other way, look what we get.”

  The X slowly maneuvered until it emerged as a cross at the bottom of the circle. The female symbol.

  “Now you recognize it?”

  We both nodded.

  “Why would they put the symbol for female on their ring?” Bryce asked.

&nbs
p; “We don’t know that they did,” Chase said. “All I can tell you for sure is I moved each part of the symbol in opposite ways to the same degree, and this is what I got.”

  “How did you think to change it in that way?” I asked.

  “The ellipse is simply a circle seen from a different slant,” Chase replied. “But I noticed the X was comprised of right angles. It’s not a stretch from the X to a cross if you know what you’re looking at. The ancient Romans used both for crucifixion.”

  “I can’t believe my father would have come up with that,” Bryce said.

  I didn’t believe it either. But Theodore Mathias? I wouldn’t put it past him. Everything about him was twisted.

  “Whether he did or not, there’s something else you should know about this symbol,” Chase said.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “It’s known as the symbol for female, but it’s also a planetary symbol. It represents Venus.”

  “So?” Bryce said.

  “That’s not all,” Chase continued. “The symbol has another meaning.”

  I held my breath, not sure I wanted to know where this was heading.

  Chase’s low voice emerged. “Lucifer.”

  Satan. The devil. Nausea crawled up my throat.

  “Before you think your father was a devil worshipper, Bryce,” Chase said, “some scholars believe that Lucifer has nothing to do with Satan. It literally means ‘light bringer,’ which coincides with the planet Venus being the morning star.”

  My nausea didn’t subside.

  “Still,” Bryce said, “Lucifer is associated with the concept of evil, the devil.”

  “That’s true,” Chase agreed. “But there are many symbols that occultists believe are more associated with the devil than this one. There’s the sigil of Lucifer, the double-horned pentagram, and that mythological bird, whose name escapes me at the moment. You know. The one that erupts in flames and then rises from the ashes?”

  I had to swallow to keep from heaving before I spoke my next words.

  “A phoenix.”

  Chapter Seventeen