Charlotte, Deni and Jessa were waiting by the door and Carly groaned, realizing that her friends had probably paid for the meal. “Sorry. You ladies need to get back to your babies, don’t you?”
“We have plenty of time,” Jessa told her, handing her a small box.
“What’s this?”
She shrugged. “You were lost in your own world while we scarfed down dessert. So we got you your very own pistachio mousse cake. Enjoy!”
Carly stared down at the elegantly wrapped box, feeling a wave of gratitude wash over her. “Thank you,” she whispered. “You ladies take care of my niece and nephew!” she ordered, hugging both of them. “Deni, be careful on the drive back to Louisville, okay?” and she hugged Deni quickly before pulling back. “Gotta run.”
And she stepped out into the street, quickly jerking back when a car honked its horn, then zoomed past. She smiled back at her friend and sisters-in-law, silently reassuring them that she was okay, then looked both ways, and carefully crossed the street.
Charlotte released the death grip on Jessa’s arm when Carly reached the other side of the road. “Think she’ll be okay alone tonight?” she asked.
Deni relaxed as well. “Yeah. She might reorganize her linen closet though,” she replied. Charlotte and Jessa laughed, but they all watched until Carly made it back to her car.
Chapter 4
Ryker hurried into the office, not bothering to flip on the lights. It was Saturday, so most of the staff was gone. He’d already stopped by Carly’s house and knew that she wasn’t home. On a sneaking suspicion, he’d driven over to the office, thinking he might know where she was hiding. Because if she wasn’t at her house, cleaning or organizing something, Carly would be at the office. The only other place she might be was at Oz or Jayce’s house, playing with Liam or Bethany. Or both, he thought with a smile.
But as soon as he stepped into the executive hallway of The Solutions Group, he knew from the absolute stillness that Carly wasn’t in her office. So, where the hell was she? Ryker made a point of stopping by to tell her he was back in town as soon as he could. He knew that she didn’t like it when he or her brothers were gone, and they all came directly from the airport to her, making up one excuse or another, just to let her know that they were back. She worried and when she worried, she organized. Carly was one of the most organized people he knew, but when one of her men was gone, she was even more careful about everything. He knew that Jayce and Oz sometimes went into her office and rearranged things before they went out of town, just so she’d have something to organize. They didn’t do it maliciously. They did it as a kindness. Because Carly might be tough, strong, and brilliant on the outside, running The Solutions Group more effectively than a military general organizing an incursion into enemy territory, but inside, she was a marshmallow. And she worried until she knew that her men were back home, safe and sound.
Initially, he’d thought it was sweet, the way she’d taken to worrying about him as well. Until he realized that she treated him like she treated her brothers. That had seriously pissed him off! Because in no way did he consider Carly Cole to be his sister! And damn it, that kiss on the course had given him hope that she had started to see him as a man finally! But then she’d retreated, running away and apologizing.
Which is why he’d taken off on the next two missions. If he’d stayed in town, he might have done something stupid. Like go over to her house and kiss her again. Maybe just demand that she look at him as a man instead of as a brother.
Still, he didn’t like causing her to worry, so he tried to announce his return as soon as he was back in the building. He even texted her from the plane as soon as he was in the air coming home, but discovered that “on the way home” wasn’t good enough for Carly. Nope, she needed her “boys” back in town. Hell, if she could tuck all three of them in every night, she might even be happier.
Ryker stopped and thought about that idea. Yeah, he’d like for her to tuck him in, he thought. Hell, he’d like to tuck her into bed. With him right next to her.
For too long, he’d ached for the lovely brunette. But Carly only saw him as a brother. No matter how much it pissed him off, he would rather have that affection from the woman than nothing at all.
But it still sucked to feel the way he did about a woman who…thought of him as a brother.
Although, that kiss the other day…? No. As nice as it had been, Carly had been on an adrenaline rush after getting over that wall. The kiss hadn’t meant anything. Which is why she’d run away so quickly after that kiss. Damn it!
He was about to head out to Jayce or Oz’s house, thinking she was there, when he noticed a movement outside. There were no training sessions planned for this afternoon, so there was no reason anyone would be on the obstacle course. But as he moved towards the back patio, he saw another flash of color.
Carly? She was out trying to do the obstacle course again? But… she didn’t have the training for that course! She didn’t know the tricks to…even as he watched, she sprinted over to the eight foot wall and stopped, not sure how to get over the obstacle even though he’d taught her how the last time they’d been out there.
Had that only been last weekend? A mere seven days in the past?
It seemed like longer. Maybe because he’d been in a swamp for the past several days, trying to free hostages from a place humans shouldn’t ever be.
The only thing that had made that horrible mission bearable was thinking about Carly and that kiss.
He came back to the present as he watched her next attempt. She jumped up, exactly as he’d taught her last week, but couldn’t get her hands over the top. Because she’d just sprinted up to the wall, she was out of breath and bent over at the waist, trying to slow her breathing. As he watched, she straightened, looking at it as she did just about everything she attacked in life – with grim determination.
Crossing his arms over his chest, he watched as she tried jumping up so that her fingers could grab onto the top. She walked to the side, thinking to climb up one of the supports. But Ryker had designed this course and he had no mercy. If someone wanted to be on one of the Solutions Group teams, they needed to know how to solve problems on the go. And an eight foot wall was just one of the obstacles that any military person went through in basic training.
He thought about Carly’s scraped and blistered hands from last week, then watched as she came at the wall with a running start, her hands gripping the top for a fraction of a second before sliding down again. Ryker cringed, knowing that the wood at the top of the wall wasn’t smooth. Her attack finally explained the scrapes and bruises she’d had all over her palms and fingers. Hell, even the backs of her hands were scraped and he had no idea how those had happened.
Taking the stairs down to the locker room, he quickly pulled on cargo pants and a black shirt from his locker, grabbed the smallest pair of gloves he could find, then headed out to the obstacle course. Walking through the thick undergrowth to the course, he watched with admiration as she tried to locate a log or something around the wall which she could use to propel herself higher. But Ryker had removed all of the toppled logs, to prevent potential or current team members from using them as a crutch to get over the wall.
“Want some help?” Ryker called out, startling the lovely brunette. Carly swung around, her eyes round with surprise and, was that relief? A moment later, she threw herself into his arms.
“You’re back!” she whispered, clutching him to her with trembling arms.
Before he had a chance to close his arms around her and hold her close, she realized what she’d just done and stepped out of his arms, backing up quickly. “I’m sorry,” she announced, tripping slightly over a low bush. “That was unprofessional of me.”
“I didn’t mind,” he told her, his voice a bit deeper than usual. Hell, he was only human and feeling Carly’s breasts against his chest was about the best thing he’d felt in a long time.
She shuffled her feet slightly, looking
at the leaves and dirt before finally glancing up into his eyes. “Yes. Well, how was your trip?’
“Successful,” he replied, looking into her pretty, green eyes. Eyes that were exactly like her brothers. No way would he disrespect Jayce or Oz by making a pass at their little sister.
She waited for him to say more, but he looked over at the wall. “You’re still going at this the wrong way,” he told her. “Remember what I told you last week? You’re not using your feet enough.” He handed her the gloves. “First of all, put these on. You’re hands aren’t callused enough for this yet and I doubt the scratches from last weekend have healed enough to endure more abuse today.”
If he hadn’t added on the ‘yet’, Ryker doubted that Carly would have donned the protective gear. When she looked up at him, he almost laughed at how stubborn she was. Cute and sexy, but stubborn in ways he didn’t quite understand.
But he wanted to. Hell, he wanted to understand everything about Carly!
“I’m trying to follow the instructions you gave me last week,” she told him, glancing up at him, then quickly away. “So, what am I doing wrong?” she asked, distracting him from the tight, athletic leggings and stretchy top she’d pulled on earlier.
“You’re still trying to pull yourself up by your arms. Remember, men have more upper body strength,” he started to say, then saw the anger in her eyes and continued on. “Women have more of their power in their core. You’re not using that to your advantage.”
He stopped there, noticing that her gaze dropped to his shoulders. When she looked up at him, were her pupils dilated? He wasn’t sure, but…hell, the possibility was encouraging.
“So, are you saying that women can’t get over a wall like that with just upper body strength?” she asked, her head tilting backwards to look up at him.
He laughed at the defiant glint in her green eyes. “Carly, there’s no way I’d ever say anything like that, especially not when you’re around.”
Her shoulders shifted and her hands fisted on her waist. “Do you think it?”
He chuckled and moved closer. “I don’t believe it in any way, honey.” He shifted again, enjoying the sparkle of challenge in her eyes. “I believe that men and women can do anything they set their minds to, but sometimes, they have to do things differently. Neither way is better or worse. Just different and there are advantages to each.” He touched her upper arm. “For instance, I don’t think that you’re as strong here as me,” and his hand moved away, pressing against his bicep. “Although, I think that you are stronger in your stomach than I am.”
Her eyes moved to his abs and he had to struggle to control his body’s reaction. He loved having her eyes on him, even if it was just a simple acceptance of strength.
Carly snorted again, enjoying the freedom to look at him for once. “I doubt that I’m stronger in my abs than you, Ryker. I might be stronger than the average male, but not you.” She was like a kid in a candy shop, looking at all of those bulging, delicious muscles. She’d looked at them other times as well, but because Ryker was her brothers’ best friend, she’d had to be a bit more…circumspect about her lustful perusals.
“We have several women on our teams, Carly. They all have to master the obstacle course at least once a month.”
She grinned up at him. “And you move things around every month, don’t you?”
His eyes sparkled back at her and Carly knew that was a major feat. Ryker wasn’t the most demonstrative man in the world. So the light in those dark, mysterious eyes warmed her from the inside out!
“Absolutely. The teams need to keep their skills up. Anyone who can’t pass, doesn’t get back out into the field.”
That warm, fuzzy feeling intensified at his firm statement. “Your training keeps them safe.”
“Exactly,” he replied. “So, do you want to learn more of the tricks to the course?”
Her smile widened. “Yes,” she breathed, trying to be casual even though her stomach was doing flip-flops at the idea of being in the woods with Ryker. It was silly, but she’d take any reason to be with him. “Teach me, oh master!” and she gave him a mock bow.
For the next two hours, Carly listened while Ryker explained the tricks his team and other soldiers used to get through various obstacle courses. But this time, Carly worked hard to keep her space from Ryker. After every achievement, she felt that same sense of elation that she’d felt the previous weekend, but…she did not throw herself into Ryker’s arms again.
No matter how much she wanted to!
Chapter 5
The following day, Carly was dressed and ready to head into the office, but needed to give herself a pep talk first. “Okay, don’t even think about that kiss from last weekend,” Carly told her reflection in the mirror. “Or the lack of a kiss this time around,” she muttered. “You look fabulous and that kiss was just a fluke. It shouldn’t have happened and you were right to keep your cool this time around.” She turned to Lucifer who was sitting in the middle of her bed. “What do you think? Do I look calm, cool, and professional?”
Lucifer stared at her for a moment, then stood up and shifted, presenting himself for affection.
“You’re not very convincing, my dear,” Carly replied, but ran her hand over his soft fur several times before scratching his back. His reply was to turn and prepare for a body slam, his way of rubbing his fur all over her clothes.
But Carly was up to his tricks. “No you don’t, mister!” she told the feline, backing up quickly. “You are not getting your white fur on my black dress today!” With that announcement in mind, she grabbed the red cardigan, pulling it on as she slipped her feet into red suede heels. “I need to look good this morning.” She took a deep breath and glanced at the mirror again. “You know what happened last Saturday and what didn’t happen this Saturday. I have to look professional today. No more flights of fancy about my esteemed colleague, right? We had this conversation all day yesterday. I was good about not throwing myself at the man this time. I need to maintain a professional look and being haired by you won’t help.”
Lucifer was unimpressed. In fact, he sniffed the air, then turned and busied himself with nosing the pillows at the top of her bed into position for his “nest” and wasn’t overly interested in more of her self-flagellations. He’d gotten an earful yesterday…and none of the scones or cookies she’d baked from all of her nervous energy.
“You’re a sweet kitty,” she told the huge cat. “But you’re not very good at supporting my neuroses.”
Lucifer lifted his head for a moment, closing his eyes in happy bliss as Carly scratched his ears. But Carly didn’t have time to spoil the big guy this morning. “Okay, there’s pizza in the freezer,” she called out, grabbing the matching red purse. “Don’t drink all of the red wine like you did yesterday,” she teased her cat, giving him a look, which Lucifer studiously ignored. “I’ll see you tonight and I’m checking the whiskey levels!”
With that, she walked out of the house, pulling the door closed and checking to make sure the lock clicked, exactly as Jayce and Oz continuously warned her to do.
Carly pulled into the parking lot of The Solutions Group building, her eyes immediately scanning the other cars. Thankfully, neither Ryker’s beautiful, silver BMW nor his big pickup was parked in any of the spaces, which made it significantly easier to walk into the building that morning. “Just get to your office and you’re home free,” she whispered to herself.
With dignity and, hopefully, a bit of elegance, she walked sedately through the doors, head held high and she didn’t twist her ankle even once in the high heels. A bonus!
“Hey Carly!” Mike, the amazingly friendly receptionist called out as soon as she stepped through the doorway.
“Hi Mike. How was your weekend?” she asked.
“It was great! My girlfriend and I headed up into the mountains for a hike. She’s never been hiking, so it felt good to give her a great experience.” He chuckled and shook his head. “She was terrified
of running into mountain lions or bears though.”
Carly smiled, thinking Mike was one of the nicest guys, although she’d thought he was gay for the longest time. “Did she enjoy the mountains?” she asked, thinking that hiking sounded like her own personal version of hell. Spiders and bugs, things crawling on the ground and the ever-present threat of hungry, wild animals with gigantic teeth…not something she wanted to deal with on her days off.
“You didn’t see any, did you?” she asked warily.
“We saw a few deer, but otherwise, it was just a nice walk.”
Carly laughed. “Deer, I could handle. All the other things? Not so much.”
“What other things do you think you’d run into in the mountains?” a deep voice asked from behind her.
Carly swung around, startled to find Ryker so close. And damn it, he smelled really good! All clean and sunshiny and…other stupid, impossible adjectives that she shouldn’t be able to smell, but on Ryker, she could!
“Um…!” her eyes moved higher, focusing on his mouth. Goodness, that mouth could…do things!
“I think she’s talking about the wild animals,” Mike filled in the silence and Carly detected a bit of amusement in his voice.
She lifted her eyes higher and felt another annoying stab of awareness when she found his eyes trained on her. “Yeah. And the…uh…crawly things,” she added, feeling a bit lame, considering Ryker probably came across plenty of crawling things, both big and small in his adventures throughout the globe. She hadn’t even though about the slithering things! Ick!
“Wild animals usually run away,” he told her, his voice soft and sexy. Soothing. Was he trying to soothe her? Because she didn’t need soothing! She was calm, cool, and professional today! And un-kissed today! Which was even better! Being un-kissed meant that Ryker wouldn’t take off again on some crazy mission, leaving her here, worried and anxious.
“Right. But…”
Forbidden Lover (The Diamond Club Book 7) Page 4