Game Of Risk (Risqué #3)

by Scarlett Finn

  ‘You can’t,’ she said, pulling his hand away from hers and shifting down the couch. ‘You have to stay here and I have to go and be with Drew.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because if the media start investigating you and your brothers… all that you’ve built, your family, they could all face public scrutiny too.’

  ‘They could, but we’d deal with it.’

  ‘No, I couldn’t do that to you,’ she said, tossing the pillow aside and leaving the couch. ‘What about your mom and dad? They don’t know about your former occupation.’ Dax had travelled up to New Jersey last night to check out Ruger’s warehouse with a view to deciding if he wanted to clear it out. Getting rid of the goods was supposed to signal Ruger’s new start, if the media descended on the still full building, Ruger and Dax could find themselves in hot water. ‘They’re going to do everything they can to discredit everyone that we care about,’ Layla said. ‘Ashcroft will make it happen. I’m sure he has his own contacts in the media. That’s probably how he held them off for so long and why Serendipity had such trouble finding a buyer for her story.’

  ‘It could get messy,’ he said, rising to follow her path. ‘But I’m not going to abandon you, none of us are. You belong to our family now. You’re one of us.’

  ‘I appreciate you saying that,’ she said, pleased when he took her into his arms. ‘But that doesn’t mean I can turn my back on my old family. Drew is all I have. I can’t let him face this alone.’

  ‘He has Serendipity and he has contacts up there who will look out for him, Legs. Let’s sleep on it and discuss it again in the morning. This has been a long night.’

  When he led her through to the bedroom, she followed on, though she was no clearer on what her intentions were. Everything he said made sense, but it still felt right to be with her brother and Layla couldn’t drag Ruger and his family through the mud, not after all they’d been through.

  Guiding her onto the bed, Ruger crouched before her to slip off her shoes. As he stood up he took the hem of her top and drew it up over her head.

  ‘No teasing?’ she asked when he approached from above to urge her onto her back.

  ‘No teasing,’ he said.

  Shuffling back, she rested on the pillows and lifted her arms up around him to welcome a kiss. Just over an hour ago they were in the living room talking about being together and now she was talking about leaving him. Sometimes it felt like fate didn’t want her to find any peace.

  Yet as his mouth explored her neck, she closed her eyes, content that this was a man who wouldn’t let her get away if he truly wanted her. Ruger was thorough and he was dedicated, she might not have the strength to commit to their relationship, but if Ruger decided that being together was what he wanted, he would pursue her. She was sure of it.

  Working her fingers down the buttons of his shirt, she peeled it back from his torso and as she tugged at the cuffs to free him, her fingers danced across the ridges of his chest. Crunching up, her mouth took over for her fingers, which went to work on his jeans.

  It was late and tomorrow would bring decisions that she didn’t want to face. Layla was good at flouting responsibility, which wasn’t always a good thing, but in that moment, it felt like a good thing. Taking her head in both his hands, Ruger took her from his body and brought their mouths together again. If they hadn’t been interrupted before they’d have been in bed already and she wouldn’t be famished for the release that came with intimacy from Ruger.

  ‘There better be no bullets this time,’ she murmured, curving her body upwards to move against the solid security of his.

  ‘No bullets, but I guarantee explosions that will make your ears ring.’

  ‘Cocky, aren’t you?’

  ‘Practised,’ he said, kneeling up to force her jeans down her legs. When he stood to pull them from her ankles, he kicked off his own clothes too. Collapsing over her, he braced on one arm to let the other slip down her body over the swell of her breast to the curve of her waist and down to the slight protrusion of her hip.

  Distracting her with a kiss, he pulled her legs apart and dipped his fingers into her. Circling a fingertip inside her to test her resistance, all he found was a juicy, welcoming home for himself and when he realised that, he retreated an inch to kiss the tip of her nose.

  ‘Still warm,’ he muttered and edged his finger deeper then it withdrew and slid it up to her clit. He circled and then repeated the action in lazy manoeuvres meant to make her wriggle and whimper. He’d said no teasing, but that was a tease in itself.

  ‘I’m ready,’ she muttered, biting into her lip to stop more words of urgency from escaping.

  ‘Around me I think you always are.’

  More of that arrogance, yet it didn’t deter her. Layla raised her hips into the caress of his hand and when the spasm of orgasm made her scream, he sprang into action. Positioning himself against her sweet spot, the head of his cock slid through her juices and invaded her. Moving in time with her pants, she gasped in oxygen and breathed out his name.

  Languishing in the haze of endorphins the buzz in her gut increased until the pressure between her thighs sent her into a tense spasm.

  ‘Yeah, Lay, that’s it baby,’ he hissed out through his teeth. ‘You like that, Legs?’

  ‘Ruger!’ Her eyes burst open, matching with his, and that connection of their souls met the connection of their bodies. Gritting his teeth, he pumped into her again, and when he hit deep, his face contorted with the arrival of his own climax.

  Falling to the side, he pulled her close and his harsh panting breaths were humid in her hair. She didn’t care that they were sticky, that they were really too hot to snuggle. Closing her eyes, Layla didn’t say another thing. She just let the fraught night fall away in time with the ebb of their bliss. Tomorrow, they would have to decide what the future held for them.

  The battering on the back door was alarming, but with it being broad daylight outside Layla wasn’t too concerned that her early morning visitor was sinister. Ashcroft’s men didn’t announce themselves either, so she was sure that opening the door wouldn’t lead to her murder.

  Tying her robe tighter, Layla got to the door, opened it, and came up short when Drew was standing there filling the frame.

  ‘Uh… Drew, hi.’

  Ruger was busy in her shower, washing off their morning in bed, and could possibly come out of her shower buck naked, meaning there would be no chance of easing her brother into their relationship.

  ‘Hi?’ he asked. ‘That’s all you have to say?’

  ‘Oh, don’t be dramatic,’ she said, stepping aside when he came marching in.

  ‘Do you know how easy it was to find you?’ he asked. ‘You’ve rented property, are you crazy? You’re making yourself a cosy little life here while there are maniacs after you?’

  ‘And whose fault is that?’ she asked, going up the stairs because she had no reason to keep Drew in the salon when her apartment was up the stairs.

  Being in a robe, she didn’t want to be on show through the large salon windows to the neighbours especially with a strange man. The community didn’t know this was her brother. All they’d know was that she went to bed with Ruger and woke up with a second man.

  Going into the kitchen, Layla began to brew coffee while Drew wandered around the living room to check out the apartment. After he was satisfied that he’d learned all he could about the layout, Drew went to the window and pulled off the cardboard cover Ruger had put over the bullet hole.

  ‘Hey!’ she chided.

  ‘You’re going to get someone in to fix the window today, aren’t you?’ he asked, touching the jagged edge of the glass then turning to see the hole in the wall. ‘One shot?’

  ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Colt Warner might be able to get you a copy of the police report.’

  ‘That would be helpful,’ Drew said. ‘But we know who shot at you.’

  ‘That doesn’t make me feel better,’ she said. ‘Ruger told me they didn’t
mean to shoot me, but that didn’t make me feel better either.’

  Going over to the couch, Drew crouched, his attention went back and forth between the bullet hole and the window a couple of times, then he began to aim with an imaginary gun toward the window from his crouched position.

  ‘What are you doing?’ she asked, coming over with two cups of coffee and seating herself on the couch.

  ‘The shooter must have been on the roof across the street,’ he said. ‘The shot couldn’t have come from the street or the bullet would’ve hit the ceiling, but it came in on a descending trajectory. Where did Ruger check for the shooter?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘You can ask him yourself when he comes out of the shower.’ Drew glared his disapproval, but that only made her widen her smile. ‘I’m glad you know the truth. Now we can all get along with the truth out in the open.’

  ‘The truth might be out in the open, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be getting along with anyone.’

  ‘Where’s Serendipity?’ she asked.

  ‘Rushe came and picked her up. I don’t know where they are now.’

  ‘And you’re comfortable with that?’ she asked. Teasing her brother came second to her concern for her future sister-in-law.

  Drew shifted position to slide up and sit beside her. Taking his coffee off the table, he took a drink before he spoke. ‘Rushe is the only guy I’d trust.’

  ‘Rushe and Ruger,’ she said, but he glared again.

  ‘I trusted Ruger more before I found out about the two of you. What were you thinking, Lay? The guy is supposed to be protecting you, why did you seduce him?’

  ‘You think I’m the temptress?’ she asked. ‘I’m offended.’

  ‘No, you’re not,’ Drew said. ‘And it doesn’t matter who did the seducing, you had to approve or it wouldn’t have happened. I know how stubborn you can be.’

  ‘Because you’re just as stubborn?’

  ‘Because I lived with you for long enough,’ he said. ‘When Ruger’s ready I’ll get him to take me across the street.’

  ‘If Ashcroft’s men are watching me, then they’re going to see you here. Shouldn’t you be laying low? I don’t like you wandering around in the open.’

  ‘It’s what you’ve been doing and you’re still here. There’s no reason to off me now. The evidence has been gathered and it’s in appropriate hands. They could kill me for spite, but that would just make the story juicier and more scandalous.’

  ‘You put a lot of faith in these maniacs being smart and rational. Shooting at women seems to be their MO, first Flick and then me, I hope Serendipity is really safe, wherever she is.’

  ‘Dipity is safe,’ Drew said. ‘Until you meet Rushe you won’t understand how I can be so confident about that.’

  ‘Until I meet him? I have no interest in meeting the guy. He sounds like a meathead to me.’

  ‘Careful what you say when he’s around. Flick is never far behind Rushe and she takes exception to anyone ridiculing her lover.’

  The couple did seem intriguing, but Layla wasn’t sure she would be able to hold up under that kind of scrutiny. Drew had a reputation with these people who were astute and calculating. Layla had a habit of saying inappropriate things that embarrassed people. That was her MO.

  ‘So where is Ruger?’

  ‘He’s in the shower,’ she said, leaning forward to put her coffee down. ‘Do you want me to go and get him?’

  ‘No,’ Drew said. ‘I’m not sending you into the bathroom with him. You might never come out and I do not want to listen to a play-by-play of you with your new boyfriend.’

  ‘I doubt he’d want to mess around with you in the next room. He knows what you’re capable of.’

  ‘Just so long as he remembers that for as long as he’s with you,’ Drew said, slurping his coffee. ‘So renting this place, shacking up with Ruger, are you planning to stick around here?’

  ‘Actually, Ruge and I were going to talk about that this morning,’ she said, curling her legs under herself while being careful to keep her robe over her thighs. ‘We were talking about making a go of it and then last night happened. I was going to come up to Jersey to be with you and Dipity when the story broke.’

  ‘What sense is there in that?’ he asked. ‘Dipity and I planned to disappear for a while after the story breaks. We’re not interested in the limelight.’

  ‘The press will be all over you. Ruger said you two could be slandered, and I wanted to be by your side to show my support.’

  ‘It’s guaranteed that Ashcroft will try to discredit us, which is why we wanted to give the newspaper running the story a chance to verify some of the case facts themselves first. If they know the story is legit then they can run with it, no matter what Ashcroft says about Dipity and me.’

  ‘You think that martyring yourself will make the story more credible?’

  ‘Don’t take everything so personally,’ he said, taking her hand. ‘Dipity and I will be fine. We’ll just go off and take a vacation before we look for the next story.’

  ‘Oh, great, so we’re going to go through all of this again?’

  ‘Next time we’ll avoid political officials.’

  ‘Great plan,’ she muttered. The bathroom door opened and Ruger came out in a plume of steam, thankfully holding a towel around his hips.

  ‘Jansen,’ he said, his attention flicking between them on the couch.

  ‘Go put some clothes on then we have work to do,’ Jansen said, drawing his scowl away from Ruger and planting it on her again.

  Layla lunged over to pinch her brother’s arm, but Ruger shuffled off into the bedroom to get changed. ‘Give him a break,’ Layla said. ‘He’s doing what he promised you. I’m still here, aren’t I?’

  ‘Yeah, but you’re a little too rosy-cheeked for my liking.’

  Rolling her eyes at her brother’s disapproval, she didn’t let on just how much she enjoyed their sibling banter. It had been so long since they’d been together, she had almost forgotten what it felt like to be under Drew’s wing. ‘I want you to meet his family, to see just how good these people are. I think once you do, you’ll change your tune.’

  ‘You’re not dating his family, you’re dating him.’

  ‘Colt is an ex-cop just like you,’ she said, hoping to summon some points in Ruger’s favour.

  ‘Yeah, and Blaser is an ex-con. You’re crazy if you think I didn’t do my due diligence before handing my only sister over to this guy.’

  ‘See, you do care,’ she said widening her cheesy grin and leaning closer. ‘I don’t give you a hard time about Dipity.’

  ‘I’d like to see you try. Dip and I have been together for so long, I’d be surprised if you can remember a time that she wasn’t in your life. If Ruger was one guy of a few then I’d be more relaxed about it, but I know you. He’ll start to get heavy and you’ll panic, then you’ll run.’

  ‘Everyone has such faith in me,’ she grumbled, slouching around her coffee mug. ‘I’m not a slut, you know, and I don’t see you rushing to get married either.’

  ‘I haven’t married Dipity ‘cause of you,’ he said. ‘I’m terrified that if I ask her, she’ll run, just like you do every time a guy produces a ring.’

  Stuck on this thought, she was astounded. Ruger came out of the bedroom and Drew got up to talk to him. They went to examine the window and Drew went through the same routine he had when he first came up the stairs, but she was immobilised. Drew held her neurosis as an example of how women reacted to commitment.

  Completely by accident, she had managed to screw up her brother’s life. Layla didn’t act in a normal or rational way, but without their mother to guide him, she had been his go-to person for examples of the behaviour of the opposite sex.

  ‘We’re going outside,’ Ruger said. He had to duck down and force her chin up with a finger to get her attention. ‘Legs?’

  ‘Ok, yes,’ she said.

  ‘Get dressed and we’ll go out for breakfast when
we’re through.’

  ‘It will have to be a quick breakfast,’ she said.

  ‘Why?’ Ruger and Drew asked.

  ‘Because I have plans later,’ she said then pinned Ruger under her stare. ‘So do you.’

  ‘Do I?’

  ‘The engagement party is tonight,’ Layla said. ‘You’re supposed to be going with Colt to pick up supplies.’

  ‘Shit, that’s tonight?’

  ‘Yes, which makes dragging him out last night all the more terrible. The poor guy has enough on his plate.’

  ‘My mom and Lyssa will have taken care of everything,’ Ruger said to her, then switched his focus onto Drew. ‘You can come if you want.’

  ‘A party? I’m not really in the mood,’ Drew said.

  ‘Get in the mood,’ Layla said. Her brother’s foul attitude might be justified given what he’d been through recently and he might not like Ruger very much at the moment, but the Warner family had been kind to her and she wasn’t going to let Drew ruin a special event in the family’s life.

  ‘We’ll talk about it at breakfast,’ Ruger said. ‘We don’t have to be at my mom’s until lunchtime, right?’

  ‘Yes,’ Layla said and accepted Ruger’s kiss.

  Kissing her reinforced the sincerity of their relationship in front of Drew and she liked that Ruger wasn’t afraid of her brother freaking out on him. It had been their plan to leave the salon and eat lunch at the Warner house where Pru would lay out the itinerary. So far all they knew was that the men were supposed to pick up the gazebo and the food for the grill, while the women stayed home to decorate and arrange the flowers.

  Being included meant a lot to Layla, although she did feel like a fraud now. If she was going to walk out on Ruger then she shouldn’t be ingratiating herself with the family. Except now that Drew was here, she didn’t need to leave and the future had become even less clear.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Already the Warner house looked beautiful. Ruger had called his mother to say that they wouldn’t be there for lunch and his mother was very understanding. Pru had dozens of questions about what had gone on last night and Ruger did a good job of answering them without lying directly. The fact that Layla had to make the distinction between whole truths and lies broke her heart.