Forbidden Lover (The Diamond Club Book 7)

by Elizabeth Lennox

  “You’re thinking about the very rare times that the wild animals don’t run away. Am I right?” he asked, his voice dropping lower. Sexier.

  Were they still talking about the animals in the woods? It felt as if Ryker were talking about…other wild things. Like himself? Or maybe her?

  For some reason, him thinking of her as wild made her feel…good. But good in a bad way! No, she wasn’t wild! She was calm, cool, and professional!

  “Carly!” Oz snapped from the side door of the lobby.

  Carly jerked away, her lungs filling with air. Why in the world had she been holding her breath? Turning away from Ryker, she watched as her brother walked towards her, his sharp gaze moving back and forth between herself and Ryker who stood behind her. How did she know that he was directly behind her? Because the man had so many muscles, he was a furnace! She could feel the heat of him. Also, she could sense him. He had something powerful going on, something she didn’t understand.

  None of her business! Carly admonished herself for forgetting that little tid bit. Brothers’ best friend. Colleague. Off limits.

  “What’s up?” she finally asked her brother. But as she finally lifted her eyes to his, her stomach tightened with dread. Was that curiosity in his eyes? She certainly hoped not! A curious Oz was a very dangerous brother!

  It took Oz a moment to respond because he was too busy eyeing her and Ryker. But eventually, he focused on her. “That meeting you set up in West Virginia. What are the dates again?”

  West Virginia? Was he serious? Okay, so maybe Carly normally had this stuff memorized. But with Ryker standing so close behind her, she wasn’t even sure about her name!

  “I’ll…uh…Let me get back to you on that,” she said, ignoring his surprise and stepping around him, heading towards the doors that would lead away from the two men who terrified her, but for different reasons.

  “Carly?” Oz called back.

  Carly turned, lifting her eyebrows in question to her brother’s call.

  “Aren’t you going to your office?”

  “Yes. Why?”

  Oz pointed to the opposite doorway. “Because it’s back there.”

  She glanced at the other door, then at Ryker and felt her cheeks heat up. “Right.” Thinking fast, she shrugged. “I needed to grab something from the…file room,” she said, then dashed away before either man could point out that the filing room was on the other side of the building as well.

  Ryker watched Carly walk away, enjoying the gentle sway of her hips and the sexy, red heels. Had she worn red just to distract him?

  Damn, every time she’d overcome one of the obstacles on the course, she’d been so excited and happy.

  This past weekend, she’d been excited, but also very careful to keep her distance.

  Had she worn those red heels to taunt him with her femininity? Was she punishing him for some reason?

  No, that wasn’t Carly’s style. If she was angry, she came right out and said so. And if either of her brothers pissed her off, they regretted it once she dumped some tedious task on their desk. Or she’d send them off to some meeting with a client they particularly disliked. Carly was ingenious with her paybacks.

  So, why was she wearing red heels today? Red was like a sexual flag to men. Especially a man like him. Especially now that he knew what she felt like in his arms, how she kissed, the latent passion hidden behind that cool, sophisticated façade. And he wanted to taste it again. Were the red shoes punishment for not kissing her this time?

  “What the hell is wrong with her?” Oz demanded, his hands fisting on his hips as he stared at the doorway through which Carly had disappeared.

  “Maybe something happened over the weekend that bothered her,” Ryker replied, thinking that he hoped that he was the something that had bothered her. Because she sure as hell had gotten to him! All night on Saturday and throughout the day on Sunday, he’d thought about her, about their lack of kissing this time around and wondering how he could experience that passion again.

  And then she’d worn those red shoes!

  Her calves looked impressive. She was a runner and her calves were hard and taut, sexy as hell! He’d never been a man to ogle a woman’s calves before, but Carly’s were ogle-worthy.

  Not that he should be doing that here in the office. He should save the ogling for when they were outside of the office.

  But the ogle-worthy woman wouldn’t answer his calls or texts. Was he back to square one with her?

  No, that didn’t make sense. Because before, he hadn’t known that she felt about him like that. That stupid mission he’d gone on last week had been merely a setback. He hadn’t been around to follow up, nor had he had time to call her and tell her goodbye. But now he was back in the office for a while. Now that he’d kissed her, and she’d kissed him back, he was going to pursue this.

  An hour later, Ryker walked into the conference room, pausing a moment to absorb everything that was Carly. She was so beautiful, with her dark hair and her green eyes that sparkled often with laughter. The woman was organized and meticulous, which helped him and the teams to be safe. All business matters went through Carly and she was amazing with their clients. Everything ran smoothly because Carly was so careful and thorough.

  “What’s going on?” Jayce asked from behind him.

  Ryker stepped out of the way, making room for the other big guy to step into the conference room. A fraction of a second later, Betty, Oz’s fluffy and very pregnant mutt waddled carefully into the room as well.

  As expected, as soon as Carly saw the sweet momma dog, she bent over and Betty, being the smart dog that she was, knew that Carly was a sucker who always had treats.

  “Hi sweety!” Carly cooed, bending over to scratch behind the dog’s ears affectionately. “How are you feeling this morning? Are your babies okay?” A moment later, the expected treat was offered. Normally, Betty would pounce on treats. She also used to race through the hallways, bouncing around or chasing a ball outside whenever someone from the staff threw it for her. But because of her advanced pregnancy, Betty was a bit slower. Oz’s dog had gotten pregnant by Charlotte’s bulldog, Bart. Ryker was interested to see the result of a mix between a purebred bulldog and a too-hairy mutt. Whatever the result, the parents were still adorably in love, always snuggling together at night and Bart was protective of his lady love.

  “Don’t give her anymore treats, Carly,” Oz groaned. “She’s too fat as it is.”

  Carly ruffled Betty’s fur. “You’re not fat, sweety! You’re pregnant.”

  “The vet says she’s gained too much weight,” he admonished.

  Carly sighed. “Men just don’t know how miserable being pregnant is,” she gushed to the pretty dog.

  “And you do?” he asked.

  Carly must have heard the warning in her brother’s voice because she sat up and grinned, eager to torment him. “Oh, pregnancy is just…”

  “Carly!” he growled in warning.

  She laughed and shook her head. “You’re too easy these days.”

  Jayce stepped into the room and took the chair next to Oz. Ryker walked over to the other side of the table and took the seat on the other side of Carly.

  “Now that we’re all here,” she said, still scratching Betty’s ears, “I can go over last quarter’s financial information.”

  “Must we?” Jayce interrupted, his tone indicating that the subject was too tedious for words.

  Oz nodded in agreement. “Can’t you just tell us if we’re doing well or if the company is in trouble and leave it at that?”

  She sighed, looking at her brothers with exasperation. “We ran at a two hundred percent profit last month,” she announced, then waited.

  Ryker chuckled as both brothers leaned forward.

  “Are you kidding?” Oz demanded.

  “Yes!” she snapped. “Of course I’m kidding! Now, look at your financial sheets, study the information that I’ve painstakingly put together for you, and ask questions.
”

  Ryker smiled as her brothers, both appropriately admonished, pulled the financial statement closer and flipped through the pages. For the next thirty minutes, Carly went through the financial information, answering questions from the three of them. Jayce and Oz might pretend to be interested only in the mission work, but in reality, they were only interested in the mission work. And a good financial profile meant that they could continue with that mission work.

  Ryker took a more practical approach and asked a few additional questions, interested in how they could use the profit to expand the company.

  “I’m so glad you asked,” she quipped as she handed out another set of reports, which outlined her plans for the next six months, three years and five years. It was impressively detailed, outlining the various clients she wanted to go after, the equipment the company should purchase, the equipment that would need to be replaced or repaired, and recruitment costs. There was an amount left in reserve because today’s technology was changing so quickly, they had to be able to keep up with whatever advantages might develop during that time period.

  “Any questions?” she asked when she finished answering questions and writing down their additional suggestions.

  “None,” Jayce replied. “Good job.”

  Oz nodded. “There are a few other people you should interview, Carly,” he said. “When Ryker heads off to western Kentucky, I think you should go with him and talk to the ATF people there,” he said, referring to the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms personnel stationed in Paducah, Kentucky.

  Carly’s mouth fell open. For the first time during the meeting, Carly was flustered! Damn, she looked cute when she tried to figure out how to get out of traveling a couple hundred miles with him.

  “I don’t think…” she started.

  “You wouldn’t even need to fly,” Jayce added. “It’s only about three hundred miles from here. Should be an easy drive.”

  Her face turned an even more beautiful shade of pink and Ryker wanted to reach out to touch her, assure her that everything would be okay. But he knew that he didn’t want things to be okay. Not anymore. Hell no! Not after that kiss two weeks ago! Traveling to western Kentucky would give him a chance to make up for lost time while he’d been gone over the past week. It would allow him to talk to her, privately and in an environment where she couldn’t just run away or make an excuse.

  “I don’t think…”

  “Nonsense. It makes a lot of sense.” Both of her brothers stood up as if that declaration was the end of the conversation and started gathering their papers. “You two work out the details.”

  A moment later, they were gone, Betty following Oz with her tail wagging. Both men slowed their steps so the pregnant lady could keep up.

  When they were alone again, Ryker stood up and moved closer, sitting on the conference room table with one leg on the floor for balance. “You don’t want to be alone with me for several hours in a car, do you?” he offered the obvious.

  She shrugged, unable to look at him. “I just don’t think that it’s…”

  Carly reluctantly lifted her eyes to his. “Ryker, thank you for your help on the obstacle course. But last week…” she started, then stopped, not sure what to say.

  He took her hands, turning them over. “Don’t forget your gloves the next time you do the obstacle course.”

  She swallowed, no longer surprised by the heat in his touch, but still shocked by the incredible awareness she felt, the need for him to touch her in other places. “I know. But about the trip…”

  “What were you trying to prove on Saturday? I know you tried to run the course without me so that…well so the same thing didn’t happen from the previous week. But I suspect that there’s something more going on.”

  Oh no! Did he think…did he suspect how she felt about him?

  “Were you just doing the course to see if you could?” he asked.

  The air in her lungs came out with a whoosh! He wasn’t talking about the kiss! He was talking about her trying to do the obstacle course without him again. Rallying quickly, she said “I wanted to challenge myself with something new.” Carly looked up at him to see if he believed her. “I was reading a few weeks ago about how we need to challenge ourselves to learn new things in order to stave off Alzheimer’s and dementia. The more new skills we try and learn, the more synapses our brains form. And those additional synapses can help us when…” she halted when his thumb stopped rubbing, settling on the pulse against her wrist. She knew that her heart was pounding too hard and wished she could slow it down, hide her reaction to being so close to him. But it wasn’t working. Never had!

  “Want to try it one more time?” he offered. “I’ll help you again. There are other tricks to getting over the obstacles.”

  She pulled her hands away and forced her lips to smile. “No. I think I’ll pass on that course. It was a bit too…um…well.” She stared at him, remembering that he’d built that course. He’d designed it and, every month, he changed things up to make it difficult and challenging. This was his baby, his inspiration. That was why she’d wanted to learn the course. Not really out of a need to learn new things, but because she’d wanted to understand Ryker better, to fully grasp his brilliance. “I love the maniacal brilliance that went into the course, but I’ve accomplished my goal.” There! That was an honest answer. “But thank you!” she replied and gathered up her papers. “I have to…um...” Carly looked around, trying to figure out what she should be doing. Conference room. Meeting. Budgets and financials. Right! “I should get back to my office.” Lame, but it was the only thing she could think of. “Thank you.”

  She turned and fled, wishing that she hadn’t made such a fool of herself. Was he looking for her to say something? Carly suspected that she should apologize. She’d mauled the guy the previous week and this week, there had been several moments when she’d almost done it again. Of course, he’d kissed her back last week but…oh, what was the point in dwelling on that kiss?! Because this weekend, he’d kept his distance.

  Dumping her papers on her desk, she went to the window, gazing at the obstacle course. She couldn’t see much of it from here, just a few spots where the winding path came closer to the building. But she knew it by heart, mostly because she’d been so proud of Ryker when he’d conceived of the idea and had poured over the details in order to get the supplies he needed in order to finalize the construction. Yeah, she was just as careful when her brothers had an idea, wanting them to get every item they would need as well. No doubt in her mind, Carly was painfully proud of all three of them, impressed with what they’d created. But there was a difference in what she felt for Oz and Jayce versus what she felt for Ryker. It was so different and painfully confusing!

  As she stared out at the course, something else occurred to her. That feeling she’d had when she’d been on top of the wall…she’d thrown her arms up in the air, thrilled that she’d succeeded. She’d overcome that obstacle. That same sense of pride and accomplishment had come over her with each subsequent challenge along the course. Each time she’d overcome an obstacle, she’d felt a huge wave of…happiness. Pride! Elation, even.

  What if…she turned to her computer and typed a message to Charlotte.

  Hey – what about a confidence course for the females in the area? Or even the boys that might be dealing with the bullies?

  Charlotte replied back almost immediately.

  I think it would be a wonderful suggestion! I’ll research some ideas and will get back to you.

  Carly grinned, excited about the idea. But even better, it was a great distraction from her romantic woes! She flipped over to the internet and researched other confidence courses, but none were as detailed as she’d like. Nothing was as impressive as what Ryker had built, but the course out behind their building was for professionals, men and women who had gone through tough, military training.

  She didn’t think that a confidence course for teenagers needed to be so challenging. There was
a difference between a confidence course and a training course, she thought, her fingers flying over the keyboard as she looked at different sites, read more information. She jotted down several ideas, made some rough drawings.

  Taking her notes, she walked down the hallway to Oz’s office.

  “What’s up?” he asked, turning away from his computer as she walked into the hushed office.

  Carly bent down to scratch Betty’s ears, and moved to sit in front of Oz’s desk, Betty putting her muzzle on Carly’s foot.

  “I went to dinner with my friends last week.”

  “I know,” he smiled, obviously thinking about his wife, Charlotte.

  Carly rolled her eyes. “Anyway, Deni, Jessa, and I got there a few minutes before Charlotte finished with her last patient, so we were in the waiting room when the family came out. There was a girl, maybe sixteen years old, with her mother and father. We don’t know the details, but the parents were grumbling about the way this girl dressed, implying that she’d been assaulted for dressing in sexy clothing.”

  Oz immediately stiffened, his eyes turning hard as he leaned forward. “What was the name of the boy who assaulted the girl?” he asked ominously, his tone promising a swift death.

  Carly’s heart contracted with love for her brother. As annoying as he was most of the time, he was a good man who knew how to treat a woman. “I have no idea, Oz. Nor can Charlotte tell us. Patient-client confidentiality and all that.”

  There was a stillness about him now. “What was the girl’s name? I’ll find out who hurt her.”

  Carly smiled gently, understanding where his mind was going. “I don’t know, actually. But I’m not here to talk about her specifically.” She shifted slightly in the chair. “I have an idea, something that I think could help girls in a similar situation. Or just any girl who is scared or unsure of herself.” She thought about it for a moment, then shrugged slightly. “Or really, any student that is being bullied in school.”

  There was a lessening of the tension in his shoulders as he glanced down at the papers in her hand. “You want to offer self-defense courses?”