by HELEN HARDT
“God, that feels so good, Ruby. You have the greatest tits.”
They weren’t as big as Jade’s, but they were okay. Right now, he seemed to be enjoying them immensely.
“Have you ever had a pearl necklace?”
I shook my head. “No. The only nice piece of jewelry I have is the bracelet you gave me.”
He chuckled, and then groaned. “I don’t want to laugh. Feels so good.”
Why didn’t he want to laugh? I totally didn’t understand.
“I’m going to come, baby. Come from this titty fuck.”
My breasts were so sensitive, my nipples so hard. Even though I didn’t know what the hell he was talking about, I was up for anything.
He continued thrusting between my breasts while I squeezed them together. Faster, faster, faster. He closed his eyes and groaned, and then he climaxed, squirting my chest and my neck.
He leaned back and let out a low moan. “Baby. Oh my God.” He lay down next to me. “You like your pearl necklace?” he asked, grinning.
“Ryan, I don’t—”
Then I laughed out loud. The drops of cum on my neck and chest. Those were the pearls. How naïve I still was. But he didn’t seem to mind.
I smiled at him. “I think the more pressing question is, did you enjoy giving me the pearl necklace?”
“Baby,” he said. “I enjoy giving you everything. And right now, I’m going to give you one hell of a giant orgasm.”
Chapter Forty-Six
Ryan
How beautiful she looked, my cum splattered on her alabaster neck and chest. I knew I should get up and get a wet rag and cleanse her, but I couldn’t. I wanted to see my mark on her as I stuck my tongue between her legs.
I quickly disposed of the rest of her clothes. When I spread her legs, she glistened with more cream than I’d ever seen.
“Baby, you’re drenched.”
“I know.” Her fingers were on her nipples, playing with them, twisting them. “I can feel it. This whole thing drove me crazy, Ryan.”
“I’m about to drive you a lot crazier.” I dived into her succulent pussy. Sweet vanilla musk. Sweet Ruby.
Her folds were red and engorged, ready for me. For a split second, I regretted the pearl necklace, wishing I had saved my cock to thrust into her.
But I could live with the outcome. She tasted so good, smelled so good. Although I wanted to devour her, I started with long slow strokes, from her perineum to her clit and then back down. Her sweet little asshole beckoned, but I would leave it alone for now.
Her pussy was more than enough of a tasty treat for me tonight. Already I was starting to harden again, and I had barely begun licking her. She moaned above me, still playing with her ruby nipples.
“That’s right, baby. Pinch those nipples for me. God, you’re so hot.” I licked her again, and then again, savoring every sweet morsel she offered. I pushed my tongue into her tight hole, and she began to move her hips, grinding her flesh against my face.
“Ryan, yes. Feels so good.”
She had taken damn good care of me tonight. It was time for me to let her come. I clamped my lips over her clit and sucked while inserting two fingers into her pussy.
She locked around me, coming all over me.
“Yeah, come. So hot. So fucking hot.”
“Fuck me, Ryan. Please. Fuck me now.”
She didn’t have to ask twice. I was hard again, of course, so I moved forward, removing my fingers from her pussy and replacing them with my cock. Perfect paradise. I had found the perfect paradise between the legs of this unlikely woman.
No. That wasn’t fair, and it didn’t do her justice.
I loved her so much. Was completely and hopelessly devoted to her.
And as I pumped in and out, making love to her, becoming one with a woman who had become so important to me, so vital to my very life, I shouted out words, words so very foreign to me.
“Ruby, marry me!”
* * *
We didn’t talk about my question—which hadn’t even been a question. It had been more like a command. We were both so exhausted after more orgasms that we fell into slumber beside each other.
When I woke up, Ruby had already gone, leaving me a text.
Had to get into work to see about that vacation time. Love you.
We hadn’t known each other long enough to consider marriage. What had made me say those words?
Simple. She had become vital to my existence—a drug I craved physically and emotionally. I could no longer exist without her, and I wanted to marry her. I wanted what my brothers had with their wives. But I feared Ruby would not be ready yet.
She was still so new to all of this. Would she want to settle down? To experience only one man her entire life?
That thought filled me with jealousy. Being the only man who had ever been inside that sweet pussy was a huge turn-on, and I was determined that no one else would ever touch her.
I would see her later, and we would talk. For now, I had to contact Joe and Talon and see if they were up for another trip to the Caribbean.
* * *
“I don’t know, Ry,” Joe said, sitting at his kitchen table.
Melanie had gone back to work, and Talon had come over. We were having a late breakfast of corned beef hash and eggs.
“With Melanie being pregnant and all,” Joe continued, “I don’t know if it’s a good time for me to leave.”
“Believe me, I understand. But this is big. Bigger than any one of us.”
“No one wants to put an end to this more than I do,” Talon said. “But have you considered that Mathias might be sending us on a wild-goose chase?”
“Yes,” I said. “And so has Ruby. We’re not going into this lightly. But at this point, we have to follow every lead. Especially if we can save the women and children—and men, for all we know—being held there. I’ll be honest. I don’t want Ruby going. I want her safe. But this is her father, and I can’t stop her from going. If we have to, we’ll go alone.”
Joe shook his head. “We can’t let the two of you go alone.”
“Jade would understand,” Talon said. “She wouldn’t be happy about me leaving, especially because we might be putting ourselves in danger, but she knows how important it is for me to end this, once and for all, and to see Mathias behind bars where he belongs.”
“Melanie would understand too,” Joe said. “But this is different for me. I’m going to be a father. I can’t take any chances with my life. My child needs a dad.”
“Hey,” I said. “I plan on all of us getting out of this alive. Talon, we all know you’ve been through way worse. And I’m not talking about your time in captivity. I’m talking about what you witnessed and had to do overseas.”
For a moment, Talon’s eyes took on a haunted look, but in no time he was himself again. “For a long time, I didn’t care whether I lived or died. Now I want to live. But damn it, we can’t let what happened to me happen to one more person if we can stop it.”
Joe finally nodded. “You’re right. I know you’re right. Let’s do this.”
“Okay.” I sighed in relief. I didn’t want to do this without my brothers. “We need to check with our foremen and let them know we’re going to be gone for a few weeks. I can have Marion over at my office to make all the arrangements.”
“What about Marj?” Talon said. “You know she’s going to want to go along.”
I shook my head. “Absolutely not. It’s bad enough that Ruby’s going. But at least she’s a trained police detective.”
“I don’t particularly want Ruby going either,” Joe said. “Though I see her point. This concerns her as much as it does the rest of us. I agree with Ryan. No way is Marj going.”
“There’s only one way to get around that,” I said. “We can’t tell her we’re leaving, which means Jade and Melanie are going to have to keep it a secret, at least until we’re gone.”
Joe nodded. “Melanie will do it.”
“So
will Jade,” Talon said. “She’ll hate it, but she’ll do it if I ask her to.”
I stood. “Okay. It’s settled. I’ll have Marion take care of the details, and in the meantime, I have someone I need to visit.”
“Who’s that?” Joe asked.
“Larry Wade. I’m going to float this new information in front of him and see if I get any bites.”
“Great idea,” Joe said. “I’ll go with you.”
Talon went rigid.
“You don’t have to go, Tal,” I said. “Joe and I have got this.”
“Look, I’m probably going to come face-to-face with Mathias on this trip of ours. I need to get used to facing those men. I’m going with you.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
Ruby
Ruby, marry me.
Those words haunted me. I hadn’t been able to get them out of my mind.
And to top that off, I was also out of a job.
My request for vacation time had not gone over well. In the wake of Mark’s death, the department was a mess. They were shorthanded, and they didn’t think they could accommodate any vacation time for me with such short notice, especially since I’d just taken time for the previous trip to Jamaica. Even after I told them the whole story, and I was sure they would see it my way, they didn’t budge.
So I had done the only thing I thought I could. I quit the force.
I had been a member of the Grand Junction Police Department for eleven years, detective for only a few months. These people had been my friends and my family when I had no others until Melanie and the rest of the Steels had come charging into my life.
Maybe it was time for a change. I could marry Ryan Steel and never have to worry about money again in my lifetime. I loved him so much, but his proposal had come in the throes of lovemaking, and neither of us had so much as mentioned it afterward. Did he even remember saying it? I wasn’t sure.
I also wasn’t the type to depend on a man—or anyone else, for that matter—for my support. I’d been making it on my own for the better part of the last two decades. Being dependent on another person didn’t sit well with me.
If I married Ryan Steel, it would be because we both wanted to spend our lives together, not because I needed his money.
Luckily, I’d saved a lot over the years. I’d lived well beneath my means, my only extravagance being my gym membership, which wasn’t much, and the recent trip to Jamaica to celebrate Melanie’s wedding. If I continued living as I had been, I’d be able to make it about a year before I needed to find another job, and that wasn’t including what I’d set aside for retirement.
Yeah, I was in pretty good shape.
Still, it had hurt to leave the force. But they’d given me no choice. I had to go after my father. I had to do what I could to stop him.
And God, I hoped I could finally do it.
Before I’d left, I’d contacted the guys in research about fingerprinting the book and note Ryan had found under my sofa. They were pals of mine, and they promised to call me the minute they had results. They also indicated I could contact them anytime if I needed anything, but now that I was off the force, would that be against policy? I didn’t want to get anyone in trouble.
I sighed. I was giving up more than a job and a family. I was giving up a lot of resources that I might need on this journey.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have a choice.
Though I knew Ryan wouldn’t approve, I was now at the door of my apartment. I needed to pack up for the trip. I entered stealthily, armed. I’d had to turn in my department weapon, but I still had my own, which I kept locked up in my car at all times. I did a quick search of the premises. Everything appeared fine, and I felt safe—for the time being at least.
I had grown more and more confident that I had been advised by an anonymous source, most likely my father, to steer clear of my home so the book and paper could be planted. Wendy Madigan hadn’t orchestrated the planting, as the evidence implicated her.
Then again…I knew enough about Wendy to know that she never did what anyone expected. But surely she wouldn’t implicate herself.
No, this had been my father. He was up to something, and I was beginning to wonder if he was helping me in his warped way.
He’d murdered my boss, and while Mark hadn’t deserved to die, he’d clearly been in league with my father, at least for that one small portion of his scheme. Mark was a good cop, so the only thing that could have gotten to him was a threat against his family.
Or money.
It might have all come down to money. I’d seen good people do bad things, all in the name of money.
The Steels had it. Wendy had it. My father had it, though he appeared to be running out.
But money had never been important to me. That’s why I had lived such a modest life, saving most of what I’d earned.
Was money truly the root of all evil? I didn’t think so, but one thing had become increasingly clear. With money, almost anything was possible—good or evil.
I gathered my passport and other travel stuff as quickly as I could, stuffing everything into a large duffel bag. I wasn’t sure exactly where we’d be going. Ryan would take care of that. All I knew was that it would be somewhere in the Caribbean, possibly near Jamaica, possibly not. And I couldn’t neglect the possibility that my father was sending us on a wild-goose chase.
“Damn it,” I said aloud. “If only I knew for sure that you were telling me the truth.”
My bedroom door creaked, and I gasped.
“I assure you”—my father’s voice—“I have told you nothing but the truth. This all ends now.”
Chapter Forty-Eight
Ryan
Jonah, Talon, and I sat facing the warden of the prison. We’d been ushered into his office after we asked to see Larry Wade.
“We don’t usually give out this information, but you three have been in to visit Wade quite a few times since his incarceration. Plus, there are extenuating circumstances. We were going to have to contact you, anyway.”
“What information? And what extenuating circumstances?” Joe asked. “I want to speak to my uncle.”
“We’d let you if we could,” the bearded man said, “but Mr. Wade was murdered last night.”
My veins turned to ice. Not that I gave a shit that the motherfucker was dead, but now another source of information had dried up.
Talon looked visibly relieved. He hadn’t wanted to face Larry again. He’d had issues the first time he’d tried it, but my brother was nothing if not strong, and he would have done it. Now he didn’t have to.
“Murdered?” Joe asked.
“Yes. And it appears to have been an inside job.”
“Another inmate, you mean?” I said.
The warden cleared his throat. “No. Not another inmate. Mr. Wade was in a solitary cell…on suicide watch.”
I widened my eyes, and Talon’s looked like they were going to pop out of his head.
“Suicide watch?” Joe said.
“Yes. Our psychologist had determined Mr. Wade was a suicide risk. Plus, he’d been routinely attacked by other prisoners. He was fading fast and succumbing to severe depression. So he was put in solitary on suicide watch.”
Joe scoffed. “Putting prisoners on suicide watch. Give me a break.”
“They’re still people, Mr. Steel.”
“If you knew what this so-called person—”
Talon gripped Joe’s arm. “It’s okay, Joe. We don’t need to go there.”
“We’re well aware of what Mr. Wade was accused of. However, he was still innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. He hadn’t gone to trial yet.”
Joe stood. “I guess our business is done here. We won’t be getting any more information out of our dear old uncle.”
“Please have a seat, Mr. Steel,” the warden said. “I’m afraid our business is far from done here.”
“Look. If you think I’m going to shed tears over the loss of that piece of shit, think again.
” Joe motioned to Talon and me. “Let’s go, guys.”
I stood as Joe headed toward the door, but a large guard blocked his exit.
“What the hell is going on here?” Joe demanded.
“Have a seat, like the warden said,” the guard said.
“Are you fucking kidding me? Get the hell out of my way.”
“Joe,” Talon said. “Let’s just see what the guy has to say.”
Joe rolled his eyes. “Fine.” He plunked back into his chair. “What is it?”
“Like I told you,” the warden said. “It was an inside job. But not by another inmate. A prison guard killed Mr. Wade.”
“And we should care because…?” Joe said.
“You should care, Mr. Steel, because I have sworn testimony from two of my guards that you paid them off to rough Mr. Wade up.”
Joe’s eyes widened. “That’s bullshit.”
“That’s not for you or for me to say. Now, that said, normally we look the other way when this happens. A few beatings don’t concern us. But a murder? We have to investigate that.”
“I can assure you that my brothers and I had nothing to do with Larry’s murder,” I interjected.
“Maybe not. But one of my guards murdered Larry Wade. It couldn’t have been anyone else because no one else had access. And oddly, one of my guards has since disappeared into thin air.”
“So what?” Joe said.
“So this,” the warden countered. “It seems pretty plausible that this guard might have been given a sum of money to do Mr. Wade in. A large sum of money. And you three certainly could have come up with a large sum of money.”
Joe stood again, raising a fist. “Don’t you dare try to hang this on us.”
“We already have evidence that you paid a couple of guards to rough him up,” the warden said.
“So? That’s their word against mine. And that doesn’t mean I had him murdered.”