Runaway: Wolfes of Manhattan Three

by HELEN HARDT

  Matt was a lion, and I was his prey.

  Oddly, I was okay with that.

  “I don’t know what you’re hiding, Riley,” he said, “but I know it’s something.”

  “I’m not—”

  He quieted me with two fingers on my lips.

  “Stop it. I don’t care. Not tonight. I’ve wanted you since I first laid eyes on you. You do something to me. Something different. I feel like…” He shook his head. “Fuck.” Then he crushed his lips to mine.

  That earlier kiss in the tub? The one that was gentle?

  This one was anything but.

  He devoured my mouth. Took, like a lion taking what was his.

  Surrender to it, Riley, I begged myself.

  Let your body lead you. Forget your mind for one fucking minute!

  I leaned into his kiss.

  Melted into his arms and surrendered.

  His dick was hard, and it throbbed against the towel still covering me.

  Tonight. Tonight I’d find out what all the fuss was about.

  Tonight was for me.

  For Matt and for me.

  He trailed his fingers over my shoulders and down my arms, sending tingles racing through me.

  My nipples stiffened, and I pushed into his chest, wishing I could whisk away the towel but knowing I had to get to the dark bedroom first.

  My body was on fire. Truly on fire, and—

  No!

  When unwanted images tried to surface, I tamped them down.

  Nothing would ruin this night for Matt and me. Nothing.

  I was going home tomorrow. Going home to help my brothers deal with the fallout of my father’s murder.

  Going home, where I’d have to reveal the ultimate truth of my relationship with my father, for my brothers still didn’t know everything.

  That would be difficult.

  I deserved this. This one night of passion and desire and nirvana with this wonderful man.

  And damn it, I would have it.

  Matt broke the kiss with a loud pop and inhaled deeply.

  “Bedroom,” I said. “I want to be in the dark.”

  “Why?”

  “I just…do.”

  “Whatever you need.” He pulled me to the bedroom and didn’t turn on the light.

  I let the towel drop to the floor.

  My open suitcase lay on the bed where I’d begun to pack it. He set me down and closed the bag, tossing it to the floor. Then he joined me on the bed, his body covering mine.

  He was kissing me again. He held his weight on his arms so as not to crush me, but the kiss was full of passion and need. So much need.

  He rolled over then, pulling me with him, until we were lying side by side, our mouths still joined.

  His erection nudged hot against my flesh.

  And yes, I wanted it.

  I wanted it inside me.

  I wanted him inside me.

  Such a new feeling, but dwelling on its newness only invited other unwanted feelings and images, so I didn’t dwell.

  I surrendered to the moment and nudged him. “Please.”

  “Not yet,” he said.

  “Now. Please.”

  “But I want to explore every inch of you, baby. We have all night.”

  Explore? Even in the dark, if he explored too much he’d find my burns. I couldn’t let that happen. “You can explore me later. Right now I want you inside me, Matt. Please.”

  “Fuck,” he groaned. Then he rolled on top of me and slid inside me. He groaned again. “God, you’re tight.”

  Tight, yes, and he burned. But it was a good burn. A necessary burn. A burn I craved.

  For when Matteo Rossi entered me, I reclaimed my body.

  It was mine.

  Not anyone else’s.

  Just mine.

  I wanted this. This was my choice.

  And I reveled in it.

  “Trying to go slow,” he gritted out. “Trying—”

  “It’s okay,” I said. “Do what you need to do.”

  “I’ll make this up to you, Riley.” He pulled out and then thrust back in, hard this time, his dick burning through me like a flaming spear.

  He pulled out quickly and thrust back in. Again. Again. Again.

  Sweat emerged on his brow, making his hair stick to the sides of his face.

  He fucked me hard. He fucked me fast.

  He fucked me so damned good.

  I locked on his face, his beautiful light-blue eyes, as he pumped. Focused on his beauty, on his body joined to mine.

  I focused, sealing my mind from all other thoughts and images.

  His beauty. His manliness. His pure, raw masculinity.

  “I’m going to come, Riley,” he panted. “Can’t hold off. I’ll… I’ll… Fuck!” He grunted as he pushed hard into me, banging on my pubic bone and nudging the new sore.

  I relished the ache, relished his release.

  Relished our joining.

  This was what sex was supposed to be like.

  Finally, I could see beauty where before I’d seen only pain and self-loathing.

  Finally, I could see light at the end of my dark tunnel.

  22

  Matteo

  Fuck.

  That release was like nothing I’d experienced before.

  And I’d had a lot of experience.

  I was clean, though. I always made sure of that. I always used a condom, and I got tested every three months for all STDs.

  Fuck! The condom…

  How had I acquiesced so quickly? I believed Riley. I believed she was protected and that she posed no threat to me otherwise. But how…? How did she believe me so freely? Most women weren’t so trusting.

  Very surprising, considering we both knew she was hiding something.

  Damn. How much time had passed since I’d experienced a woman without a condom?

  Too damned much time, that was for sure.

  Riley had been tight as a virgin, too. Tight and ridged and perfectly gloving my cock.

  I was already hardening again, aching for her, and I hadn’t even withdrawn yet.

  I rolled over and lay on my back, one arm covering my sweaty forehead. “Damn, baby,” I said.

  She let out a soft moan.

  “I’ll make it better for you next time,” I said.

  “It was wonderful,” she breathed.

  “But you didn’t come. I didn’t kiss you all over, suck on your beautiful pussy. I want to do all that and more.”

  “Mmm. Sounds great, but truly, Matt, it was wonderful.”

  She really was inexperienced.

  “Give me a few minutes to recover,” I said, “and then we’re going to start again.

  She turned and snuggled next to me. “Sounds good.” Soon, though, she was snoring softly.

  I couldn’t bear to wake her.

  In the morning.

  I’d make slow sweet love to her in the morning. We had all the time in the world.

  The sun’s rays streamed in through the window of the rental cabin. For a minute, I thought I was at home, but then I remembered.

  Riley.

  This morning I’d make love to Riley. Kiss every inch of her velvety body and make her come. Hell, I’d make her come twice. Maybe three times.

  Except…

  Where was she?

  Her side of the bed was rumpled. What time was it, anyway? My phone was in the other room in the pocket of my jeans. Heck, it had probably died overnight. I really needed to invest in a new phone. My battery hardly lasted a full day. I charged it every night.

  No clock in the bedroom, either. Was there even a clock in this house?

  My watch. I’d taken it off to get in the hot tub. Where was it?

  And for that matter, where the hell was Riley?

  She must be in the other room.

  I rose and headed to the can to take a leak. Hmm. Her wallet no longer sat on top of the toilet tank. She was obviously up, so she’d probably moved it back to her pu
rse.

  I walked into the living area, expecting to see her sitting on the couch or in the kitchen making coffee. Did she even drink coffee? Yeah, she did. She’d enjoyed JoJo’s coffee. She liked it dark and rich.

  Still, I really had no idea who she was.

  “Riley!” I called.

  No answer. I hastily put on my jeans and walked into the kitchen. No Riley there either.

  The hot tub. Of course! I hadn’t bothered covering it last night, so she probably got back in for a morning soak.

  I ambled out onto the deck.

  Sure enough, the tub was still bubbling…

  But no Riley.

  Okay, this was getting weird. I walked around the side of the cabin. Only my truck sat in the drive. Her rental car?

  Gone.

  I hurried back into the cabin to take a closer look. Nothing seemed amiss in the living room or kitchen, so back to the bedroom I went.

  And it hit me.

  The suitcase I’d moved off the bed?

  Gone.

  And in the bathroom? Not just her wallet was gone. Her toothbrush, toothpaste, moisturizer, hairbrush… Everything that I’d seen last night…all gone. How hadn’t I noticed when I took a leak earlier?

  Easy. I wasn’t looking.

  All I noticed was her missing wallet, and that was only because I’d snooped in it last night.

  She was gone.

  Riley Mansfield—or whoever she was—had left without a trace.

  I ran my fingers through my disheveled hair. I still had no idea what time it was. I found my watch sitting on the coffee table.

  Fuck. Eleven a.m.! Since when did I sleep this late?

  Good thing I didn’t have a job today. My phone had indeed died. I got the rest of my clothes on, left the cabin, and got into my truck. I needed a cup of black coffee and something in my belly.

  Fortification. Only with fortification would I be able to take the next step.

  The next step.

  Even as I let the words form in my mind, I couldn’t believe I was thinking them. I’d never chased a woman in my life, but that was indeed my next step.

  To find Riley.

  23

  Riley

  I arrived in New York late in the afternoon with the time change. My limo was waiting, and within an hour, I was back at my luxury apartment in Manhattan.

  Time to call my brothers.

  I wasn’t close to any of them. I hardly knew Rock, since he’d left when I was six, and Roy was so quiet he didn’t get close to any of us. As for Reid? He was outgoing, quite the partier in some circles. Also the closest to me in age. He and I might have been close but for our father.

  My father had kept me distanced from my brothers. He was probably afraid I’d tell them the truth. He needn’t have worried.

  I kept the truth buried far beneath my surface. I had to in order to exist.

  To the outside world, I was Riley Wolfe, supermodel.

  On the inside, I was a void of darkness.

  Last night, though… Last night I’d seen the light. Matt had given me a precious gift, one I wished I could return. Leaving him had been one of the hardest things I’d ever done.

  But this was where I belonged. Here. In Manhattan. Despite the horror that had taken place here, it was my home. My brothers needed me.

  Derek Wolfe was gone and he wasn’t coming back. I thanked God on a daily basis for that one. I’d stopped praying long ago, but now I was free. Did I even believe in God? I wasn’t sure, but I thanked Him nonetheless. I thanked Him for finally freeing me.

  I was a mess inside, for sure, but at least I didn’t go to bed every night wondering whether Derek Wolfe would show up and demand…

  I didn’t even want to think about it.

  I looked around. The décor was modern, with clean, crisp lines and simple colors of brown, beige, and white. Steel sculptures sat on the mantle, and the coffee table and end tables were covered in clear glass.

  It was the envy of many in my circles.

  And I hated it.

  It was sterile.

  Now, I longed for the hominess of the cabin in Sumter Falls.

  Time to put this place on the market and move.

  But not until I helped my brothers solve the murder of our father. We’d all been implicated, and the only one of us with an ironclad alibi was Rock, who’d been in Montana at the time. The police might try to say he’d ordered a hit, but with what? Rock had been living a modest life in Montana, working construction. He didn’t have the kind of money required to order a hit.

  No, Rock hadn’t done this.

  None of my brothers had, though they all had a motive.

  The strongest motive, though?

  That belonged to me.

  I’d suffered the most at Derek Wolfe’s hands, and no one had known.

  Until now.

  Rock had told Roy and Reid why he’d been sent away all those years ago, and I’d told Roy in a phone call before I ran away to Montana.

  God…Montana.

  Montana and Matteo Rossi.

  I absently brought my fingers to my mouth. I could still feel his lips on mine.

  Lucky for me he’d turned out to be a sound sleeper. I’d tiptoed through the cabin this morning, packing up and getting out of there. Had he woken up, I didn’t know what I’d have said to him, but I’d have thought of something.

  Lying came very naturally to me, thanks to my father, although lying to Matt was a challenge.

  Good thing he hadn’t woken up.

  I’d choked back tears as I left the cabin, as I got into my rental car, as I drove into Billings, as I got on the plane.

  Finally, now that I’d kept the tears at bay all day, I was myself again.

  Riley Wolfe, who buried her emotions inside. It was the only way I could exist.

  Time to let my brothers know I was back. I called Roy. He was the one I trusted the most, though I couldn’t tell you why. Of all my brothers, I felt the most like Roy would “get” me.

  “Sis?” he said frantically into the phone.

  “Yeah, it’s me.” I cleared my throat. “I’m back.”

  “Thank God. Where are you?”

  “At my place.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Better, anyway.” Thanks to Matt Rossi.

  “We’re here for you. All of us. What do you need?”

  I sighed. “Right now I just need for all of this to be over, you know?”

  “God, do I. I have news. When can we see you?”

  I was exhausted. But this needed to get resolved.

  “Tonight,” I said.

  A few hours later, I sat in Rock’s hotel suite. He hadn’t moved into the penthouse because it was still considered a crime scene. His new wife, Lacey, was there, along with her assistant, Charlie Waters. Apparently she and Roy were an item now.

  I smiled. Roy looked happy. Actually happy. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen him that way before.

  Once Reid arrived and room service had been ordered, we settled in for a long night.

  “The memorial service is tomorrow,” Rock said. “I know the thought of acting like children destroyed by our father’s death makes us all want to hurl, but we all need to be there and do it.”

  No one said anything.

  “You feeling me?” Rock asked.

  “Yeah, of course,” Reid said. “It just sucks, is all.”

  “No shit. But we have to be there.”

  “Any news on Zinnia?” Roy asked.

  “Zinnia?” I said.

  “Yeah. She’s a woman who entered into some kind of settlement with Dad and Father Jim.”

  “Father Jim?”

  “Shit. There’s a lot you don’t know,” Rock said. “Lace, you want to fill her in, since you uncovered this part of it?”

  “Sure.” Lacey cleared her throat. “When I was an associate at my old firm, I found the signature page of a document in the copy room. All I know is that it was some kind of settlement
and confidentiality agreement, and your father was one of the signatories. The other one was someone named James—we think it was probably Father Jim, but I can’t recall the last name—and the third one was a woman named Zinnia. Again, I can’t remember the last name. It took a lot of doing just to remember that much.”

  “Father Jim?”

  “Yeah, Father Jim,” Roy said. “He’s not the paragon of the church he’d like us to think he is.”

  “Did he ever…” I gulped.

  “No, no. He’s not one of those priests.” Roy shook his head. “At least as far as I know, though it wouldn’t surprise me. His victims seem to be adult women.”

  “But Dad…” I gulped again.

  Lacey, who sat next to me, touched my forearm. I whisked it away.

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “It’s okay. I just…”

  Don’t like to be touched. The words were true, but also contradictory. I’d let Matt touch me. In fact, I’d craved it.

  “Dad liked little girls,” Rock said. “We all know it now.”

  I shook my head.

  “Riley?” Roy asked.

  “Dad didn’t like little girls,” I said. “I mean, only me. He never…”

  “Wait, wait, wait… What are you trying to say?” Rock asked.

  “I’m saying that… Sometimes Dad and I… We were with…others. And he only touched me.”

  Roy shook his head. “Riley. Fuck.”

  “It’s okay,” I said, though it wasn’t okay at all.

  “We all know the truth now, Riley,” Reid said, “and we’re all so damned sorry.”

  “It’s in the past,” I said. The recent past, but still the past.

  “We’re going to get you all the help you need,” Rock said. “The best there is. Roy and Lace have been working with a psychologist they really like.”

  “I’m not sure I’m ready for that.”

  “It’s okay. We’re on your time,” Reid said. “You call the shots.”

  I laughed. Actually laughed.

  “What’s funny?” Rock asked.

  “Just the idea of me calling my own shots. Totally laughable. He controlled me my whole life.”

  “Well, the bastard’s dead and buried,” Rock said. “From now on, you’re in charge of your own life, and we’re all here for you. Got it?”