His grip on her shoulder tightened. “I didn’t know.”
“Now you do.”
“Abigail, wait,” he said as she turned to leave. “How did your father die?”
“He was shot. Three times in the heart,” she said, her voice cracking on the last words.
The tears just came. Pooling in her eyes and spilling down her cheeks. Ryan took her into his arms. Holding her close, he stroked her back.
“You aren’t going to tell me why you had that card, are you?” Abigail said after a while, sniffing back her tears.
Ryan didn’t answer at first. But he didn’t let her go, and he continued to smooth his hand over her back. When she thought she couldn’t stand it anymore he said, “You don’t need my baggage, Abigail.”
“And that gives you the right to keep this from me? Even now, knowing what it means to me?”
Ryan released her. He walked through the dark room, to the window. It was as though he couldn’t look at her, but he couldn’t leave either.
“You say your father was shot,” he said after a brief period of silence. “I assume that you mean here, in North Conway.”
Finding it very strange to be having this conversation, but even more so with his back turned toward her, Abigail answered reluctantly, “Yes.”
“Murders aren’t very common in this town.”
“I’m more aware of that than anyone.”
Ryan seemed to take a moment to consider her reply. “How long ago did it happen?”
“Six years,” Abigail answered, blinking away the tears that continued to well in her eyes.
She could hardly believe that she was the one answering questions. For this man who’d done nothing but infuriate her, and wouldn’t even answer her questions in return. She hated him. She hated him with a passion because whatever his role in all of this was, there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that the crimes he refused to talk about were directly related to her father’s murder. She was never going to see her dad again. There was a good chance Ryan could help her find out why that had happened. Yet he refused to tell her what he knew.
“Do you remember anything about the shooting? What the killer was wearing, or what he looked like?” Ryan asked.
“I wasn’t there.” Six years of pent-up rage spilled into Abigail’s voice as she shouted, “Why are you asking me all these questions? Unless you know there’s some sort of connection between Christopher Barrows’s murder and my dad’s?”
Ryan turned around. He came toward her, lowering his voice. “If you believe I’m involved, then why haven’t you turned me in?”
“Because I’m not convinced you’re involved,” Abigail was surprised to hear herself say. “And…”
“And?”
She sighed heavily. “It’s complicated.”
Eyeing her with curiosity, Ryan asked, “How is it complicated?”
Abigail took a ragged breath. She was sure she was going to regret this later, but she couldn’t help herself. “The day you came into the ice cream parlor, said all of those sweet things, I was so sure that you liked me…”
“Abigail—”
“And I was sure”—she held up a hand—“at least at the time I was sure, that you wanted me to know it. I’ll probably never know whether that’s true or not, but somehow everything changed when I started working here. Maybe it’s because I’m your subordinate, maybe it’s because of something else. I’m not exactly sure what it is, but I do know that—”
“Dammit, Abigail, you’re not my subordinate.”
“Maybe it’s for the best.”
“Maybe what’s for the best?” Ryan eyed her carefully.
“We work together, in very close proximity. This”—Abigail waved a hand between them—“wouldn’t be good for either one of us.”
The baffled look on Ryan’s face indicated that he was either deep in thought, or else on the brink of declaring her insane. Abigail wasn’t sure she’d blame him for the latter.
For the second time that night, Ryan took her hands in his. Looking into her eyes, he said, “God, you’re beautiful.”
Abigail blinked. Hardly believing that he’d just said those words, not even caring if it was only another distraction, she asked, “You think I’m beautiful?”
Ryan released her. Pacing in the direction of the window, he slapped a hand over his mouth.
Abigail watched him, desperate to know if he’d meant what he’d just said but furious that he refused to tell her what he knew about the murders. Unable to stand there powerless to make him talk, she stormed to the door. She was about to open it when Ryan called out, “Don’t leave.”
She put her hand on the doorknob but didn’t turn it. “Why the hell not?”
“Because I don’t want you to go.” He reached her in three strides. Before she knew what was happening, he’d covered her mouth in his.
Overpowered by the intoxicating feel of him, Abigail met his kiss. Ryan’s lips moved over hers with the gentlest of ease. Feeling his hard body, his strong arms that he used to hold her close, she wanted more than anything for him to know how much he meant to her. It was the only way she could even think about letting what she believed was about to happen, happen, if Ryan knew how she felt about him, and if she knew how he felt about her.
Seeming to sense her hesitation, Ryan broke this kiss. Breathlessly, he whispered, “I don’t know what made you walk into my life, Abigail, but I know for sure that you can do a lot better than me.” Urging her back, he said, “Walk out that door. For your own good, do it right now.”
“No!”
“Abigail, go—”
“I can’t!” Tears streamed down her face. “I don’t know why, Ryan, but I just can’t walk away from you.”
Pulling her back against him, Ryan kissed her fiercely. Their tongues danced as he held her so close she actually moaned beneath him.
Consumed by an exhilaration that rivaled anything she had ever felt before, Abigail let her hands fall against Ryan’s chest. Desire swept through her as she was drawn in by the power of his strength. Seeing Ryan shirtless by the pool that day, she’d thought he looked stronger, more rugged than any other man she’d ever seen.
Her legs were weightless as Ryan lifted her off her feet. Her carried her across the room, and she came back against the bed, the reality of what they were about to do setting in quickly. She broke the kiss, becoming aware of her own breathlessness.
As Ryan pressed his erection against the center of her legs, Abigail gasped in pleasure, liquid heat pooling between her thighs. She suddenly realized that something else, something large and cold was pressing against her hip. A black metal head was sticking out of Ryan’s pocket.
“You have a gun!” she cried, springing back.
Ryan’s face paled. “It isn’t what you think.”
“It isn’t what I think?” She snatched it from his belt.
“Abigail, give that to me! Right now, before you get yourself killed!”
“I’m sure you have an answer for this, too,” she said, dropping the pistol onto the bed. “Maybe you were on your way to Portsmouth to go to the shooting range!”
Abigail’s heart pounded as she stared at the metal object lying in the middle of the blanket. As many suspicions as she had about Ryan, she’d never really believed he was the killer. Aside from the fact that it would devastate her, it didn’t make sense for him to have murdered anyone. Her father’s shooter had left him for dead. Ryan had lost his mind because he’d thought she’d broken her arm.
She looked into Ryan’s eyes—eyes that were looking directly at hers. As bad as his having a gun looked, as bad as everything she’d surmised about him seemed, something inside her was telling her to believe in his innocence. She was sure she ought to be committed for even thinking that way. But she just couldn’t believe that this guy she’d come to know and even care about could be a killer.
Could she?
“Shouldn’t you be calling the cops?” Ryan asked.
The warmth in his eyes shot straight to her aching core. “Thank you.”
Abigail smiled briefly. As though it were someone else saying the words, she went on. “I like you, Ryan. I’m sure you know that I do, but”—emotion spilled into her voice—“I can’t do this anymore. It’s dangerous, and…” She took a centering breath. “Just because I might believe in you, doesn’t mean that you believe in me. So once I walk out that door, I don’t think that we should be alone like this again.”
Ryan nodded. Walking toward her, he wrapped his arms tenaciously around her body. His warm mouth coming against her ear, he said, “That doesn’t mean we can’t be together tonight.”
A sensation of candescence spread through Abigail’s body. After months of fighting, she was sure Ryan had been doing everything he could to push her away. But here he was, standing beside her in a dark room, making her weak with the very sound of his words. A man she’d just discovered with a loaded gun—she was about to trust him with everything she had.
She trembled as Ryan inched closer. He took her hands and laid them against the center of his chest, just where they’d been before they pulled apart. She didn’t know what he intended, only knew that she wanted whatever it was like a desire she didn’t dared to dream.
Weary of the look in his eye, which indicated he wanted more than just to hold her, she said, “I don’t know, Ryan. After everything that’s happened, all the doubts and suspicion I’ve been carrying, and now this.” Looking from the gun on the bed to his twinkling blue gaze, she said, “I’m just not sure.”
He tightened his grip on her hands. “I know you’re not sure if you can trust me. I’ve never given you any reason to trust me. But if you knew how much I want you, how much I’ve wanted you since the beginning, Abigail…” He shook his head. “One night. That’s all I’m asking for. Just give me this one night. And I’ll make all of your dreams come true.”
Warmth shimmied over Abigail’s skin like melted butter. He was serious, and the look in his eyes confirmed that he meant what he was saying. Until just five minutes ago, she’d thought Ryan Newberry couldn’t stand her, that his only agenda where she was concerned was keeping her out of his hair. But the way he was looking at her, passion burning like wildfire in his eyes, all common sense seemed to escape her.
She perched on her toes as Ryan leaned in. Her eyes fell closed as his warms lips surrounded hers.
Encased in the familiar softness of his mouth, Abigail began to let go, to give into the temptation she wanted so desperately to know. Ryan cupped her cheeks, and he brought his other hand against the back of her head, cradling it as he moved his mouth over hers. His kiss was urgent, and he encouraged her to open up to him. She did so eagerly, taking in all of him as he pulled her against his broad chest.
Sliding her arms around the back of his neck, Abigail pulled Ryan closer, pressing her own lip more insistently against his. Opening her mouth as he did, she tasted the pleasure she’d all but been dying to.
Ryan held her tightly against his body. He kissed her, penetrating her mouth with his tongue as he brought her back onto the mattress. It was dark, but Abigail watched with intent as he opened his shirt, revealing his powerful chest.
Shivers of desire swept through her. Though she knew she was about to take the ultimate risk, she couldn’t help wondering how she’d gotten so lucky, why Ryan Newberry would pick her when he could probably have any girl he chose.
Ryan slid his mouth from her lips to her cheek, and worked his way into the groove of her neck. A wave of excitement shimmied across the sensitive patch of skin as he moistened it with his tongue. The desire to be with him was becoming overwhelming.
Letting her instincts guide her, Abigail moved her palms along the length of his arms. As though choosing to take that as an invitation, Ryan slid the straps of her tank top from her shoulders. Abigail lifted her arms as he brought the shirt over her head, tossing it onto the bed.
The feel of his magnetic blue eyes on her warmed her skin. His bare chest against hers made her feel hot all over, and caused an uncontrollable throbbing between her legs. As he encouraged her to do so, she removed his shirt, leaving him dressed in nothing but his jeans.
The darkness in the room fought against her eyes as Abigail strained to see the magnificence she’d uncovered. She stared helplessly at Ryan’s bare chest as he wrapped his arms around her, finding the clasp of her bra. He tugged at it until he had it unfastened, and took it hastily from her breasts.
The lust in Ryan’s gaze deepened tenfold. Looking at her as though he’d just uncovered one of the seven wonders of the world, he bent to kiss her lips, neck, and collarbone. His mouth moistened the spot between her breasts, and he brought his warm lips against her nipple. Abigail released a helpless groan as he suckled this most sensitive part of her body. Quickly finding herself on the brink of surrender, she sat up, pleading for him to hold on a second as she caught her short breath.
“What’s wrong?” Ryan asked.
“N–nothing. Everything’s perfect. It’s just that I…”
“Just that you…”
“I’ve never done this before,” she said in a small voice.
“Done what before?” He hesitated. “You mean you’ve never had—”
“Sex.”
“You’ve never had…sex.” A silent oh God seemed to follow.
Abigail swallowed. “I’m afraid not.”
Blowing out a hard breath, Ryan said, “I really wish you’d told me.”
“Told you what, that I’m a virgin?” Feeling her face becoming hot, Abigail said, “It isn’t exactly something you go around posting on bulletin boards!”
“Still.” Ryan raked his fingers through his hair. “The other day, when we were in this room, we almost…”
“Funny how suddenly you’re the one pointing fingers at me for keeping secrets.”
“That isn’t what I meant,” Ryan said. “Your first time should be special. Not like this, in a dark hotel room in the middle of the night. I would never forgive myself if I took advantage of you in that way.”
Except that he could never take advantage of her. Not if he cared about her, which clearly he appeared to.
Abigail had always intended to wait until she was married to have sex. She’d spent her teen years believing it was the right thing to do, and when she’d lost her dad, it had become next to impossible to get close enough to anyone to trust them. But as much as she wanted to distrust Ryan, there was an even stronger part of her that did trust him. In a strange way, he seemed to be more honest than almost anyone she knew. And she wanted desperately for him to show her that passion she had long been afraid to know.
“You aren’t taking advantage of me,” she said, lifting her chin. “You couldn’t be. Not when I want you as much as you want me.”
Intending to show him that she meant what she was saying, Abigail settled her hands around the waistband of his jeans. Ryan looked at her with eyes that voiced a silent question she instantly knew the meaning of. She nodded in reply and he kissed her lips, gently pushing her hands aside and settling his own over the zipper of her pants. At the feel of his hand against her core, she breathed in deeply. Ryan undid the zipper then slowly slipped his hand inside.
As he slid a finger into the moisture between her legs, Abigail gasped in pleasure. She was so wet, it was almost embarrassing. But Ryan seemed to have quite the opposite reaction to finding her in such a vulnerable state.
Abigail’s body quaked as Ryan stroked the most intimate part of her. Strong fingers moved skillfully within her folds, and she released a heavy sigh. Her legs trembled. Heat flooded through her body. Feeling as though she ought to be reciprocating, she rea
ched for the waistband of Ryan’s jeans. He pushed her hand away.
His fingers taunted her clit, and her body began to quake in powerful spasms. She clung to Ryan as he drove her past the point of sense, causing her to become blissfully light-headed. An indescribable sensation of pleasure overtook her and shot through her limbs. Letting her shaking body fall backward, Abigail fought the urge to shout Ryan’s name as she smiled from face to her feet.
“That was incredible,” she said when she could speak. “I feel like I died and went to heaven.”
“In that case, you don’t mind if I join you?”
“Not at all,” she replied, unable to hide her smile.
Ryan reached into his pocket, taking something shiny from his wallet. So, they were really going to do this. Abigail wasn’t entirely sure why that scared her, but the butterflies in her stomach reassured her that it did. She was trusting Ryan in a huge way, allowing him to go all the way with her like this. Even though he’d just made her feel the most wonderful sensation of pleasure that she had ever known, that ultimate step had yet to be taken.
Slowly, Ryan slid her pants down her legs. Then he took off his jeans, boxers quickly following. He held back a moment and she realized he was putting on the condom. Then slowly he removed her panties, the remaining piece of her security blanket. Anticipation and nerves moved within her as he drew her close.
“You’re sure?” he asked, his handsome face looming above hers.
Abigail nodded shakily.
Her eyes fell closed, and soon after she felt Ryan taunting her once again with his fingers. It didn’t take long before she was panting again, and feeling like she could come a second time. She nearly slipped over the edge as his fingers were replaced with the tip of his erection. It pressed firmly against the entrance to her body.
Fear of the unknown and the desire to have Ryan inside of her were equally strong. Breath held, Abigail attempted to relax her muscles as he slid himself part of the way into her body. Unable to focus on much of anything beyond an overwhelming sense of urgency, she encouraged him on. He obliged, entering even more deeply inside her.
Dangerous Secret [The Pinnacles of Power Prequel] (BookStrand Publishing Romance) Page 15