by Lea Hart
“Yes, ma’am,” Ivy replied with a laugh. “I hope I look half as good as you when I’m your age.”
“Me too,” Ryan said before he dug into the food that Ivy had brought him.
“You plan on being around that long?” She watched him nod and she shrugged. “We’ll see about that.”
“Yes, we will,” Grams said quietly.
***
Ivy looked out the window and let her eyes roam over the street. It felt like someone was out there. Shaking off the feeling, she closed the drapes. Ryan’s arms wrapped around her waist, and his lips fell against her neck. “Thank you for being such a good sport today,” she said. Turning, she looked up into his eyes and felt heat radiating off his body. “Why are you looking at me that way?”
“I was wondering if you want me as badly as I want you?”
Watching his eyes darken allowed her to confess how much he affected her. “Maybe I want you more.”
His mouth descended on hers, and his kiss was tinged with raw emotion. When he released her mouth, she looked up and knew he was her answer. Slipping his hands inside her robe, she felt it open, as he moved his hands hotly over her body.
Groaning softly into her mouth, he lifted her up and carried her to the dining room table. Her robe slipped off as he laid her against the hard wood. “Open for me, honey. I want to see how wet you are.” His broad finger slid down her stomach and across her folds. “Perfect,” he moaned as his eyes grew impossibly darker. Bending, he took her breast into his mouth and sucked hard on her nipple.
“Ryan…” Arching into his mouth, she cried out as he ravished her breasts. He moved greedily between them, and his masculine noises of appreciation set her nerves on fire. As the pleasure rolled down her spine, he threw a leg over his shoulder, dropped his face between her thighs and started to feast. And the impossible happened. Her brain shut off, and all she felt was the blinding pleasure of Ryan’s mouth against her most intimate spot.
When he raised his head from her trembling thighs, he licked his lips and grinned. “I’ll be doing more of that later.”
Dazed with satisfaction, she watched him unzip his jeans and tug them down. He kicked them off, and his erection popped free and sat against his stomach. “You are perfect,” she murmured as he ripped his T-shirt over his head. Letting her eyes roam over his bronzed skin, hard abs, and huge biceps made her desire spark that much hotter.
“Now you’re mine,” he said as he thrust into her slowly. “Let me in, baby.” Bending down, he kissed her sweetly as he drove himself inside. “Nothing between us.”
“Nothing,” she repeated. When he was fully seated, the world faded to nothing but sensation as he moved deeply in and out of her body. With a small cry, she felt herself surrender and abandon the last of her reserve. The high wall that she always protected herself with began to crumble as he took over. “More, Ryan.”
His thrusts became deeper and less controlled and his breaths became ragged. “Come for me, honey. Let go.”
The waves of pleasure rolled through her body as she crested and fell over the edge. His shout told her that he joined her. His orgasm exploded and his release washed though her body and they became one. For the first time in her life, the idea gave her peace.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Monday
The sharp sound of a bullet shattering glass broke the morning silence. Ryan instantly awoke as he recognized a sound that he’d lived with for over ten years. His brain couldn’t make sense of it here in their bedroom. Another crack and he shot out of bed and pulled his jeans on in one motion. Ivy started to stir. “Don’t move and don’t come out until you hear my voice.” Grabbing his gun from the drawer, he opened the door and walked quickly along the wall.
As he moved into the living room, he heard a bullet whiz past him and lodge itself into the wall. Spinning around, he ran down the hall and entered the kitchen from the other side. Who the fuck is shooting up the living room? Firing into someone’s house was as personal as it got and it told him that whoever was doing it meant business.
Running through the kitchen, he opened the back door and moved along the side of the house. His movements were shrouded due to the limited morning light, as he moved quietly along the grass. The front yard was covered in leaves, and if someone was close, then he would hear the crunch as they moved. Sliding along the wall, he made it to the front and quartered the area. At the far end of the front yard, he spotted a small figure with red hair. “Sherry Lane,” he muttered to himself. The sky began to lighten, and he caught sight of a silver flash. She was getting ready to shoot again. Lifting his gun…he waited. Bill’s crazy ex was going to have to move around the tree if she wanted a clear shot into the house. Inhaling deeply, he released the breath and pointed his gun. Poised. Ready. Waiting. One second passed and then another, and the sound of crunching leaves alerted him to the shooter’s movement. A flash of red and Sherry lifted her gun and prepared to shoot. One breath in and on the exhale, he pulled the trigger. A loud scream filled the morning as he watched the woman crumple to the ground. He’d hit her in the arm, putting her out of commission.
The front door flew open, and Ivy stood there with a gun in one hand and her phone in the other. All she was wearing was his T-shirt and her slippers. “Did you call 911?” he called out.
“Yes.” She ran toward him and he caught her in his arms. “Are you okay?”
“Of course, honey. Go back in and put some clothes on. The local police don’t need to see your very fine, naked ass.”
“Oh, hush up. We have to go see who was shooting at us.”
“It was Ms. Sherry Lane.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her head. “Go in and get dressed.” The sound of sirens coming down the street made him push her in the direction of the house. “Hurry.”
Turning toward the house, she ran toward the door. “Don’t let anything else happen without me.”
***
Ryan stood with Tommy Harlan, the local sheriff, and watched the paramedics work on Sherry. The bullet he shot into her arm went through, and she was in a lot of pain. It was exactly the shot he meant to take. It would hurt like hell and cause no long-term damage. It seemed like she deserved it after she shot up their living room. He had plans to start the day buried inside Ivy, not standing out on the front lawn being questioned by Sheriff Harlan. The leaves crunching made him turn around, and he saw Ivy approach. She’d gotten dressed and thrown her hair up in a ponytail. When she stepped up next to him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and snuggled under his arm. “Sherry came by and thought she’d shoot up the house,” he said without humor. “I figure she’s the one who shot at you in Austin. When the ballistics come back, I’ll bet we can match them to the one found in the koi pont at your daddy’s house in Austin.
“Why would she shoot me on the day of Daddy’s funeral? At that point, she didn’t know how much Daddy had left her.”
“I guess we’ll find out once she’s questioned. Maybe she thought if she scared you then you would give her what she wanted.”
“Dumb and crazy…the perfection combination for Daddy.”
Tommy stared at Ivy and Ryan noticed hunger in his eyes. Tightening his grip, Ryan glared at the man. Was it not obvious they were together? What kind of chance did he think he had? “Anything else you need from us, Sheriff?” He bit out the words with as much patience as he could.
“We’ll need to go through the events again and then have Ivy make her statement. The CSI team is coming over from Austin, so they may not make it for a couple of hours. You all need to stay out of the living room until they collect the evidence.”
“Let’s go through the back and I’ll make some coffee,” Ivy said.
As Ivy turned, Ryan watched Tommy’s eyes slide to her ass. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to punch the man in the face. Flexing his hands, he took a breath in and grabbed Ivy’s hand as they walked back to the house. This morning had gone to shit, and the sheriff’s o
bvious lack of manners was the cherry on top of his crap sundae.
“Maybe this is the end of it,” Ivy said, as they walked toward the house. “Wouldn’t it be nice if we could be a normal couple?”
When he heard the word couple come out of her mouth, a wave of relief washed over him. It was stupid, but it made him happy. Sure, they’d been calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend, but the way she said it made him think that she believed in their future. It might have been an insignificant statement to her, but it was just what he needed. “I look forward to that, honey.”
“Don’t let Tommy get under your nerves. He’s looked at me that way since high school. If you want to smooch me real big in the kitchen, then I won’t object. I’ve told him a hundred times that nothing romantic is ever going to happen between us, but he never gets the message. Maybe seeing us together will do the trick.”
“I’ll be smooching you for sure. With or without old Tommy looking on.” He tightened his hold on her hand and decided that the morning wasn’t as bad as he’d thought five minutes ago. Ivy had a way of helping him see the bright spots. If Sherry was the shooter at the Austin house, then he was going to breathe a lot easier.
***
Ryan checked his watch. It was close to three. The CSI team had just left, and the hardware store was due to deliver the wood for the front window. The new one wasn’t going to be ready until tomorrow afternoon, so Bea had insisted they spend the night with her. What Ivy had said earlier about being a normal couple played on a loop in his head. They’d never made it through a regular date together. The closest they’d gotten was Trevor and Katie’s wedding a couple of weeks ago. The first thing he wanted to do when they got back to Florida was take her out to dinner and maybe a movie.
Wait…what if she wasn’t planning on staying in Florida? Why would she? It wasn’t as though she had a home there, and it wasn’t the home office for the company. What in the hell had he been thinking? Shit. He needed a plan, one that made sure that he and Ivy ended up in the same town and in the same house. It didn’t much matter where he lived. Closer to the West Coast would be preferable, because that way he could see his family more often. If Ivy wanted to live in San Diego, that was fine with him. Hell, he loved it down there. The years he’d spent on Team One were happy ones. His gut settled as he formulated a plan. All he had to do was talk Ivy into moving in together. And then, after she got used to that, he’d ask her to marry him. Easy.
Except they were talking about Ivy, and nothing about her was easy. She was a damn storm most of the time. Who knew what she’d say to his suggestion?
“Ryan, come in and pack your bag so we can go over to Mama’s. She’s going to have dinner ready at six, and I need to get some work done today.”
“Coming, honey.”
He ambled into their room and watched her put a pair of polka dot pajamas in her bag. “Why are you putting pajamas in your bag? We’ve been sleeping naked together.”
“I am not sleeping naked at Mama’s house. You’re going to be in the guest room anyway.”
“No, I’m not. Your mama likes me and gave me her blessing. The whole town knows we’re sleeping together, so I bet she didn’t even make up the guest room.”
Ivy slumped onto the bed and covered her face. “I never thought about it like that. You think the whole town knows?”
He lifted an eyebrow and waited. Was she really in denial about this? “Honey, are you surprised?”
“I guess not. It’s just when you said the whole town, it felt funny.” Smoothing out the quilt that covered her bed, she sighed. “I hope somebody has a scandal soon and people forget about us. It’s bound to happen; this town is ripe for something juicy to happen.”
“A bake sale would just about guarantee that. Why don’t you suggest it to the town council?”
“The mayor has forbidden bake sales. The liability far outweighs any benefits.”
He sat down beside her and took her hand. “We’ll be going back to Florida soon, and it’ll give people time to forget. By the time we get back, we’ll just be like any other normal, boring couple in town.” Assuming success—that’s what he was doing. Don’t let her get any ideas that there’s another option. “I can’t wait to slip into that four-poster bed you’ve got.”
“Is this some princess fantasy that we’re going to fulfill tonight? Because if it is, then I need to pack other pajamas.”
Letting out a laugh, he bent over and kissed her. “No pajamas necessary.”
“I just want to make sure I have the right outfit.”
“Naked is the only outfit I care about.”
She pushed at him and stood up. “Naked isn’t an outfit.”
“On you it is.” The sound of the doorbell interrupted what he was about to say, so he kissed her and got up. “I’ll cover the window and then we can go over to your mama’s house.” As he moved toward the door, he realized that she hadn’t argued with one thing he’d said. Maybe the idea of them together was going to be an easier sell than he’d thought.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Wednesday
Ivy stepped into Mama’s house and headed straight for the kitchen. Entering, she saw the two most important women in her life drinking margaritas and eating chips and guacamole. She was pretty sure that’s what heaven would be like if she ended up getting in. “I’m just in time.”
“We had to make sure that your new recipe was as good as you said,” Bea told Ivy as she filled a glass for her. “I don’t think I’ve seen you alone since you got here. Where in the world is Prince Charming?”
“He’s over at Rick’s ranch, helping out with branding or something. I gave him the day off since Sherry Lane’s still in the hospital. The detective in Austin told us that bullets from the gun she used on Monday match the ones they found in the koi pond at Daddy’s house. Apparently she suffers from Antisocial personality disorder and she’s headed to the state mental facility.”
Bea shook her head. “Bill Bellows and a sociopath, why am I not surprised.”
“You and Ryan had a good run,” Grams commented as she filled a chip with guacamole. “Shooting the bad guys right and left. It makes me proud.”
“I wasn’t planning on shooting anyone, but William had it coming. I’m sure he barely felt the bullet because of all his padding. I meant to hit him in the leg; I knew those big old thighs of his would absorb it with no problem.”
“It’s not right pointing a gun at a dog and a bunch of women,” Bea said. “It’s poor manners, if you ask me. His mama must be so ashamed.”
“So, now what?” Grams asked. “You all cleaned up most of the mess. Are you going to keep that fine young man?”
“I’m thinking about it. We’re headed to Florida on Sunday. I have a meeting with Max and Rory scheduled for Tuesday. They’re flying in from San Diego and stopping in the office on their way to vacation. I want to propose the idea of an office here in Texas, and I need to make sure that things are running smoothly with the refinery contracts in South America.”
Grams covered her hand and smiled. “Is there any chance that you’ll come home to live instead of San Diego?”
“I don’t know. I’ll talk about it with Rory and Max and see what they think. I should also see what kind of ideas Ryan has…I’ve gotten the impression that he wants to keep seeing me.”
“He wants to marry you,” Grams said loudly. “No doubt about it.”
Ivy lifted her glass and took a healthy gulp. When that didn’t seem to do anything, she took another. “I’ve never had a man show me the kind of interest that Ryan has. Who knows? Maybe we go back to work and when the excitement fades, so do our feelings. Maybe we’re both adrenaline junkies and this just fed the fire we needed.”
“Or it’s the real thing and he means to keep you,” Grams added as she took Ivy’s hand. “Baby girl, I want you to remember that life isn’t meant to be filled with an endless to-do list. There is a man who wants to give you experiences that bring you clos
e to the sun. Whatever happens between you and Ryan is going to burn you clean. Polite and appropriate never made anyone happy. My advice to you is to stay as far away from that as you can.”
Bea nodded in agreement as she refilled their glasses. “Honey, I’m sorry that I couldn’t do better by you and give you a good example. Your daddy and I were a hot mess, and I did my best to shield you from most of it.” She leaned back, lifted her hair off her shoulders, and blew out a long breath. “Maybe it’s time I told you a little about your daddy and how he grew up.”
“What do you mean, Mama? I feel like I know everything there is to know about that man.”
“You don’t, sweet girl. You just know the man who failed you as a parent. You don’t know who he was before he got there and what helped him get that way. I believe in my heart that your daddy did the best he could with what he had. His mama and daddy were not easy people, and he never had a decent example of how to be a good husband or father. His mama was nuts and his daddy had a horrible temper. Whatever he saw as a child didn’t prepare him to become a good husband or father.”
“So what am I supposed to do…forgive him?” Ivy shouted.
“Might be a good idea. It was his story; you were just the collateral damage,” Bea said. “So was Colin. Bill Bellows’ failure as a parent had to do with his deficiencies and unwillingness to overcome them. It had nothing to do with you and how amazing, smart, charming, and accomplished you are. You are the best girl in the world, and Colin is the best boy. You all deserved a lot more than you got. But life doesn’t always work out that way.”
Sitting back, Ivy drained her glass and waited for her mama to refill it. There was an earthquake happening in her brain, and her whole perspective was shaken. Was it possible that all the things she thought had to do with her…didn’t? Perhaps, it wasn’t her movie, and she was just a supporting actor who got the crappy subplot. Was it possible her father’s failure as a parent had nothing to do with her?