Ryanne descended the stairs with fifteen minutes to spare. In her hand she held the tail end of the dress as she took each stair one by one. She nearly tripped when Eduardo rounded the corner looking better than a thick ham sandwich the day after Christmas. He was clean. He wore a black tuxedo with shiny black shoes. His hair was cut, his beard trimmed and the only thought roaming through Ryanne’s mind was ripping his clothes off and making that snake tattooed on his body dance for her.
“You look impeccable,” he told her as he reached for her hand.
“Thank you Seňor Delgado. You look extremely debonair,” she said once she saw the large man with the weapon step around the corner.
She had not traveled with any jewelry other than the strand of pearls he had sent her for Christmas which made the dress the center of attention. Marianna stepped around the corner with a black jewelry case.
“Dr. Dobbins,” Eduardo said, “Colombia is world renowned for its flawless emeralds. I thought these would be complimentary to that dress.”
It took a concerted effort on her part to not react as he draped the heavy jewels about her neck and wrist. The teardrop emeralds that hung from her ears were worth more than her vehicle. She didn’t even want to imagine what the necklace and the bracelet cost. Eduardo turned her body to face the mirror as he stood behind her admiring the compliment of the emeralds to the white dress against her ebony skin.
“Absolutely stunning,” he said in a low voice.
Her finger ran over the gems as she admired her reflection in the mirror. “They are lovely,” she said to him.
“They are now yours,” he whispered in her ear.
Ryanne’s eyes were wide, but with onlookers taking it all in, she nodded, maintained a stoic face and accepted his arm. Eduardo escorted her out the front door to a different golf cart which was driven by the big man. Ryanne looked pointedly at him.
“That is Tonda. My personal... assistant,” Eduardo said with a halfcocked smile.
There was no time to respond as the golf cart pulled up to a helipad. “We are taking a helicopter?”
“Yes, we are heading to Bogotá for dinner,” he said. Tonda opened the passenger door of the copter as Eduardo slid into the pilot’s seat. She was unable to shield her surprise as he pressed buttons, donned the ear piece, and pressed the pedals to set the rotors in motion.
“Is there anything you can’t do?” she asked with a smile as the copter lifted smoothly from the ground.
“There are very few things I cannot do well,” he told her with a twinkle in his eye.
Her confidence in his ability was shaken when she looked in the rear seat and saw the look of fear in Tonda’s eyes. She didn’t know what made her do it, but she leaned over and touched the big man’s hand. “The flight to Bogotá is not very long. It will be over in no time,” she yelled over the roar of the blades.
Oddly enough it calmed him and the flight went without a hitch. Dinner was even more perfect. They dined in a private dining room where the food was prepared table-side. Eduardo chose a fish with capers simmered in a beurre blanc sauce in which he insisted she try.
“No fish for me,” she declined. She did offer to share her duck breast, in which he sampled from the fork she fed him from.
“Oh! I nearly forgot,” she said as she grabbed her purse. From it she pulled an elongated velvet box. “This is for you,” she told him.
“You brought me a gift?”
“Yes, I thought you would like it,” she said with a smile.
Eduardo opened the box to find a white gold serpentine bracelet with a snake head clasps. The snake’s eyes were small rubies. “Allow me,” she told him as she fastened the jewelry to his wrist. “Do you like it?”
“I love it Ryanne,” he said to her.
This was the perfect segue into a topic she wanted to approach, “I have noticed in private you call me by my given name and in public I am Dr. Dobbins.”
He flaked off a piece of the fish, pushing it about his plate. “Those who are close around me are either related or indebted. For you to be here is out of the norm, and unless you appear to serve in an official capacity, you are a liability to me.”
It wasn’t what she was expecting to hear. It almost hurt her feelings. He saw it in her eyes. “Immediate family members are off limits to the cartel, but others whom I may value or deem close to my heart, become a tool in which my enemies may use against me to weaken me or my resolve.”
Ryanne muttered under her breath, “Weaken your resolve...”
“Yes, Ryanne, you make me weak. In the worst way,” he said as he stared her in the eyes. “Around you I feel...everything.”
“That is a good thing...right?”
“I don’t know. My heart has not stopped hammering since I saw you standing on my front porch. You sleeping on that bed...I wanted to strip down right there and make love to you...” he confessed.
Her face was contorted, “I am glad you didn’t. You smelled like something had died on you!”
He burst out laughing a gut busting guffaw. “My apologies, I was caring for a sick donkey.”
Tonda peered around the corner to make sure everything was okay. The man he worked for did not laugh. He had worked at his side for 10 years and could count the number of times he’d heard him laugh. Who is this woman?
Eduardo rose slowly. “Come, I smell better now,” he said as he pulled Ryanne from the table into his arms.
A violinist entered the room and began to play a familiar tune. His heart thudded against his rib cage as the scent of her filled his nostrils. The discipline he so prided himself on was rapidly leaving him. In an effort to tamp down everything which was fizzing up, he began to hum along with the violinist as he held her fingers inside of his own. Their bodies were so close. Her thighs were pressed against his. Her breasts were touching his chest. The warmth of her body radiating heat to him...feeling wonderful.
Ryanne stood still. “I kid you not, if you start singing, I am coming out of this dress, right here and now,” she said.
He stopped moving and pulled her by the hand. “Where are we going?” she asked.
“Home!” he said.
“Don’t you have to pay the check first,” she stated.
“They will bill me,” he said as he pulled her by the hand.
“So, our evening is over?”
Words were not uttered as they took the elevator to the roof. He physically lifted her into the helicopter seat, fastened the seat belt and slammed the door. Tonda climbed into the rear seat, eyes ever watchful as Eduardo started the engine, pulled the gear stick lifting the machine from the ground. The trip back seemed far faster than the trip out or he was flying at a faster speed, but they touched down on the helipad and had returned to Las Tierras Verdes.
Safely inside his home, he poured himself a drink and bid her goodnight.
“Sleep well Dr. Dobbins,” he told her.
Confused, Ryanne didn’t argue but made her way up the stairs to the room where she had napped earlier. Did I do or say something wrong? Nervous energy made her pace the floor for several minutes. A light tapping could be heard as Ryanne strained her ears to follow the sound. It sounded like it came from the closet. Over there! Slowly, she unfastened the lock, and slid open the pocket door, peering into the dark space.
On the other side of the door stood her Eddie.
“This is my room,” he said to her as he turned and walked into the darkened chamber. Ryanne followed him into his private quarters. A masculine lamp covered in leather was turned on casting a slight glow about the room. Eduardo seated himself in the corner of a large leather couch, a cognac in the glass in his hand hung precariously as he watched her.
“You swore if I started to sing you would come out of that dress,” he said. He began to sing an old Johnny Gill song in Spanish. She recognized the refrain of My, My, My.
Ryanne sensed it to be unfair to break a promise and disappoint the man. My Eddie. She began to undress, start
ing with the emeralds. If he planned to seduce her, two could play that game.
She could give as well as she got, but wow, what a first date.
Chapter 7. What took you so long...
The white dress pooled at her feet as she stepped out of the fabric and laid the material across the arm of the large leather sofa. The black chemise she wore covered the fancy black underwear she had purchased at La Perla - those she would reveal shortly. In the meantime, still in high heels standing on the left side of the bed, she grabbed the pillows and turned down the covers. It had to be the largest bed she had ever seen in her life. The bed was easily the size of two queen beds pushed together.
The heels of her shoes sank into the thick Persian rug which lay under the bed as she made her way around to the other side, turning back those covers as well. She kicked off her shoes as she slowly pulled the chemise over her head. Eduardo had stopped singing. He remained still in the corner of the couch, his legs crossed, his left hand draped casually across his knee. The drink still dangled from the right which rested across the back of the couch.
So cool.
So calm.
So in charge.
Ryanne wanted to break the façade and get to her Eddie. The lacy black bra fastened in the front as she reach up and unhooked the piece, freeing her girls from the satin and lace harness. She tossed it to the couch where it landed on the dress. Next were the underpants.
Her thumbs hooked into the fabric, gently tugging, then pushing the satin downwards over her hips. Ryanne stepped out of the underwear and tossed them at Eduardo. He caught them in his left hand balling the fabric up as he watched, curious as to what she would do next. She climbed into the bed, supine, her knees folded at 90 degrees obstructing her view of his face.
Her knees lolled to the left, giving him a clear view of her bottom. “Eduardo Benicio Castanza De La Marta Delgado...always so cool, calm and in charge,” she said. Her knees coming back to center, her thighs still together. This time they lolled to the right as she made eye contact with him. “Every move, calculated. Every word carefully chosen, everybody in your periphery hand selected...” she said to him.
“...Everyone with the exception of me,” she said.
His eyes had not left hers.
“I am the unknown variable...” she said as her knees came back to the center. She slowly opened them giving him a bird’s eye view of what he had been craving for the last three months.
“Eduardo Delgado...You are so many things to so many people. A man of wealth. A man of power. A man of influence, yet the only person you truly want to be is Eddie,” she said softly.
Her fingers traced inside the heart she had cut into her girl curls for him. She wiggled her finger at her Eddie, then crooked it, beckoning him to come forward. “Come to me Eddie, tell me what you need,” she said.
Ryanne closed her eyes as she brought her knees together. She stretched out on the bed, with her hand running down her thighs - listening. The creak of the leather could be heard as Eduardo rose from the couch. The glass in which he held came to his lips, as she heard him gulp the contents of the goblet. It clinked when he sat it upon the table next to the couch. The cufflinks tinkled as well when those made contact with the table. Her ears were focused on the sound of the silk bowtie coming undone, the jacket sliding off the fine cotton shirt nearly soundless and making contact with the back of couch. The shiny shoes he wore came off, as his feet slid out of the socks he wore and were stuck inside of the leather pair of dress shoes. Small buttons could be overheard complaining to the fabric of being freed from cotton holders while the leather of the belt groaned as he yanked on it, pulling it back, unseating the pin which wrapped it about his waist. The snap of the tuxedo pants came apart as the teeth of the zipper cried as it was unfastened. The pants were down, now in the air and landing upon the jacket on the couch. The elastic in the waistband of the underwear yielded little resistance as its owner tugged on the fabric, pulling them down his legs.
Her eyes opened to see him standing beside the bed. The head of the serpent gazing at her. His need jutting upwards, desperate to connect with something soft.
“I see you Eddie,” she said.
The red eyes of the serpent entered the bed first as Eduardo slid next to her, gathering her in his arms, enveloping her in an embrace. His legs coiled around hers gripping her like she was an oversized body pillow, fingers pressing deep into her skin.
“Tell me what you need Eddie...” she whispered into the side of his neck.
“I need you to make me yours Ryanne,” he said as he rolled to his back. Anxious fingers roamed her body stopping briefly to finger the heart, moving lower to feel, to check, to test her readiness to receive him. Slick, wet, prepared, Eduardo shifted his weight under her, aiming, needing the connection. He moved her hips, aligning them perfectly as he raised his own, pushing forward, and linking their bodies. A satisfied groan emitted from his lips as he pulled her headfirst to his face, kissing her like he’d wanted from the instant he saw her earlier in the day.
This was the moment that Ryanne took over. She moved her body like she was on a stair climber, rocking from side to side, incrementally taking in the thickness of her Eddie. Her nails, stuck in the side of the serpent’s head as she held on to him, completing their connection.
“Mine,” she whispered as she continued to raise the passion between them. Her hips lifted and then she lowered them quickly. His head flung back into the pillow, his eyes rolling upwards in his head. Eduardo’s face was distorted as he reveled in the pleasure she was giving him.
“Mine, Eddie,” she said leaning forward, licking each ruby eye of the serpent. The nipples hardening under the assault of her mouth. Eduardo moaned as his legs moved restlessly against the sheets.
Ryanne shifted her weight atop him as she also changed her pace. She went from climbing stairs to rowing a boat as she slid forward and backwards on him, asking in a low voice, “Whose is it Eddie?”
Her pace increased as she began her ascent. Faster she rowed the boat as his arms flung out to his sides like he was being crucified. He felt so good inside of her, she could only focus on her end goal.
Faster.
Faster.
Harder.
Eduardo sat up in the bed. His left hand cupped her right breast as his mouth clamped down on the left one. Her legs wrapped around his waist as her arms encircled his neck. Fevered whispers went into his ear describing how good he made her feel. Ryanne rocked hard against him, sweaty, moaning, feeling the passion building. “Tell me you are mine and this belongs to me Eddie...” She demanded from him. Her passion exploding as she cried out.
Eduardo rolled her to her back as he took over, sinking deep into her. Dark eyes smoldered as he gazed down at her in the dim light of the room. “I am all yours Cariña. I belong to you, Ryanne.” His plunges were powerful as he began to rock his hips in a means that brought her to the edge of another explosion.
“What’s my name?” He asked her, his pace increasing. There were no gentle strokes as he made his way to his finish. She had made him wait nearly three months and he had been saving this for only her.
“Say my name Ryanne!” he demanded.
At this point, she barely knew her own. As her second climax began, she mumbled, “Eduardo blah blah blah blah Delgad...Oooooooooooooo!” The O came out low like a wolf howl as she came undone for the second time.
“Close enough,” he whispered as he thrust hard, hissing her name as he found his own release. The force of all the tension he had been holding for the past 96 days was spent inside of a little woman who was going to be the death of him. A woman whom would be nothing but trouble for the rest of his existence. He could not see living his life any other way. I am hers. She held a power over him that he was defenseless to fight. His Achilles heel had arrived and his life was never going to be the same. Eduardo held her close, waiting for his thudding heart to slow down.
“Ryanne,” he said.
&nbs
p; “Yes Eddie,” she replied.
“What took you so damned long to get here?”
The checklist in her head was long. Saxton and Odessa moving to the Busy B. The move of Blakemore Imports and Collectibles. The birth of the twins. Dealing with Grandma Patsy. It took two weeks to get up the nerve to tell her parents she was coming to Colombia and another week to garner the courage to call him, but she made it.
“I am here now baby,” she told him.
The answer was sufficient. He cuddled closer. After pulling the covers over them, then settling his head into the pillow, he drifted off. Ryanne needed to process everything that was shooting through her own head before she would succumb to sleep. At night she would have this with her Eddie. In the daytime, he was Eduardo the drug Czar. For the first time since arriving in his country she felt fear.
Being with Eddie was not the issue. Fitting into Eduardo’s world was. In her heart, she knew she was not equipped to be here. Loving the Czar was one thing, assimilating into his world was a different kettle of fish. She had always been taught that company and relatives after three days were also like fish - all of it would soon stink.
The next six days would change both of their lives in ways neither of them had imagined. The stink, was going to be the least of their problems. Well it would be until she proved she was no longer a liability. Ryanne Dobbins knew she was far more valuable to the Czar than a nightly bed warmer.
Eduardo would soon find out the same.
Chapter 8. Say What Now...?
Ryanne woke slowly, cracking an eye in the now very bright room. A room that was far brighter in the morning light than the darkened chamber she had gone to bed in. It took a few seconds to remember where she was after spending nearly a month at the Busy B, being in and out of Saxton & Odessa’s house and now here. Loud noises could be heard high and low as the workers on the farm began their day. Roosters were crowing. Mowers were mowing. Seeds were sowing and it sounded like a gaggle of kids were storming the house.
Loving the Czar (The Blakemore Files Book 6) Page 4
