Zane rested his cheek on the top of her head. “What would you change?”
Ravyn thought about all the times she had let her father and Charles bully her into doing things she didn’t want to do, including marrying Charles. But if she wished that away, then she and Charles wouldn’t have lived in Colombia the first year of their marriage and she never would have met Maria, and there would be no Harper. “I would have been braver.”
Zane lifted her into his arms, then laid her on the bed and pulled the covers over her. He gently tucked her in, then planted a little kiss on her lips. “You’re brave enough for me. Get some rest and I’ll see you at breakfast.”
She watched him walk toward the door. He opened the door, then glanced back at her before he flipped off the overhead lights. A moment later, the door closed behind him and she thought of something else she would change. “I would have told you I love you.”
Chapter Four
The next morning Ravyn hurried downstairs, expecting to see Zane. When she entered the dining room and saw his empty chair, she almost burst into tears until she noticed that only Cade and Addison were present. She sat down then smiled at Addison. “Zane’s running late this morning.”
Addison reached over, grasped her hand then gave it a little squeeze. “He left sometime during the night.”
Ravyn smiled with trembling lips, then picked up her orange juice and sipped it. “So, what are we going to do today?
Addison passed her a basket of biscuits while giving her a sympathetic look. “We’re going to choose some paint colors and tiles for Jenna and Jackson’s new rooms.” She glanced at Cade, then added, “Online, of course, and then we’re baking cookies this afternoon.”
“And pies,” Cade added. “Lemon meringue.”
Ravyn smiled. Cade was a notorious pie addict and thief. “I can bake, but I don’t know how to ride. Do you think I could learn while I’m here?”
Addison leaned forward. “Yes, I’ll teach you. I taught Jenna.”
“Great,” Ravyn said. “I’ve always wanted to learn.”
“Learn what?” Jackson asked as he and Jenna entered and sat down.
“To ride,” Ravyn said.
Jenna laughed. “Addison and I will teach you. Cassie and Marisol already ride. We’ll be able to get out of the house and tour the ranch.” She turned and looked at Jackson. “Right?”
“Close to the ranch with an armed escort.”
“You sound like you’re expecting trouble,” Ravyn said.
“Always.” Jackson leaned Jenna back, said something that made her laugh, and then kissed her before he sat her back up.
Ravyn watched them and envied them their happiness, then felt bad for being jealous. She knew they’d had a misunderstanding early in their relationship that had kept them apart for several years. It had only been in recent months that they’d finally gotten back together and now they were planning a winter wedding. While she’d been thinking about Jenna’s wedding plans, Cassie had entered the dining room, followed by Luc and Logan. They’d barely sat down when Thor and Marisol entered and took the two chairs left on her side of the table.
Ravyn glanced across the table at Luc, Cassie, and Logan. She found it deeply disturbing that her ex-husband had been involved in Cassie’s father’s death, and she knew he was being controlled by Carlos Mendez. As she looked around the table, she began to realize that all of their stories seemed to be connected to Carlos Mendez in some way, including Marisol, as her father was Mendez’s bitter enemy.
“Where’s Mac and Ben?” Cade asked Thor.
Thor laughed. “We played poker with Nate last night at Club Mystique. He refused to play for money and insisted on playing for favors, so they’re outside washing his truck.”
Luc set his glass down with a sharp click. “How’d Nate get into Club Mystique?”
Addison rubbed her tummy, then smiled. “I asked Logan to give Isabella a membership so she could learn about D/s. Nate won’t let her go alone, so he needed a membership, too.”
Luc looked at Logan, one brow up. Logan gulped his orange juice, then set the glass down and shrugged. “I checked them out. They cleared all our background checks, so I didn’t see any harm in it. Besides, you’ve said yourself Isabella needs a spanking. Maybe Nate will give her one and get her to behave. She chased me out of the kitchen last week with the mop. How was I to know the floor was wet?”
Lines fanned out around Luc’s eyes and the edges of his lips curved up in a fleeting smile. He nodded, then went back to eating.
“If Nate plays poker then Isabella probably does too,” Ravyn said.
“Do you play?” Addison asked.
“My grandfather taught me,” Ravyn said. “He used to play all over the world.”
Addison’s reddish-gold brows drew down as she pursed her lips. “Samuel Templeton?”
Ravyn nodded. “Yes. He was my grandfather.”
Addison laughed. “My dad was Cooper Matthews. He used to curse your grandfather all the time.”
“You’re kidding,” Ravyn said, then got a thoughtful look on her face. “That means your mother was Fiona O’Rourke, the singer. Right?”
Addison nodded, then smiled.
“I met her once. She told me all about you but she called you Addy and said you had the voice of an angel.”
Everyone at the table laughed and Cade covered Addison’s mouth. “Don’t you dare sing, baby. I’m trying to eat.”
Addison nodded and Cade removed his hand. Addison laughed then told Ravyn, “I’m don’t sing but I do play poker.”
“Great! We’ll play after breakfast.” Ravyn said.
“No,” Jenna said. “First, we pick out my paint and tiles.”
“And bake cookies and pies,” Cassie said. “Then, we play poker.”
“We’ll see if Isabella wants to play,” Addison said. “That gives us six.”
“Excellent,” Cade said. “That will keep you in the house where Mac and Ben can keep an eye on you.”
“Eight,” Ravyn said. “My car needs to be washed, too.”
“What makes you think you’re going to win?” Addison asked. “The beige tank Cade bought me, and swears is a car, needs to be stolen and set on fire so I can have a Porsche.”
Cassie giggled and Jenna said, “That is one ugly car.”
Cade frowned. “It has a high safety rating and it’s not that bad, and, baby, you’re never getting a sports car of any kind.”
Addison smiled, then winked at Ravyn. “My dad beat your grandfather in Monte Carlo. Twice.”
Ravyn smiled. “My grandfather beat your dad on his own turf in Ireland. Twice.”
Cade slid his hand over Addison’s mouth again. “Here are the rules. No getting Ben and Mac to do things Thor and I won’t like. Do you understand, baby?”
Addison mumbled something, then nodded her head and Cade dropped his hand.
Marisol set her coffee cup down. “I don’t know how to play poker.”
Ravyn and Addison said, “What?”
“The nuns didn’t teach us how to play poker,” Marisol said.
Thor growled. “Don’t start with that nun business again, skjebne.”
Marisol glared at him. “It’s true. My sister, Valentina, and I went to school at a convent. Actually, we lived there and they didn’t teach us how to play poker. They sort of frown on gambling, farmer.”
Thor smiled. “One of these days I’m going to plow you, then sow some seeds.”
“You’ll have to have a complete physical first. I saw the picture in the Sunday paper of you and the socialite.” Marisol laughed when the other royals gave her a thumbs-up gesture.
“It’s not a problem,” Ravyn said. “We’ll teach you. We can do that and bake at the same time.”
Once everyone had finished eating, Marisol started clearing the table. The other four women got up to help her. After kissing their men good-bye, they pushed the cart into the kitchen. Isabella turned around and smiled at them. “Y
ou didn’t have to do that,” she said as she stood up. Across from her, Nate sipped his coffee, then set the cup down.
Ravyn smiled at him. For an older man, he was really good looking, and the scars on the right side of his face only made him appear more intriguing. From his description, she’d expected him to be bald. Instead, his hair was cut really short, but she could tell he had dark hair with silver wings on the side. His smile was a little crooked and for some reason she felt drawn to him. She sat down next to him, then couldn’t resist reaching out and touching his arm. “Hi. I’m Ravyn Templeton. We haven’t met yet.”
Nate covered her hand and gave it a little squeeze. “Nate Grant.”
Ravyn’s smile widened. His voice was deep and gritty and reminded her of her favorite treat, chocolate-covered coffee beans. “Nice to meet you, Nate.” She glanced around. “Have you met everyone?”
“Everyone except this dark-haired beauty,” he said, pointing toward Marisol.
Marisol smiled. “Marisol Rios. I’m a friend of the family.”
Nate laughed. “You mean you’re one of the royals?”
The women laughed and Cassie gave Isabella a thumbs-up, then said, “That group includes Isabella now. After we bake cookies and pies, we’re teaching Marisol to play poker.”
Nate nodded, then stood and hugged Isabella. He mumbled something to her, then swatted her on the bottom and left the room. The back door slammed shut behind him.
“I hope we didn’t run him out of here,” Ravyn said as she watched him walk across the backyard toward a large, black truck with a huge chrome bumper. Ben and Mac waved at him, then pointed to the truck.
“No, he has things to do,” Isabella said. “He checked out Club Mystique last night. He’s taking me there Friday night.”
“I thought since you started the Southern Women Against Terrible Spankers society, you were against the lifestyle,” Ravyn said.
Isabella laughed and shook her head. The aqua color in her hair caught the light and shimmered. “I started S.W.A.T.S. to mess with Luc and Logan.”
Addison laughed, then clapped her hands. “We’ll all go. That will be fun.”
Jenna moved the laptop to the table. “The sooner we pick out a paint color and tile for my new rooms, the sooner we can start playing poker.” She brought up an interior designer’s website and logged in. “What do you think? Light blue or light green?”
“Neither,” Ravyn said. “Somehow I don’t see Jackson in either color. What did he say he wanted?”
“He said to keep the bed big, and high enough to whip my ass or, uh, you know?” She blushed. “He also said if he has to walk around something to get to me, he’d take a crop to my bottom.”
Ravyn grinned. “So, essentially he wants a room with a big bed and nothing else?”
Jenna nodded, then clicked the mouse and pursed her lips before she turned the laptop to face them. “How about a plaid? Jackson likes plaid shirts.”
“Jackson likes anything he can get off in a hurry.” Addison nudged Jenna’s shoulder. “Including you.”
Jenna blushed then joined in the laughter. “Okay, what color should the plaid be?”
“Neutral creams with dark brown leather chairs and ottomans,” Marisol said. “You can have the pillows made in an open plaid pattern.”
Ravyn looked at Jenna’s platinum hair and jade-green eyes. “No, you need this.” She reached out and clicked on a picture, then quickly began pulling items into the room. The furnishings were dark chocolate brown, but everything else in the room was silver and jade blue with touches of a neutral cream. “There. It will remind Jackson of you, Jenna.” She stepped back so the others could see it.
Jenna touched the screen, then looked up. “I love it. It’s perfect.”
Ravyn reached forward and added some tiles to the bottom of the screen for the bathroom. “I’ve used this designer in the past. She’s really good. If you like the colors, just send this screen to her and she’ll do the rest.”
Cassie glanced at Ravyn, then pushed the laptop in front of her. “Do mine now, please?
Ravyn smiled, then examined Cassie for a moment and started clicking. A few minutes later, she turned the laptop around and Cassie smiled.
“Yup, that’s you, Cassie,” Jenna said.
Addison and Marisol nodded.
“Almond walls with cyan-blue and gold.” Ravyn pointed to the pillows and rug in the room that had touches of black in them. “You need the black to ground the room.”
“Perfect,” Cassie said.
“Do mine now, please. I need two spare rooms in neutral colors. Add pillows and things like that in colors I can change out for each season,” Addison said.
Ravyn worked for a few minutes while Isabella and Cassie began gathering the ingredients for several kinds of cookies. When she was done, she turned the laptop around and Addison nodded her approval.
“I’m glad that’s done.” Addison retrieved a pitcher of iced tea from the fridge while Jenna grabbed some glasses.
“I hate decorating.” Addison began pouring six glasses of tea while Jenna added ice. “I’d rather shop for clothes and shoes.”
“Me, too,” Marisol said.
“Not me,” Isabella said. “I’d rather shop for a new gun.”
“Me, too,” Cassie said. “Or knives.”
“I don’t know how to shoot a gun,” Ravyn said, drawing all eyes her way.
“How can that be?” Marisol asked. “You live in Texas.”
“We don’t all own a gun or know how to shoot it,” Ravyn said, then waited for Addison and Jenna to agree with her.
Addison looked at Jenna and shrugged. “I can’t think of anyone I know who doesn’t own a gun.” She looked at Jenna. “Can you?”
Jenna shook her head. “Maggie?”
“No, Cade and I bought Maggie a new one for her birthday.” Addison patted Ravyn’s shoulder. “We’ll teach you that, too.”
“Teach her what?” Mac asked as he entered the room with Ben behind him.
Addison pointed to Ravyn. “She doesn’t know how to ride or shoot a gun. We’re going to teach her.”
Mac hooked a chair with the toe of his boot and pulled it out before he dropped into it. “You can teach her to ride, but there’s no way Cade, or any other man on this ranch, is going to let you anywhere near a gun, Addison.”
Ben snorted as he heaved himself up on a stool at the central island. “You ladies don’t need guns when we’re here to protect you.” He reached for a chocolate chip in the bowl Cassie was stirring and she slapped his fingers with the spatula.
Cassie shoved a small pile of chocolate chips toward him. “Eat those.”
Jenna laughed, then asked, “Cassie, how many weapons would you say you have hidden in this house?”
“Guns, knives, or both?”
“Both.”
“Nine guns, thirty-six magazines, and twelve knives.” Cassie smiled, then looked at Ben. “Don’t bother looking. You won’t find them.”
“I’ll take that bet,” Ben said. “How many downstairs?”
“Four guns, twelve magazines, and six knives.”
Ben nodded, then got up and left the room. Jenna and Addison started mixing the oatmeal cookies while Marisol and Ravyn began mixing the ginger cookies.
The fragrance of baking drifted out into the house and brought the four Ramsey brothers to the kitchen. Luc grabbed the milk from the fridge while Logan grabbed four glasses. Cassie had just placed a platter of cookies in the middle of the table when Ben returned with a gun and two magazines in his hands.
“Where’d you find those?” Cassie asked.
“The downstairs powder room,” Ben said. “Taped up behind the water tank on the toilet.” He held up a key to the trigger lock. “I found this taped up beneath the sink along with this rod. What’s it for?”
“It’s another safety device.” Cassie took a magazine and removed one of the bullets, then held it up. “If you don’t know it’s there and y
ou try to fire the gun this will lock it up. Then, you have to remove it with the rod before you can fire the weapon.”
Ben looked at the bullet-like gadget then passed it around the table.
Addison slid onto Cade’s lap and brushed her hand over his neck. He caught her hand and held it down then grinned at her. “None of that, baby. Whatever you’re going to ask the answer is probably no. You’re pregnant.”
“We want to go to Club Mystique Friday night with Nate and Isabella, and besides, I’m only a little bit pregnant.” Addison smiled. “Please, Master?”
Cade chuckled. “You only call me that when you want your way.”
“That’s because I’m a smart sub.” Addison moved her hand back to his neck and stroked it.
“Not a bad idea,” Jackson said as he hooked his arm around Jenna’s waist and pulled her down onto his lap.
Luc grabbed a cookie then reached out and settled Cassie on his lap before Logan could grab her. Logan set the alarm on his watch, then held up three fingers. He bit into a cookie while he and Luc held a silent conversation with a cocked brow here and an eye blink there. After several seconds, Logan said, “If you’re going to the club we’ll take Cassie, too.”
Thor settled back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Marisol?”
“Sure. Why not?” Marisol smiled. “I might meet someone who’ll take me off your hands.”
“Don’t even think about it. You’re staying with me until we figure out who the other traitor in my office is and who’s in command of him, or her.”
“Suit yourself,” Marisol said, then smiled at Ravyn. “I think we should wear our matching outfits to the club.”
Ravyn laughed. “Yes. Good idea.”
“What about you, Isabella?” Cassie asked. “We’re wearing red. Do you have a red corset?”
“Sure. I’ll see you there. In the meantime, I’m going to start lunch.” She disappeared into the pantry.
“Nap time, baby.” Cade picked Addison up and carried her from the room.
Jackson pulled Jenna toward the door. “Come help me in the stables, angel.”
Maxwell, Mardi - Zane's Choice [The Doms of Club Mystique 4] (Siren Publishing Allure) Page 9
