She snorted and opened her mouth to challenge him, but he didn’t give her the chance. Instead, he slammed his mouth down on hers like before, letting all his frustration take control. It was stupid and immature and so not something he would normally do, but damn, it felt fucking good. She slipped her hands up over his shoulders, her fingers slipping through his hair at the base of his head. He moved closer, pressing his entire body against hers. He knew she wouldn’t doubt his arousal. He was fully cocked and ready to go. She moaned against his tongue and he almost lost it. Right then and there, he was ready to strip her naked and fuck her against the wall.
Again.
He didn’t even hear the door open, but he did hear Evan Chambers yell, “Hey, Micah, Eli’s out here sucking face with a hot woman.”
Reality crashed down on him as he pulled away and growled at Chambers. Before he could say anything, Ross’ head popped up behind Chambers.
“How rude. Maybe he’s not classy enough to eat with us.”
“You two leave him alone,” Dee said. He didn’t see her, but there was no mistaking that voice.
“Eli,” Crysta said pushing at him a bit. He realized he still had her pressed against the wall of the house and his hand had a hold of the skirt of her dress. Her lips were swollen from his kisses, but she looked embarrassed.
It made him want to kiss her even more.
Her frown turned darker as if she could read his mind. “Move.”
With regret, he moved away and ignored the snickering from Chambers and Ross.
“You’ve met Micah, and this is his partner, Evan Chambers. This is Crysta Miller.”
“Nice to meet you,” Evan said smiling at Crysta. She smiled back and Eli wanted to scream. It wasn’t like him to be territorial about a woman like this.
“Both of you move the hell out of my way,” Dee said from behind them. Both men moved out of the way to reveal Dee. She might be small in stature but she had a presence bigger than a four star general.
“There’s my girl,” he said.
“Your girl isn’t happy you’re mauling my guest.” Then she turned her attention on Crysta. “Sorry about that. You must be Crysta. I’m Dee. I’m married to idiot number one.”
“Woman, I’ve said I don’t like being called an idiot.”
“Then don’t act like one. Come on in.”
As soon as she finished the sentence, there was a baby crying.
“Oh, you just had a baby.”
“Two months ago. May is taking care of her right now. Come on in so we can get acquainted.”
Oh he didn’t like the sound of that.
She followed Dee in and they disappeared before he could stop them.
“Come on, Eli. We want to give you shit and drink beer,” Evan said.
Micah shook his head. “He really just wants to give you shit.”
Eli glanced down the hallway then followed the guys in. He knew there wasn’t any way around it.
When he caught up to them in the kitchen, Ross leveled him with a look. “So, you want to tell me about all the excitement at the ranch.”
Chapter Eleven
Crysta followed Dee into a room that looked like pink cotton candy had exploded and decorated the walls.
“I can see from the look on your face, the pink is a little overwhelming. Sadly, it wasn’t myself who insisted but the men in my life,” she said with a laugh. “May, this is Crysta, Joe Kaheaku’s niece. This is May Chambers. She’s married to idiot number two out there.”
She turned and found a Hawaiian woman, with long black hair that reached her waist and the most amazing blue eyes. She smiled at Crysta.
“Hi. I think you know my brother, Danny?”
“Oh. Yes. He’s been making a name for himself around the ranch.”
She shook her head. “Since Eli hasn’t sent him packing, I guess he’s staying out of trouble, for once.”
“He’s a sweetie.”
May rolled her eyes. “The boy has been a handful from the time he could walk. But we are really proud of him.”
“Devon should be by tonight too,” Dee said. “He’s very interested in meeting you.”
“Oh, so I get to thank him personally for the use of his jet.”
Dee smiled. “Yeah. He’s so hung up on Lizzy; I can’t get rid of him most nights. You want to hold her?”
“Am I breathing? Gimme.”
Dee laughed and carefully handed over the baby. Crysta looked down at the small bundle in the pastel pink blanket. There was a tuft of soft black hair on top of her head and a golden glow to her skin. She yawned and Crysta’s heart sighed.
“God, she’s so pretty. So tiny.”
Lizzy yawned, and cuddled in closer.
“You like babies?” May asked her.
“Yeah, what’s not to like? They don’t talk back, and god,” she sniffed, “they smell so good.”
“She didn’t earlier,” Dee laughed.
“Why don’t you have a seat? We have a few minutes before we have to be down there for dinner,” May said.
She took the rocker, content to sit and talk to other women. She wasn’t a woman who had a lot of female friends, but it had been a long time since she’d had a gabfest.
“So, you like being at the ranch?” Dee asked.
“Yeah. It’s hard to be away from my father, but we both needed space now that he’s in remission. And, I was looking for an adventure.”
Dee smiled and May snorted. “She’s being nice. We want to know about Eli.”
“What do you mean?” Crysta asked. She assumed these women knew Eli better than did.
“What we want to know is if he’s tried anything.”
“Tried anything?”
“Oh, come on,” May said. “We know you’re a sub and he’s a Dom. I’ve seen him in action, but on that ranch, I would think there would be a lot of fun with leather.”
She didn’t know what to say to that. No one had ever been that bold with her, especially after meeting her five minutes earlier.
“May, I swear to God, could you, for once, act like a normal person?” Dee asked, but she was smiling.
“Oh, come on. You know you want to know. We all do. He comes to the club, but he doesn’t have any long relationships. So, we’ve always wanted to know what goes on with him when he leaves the club.”
Dee gave Crysta glance. “Yes, I do. But I have more class than to ask like that. Really, May.”
“I just say what everyone else is thinking. And we both want to know.”
They both turned to look at her. “No. Nothing’s happened. I’m not sure I’m made for the life anymore.”
There was a beat of silence.
“Oh, please, please, please, tell me you said that to him.”
“Just this evening.” She shook her head. “Other than some strange situations—”
“Strange, how?”
“Well, there was once or twice I found him looking at me. Then he yelled at Danny for hanging around the kitchen yesterday.”
May shook her head. “I hope that boy knows he can’t handle a sub like you. More than likely, he’s there for table scraps.”
She smiled thinking of the younger Aiona. “I think he misses you, to tell you the truth.”
“Oh.” Suddenly, her eyes grew damp. “Oh, that’s so sweet.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”
She looked at Dee, who shook her head and handed a tissue to May. “She’s pregnant and the hormones are not fun. For any of us. You can ask her boss Chris.”
“Has that man been gossiping about me?” May asked with a frown, but she didn’t look that mean—especially with her eyes watery from tears.
“You threw a spatula at him the other day.”
May frowned. “He said I had fat ankles.”
“He said your ankles were swelling a little and maybe you should take a break.”
“He shouldn’t have pointed it out.” She drew in a deep breath and turned
her attention back to Crysta. “But…now tell us. He’s never tried for a kiss?”
Crysta hesitated again. She wasn’t a woman who shared easily. Too many moves, too many times trying to make friends, only to end up losing them. The life of a brat wasn’t easy and it was hell on her trust issues. Still, something told her she could trust these women.
“Well, there was one.”
“You mean tonight?” Dee asked.
“No, wait, that means there were two. After the first time, he told me to stay away from him.”
She realized she was sitting there telling strangers her business. Before she could say anything, Dee patted her hand. “You can trust us. I know May might be a little scary, but don’t worry about us carrying tales. We all have sort of a soft spot for Eli. Plus, we’d like to see him get taken down a notch.”
“I think you might have the wrong idea. I don’t know what the hell set him off that day—”
“Or tonight,” May said smiling.
“Okay, tonight. But it’s been two weeks since that one day. Tonight I think it was because of the challenge I gave him. But we have separate rooms at the hotel.”
“Oh, this gets curiouser and curiouser.” May shared a glance with Dee. “Dee can correct me, but I know Eli, and I would have thought he’d try for a bedroom together.”
“And that points out that he isn’t interested. If he were, don’t you think he would’ve tried to get one room?”
“Of course not. He’s hot for you.” May said it as if it were fact.
“What?”
Everyone turned toward May. “Listen, the man hits on every good looking sub who walks through the door. But, you, he kisses. Once. And gives in tonight when you challenged him right before you’re about to meet two Doms.”
Crysta rolled her eyes. “That has nothing to do with it. Even if I hadn’t met you, Eli would know both of them are crazy in love with the two of you.”
“Oh,” May said and sniffled again. “That’s so sweet.”
Dee rolled her eyes. “What May’s trying to tell you is that Eli is the kind of man who is all action. Sure, it’s controlled, but he doesn’t like waiting. If someone isn’t available, he goes onto the next person. With you, though, he doesn’t do that. You, he kisses, then tells you to go away.”
“I still can’t believe he told you to go away. Where are you going to go? You own that ranch together and, from what Micah said, you have to stay there for him to be able to keep it. He just smacked ya on the lips and ordered you gone?”
She hesitated then nodded. “We were in the barn, he was irritated, then he told me we couldn’t do it and I left. I understand why. We own the ranch together and getting involved would be sticky.”
“Then he got jealous of Danny, and now the kiss here?” Dee asked.
May shrugged. “Not for Eli. For as great of a Dom as he is, and I have seen him in public play so I know he is, he has a tendency to be impatient. He never waits for a woman.”
“But he’s not doing that with me.”
May disagreed. “So he freaks out when he thinks Danny, my brother who thinks he’s a big bad Dom like Evan, is coming onto you. I think someone is hot for his partner.”
Her heart gave a little jerk. “Oh, I don’t know about that.”
“Apparently our Delicious Dom is hung up on someone,” May said to Dee. “This is fantastic.”
“Delicious Dom?”
May shrugged. “They say that because everyone’s had a taste.”
Dee snorted. “Well, everyone but the women in this room. But I think that’s going to change soon.”
Crysta could feel her face getting hotter by the second. “I think I would know if he hit on me. Something tells me when Eli hits on a woman, she knows. And before you say anything, I do not count kissing as hitting on me.”
“See. You just proved my case,” May said.
Crysta glanced at Dee, who was trying hard not to laugh. “Listen, we argued. Both times. Some men just do stuff like that to prove a point. I’m not sure he’s that attracted to me.”
“Oh, no, he is,” May said nodding. “Listen, if I went that way, I’d do you.”
Dee laughed and patted Crysta on the shoulder. “You look shell-shocked, but just know, May does this with people she likes.”
May was not the least bit disturbed by the comment. “You should see what I do with people I don’t like.”
“I really wouldn’t want to see that. Bloodshed isn’t my thing.”
May smiled and opened her mouth, but Micah’s shout stopped her.
“Woman, I want to eat.”
“If he calls me woman one more time, I’m going beat him over the head with one of his stupid boots,” Dee muttered. The idea that the little slip of a woman in front of her would be able to hit Micah Ross and actually hurt him was funny.
“You’d have to stand on a chair,” May said.
Dee shot her a nasty look.
May laughed. “Let’s go.”
Crysta moved to hand the baby back to Dee, but she said, “If you want to keep holding her, we’re taking her outside with us, so go ahead. Micah set up the bassinet out there so she could come with us.”
“Just make sure I don’t steal her.”
Dee laughed. “You used to teach?”
She nodded as they walked down the hall. “Yeah. High school and some community college classes. I was part of a program that offered work skills.”
“What do you mean? Like shop?”
“In a way. I got them ready for food services though.”
“You’re skilled at cooking?” May asked.
“I kick ass at cooking,” she said.
“May is the supervisor for Dupree’s in Honolulu. We’ll need to take you there for lunch. Can you go tomorrow?”
“I don’t see why not. I have nothing really planned.”
“Great. And tomorrow night you need to hit Rough ‘n Ready,” May said.
They turned the corner and ran into Eli, who was frowning at them.
“Lurking around corners, St. John?” Dee said.
“It was just taking you awhile, that’s all.”
Both women gave her a smile and slipped around him. It gave him the room to move closer.
“So, how much did those women tell you?”
She snuggled Lizzy closer, mainly because she liked it, but also as a barrier. She had to think about things, get her head wrapped around the insanity of May Chambers.
“Nothing. They want to have lunch tomorrow at Dupree’s.”
He nodded. “Sounds good.”
“Eli, come on and quit hoarding our guest of honor,” May yelled out.
“I wouldn’t make her mad if I were you,” Crysta said.
He cracked a smile and stepped back to give her passage. “I always aim to please the ladies.”
She slipped past him then smiled back over her shoulder. “That’s what I’ve heard, Delicious Dom.”
“I swear to God, I’m going to kill those two,” he said following her out to the lanai.
Chapter Twelve
By the time they were sitting down, Devon showed up. It was hard to see him and Dee as twins. He was a bit darker, but they had the same blue eyes. He smiled when he met her.
“Lord, I think we might need to warn the police, Devon just smiled,” Micah said.
“Shut up, old man. And of course I’m going to smile when I meet the woman Jack raved about.”
“Who’s Jack?” Eli asked, irritated. How had a woman who hadn’t been off the ranch that much know so many men?
“Jack the pilot,” she said with a huff. “Really, Eli, usually you pay more attention.”
He heard a little snicker at the end of the table, but Eli refused to pay attention to it. Right now all his attention was on the multimillionaire sitting down next to his partner. There was no reason for Stryker to sit next to her, but he ignored Eli’s scowl and did just that.
“I see you’ve got my girl there.”
“And I understand that both you and Micah are the ones responsible for all the pink.”
He leaned forward and gave his sister the stink eye. “Really, do you ever not tell people that?”
Dee shrugged as she took a sip of water. “It’s the truth.”
Her brother rolled his eyes and then leaned closer to Crysta. He used the pretense of kissing his niece on the forehead, but Eli didn’t like it. Crysta looked at him and frowned. When Devon started to talk to May about his latest game release, Crysta leaned toward Eli.
“You need to behave,” she said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
She moved closer and lowered her voice. A wisp of her hair tickled his cheek. He wanted to reach up and slip his finger into the curl, but he didn’t have a right. He wanted that right, but he knew he didn’t have it.
“You growled.”
“What?” He couldn’t keep track of what she was saying. Those eyes of hers had every cell in his brain dissolving.
“Eli,” she said from behind clenched teeth.
“Yeah?” God, she smelled better than the food. There was something so intoxicating about her scent that he constantly found himself sniffing the air like a stallion scenting a mare in heat.
“Stop doing that!”
Eli shook his head. “What I am doing?”
“First, you were growling when Devon was talking to me.”
“I did not.”
“Yes, you did. There was a rumble sound and I know it was you. You have no right to get territorial about me.”
“I...”
He broke off when he realized he was about to admit to wanting that right. It was a good thing they were seated because there would be no doubt in her head just what he was thinking.
“Secondly, why are you acting like an idgit?”
He blinked. “A what?”
“Good lord. You’d think you didn’t have a brain in that pretty head of yours.”
“You think my head is pretty?” he asked. “I kind of like that.”
She rolled her eyes and moved away, but he stopped her. The baby stirred between them drawing his attention. Lizzy blinked open her eyes and stared right at him. Lord.
“She’s pretty, isn’t she?” Crysta asked.
“Yeah.” He looked up at Crysta. “Probably going to give Micah fits when she starts dating.”
A Little Harmless Ride Page 8
