Chapter Eight
"How long have you not gotten along with Tasha?
" Ryan inquired, turning off the grill. He took the steaks off, placed them on the plates, then carried them over to the breakfast nook.
"Was it an instant hate?" He glanced around and saw he left the steak sauce on the island.
"Ajana, can you bring the steak sauce with you when you come? "
Having dinner with Ajana was wrong on so many levels, but he wanted to get to know more about her.
Maybe she would let something slip and he might be able to figure out if she was really telling him the truth.
He couldn't deny the attraction between them.
It was sizzling up the room, and he was worried how much longer it would be until he kissed her lip gloss covered lips.
He wasn't a monk and never claimed to be, but of all the women in his past none of them made him wish for one night that he wasn't a cop the way Ajana did. Somehow, or some way, she had gained his trust, which was a hard thing to do.
Usually when he was working a case all of his thoughts were focused on protecting the person. However, with Ajana all he could think about was different ways to entice her into his bed and keeping her there.
His penis twitched in his jeans as he watched how the sweater stretched across as she moved around his kitchen liked she owned it.
How was he going to get through the night, not to mention however long it would take to prove Ajana's innocence?
Turning sideways, he adjusted himself so Ajana wouldn't see the effect she was having on his body.
"Where do you want it?" Ajana asked, picking up the steak sauce with her left hand and the salad bowl with her right.
Anywhere you want to give it to me, he thought as his ultimate temptation sauntered toward him. "Anywhere on the table is fine with me," Ryan answered, pulling out a chair so Ajana could sit down.
"Well…aren't you the gentleman," she replied, placing the items on the table, then taking her seat. "I don't know what to make of you, Ryan."
He waited until Ajana sat down before he whispered in her ear. "What do you mean by that?" He made sure his lips brushed the back of her earlobe before he moved away.
He smiled when Ajana spun around in the chair and pressed her hand to her ear. "What are you doing?" she inquired, dropping her hand back into her lap.
Plastering a blank look on his face, Ryan sat down at the table and grabbed the steak sauce. "I don't know what you're talking about," he lied, opening the bottle and pouring a nice amount on his steak before placing it back.
"Are you going to lie and tell me your mouth didn't brush my ear?"
* * * *
Why was he doing this to her? Ajana was trying so hard to be good and not jump across the table and plant a hot kiss on Ryan's generous mouth.
Sitting back, she studied the man in front of her; it wasn't like Ryan was going to stop her.
His features were classically handsome, but below the neck the rest of him was hours and double overtime of sex waiting to happen.
Lord help her, she wanted to know how many rounds Ryan could go before her body was covered in his sweat.
When he had joked around with her earlier she noticed there were touches of humor lines around his mouth and eyes that gave him a playful look. She wanted to do something to see that side of him again.
"I know you heard my question, so are you going to answer me?"
"It all depends." Ryan cut into his steak and placed a nice sized piece into his mouth.
"On what?" She sliced into her own food before she took a bite.
"If you're going to answer my question about your stepmother," Ryan said. "You left me hanging waiting for an answer."
Swallowing her food, Ajana wiped her mouth with a napkin then placed it back on the table. "Can I have something to drink first?"
Ryan smiled at her, his teeth amazingly white against his tanned face. "Sorry, I forget about that. What would you like?" He got up from the table. "I have beer, wine, soda and water."
"A beer sounds wonderful," Ajana answered, then ate another piece of the tender meat.
"Coming right up."
Ryan was only gone seconds, then an open can of beer was set in front of her. "Here you go. I'm shocked you wanted beer and not wine."
Taking a sip of the liquor, she let it slide down her mouth and savored the favor before addressing Ryan's comment. "Why? Don't I look like a beer girl to you?"
"No, honestly you don't," Ryan confessed. "I'm enjoying all the different sides to you, Miss Bennett. I can't wait until I uncover more."
"I know you can't handle what I have hidden away," she teased back.
"Don't tease me or I might have to go against the rules and take you up on that," Ryan taunted.
"Enough of the flirting. I'm supposed to tell you why I don't like Tasha."
"Good, I can't wait to hear this. I don't like my stepfather, but I sense you despise your stepmother."
"There hasn't been a word made in the English language to describe how I feel about that heifer," Ajana snapped, shoving her plate away from her.
"That slut worked at the nursing home my dying mother was at.
My dad went there every day to visit my mother and Tasha made sure she was always in the room with them. "
"Why was she always there?" Ryan tossed a large helping of salad on his plate.
Ajana sighed at Ryan. Surely he couldn't be that stupid and not understand what Tasha's game was.
"Money…what else?" she shot back, Tasha was smart enough not to flirt with my Dad [S17]inside my mom's room, but when he left she was all over him." Ajana grabbed a small bite of salad for herself, then shoved a forkful into her mouth.
"Where you there when all of this happened?"
She swallowed, then answered Ryan. "Yes, and I couldn't believe Dad was falling for it.
I tried to tell him, but he wouldn't listen.
I think it was because Tasha found a way to sleep with him.
Can you believe while my mom was slowly slipping away my dad was in the bed with that slut?
" She could barely keep from calling Tasha the name she wanted to.
"I can't comprehend that your dad wasn't there for your mom. Had they not gotten along before she got sick?"
Ryan was asking her questions that she didn't want to get into. Talking about her family was a hard situation for her. "No, my parents loved each other. I've never been around a happier or more loving couple, but after Mom started getting sick Dad changed. He became more distant with us."
"I don't think he wanted to come to terms with the love of his life dying right before his eyes from pancreatic cancer while there was nothing he could do about it," she confessed, placing her hands on the table.
"That still doesn't excuse him for being an asshole in her last days," Ryan said, running his thumbs across the back of her knuckles.
The light gesture was sweet and a little soothing to her nerves.
"Your father should have been by her side until she died, not trying to get to home base with Tasha. "
Ajana couldn't let Ryan shove all the blame on her father. Part of what happened with her dad was her fault. She hadn't been there for him, so he found comfort and understanding somewhere else.
She eased her hands away from Ryan's and placed them back into her lap. "Why the sudden interest in my family? How is any of that going to prove my innocence? My dad isn't the one in the videotapes and Tasha is too lazy to plot a jewel theist. All she has to do is spend Daddy's money."
"Knowing the background of the suspect always comes in handy when a major case is still under investigation. Against my better judgment I have agreed to help you, but I need to know all about the skeletons in your closet." Ryan gathered up the plates from the table.
How dare he insult her like that! Why did she have to be the one with skeletons in her closet? Ryan needed to stop acting like a Boy Scout and toss out some of his own secrets.
Ryan had to be hiding something, because a man as fine as he was didn't have a guilt-free past. She was going find out what his secrets were.