Tempest (SAI Book 3)

by Lea Hart

  A small hand pushed at him, and he ignored it because he didn’t want to move. He was buried in Ivy’s heat. Her soft body was beneath his, and he planned on staying.

  “Ryan, you have to move. I can’t breathe.”

  Well, that got his attention. He rolled over and took her with him. He wanted to keep her locked to him. When he lay on his back, she was draped over him, and her hair floated over them like a curtain. “I’ll be ready to go again in a minute,” he said.

  “I’m going to need more than a minute. That was the most intense experience of my life.” She rested her head against his chest and kissed him.

  The next thing he heard was her soft breathing. Lifting his head, he peered into her face and saw her sweet smile. She was out like a light. “I’ll let you rest, honey. And then we’ll do it again.” He gently moved her off his body and pulled up the sheet to cover her. Slipping out of bed, he disposed of the condom and checked the house before he crawled in beside her. He fitted himself along her back and draped his arm over her stomach. Before he could form a complete thought, he drifted off.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Wednesday

  Ivy rolled over and studied the large man who was dead asleep. He looked innocent and sweet, but that was just an illusion. He was a freaking sex machine. He’d woken her up twice and taken her to places she hadn’t known existed. When he’d held her hands down and told her not to move, she thought he was crazy. Then, when he moved his body inside hers, she prayed he never stopped. How long did something like this last? A day, a week, a month? Maybe at some point, the sight of him wouldn’t make her body flutter and her heart trip over itself. Now that she knew what he was capable of, she was in grave danger of losing control. Something she never let happen.

  Before she was tempted to take advantage of his morning erection, she slipped out of bed and headed for the shower. Maybe she could wash off the crazy desire that was coursing through her veins. It made her feel like she would do and say things she might later regret. Like confessing the feelings that were bubbling into her heart. One night of stupendous sex and she was thinking about tying herself to Ryan so he could never get away.

  That wasn’t something she was going to let happen. All her talk about wanting a man who was interested in her heart was crumbling around her feet. She was scared out of her mind at the thought of letting Ryan close to that part of her. Clearly, she was a fraud, because there was an all-out freak fest going on in her brain.

  As she closed the door to the bathroom quietly, she took one last look at the man sprawled across her flowery sheets and sighed. Realizing her mistake, she straightened her shoulders and shook off the mushy-gushy thoughts that were flying through her brain. Flipping the water on with more force than was necessary, she waited for the shower to heat up. The best solution to this challenge was to start making lists. There was a lot to do, and she had to focus on the job she had and the insane inheritance that her daddy had left them. She had several SAI projects to complete before the attorney showed up this afternoon. No more lovey-dovey sexy thoughts, she instructed herself firmly. Stepping into the shower, she mentally started the first of many lists.

  By the time she was rinsing her hair and working on her fifth list, the shower door opened and glorious, naked Ryan stepped in. “What are you doing?” she asked.

  Smiling like a man who won a million dollars, he leaned over and kissed her. “Getting cleaned up.” He wagged his eyebrows and threw her a smile. “Unless…I can talk you into a quickie.” He slipped his big arms around her and held her flush against his body.

  Just as she was about to tilt her hips against his, she stopped herself. Nope. Resist the sexy man in the shower, she told herself firmly. “I’m surprised you have anything left in you after last night.”

  He lifted her up before she could do anything about it, and she wrapped her legs around his waist so that she wouldn’t fall. At least, that was the story that she was telling herself.

  “Now I have to show you how much I have left in me.” He leaned her against the wall, slid his hand between their bodies and slipped his finger inside her folds. “Now, your body is telling me a different story than your mouth.” He added another finger and pushed them in further. “Yep, another story altogether.”

  She tried to get her traitorous body to quit moving, but it wasn’t cooperating. “We don’t have a condom.”

  He grazed her neck with his mouth and nipped her gently. “You have a patch on your hip, so we don’t need one.”

  Bending his knees, he slid his hard length into her welcoming body, and she groaned. “Why does this feel so freaking good?” she moaned.

  Pulling out slightly, he pushed himself back in and answered, “Because we’re made for one another. Don’t freak out. I know you want to, but…don’t.”

  He continued to assault her senses with his magic moves. Soon she was grinding against him to get more of him. That’s all her brain would spit out as an answer…more…more…more.

  “Let go, honey. It’s supposed to feel this good. I want you to come all over me…now.” He made one long, hard thrust as she clamped around him and he exploded into her.

  As tiny pinpricks of light exploded behind her eyes, she felt him shoot his seed deep into her womb. Never before had she had sex without a condom, and having him empty himself inside her was incredibly intimate. Her body pulsed with excitement as she held him deep. It was as though she was trying to drag every last drop before she would let him go. “Have mercy upon my soul,” she muttered, as she dropped her head against his shoulder.

  His hold tightened as he collapsed onto the bench. The water flowed over their joined bodies, and she knew that he’d branded her. There was no other explanation. It had taken him less than a minute to bury himself inside her and wring every sensible thought she had from her head. If they kept this up, he was going to own her. Body, mind, and heart.

  “Ivy, don’t start pulling away because you’re scared about what’s happening between us.”

  Lifting her head slowly, she moved her hair out of her face and stared. “Do you read minds now?”

  “The only one I can read is yours. And I know you’re trying to talk yourself out of whatever is happening. Please stop, honey.”

  “I’ve never had sex without a condom. I didn’t even ask you if you were clean.”

  He tilted his head and stared. “If I’m willing to take a bullet for you, do you think I would put you in harm’s way?”

  “That’s what you do for a living. You’re a bullet-taker. You are a freaking SEAL.” Lifting her hand, she moved her hand across his face. “I’m scared, Ryan.”

  “I know, honey. Say that and don’t throw up walls. Nothing has ever scared me until I met you. A five-foot-five Texas dynamo has me almost on my knees. If you want to talk about scary shit, then let’s talk about that.”

  Framing his face with both her hands, she leaned forward and kissed him. “Well, if you’re on your knees, then you know what to do.” Seeing his expression made her laugh. “I’m sorry. That was really inappropriate. I say the most awful things when I’m scared.”

  “Oh, honey, that’s not awful. I’m addicted to the taste of you, so that’s never something that I’m not going to want to do. Hell, I expect to have my mouth on you at least once a day.”

  Her face flamed, her heart stuttered, and she remained silent. When he held her head and kissed her like it was their last one, she gave up and kissed him back. She was in quicksand and sinking fast. His hold on her made her flounder, and she had no clue how to help herself.

  “Now that we have that settled, what are you making me for breakfast?”

  Letting out a snort, she slid off his lap. “Biscuits and gravy.”

  His grinned sinfully. “That kind of day…is it?”

  “I’m going to add scrambled eggs and sausage as well. I figure we need a meal like that if we hope to have enough energy.”

  “Damn, girl. I like the way you think.” He k
issed her head and then moved under the shower. “I’d better get cleaned up.”

  “Not that it’s going to last long,” she muttered to herself as she stepped out of the shower. As she toweled herself off, she wondered if the forces that were converging were going to result in a massive blowup. Maybe after all was said and done, she would be holding Ryan’s hand. Even if it did scare her to pieces.

  ***

  Colin strolled in the back door, and Ivy smiled at her brother. “You missed the fish fry yesterday.”

  “On purpose,” he responded, as he grabbed a piece of watermelon out of the bowl. “The last place I want to be is at the Catholic church for a fundraiser.’

  “That’s right, your mama raised you Baptist.”

  “Why are you making sausage and biscuits?” He looked at Ivy and then smirked. “Never mind.”

  “You hush up, Colin Bellows. I’m making this because he’s never had a proper southern breakfast.”

  “If that’s the lie you’re telling yourself, far be it from me to tell you different.”

  She slid the biscuits into the oven and then studied her brother. “What in the world are we going to do with Daddy’s company?”

  “Sell it, walk away from it, or burn it to the ground,” he replied with a straight face. “I don’t want any part of it.”

  “Well, as far as the denial river you’re on…I suggest you hop off and face reality. We have to deal with it in some form or fashion.”

  “Says you.” He plunked himself down on a stool and threw his sister a look. “Ivy, the man never did right by either one of us. At least he approved of you.”

  “What in the hell are you talking about? Bill Bellows never once said a word of encouragement. I hardly saw him after he left Mama and me. You know that.”

  “He always was bragging about you and saying things like he wished I was as smart as you. He never let up.”

  “The man had no idea how smart or dumb I was. He never came around very often after I turned nine. I remember sitting on the couch that faced the front window at Mama’s house every Saturday for almost a year. Daddy was supposed to pick me up and take me out for the day. I think he made it a couple of times. You can do the math and figure out how many Saturdays I waited and he never showed up.” Running her hand along the counter, she shook her head. “Having a photographic memory is more that remembering information, it’s also rembering experiences. Clearly. The feeling of my stomach cramping up as soon as I sat down to wait for daddy is as familiar to me as something that happened yesterday. To this day, my stomach hurts when I have to wait for someone.” Tapping her hand, she sighed.

  “Mama finally put a stop to it and said Daddy wasn’t coming around anymore. About that time, she enrolled me in dance classes and anything else she thought I might like. After a while I hardly thought about him and what he was doing. Until you came along. I thought having a baby brother was like a makeup gift for Daddy leaving.”

  “Looking back, it was kind of unusual that our mamas let us have so much time together, given the situation. They should have been mortal enemies,” Colin added.

  “Or allies. They both dealt with Bill Bellows, and that probably made them like war buddies. Only the other one knew what it was like,” Ivy responded.

  “Why aren’t you more pissed at him? Why does it seem easy for you?”

  Ivy came around the counter and sat down next to him. “Colin, I got tired of carrying it around with me. Being pissed off about who Daddy was or wasn’t is too damn heavy to carry around. My back was hurting from the strain.” Leaning over, she kissed his cheek. “My issues bubble up from time to time, make no mistake. I just have beat them into submission because Mama told me that Bill Bellows wouldn’t steal my happiness if she had a breath in her body. I can’t let her down.”

  “You got lucky with Bea and Grams; those two are like a hurricane. Nothing gets in their way. My mother could be brought down by a summer breeze. I blame Daddy for that as well. I never had what you had, so my anger has often gotten the best of me.”

  The oven timer dinged, and Ivy popped up. “Colin, you have me, and I’m not going to let our daddy take any more of your happy days away from you. This company doesn’t mean much to me. I like my job, and I have a lot of respect for the company I work for. I have no desire to get into the oil business.”

  She pulled the biscuits out of the oven and slid the pan onto the counter. Looking around, she admired her small house. It was warm and homey, and it was all she would ever need. “I don’t need much more than I have, so I’m happy to sell the company as soon as we can.”

  Snorting, he leaned back and crossed his arms. “Then all we have to do is worry about managing all that money we have. That could be a full-time job.”

  “There are people who can do that for us. We don’t have to change our plans unless we want to.”

  Shaking his head, he watched her start the gravy. “We are about to have more money than a lot of small countries. I guess it’s up to us what we do with it,” he replied.

  “I have a lot of ideas. I’d like to set up a couple of foundations and fund some things that I’m real interested in changing,” she said as she stirred the gravy. “I want to work on a program that helps kids who age out of the foster care program. I’d also like to start some no-kill shelters for animals and offer programs for kids who can’t afford college.”

  “I guess some after-school sports programs for kids in at-risk neighborhoods wouldn’t be a bad idea,” he added.

  Turning the heat down, Ivy studied the pan. “Maybe Daddy’s money will help a bunch of kids after all. Lord knows he failed with the both of us. Maybe spending his oil fortune on good causes will give us the peace we need.”

  “Leave it to you to paint a pretty picture.”

  “It’s much better than the alternative,” she said, as she poured the gravy in the bowl. “Set the table. We’re about ready.”

  ***

  Ryan pushed away from the wall in the hall. A lot of things about Ivy suddenly made sense. He wasn’t proud that he’d resorted to eavesdropping. But he wasn’t ashamed, either. He liked to have all the intel he could, and that’s what he’d been doing.

  No wonder Ivy liked to be in control and enjoyed her job as Vice President of Operations. It gave her what she needed most: order and routine. Her daddy’s abandonment was playing a part in her life to this day.

  The thing that was happening between the two of them must have her about off the rails, because nothing made you feel more out of control than love and connection. And that’s what was starting between them. She could call it what she wanted, but he saw her eyes and he knew that she was scared out of her mind.

  Best thing he could do was relax and not push. Which was totally against his nature. He wanted to bind her to him and make her promise a thousand times over that she would never leave. He had his own ghosts, and if he was lucky he could get rid of them by being with her. Maybe they could invite Ivy’s ghosts and his and have a damn party. Get them all out in the open and set fire to them, and watch them perish. Maybe then…they would finally be free from the past.

  He wiped his hand down his face and took a steadying breath. This was about the long game, so it was time to dig deep and relax. He walked down the hall and called out, “Sure smells good in here.” When Ivy glanced up and smiled at him, he knew it didn’t matter how long the game was. He was in it until the end. And the end meant that she was bound to him and damn happy about it.

  “I have perfect timing,” he said as he clapped Colin on the back.

  “Whatever you did to convince my sister to make biscuits and gravy…please keep doing it. This is my favorite breakfast.” A towel hit him upside the head and he turned and grinned. “What?”

  “You behave, Colin, or I’m not feeding you,” Ivy retorted as she stirred the eggs in the pan. “Make yourself useful and get the food on the table.”

  “Let me help, honey,” Ryan said, as he picked up the basket
of warm biscuits. He swore she mumbled that he’d helped enough. Glancing over, he noticed she was studying the eggs in the pan with more concentration than was necessary. Shrugging, he walked over and kissed her head. “Thanks for making breakfast.”

  “Quit messing with the cook,” Colin bellowed from the table. “I’m hungry.”

  “No one is messing with me,” Ivy said with enough starch in her voice to shut them both up. She dropped the eggs in the bowl and brought it over to the table. Sitting down, she surveyed the table. “What did I forget? Coffee!” She was about to get up when Ryan’s hand stopped her.

  “Sit and eat. I’ll get it.”

  “Thank you.” She started to fill Colin’s plate and Ryan’s plate and heard Colin clear his throat. “What?” she asked.

  “I’m not a child, Ivy. I can make my own plate.” He took the spoon out of her hand and added eggs to the mound of food that was there.

  Ryan filled the cups and placed his hand on Ivy’s shoulder. “You can make my plate, honey. I like it when you take care of me.” He threw Colin a dirty look and filled his coffee mug only halfway.

  “I didn’t even realize I was doing it,” she said as she stared at her plate.

  Ryan sat down and took her hand. “I think it’s sweet and I like it, so I hope you won’t listen to your brother, who apparently has rocks for brains.”

  “Sorry, Ivy,” Colin mumbled, as he poured gravy over his whole plate. “Thanks for feeding me.”

  Throwing her hair over her shoulder, she sniffed. “You’re welcome. Don’t you worry, Colin. From here on out, you can fend for yourself. No more special treatment for my baby brother. As far as I’m concerned, you are just another professional athlete who doesn’t deserve any of my special attention. Especially my brownies. No sir, not ever…again.”