Enduring (Family Justice Book 8)

by Suzanne Halliday

  He looked closer. “What does it mean?”

  “It’s Elvish script and says ‘Not all who wander are lost.’”

  “Tolkien,” he muttered. The look on his face bordered on awe. “Where the fuck have you been hiding?”

  She blushed, unsure of his meaning.

  The sound of a released snap and zipper lowering caught her gaze. She watched him shove his jeans to the flagstone tiles and kick them away. Then he pulled on the elastic of his briefs and showed her his left hip where she saw the same words inked in English.

  Was this really happening, or was he dreaming?

  Ryan couldn’t be sure.

  Sexual desire, maybe a bit of personal attraction, and more often than not, some celibacy-fueled lust were his entire emotional repertoire in these situations. But he knew Jen was different—the exception to the exception—the minute he opened the door of the greenhouse and the scent of her orchids filled his senses.

  His father had also been a full-fledged lover of the delicate bloom with a greenhouse full of plants. To this day, his mother kept an orchid on the front table in their family home. Though he was long gone, Greg Lloyd was never forgotten and rarely far from any of their thoughts.

  Ryan felt the zing of connection to Jen by way of his dad when he saw those flowers. It was as if he was weighing in on this woman. This female whose persnickety mystique had been poking him in the side for ages like a sharp pin.

  As if that wasn’t enough to scramble his brain, the Tolkien tattoo sealed the deal. He’d fallen in love with the famous author from an early age after being forced to read The Hobbit in school. Right now, a pathetically dog-eared and ratty copy of the Lord of the Rings trilogy was in his backpack. The story had been keeping him company for decades.

  He’d had the wander quote tattooed on his hip right after he graduated from college and made the decision to forego following his father and John into corporate conformity. It was only by sheer dumb luck and a lot of perseverance that he’d fashioned his love of adventure and desire to experience everything this planet had to offer into something he could contribute to Lloyd Global.

  Finding the same words inked on this sensational woman—and in Elvish, no less—felt like destiny.

  She peered at his tattoo, holding her hair away with her hands. The astonishment on her face when she looked up filled him with elation. He didn’t doubt they were having similar thoughts.

  He made a joke. Had to. The opportunity was just too perfect.

  “Do you suppose if the tats link up that we’ll morph into some massive transformer-like sex machine ’cause, no joke, that’d be really cool.”

  “Sounds good.” She snicker-laughed. “But I get the controls.”

  “Give me one good reason I should …”

  Cutting him off midsentence, she gave him a reminder of how far she was from being a pushover. “Because I used the original Elvish. So there,” she drawled while her nose wrinkled, and she stuck out her tongue.

  That this conversation was happening with them in their underwear and separated by the wide chaise lounger was all kinds of ridiculous. But he’d take it as it was because he could already tell that nothing about a relationship with Jen would be boring or even slightly normal.

  He gave a courtly bow, a leftover from his middle school days when he played Lysander in A Midsummer’s Night Dream.

  “Good argument.” He chuckled. “So if you’re in the driver’s seat, what’s next?”

  “Wait,” she told him with a mocking grin. “We haven’t linked up yet. I will cede control until then, oh, roguish one.”

  “You do realize that rogue thing is a turn-on, right?”

  She released a soft laugh. “I have plenty more where that came from. Scoundrel. Villain. Rascal. Knave. Bad boy. Renegade. Should I go on?”

  He sensed the subtext in her playful remarks. She really wasn’t all that interested in being the dominant one.

  Thanking his lucky stars for the road map heads-up, he shifted gears.

  Crooking his finger, he called her to him. The witch put a hand on her hip and jutted it out slightly. “I’m still dressed.” She said the words like a challenge.

  “And I’m going to take care of that now, so stop being ornery and walk that glorious ass over here.”

  He expected her to come around the lounger, but that just showed what a moron he was. With no lack of grace, she smirked at him and stepped up on the lounger. Two steps and she jumped off the other side and landed in front of him.

  “You summoned?”

  Ryan grinned at her cheekiness. “In the future, I won’t ask, but since we’ve never done this before, Imma’ be a gentleman and give you a choice.”

  “A choice?” She sounded intrigued.

  “Yeah. Do you like this bra? Is it a favorite or anything because if it’s not, consider the damn thing torn to shreds.”

  “Seriously?”

  He rubbed his palms together and made a leering face. “Just say the words and the underwear is history.”

  “Have at it,” she answered with a laugh. Extending her arms, she offered up her body.

  Three tugs and the bra was history. Her tits bounced beautifully when he freed them. His heart thudded, and the tightness in his groin intensified when her nipples stood at attention. Giving the glorious mounds the attention they deserved, he whistled softly and bit down on his bottom lip with a husky grunt.

  He looked her over and planned his seduction. His mouth watered, thinking about how her tight little buds would taste on his tongue.

  With a reverence that came naturally, he dropped to one knee, kissed her belly, and removed the pretty lavender panties. She had a cute thatch of brown and gold curls he longed to touch.

  A stunningly fierce possessiveness thundered inside him. He placed a soft butterfly kiss on the pale skin at the top of her curls and breathed in her scent.

  From his place at her feet, he looked up into her smoldering gaze, ran his fingers up the inside of her bare legs, and barely grazed the sexy mound begging for his touch.

  She was already wet. He reveled in the knowledge that her lush, curvy body prepared for his possession. He longed to sink his throbbing cock inside her and discover what gave her pleasure—but there was much to do before then.

  He said her pleasure came first, and he meant it. Might as well start now.

  “Put your foot on the lounger,” he growled. With a forceful grip on her hips, he helped her get in position, but once he had her where he wanted, Ryan shuddered with anticipation when her sweet female scent invaded his senses.

  At first, he let his eyes drink her in. The pretty curls were damp between her legs, and he saw the glistening evidence of her arousal as it leaked from her body. Knowing her pussy wept with need made his cock swell further.

  Parting her outer lips, he murmured appreciatively when he found her slightly swollen and flushed pink with desire.

  She moaned when he kissed her clitoris once, twice, three times and then licked the sweet little nub. He put his hands on her ass and canted her body slightly to get the perfect angle. He wanted to be sure he enjoyed every drop.

  Starting with slow licks punctuated by his pleasure groans, Ryan explored her body. Jesus. She tasted like heaven. Her arousal was thick and silky, easy to lap with his tongue, and when he felt his cock surge with approval, he got serious.

  She put one hand on his head. Then two. His long hair made it easy for her to find something to clutch. He liked the way her nails scraped his scalp and the demands she made with the pressure of her touch.

  He was truly bummed when an approaching climax made her tremble and moan. Licking her pussy was his new favorite thing, and he didn’t want to stop, but it was clear she was going to come and come hard, so he ate her with a mixture of precision and gusto until her hands smashed his face against her, and she gyrated with abandon.

  Hungry desire and the thrill of arousal coursed through him. Her legs began to shake. He sucked, licked,
and tantalized her sensitive flesh until she broke. Her husky cry of completion was sexy as fuck.

  When the tremors began to recede, she continued to shake but as standing was no longer an option, she folded into a slump on the lounger.

  He could have stopped but why bother when she was a feast beyond compare. Ryan gently laid her out, spread her thighs, and put his fingers to good use. She moaned and reached for him, but he pushed her hands away and concentrated on doubling her pleasure.

  “Ryan,” she croaked.

  “Shh, baby, shh. I’m not finished. Open for me, darlin’.”

  Crouching between her open thighs, he fondled her beautiful breasts and slowly fingered her. She arched, whimpered, trembled, and shook.

  Her head moved side to side, but she kept her eyes squeezed closed. She moaned, “No,” but her body said yes. It was clear she’d never been pleasured properly and definitely not more than once.

  His mouth wreaked suckling havoc on her clit while he stroked her deeply with two fingers. When he massaged a particular spot, she flooded with desire and spread her thighs wider. It didn’t take but a minute after that for her to come again with a sexy gush that he tried to devour every last drop of.

  He stopped sucking and sat back to look at her. Her thighs spread loosely open and her swollen pussy looked absolutely gorgeous with his fingers still buried. The wet sound her body made when he aggressively pumped his fingers turned him on in a very big way.

  Ryan removed his briefs and lay on top of her. The way her body softened and welcomed his weight did crazy things to his ability to stay in control. His thick, full cock lay between them on her stomach. He gently thrusted against her, enjoying the spine-tingling arousal. He had no doubt in his mind that making love to her was his destiny.

  Caressing her everywhere he could, he committed her body to memory, remembering what made her quiver or moan. She liked when he took fierce pleasure in her neck and cried out lustfully every time his teeth marked her flesh.

  Worshipping her breasts came easy. They were full, heavy, and topped with luscious pink nipples that teased his tongue and made him come very close to losing it. Her hands explored him rather timidly until he took the fingers of one hand and used them to grip his cock.

  After a quick demonstration of touches and strokes that turned him on, she took it from there and quickly drove him out of his mind.

  Her body squirmed under his. She treated him to a series of pulsing squeezes that made his flesh harden even more.

  Kissing her deeply, wildly, and passionately, he left an invisible mark that declared her to be his, and then he made exquisite love to Jenna Carlton.

  “Knees up, baby,” he grunted as he rose on his arms and licked a nipple before straightening.

  She made some soft, keening whimpers and said his name over and over.

  He reached between them and watched her face while rubbing the head of his cock in her delicious wetness. She undulated and tried to capture his hardness with her pussy. Ryan smiled and growled at the same time.

  Feeding the tip into her hot, dripping wet passage, he filled with emotion when she grabbed his arms, tilted her pussy, and watched him through glazed eyes as he penetrated her tightness.

  The macho pig that Ryan knew lived in his soul took more than a little satisfaction from the assumption that it had been a long time since she’d had a man between her legs. That thought might have been what made him plunge balls deep with a mighty grunt. She arched and groaned as her nails dug into his arms. He gave her a minute to adjust and then went a little berserk.

  Flexing his hips, he spread his thighs wider and changed his angle before unleashing a lusty pounding that made her gush with pleasure.

  Her unexpected orgasm caught them both by surprise. He marveled at the rigorous spasms that ripped her apart and left his beautiful, sexy lover quivering and with his name on her lips.

  Ryan gathered her close and began a slow, steady stroke that turned him inside out. This was what making love was about. The incredibly soft, wet tissue massaging his dick pulsed with her heartbeat. He pulled out and thrust home in an unhurried pace.

  She kissed his chin, jaw, and neck. Her tongue on his skin drove Ryan a little crazy. When she bit him and snarled, he knew the end was near.

  He liked lying on her. She felt perfect under his body. He twined his fingers with hers and raised their hands above her head, pressing them into the cushion beneath them with each stroke. Her legs wrapped securely around his waist and met him stroke for stroke.

  “Hold tight, baby. Hold real tight.”

  She squeezed around him like a boa constrictor and rose to meet his cock each time he sank deep.

  He studied her face and realized she was past the point of control. Her desperate grunts fueled his fire. She thought one orgasm was enough? Shit. She’d come three times and was locked and loaded for a fourth. A fourth he was more than happy to give.

  Sinking deep, he held her hands and rotated his hips. “Take what you need, darlin’. Move those hips for me, baby. That’s right,” he praised when she ground against him, and her muscles tightened around his cock in a vise grip.

  He pulled out and slammed home half a dozen times. Her whimpers shook him, and then she screamed as she came. He rode her spasms until his cock said enough. Letting go of her hands, Ryan gathered her against him and thrust like a madman until his cock exploded. Jen cried out and spurred him on, so he gave her everything he had.

  The throbbing pulse as he emptied into her wiped his brain of all thought. He might have hollered something about her being his love, but he wasn’t sure if he thought the words or said them.

  They were both shaking uncontrollably as the pulsing madness subsided. He could feel her fluids on his balls and covering his abdomen. There had to be a hellacious mess on the lounger made all the sloppier by the pleasurable fact that his lover gushed like a fountain.

  He didn’t want to ever leave the warmth and pleasure of her body, but they were outside, the sun had gone down, and staying joined on the lounger just wasn’t practical.

  He kissed her and said things his heart needed to say. He’d never experienced so strong a connection before.

  She was still shaking and refused to release him. A sense of loss and sadness filled him unexpectedly when his softening cock slid from her body.

  And then reality slammed into him with a vengeance. He’d just committed the worst sin possible with someone he was falling in love with.

  How the fuck had he been so stupid?

  Chapter 12

  As night fell, the strand of lights she kept on a timer flickered on, making the fairy lights woven through a tall trellis of greenery twinkle in the growing darkness. The scent of night jasmine wafted in the warm evening air.

  A sensory overload shiver rippled across her skin, moving in tandem with the unstoppable quaking of her body.

  Jen sensed Ryan’s withdrawal and clung tighter. She wasn’t ready to come back from the clouds.

  Savoring the feel of his large body weighing her down, she pressed her lips on whatever skin she could reach. She liked how Ryan Lloyd made her feel. Liked his hot, muscular body. And his big, sturdy hands.

  Liked how his thighs had muscle on top of muscle. And she especially liked what remained buried inside her.

  Having experienced a connection with him that she’d only ever read about was a game changer. Ryan’s undeniable sexual magnetism and fierce lovemaking shook her up—big time. Joy for all the possibilities filled her with peace.

  Jen felt his bold stare focused on her face as he shifted and slid from her body. A reflex pout and groan of denial was all she had when deprived of his intimate possession.

  For a moment, she thought tension flickered in his eyes and hardened his body, but then he wrapped his arms underneath her and rolled them until she was sprawled on top.

  He held her tight and kissed the top of her head. She snuggled into his chest with a satisfied purr and listened to his heartbea
t.

  “I have so many questions,” she eventually murmured.

  His chest rose and fell with a manly chuckle. “Same here. Starting with, finance and business? Really? Why in the world are you holding my brother’s hand when you could be running the whole damn show?”

  She giggled and kissed his chest. Raising her head, she put a fist beneath her chin and smiled into his watchful gaze.

  “Just because that’s what my degree says doesn’t mean I was any good at it! Matter of fact, I kind of suck all around, and then there’s the whole part about not liking the business world very much. But I have to support myself, so I just figured the best way to put what I learned to some sort of use was to be a right hand to the first harried CEO I could pull in. Just so happens that John took the bait.”

  His blue eyes glittered when he laughed. She smiled bigger.

  “Well, I’m glad my socially awkward, type A personality older brother had the good sense to see what you had to offer.”

  Jen couldn’t agree more.

  “Hey, are we doing twenty questions?”

  He chuckled again. “That brain of yours doesn’t stay quiet for long, does it?”

  “No, it does not,” she jokingly sneered. “And don’t you forget it, buster. Here’s my first question. Why are you here, Ryan? My place is more than a little out of the way to believe you were just passing by.”

  “You mean what brought me to your doorstep and led to us making love on your terrace?”

  Ryan’s husky sounding voice and the slightly teasing lilt made her senses spin. In all honesty, she didn’t give a crap how it started. What consumed her now was where they went from here.

  “It was that idiot, John, of course,” he said as he filled in the blanks. “That guy could screw up a screw convention.”

  An involuntary giggle-snort indicated her agreement.

  “Hey, don’t laugh. I’m serious, darlin’. You practically spoon-fed Samantha to him and left him a road map and instructions.”

  “Oh, god,” she groaned when it dawned on her that something was up. “What did he do?”