The pressure became more intense as Ryan slid the rest of the way in, but it didn’t hurt as much as she’d been expecting it to. Still, it was intense. He was large and the feeling of accommodating him was more than she’d bargained for. As Abigail caught her breath, she was unable to keep the awkwardness from her expression.
“Are you all right?” Ryan asked, looking as though he was trying to read her face. “I should have taken it slower, maybe shouldn’t have…honey, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. I didn’t hurt as much as I thought it was going to.”
He eyed her skeptically. “You’re sure?”
“Positive.” Looking into his eyes, she said, “So, is that all you’ve got?”
“Is what all I’ve got?”
She smiled. “I want you to show me everything.”
“Abigail—”
“Come on, Ryan. I want you to make the earth move again.”
A slow grin formed on Ryan’s face and soon that sexy, masculine glow returned to his cheeks. He moved slowly at first, clearly more concerned with not hurting her than anything else. Deciding to give him a little incentive, Abigail kissed his neck, the way he had hers. Ryan grunted his pleasured response and he quickened his pace, sliding more deeply within her body.
Those familiar feelings of urgency built within Abigail’s core. She clung to Ryan’s shoulders as he moved in her and she lifted her hips, meeting him thrust for thrust. He was shaking, too, now, his breathing short and rapid. Moving her body more forcedly against his, she thought only of bringing him to that magical place he had just taken her to. She soon felt herself cascading over the edge. Ryan came into her with one powerful thrust, his shaft becoming an eruption of warmth. She exploded as he did, and he took her down with him as he collapsed, his sweaty forehead onto the pillow beside them.
“You’re amazing,” Abigail said when she’d caught her breath.
Ryan’s eyes were closed. But she soon realized that he wore a widened smile. The truest smile he’d been wearing the entire time she’d known him. As he kissed her cheek, he gathered her into his strong arms and held her close. Running his fingers through her hair, he said softly, “You’re amazing, Abigail MacKenzie.”
Chapter 17
Main Street Coffee was buzzing with the sounds of Sunday morning. It was still early, but the outdoor section of the café was already packed with a mix of locals and tourists. Many of them would be hitting the outlet stores after they finished their breakfast. Shopping had always been at the top of Kimberly’s to-do list. But even fonder than her memories of searching for boots and sunglasses was the fact that she used to do it with Ryan.
She tried to ignore the regret she felt as she reminded herself that life wasn’t completely over. As if on cue, the sunlight illuminated the newest item in her vast collection. Rather, it must have made it sparkle, judging by the way her friends were staring at it. Kim smiled to herself, pretending not to notice their stunned reaction as she took a sip of her latte.
“What stores should we hit first?” She gazed up the road. “I’m dying to see if they got in any new shoes at that place on the far end of the green.”
Megan’s platinum red hair brushed against her shoulders as she turned her head. “I would’ve suggested the jewelry store, but it looks like someone’s already taken you there.”
“That diamond is incredible,” Felicity agreed, “not to mention, enormous. Does this mean you and Ryan are finally back together?”
No, unfortunately. And not for Kimberly’s lack of trying. She’d been strutting around him in her sexiest attire for weeks, just hoping he’d get the hint. Apparently Ryan Newberry was as saintly as he was stubborn.
Kim’s circle of friends was wide, but it wasn’t often she met a man she could really confide in. When she met Ryan Newberry, soccer team captain and Phi Alpha President, she’d been instantly drawn to his exceptional good looks and his strong leadership qualities. She’d quickly realized his expensive car was nothing more than a prop, but by then she’d gotten to know the man she was involved with. Ryan didn’t have a superficial bone in his body. He cared, and he genuinely wanted to protect other people. And when she broke up with Damian, she had certainly needed protecting.
Damian Wilkins had a temper that put Ryan Newberry’s to shame. Damian had taken his rage out on her a number of times, even getting physically rough with her a couple of times at the end. Kim had always thought she would be strong in a situation like that, but when push came to shove, she’d been too afraid to fight back. That was where Ryan came in. He wasn’t afraid to stand up to a man who was over six feet tall and built like a heavyweight champion. In fact, Ryan took Damian on as though the attacks had been made against him, as though it was his personal mission to make sure the guy never hurt another person again.
Damian had eventually moved onto other conquests, but by that point Kimberly was well into the throes of making Ryan her boyfriend. Affection and consideration weren’t really anything to sneeze at, when one compared those qualities to some of the alternatives. A girl could quickly get used to having them in her life.
But nice a guy as Ryan was, Kim had missed the excitement of her old network of friends. And it hadn’t taken long before she met someone who fit the bill of exactly what she was looking for.
Her breakup with Ryan had been ugly to say the least, but it hadn’t managed to scare off the man he’d discovered her in bed with. Kim had needed that man, because when Ryan walked away from her, she’d been consumed by an emptiness she hadn’t known she was capable of feeling.
Great as her new man was, he wasn’t Ryan. She missed their time together so much—the talks, holding hands at the café. Ryan was the only guy who’d ever liked her for who she really was. That was why Abigail MacKenzie had to go.
Ryan could deny it all he wanted, but Kim could see as plain as day that her ex had fallen for his new front desk attendant. Abigail was all vanilla and ribbons, and unlike Kim, her innocence was genuine. It was no wonder that Ryan had yet to hop back into her bed. Kimberly would bet her new Coach bag that Abigail was somehow in need of protecting, too.
“Ryan still doesn’t know a good thing when he sees it,” she said as she tossed her empty coffee cup into the trash.
“Oh.” Felicity shot Megan a knowing look.
“Guess that means you’ll be joining us for drinks again Saturday night,” Megan chimed in.
“Hello!” Kim flashed her diamond. “This rock didn’t buy itself.”
“Sure about that?”
“On what they pay me over at hotel-de-hell?” She rolled her eyes. “Please.”
“Then, where did it come from?” Felicity asked. “Is it from that new guy, the one who’s never around long enough for us to meet?”
“He’s an interim guy,” Kim snapped. “And, yea, he buys me nice things. At least for the time being, he does. Fortunately for Ryan’s sake, I plan on showing him what’s what very soon.
* * * *
Ryan yawned as he stepped through the doors of the hotel lobby. It was twenty-five minutes after eight, which meant he was almost half an hour late for his shift. Though he was rather impressed he’d made it in at all, he was still pushing things where the clock was concerned.
Looking out the window at the old wing, he smiled to himself. He hadn’t been able to stop doing that since he’d gotten out of bed. Being with Abigail last night had been incredible. Better than incredible, he still couldn’t get her out of his head. The way she’d felt and those soft cries she made when she came. It was no wonder he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her all this time. Because now that he’d had her, he never wanted it to stop.
He had given this thought. Hell, he’d given it a lot of thought, had spent most of last night thinking about it after seeing to it that Abigail got back to her car safely. The sad truth, the horrible, ugly truth was that what had happened last night could never happen again. Not if he cared about Abigail, and whether either of them had a future beyond nex
t week.
He didn’t imagine how he was going to see Abigail and keep from carrying her up to the nearest room with a bed. But, he had to try. This wasn’t just about himself anymore. It was about Abigail’s safety. The situation with the murders was becoming more dangerous by the minute. Whoever was covering them up was watching him. Abigail’s sneaking around in the middle of the night put her right in the middle of that.
Ryan didn’t know what the connection was, but three random murders, one apparently being Abigail’s father’s and another being the man who’d watched him die, weren’t a coincidence. He didn’t suppose he ought to mention to Abigail the fact that Barrows had owned a bar not far from where her father’s restaurant had been. When she first brought up her father’s murder, Ryan hadn’t been convinced there was a connection, but after carefully thinking it over he’d realized it was all just too much to be a coincidence. Assuming he was correct in that thinking, then the man who’d hypothetically killed all three victims could realize Abigail’s connection to it, putting her in as much danger as her father had been.
Being with Abigail had been had been one of the most thrilling experiences of his life. She trusted him. At least, on some level she did. It must have been for that reason that he cared about her so much—about her safety, Ryan corrected himself. That’s why it was going to be so difficult to walk away.
“Mr. Newberry,” Becker said, snatching up a large chunk of pens from the front desk.
“Mr. Becker.”
Thrusting the pens into the cup beside the computer, as if to insinuate that no one was bothering to keep the desk clean, Becker said, “Just the man I was looking for. Step into my office.”
Feeling a familiar pounding in his temples, Ryan followed him. What the hell was this about now? Was there a project he was supposed to have completed? Could Becker be aware that he had kissed Kimberly’s cheek in the staff lounge that day?
Realizing that was more than likely the case, Ryan took a staggered breath. Though it hadn’t been a real kiss, it probably hadn’t looked particularly innocent. He regretted doing it, but that wasn’t going to make a damn bit of difference where Becker was concerned. Ryan supposed he was just going to have to do his best to hone up to his mistake and get his asshole of a manager past it.
Sitting in the chair opposite Becker’s desk, he leaned forward and said, “Look, sir. I think I know what this is about. And the thing is—”
“Mr. Newberry, it’s come to my attention that you’ve been participating in certain activities. Activities which go against the policies of this hotel.”
Breaking hotel policy? Ryan almost laughed. “I hardly think that an innocent ki—”
“Of course there are so many broken rules where you’re concerned I’m not really sure where to start. Most pressing at the moment is the fact that your car was parked on the premises late last night, after hours.”
Ryan’s heart came into his mouth. “It’s a hotel. How can you say someone’s here after hours when there are guests staying here through the night, security guards and front desk associates working until the morning shift arrives?”
“I’m well aware that our hotel operates on a twenty-four-hour schedule. I also know that you weren’t scheduled for the graveyard shift.”
“I wasn’t.” Ryan wiped the sweat from his forehead. “My friend and I went to the tavern across the street. The lot was full and I decided to park over here instead. That probably wasn’t the wisest move, but I doubted a spot was suddenly going to become available on a Saturday night.”
“Probably not,” Becker said, fingering the stubble of hair on his chin. “I assume you had to cross the highway later, to get back to your car. How late would you say it was that you left the bar?”
“Around two,” Ryan answered, which must have been close to the time he and Abigail had driven home, not that he had been paying much attention by that point.
“I see.” Becker shook his head. “And just how stupid do you think I am?”
“I beg your pardon?”
The manager stood, slamming his chair back against the wall. Leaning over Ryan’s head, he said in a loud voice, “A staff member saw you arrive on the premises a little before nine. Most of the taverns in this area open early, but I happen to know for a fact that the one you’re referring to doesn’t open until ten. Meaning either you and your “friend” were making good use of the backseat, or else you’re lying to me. For your sake it had better be the former.”
Ryan’s head was spinning. Becker had never made a secret of the fact that he hated him, but this was just insane. Maybe he’d been hasty in pointing the finger at Dempsey. The man in front of him didn’t even seem to be able to hold back.
Choosing his words carefully, Ryan said, “There may be rules for employees to follow but there are rules that protect them as well. I’m pretty sure that harassment and stalking fall somewhere on that list.”
Becker slammed his hand down on the desk. He balled a fist and took several deep breaths before speaking. “I swear to God, Newberry. If I find out that you’ve been involved in any sort of activities you shouldn’t be, your days of wearing a collared shirt will be finished.”
Ryan stood. Not looking back, he stepped through the door and walked briskly into the hall.
Holy freakin’ crap. He’d thought Dempsey was that crime gang’s insider, but now he was hearing that Becker was keeping tabs on his car. Still, as much as he hated them both, common sense told him it really wasn’t likely that either one of the managers were involved, considering they had the highest-profiled positions at the hotel.
But one thing was certain. Someone working at Washington Valley knew what was going around there. And he or she had been working overtime to cover their tracks. Now that he knew just how far back this whole thing went, that it was more than likely that Abigail’s own father had been killed over it, Ryan wasn’t stopping. Not until he knew everything, the whole ugly truth.
Chapter 18
Abigail hummed as she poured sugar into her coffee. The sun was shining through the break room window and the impatiens outside were bursting with color. She was unable to keep the smile off her face as she placed a lid on her coffee cup and took a hot sip.
Helplessly, she replayed last night’s events, the way she and Ryan bumped into each other and fought then came together in a tangled fit of passion. Recalling Ryan’s kisses and his touch, the way he’d held her after they made love, Abigail found herself wondering what her handsome supervisor might be doing that morning. It was so crazy, what was happening between them. Whatever she’d come to the hotel to do last night, it certainly hadn’t ended the way she’d expected. Rather, it had been like a dream. This crazy, wild, wonderful dream which was still playing on in her mind. She never wanted to wake up from it.
Being with Ryan had been the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to her. All the excitement and the heat, Ryan looking into her eyes and kissing her as though she were the most beautiful woman in the world. It was like a fantasy out of a storybook.
But, Abigail wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about it. Being with Ryan had been incredible, but it had left her with so many questions. She’d opened up to him about her father’s murder, the most vulnerable point of her existence. He’d refused to tell her a damn thing.
Ryan had told her he’d just been paid, that that was why he’d had the cash that day in the ice cream parlor. But hardly anyone was paid in cash in this day and age, assuming that their job was on the up and up. Had Ryan simply told her the truth, whatever that truth was, she might have been able to accept it. But he was obviously still covering something up, and that kept her very worst suspicions at the forefront of her mind.
The door to the room opened and Abigail beamed in anticipation. Seeing that it was Shane and not Ryan, she cleared her throat.
“Hey, Abigail,” Shane said as he came toward her. “Nice day, isn’t it?”
“It certainly is.” Realizing there wasn’t
much space between them, Abigail took a respectful step backward. “Hey, how are things with you and Julia? I know she was really disappointed about last night. I hope you’ll get to reschedule that date because I really think you guys would be great together.”
“I think so, too.” Shane took his coffee mug from the cabinet. “Unfortunately my being asked to work late is something I’ll have to put up with from time to time. But I’ve asked Julia if she’d like to try again this Saturday, and I really hope she’ll say yes.”
“Oh, I have a feeling she will”—Abigail sipped her coffee—“she’s always saying that she…how she…” Her voice faded as her mind began to drift.
Shane waved a hand in front of her face. “Are you all right, Abigail? You seem a little distracted this morning.”
“Distracted—no. I mean, everything’s fine.”
“If you say so.” He laid a hand on her shoulder. “You know I’m here if you ever need to talk.”
Abigail smiled. Her lips remained spread a bit longer than she’d intended for them to, and she realized after several seconds that Shane had yet to take his hand away. His palm crept slowly back and forth against the fabric of her T-shirt. It froze as a figure stepped into the doorway.
Ryan was glaring at them.
* * * *
“Get the hell away from her,” Ryan thundered, causing Abigail’s bones to shake.
“Ryan, what are you doing?” she asked, unable to keep the astonishment from her voice.
Shane released her shoulder. Jaw tight and body stiff, he said, “You’re out of line, Newberry. Need I remind you that you’re on very thin ice.”
“I’m done giving a damn about your threats, Dempsey. I’m done letting you think you walk on water, and I’m sure as hell not about to let you take advantage of Abigail, either.”
Shane began to laugh. When he’d finished cackling, he said, “We were talking. And as it happens, Abigail is an employee of the Washington Valley Hotel. Not that I should have to defend myself to you, Ryan, but that means that her well-being is my concern. Although I’m not really sure why you’d care one way or the other. Because as far Mark and I know, there’s nothing going on between the two of you. ’Cause, as I’m sure you know better than most, that would be grounds for immediate dismissal.”
Dangerous Secret [The Pinnacles of Power Prequel] (BookStrand Publishing Romance) Page 16