Hell no! No way was he not getting her into his arms again!
Unless she didn’t want that.
His eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses as the door to the building opened up. Carly stepped out into the morning sunshine and his hands tightened on the steering wheel. She looked so beautiful with her dark hair sparkling in the sunshine, those heels and that sexy red dress! As he watched her walk through the parking lot, he wondered how long it would take him to slide the zipper down her back and push the material away. He wanted to see her naked. Naked and begging him to make love to her again, as he’d done last night.
One night stand! Sure!
“All ready,” she smiled, storing her leather briefcase in the backseat before settling into the front seat of his BMW.
He didn’t say a word as he waited for her to buckle her seatbelt. They drove in silence for a half hour before she started talking. As he listened to her discuss the issues she had to tackle, then move into descriptions of her niece and nephew’s antics, Ryker felt the tension leave him. This was the Carly he loved. She was sweet and caring, if a bit neurotic about organizing things. What was that about anyway? Why did she color code everything? All of the files in her office, and the files that she handed out in meetings or during discussions were all coded, not just in different file folder colors, but there were little colored tabs on the outside as well. So far, he hadn’t figured out her system. Possibly because it kept changing. Every time he thought he’d figured it out, she appeared with a new color.
Heading west away from the city, he listened to her talk and smiled, liking the way she could talk about anything. He liked listening to her voice. Hell, he’d loved hearing her talk last night as he’d held her in his arms, her fingers stroking his arms. Yeah, he’d liked her soft voice as well as her gentle touch. At the moment, she was chatting about her cat and he wondered what she’d say if he pulled into a parking lot and kissed her.
When she stopped talking, he looked over at her, then focused back on the road. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing!” she squeaked, but he could hear in her tone that something wasn’t right.
“Something’s wrong. Why did you stop talking?”
She shrugged and looked out the passenger window. “I just…ran out of things to say.”
He snorted, not believing her for a moment. Carly was confident and sassy, and listened to the news all the time, so he was fairly sure that she had an opinion about just about everything.
“Did you hear about the latest defense bill in Congress?”
She nodded, biting her lip and he wanted to laugh. She was trying not to talk. But with Carly, it was a struggle.
“I think it will go down in flames,” he offered. Nothing. “Maybe that environmental bill will pass though.” He almost laughed when her fingers curled into fists. She was fighting the urge to talk for some reason. “Carly, what’s wrong?”
She sighed, leaning her head back against the leather seat. “I’ve been talking non-stop about stupid stuff for the past hour, Ryker. I’m nervous and it’s showing and I’m trying to stop talking. So if you could please stop bringing up issues that spark my temper, I’d be grateful.”
He laughed softly. “And if I don’t?”
“Then you’re going to have to listen to me rant.” She blurted out, then stopped speaking. He waited, not saying a word. Five. Four. Three. Two….
“And that stupid environmental bill is pointless!” she began. “I mean, it’s a great start! I love that someone is finally starting to talk about saving the environment. But good grief!”
Ryker smiled as he watched the road, taking the next exit that put him onto the highway that would take them across the state. Carly was off, arguing about all the things that the government and private companies could do to improve the environment and Ryker relaxed again, enjoying the drive as Carly talked.
Two hours later, he pulled into the parking lot of the ATF building and Carly jumped out, grabbing her briefcase from the backseat. “I’m meeting Darcy Pruitt in a half hour. What time are your interviews?”
He looked at his watch. “I have one in fifteen minutes,” he announced, irritated that he’d cut things this close. “And three more after that. I scheduled them every forty-five minutes.”
“Good. I’ll be finished before you, so I’ll just…”
He tossed the keys to his BMW to her. “Why don’t you get us some lunch after you meet with Darcy? I’ll meet you in forty minutes and we can discuss Pruitt’s requests.”
She stared at his keys. “You’re trusting me with your car?” she asked, awed, but there was a teasing flash in her eyes.
“Don’t break it,” he warned, only because she was being sassy.
“I’ll try extra hard not to,” she laughed, tucking the keys into her purse.
He held the door to the ATF building open for her, his eyes automatically dropping to her butt that looked especially nice in the red dress.
“By the way,” he murmured when she was close enough. He paused, breathing in the clean, feminine scent of her, enjoying her green eyes and the warmth of her body. And yeah, he saw the dilated irises and the pounding of her pulse against the delicate skin of her neck. All signs that she was just as aware of him as he was of her. “We need to discuss last night,” he told her. Then he put a hand to the small of her back, leading her into the lobby of the ATF building.
Once inside, they put their bags through the security checks and walked through the metal detectors, patiently endured several checks before coming out the other side. Carly looked over at him, but even then, Darcy Pruitt was coming down the hallway, a huge grin on her face and Carly had to deal with their potential client.
Still, Ryker watched as Carly greeted the other woman, who was considered a pain in the neck in the intel community. Besides her touchy-ness, the woman was tough and argued that contractors should provide more than what was agreed to in the contract. More and more contractors were backing away from accepting her as a client.
Although, Darcy Pruitt wasn’t as bad as some of the people who asked contracting companies like The Solutions Group to do…things. Many requests for their services were illegal. Ryker couldn’t count how many times people across the country and even internationally, asked if one of their snipers could take out a husband or wife, father or sibling. Those cases were turned over to the authorities. The Solutions Group had a very strict ethical standard. Even the smallest whiff of something below those standards was rejected. And if a team discovered mid-mission that the activities weren’t completely above board, the team had the authority to back away. It was written in all contracts that illegal, unethical, or immoral activates would not be performed and there would be no refunds if discovered.
That was one of the reasons The Solutions Group had succeeded so quickly. The people who hired his company knew that the teams were strong, both mentally and physically. Honesty was a character trait that wasn’t always present in this industry.
Ryker watched as Carly walked away, enjoying the gentle sway of her hips. When she was out of sight, he took a deep breath to pull himself back into focus, then went in search of the room where the ATF agents were waiting to be interviewed.
Two hours later, Carly stepped out of the office, beaming with success. Initially, Darcy Pruitt had demanded that Jayce be her contact within the company. She’d even threatened not to toss any more contracts to The Solutions Group if Jayce wasn’t whom she dealt with. But when Carly stood up, pretending to accept the woman’s terms and gathering her things to leave, Darcy gave in.
“Fine!” she threw up her hands. “I get it! I’ll deal with you!”
Carly smiled politely and looked at the woman. She was in her late fifties with greying hair and an athletic body. She was still a beautiful woman, but too touchy-feely. “That’s good to hear, Darcy. You know that Jayce is married with a gorgeous son, right?”
Darcy rolled her eyes. “Right. Whatever. So, here are the issues I
need your company’s help with.” Obviously, Darcy Pruitt wasn’t aware that her actions were considered sexual harassment. Some people, men and women, considered themselves above the law, which wasn’t the case. It might take longer for their actions to catch up with them, but when they did, the repercussions were never pretty.
So now, sitting in the lobby of the ATF building waiting for Ryker to finish up, she wondered about the look from Ryker. She shivered, wishing she could read his mind. But she’d never been particularly good at it with Oz or Jayce. Ryker was even more of a mystery. Carly had gone out to grab lunch, but their intended meeting hadn’t happened. The sandwich she’d gotten for him earlier had been consumed, but they’d missed each other, unfortunately.
Now she was sitting in a sterile conference room waiting for him, feeling silly because she missed him so much. This was not good, she told herself firmly. Ryker left on missions all the time, more so now that Oz and Jayce had backed out of leading teams.
All the more reason why Carly needed to think clearly about her relationship with Ryker. Because he left for the dangerous missions more often than normal, Carly told herself to accept that one night with Ryker as a good thing. She wouldn’t become addicted to him. And even better, she wouldn’t have to tell Oz and Jayce about it! Nope, that was definitely a conversation she didn’t want to have! Jayce and Oz were protective enough. Telling them that she was in a sexual relationship with their best friend? Nope! Not going to happen!
She’d really dodged the bullet then, she thought. Glancing outside, she noticed that the sun had vanished. The skies were overcast with a thick, ominous cover of dark grey clouds. Just like her mood.
She hadn’t checked the weather report this morning as she normally would have before leaving town. Mostly because she hadn’t expected to leave the office today. But also because she’d been so nervous on the drive here that she hadn’t given herself time to think. She’d chattered away, sounding like an idiot, but Ryker needed to know the bullet he’d dodged with her.
One night. He wouldn’t have to deal with her chatterbox nature because they’d had only one night together.
“Ready?” Ryker asked.
Carly jumped and looked up, startled to find him standing right next to her.
“Yes.” She stood and grabbed her briefcase, pulling her purse back onto her shoulder. “I’m ready.”
“Thank you for the sandwich. It was great.”
“You’re welcome,” she replied, just as formally and smiled up at him slightly when he held the door to the building for her to exit.
“That doesn’t look good,” Ryker commented as he looked up at the grey clouds.
Carly followed his gaze, noting the ominous sky with a bit of dread. “Nope. Let’s hurry so we can beat whatever might come out of those clouds.”
“You’re right. At this time of the year, it could be rain, snow, or sleet.”
Thirty minutes later, Carly groaned. “You jinxed us,” she told him, leaning forward to look up at the sky as freezing rain poured down on everything, turning the highway into a skating rink. Cars were already skidding on the highway. “Watch out,” she warned pointlessly as another car in front of them started to slide. Ryker had already started to move out of the way, going slow enough that the tires to his vehicle didn’t skid.
“We need to get out of this,” he said, his voice grim. “Okay if I pull off at the next exit?”
“Yes!” she gasped, watching in horror as another car spun around. Everyone inside the car was okay and the vehicle didn’t hit anything, but the driver looked a bit stunned.
Slowly, Ryker exited the highway, driving along the gravel shoulder where there was more traction for the tires to grip. At the end of the exit, there was a fast food restaurant, a sit down restaurant, a gas station, and a hotel. That was it. Nothing else for miles in either direction.
“Let’s grab a cup of coffee. Maybe the road crews will be out and can sand the roads,” Carly suggested.
Ryker nodded, but pointed towards the welcoming lights of the hotel. “Good idea. But I’m going to stop at that hotel and get some rooms. Just in case.”
Carly nodded, but everything inside of her went on high alert. A hotel room. With Ryker! Oh my, this could be wonderful!
Wait! No! Not wonderful! Bad! This was going to be bad! This was…another night with Ryker! Was this good? Or bad?
He left the vehicle and Carly stayed behind, her mind going a mile a minute. She didn’t know what to think and there was no time to call Charlotte or Jessa and ask their advice.
Hmmm…maybe Charlotte or Jessa were the wrong people to ask. They were married to Jayce and Oz. Brothers weren’t really fine with their baby sisters sleeping with their best friend. But Deni! She could call Deni!
No, she couldn’t call Deni either. Carly loved the woman, but Deni was a bit too positive for this situation. Carly needed someone to tell her that she was crazy for even thinking along these lines. Deni would hear the hope in Carly’s voice and start planning Carly’s wedding. Deni was just too…sunshiny!
Or Danielle? Danielle was a queen or princess or something now, having married the Sheik of Stilan. Darn it, how could her best friend have done that?! Go and fall in love and live happily ever after! Sheesh!
She glanced at her watch, calculating the time difference between here and Rian, where Danielle was. Danielle knew more about her silly infatuation with Ryker than either Jessa or Charlotte.
Carly glanced around. The hotel parking lot wasn’t full, but there were several other cars in front of the rooms. The restaurant was packed though, and looked warm and friendly. The temperature had dropped steadily over the past hour. What had started out as a beautiful, sunny, fifty degree day was now a miserable, rainy, dangerous twenty-five degrees. This happened often in the springtime. But it wasn’t as normal of an occurrence in the fall when the ground temperatures were warmer after the long, summer months.
Ryker came out of the hotel’s office, rushing to the driver’s side of the car. Carly leaned over, opening the door for him. When he was inside, she noticed that he smelled even better. Like rain and freshness.
“There was only one room available, Carly.” he announced. “But I gotta tell you, I like that fact.” He turned to her, his dark eyes on fire. “You thought that last night was a one night stand, huh?”
She couldn’t seem to pull away from him, or the heart-pounding hope that he might say something positive about wanting to be with her again. There was a hypnotic quality to his eyes at the moment. “Well, it wasn’t…”
“How about a one weekend thing?” he offered, his voice husky and thrilling.
Her heart accelerated. A weekend in Ryker’s arms? A whole weekend? That sounded…wonderful! And still safe enough! She could protect her heart for a weekend, she told herself. A weekend wasn’t a commitment. It was just a weekend! Besides, if they were here, Oz and Jayce would never know that she’d spent the weekend in Ryker’s arms! Ryker would be safe too!
“Yes!” she responded. Did she sound too breathless? Too excited? She tried to pull back, to seem sophisticated and casual about the idea of being with him again. But instead of pulling back and offering him an easy smile, she found herself leaning forward, wanting to kiss him.
At the same time, Ryker leaned forward as well. As their lips connected, her common sense flew out the window. She wanted this so badly, she ached.
When he pulled her across the seat, she helped him, shifting against him as he deepened the kiss, his fingers dislodging the pins from her hair. Carly didn’t care! She wanted more and if he didn’t get rid of that damn tie, she was going to…tie his hands with it, she thought with increasing excitement.
“We have a bed,” he muttered, as his hand slid under her dress. Their gasps of pleasure heated the interior of the car, steaming up the windows. She felt his fingers against her core and whimpered, spreading her legs wider so that he had better access.
“We should find that bed!” he growl
ed, realizing that the cut of her dress hindered his access to her body.
“Yes. Bed would be good,” she agreed, pushing his tie over his shoulder so that her trembling fingers could work the buttons on his dress shirt. “Find the bed, Ryker,” she ordered. “Find it fast!”
He laughed, then hissed when her fingers found skin, spreading wide over his chest. “Damn it, Carly!” he groaned, his fingers diving into her hair to pull her closer so that he could deepen the kiss.
She shifted again and smiled when he groaned, those strong hands gripping her hips. “Don’t move!” he growled.
So she moved again. And again. He made the same sound the second time, but the third time, he pulled her closer and leaned his forehead against hers, both of them breathing heavily. And then she was unceremoniously dumped back into the passenger seat. “I’m finding that damn room now!”
She laughed, but because she was so eager, the sound came out more than a little husky. He barely glanced at her as he backed out of the parking spot and drove towards the back of the hotel. “There!” he said. “Room one twenty-two.” He parked the car, then grabbed his suit jacket. “Stay there,” he ordered and jumped out of the car, coming around to her side to use his jacket to protect her.
Carly felt that chest-contracting thing again, but told herself it wasn’t love. Falling in love with Ryker would be stupid! She’d learned to protect her heart over the years and she absolutely would not fall in love with Ryker.
But she couldn’t keep her hands off of him as they raced from the car to the room. He slipped the keycard into the lock, then pushed the door open. Before Carly had a chance to even look at the room, Ryker picked her up, spinning her around so that her back was pressed against the door, pushing the dress up over her hips so that he could move between her legs.
“Yes!” she gasped, wrapping her legs around him as she’d done last night. But it felt different today. Not better, just different. He was more urgent and she…Carly couldn’t seem to stop! Her hips shifted again, pressing her nub against his erection as she tried to find that beautiful release.
Forbidden Lover (The Diamond Club Book 7) Page 9