“Out of the question.”
Stephanie bit her lip as her temper flared. Gone was the Ries who’d been so caring and loving before breakfast. In his place was a cold and impersonal man who was did not seem to hear what she was saying.
“Why don’t you go back upstairs and take a hot bath?” Ries suggested, tossing his napkin down and rising from the table. “I have some business to take care of and will stop by your apartment and get your things. Where are your keys?”
Stephanie watched him, seething inside, but having no idea of how to convince him that she should be the one going to get her things. His suggestion that she go take a bath was just another way for him to get rid of her.
She left the room, doubts plaguing her mind and her joy of being with Ries fading with each step. She reached the bedroom she’d been sharing with Ries and finally gave free rein to the anger over his highhandedness.
Ries hadn’t even tried to accommodate her desire to retrieve her own belongings. He’d told her he couldn’t imagine living without her, and yet, he’d just taken great steps to distance himself from her.
She huffed out an angry breath and headed for the shower, stripping off her clothing as she went. She stood beneath the hot water moments later, her shoulders tense.
She washed her hair, forced to use Ries’ shampoo and conditioner because she didn’t have her own. She tried to remain upset over smelling like him but found it hard to do.
She exited the shower, combed out her hair and then entered the bedroom, standing there in a towel as she tried to figure out what she was supposed to wear. She finally grabbed another of Ries’ shirts from the closet and then retreated to the bed and flipped through the television channels.
Ries came looking for her twenty minutes later. Stephanie hoped he was going to apologize and invite her to go with him, but instead he gave her a stare she couldn’t interpret and then retrieved something from his dresser and left the room with a terse, “I’ll see you for supper. Stay inside.”
Stephanie stared after him, fighting the urge to scream in her frustration.
Over the next few days, Stephanie only grew more frustrated with Ries and his behavior. Each morning they started as friends, but the minute she talked about leaving the apartment and venturing out into town, he shot her down and demanded she remain inside.
Each morning after breakfast, Ries and Chris left to take care of business.
Stephanie had come close to begging him to take her with him but she’d noticed that when she didn’t immediately acquiesce to his wishes, he grew cold and distant with her.
After the first morning he’d refused to let her leave the apartment, she’d tried to sneak out after he and Chris had left. She was quickly made aware that he’d not left her unprotected; he’d been prepared for her to try and thwart his attempts to keep her safe. He’d left Carlos in charge of her protection.
Stephanie was furious when Carlos met her at the exit of the elevator, refusing to allow her to get off and going so far as to escort her back up to the penthouse. He’d told her she needed to remain upstairs until further notice.
There was something about Carlos that just seemed off to her, but Chris and Ries were comfortable with his ability to protect her, so any complaints she might have made would have fallen on deaf ears. Stephanie refused to fight with Carlos in a battle she knew she couldn’t win.
Instead, she merely waited for Ries to come back home.
On the fourth day of her confinement, Ries declared that he was staying in for the day. The closeness they’d experienced right after the shootout seemed to have mellowed somewhat.
Stephanie settled in the living room with a book, once again amazed at how the rich seemed to take so many things for granted
She was reading in a large overstuffed chair, her feet shoved in her fluffy slippers and her hair haphazardly pulled up on top of her head while Ries was sitting in front of his computer, going over something he obviously didn’t want to include her in.
Chris was standing over his shoulder and every once in a while, they pointed to something on the screen but their words were low and she assumed they didn’t want her to know what they were doing.
Carlos entered shortly before the evening meal, skirting around her and heading for the other two men.
“Was there something you needed?” she asked.
“Dinner will be served soon. I thought Ries might want a drink before then.”
Stephanie nodded her head and then waved him toward the door, “That’s a great idea. I’ll get it for him. You can go back to your security duties.”
Carlos looked like he wanted to fight her but he tightened his lips and turned around to leave the room. Stephanie watched him go and took her seat. When Chris and Ries looked up moments later, Ries frowned at the door.
“Who was that? Carlos?”
“He was going to fix you a pre-dinner drink. I told him I would. What do you want?” Stephanie told him, including Chris in her invitation.
Chris gave her a tight smile and then whispered something to Ries before leaving the room on silent feet. Ries came toward her, his expression tightening with what she assumed was displeasure.
“You shouldn’t have sent Carlos away.”
“He’s a nuisance.”
“He’s here to keep you safe.”
“And just how many of your women has he protected?” Stephanie challenged him.
Ries arched a brow at her statement. “My women?”
“Your brother seemed to think I must be one of them,” she threw Nicolai’s comment out there. “You know, I’ve been wondering since that day, just how many women have you had? A dozen? Thirty? Fifty?”
Ries shook his head incredulously, “Those other women meant nothing to me. I don’t even remember their names.”
Stephanie pursed her lips as she digested his words. Ries was a playboy, of that she’d been aware. She’d seen him in action at the bar, beautiful women throwing themselves at his feet and clinging to his arms. Stephanie couldn’t help but compare herself to them, and she found herself lacking.
Maybe I’m just one of his women he hasn’t figured out how to get rid of yet.
“You don’t believe me?” Ries asked. “I swear to you, not a one of them meant anything to me.”
Instead of feeling relieved or satisfied with Ries’ answer, Stephanie found herself wondering what she meant to him. How many of those other women had thought they mattered to him? How many had been wrong?
It never once occurred to her that the bevy of women who sought Ries’ company, had only done so in an attempt to gain Damon’s attention and access to the family fortune.
Ries was charming and good looking, but that would only carry one so far. It was his wealth most women were hoping to tap into. Stephanie realized Ries knew this, and still allowed himself to be used by these women.
“I don’t want to hear about your women,” Stephanie told him when he continued to explain about how none of them meant anything other than a momentary good time. “I don’t want to be one of them.”
“I’ve already told you that I don’t see you that way,” Ries told her, his eyes hardening and his voice going colder.
“Yeah, well, actions speak louder than words,” she flung back at him, hurt over his treatment of her the last several days surfacing.
Ries stared at her and then shook his head, “I don’t even know why I’m trying to justify my actions to someone like you.”
Stephanie’s ire grew. “Someone like me?”
“Oh, come on Stephanie. What does a woman from such a low-income background know about the women who throw themselves at me? They aren’t anything like you. They know what it’s like to have extreme wealth and power, and they simply are trying to ensure they never lack for either.”
His words were hurtful and Stephanie lashed out in response, “I may not know what it’s like to have a bank account that never ends or how it feels to command the kind of power where I snap my fingers and eve
ryone jumps to do my bidding. But I understand the way the world works. I understand how men’s minds work. I’ve handled my share of shallow, spoiled and narcissistic men who only saw me as a conquest. I’ve come out on my feet. I’ve survived.”
*****
I’ve had my share of spoiled men. I know how to handle them.
The words rang hollow in Ries’ ears. Was he only one in her long line of conquests?
Ries stared at her, his feelings about her confused as he tried to combine her words suggesting she knew how to “handle” men – and presumably dispose of them - with the innocent woman he’d come to care for over the last several days.
“I would have never guessed,” he murmured, almost to himself.
“What?” she asked him.
“That you could be so hypocritical. You want to hold me accountable for the women I’ve played with in the past – the past, mind you, and yet you’ve just admitted to having used your share of men to get whatever you needed.”
“I’ve used no one,” she argued, facing him and shaking her head at him in disbelief. “I don’t know what you heard but I never said I was using people, men in particular. I don’t use people. Ever. I do what is necessary to keep myself going…”
“Is that what you’re doing now? Surviving? Am I a means to an end?”
Stephanie’s eyes glittered with unshed tears and she made a sound that was part hurt and frustration. “Believe whatever you will. I’m not a manipulator or so shallow as to believe I’m worth anyone’s special consideration.”
She turned and left. Ries stared at her shadow, wondering if he was being used or if he’d made a monumental mistake and lost the best thing to ever happen to him. Fear that he was being manipulated led to an inevitable conclusion: that Stephanie would end up resenting him.
Chris stuck his head into the room and asked, “Everything okay?”
Ries shook his head and stalked to the window, looking down on the people milling around on the sidewalks below. “No, everything isn’t okay.”
“Anything I can do to help?” Chris asked.
“Catch this guy and let me get back to living a normal life,” Ries told him. “I want my life back.”
Chris nodded, leaving Ries alone with his thoughts.
Something had changed between him and Stephanie. And Ries was stumped on how to fix things between them.
Chapter 15
Later that evening…
Stephanie had spent the afternoon by herself, rehashing the fight with Ries, and coming to the conclusion that she was penalizing him for having a past.
She felt terrible about her behavior – but also about his treatment of her. She knew he only wanted to protect her and that she meant a great deal to him – but she couldn’t stand being dependent on someone else.
She couldn’t stand the distance between them. After she ate supper alone, she went searching for the only man to ever stir her heart so deeply.
She found him in his room, reclining on the bed and flipping through the television channels. She observed him from the doorway, an idea forming in her mind. She yearned for the closeness they had experienced right after he’d gotten shot.
She knew he was still a little sore but he’d not taken any pain meds all day today. It meant he was clear headed and she decided she needed answers.
She needed to know if the intimacy and sexual chemistry she’d experienced with Ries had been a temporary situation or if there was something there that might be worth saving.
She backed out of the doorway and returned to the guest room she’d been using the last several days. She freshened up in the bathroom, removed her bra and donned the button-down shirt she’d borrowed from his closet several days before. She left her skimpy lace thong on but removed her leggings and her socks.
She brushed out her hair, leaving it down around her shoulders and unbuttoned two more buttons on the shirt, ensuring that her audience would have a tantalizing glimpse of her unfettered breasts with each step she took.
She returned to his room and slowly approached the bed. Ries looked up and his eyes instantly filled with heat. She felt sexy beneath his stare, and when he slid to the side of the bed, she found herself slowing her steps and toying with the buttons at the top of his shirt.
The hem of the shirt brushed against the top of her thighs with each step she took, her pulse sped up, and memories of being loved by Ries assailed her.
She paused a few steps away from him and bit her bottom lip as doubts entered her mind. Ries had been acting so cold toward her, and then with the snap of his fingers he could switch gears and he was the most attentive and passionate man she’d ever met.
Ries was only wearing a pair of black silk boxers, and when she glanced down, she could see the evidence of his desire for her, but then as she raised her eyes up, she caught sight of the healing wound in his shoulder. He was no longer wearing the sling and only a small bandage covered the wound now.
“How are you feeling?” she asked, gesturing toward his shoulder.
Ries glanced at it and then smiled at her, getting to his feet and closing the distance between them. He brushed the back of his fingers over her cheek and then cupped her jaw, tilting her head up as he took possession of her lips.
Long moments later, he skimmed his lips over her jaw and down her neck, nibbling at the tender cord where her neck and shoulder met before venturing lower.
Stephanie gasped when he skimmed his hands down her sides before bringing them back up and cupping her breasts through the thin fabric of the shirt. She reached for him, squeezing his sides and then she placed her lips on his chest.
She skimmed her mouth over his collar bones, moving a step closer so that his erection brushed against her lower stomach, making them both groan with need.
Stephanie let her fingers brush the waistband of his boxers, and when he released one of her breasts and delved beneath the shirt, she followed her instincts and started pushing his boxers off.
Ries answered her move by unbuttoning her shirt and sliding it off her shoulders, leaving her completely naked, just as he was.
Stephanie slowly worked him back toward the mattress, using her hands, teeth, lips and tongue to seduce him as he did the same to her.
Their breaths were mingling and when his thighs hit the mattress, he deftly turned them and then lowered her down, coming up over the top of her and settling between her thighs.
Her wet center surrounded him, and Stephanie arched up against him, but Ries wouldn’t be hurried. He whispered Greek words in her ears, starting at her temple and working his way down her body with kisses and caresses.
“Ries,” she murmured when he ventured down and latched onto one hard nipple, sucking on her so that she felt the movement of his mouth to her core.
“Shush, let me love you. I know these last few days have been hard, I wanted to keep you safe.”
Stephanie arched against him as he moved his hand between them and sought entrance to her wet heat. “That feels so good.”
“You are everything that is sweet, and good…much too good for someone like me, but I can’t let you go. You are so sexy.”
Stephanie soaked up his praise, letting it soothe her battered soul and smooth the doubts away. She started to reach between them, thinking to learn more about his body but Ries chuckled and then grabbed her fingers before she could touch him.
“Not yet, agapi̱méni̱. I want to make this last,” Ries whispered near her ear. He continued moving her arm up until it was lying on the pillow above her head. He kissed her and murmured, “Leave your arm right there.”
“Ries?” she questioned him, when he did the same with her other arm, crossing her wrists and then sitting up so that he was on his knees between her thighs.
He skimmed his hands up and down her sides, moving his thumbs and palms ever closer to her breasts, but circling them and never quite touching her where she wanted his touch most. Not until he had her writhing in pleasure.
; When he placed his hands on her nipples, squeezing the tips just until she arched and began to moan in pain, pleasure arched through Stephanie and she was sure she could orgasm just from his touch alone.
Ries seemed to sense how close to the edge she was and he backed off, skimming his hands over her torso again, this time his aim was much lower. He moved his body down with his hands, spreading her thighs until the back of her knees were riding on his shoulders.
“Ries, I don’t want to hurt you,” she reached for him, starting to move her legs, but Ries gave her a stern look and nipped the inside of her thigh. “Stephanie, put your arms back and hold still. You won’t hurt me.”
“But…”
“Trust me to take you where you need to go. To where we both want to go,” he watched her until she returned her hands over her head and relaxed her leg muscles.
Only then did he use his mouth and fingers to drive her to the brink, time and time again, always pulling back just before her body was ready to splintered into a million pieces.
Stephanie was on a rollercoaster and each time he pulled back from letting her come, she grew more frantic with need until she was a shivering mass of pleasure mixed with the pain of denial.
“Ries, I don’t want…”
“Shush,” he moved back up her body and kissed her roughly before sliding to the side of her thigh and abruptly turning her over so that she was lying on her stomach.
When Stephanie automatically pushed her hands against the mattress, Ries slapped her butt and then covered her with his body, pulling her back so that she was on her hands and knees, and holding her with firm hands when she tried to change position.
Stephanie was so shocked that Ries had spanked her, she couldn’t even find her words. When he pulled her hips back to his own and entered her roughly, she gasped and all thoughts about his actions were pushed aside and he took them both to paradise.
He moved within her, setting up a pounding rhythm and urging her to let go and come with him.
Stephanie, on a tight wire of emotion and pleasure for the last hour, was helpless to do anything but comply and a few thrusts later, she screamed his name as she rocketed toward the stars and shivered in his arms.
Protected By Him (The Greek Brothers Book 4) Page 9
