Game Of Risk (Risqué #3) (10 page)

‘Scouts honour,’ Ruger said, holding up his fingers, but she wasn’t fooled.

‘You were never a scout, Ruger. Lyssa I trust completely, she takes confidentiality seriously. But I don’t know your girlfriend, Ruger, so—‘

‘She’s not my girlfriend,’ Ruger protested and from the way Bri glanced at Blaser he’d guess that Bri knew that. ‘You know what? All of you can go to hell.’ Heading back to the house, Colt came along with him, but after the taunting died down, Blaser and Bri stayed out in the yard.

Ruger got inside to see that Layla had finished with the dishes. The dishwasher was on and she had hand-washed the dishes that didn’t fit in the machine. Colt patted his back. ‘I’m going to take Lyssa home,’ he said to his brother. ‘Goodnight, Layla.’

‘Goodnight,’ she called as she finished wiping down all of the counters.

‘What are you doing?’ Ruger asked, walking over to take the cloth out of her hand. ‘You didn’t have to scrub the whole room.’

‘It was that or go and sit with your mother, who I’m sure is fitting me for a wedding dress.’

‘I’m surprised that the idea didn’t bring you out in hives,’ he said, linking his fingers in hers. ‘Want to take a walk?’

‘I guess. How’s Bri?’

‘Fine, better than fine, I think they’re really happy.’

‘It didn’t seem that way at the table,’ Layla said, taking off the apron she’d worn to do the dishes and hanging it back up where she’d found it. ‘And Bri marched out of here with purpose, I don’t even know if she saw me.’

Ruger took her hand again and they exited through the back door. Blaser and Bri were at the rear of the garden now, too far away to notice Ruger taking Layla down the path and out of the gate onto the drive.

‘Why are we walking?’ she asked, but kept time beside him.

‘I just needed to get out of there. It’s so intense. Blaser and Bri are having a kid; Colt and Lyssa want one, they’re getting married.’

‘Everyone is growing up except for little Ruger.’

‘Little Ruger is plenty capable of growing.’

‘I wasn’t talking about your dick,’ she said. ‘Lyssa was so right about you.’

‘That statement is usually a prelude to someone telling another someone what’s wrong with them. So go on, what does Lyssa say?’

‘That you’re afraid to get hurt. That you make jokes to make people believe that you don’t need them.’

‘Interesting analysis, Doctor Jansen,’ Ruger said, curving his arm around her shoulders. ‘And what would Lyssa say about your tendency to aim your gibes at those you are most comfortable with?’

‘I don’t know what you mean,’ she said, shrugging his arm away from her body.

‘I joke with everyone and yeah, maybe I do it to keep people at arm’s length. But you, you’re perfectly nice to my mom and dad. You never make fun of Colt or Blase. You aim your sass at Drew and at me, why do you do that?’

‘I don’t,’ she said, picking up the pace. Layla headed to the corner and rounded onto the next street, but he caught up with her without much effort.

‘You do and you know why you do it. It’s like I said, it’s because you’re pushing at us. You want to see how far you can push us. You want us to prove that we’re not going to walk away. Is that why you refused all those marriage proposals, because you wanted one guy to stick around? You wanted one to really fight for you instead of creeping away with his tail between his legs?’

‘You think you know so much,’ she said with enough anger that he knew he’d hit a nerve. She stopped and squared her shoulders. ‘I don’t need anyone to stick around and I don’t need anyone to fight for me. I said no because I didn’t want to marry those guys. I didn’t want to be with them. It’s as simple as that. There’s no underlying agenda.’

‘Ok,’ he said with his hands in his pockets. ‘If that’s so then why are you shouting at me? Couldn’t you just tell me that in the course of conversation on our lovely evening stroll?’

A couple walking their dog on the other side of the street called to him and he offered a wave in salutation. When she spoke again, she wasn’t as irate as she had been and her shoulders had lost their starch.

‘You’ve lived around here a long time, haven’t you?’

‘We grew up in that house,’ he said. ‘So yeah, I know most of the faces around here.’

‘I haven’t been back home since my mom died,’ she said. ‘I was living in a dorm at college when she died, she had been in the hospital for a couple of weeks. After she was gone, I… I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t go back there and go through all of our memories. Drew did it all by himself.’

‘You were a kid and he was your big brother, it was sort of his job to look after you.’

‘And whose job was it to look after him?’ she asked. ‘I know why Drew does what he does. I know that he’s looking for something, and that he gets the distraction he needs in his work. I can’t imagine what memories he fights with, what it was like going back to our mother’s house, alone, packing up everything she’d ever owned. He dealt with the lawyers and the doctor’s bills. You accused me of being judgemental when it came to his work—‘

‘I didn’t mean—‘

‘I get angry at him because if he dies then I’ll have no one left. No one who knew her or knew about what we went through as a family. All of those memories will be lost.’

‘Babe,’ he said, offering her a hand. She considered the gesture then slid her fingers between his and began to walk again.

‘I see all of you, you with your brothers and their partners, and it’s… it’s a beautiful thing to see.’

‘I guess we take it for granted.’

He’d always had his brothers looking out for him. It had been easy to become the joker of the group because Colt took things seriously enough for everyone and Blaser was street savvy, he could see a threat coming. So while growing up Ruger had just let them take care of what was important and he spent his time enjoying himself believing that his brothers would take care of the responsible things.

As he’d gotten older he’d been wise enough to look after himself, but he still had his brothers to rely on as well. He had his parents, who were still together and in love. Despite his trade, he had security, he always had a home to come back to and people he could call on to help him in any time of need.

‘I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me there,’ she said, reinforcing her modesty with a laugh. ‘I never open up to guys like that.’

‘Maybe you should try it more often,’ he said. ‘As a guy, I can tell you that I approve.’

‘You have a therapist in your family,’ she laughed. ‘From what I know of Lyssa’s influence on all of you, she would be devastated to discover you’d dumped a woman just because she opened up to you.’

‘Dumped you, huh? Does that mean we’re a thing now?’

Teasing with a brow raise, she let her expression morph into a smirk. ‘A thing?’ she asked. ‘I had my hand in your pants before we ate at your mother’s dinner table. Yeah, I think there’s definitely some sort of “thing” between us, don’t you?’

‘Yeah,’ he said. Her fingers were cold, so he pulled her closer to cradle her digits with his other hand too. ‘If you’re cold we should go inside.’

‘Not yet,’ she said. ‘Just one more block.’

Searching for something else to talk about that wouldn’t lead to Layla reliving bad memories, his thoughts were cut off when she moved against him. Following her lead, he let go of her hand and put his arm around her again. This softer side of Layla, the side open to being affectionate, was new to him, but he liked it just as much as the sassy woman who was used to facing life alone.

Blaser’s future was carving itself out, all Blaser was doing was making choices and living his life. Colt and Lyssa were making decisions that weren’t panning out as they’d hoped, but that didn’t stop them from trying.

Watching his family mature and grow was enlightening for him. Ruger had never given much thought to how he wanted his future to look because he’d always assumed that when the time was right things would just happen.

But things wouldn’t just happen if he didn’t decide what he wanted from his life, and who he wanted in it. His career was non-existent. He couldn’t rely on his illegal exploits especially not now that he knew they hurt people.

Maybe an aspect of moving forward in his professional life would mean making changes in his personal one too. And just like that he made the decision to book a hotel room for the following night, proving to himself that choices weren’t tough to figure out as long as you were decisive in obeying your instincts.

‘You know, dinner was a nice surprise, but your, “Let’s take this upstairs line” was a bit cheesy,’ Layla said while being dragged down the corridor of the hotel Ruger had brought her to for dinner.

‘How else did you want me to say it?’ he said, turning to walk backward and bringing her hand up to his mouth. ‘You want me just to come out and say, “Hey, baby, I booked a room, get your panties off”, would that have worked?’

‘Maybe,’ she grinned. The wine had been sweet and Ruger had been attentive. This was a night of seduction to be sure and she should have cottoned on to his intentions when he said they were eating in the hotel restaurant. ‘But just because you bought me dinner doesn’t mean that I owe you anything.’

‘No, that’s true,’ he said, pulling her up to a room door and caging her against it while he fumbled in his pocket for a key.

He’d had a drink of his own, but he didn’t need any courage. Capturing her mouth with his, he distracted her while he unlocked the door. It swung away from behind her and he reached inside to flick on a light. Although he was still trying to kiss her, Layla turned around to emphasise her point and to prove that she wasn’t going to be a sure thing for him. Except her gusto abandoned her when she saw the gold pinstripe linen covered with crimson rose petals.

Maybe dinner didn’t mean she owed him, but the trouble he’d gone to in order to create this surprise for her might leave her somewhat beholden.

‘This is amazing,’ she said.

Seizing her hand again, he pulled her toward the bed. Layla was about to tell him off for his eager behaviour when he surprised her by stopping at the end and bending to retrieve a bucket of champagne on ice, which was secreted behind the foot post of the bed.

‘You thought I was going to stick my head up your skirt, didn’t you?’ he asked, sitting on the end of the bed and tugging her down to do the same.

‘I did not,’ she said, but her smirk had to speak for itself. ‘Why did you do all of this?’

‘I’m not going to propose if that’s what you’re worried about.’

‘Phew,’ she said and took the flute of champagne that he poured for her. ‘I’m never going to live that down. I don’t get what the big deal is. If I had married the first guy who proposed to me I’d probably be living in a trailer park with six kids, who would all have different daddies, and I’d probably be a regular on Jerry Springer by now.’

‘Sounds like he was a keeper to me,’ Ruger said, putting down the champagne bottle when he’d poured his own flute. ‘I bet letting him get away keeps you up nights.’

‘Shut up,’ she said, making a face at him when he winked at her. ‘Just get on with it, will you?’

‘Bodes well for the night ahead,’ he said, leaning over to kiss her cheek. Holding his glass aloft, he waited for her to do the same.

‘To what?’ she asked.

‘To debts that should be repaid,’ he declared then stage whispered to her. ‘This room and the setup cost more than a grand, Legs. You’ll be working it off for months.’

‘Implying that my skills aren’t worth much,’ she said. ‘I said it wouldn’t fit in my throat. I said nothing about how hard I’d work to ensure satisfaction.’

‘Hmm,’ he said, swigging his champagne then taking her glass away to put both of them on the floor. ‘You are a tease, Legs.’

‘So if this was a real date,’ she said, leaning back when he swooped in for a kiss. ‘What would we be doing now?’

‘This is a real date,’ he said. ‘We dressed up, we ate dinner, what more do you want?’

She couldn’t ask for more effort on his part or for more romance, because he’d certainly set the scene. ‘Is there music?’

‘As a matter of fact,’ he said, rising, he went to the corner and opened a large entertainment cabinet to show that there was indeed a stereo. The CD unit appeared to be sealed, so whatever was in it was what they were stuck with.

Ruger pressed a few buttons and got the thing on and when it finally did spring to life, she was impressed at the slow, piano melody that was just right for the moment.

‘Can you turn the lights down?’ she asked when he started toward the bed again.

He stopped and glanced back at the light switch. ‘No, but…’ he switched on the floor lamp in the corner, which was operated by a dimmer knob by the bed, then he turned off the overhead light. ‘Anything else?’

‘Yes,’ she said. Her high-heels were hurting her feet, they were new and this was the first time she’d worn them. But with his height, she needed them to compensate. Standing up, she held out both of her hands and met him in the centre of the room. ‘You still haven’t danced with me.’

He didn’t make a joke. He just took her hands and guided them up to his shoulders then slid his own hands around her waist. ‘You’re right,’ he said as they moved together in the private space. ‘This is much better than getting you drunk and jumping you.’

‘You went to all the trouble of reserving the room,’ she said. ‘We should at least enjoy it.’

‘I booked the room because I wanted to be alone with you.’ He brought her hand onto his cheek so that he could kiss it. ‘There’s no pressure for there to be anything else… you know…’

‘Ruger, I told you about the guy who tried to get into my bed without permission, didn’t I? If I didn’t want to be here, if I didn’t want to be with you, then I wouldn’t be here. I’m not shy about saying no.’

Putting her hand back on his shoulder, he kissed her and encircled his arms around her to bring her head onto his shoulder. Glad that he hadn’t brought up the rejected marriage proposals again, Layla closed her eyes and lost herself in the seductive notes of the music and the sensual scent of this solid man who was holding her like she was the most precious thing in the world.

One song finished and another began, and still he held her close and swayed in their intimate slow dance that was proper despite their seclusion. Ruger was no sleaze. He didn’t try to hurry things along or grope at her ass. All he did was hold her and dance with her, just like she’d requested.

From their history, she knew he liked a woman to give him a clear signal before he proceeded with anything physical. Layla was happy to give him the greenlight, but she was a bit disappointed that he didn’t seduce with more vigour when he was clearly a man with confidence and he wasn’t hesitant in other areas of his life.

‘Ruger,’ she said.

‘Yeah, Legs?’

‘Do you want to make love to me?’

A warm laugh, so silent that she didn’t hear it, misted her hair. ‘Yeah, I do.’

‘So tell me,’ she said then lifted her head to meet his eye. ‘Or better yet, take me.’

The laughter faded away and in its place an intensity grew. The usually jovial Ruger ebbed and she got a real sense of the power this man could wield. It was true that someone of his stature could be intimidating, but she knew him too well to fear him.

‘You’re sure?’ he asked, bringing his hands to her face.

‘Very.’

‘Turn around,’ he said, his voice deeper than she’d heard it before.

The strength of his authority made her turn without thinking to refuse him. Sweeping her hair away from her back, he held it out of the way so that he could unzip her dress. Layla had wanted him to be more dominant and it seemed she had her wish because this wasn’t a sweet seduction. He didn’t kiss her from her clothes and segue into making love before she had a chance to notice what was happening.

When the zip was down, he pushed the fabric of her dress from her shoulders and let her hair fall so he could take hold of her and spin her around. Her underwear concealed her intimate parts, but that didn’t stop him from using his hold on her to force her back so he could get a better view. When he’d seen all he wanted, he reached around and unhooked her bra with one hand then stepped away with his focus on her chest.

It was her choice to drop her arms and let the bra fall away and he’d made that clear by removing himself from her. The hitch in his breath bolstered her confidence and the thrum of activity in her chest descended in a thick column of want that sank into her abdomen.

The odd part of her reaction to his deeds was that he didn’t touch her. This arousal, his seduction, came in the way that he looked at her, his utter concentration on her body. She felt important to him and in this moment she certainly was.

Just as she was about to ask when she would get to see him, he began to unbutton his shirt. Until about halfway down, he kept scrutinising her breasts, but that scrutiny moved up to her eyes in time with his shirt falling to the floor. On impulse, she lifted a foot to move toward him but he held up a finger and she paused.

‘Turn around and pull your panties down,’ he said.

Again, that gruff voice prompted her to do as she was told. His defined chest had provoked her arousal to pump into overdrive. Bending down to slide the satin of her panties to her ankles, Layla felt the slick natural lubricant of her body blossom.

The sound of her own swallow pulsed in her ears and when she’d taken the scrap of her panties away from the spike heel of her shoe, she dropped them and stood up, unsure if she should turn around again or not.

But Ruger answered that for her before she could ask. Again, he swept her hair away and this time he pushed it forward so that it hung over one of her breasts. Walking her forward, he pushed her hands to the column of the corner foot-post of the bed high above her head.

‘Keep them there,’ he commanded, his face lost in the swathes of her hair he was inhaling.

His hands came around her body. One went for her breast while he used the force of his caress to hold her spine to his chest where she could feel the thump of his own want in the rapid tattoo of his heart through their skin on skin contact.

He came lower, parting his thighs, he used their apex to impel the colossus he’d first introduced her to in his mother’s house against her body.

‘Ruger—‘

‘Shh,’ he said. His lips breezed out of her hair to her unobstructed ear. ‘Say nothing.’

His whispered words tingled in her ear and fizzed to her neck when his breath prefaced his kiss against her carotid. The suggestion of his thoughts was emphasised by the smattering of kisses he treated her to. Wrapping his form around her, he kissed her throat and her collarbone, working her breasts and her nipples with one hand while the other held her own hands captive.

‘Stay there,’ he exhaled, still kissing her neck, the caress was enough to hold her immobile when his hand departed from hers. Its destination made her breathing uneven when he laid the length of his index finger along her Brazilian. Without time or thought for words, Layla let him angle her hips back, which forced her cleavage to the wood her hands were still splayed on.

Ruger’s finger descended into the moist slice through her body, which begged for the attention he was happy to give it. Of their own volition, her legs separated as he coaxed his finger through her, immersing the digit in her core to her audible delight.

‘Ruger…’ she said again, working herself against the invader that came out of her to pinch her clit and spoil that neglected nub with some devotion.

‘Shh, not yet, Legs,’ he said, bringing his lips back to her ear. ‘Soon, you can make all the noise you want, but not yet.’

Layla might not have considered herself the type to take orders, but when Ruger gave them, they became her reason for being. Her compliance fuelled his desire. She could feel it in the fervour of his finger when it slipped back into her, feel it in the increased pressure of his lips that parted on her throat to let his tongue taste what his heart desired.

Layla wanted to talk, wanted to ask for more, yet she squeaked and writhed against the length of his digit that curled into her G-spot and then stayed put. The internal chant of her atoms vibrated and with a squeeze of his curled finger he pushed the ball of his hand into her clit and boom, it was like the key had been turned and suddenly she couldn’t keep her mouth shut.

A quaking gasp made her legs give, but his arm came around her ribs and he lifted her up to drop her face first onto the bed. She didn’t care where she was, the connection of their bodies remained and when he repeated the manoeuvre, this time with a sideways rub of her clit, she was urged over the precipice into orgasm again.

From the distribution of heat on her back she knew he was kneeling over her, and the gradual increase of his weight led up to his mouth closing over her nape and her hair being pushed up, out of his way.

Still recovering from the surprise of her climax, Layla couldn’t object when his hands slid away and his weight disappeared. She didn’t even have it in her to turn over and see what he was doing. Trusting that he would come back and that he had a plan, she stayed where she was breathing in the clean smell of fabric softener and rose petals.

‘I could take a couple of naked pictures now, since we’re here,’ he said.

Gasping, she flipped onto her back half-expecting to see him there with his cell phone at the ready. Instead what she saw was a fully naked Ruger and it was such a breath-taking sight that humour and horror fled. Layla learned in that second, with that first glimpse of him, that Ruger had the brawn to back up his brains. Picking out each defined muscle group, it became clear that stamina wasn’t going to be a problem for him either.