Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
B ack in their borrowed apartment, Ryder stalked the main living area, gut churning.
That asshole .
Hyland had talked about Robbie and the others like they were worthless, nothing. Ryder kicked the coffee table and sent it skidding across the floor, but it didn’t make him feel better.
He put his hands on the back of his neck.
How many more people would die before he worked this out? How many more people would he fail?
“Ryder?”
He turned. Siv stood watching him, her face covered with concern.
“I don’t know how to help you,” she said.
He shook his head. He felt like he was holding back a tide of shitty emotion.
“Fuck,” he roared. He hated this helpless feeling most of all.
“Ryder, stop.” Siv grabbed his wrists and he met her blue gaze. “It’s going to be all right,” she whispered. “It’ll take time, but you’ll get there. We’ll get there together, starting with nailing the Fosters to the wall. Then we’ll shine a spotlight on this entire, ugly situation.”
He sucked in some deep breaths. More than anything, he wanted those smug siblings who thought they were better than everyone else, to pay.
Ryder yanked Siv to his chest. She clamped her arms around him.
“That’s it. Just hold on.”
He buried his face in her hair and held on. “Dammit to hell.”
“It’s okay. Or it will be eventually. We’ll make sure of it.”
His Siv didn’t crumble. She charged through, trying to find a solution. He stroked his hands up her back.
“Do you want to be alone?” she asked quietly.
His arms tightened on her. “No.”
“I can—”
He lifted his head. “No.”
He slammed his mouth down on hers. The kiss was fast and furious. She kissed him back, moaning in the back of her throat.
“Need you,” he murmured.
He did. His head was filled with Siv, pushing out everything else.
“ Ryder .” Her tongue stroked his.
He backed her up, hands tearing open her belt and jeans.
She helped him, kicking her jeans and panties free.
Her shirt followed, leaving her in the most delicate, blue-lace bra.
He loved the sexy things she wore under her clothes almost as much as he loved the body inside them.
He flicked one nipple through the lace and watched it harden.
She made a needy sound, desire bright in her eyes.
He backed her up another step, until the back of her knees hit the couch. She sat down.
Ryder dropped to his knees in front of her and pushed her toned legs apart.
“You’re so damn beautiful, Siv.” Desire beat inside him. “Every time I look at you, touch you, I feel like I’ve done something right to be worthy of you.”
Her face softened. “Ryder—”
“Every time.” He stroked between her legs, and the look on her face—desire and need for him—made his gut clench. “Need to be inside you, Siv.”
“ Yes .”
He fumbled with his pants and got his cock free. It took him seconds to pull a condom out of his wallet and get it on.
Then Ryder leaned forward and pressed the head of his cock to her.
“Ryder,” she panted.
He slid inside her warmth, watching her body take him. “ Fuck me.” He absorbed the feel of her.
She moaned.
He pulled out, sank back in. He pressed his thumb to her clit, circling it as he picked up the speed of his thrusts.
“Yes.” She moaned. “ God . Faster.”
He lost himself in the sweet oblivion of her. He kept working her clit, listening to her throaty cries.
“Ryder, I’m close.”
“Good, babe. I want to feel you come.” Her fingers wrapped around his wrist, holding him to her. Their gazes locked. Damn . There was nothing sexier than moving inside her while they watched each other.
Then she moaned, and her back and neck arched.
He watched her come, long and hard, as he kept rubbing her clit, his cock deep inside her tight body.
With difficulty, Ryder locked down his own molten need. “Want you to come again.”
“I can’t,” she panted, still shaking with pleasure.
“Yes.” He thrust harder, thumb still on her swollen clit.
Her second climax hit hard and fast. She cried out, body clamping down on his cock.
He couldn’t hold back any longer. He surged up, slamming inside her. Buried deep, he came, grunting as pleasure obliterated everything.
Ryder found the strength to sit on the floor and pulled a limp Siv off the couch onto his lap.
“Too heavy,” she mumbled.
“Hardly. Want you right here.” He tucked her close.
“Your injuries—”
“It’s fine if you don’t move.”
She relaxed against him.
“I like you close.” He nuzzled her hair. “Thanks, Siv.”
“It was a real hardship to let you fuck me to two orgasms,” she said dryly.
He grunted. “It was more than that, and I needed it. Needed you.”
“You’re welcome, Ryder,” she said softly.
They stayed there, snuggling, for a while.
“You ready to get to work?” she asked. “We aren’t going to stop the Stepford siblings sitting around naked.”
“Shame about that.” He cupped her jaw, tilted her face, and kissed her. “I’m sorry to see you cover that magnificent body of yours, but yes, let’s get to work.”
They cleaned up and dressed, then ended up at the dining table, with both of their laptops. Siv made coffee and snacks.
“Ace sent through part of the property data for us to look at.” She sipped her black coffee.
“I thought you liked lattes?”
“I like coffee in all its varieties.” She ate some pieces of apple and almonds that she’d put on a plate. “In fact, Norway has the second highest per capita coffee consumption in the world after Finland.”
“Really? Guess you have to keep warm up that way.”
“I’ll make kokekaffe for you some time. It’s a special Norwegian steeped coffee. It’s best brewed over a campfire when you’re on a hike. Then we call it turkaffe or hiking coffee.”
Ryder sipped his coffee “You like hiking?”
“Love it.”
“I’ll take you to Mount Tamalpais State Park one weekend. It’s one of my favorite places to hike. There are over two hundred miles of trails stretching all the way to the Pacific. It’s got everything, from forests to ocean views to rolling hills.”
Her gaze met his for a beat. “It sounds great. And I’ll make you turkaffe .”
“And I’ll find a secluded spot to get you naked and have my wicked way with you.”
She laughed.
Sipping their coffee, they got back to work on the data.
“These are the least likely properties to hold the lab,” Ryder said.
“Right. Ace is combing through the more promising ones.”
“Guess it pays to double check.”
They clicked and tapped. Ryder liked working with her. Liked the silence, and the small sounds she made when she was thinking.
“Man, these two own a shitload of things,” he muttered.
“Why risk it all by carrying out illegal drug testing?” she said. “It threatens their entire business.”
“There’s definitely something wrong with the drug,” he said.
Siv shook her head. “It still doesn’t make sense. If word got out that Trelaskin wasn’t as great as they’d hoped, sure, the company stocks would take a hit, but why risk your entire business by breaking the law?”
“We’ll work it out,” he promised. We won’t stop until we do.”
* * *
God, this was boring.
Siv clicked through more property data. There were investment apartments, a house in Napa, commercial properties.
What there wasn’t, was anything that showed signs of housing a lab.
She glanced at Ryder, and her heart thumped. He was so damn handsome. His hair was down, almost brushing his shoulders. He hit the keyboard, his brow furrowed.
“Anything?” she asked.
He grunted. “No. A whole lot of no.”
“It’s important we check everything.” She rose. “More coffee?”
“I’ll take a soda. Any more coffee, and I won’t sleep for a week.”
It was late afternoon, the day slowly giving way to night. She grabbed them both sodas and dropped back into her chair. Her computer chimed and Ace’s lean face appeared in the window. The man was looking a little haggard.
“Hi, Ace,” she said.
“Hi.” He ran a hand over his hair.
“You look tired, my man.” Ryder leaned in.
Ace sighed. “I am. Maggie’s not sleeping well at night.”
Ace’s fiancée was due to have their baby soon. Ryder nodded. “Hard for her to get comfortable?”
“Yeah, add that to scouring through every detail of the Fosters’ life, and I’m dragging. I’m glad you guys are helping.”
“We haven’t found anything,” Ryder said.
“Well, I found some interesting facts on the dynamic duo,” Ace said.
Siv and Ryder straightened.
“Really?” she said.
“Chiron is teetering on shaky ground,” Ace said.
Siv frowned. “What? I thought they were worth billions. Chiron’s loved by everyone, right? The stock price is up. And they sell other drugs.”
“A few of their other drugs haven’t quite been as successful as hoped. And R&D is expensive. The Fosters are up to their eyeballs in debt.”
“But they own a butt load of properties.” Ryder waved a hand at his laptop screen.
“The bank owns a butt load of properties. Christian and Caroline have huge debts. They’re billionaires on paper alone, all due to the shares of Chiron.”
“And if Chiron’s stock prices fall…” Siv sat back in her chair.
Ace nodded. “They lose everything.”
“And everything hinges on their wonder drug, Trelaskin,” Ryder said.
Ace lifted a finger. “Correct. I uncovered some hastily hidden reports. A study by an independent doctor who said Trelaskin doesn’t work. That the early test results were overstated.”
Siv gasped. “If Trelaskin doesn’t work…”
The Fosters would have nothing.
“This explains why the fancy lab is empty,” Ryder said.
Ace nodded. “If they know they wouldn’t get approval to move to human trials, then they aren’t going to waste money on staff in their lab.”
“Which the market is waiting on,” Siv added. “They have investors handing over a lot of money…”
“And if anyone got wind of it, Chiron goes bust.” Ryder cursed. “But they still think they can make it work.”
Siv met his gaze. “So, they’re running illegal human trials. Trying to perfect the drug.”
“Fuckers,” Ryder spat.
“We still need to find the lab,” Ace said. “When I find something, I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks, Ace,” Siv said.