Unraveled_Steel Brothers Saga_Book Nine

by HELEN HARDT

  “Hey!” I said.

  “You said you weren’t moving until tomorrow, so I figured I had to carry you.” He smiled down at me and walked up the short staircase, through the kitchen, and down the corridor to his master suite. He nudged the door open, walked in, and laid me gently on the bed.

  He positioned himself beside me, and I snuggled into his shoulder, closing my eyes.

  * * *

  I awoke in the middle of the night, still dressed. Ryan was snoozing soundly next to me, also still dressed.

  I was parched from the travel, so I rose, walked to the kitchen, got a long drink of water, and let the dogs back in. Little Ernie needed to be fed, so I gave him some of Ricky’s kibble. I’d have to get puppy food in the morning.

  Soft padded steps came up behind me, and then Ryan’s firm lips grazed my neck.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “Hey yourself. I’m just feeding the puppy and getting some water. I’m so dehydrated.”

  “Yeah, me too.” He went to the sink, got himself a glass, and drained it in one gulp. In seconds, he was back behind me. “I’m sorry I fell asleep.”

  “Last time I checked, so did I.”

  “You want to take a dip in the hot tub? I know it’s the middle of the night, but it would feel great.”

  Sounded like sheer bliss to me. Plus, the dogs could go back outside and do their business.

  “Mmm, perfect. I’ll need to borrow one of your robes.”

  “There’s no one here, Ruby. We can just use towels.” He padded back to his room and returned a few minutes later with two king-sized bath towels.

  We undressed in the kitchen and wrapped the towels around us. I couldn’t help lasciviously appraising Ryan’s masculine beauty. I’d never grow tired of looking at him. I untangled my hair from its band and piled it in a messy bun on the top of my head.

  “Ready,” I said.

  “You look good enough to eat.”

  “Nothing stopping you that I can see.”

  Without ceremony, he lifted me onto the kitchen table, the towel around me sparing my behind from the cold surface.

  I squeezed my eyes closed against the harsh fluorescent lighting.

  The first time Ryan had set me on this table, I’d freaked, resulting in a nightmare after which I ended up in the shower trying desperately to wash the filth of my father from my body. It was the harsh lighting that had taken me back to the time my father attacked me. He’d started in the kitchen.

  But this was Ryan Steel. A man who loved me, who wanted to marry me. This was his kitchen, not my father’s. And I was here willingly. Oh, so willingly.

  “You okay, baby?” Ryan whispered against the flesh of my neck.

  I nodded. I’d be okay. I had to be. No more would Theodore Mathias rule my life.

  “Good. Because I can smell you already. I need to taste you.” He sat down in a chair and positioned himself between my legs. “Mmm, so wet. I love how wet you get for me.” He slid his tongue over my clit.

  I gripped the edges of the table. So good. His tongue swirled around every part of my vulva, and then he lapped at my clit before forcing his tongue inside my wetness. He groaned as he ate me, and I closed my eyes, tilting my head back, letting only good thoughts in.

  Only good thoughts…

  “Baby, you taste so good,” he said against my pussy. “Come for me.” He inserted two fingers, hitting that place that made me go instantly crazy. My skin tingled, and every cell in my body tensed and then released, pure pleasure flowing through every part of me and grounding itself in my pussy. I throbbed and throbbed, and he sucked on my clit, bringing me to new heights each time he twisted his fingers inside me.

  After my fourth consecutive climax—how was that even possible?—I grasped his damp hair in my fists and pushed him away from my pussy. “Enough. I can’t take any more.”

  He rose and kissed me, giving me a taste of my own tangy musk. “Oh, you can,” he said. “And you will.” He tucked my towel back around me and then led me outside to the hot tub, the dogs cavorting at our heels.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Ryan

  Had to have her. Had to get inside that tight little pussy. We hadn’t been together in three days, with all the goings-on. Someone from the FBI was always in the identical house wanting to talk to one of us, and we’d had no chance for any alone time.

  I needed her. Needed to claim what was mine.

  I ripped the towel from her body and regarded her in the moonlight. A goddess, even with her hair piled in a mess on top of her head. Her skin was opulent, her breasts perfect round globes. Her red nipples were puckered and hard. I reached forward and gave each of them a pinch.

  She gasped, closing her eyes.

  A waft of her vanilla scent drifted toward me, and I inhaled deeply. No sweeter perfume. I took her hand and led her into the steamy water.

  I sat down and pulled her onto my lap facing me. The steam floated around us, a mesmerizing cloud.

  She inched down on me slowly, and with every millimeter of her pussy surrounding me, I was convinced I’d entered heaven itself. She sat on me, my cock totally embedded in her body, for what seemed like forever.

  I wanted to lift her off, to thrust in and out of her, yet I also wanted to stay like this. Joined to the woman I loved, for a lifetime.

  Within a few minutes, though, she rose, moving her hips in a tantalizing figure eight, and began fucking me slowly.

  Oh. My. God.

  This woman, who’d had no experience whatsoever when we met, had turned into a sexy seductress, a tempestuous siren who knew how to drive a man into madness.

  Her breasts jiggled as she fucked me, her nipples bobbing like tiny berries on the surface of the water, begging me to catch them. I caught one between my teeth and tugged, eliciting a soft moan from her sweet red lips.

  “Touch yourself, baby,” I commanded. “I want you to come.”

  She reached down and began playing with that beautiful pussy, and that’s all it took to catapult me over the edge. I thrust upward, giving her all of me, ramming against the entrance to her womb as I spilled everything I had inside her.

  “Ruby. God, Ruby. I love you so much!”

  She burst into climax at my admission, clenching around my convulsing cock like a perfect vise.

  And we soared together.

  * * *

  The next morning, I awoke to the smell of bacon frying. I inhaled, went to the bathroom quickly, and then pulled on a pair of boxers and walked to the kitchen. Ruby stood at the stove wearing nothing but one of my T-shirts. It covered her cute little ass as a miniskirt would. I walked up behind her and cupped one of those luscious butt cheeks.

  She swatted me away. “You’re going to get splattered with grease.”

  “I’ll splatter you with grease,” I said, laughing.

  “Ha ha.” She turned off the burner and placed the fried slices of bacon on a waiting paper towel. “Sit down. I’ll bring you some breakfast and a cup of coffee.”

  She moved about my kitchen as if she already lived here. I liked what I saw. I liked the idea of her here always. I’d tried to get her to move in with me a few weeks ago when I feared for her safety. I still wanted her here forever.

  Damn it, she was going to have to marry me.

  We hadn’t had a chance to talk about my proposal—I’d asked twice now—in a while, due to all the other shit going on.

  I smiled. “I never imagined Detective Ruby Lee would be making breakfast and serving me.”

  “Hey, don’t get used to it. I just got up first. I had to tend to the puppy, and we were both hungry,” she teased.

  “Sorry, babe.” I pulled her into my lap after she’d set my plate and coffee on the table. “I’m already used to it.” I gave her a long, deep kiss.

  She broke away, laughing. “You know? I kind of like getting up and making you breakfast. I’m just not sure I can do it at five in the morning, when you usually get up. Plus, I have to get anothe
r job at some point.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s kind of how I make a living.”

  “Baby, I have enough money to support you for ten lifetimes. You don’t need to work anymore.”

  She punched my arm. “I want to work, you idiot. I’m a good detective.”

  “Yes, you are.”

  “So maybe I’ll start my own private investigating service or something.”

  “Or maybe you could move in an entirely different direction,” I suggested.

  “Meaning…?”

  “Meaning…you told me you wanted to learn more about wine. I just happen to know a winemaker who needs some help.”

  “You do?”

  “I do. Jade was helping me before she landed her job as city attorney, and I haven’t had the time to hire anyone new.”

  She lifted her brow. “I don’t hate the idea.”

  I laughed. “I guess that’s good.”

  “But being a cop is all I know.”

  “Silly, I’d teach you about wine. You are capable of learning new things.”

  I started to kiss her again, but the sound of my ringtone interrupted me.

  “You need to get that?” She moved off my lap.

  “Yeah, I should. It could be Joe or Talon.” I stood and walked to my bedroom. I didn’t make it in time, but the phone showed Joe’s number. I quickly called him back.

  “Hey, Ry,” he said.

  “Sorry. The phone was in another room. What’s up?”

  “You need to get over to Tal’s place. Dad’s here.”

  * * *

  Ruby had stayed at my place to take care of the dogs and go into town for puppy food. I’d tossed her the keys to one of my extra cars and then walked over to the main house.

  Jade let me in. “Hey, Ryan. They’re all in the office.”

  “You and Melanie aren’t joining us?”

  She shook her head. “It’s too much. This is really between all of you. We’ll know everything soon enough. Besides, my mom is still here, and it’s the nurse’s day off. Someone has to deal with her.”

  “Okay.” I walked down the east hallway to Talon’s office.

  My father sat behind the desk, which unnerved me a bit. This was Talon’s office, no longer his.

  Before I could say anything, Talon said, “Hey, Ry. It was my idea for him to sit there. That way he’s talking to all of us, not just one of us.”

  Joe and Marjorie were sitting in the office, Marjorie’s eyes already red-rimmed and swollen. I hated what all of this was doing to her.

  “Are you okay, kiddo?” I asked, rubbing her shoulder.

  “Dad just told her why Tal was taken,” Joe said. “But she’s doing okay.”

  “Hey,” I said to my little sister. “None of this is your fault. Talon doesn’t blame you, and neither do the rest of us.”

  She nodded and sniffled, but said nothing. It would take some time. I knew only too well. It had taken me some time to realize that my brothers and sister didn’t think of me as any less of a brother to them even though we didn’t share a mother.

  I looked at my father icily. “I hope you’re happy. Look at your daughter.”

  “None of this makes me happy, Ryan.”

  “Where’s Daphne?” I asked.

  “She’s safe at a top-quality mental hospital in California. I admitted her under an alias.”

  “She should be here at home,” Talon said. “We’re her children. We should be taking care of her.”

  “She requires round-the-clock care, Talon,” our father said. “You’re newly married, and so is your brother. And baby girl, you don’t want that for your life.”

  He hadn’t acknowledged me in that comment. She wasn’t actually my mother. Still, it stung.

  “She’s my mother!” Marjorie cried. “The only one I’ve got. I want to get to know her.”

  “You can travel to visit her as often as you like, but she can’t live here. Neither you nor Talon can handle it.”

  “I can handle anything you throw at me,” Marj said adamantly. “I’ve proven that.”

  “Doing men’s work on a ranch and caring for a mentally ill parent are two different things.”

  “You did it,” she countered.

  “I did. Because what befell your mother ultimately rested on my shoulders. But you kids are faultless. Let the professionals care for her. She doesn’t even know who any of you are.”

  “What if she gets better?” Talon asked. “What then?”

  “Talon, she has been this way for twenty-three years. She’s not going to get any better. Now my decision on your mother is final. She is my responsibility. Not yours.”

  Joe said nothing, which surprised me. His demeanor was noticeably less combative than it had been on the island. Now he was home, back with his pregnant wife. He’d no doubt been reminded of what was truly important.

  Though it was none of my business, I decided to speak. “Why can’t she be someplace closer, where her children can visit her once a week at least?”

  “The place in California is the best.”

  “So?” I said. “Create a place in Grand Junction for her. We have the money. Hire the best. That way Tal, Joe, and Marj can visit her whenever they want.”

  “Ryan’s right,” Joe said. “She needs to be closer to us.”

  “I did a lot of research finding her the right place—”

  “Bullshit,” Joe interjected. “You kept her on that island for God knows how long. You had a doctor and nurse for her there. Bring them here. You owe us that much.”

  “You owe us a hell of a lot more than that,” I said. “For God’s sake, let my siblings have a relationship with their mother.”

  “She’s not capable of—”

  I stood. “You’re not listening! They know that. They don’t care. She’s their mother. They want to be there for her.”

  “No.” He shook his head. “She can’t be in Colorado. I can’t run the risk of Wendy finding her.” He looked me straight in the eye. “What about your mother? Do you want a relationship with her?”

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Ruby

  After picking up puppy food and some other necessities, I headed to my car when my phone buzzed. It was a text.

  You and I aren’t through yet.

  Of course I didn’t recognize the number, but I didn’t have to guess who it was. My father. I knew he’d turn up. I didn’t bother texting or calling back. He was playing his usual head games, and I wasn’t interested.

  I stashed the groceries in the car, and my phone buzzed again. This time it was a call, another number I didn’t recognize.

  I shook my head, deciding to ignore my father, but then changed my mind. Maybe he was ready to turn himself in.

  Probably not, but I had to find out.

  “Yes, what the hell do you want?” I nearly yelled into the phone.

  “Uh…hi. Ruby?”

  Shit. A female voice. One I recognized from the phone calls I’d received after our first return from Jamaica.

  “Shayna! Is that you?”

  “Yes. It’s me.”

  “I’m so sorry. I thought you were someone else. Are you okay?”

  “I’m…fine. Now. I just heard from Juliet. She’s home, Ruby, and she said it’s because of you. Thank you so much.”

  “I didn’t do anything, really.”

  “That’s not what she says. She says you were captured and you told her you’d get her out of there. To trust you. And you did. You got her out of there. Her and Lisa both.”

  “Lisa’s in bad shape, Shayna. But she’s going to be okay.”

  “That’s what Juliet says. She says I can’t see Lisa yet. She’s severely malnourished and is in the hospital in LA. She had to have IV fluids before the flight home. But she’s stable, and she’s alive, Ruby. She’s alive.”

  Relief swept through me. I hadn’t realized how much I’d been worried about Lisa making it home in her condition. “They both have a long road
ahead.”

  “Of medical and psychological treatment. I know.”

  “They’ll need you, Shayna. They’ll both need a friend.”

  “I’m here for them. I swear it.”

  I smiled into the phone. “I know you are. This whole thing is a miracle. Many women and children were rescued.”

  “I can’t even begin to imagine what they’ve been through.”

  “You don’t want to. It wasn’t pretty.”

  “I won’t press them for details.”

  “That’s good. Let them come to you. They’ll both have therapists they can talk to. Just be there for them.”

  “I will be, Ruby. Thank you for everything.”

  I was smiling when the call ended. Though the FBI had done much more than I had, at least I had fulfilled my promise to Juliet. I had gotten her out of the dorms and into the nice Steel replica.

  Damn. The Steel replica. Ryan was hearing the story of how and why that house had been built at this very moment. I couldn’t imagine the stories he’d have to tell me when I saw him this evening.

  I got into the car and readied for the drive home, when my cell buzzed yet once more.

  Sheesh! Again, a call from a number I didn’t recognize. It could possibly be Juliet, and I didn’t want to ignore a call from her.

  “Hello, Detec— Er…Ruby Lee,” I said into the phone.

  “We need to talk,” my father said.

  Something surged within me at his voice—an emotion I didn’t quite recognize. “I don’t know what about. You should have surrendered yourself to the authorities, but as usual, you did your disappearing act.”

  “How much did Steel tell you?” he asked.

  Despite the fact that I’d learned my father had been to hell and back learning to train potential human slaves, I had no sympathy for him. He’d been well paid, and he’d gone into the whole thing with his eyes open. The same thing couldn’t be said for the poor innocent souls he ripped from their lives without their consent. Especially the children.

  My heart squeezed in my chest.