by Lisa Hughey
“Don’t knock intuition.” Jack stared at the computer screen.
“Fernandez.” Ric frowned. Oddly, his gaze was on Con’s hand on hers. “Shelley didn’t have anything to do with taking him down.”
“Not really.”
Con launched into a quick rundown of the situation with Jose Fernandez, the politician from Monterey who had used a horrific kidnapping of four young Hispanic girls to advance his career. “We exposed him for the fraud he was. But you’re right, Shelley wasn’t really involved, with the exception of giving Ava a place to hide until we were ready to confront him.”
“True.” Shelley smiled reminiscently.
“He could be attempting to get to you and Jack through Shelley,” Ric mused. “Does he know how close you all are?”
“Everyone knows how close we are, ever since that article about the farm—”
“What article?” Ric clipped out.
“It should have been nothing.” She hated the attention on her. “The article was supposed to be about the program we, I, implemented. A new kind of way to support the Food for Life food bank. Supporters sponsor an acre of land. The cooperative farm grows the food. Then the harvest goes straight to the food bank so that the recipients have access to fresh produce.”
“Instead, the reporter profiled Mom,” Jack said.
“I knew having my picture taken in front of the house was a mistake.” Shelley shook her head. She’d tried to finger comb the tangled mess of her hair but it was still untidy around her face, distracting her from their serious discussion. She couldn’t control the shiver as she remembered how it became so messy. Ric’s hand fisted in her hair, holding her head tightly. Like he’d never let her go. Her body reacted to the visceral erotic memory, zooming her right back to that moment in bed.
“The end result was still an increase in people willing to adopt an acre of land and a big boost for Happy Tummy Farm and the food bank, but it also brought attention to me personally. I’ve gotten several proposals and, um, offers.”
“Proposals?” Ric said slowly.
“Um, yes, marriage proposals.” Shelley shuddered. “From strangers.”
It had been so weird to be the focus of that much attention. She tended to stay in the shadows. She supported plenty of causes but quietly behind the scenes. She’d learned long ago that having money meant many people wanted you to part with it. She’d finally had to pick a few philanthropic efforts, get involved in the process, and choose those projects that spoke to her.
Ric’s lips quirked.
“Laugh all you want but having a stranger show up on your front lawn with a marquee and marching band to ask for your hand in marriage is a little disconcerting.”
The attention made her uncomfortable.
Even the regard of the three other people in this room made her squirm. She was much better at lavishing attention on the kids, or her charities, than taking it for herself.
“Okay.” Ric was suddenly all business as if he sensed her need to fade into the background.
Con pulled up her email account.
Her email. “How’d you do that?”
He just looked steadily at her. “This is what I do, Shel.”
“Invade privacy?” Indignation rose in her. First her hotel room, now Con was invading her personal email. “How’d you get my password?”
“We need to have a talk about your password,” Con said.
Shelley’s face burned. She knew it was dumb but that date changed her life. The day she’d gone to the live at the Stone mansion. And it was too personal to share with Ric Santana even if they had shared bodily fluids. “Not now.”
Ric got them back on track. “Show me the emails.”
She pulled them up. She wasn’t sure she should tell him. “I deleted the ones that were um, more personal.”
“Personal how?” Ric was back in her space, his chest puffed and his body somehow bigger. He’d morphed into Mr. Protection.
“More proposals offering to…satisfy me.”
“How many exactly?” Ric pressed.
“I didn’t count. I just deleted.”
“Con?” Jack prompted.
“On it.” Connor’s fingers flew over the keys and within about a minute he had an answer. “Around one hundred.”
“A hundred? Seriously.” Ric’s eyebrows raised in surprise.
“It’s that surprising?” She hopped up and strode to the windows, focusing on the skyline instead of her currently complicated life. She curled her toes into the plush carpet and tried to ground herself. She was spiraling out of control and she couldn’t seem to stop it from happening. “I’m not dog meat.”
“Shel,” Ric’s voice softened. He approached her, his reflection in the glass was concerned. He cupped his palms over her shoulders. “Of course not. Tactically, I’m trying to figure out how many people we have to investigate.”
The heat from his hands burned through the thin t-shirt. She was out of sorts and out of control and she hated it. “This is so crazy.”
“One step at a time.” Ric tugged her so that her back pressed against his front and his arms wrapped around her tightly. “We’ll figure it out.”
Accepting his help felt strange. She looked out for herself. She had since she was eighteen and pregnant, her mother kicked her out of the house, and Jackson Stone shoved money at her for an abortion.
“Let’s get back to the heart of the matter.” Jack glared at the way Ric was touching her, staring intently at the contact of Ric’s hands on her shoulders.
Ric lifted his hands off.
“Well, I would think you should start with the people who asked me for money,” Shel said reluctantly.
She thought about the other words on her hotel room wall. You have what’s mine, I want it back. Although how her money was theirs, she had no idea.
“How many of those are there?” Ric turned her around so that she could looked into his gaze. Without her shoes on, their height discrepancy was far more pronounced. His larger broader frame dwarfed her but the effect was comforting rather than menacing.
“Can’t say as I counted.” She snarked.
Jack cleared his throat. “I’ve got the full list.”
Her eyebrows rose. “The full list?” Her voice got softer.
“I started intercepting the emails and diverting them into a separate follow up account.” Jack said, “You didn’t need to see all that crap.”
“I can handle my own life.”
“Sounds like it’s more than any one person could handle.” Ric diffused the tension that blossomed between her and her two sons.
“We were just trying to take care of you, Shel,” Con said. “The way you took care of us.”
With his words, everything in her softened. She loved her kids. “I really can take care of myself, sweetie. Been doing it for years.” But the their intention was sweet.
“Now it’s time to let us help you.” Ric turned on his charm, the same charm that convinced her to go with a stranger to his hotel room. But thinking about it now, she’d made that decision without all the facts. What if Ric had been one of the crazies that had been dogging her life for the past few months?
Ric’s gaze had darkened. He was thinking the same thing.
“Connor, your job is to track the emails,” Ric directed then he turned to her. “Any other people who physically invaded your space?”
Tension sloshed in her stomach, making her realize she hadn’t eaten much of the breakfast and she hadn’t had dinner last night.
Shelley shared the details of the people who had actually approached her in person. “But none of those people seemed intent on harming me.”
They discussed the logistics of getting to the bottom of the mystery.
“So we’re all on the same page here.” Ric seemed to have taken over. “Jack, you need to keep working on that other thing. Con, keep at the computer investigations.”
While they were discussing the details of her stalker—ho
w weird was that?—things were easy to overlook. But as the conversation wound down and everyone had their assignments, Ric said, “I’ll be in charge of physical protection detail.”
The reality that she was essentially stuck with Ric Santana, the man who was supposed to be nothing more than a one night stand, hit her again.
A knock on the door had all three men reaching for weapons.
Ric peered through the peep hole. “It’s Jess.” He stowed his weapon in the holster at his waist, and unlocked the door.
Jess breezed in with several shopping bags. “Got you set up.”
“Thanks, Jessy.” Shelley hugged her daughter tightly.
“Let’s connect again in a few hours,” Ric said. He looked around, “By the way, where is Riley?”
“He and Di are on their way back from the Philippines.” Jack said, “They’ll be here in a few days. But I already gave Ry a heads up.”
“I’m just going to put on some fresh clothes.” Shelley flushed. Awesome. No one had been paying attention until she brought up the fact that she was wearing Ric’s clothes.
As if she sensed her mother’s discomfort, Jess said, “I’ll be along in an hour to get you.”
Ric barked. “I don’t want you going anywhere without me.”
“Spa day,” Shelley said brightly, trying to distract everyone from the fact that his immediate response had been over the top proprietary. Even if he was supposed to be protecting her, there had been an extremely unprofessional note in his voice.
“I’m going with you.”
Jack and Ric exchanged another weighted glance. Ric nodded at Jack.
“I’m out,” Jack said.
“See you later mom.” Jess headed for the door.
“Keep her safe,” Jack commanded Ric.
Con gave a chin lift to Jack and Jess. “I’ll be along in a minute.”
Eight
Connor Stone was a wildcard, a little out of step with his brothers. Ric could predict Jack and Riley’s response to a situation but Connor played his hand close to the vest.
This was going to be interesting.
Ric waited.
Shelley had already made a dash for the bathroom. She disappeared to put on the new clothes that Jess had brought up from a boutique in the massive mall attached to the Palazzo and Venetian.
Con stood at parade rest, hands clasped in front of him, body relaxed yet ready. “I’d like to ask your intentions.”
Ric blinked. “My…intentions.”
“Yes, sir.”
He hesitated. His intentions last night had been to engage in hot, anonymous sex with a sultry woman. But he didn’t think that’s what Connor wanted to hear and he wouldn’t embarrass Shelley by revealing the truth of their encounter.
“Shelley is an adult,” Ric said evenly not answering the question.
Connor shifted closer, his gaze intent, narrowed. “Who, for all intents and purposes, has had very few adult relationships. She’s…special.”
Ric knew that. He appreciated Con’s defense of his stepmother. He did. Although he felt about fifteen and standing in his girlfriend’s living room while her father glared at him accusingly. Ric nodded but again didn’t say a word.
“Okay. I’ll be watching you.”
Ric was waiting for Connor to point his fingers at his eyes and then back at Ric like some kind of overlord.
Connor warned him. “Don’t hurt her.”
The inference that Ric would hurt Shelley pissed him off. “I’d rather have you trying to find whoever trashed her hotel room.” Ric couldn’t help but needle him.
“That’s next.”
Connor bulked his shoulders and clenched his fists, and Ric relented. “Connor. I don’t want anything to happen to her either. I’ll do my best.”
“It damn well better be the best you’ve ever done.” Con bit out, “Don’t fuck up.”
His fierce protection of Shelley made Ric respect him more. “I won’t let anything hurt her.”
The door to the bathroom opened just in time. Shelley stepped into the bedroom. She glanced between Ric and Con. “Everything okay here?”
Con nodded. “I’m going to get started tracing these people.”
Shelley smiled. “Thanks, Con. I hate to ruin everyone’s vacation.”
“You aren’t ruining anything,” Ric refuted. “And don’t worry. We’re on it.”
Con bent to brush a kiss over Shelley’s forehead. Ric observed the slight hesitation before he touched Shelley. “Stay aware of your surroundings at all times. And…listen to Ric, he knows what he’s doing.”
Vindication, of a sort.
“Okay, sweetie.”
After one final, brusque nod, Con strode from the room. Ric couldn’t help but be thankful that her kids were taking the threat seriously.
They were alone. The nine hundred and forty square foot hotel room suite that had seemed so spacious when half of her family had been in the room, suddenly shrunk. The sexual tension that had dissipated with everyone here blasted back into his mind as he registered her outfit.
Black yoga pants, a gift from the Gods, hugged her spectacular ass and thighs, and the deep pink clingy spandex jacket with its mock turtleneck and short zipper clung to her small high breasts. Ric flashbacked to last night, lifting her to his mouth and savoring the sweet taste of her surrender.
Inappropriate thoughts swirled through his mind, promises he’d made to Jack, promises to Connor, and more importantly, to Shelley. He wasn’t about to let anything happen to her.
That meant keeping his distance. She wasn’t a hot pickup anymore, she was his principal. And getting involved with a client was the worst possible decision in a protection scenario. No touching, he repeated silently, no touching.
He was on board with that mantra right up until she shuddered. Shelley wrapped her arms around her waist and closed her eyes.
“Hey, hey.” He couldn’t ignore her worry and there was no one else here to comfort her. Ric tentatively pulled her into his arms. As if his touch unleashed her restraint, she launched herself into his arms her body shaking. She tucked her head into the crook of his neck.
“Don’t cry.” He couldn’t deal with a crying woman.
“Cry?” She shoved out of his embrace. “I’m not crying. I’m pissed.”
Relief poured through him. Oh, thank God.
“Someone is messing with my family. My kids deserve a worry free, relaxing vacation. You know this is the first time we’ve taken a family vacation in years.”
She stomped around his room, her eyes bright with indignation. “Jack and Bliss deserve the week before their wedding to be happy and stress free. They’ve already endured so much.”
Ric opened his mouth to agree.
“And Con! He and Ava went from being a couple to having Maria live with them. Helping her adjust to living in the real world again. They have their own hotel room so they can finally have some much deserved privacy. They don’t need to be dealing with this crap.”
Ric figured Con managed to get some private time with his girlfriend but before he could bring that up, Shelley waved her hands in the air. “Jess and Colin are adjusting to working for Jack. And Colin moving here to the US, to another freaking country for Pete’s sake. And Riley and Di have been running as many school supplies as they can to the Philippines since last November. If they’re not delivering supplies, they’re fundraising and banging on doors getting donations. They deserve to enjoy this time. Not be bothered by nutjobs and have their vacation ruined by some crazy person.”
Ric noted in that long-winded diatribe that not once had she mentioned herself. “And you Shelley.”
“What about me?” she asked crossly.
“What do you deserve?”
She opened her mouth, closed it. Then frowned. “What?”
“You mentioned everyone in your family except you. Don’t you deserve a nice, drama free vacation and celebration of Jack’s wedding?”
She shrugged,
and the action drew his gaze to her breasts. Her beaded nipples poked the silky fabric, sharp little points in a room that was far too warm for those tight berries to be a response to cold. “Sure.”
He could tell she didn’t believe that she was entitled to the same things. Her disregard for her own happiness made Ric want to give her everything she deserved and more.
So much for his easy and uncomplicated vacation. Fuck it. He realized he didn’t like easy or uncomplicated anyway. He tucked the multi-colored red and brown strands of her hair behind the shell of her ear then trailed his fingers along her neck. She shivered from the light contact.
“You’re so fucking responsive,” he murmured.
The air thickened with the swirl of pheromones. Shelley caught her breath. His body responded to the subtle signals she was emitting. The softened posture, the prick of her nipples against her top, the languid droop to her eyelids, as he eased his finger beneath the stretchy knit neckline.
Her pulse thudded in the hollow of her throat and the urge to run his tongue along the same path his finger had taken was overwhelming.
His blood rushed in his ears, drowning out everything but the sound of her breath. He was so attuned to her that he could hear the deep thump of her heart against her breastbone. Her feminine scent, floral and sandalwood entwined, flooded his awareness. His cock rose as heated intimate moments from last night swirled in his mind. He cupped her jaw in his hands, his fingers threaded through her hair to hold her tight, or hold her up, he wasn’t sure which.
Ric bent his knees and pressed his lips to her thudding pulse. Her skin was satin smooth beneath the purse of his mouth. He couldn’t resist the temptation. He swirled his tongue over the sweet evidence of her desire.
Shelley gripped his wrists, holding on to him tenaciously. He groaned against her throat as she leaned into him.
His lips moved over her soft skin. “We need to stop.” But damn he didn’t want to stop. He wanted to drown in her. Drown in her exquisite taste, drown in her honest sexual reaction, drown while she took him under in a wave of lust so primal his body sizzled with the urge to submerse in her.
