by Jillian Neal
He’d intended to draw this out, but dammit she was too much. He’d never get enough. And she wanted him raw. He could read her desires in the heat that flowed from her skin and filled his hands and from the hunger that poured into his mouth from her cream on his tongue. The way her body responded to him was all-encompassing. Feeling the sublime ripples and tugs of her pussy around him consumed his mind.
Grasping her hips, halting their rolling revolutions, he stood behind her and ravaged her silken channel in one forceful thrust. He groaned from the sheer ecstasy as she took him in.
Sienna’s body trembled from his size. Nothing would ever feel as good as the silk-covered steel that filled her to overflowing. She arched her back, desperate for him to go deeper, to own her in entirety, to tame her wild soul.
“Oh, hell yeah, baby. Just like that. Keep that sexy ass up for me. You feel so damn good.” He groaned his elation as he continued to pound and pull away. His body commanded requisition. Every fantasy lay out before him, a decadent feast after a long drought. More than he’d ever believed he could again call his own.
Arching her back, she turned her head to stare into his eyes. Their glazed expressions, masked in pure delectation, met, and the love between them ignited and bound them as one.
Her body quaked and pitched from his force. She fell forward on the bed as the orgasm consumed her. He followed her down, surrendering all of the horrors they’d endured, shattering through the manacles of pain that had enslaved them. He lost it all with her. Their releases drowned the torturous life they’d lived for far too long.
Ryan’s eyes clouded, and his mind spun as his body jerked. His cock gave another fierce throb. He groaned from the heady magic of it all.
Working within the bliss-filled haze of perfection that she’d provided him, he dispensed with the condom and drew her body, now limp and sated, into his arms.
“I love you, and that was incredible.” He made his breathless vow, still unable to believe all he’d been given. Every time they made love was somehow more awe-inspiring than the time before.
“I love you, too, and I think I may need to tell you something.” Fear seemed to be waging war against the sleepy satisfaction he’d longed to bring her. “But I’m scared that you’ll blame yourself, and none of it was your fault. Promise you won’t think this is your fault.”
Twenty-Two
Refusing to agree to that stipulation, Ryan ran his hands through her long hair, mussed from their passion. “Just tell me, baby.”
Whatever had frightened her seemed to have sealed her lips. “Sienna, baby, did I do something you didn’t like? Just tell me. I want to know. I want you to teach me everything you want and show me how you want it.” She sure as hell seemed to love everything he’d done, but maybe he’d gone too far.
“No.” She shook her head against him. “No, that’s not it at all. Ryan, that was amazing. Please don’t ever stop doing all of that. No one has ever made me feel so loved and so sexy. It was incredible.”
Extremely pleased with that reaction, he kissed the top of her head. “Okay, then tell me whatever it is.”
A soft sigh bought her a moment longer.
“Tell me, sweetheart. Anything,” he coaxed again.
“It’s just that you told me what you’ve been doing the last ten years, and I don’t really want to talk about what I was doing because most of it was just stupid, but there’s this one part that I think I might need to tell you.”
“As much as it kills me that we were apart for so long, I do want to know everything you did, even if you think it’s stupid.”
“Can I tell you this one part now and maybe the rest later?”
The pleading edge of her voice tore through Ryan. He was about to get the answer as to what had happened to her. If it had frightened her like this, he knew he was about to be incensed with fury, but he also knew that she needed to say whatever it was and that he needed to hear it.
He cradled her closer, making certain the she felt the weight of his embrace and the safety he would always offer her. Whatever had happened, he would see that it never frightened her again. He would damn the demons that haunted her back to the hell where they belonged.
“I’m right here. You tell me whenever you’re ready.” Trying to give her room to formulate her words and her story, he ordered himself to wait patiently.
“After I got kicked out of college, I got a job at a coffee shop in Norfolk, but my mother was constantly interfering, so I bought my van and headed out after I’d saved up a little money. I had tons of waitressing jobs and I usually ended up working in the kitchen, which I really loved. I was determined to get to California, though. I don’t know why. I guess I just wanted to go. I kept telling myself that everything would be better there. I was so stupid.”
“Hey.” Ryan caressed her face with his right hand. “None of that. You weren’t stupid. We both were just lost.”
She shrugged out her disbelief. “So, I got a job at this dive bar outside of L.A. It didn’t pay near enough to live there. I stayed in my van some and in these gross hotels the rest of the time.”
Her shuddered disgust daggered his heart. How could he have let that happen to her?
“Anyway, I finally got hired on at this big restaurant as a line cook, which was really cool. I loved the work, and it paid decent. Just before I got an apartment and kind of settled in, they hired a new executive chef… Ian.” She all but convulsed in his arms when she said his name.
Ryan held her to him, trying to hide his hate-filled scowl. Whatever Ian had done, he should beware. If Ryan ever had the opportunity to locate him, he’d make damn certain that he knew just what happened to anyone that dared hurt the very reason for his existence.
“We started dating, kind of. I don’t know. It was weird. Before I knew it, I was moving into his fancy apartment in Cota de Cazo.”
Ryan’s body tensed. He tried not to react, but his biceps and his fists longed to have their say. He worked his jaw in constant rhythm to keep from booking a flight into LAX immediately.
“I only lived there a few months, but Ian had a horrible temper.”
Rage surged through Ryan. He shifted in the bed to look into her eyes. She wasn’t going to lie to him. “Did he hurt you, Sienna, because I will kill him if he did.”
She grinned at him and brushed a kiss on his cheek. “Let’s not add murder to the list of problems we have. I just got you back. You can’t go to jail now. Besides, he scared me far more often than he hurt me.”
“Neither is okay,” Ryan growled vehemently.
“I know. I got out of there really fast. I swear. But sometimes he would, like, pitch these fits and sort of tear up his apartment. It was ridiculous and scary. The only reason I’m telling you this is that it kind of reminded me of what happened at the Inn.”
“And you think he might’ve followed you here? That he’s trying to scare you again?” Instinctively, Ryan held her closer. The idea that Ian had come to Gypsy Beach was actually very appealing. He would never allow him to be anywhere near Sienna, but the thought of beating the shit out of the motherfucking asshole was very satisfying indeed, and locating this idiot in California would prove difficult; not that he wouldn’t try.
“I never told him about Nana or Gypsy Beach. It’s stupid for me to worry. I never even told him my last name. I just can’t figure out anyone else that would have broken in and done that and then not taken anything. It doesn’t make any sense. He used to threaten me if I said I was leaving.”
With a few steadying breaths, Ryan managed to quell his ire. “Listen to me. I will never, ever let anyone hurt you or frighten you again, Sienna. Never. If Ian is here, I will find him, and I will make certain that he is incapable of scaring anyone ever again. Okay?”
Palpable relief softened her body against his.
“I love you. I have always loved you. I will always love you, and I will always take care of you.”
His vows were met with another sweet kis
s. “Do you think it could be him?”
Ryan debated. “I don’t know, sweetheart. How long ago did you leave him?”
“Way over a year, now.”
“Did he show up anywhere else after you left?”
“Well, I had to quit my job, obviously, since he was my boss. So, I just disappeared the way I always had. I never looked back. But about six months ago, he got in touch with my stepdad, asking about me. I never told mom or Richard what he did. I just begged them not to tell him anything. They agreed never to speak to him again.” Another shiver quaked through her body.
“I’ve got you, baby.” He continued to soothe her. “And we’re going to figure out what is going on with all of this. I will always keep you safe.”
Twenty-Three
“Well, would you look at what the cat spit up this morning,” Molly huffed as she jerked her head towards the parking lot as Mac cracked eggs in a bowl to start the breakfast shift.
He rolled his eyes. “What’s he doing out here?”
Before Molly could make another retort, Robert Upton the third, resident seat holder at the County Clerk’s Office, slithered into the shop. His polyester pants appeared to be consuming the clip-on tie he’d methodically affixed to his collar.
“Well, Bobby, what brings you out to Gypsy Beach? They get themselves a new paperweight down at courthouse? We ain’t hiring,” Molly sniped.
Mac couldn’t quite hide his grin. Her temper always lit his fire.
Upton shuddered. The word ‘gypsy’ generally had that effect. “Must you call it that? When I’m elected County Clerk, I’m going to get the name changed to Robert Upton Beach after my great-granddaddy who rightfully owned this land before the likes of you claimed it.”
“Uh huh.” Molly toyed with the fly she was effectively webbing. “And when will that be, Bobby, baby?” she cooed. “You thinking your twelfth run will be the charm?”
“Ruth Cooper cursed the election and you know it!” Upton’s temper flared quickly. It always did.
Mac smirked and came to stand beside his beautiful wife. She’d been a fiery red-head in her day. The blaze hadn’t subsided as her hair had grayed.
“Thought you didn’t believe in Gypsy curses, Upton? You sound a little frustrated though. Might have a salve in the back that’ll help you relax.”
“I do not want any of your witchcraft snake oil, Montgomery. I’m here to see if you’ve heard anything about what happened at the Inn a few days ago?”
“The Inn?” Molly lost a little of her steam. They hadn’t heard anything, and they hadn’t seen Ryan or Sienna since they’d taken off for Atlanta.
As if on cue, Mac grinned. He pointed out to a large, custom Suburban that was pulling in the parking lot with Georgia plates. “Well, there comes the owner of the Inn there. Why don’t you talk to them?”
Mac was delighted to see that Ryan had one arm wrapped around Sienna and the other carrying what must’ve been his pretty little girl. She did look like her Daddy, and both of the girls appeared to be delighted to be in the arms of Ryan McNamara.
They entered the shop with only eyes for each other. Mac cleared his throat, shaking them from their mutual adoration. “Ryan, Sienna, this here’s Robert Upton.”
“The third.” Upton puffed up like a self-inflating toad.
Mac rolled his eyes. “He’s here asking about The Inn. Everything okay down there?”
“I’m extremely worried about the crime here on the beach. It’s been one thing after another for the last sixty years. I intend to do something about it.”
“Crime?” Sienna’s gasp startled Mac. She sounded so much like Ruth.
“There hasn’t been any crime here, ever. Did the Sheriff’s office contact you?” Ryan bared down on Upton.
The kid appeared to have taken all of the blows life had dealt him and assembled them into a fierce determination and protectiveness of what was his. Mac was extremely impressed.
Upton’s fevered face displayed a hint of panic as he took in Ryan’s bulging biceps and the might of his anger. “You spoke to the Sheriff?” he demanded.
“Well, hey there, sweet girl.” Molly held her hands out to Ryan’s little girl. “What’s your name?”
“Evie Grace McNamara,” she supplied in a timid peal.
“Well, Evie Grace McNamara, how would you like to come with me and help me stir up these eggs?”
She turned to her father. “May I please go stir the eggs with her?”
“Sure, baby.”
Ryan handed Evie to Molly and turned back to Upton. “Yes, we spoke to the sheriff. Vandalism is a crime. Not that what we did is any of your business.”
“Was anything taken?”
“Not that we can tell.” Sienna was studying Upton, debating telling him more.
“Upton, this is none of your nevermind. Go on back to the courthouse. Surely there’s somebody there that you haven’t annoyed the piddle out of yet today,” Mac ordered. It was always best to keep Upton off of Gypsy Beach. His prejudices were legendary, birthed from his father and his grandfather. None of them were interested in hearing any voice other than their own.
“If anything else happens, you’ll let me know?” Upton insisted.
“You keep telling yourself that.” Mac all but shoved him back out the front doors.
“Why is he interested in what happened at the Inn?” Ryan managed to quell his irritation into a more respectful tone for Mac.
“He’s been trying to shut down every business on this beach that he thinks has any kind of Gypsy heritage. Wants to change the name and everything. He’s building a case for his next campaign. Swears when he’s elected Clerk that he’ll put us all outta business and enforce stricter regulations on the waterfront. He got his panties in a wad a few years back when some girls were sunbathing sans bikini tops. Lord, you’d think he was a nursing newborn the way he squawked when he saw them. Made a fool of his-self. He’s one of those unfortunate people that wants so badly to be admired that he’ll go to any lengths to show his ass hoping somebody’ll stroke it. Pardon my French, Sienna.”
Ryan and Sienna were both laughing and didn’t seem to mind Mac’s telling them like it was. They settled in, and Mac and Molly fed them a feast, all while falling in love with Ryan’s baby girl. Mac was very pleased that little Evie seemed almost as taken with Sienna as her daddy was. There was a family in the making if he’d ever seen one.
The lumber and tools Ryan had ordered arrived, and Sienna had taken Evie to the Pender county library to spend some time, so he could rebuild the decks.
He missed both of them, but was pleased that they seemed excited to spend the morning together. Keeping up with Evie was slowing down his work on the Inn, but he wanted to spend as much time with her as he possibly could. He was still trying to make up for the last decade that he’d had to survive without Sienna.
After methodically photographing everything in the Inn that he planned to replace, he allowed the scent of the heartwood cedar to draw him in. He settled into the thwack, thwack, thwack of the nailgun’s airy pop and the vibrations of the compressor flowing through his arms. He removed his shirt and wiped his brow as he laid another board and continued his rhythmic work. He allowed the pride and the gratification that always came over him when he was building to drown out the mounting worry that had taken up permanent residence in his gut.
The shrill ring of his cell phone effectively ended his momentary reprieve. His stomach churned as he answered. “How bad is it?”
“I’m on my way up there.” John’s reply did nothing to calm him.
“That bad, huh?”
“Not sure yet. I’ve been brushing up on the North Carolina books. They’re a little different that Georgia, but I got an old friend of mine to agree to co-represent you with me. He subpoenaed Roby’s deed and any record of payments made over the years from Sienna’s grandmother.
“Apparently, she paid him cash occasionally, but there were several years no payment was made, or
no legal payment was made. That makes the whole thing worse. I want to see the deed, but if it’s dated before the deed Sienna was given a month ago, which I’m sure it is, then we have a problem.
“I’m gonna go talk to Roby and see if I can figure out exactly what he’s after. I’m sure it’s cash, but who knows. The whole thing is insane. Roby may have a deed, but it’s unregistered. According to the great state of North Carolina, the Inn never really existed to the Deed Registrar. Of course, it always existed to the Tax Office, but because most public officials can’t get their heads out of their asses they never put two and two together. Taxes were paid about half of the time until Sienna paid them off and got it out of probate. This could be a disaster. Gypsies took over that beach during the Depression, and I can’t figure out who the fuck owns what. Roby seems just as nutty as Sienna’s grandmother.”
“Hey, watch it,” Ryan barked.
“Yeah, yeah, I know, she’s perfect. You’re happy. I’m thrilled for you both, but Ry-man, Gypsies aren’t exactly the most ethical people. You just make sure she’s not taking you for a ride. This Roby guy is a character, but he swears her grandmother did him wrong, and if I don’t find something to prove otherwise, he’s gonna own that Inn unless she pays him for it. I’m talking the current appraised value.”
“She took out a loan to make the repairs, and she’s struggling to pay that back before she has renters. She can’t make a mortgage, and I don’t have anything to give her to help. She’s my only customer right now.” Panic seized Ryan as he considered Sienna losing her home. I stayed in my van some and in these gross hotels the rest of the time. No, he would not let her lose the Inn. It was the only place she’d ever really been at home, the only soft place in the whole cruel world where she had been accepted. He’d been hoping to run it with her, but whatever happened, wherever they lived, if he did convince her to marry him, he would not let her lose the Inn that had raised her.