“What?” He rolled to his back and put his arms under his head. He was turning into such a young man.
“Well, your father had two other sons. So, you have two half brothers.”
Ethan sprang up to his elbows. “I do? How old are they? What're their names? Where do they live?”
Bethanie made a face and bobbled her head from side to side. “Wow, okay… well, I don't know their names, but I can find out. They live somewhere in the midwest. Again, I don't know exactly where, but I'll have Ryan ask, and they are older, I think.”
“Old like you?”
“Old?” She pounced on him and tickled him until Dog got agitated and tried to get between them. “Okay, big boy. I'm not hurting him.” She gave the animal a pat on the shoulder and shifted so she could see Ethan. “Probably not old like me, but older than you. They said that we could come live with them.”
Ethan shook his head vehemently. “I don't want to leave here.”
“Neither do I, so maybe we can just go visit someday? Would you like that?”
“Yeah, that'd be fun.”
“Good. Now scrunch down and get comfy.” She lifted off the bed and waited for him and Dog to settle. Bending at the waist, she kissed his forehead. “G'night, Ethan.”
“Night, Mom.”
She headed out of the room that had been emptied of books and christened Ethan's room about two weeks ago. Her son had no problem sleeping alone and didn't blink an eye when she and Ryan had given up the pretense of not sleeping together. Kids were amazing. Her kid was phenomenal.
“Hey, Mom?”
“Yes?”
“I lied; Dog is my favorite.”
She laughed and shook her head. “I knew that. Sleep tight.”
She closed the door a bit and headed into Ryan's room. Their room. The sound of the waterfall shower obliterated the silence. She turned back and shut the door to their room. Ethan never wandered at night, and he knew to knock before entering their bedroom. According to Ryan, he and Ethan had a 'guy' talk and agreed that most kissing should be done in private. She chuckled as she lifted her nightshirt over her head and padded into the massive bathroom. She paused just inside the door. Ryan stood under the shower, his hands braced against the wall, his head hanging down. His muscles rippled when he pushed off the wall and straightened.
For some reason, he looked tense. She waited until he glanced her way before she walked toward him. His eyes roamed her body as she approached, much like she'd been eyeing him moments before. He extended his hand and pulled her into the cascade of gloriously warm water. He drew her into him, his firm sex trapped between them. “He in bed?”
“He is.”
“No bedtime regrets about staying here?”
“Nah. I told him about his brothers. He'd like to know their names and maybe go visit them sometime.”
“I can get that information for him.” Ryan pushed her wet hair out of her eyes. “And you? No regrets?”
She shook her head. “None.”
He stared at her for several long minutes as if he were trying to reassure himself of her commitment.
“Are you having regrets?”
He'd had all evening to think about it, maybe...
“None, but I do want to tell you some things about my past.” He ran his hand up her arm and cupped her neck. “I can't tell you everything. Most of what I did for Guardian was classified, but I want you to know me. All of me.”
She put her hand on his chest. “Then it is only fair that I tell you about me.”
He began to shake his head, but she reached up and put her finger on his mouth. “I want you to know me. All of me.” His words echoed back at him. “Let's finish showering, and we'll talk.”
He bent down and kissed her once, and then again. Bethanie melted under his touch and would have forgone the talk if he hadn't backed away. “Shower, talk, then adult time.” He handed her the shampoo.
She held the bottle in her hands and watched as he soaped up his chest. The suds rolled down his stomach to his–
“Shampoo.”
She jumped at his words and reluctantly pulled her eyes away from his cock. “Right. Shampoo.” She blinked and jerked her eyes to the side. “Shampoo.”
His laughter reverberated through the cave. They managed to wash and get out of the shower with only minor detours—a couple of kisses and some touches. She toweled off quickly, grabbed the comb she'd been using, and picked up her sleep shirt from the floor.
She crawled to the far side of the bed and plumped her pillow up against the headboard. “What did you want to share with me?” Ryan pulled the blanket and sheet back and slid into the bed, completely naked. Which was not fair because she wouldn't be listening to him now. “Pull the sheet over you, or I'm going to be distracted.”
He smiled and lifted his eyebrow suggestively.
She slowly shook her head and motioned to the sheet. “Nope. Talk.”
He flipped the fabric over him and turned toward her, propping himself up on his elbow. “When I was Ethan's age, the state of Michigan took me away from my mother.”
Bethanie gasped. “Why?”
“Okay, maybe I need to rephrase that. I never knew who my dad was. When I was eleven, my mother left me alone in the room she rented and never came back. She was an addict. She shot up in front of me all the time. Used what money she made to fund her highs. We rarely had food. I learned to beg and steal on the street. An old lady that lived on the first floor caught me stealing out of her garbage can and called social services. They tossed me into a foster home.”
Her heart ached for him and for everything the eleven-year-old Ryan had been through. Those beautiful brown eyes of his reflected a misery he didn't speak of, and that tore at her heart. She couldn't comprehend a mother not taking care of her child. It was... so wrong. “I'm so sorry.”
Ryan shrugged. His eyes dropped and focused on the sheet between them. “It was all I knew. I grew up hard. Learned how to defend myself, how to protect myself from people who preyed on the weak.”
“You must have been so lonely.”
“I was alone most of my life, even when she was around. But that isn't what I wanted to talk to you about.” He cleared his throat and glanced up at her. The eyes that met hers weren't nervous. He was deadly serious. The gravity of the moment settled on her, vividly focusing her attention to him. “Guardian recruited me when I turned twenty-one.”
She blinked at the jump in conversational direction. “To stage accidents? To make it seem like people died in those accidents.”
“Yeah, I can't talk to you about the details of what I do for the organization, but I want you to know, I am one of the best in the world at what I do. I am more than capable of protecting you and Ethan should anyone come up this mountain, and I won't hesitate to lay down my life for either of you.”
“Oh.” Her fingers shook in front of her mouth. What he was saying mimicked her thoughts. Her life had shifted in the last weeks and months. Shifted? No... changed... Her outlook on life had changed because of this man. He'd become the central point of both her and Ethan's lives. Ryan was a gravitational pull they couldn't resist and had tethered them in his orbit. They belonged here, with him. She knew it as certainly as she knew she loved him.
He reached out and trailed his finger along her leg. “It's important you know I want you both here, with me, and that I have the ability to make sure you're both safe.”
“I never doubted it. Not once.” The man had always taken care of them, even when he didn't want them here. He was kind and giving, the exact opposite of Ethan's father. “Do you think there is a real threat against us? I mean, we aren't witnesses to anything. We don't want anything of his.”
He tossed his pillow up to the headboard and moved to mirror her position, sitting with his back to the headboard. “There is a legitimate threat against both of you.”
He lifted his arm, and she leaned into him. She relaxed into his embrace and whispered, “For how lo
ng? I just don’t understand how anyone could think either Ethan or I could be a threat. Can you?”
“People like the ones looking for you don’t need a rational reason to do what they do. It is sufficient to know they are after you and Guardian is working the issue. We are safe here. We are going to be okay.”
He kissed the top of her head, and she relaxed with the realization she believed him, just because he said it was so. Lord, how her life had changed. “It's hard to believe.”
“What's hard to believe?” He kissed the top of her head again, and she smiled at the sweet gesture.
“That I'd find happiness.” A sad chuckle fell from her at the admission.
“You've had a hard life.”
She nodded. “Like you. We've been alone for a long time. Even though we were around people, nobody knew us or knew about my past.”
“Do you ever think about looking for your family?”
“I did. The woman who, I don't know, I guess controlled us while we were waiting for buyers, told me they were dead. She took great joy in letting me know no one was coming to help. I didn't believe her. Later, when Ethan was in preschool and I was allowed to take him to the library for story time, I checked. I used the time he was listening to the stories to research news releases and obituaries. They're gone.” Of course, she was listed as a casualty, too. It was surreal reading about her parents, sister and herself perishing.
“I'm so sorry for your loss.” He wrapped both arms around her and held her to his chest.
“It all seems like a horrible dream. Before Ethan, I imagined being rescued. I watched as the others with me lost hope, like me. Then Harvey happened. The first thing he did was threaten to hurt me if I was disobedient.” The faint scars that lined her wrists were barely discernible to anyone but her. Harvey's eyes as he cut her and watched her bleed still haunted her. He was excited by the blood, by her pain, and by her begging. He’d never cut deep enough to open a vein, but she didn’t doubt for a second that he would. She shivered and pushed closer to Ryan.
“And then Ethan happened.”
She nodded and leaned away so she could see him. “He was so innocent, and he needed me as much as I needed him. Of course, I knew Harvey would kill both of us if I ever deviated from his demands.”
Ryan's jaw tightened, and his eyes flashed with anger. She reached up, laid her hand on his cheek and shook her head. “All of it, my past, Harvey, all of it, was worth being where I am today with you and Ethan. I wouldn't change a thing.”
“You are a remarkable woman.” Ryan pulled her to him and rolled them so they were lying flat on the bed. His lips traveled her body, his hands accented and punctuated their journey. She held him and let herself be consumed by his attention. The warmth of her skin amplified under his tender caresses. She ran her hands over the muscles in his arms and chest. He was so strong, solid. He'd become her foundation.
He centered over her and nudged her core with his erection while holding her attention with his gaze. “I wouldn't change a thing,” she whispered as he rocked into her. Sweet heavens, how could this remarkable man be with her. Overwhelmed. That was how she felt. Overwhelmed with gratitude, with happiness, with… emotions she couldn’t process, didn’t want to examine.
“I don't deserve you.” Ryan's whisper caressed her soul.
“You do. You deserve this. Us. We both do. Life owes us.” She arched under him as he filled her. So good. So unbelievably wonderful when he made love to her. She knew he wasn’t just scratching an itch. Ryan was making love to her, whether or not they'd said the words.
“It does.” He rocked into her and settled deep inside her. Their bodies aligned. His hips moved forward and back, stroking sensations deep within her as his kisses fueled the intensity of their union. Neither of them tried to hurry the pace. Her hands traveled his body. Her hips matched his languid strokes.
She memorized the feeling of him under her fingers, his strength, his gentleness, his dominance. He led her through this intimate dance and set their pace to music only lovers could hear. She shattered under him and felt when he reached his own release. His body strained over her; his muscles tightened around her. She smiled as his body weight sagged on top of her, as if being held in her arms was where he needed to be. Being loved by someone as wonderful as Ryan Wolf was a blessing, one she prayed she'd never lose.
Chapter 19
“Are you ready?” The sun had yet to come up. Ryan stood beside the driver's side door of the Guardian vehicle. His truck and the enclosed trailer he used to haul building supplies was parked behind her vehicle.
“Yes. I'm going to go slow, though, I don't like the hairpin curves.”
“Slow is best. I'm in no rush. If it gets too late, we'll spend the night off the mountain.” He leaned in to kiss her.
“Are you sure Dog can't go with us? He wants to!” Ethan was half hanging out of his truck, petting the animal.
“You're going to fall on your head!” Bethanie admonished. The boy rolled his eyes at her and continued to pet Dog.
“Go on, start out. I'll corral the daredevil and follow you down.” Bethanie was right, the kid was going to end up on his head if he leaned out any further.
“Are you sure you're okay with him riding with you?” She shook her head when Ethan overbalanced and grabbed frantically for the outside door handle.
“Whoops!”
“Whoops, my ass,” Bethanie muttered.
Ryan's head snapped toward his woman, and he laughed. She rarely cussed. “Go, I've got him. Once we get off the mountain, I'll pass you and lead the way.”
She nodded, hit the button to raise the window and pulled out from in front of the safe house.
Ryan trudged over to his 4x4 truck, grabbed Ethan by the back of the coat and lifted him back through the window. “You are going to break your neck.”
“But Dog wants to come with.”
“Dog can amuse himself for a day without you.”
“He'll get lonely.”
“He'll be fine.” Ryan made sure Ethan was all the way inside the cab before he gave Dog a pat on the head and rounded the cab of the truck to the driver's side door.
“Okay, ready?”
“Yeah! Can we have McDonald's?”
“Sure, for lunch. I thought we'd take your mom out to dinner at a nice place.”
“Italian? She loves Italian.”
“We can do that.” He put the truck in gear, released the parking brake, and pulled onto the road.
“Are we spending the night off the mountain?”
“That depends on how long everything takes. The current melt has cleared up the roads so we can come back up tonight without worrying about ice on the blacktop.” There was a worrisome late season storm warning for the states east of them, another reason getting resupplied was necessary.
“We have chains so we can come home even if it snows, right?”
Ryan turned to look at the boy. Home. He smiled and winked. “You bet. We can come home.”
“Dog will get worried if we don't come back tonight.”
“He'll be fine. When I leave for work, he's alone for weeks or months at a time.”
“Yeah? What do you do?”
“Ahh...” Stepped right into that pile of shit, didn't you? “I worked for a company called Guardian Security.”
“Worked? Are you a police officer?”
“More like a trouble-shooter. I helped them keep things running smoothly.”
The boy's body stiffened, and he jerked toward Ryan. “You don't have to leave to go to work now do you?”
“Nope. You and your mom have my undivided attention for the foreseeable future.”
“How long is that?”
“A long time.”
“Cool.”
Cool. Yes, it was. Ryan tapped the steering wheel in time with the country CD playing in the cab. He listened as Ethan expounded on the excursion he and Dog had yesterday. Bethanie was slowly giving her son more freedom and allowed
him to go outside without constant supervision, although she hovered. He couldn’t blame her. That was one thing he promised himself he wouldn't influence. They needed to find their own 'normal', and Bethanie needed to learn to trust her son when he was outside. The night they'd spent lost in the woods had scarred her far more than it had her son. Although Ethan wasn't actively rebelling against the tight apron strings, Ryan could see they were starting to chafe the boy.
He and Ethan chatted until they drove off the mountain and passed Bethanie, who'd pulled off the road and waited for them. Ethan waved wildly at her as they passed and took the lead.
They arrived in Charlotte just after nine in the morning, and Ryan drove straight to the mall. Bethanie got out of the vehicle, locked it and climbed into the truck. Ethan slid over the back of the front seat and buckled up in the rear. “Mom, we get to go to McDonald's!”
“Really? For lunch or breakfast?”
“Both!” Ethan grabbed the back of the seat. “Please!”
“Breakfast for now. We'll play it by ear after that. Okay?” Ryan offered a compromise. Bethanie threw him a smile, and Ethan gave a long-suffering sigh in the back seat. Coming from Ethan, a sigh could mean any number of things. His mind flashed to Moriah and her variety of grunts. Though a decade younger, Ethan was on track to surpass her lack of vocabulary.
“I'm exhausted.” Bethanie dropped her head against the back of the front seat. Her eyes closed and she yawned.
“I'm not. Dog is going to love the rawhide bone I got him.” Ethan held up the three-foot braided rawhide and brandished it like a sword.
“You are spoiling him.” Ryan glanced in the mirror at Ethan. The boy gave him a cherubic smile and laughed.
“I'm surprised we got all the equipment and groceries into the trailer.” Bethanie yawned again. The sound was echoed in the back seat. Ryan glanced back again and noticed Ethan had wedged himself in the corner of the seat and had his feet up. Once he stopped moving, he was going to be out. The kid had run circles around them all day. Ryan was amazed he was still awake after the massive plate of spaghetti he'd eaten.
Lycos (Guardian Security Shadow World Book 3) Page 17
