Chapter Ten #2
I groaned at the thought of what he must think of me. Sasha had told me he was a bit of a maverick, ex-military turned crusader, running around trying to save the world.
Sounded like a nice enough guy, and Sasha adored him.
A part of me envied the fact that both Sasha and her stepbrother had the financial security to let them do what they wanted with their lives.
Unlike me, they were born into wealthy families.
Although my salary as a conservation officer was decent enough, there wasn’t much left over at the end of the month. Life was expensive.
I also volunteered at the animal shelter and helped out in the office there.
It didn’t pay, but I loved it. When donations were scarce that meant trying to juggle the bills so everything stayed afloat.
Sometimes, it would be nice just to have enough money to pay all the bills when they came in.
I often felt the job title should be master negotiator.
Negotiating for more time to pay the bills, negotiating for lower rates from the veterinary clinics, negotiating for better discounts at the feed and supply stores… Some days the list seemed endless.
Putting the hair dryer down on the dresser, I grasped the door handle and took a deep breath.
I opened the door and forced myself to walk down the hall to the living room as if I hadn’t just waltzed in there sporting a towel and nothing else.
Matty was family, right? Family got to see you in your tattered jeans and Saturday sweats.
And with your soggy bath towel wrapped around you.
Sasha’s stepbrother was a bit of a mystery to me.
His name was Matthew, but Sasha called him Matty, which made me picture a young, slightly nerdy guy.
Ex-military, he’d joined the Navy and then entered the SEALs program.
He’d teamed up with Jacques, one of the guys in his unit, when they mustered out, and between the two of them, they made a fortune developing and selling an online video game.
He’d ended up very rich independent of his parents’ money, so he was able to ignore their attempts to get him to settle down.
I’d never met him. I’d just heard stories about this crazy gonna-save-the-world guy that randomly showed up without prior warning.
Sasha adored him because he’d run interference between her and her parents and managed to get them to back off when they wanted to marry her off to some country club guy in their jet set.
From what I’d gathered from Sasha’s stories, he belonged to a group of guys who didn’t always work within the law. I wasn’t quite sure how they went about that, but I suspected it paid to be rich and powerful enough to make people do what you want. He sounded like your typical rebel.
Plastering a smile on my face, I entered the living room at a sedate pace. “So where’s this famous stepbrother of yours?”
“Right here.” Sasha bounced to her feet, her eyes glowing happily as she swept her arm out to indicate the man lounging on the sofa beside her. “Matty, meet the sister of my heart, Kimberly.”
The man rose to his feet and turned to face me, extending his hand.
Taking the offered hand, I looked up and the smile froze on my face as I stared into those gorgeous blue eyes. “Ryland?”
“Kimberly?”
I stood rooted to the spot. I thought I’d never see him again but here he was. I didn’t understand. Sasha’s stepbrother was named Matt so why was Ryland here, and where was Matt?
Ryland pulled me in hard against him, cupping the back of my head while he lowered his mouth to take mine in a demanding kiss that sent waves of heat racing down my spine.
When he finally lifted his head, I gasped for air. Damn. Better than I remembered, if that was possible.
Sasha cleared her throat noisily. “Well, that was… interesting. I take it you two know each other?”
The surprise in Sasha’s voice broke through my stunned brain. “Yes. This is Ryland. I told you about him. The guy from the island. Not Matty. Where is Matt?”
Ryland’s eyes twinkled with a wry mirth. “Let me introduce myself. Matthew Ryland Greenhough the Third. It seems the powers that be are enjoying a joke at our expense.”
I frowned. “So you use a different name with family?”
“He does, and I should have clued in when you mentioned chasing poachers.” Sasha rolled her eyes and took a seat on the chair.
“Matty here wanted to make a life away from the movers and shakers that populate our parents’ world, so when he’s not with us he goes by his second name.
The family are the only ones who still call him Matt.
I never think of him as Ryland, and I had no idea he was in the area which is why I didn’t clue in when you were gushing on about him. ”
“Gushing?” Ryland kept a firm grip on my arm as he led me to the sofa, drawing me down beside him. “That sounds promising. Do tell.”
“I was not gushing.” I mumbled the words.
I had definitely been gushing, but that was when I thought I’d never see him again.
I had no idea he was going to show up in my living room less than a week later.
I tried to reclaim my arm without any luck.
Secretly, it felt kind of good to have him hanging on to me.
Recalling the explicit details of the one-night stand I’d shared with Sasha, I cringed. You just didn’t tell a guy’s sister those kinds of details, even if she is your BFF.
“Yeah.” Ryland grimaced. “Mommy dearest would do anything she could to get me to settle in with the jet set crowd and ultimately marry a proper heiress with just the right combination of money and breeding behind her.”
He crossed his legs, managing to snuggle even closer to me at the same time. “At least now, Karma has finally cut me a break.”
I looked at him suspiciously. “And that would be?”
That irresistible grin that I knew so well flickered across his handsome face.
“I came here hoping I could talk Sasha into letting me crash on the couch while I tried to locate a certain young woman I recently met. For some reason, the woman was reluctant to give me her last name, so I didn’t have a lot to go on.
I knew she worked as a conservation officer and volunteered at an animal rescue.
I also knew she had an absolutely adorable dog named Diego that can practically read minds. ”
He reached down to scratch Diego behind the ears, eliciting a happy sigh from the disloyal mutt. “Now I find out my sister has been keeping my lady love company until I managed to come claim her. Thanks, sis!”
I blinked. He’d actually come here to look for me instead of jetting off after the bad guys? “Seriously, you came back to find me? What about all those poachers you were so keen to catch. Remember? Don’t tell the truth because the bad guys might hear you and get away?”
Ryland had the grace to look a little bit sheepish. “You know I didn’t mean it that way. That night with you was the best night of my life, but --”
“But…” I interrupted him. “The story of my love life.” I yanked my arm free of Ryland’s embrace and put some distance between us. “I love you but… I’d take you home to meet my family but… I really want to be with you but…”
Sasha rose from her seat, smiling brightly. “How about I go make some coffee? That’ll give you two about ten minutes to get your stories straight.”
“I don’t need to get my story straight,” I snapped.
“Well maybe you need to hear me out without going off the deep end.” Ryland got to his feet, striding across the floor toward me.
He looked like a cougar stalking its prey, and I certainly felt like a cornered animal. It was a bit of a turn on, but there was no way I was going to admit that to him.
“I don’t go off the deep end. I think things through carefully and come to a logical conclusion.” I felt proud of myself for sounding so calm.
“I’m sure you do.” He just kept coming, pulling me into his arms and once again taking possession of my lips.
He really had to stop doing this. He was way too skilled at it.
His lips seared across mine, sending my libido into overdrive.
Where on earth had he learned to kiss so well?
A tiny flicker of jealousy for all those faceless women who’d touched his lips died almost before it came to life.
If the end result was my knees melting like hot fudge in a summer heat wave, I could live with it.
“Oh, get a room!” Sasha laughed as she flounced out of the room. “I’ll be back with coffee in ten minutes. You’d better be done by then, or else not be in my living room. This is just way more than I need to see.”
When Ryland finally removed his lips from mine, I was too stunned to speak. Damn, he was good.
“So. You and my sister are roommates.” It was a statement, not a question.
I nodded. “We met in college. Hit it off.”
“You ever meet the parents?”
I snorted. “Once. They did not approve of their little heiress bumming around with a tree-hugging liberal.”
He nodded slowly, still holding me in his arms. “Yup, I can hear Mother saying just that. She tries to pretend I work for some super-secret government organization, keeping the world safe for democracy. She just can’t bring herself to admit I do something as tacky as chasing poachers.”
I giggled, and he kissed me again. I really had to stop letting this happen. Problem was, I didn’t think I could manage that. Maybe once he’d kissed me again…
I turned my body full into his, winding my arms around his neck and giving his lips my undivided attention.
“Ahem.” Sasha cleared her throat.
This was getting downright embarrassing. I felt like a teenager who got caught kissing a boy in the coat closet.
Plastering a bright smile on my face, I disentangled myself from Ryland.
He let me slip out of his arms, although he kept possession of my hand. Fair enough. At least it no longer looked like we were about to devour each other whole.