by HELEN HARDT
But here it was now, staring at me with wide blue eyes.
Ruby Lee.
Detective.
Virgin.
Full of integrity.
Beautiful.
And bombshell sexy, whether she knew it or not.
“We don’t have to be looking for a relationship,” I said. “I never thought you expected anything from me. You’re not that kind of a woman. You know your own mind, and you’ve been taking care of yourself for nearly two decades. You’re amazing.” I stroked her cheek. “Why don’t we just take it one day at a time?”
She nodded. “All right. I just don’t want you to feel—”
I trailed my fingers over to her lips, shushing her. “I don’t feel anything but the desire to get to know you better. To spend time with you. I promise you’re not forcing me into anything.”
She nodded, puckering her lips and giving my fingers the softest kiss.
My groin tightened.
I could go again. But no condom. Not that it mattered. She was a virgin, and I was clean. But it was too soon, and I couldn’t ask her to suck me off. Her father hadn’t raped her, but I didn’t know what he had done. And now, basking in the afterglow of our mutual orgasms, was not the time to find out.
She yawned. “I’d better get back and get to bed. I want to hit the yoga class in the morning again, and then, instead of going to lift, I’m going to see if I can talk to Shayna. If she’s still here.”
“Sounds good. Yoga at six it is.”
She laughed. “You want to go again?”
“Sure. Why not?”
She laughed again. “Let’s see how you feel about it in the morning.”
* * *
An elephant had stomped on me overnight.
I could barely move the next morning. My phone alarm had gone off at five thirty so I could shower before Ruby came to get me for yoga, but I was still lying in bed.
Fuck. Today was the wedding, too. I had to escort Ruby down the aisle.
I sat up in bed.
Ouch.
I moved my legs to the side.
Ouch.
I stood.
Fucking ouch.
I walked to the bathroom and reached out to turn on the shower.
Ouch.
I stepped inside.
Bliss.
The hot water pelted me, and I turned it even hotter and stood for a few moments, just letting it coat me. It was heaven on my sore muscles.
Yoga and a little weight lifting. This was the result?
I wasn’t out of shape. I was in damned good shape. I was very active.
What a wuss.
I couldn’t let Ruby see me like this.
Then I remembered her words from last night. Let’s see how you feel about it in the morning.
The little vixen knew.
I forced my body to move as I washed up and then stepped out of the shower. Bringing my arms above my head to towel off my hair was excruciating. I had barely struggled into my boxer briefs when her knock came at my door.
I groaned as I walked toward it and opened it.
“Morning!” she said, looking gorgeous and chipper as ever.
“Morning,” I said back through clenched teeth.
She held up the little cooler, presumably filled with protein shakes and water again. “Ready for yoga?”
“Sure.” I’d show her. I’d get through that hour on the mat if I had to wince through the whole thing. Which I’d definitely be doing. I quickly put on my shorts and muscle shirt.
Ouch.
“Great!” She grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door.
I had to stop myself from groaning in pain. When we opened the door to the bungalow, we were surprised to see two envelopes taped to the door. One was addressed to me, the other to Ruby.
“I wonder what this is about?” I said.
“I’ve actually been expecting something. I would imagine the resort security and the local police want to talk to us. Shayna probably told them that we saw the three guys.”
“She didn’t know our last names.”
“It probably wasn’t too hard to look up all the Ryans and Rubys at the resort. We were probably it, and we’re staying in the same place.”
I nodded. Made sense.
She glanced quickly at the paper inside the envelope. “Yes, that’s what they want. They want us to come by at eight o’clock this morning.”
“Come where?”
“To the resort security office. There’s a map here.”
I quickly opened my envelope and confirmed what Ruby said. “All right. Maybe we should skip the yoga then?” God, please let her say yes.
“Why? We don’t have to be at the office for two hours. We can do yoga, grab a quick shower, and get something to eat.”
“I thought you wanted to try to talk to Shayna this morning.”
“If she’s still here,” she said. “And I can find out when we talk to the police this morning.”
Shit. Looked like I was in for an hour of torture.
After a ten-minute walk to the greenbelt, my thighs were really whining.
Herlinda was stretching. “Good morning! Nice to see you again. Grab a mat, and I’ll see if we get any more stragglers.”
Ruby and I both grabbed mats and set them down. Ruby began stretching. My muscles balked, but I was determined.
I did a few wimpy stretches, and soon Herlinda was calling the class to order.
“Let’s start with some deep breaths in the lotus position,” she said.
The lotus position? I pulled my legs into my body with a smile plastered on my face. Inside I was grimacing with pain.
Just breathe, Ryan. You can get through this.
I got through the hour but didn’t make it into all the positions. Ruby was concentrating, so I hoped she didn’t see what I was doing. I was sure Herlinda noticed, but she was too nice to say anything.
Ruby rolled up her mat at the end of class. “Ready to hit the showers?”
“I… I was thinking more along the lines of a hot tub?”
She smiled at me. “Anything you want to tell me, Ryan?”
“Nope.”
“Come on…” she teased.
Oh, what the hell. “My body feels like it’s been run over by a Mack truck.”
Ruby burst into laughter. As much as I want to be irritated with her, it was such a joyful sound I couldn’t help smiling.
“I had a feeling you’d be sore today, but you’re just too much of a man to admit it. I can’t believe you got through the entire yoga class.”
“Barely.”
She laughed again. “You’re a good sport. I like that. All right, the hot tub it is.”
I grinned. “Since we didn’t bring our suits, we’ll have to go over to the nude pool and hot tub.”
She dropped her mouth open.
I moved forward and pushed her chin up. “Careful. Lots of mosquitoes around here.” Then I took her arm and led her toward the nude pool and hot tub.
Because it was so early, the hot tub was vacant. We stripped our clothing, and she seemed a lot less inhibited now as we stepped into the warm water.
Heaven.
Ruby opened the cooler. “We’ll have to save the protein shakes for later. Right now, we need hydration in this hot water.” She removed two bottles of water and handed me one.
I opened it and took a deep drink. Cool, fresh water. Nectar of the gods.
I closed my eyes for a few moments and inhaled the rising steam. Then I opened them. Ruby was sitting across from me, her lovely breasts floating near the surface of the water. I chuckled.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“Here I am, in a hot tub on a nude beach, with the most beautiful woman in the world sitting across from me, and I’m too fucking sore to do anything about it.”
“You’ll be fine. We’ll have lots of time to do something later.”
Did that mean she was up for doing “something?” H
ell, yeah. But would we truly have the time? We had decided to leave the resort early, tomorrow, after the wedding today.
I didn’t want to leave yet. I wasn’t ready to leave paradise.
But the arrangements had already been made. Still, we had today. Ten minutes in the hot tub and then a megadose of ibuprofen, and maybe I’d feel a little better. Hell, I had to take part in the wedding today. I’d better do something about the sore body.
We didn’t speak much, just relaxed and inhaled the steam, until Ruby said it was time to get out.
“Oh, come on. It feels so good.”
“Yes, but too much of a good thing is bad for you. Especially when it’s 104-degree water. It’s time to get out, get more hydration, go get breakfast, and then we have to go speak to the security and the police.”
Right. I’d almost forgotten. The hot water sure was relaxing. I stood and exited the tub like a decrepit old man.
“Did that help at all?” Ruby asked.
I looked at her, her beautiful body dripping. Damn, if I didn’t hurt so damned much right now… “It felt great while we were in there.”
“It will help. I’m sorry you’re hurting so badly.”
“Oh, yeah? Why didn’t you tell me this would be the result yesterday?” I smiled.
“You assured me you were in great shape.”
“I am. Look at me.”
She dropped her gaze to the floor. “I have looked at you.”
I walked toward her—ouch—and lifted her chin up so our gazes met. “I want you to look at me. I want you to see me.”
“All right.”
“I hope you like what you see, Ruby. Because I sure as hell like what I see when I look at you.”
Her cheeks reddened, and her gaze dropped again. My fingers still on her chin, I lifted it again. “Please. Look at me. I want you to. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be shy. We’ve been…intimate, remember?”
Though I had toweled off, I was still wet from perspiration from the heat of the water. My cock was flaccid as she raked her gaze over me.
“You are beautiful, Ryan. There’s no doubt about that.”
No woman had ever called me beautiful before. The way she looked at me, almost reverently, I knew it was a compliment.
“So are you. But I’ve told you that many times before.”
She smiled shyly. “We really should go get something to eat. Before we know it, we’ll need to meet the security guys.”
“Fair enough.” I put my clothes on, struggling to get into my shorts. Damn, those aching muscles.
“We should see if you can get a massage later today. Maybe before the wedding,” Ruby suggested.
“That’s a great idea. But only if you join me.”
“All right. After we talk to security, we can stop by the spa and see if they have any openings.”
I had been hoping she would offer to give me a massage. Hell, I’d love to give her one. If I weren’t in so much pain.
Chapter Fifteen
Ruby
“Ms. Thomas says the two of you saw the three men who took her and the other two ladies that day,” a local police officer said.
“Yes, sir, we did,” I said.
“Can you describe them?”
“They were three dark-skinned males, probably aged twenty-five to thirty,” I said. “They identified themselves as Mark, Rashaun, and J.J.”
“Last names?”
“They didn’t tell us, and no one asked.”
“Those are all very common first names here on the island. They are likely aliases. Anything else?”
“They had Jamaican accents. The individual named Mark did most of the talking. One of them, not Mark, was bald. All very good-looking, well muscled. Mark was about six-two, two hundred pounds. The bald one was a little shorter, maybe five-eleven or six feet, one hundred and eighty pounds. The third one was the same size as Mark.”
The officer turned to Ryan. “Can you add to any of what Ms. Lee said?”
“I don’t remember their names, but I’m sure Ruby is correct. She has a mind for facts.”
“Can you describe them?”
“Not any more than she did. I agree with her description. The one named Mark seemed to do most of the talking. He wasn’t the bald one.”
The officer nodded, made some notes, and then addressed me again. “Can you tell me what they said?”
“They walked up to us just as the girls said they were looking for some fun. Mark invited them to get on their Jet Skis. They said they were locals and could show them some great sights.” I frowned. “I told them not to go. I really tried to stop them.”
“Yes, Ms. Thomas corroborates that. You have good intuition, Ms. Lee.”
“I’m a police detective myself.” I didn’t have to tell them where my intuition really came from.
“Thank you for trying. Unfortunately, sometimes young women just don’t sense the danger they might be in. This resort is usually quite safe.”
“They said they had day passes,” I said.
“The resort doesn’t offer day passes,” the officer said. “But there was no reason for you to know that.”
My heart sank. I had suspected that. I should have called security. I should have, should have, should have… “I wish I had been more successful stopping them.”
“So do we, ma’am, but don’t blame yourself.”
“Is Ms. Thomas still on the property?” I asked.
“Yes. She has a flight leaving today. A shuttle will be picking her up in an hour or so.”
“Do you think I might be able to talk to her?”
“That’s up to her, ma’am,” the officer said. “She’s really distraught right now.”
I nodded. “I can imagine that she is. I won’t do anything to disturb her further, I assure you.”
“It’s still up to her.”
“Do you know where she is?”
“Probably in her room. We kept security stationed there since she was unable to leave the resort yesterday. I can’t tell you what room she’s in, but I can have the front desk operator connect you. Then it’s her decision.”
“That would be fine. I don’t want to bother her. If she doesn’t want to talk to me, I’ll respect that. But I have to try.”
The officer made a quick call to the front desk and then turned to me. “I’ve set it up. All you need to do is go to the front desk, show your ID, and the operator will connect you to her room. You can use one of the phones behind the desk. If she wants to come out to meet with you, she is certainly welcome to do that.”
“Thank you so much. I appreciate it.” I turned to Ryan. “I guess I’m headed to the front desk.”
“You want me to come along?”
“That’s up to you.”
“Then I’d like to. Besides”—he smiled—“they might have some ibuprofen at the front desk.”
* * *
“Thank you for agreeing to talk to us,” I said to Shayna.
The three of us sat at a table outside her room in the hotel portion of the resort, a security guard nearby, watching.
“I’m not sure why this is of any interest to you,” Shayna said.
“I’m a police detective in Colorado.”
“But I live in LA.”
“I know that. But this interests me.”
She looked down. “You have no idea how much I wish I’d listened to you yesterday. Both of you.”
I took her hand. “Hey. You got away. You’re safe now.”
She sniffled. “But Juliet and Lisa. The police don’t have a trail. They have nothing.”
“None of this is your fault,” I said, hoping to soothe her but knowing I wasn’t.
How well I knew the guilt that ate at her soul. The same guilt ate at mine. Gina, Talon, Colin Morse, Luke Walker, among many others—all victims of my father. I hadn’t been able to stop him so far. But I would someday.
How I wished I’d been able to stop the three men who had taken Juliet and Lisa.
>
“The locals think they were taken as slaves,” Shayna said, weeping. “I’m glad I got away, but my God, how can I be glad when my two best friends are missing?”
I had no words of wisdom for her, except to say, “I know exactly how you’re feeling.”
“How would you know?”
“It’s a long story. When we both get back to the States, feel free to call me anytime.” I took a card out of my bag and handed it to her.
“How long have you been a detective?” she asked.
“Only a few months. But I’ve been on the force for eleven years.”
“You’ve seen a lot, then.”
“More than you know.” She was right. I’d seen a lot as an officer of the law. I’d seen more as Theodore Mathias’s daughter.
“Can you talk about what happened?” I asked. “How you escaped? And why?”
She shook her head. “A lot of it is a blur. I wish I could be more help. I’ve already told the local police everything I know.”
“I’m sure you have. I hate to make you relive it, but if you could tell me, maybe I could help.”
“How? You’re a detective in Colorado. You can’t do anything here.”
“Let’s just say I have an interest in this case. I’ve seen these types of things before.”
She swallowed. “All right.” She sighed. “Let me think.”
“Take your time.”
“It was fun, at first. I’d never been on a Jet Ski before. I kept my eyes on the beach. As long as I could see a beach, with people, I felt we were okay. We rode along the coast for a while. Everything seemed fine.”
They were getting the women comfortable. Classic. But I didn’t say this.
She continued, “The guy I was with pointed out each beach. It was hard to hear him with the noise from the Jet Ski, but I made out some of it. It seemed like they were showing us sights, like they said they would.”
“When did you start to feel uncomfortable?”
“We started moving away from the coastline. Away from the beaches. I asked where we were going. The guy—I think I was with J.J., but honestly I’m not sure—said something, but I couldn’t make out his words.”
“I see. And then?”