Ryan chuckled. ‘Don’t you worry, buddy, I seem to remember the same thing.’
‘Speaking of things not being what they appear,’ Douglas said.
Ryan’s smile faded. Did the man know the truth about his relationship, or lack there of, with Megan?
‘Don’t worry, son. Sasha explained everything to me,’ Douglas said.
Ryan looked at Vincent, who appeared as stunned as he felt. Clearing his throat, he tried to apologise. ‘I never meant for things to get so far out of hand. I mean –’
‘Think no more about it, boy. I’ve lived with women my whole life.’ Douglas chuckled. ‘And I can tell you this much. Find a hobby that takes you out of the house at least once a month, because those mood swings women get only become stranger with age and there isn’t a damn thing you can do to make it all better. When a woman gets her time of the month, that’s our sign to run as fast as we can – like today.’
Ryan sighed in relief, giving a slight smile. ‘Yeah, thanks Douglas, I’ll keep that in mind.’
‘You do that, son, you do that and I promise you that your marriage will be much happier for it.’
Chapter Nine
Ryan let loose a long breath. Under normal circumstances, just looking at Megan made his dick hard. But this wasn’t an ordinary circumstance and his dick wasn’t just hard, it was about to take off into orbit.
Megan slowly walked down the stairs, her eyes down as she watched each step. He felt like an oversexed teenager going to the prom, seeing the stunningly gorgeous vision who would be in his arms and hopefully into the back of his car or some cheesy hotel room by the end of the night.
Her hair was piled halfway up on her head, only to fall in long curls over her back. Hot-pink and brown tulle gripped Megan’s waist and chest so tight he couldn’t help but greedily lick his bottom lip at the way her cleavage jiggled with each downward step. There were no straps holding the bodice up and he imagined how easy it would be to dip his finger down the front to pull out a hard nipple. Sheer brown covered the bodice, stopping as it reached the ribbon tie belt and full skirt decorated with lace appliqués. High heels made her legs look extra long and delectable.
They’d been in Montana for seven days, the last three of which were spent estranged from the beauty before him. Zoe had arrived that morning and this outing was to celebrate her joining them. She had driven to the cabin in her own rental car, a small two-door that made strange clanking noises when put into gear.
Now, as he again looked at Megan’s tanned chest, he couldn’t seem to recall exactly why he’d been denying himself the pleasure of her body. So what if she was using him? His cock was pleading to be taken advantage of.
Her sisters were just as prettily done up – Sasha in a shiny chocolate-brown halter gown, Kat in a draping blue silk print kimono which looked fetching next to Vincent’s finely cut suit, and Zoe in an Ancient Greek patterned silk twill dress. Beatrice wore more of a black pantsuit with leopard-print accents, a wild contrast to Douglas’s tweed jacket. Since the best he could come up with was a pair of dark dress slacks and a lightweight black argyle V-neck sweater, he felt severely underdressed.
‘Oh, I want a guy who looks at me like that,’ Zoe said with a girly sigh.
Ryan blinked, realising she referred to the way he was staring at Megan like a love-crazed maniac. Perhaps that was because he was a love-crazed maniac when it came to his sweet confident detective. Thank the stars his slacks were loose and his boxer briefs were tight. With Megan in that dress, he was in for a very difficult night.
Hunting Season, though listed as a fine dining establishment in the local phonebook, was hardly what veteran New Yorkers would consider a five-star culinary experience. Like everything else in the state, there was a downhome country feel to the restaurant’s motif. Megan liked the warm comfortable ambience more than she did some of the places Zoe dragged her to in the city.
‘The wine list is actually pretty good,’ Zoe said, studying the wine book the host provided for her, after a long speech about how they were very lucky to get into the normally booked restaurant. Zoe merely smiled at the man, as it had been her cunning that got them the table in the first place. Apparently, she’d name-dropped a few high-profile chefs that she’d worked with in New York.
‘I think I’m going to go with one of their local microbrews,’ Megan said.
A fire burnt low along the far wall in the stone fireplace. Though full, everyone talked in hushed tones and the dining room wasn’t loud.
‘Go figure that,’ Sasha drawled. ‘Megan drinking beer. You are such a cop.’
‘Thanks for clearing that up. It would explain why I’m craving doughnuts to go with my beer.’ Megan rolled her eyes only to stop on Ryan. His dark gaze studied her intently. It was the same expression he wore when he’d seen her walk down the stairs, the same expression Zoe had called him on. Out of all his looks, she’d come to know this one best. He was horny and he was plotting ways to get her alone.
‘We should let Vincent order the wine,’ Zoe said.
‘Oh, easy,’ Sasha warned, grinning into her menu. ‘The last time we talked about this, Megan went into a diatribe about underage drinking.’
‘Well,’ Megan said, frowning. ‘It is illegal.’
‘Ah, but Vincent only drank underage in Europe.’ Sasha giggled, knowing full well she was trying to rile her sister. It was working, too. Megan felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickling.
‘To tell you the truth,’ Ryan said. ‘I never much understood what wines went with what. It all tastes like liquor to me.’
‘I like the warm fuzzies we get when drinking it,’ Zoe said.
‘Ah-ha!’ Kat pointed at her. ‘The real reason you became a chef!’
‘You caught me. I’m working my way up to a thankless middle-management job for the free cooking spirits.’
They all laughed. Megan’s eyes met Kat’s briefly, smiling. Her sister quickly turned away, her happy expression fading some. Megan felt a pang of guilt renew itself inside her. She felt horrible about telling Kat’s secret, but every time she tried to go near her sister, Kat would find a way to ignore her.
‘This conversation reminds me of that night Kat brought Vincent to meet us. She was so jealous of Megan,’ Zoe teased. ‘She told him that Megan was allergic to pasta just to get him to take her out on a group date instead of meeting Megan alone for dinner. She weaselled her way in.’
‘That’s right!’ Sasha laughed, clapping her hands. ‘I almost forgot about that.’
Megan glanced at Ryan sideways, as she took a drink of the water that was already set out on the table. He studied her intently. ‘So, you and Vincent were dating?’
‘What?’ Megan choked.
‘No, we were talking about work.’ Vincent turned to his wife. ‘I don’t think you ever told me you were jealous of my having dinner plans with Megan.’
Kat grabbed her triangular dinner napkin off the table and threw it at Zoe. ‘Thanks for ratting me out, sis!’
Zoe laughed. ‘Well, at least now he knows that Megan wasn’t really allergic to pasta. Um, you did know, right?’
Vincent chuckled, nodding.
‘Yeah, you all laugh it up,’ Megan warned. ‘I’m the one who got stuck with an omelette while the rest of you had that gourmet masterpiece.’
‘Hey, those were gourmet eggs,’ Zoe joked.
‘Yeah,’ Sasha drawled. ‘They came from the butts of Upper East Side chickens, not the pesky Bronx fowl.’
‘Sasha!’ Beatrice warned. Their mother’s scolding only made their laughter worse.
‘What?’ Sasha shrugged with a look of fake innocence, clearly not caring that she was in trouble.
‘Not at the table, dear,’ Douglas said, his tone low and even. ‘You know better than to call them pesky.’
They laughed harder.
‘Oh.’ Beatrice shook her head. ‘We try to go somewhere nice and see what happens?’
‘We all have a good time?
’ Megan asked, grinning.
Her mother instantly lightened.
‘Like old times growing up,’ Zoe added.
‘And we get to be with the people we love,’ Kat said.
‘And we –’ Sasha glanced around the table, searching for what to say ‘– we get to make the restaurant people sing happy birthday to . . .’ Again she looked around, her eyes narrowing on Ryan. A mischievous grin curled the side of her lip. ‘Ryan.’
‘What? No, it’s not my birthday,’ Ryan protested.
‘Oh, don’t be shy, Ryan,’ Kat said.
‘I don’t think they sing here,’ Zoe put in. ‘It doesn’t seem like the singing type of place.’
‘Oooh, you lucked out, buddy,’ Vincent said. ‘Though I have to say it’s nice to have someone else to take the hit for me. Every time we go out to eat, I seem to celebrate another birthday.’
‘Yeah, what are you? A hundred?’ Zoe teased.
‘Hey, free ice cream and cake,’ Kat defended.
Megan watched, but Kat wouldn’t look at her again.
‘Welcome to Hunting Season,’ a waiter said, appearing across the table from where she sat.
Megan ignored him as she looked at Ryan. He’d shaved and had his hair combed neatly back into a small ponytail at the nape of his neck. He lifted a water glass and took a sip and she swore she saw his tongue dart along the edge of the cup. When his eyes lifted, she was sure of it.
‘Dreamy eyes will have a micro-brew,’ Zoe said.
Megan gave her a look. It seemed her sister was making up for lost teasing. ‘The darkest one you have, please.’
‘Same,’ Ryan said.
A white linen cloth covered with a cut piece of glass over the top of the long rectangular table blocked her hand from view as she slid it under the table and on to Ryan’s knee. He tensed under her hand and she slowly rubbed along his inner thigh.
‘Can I interest you in an appetiser?’ the waiter asked.
‘Mm.’ Megan leant into Ryan. She couldn’t resist playing with him. It was the same mischievous feeling she’d had in the alley as he took pictures of the museum crime scene. Gripping his thigh, she whispered into his ear, ‘Yeah, how about an appetiser?’
‘Yes,’ he breathed.
The waiter looked at Ryan expectantly.
‘The . . . ah . . .’ He paused, lifting his menu. Megan watched his throat work, wanting nothing more than to lean in and kiss the sexy spot right beneath his ear. ‘Snake.’
‘Texan rattlesnake cakes,’ the waiter said. ‘Excellent choice, sir.’
‘Ew.’ Sasha wrinkled her nose.
‘Interesting. I like trying something new.’ Zoe nodded in approval.
‘I was thinking the same thing,’ Douglas agreed. ‘Try something new, my wife always says.’
‘And now you listen?’ Beatrice eyed him in disbelief. ‘What does snake taste like, sir?’
‘Chicken. They always say it tastes like chicken,’ Sasha mumbled. ‘So why don’t we just eat chicken?’
‘Ignore her,’ Zoe told the waiter.
‘And for the main course?’ the waiter asked, his hands behind his back. He didn’t write their orders down. ‘Perhaps, some of our regional cuisine? We have a nice selection of aged steaks. Or, if you prefer, there is a terrific grilled salmon with lemon glaze, lobster bisque, penne pasta with scallops and cream sauce.’ The waiter continued, as if reciting the menu he’d clearly memorised.
Megan again leant into Ryan, daring to drift her hand higher until she could feel the potent heat coming off his semi-aroused cock. ‘I think I know what I want for my main course.’
Ryan adjusted the menu, continuing to stare at it with renewed force. She looked at it, so her family would think they discussed what to eat. It didn’t matter, since everyone else had begun to place their orders and had their attention diverted to the task.
‘Oh, yeah?’ Ryan’s breathing came hard and he gripped the menu tightly. His voice weak, he asked, ‘Aged steak?’
‘Mm, not quite. I prefer my meat young and hot.’
‘Veal Parmesan?’ he whispered.
‘I want your hard dick in my mouth,’ Megan said, sliding her hand over his inner thighs. ‘I want to suck it until all the sweet creamy filling comes out.’
‘Omigod, um, oh, wow, I, um,’ he mumbled incoherently under his breath. Louder, he said, ‘Porterhouse.’
‘How would you like it cooked?’ the waiter asked.
‘Rare,’ Megan said for him, smiling innocently.
‘Oh, no, Megan, you can’t order rare meat. It’s not safe,’ Beatrice said.
‘Medium,’ Ryan said, thought he still sounded shaky. Then, quickly, he added, ‘Baked potato, ranch dressing.’
Megan pulled her hand away, giggling to herself. ‘The pasta with scallops.’
‘That was a dirty, dirty trick.’ Ryan’s breath fanned her neck and his hand slid under her gown over her bare leg only to discreetly pull back before reaching any real level of sexual intimacy. She clenched her thighs together, his playful stroke as tormenting as him thumbing her clit. ‘And you are going to pay dearly for it.’
The evening rolled along with laughter, easy conversation and heaping piles of food. At one point the chef came out to schmooze with Zoe. For Megan, the only blight was Kat’s refusal to look in her direction or talk to her directly. Ryan’s heated looks sizzled with tempered passion and halfway through the main course she felt guilty for having felt him up with no way to finish what she’d started. By the end of the meal, the guilty feeling was gone, as he’d brushed his leg and hand casually against her several times. Aroused, it was all she could do not to grab him by his shirt front and drag him towards the bathroom stalls. The fact that sex in a public bathroom was about as appealing as swimming in the bacteria-filled Hudson River kept her from doing it.
After dinner, as they walked out to the car, Ryan’s arm slipped around her from behind and pulled her gently back against his chest. As he lifted his free hand, she saw a set of car keys in it. He waved at her family, saying, ‘Goodnight, everyone. Thanks for dinner. We’ll be back at the cabin tomorrow. Zoe, thanks for letting us use the car.’
Zoe waved, giving an impishly cute grin. ‘No biggie.’
‘What are we doing?’ Megan asked, as the doors to the SUV slammed shut. Sasha’s hand showed out the side of the window, as she waved to them.
‘I called and made us reservations at a hotel here in town tonight.’ Ryan let go of her and, whistling softly, twirled the keys around his forefinger as he went to the driver side of Zoe’s small rental car.
Megan looked around. The town, settled in a valley, was at the base of the Rocky Mountains, much closer to the majestic rocks than their cabin in the wilderness. Tiny compared to New York, Miner’s Pass was a long main strip of businesses. Hunting Season and its adjoining lodge were the biggest establishment and appeared to attract the kind of wealthy crowd that normally frequented quiet out-of-the-way luxury haunts. The other businesses were geared towards tourists – bait shops, curios, country general store boasting five-dollar T-shirts – with the occasional sign for a realtor or insurance agent poking out from their woodsy-looking depths.
‘OK,’ Megan said as she opened the car door with a frown. ‘Why are we staying here in town? We have a room already.’
‘Because,’ Ryan said, starting the engine, ‘our other room is in a house full of your family and we need to be alone.’
‘We do?’ Megan hid her smile, as she fastened her seatbelt. Feeling him up under the table had obviously gotten him a lot randier than she realised if he was going to such lengths to get her all to himself. So, Mr Lucas planned on getting her alone so they could have wild crazy, loud sex all night. She was wholeheartedly supportive of his sordid plan.
‘We’re going to talk,’ he said, as he read a small piece of paper in his hand only to glance back and forth at the road signs.
‘Talk?’ Megan gave a small sultry laugh. She wiggled in her seat, par
ting her legs in subtle invitation.
‘Yes, talk.’
‘I like talk.’ He sounded so serious, but she wasn’t fooled. If he had anything to discuss with her, it probably consisted of some choice dirty little words. ‘What do you want to talk about?’
‘Not here, let’s get to the hotel.’
‘How about . . . ?’ She bit her lip. ‘Rattlesnake really does taste like chicken.’
‘Curious, wasn’t it?’
‘Mm, very. I’m so glad we had this talk. Now, I want to show you something else that you might find fascinating.’ Megan grabbed one of his hands, and brought it to her leg. He glanced down, moaning softly. She manoeuvred in her seat so her knees were angled in towards him. Inching her skirt up, she exposed her knees.
‘I need my hand.’ To prove his point, Ryan lifted it off her and looked at the paper, reading more directions. The car slowed and he turned the corner. There were no stop lights and only a few yield signs on what looked to be the main roads.
Megan grabbed his wrist and placed his hand back on her body, only this time on her naked flesh. The paper scratched and she took it from him, tossing it to the floor. ‘I need your hand, too.’
‘I don’t know where the hotel is.’
‘Right at old log cabin, left at Miner’s Cove, one mile and follow the signs from there,’ Megan said. At his look, she shrugged. ‘I’m a detective. I read the paper when you held it up.’
‘That’s more of a secret agent thing to do, isn’t it?’
She pushed his hand higher up her leg, wiggling in her seat in anticipation. His fingers neared her sex. Megan hesitated, before grabbing her seatbelt and unbuckling it. The need to have his hands on her outweighed her need for safety. Ryan turned a corner. She slid her hips to meet him. Warm fingers bumped along her sex.
‘No panties,’ he said, as if to himself.
‘I took them off at the restaurant for you, but you didn’t go exploring.’ She closed her eyes to the passing houses.
‘Your family was there, it wasn’t the time.’
Along for the Ride Page 13
