by Dena Christy
Collette was silent as she waited for him to finish. She knew this wouldn’t be the end of it, and there was really nothing she could say or should say to get out of it. Let him think she’d committed the lesser crime of trying to set herself up with someone else on his dime. The alternative was him finding out exactly what she’d done, and it would be a lot worse for Ryce if that was the case.
“So you have nothing to say for yourself?” A red flush creep up his cheeks in the dim light of the garden. She shook her head and braced herself for what she knew would come next. She was certain that Reggie wouldn’t get physical with her, since it didn’t seem in his nature, but one could never be sure since she’d never pushed him this far before.
“Fine,” he said, his voice as sharp as a knife. “I want you to vacate the apartment immediately. I want to hear nothing more from you, and I will consider that to be the end of it. I will settle the costs of your stay here, and won’t report you for the fraud you have perpetrated, but I am washing my hands of you. Don’t use me as a reference since I will have nothing positive to say about someone who would take my generosity and throw it in my face in such a manner. Goodbye Collette.”
He turned on his heel and left her standing there. Of all the things she should feel, relief was the only emotion going through her. He hadn’t discovered Ryce’s existence, and since she was certain there was nothing left of hers in the apartment, his kicking her out held little sting. If she hadn’t already been determined to change the course of her life, she supposed that his shoving her out of his life without support or reference would hurt more that it did. If anything his decision to cut things off completely finally freed her from the chains of her past, and she felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
She stood there for a while longer, and when she came out of her thoughts, she realized that she was alone in the garden. The evening was quiet around her, and as she drew in a deep breath, she was glad that things had turned out well for both her and Ryce. Ryce had gotten the contact he needed with Dawson, and all links to her former life as a chippy was finally at an end.
“Why are you standing here,” Reggie’s voice said beside her, and she jumped, disoriented for a moment. “We need to get out of here.”
Ryce had emerged from wherever he was hiding, and she realized that he was right. She may be in the clear from Reggie, but he wasn’t. There was still a risk that he could be seen and the sooner they got away the better.
“Let’s get out of here,” she said as she turned to him. He reached out and took her hand and they walked through the trees toward the parking lot.
“Are you okay?” He guided her toward the car. Fortunately there wasn’t anyone around to take notice of them as they got into the vehicle.
“As a matter of fact I’ve never felt better in my life,” she said and she was startled to realize that it was true. She was now in charge of her own destiny and she couldn’t be happier about it.
Chapter Ten
It was in the early hours of the morning by the time the car pulled into the parking lot at Evie’s place. Ryce looked over at Collette, who slept in the seat beside him, and although he didn’t want to disturb her, he was sure she would be more comfortable sleeping in her own bed.
“Time to wake up,” he said softly as he nudged her arm. She shifted in her seat and opened her eyes, giving him a sleepy smile that reminded him of the one she’d given him that morning. It seemed like forever ago that they’d spent the night together, but incredibly it had been less than twenty-four hours since he’d held her naked in his arms.
“It’s probably too early to talk to the others.” She undid her seatbelt and stretched. She still wore her ball gown and as she moved her full breasts swelled out of the top of the dress.
He tore his eyes away since he didn’t have the right to look at her and think the thoughts that were chasing around in his head. Their night together was a one off. While he knew that, he couldn’t say he wasn’t tempted by her again. She seemed oblivious to her effect on him as she opened the car door and stepped outside.
He followed her, and they made their way in the dark toward the door and went inside their base of operations. Silence greeted them, and he was sure that everyone was asleep inside. Talking to Synn about Cynric’s situation would have to wait, and right now all Ryce wanted to focus on was getting out of this body and getting some sleep.
They got to Collette’s room, and she turned her head to look up at him.
“Good night, Ryce.” She looked at him as if that wasn’t what she wanted to say. He gazed at her for a long moment, reluctant to leave her here and go on to his own room. The urge to kiss her overwhelmed him, but he forced himself to resist. He didn’t want to kiss her while wearing another man’s body, especially not the one he was occupying.
“Good night,” he said, his voice a low rumble in his chest that failed to communicate what was going on in his head. He turned away, and walked down the hall to his room, refusing to look back at her. If he saw her standing in the doorway of her room, looking sleepy and beautiful, he didn’t think he’d have the willpower to resist her.
He walked into his room and pushed the door. It failed to close all the way, and he didn’t really care. He needed to get out of this body and back into his own skin more than he needed privacy. He reached up and ripped the tie off from around his neck, flinging it to the floor. It felt like he’d removed a noose from around his neck, and he breathed his first easy breath since he’d put the thing on. The shirt and pants swiftly followed. He closed his eyes and focused on his true form, and he could feel his body reforming at the cellular level, returning him to himself.
The air circulating the building caressed his naked flesh when he heard a noise behind him. He turned to see Collette standing in the doorway, her eyes devouring his body.
“I can’t sleep.” She stepped into his room and closed the door. She leaned against the door, and bit her bottom lip. “Tell me to go and I will. Last night wasn’t enough for me.”
It wasn’t enough for him either, and while he would not have gone to her room without an invitation, a small kernel of happiness bloomed inside him that she had come to him. Nothing could come of their being together, but as he held out his hand toward her he was determined to enjoy her for however long this thing between them lasted.
She slid her small hand into his and he drew her forward. The light in his room was dim but he could see enough. If he was blinded he would still be able to see her in his mind's eye, and it was a sight he would take with him for the rest of his life.
He let go of her hand and cradled her face. She was so beautiful, and as he leaned toward her, he thought for a moment that it was going to kill him to have to let her go. He pushed the thought from his head, and when his lips met hers he stopped thinking altogether. His lips were gentle as he kissed her, and she responded to him. Her desire for him was only matched by the same desire he felt for her.
Her arms slipped around his waist and she pressed her body tight against him. The fabric of her dress was cool against the hotness of his naked flesh, and it was a barrier between them that he longed to get rid of. He pulled back and lifted her arms out to the side, intent on removing the dress so nothing separated her body from his. A frown drew his brows together over his forehead when he noticed four small bruises that looked like fingerprints marring the creamy smoothness of the skin of the underside of her arm.
She must have noticed, because she looked nervous as she tried to tuck her arm against her side.
“How did that get there,” he growled as he inspected her arm more closely.
“Reggie was a little upset to see me at the ball. It’s nothing. It doesn’t even hurt.”
“I should have done something.” He castigated himself for failing to protect her from harm. That another man had touched her, had handled her roughly enough to leave a mark, was more than he was willing to tolerate.
“There was nothing you could ha
ve done. He’s out of my life now, so we don’t need to worry about him anymore.”
He leaned forward and pressed his lips against her injured flesh, wishing that he had Reggie alone for a moment. She sighed as his lips skimmed her flesh, and he turned her around so she faced away from him. One by one he undid the hooks holding her dress together at the back, and he slid it down until it puddled at her feet on the floor. He hooked his fingers in the waistband of her panties, which were her remaining piece of clothing, and once they were on the floor, she was as naked as he was.
She moved away and eased down on his bed, offering her hand in invitation. He didn’t need to think about joining her, and as he lay on the bed beside her, with the bodies pressed together, he closed his eyes for a moment. She felt so good against him that he thought for a moment that he could spend the evening like this and be completely satisfied.
He opened his eyes as she pushed him onto his back, and put her leg over him to settle on top of him. She took his hands and placed them on her breasts. Her skin was as soft and silky as the fabric of the dress she’d worn only moments before. His blood rushed through his body, and his heart pounded as he molded her flesh with his hands. A sigh escaped her as she leaned back, and he could feel the wetness of her flesh where it rested on the base of his abdomen. He was so hard and ready for her that he didn’t think he could indulge in any preliminaries before he joined with her, and foreplay was not what she wanted either.
She shifted and reached down between them, guiding him inside her slick flesh. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes as he held himself in check. She fit around him like a warm, wet glove of flesh, and he wanted to savor the feeling so he could carry it with him when they were apart.
His hands went to her hips, and he was careful to keep his touch gentle despite his desire to dig his fingers into her flesh. He let her set the pace, and his breath soughed in and out of his lungs at the rhythm she set. The only sounds in the room was that of their breath as they made love, and he let out a long groan when she picked up the pace.
“I can't hold back much longer,” he growled, and he hoped she was as close as he was.
To ensure that she got as much satisfaction from the joining of their flesh as he did, he reached down and ran his thumb in circles around her clit. The muscles of her thighs tightened, and she moved faster as she tilted her head back. A flush appeared on her face and spread down her neck to color the flesh of her jiggling breasts as they moved in time with the rest of her.
She called his name as her body squeezed him tight and pulsed around him. There was no holding himself back from her, and his fingers finally dug into her hips as he moved them faster on top of him until he found his release inside her. A long low groan escaped him as he poured himself into her, and his eyes closed as his pleasure took hold and encompassed his whole body.
Her body settled fully on top of him and although he didn’t think he could move just yet, he put his arms around her, holding her close. Her head rested on his chest, and the soft floral scent of her hair reached him. He wanted to commit this moment to memory, and make it last forever, but before too long she was shifting so that she moved to lay beside him.
Her fingers drew idle circles on his chest, and he fought to keep himself awake. Reality would intrude all too soon, and he wanted to stave off that moment as long as he could.
“I should go back to my room.” She made no move to get off the bed. There was a question in her voice and he thought he knew what she was asking.
“Stay,” he said as he moved them so they were under his blankets. “Real life can wait until tomorrow. Just stay here with me tonight.”
She offered no argument, and she settled under the covers with him, and he closed his eyes. As he drifted into sleep, she felt like she belonged there beside him and he wondered for a moment before unconsciousness overtook him how he would sleep without her after tonight.
Collette eased open the door to Ryce’s room as she clutched her dress around her. She felt like a criminal slinking away from the scene of the crime as she left him sprawled and sleeping in the middle of his bed. She didn’t regret a moment of their intimacy last night, but she didn’t want to broadcast that they’d slept together. It was no one's business but their own.
With one hand clutching the fabric of her gown and the other on the door, she pulled it shut as quietly as she could so as not to disturb him. She straightened and turned toward her room and looked into the shocked face of Evie. Her friend quickly donned a neutral expression, but there was no pretending that she hadn’t seen her coming out of Ryce’s room in obvious dishevelment. So much for keeping what happened between her and Ryce private.
“Don’t say a word,” Collette said as she walked past her and down the hall toward her room. She walked in and turned to close the door to find Evie standing there behind her. Collette sighed. It was just as well, she wanted to talk to Evie anyway. “Close the door behind you if you’re coming in.”
Collette turned away and dropped the dress as she heard the door click shut. She quickly pulled on some comfortable clothes so she could have a conversation with Evie while wearing something other than a crumpled ball gown. A shower would have to wait because as she turned back it appeared that Evie wasn’t going anywhere. Her friend perched on the edge of the bed, looking anywhere but directly at her.
“Say it.” Why she was feeling so defensive? She’d done nothing wrong by sleeping with Ryce, and she didn’t like the feeling that Evie’s knowledge of it stirred inside her. What happened with him was special, and she hadn’t like having Evie see her slink away from his room as if it was a sordid episode that she was ashamed of.
“I wasn’t going to say anything. You’re a grown up and know what you’re doing. Just be careful that you don’t get hurt,” Evie said, and Collette sighed as her shoulders sagged.
“I don’t know if that will be possible now,” Collette said as the magnitude of what she’d experience with Ryce hit her. “I know that he and I don’t have a future, that he needs to go home and that I have my life to sort out. Knowing that doesn’t make it any easier. I thought I could handle it, but now I’m not so sure.”
Evie looked up at her from where she sat on the edge of Collette’s bed and patted the space beside her. Collette walked over and joined her, her shoulders sagging with her disappointment over her situation. She knew that she should be happy to be given the opportunity to change her life, since there weren’t many women who could do the same, but realizing how lucky was didn’t stop what she was feeling.
“Would it surprise you to hear that I admire you,” Evie said quietly. Collette looked over at her in shock since this was the last thing she expected to hear. Not once in the years that she’d known Evie had she ever expressed anything close to admiration for her. Why would she admire a chippy? It was hardly what one would call an ideal life. “Don’t look so surprised. You grasp life with both hands and I only wish that I could be the same way. You are so fearless. It takes a lot of courage to open yourself up to someone, to leave yourself vulnerable, especially when you know that you and he have no future together. Ever since Adam... died I’ve been so scared to live for more than right now. I wouldn’t be able to do what you’re doing.”
This was the first time that Evie has spoken of the man she’d loved, who had disappeared and whose murdered body was found days later. Collette waited to see if she would say anymore but it appeared that Evie wouldn't speak of it.
“It’s easy when you have nothing to lose,” Collette said as she reached out and squeezed Evie’s hand.
“Except your heart,” Evie said with a sad smile, and while Collette knew that she was referring to herself, she could just as easily be talking about Collette. It would be so easy to lose her heart to Ryce, and that would be foolish since they were both not in a place to indulge in a happily ever after. Collette looked away and Evie seemed to guess that she didn’t want to discuss that topic anymore. “So how did it go at the ba
ll?”
“Well it didn’t go off completely without a hitch, but Ryce made contact with Dawson,” Collette said, and it seemed like ages ago since the ball had taken place. She felt like so much more had happened, and in a way it had.
“What happened?” Evie asked, and she shifted so she could look at Collette directly.
“Reggie showed up.”
Evie sucked in her breath and her eyes went round. “Did he see you and Ryce?”
“He saw me, but Ryce got outside out of sight before that happened. Reggie doesn’t know what we did, he thinks I went there searching for another protector. He wasn’t thrilled and told me to get my stuff out of the apartment and get out of his life.”
“How do you feel about that?” Evie’s eyes probed Collette’s face.
“Relieved. I am free of him, and he was the final link to my old life and now it’s gone. I can move forward in a whole new direction if I want.” What direction her new life would take, she didn’t exactly know, but she was happy that she had a choice. One thing was certain, she would never be another man’s plaything.
“And do you want to?”
Collette thought about it. When she’d first arrived she didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life, and in a way she still didn’t. All she knew was that she didn't want to be a chippy any more. That was her mother's life, and she had something her mother never had, an escape route. Ryce was a complication to her plans, but it wasn’t like they’d made any promises to each other. She needed to move on and take her life in a direction of her own choosing.
“Yes, I do. I don’t know what I want to do with the rest of my life yet, but I know I don’t want to be a rich old man’s plaything anymore.”
“I can get things in motion for you to make a change. It would mean a whole new identity, and you’d have to leave behind everything.”
In her head Collette had known that she needed to shed her old life completely. While it was exhilarating to start over with a clean slate, there was something scary about it too. It would mean saying goodbye to Miranda and Evie, and if she was honest, to Ryce as well. She knew it was what she needed to do, but now that Evie had suggested getting the ball rolling, she realized she wasn’t ready to take that step yet. She wasn’t ready to say goodbye to any of them yet.
