Chapter 5
The next day, Ryder and Juliet returned to his home after driving the kids to school.
Juliet was better today. And stronger for knowing what she wanted.
They walked in through the garage and hung up their coats.
The weather was getting colder as the end of October approached.
In the kitchen, he asked, “More coffee?”
“No, that’s not what I want.” She unbuttoned her blouse. “W-what are you doing, sweetheart?”
“You know.”
“You—oh, Lord,” he said when she eased her top off her shoulders and it fell to the floor.
Next she kicked off her sneakers and pushed down her jeans. Then she lifted her chin.
He said, “You don’t have any underwear on.”
“Never let your partners say you’re slow on the uptake.”
He didn’t smile.
“I want to make love with you.”
She didn’t understand the expression on his face.
“Oh, no you don’t want to. I never thought…” She reached for her blouse.
“I want to! More than I want to take my next breath.”
“Then I don’t understand.”
He closed the distance between them. “I have to tell you something first.”
“No! No you don’t. You have to go to your bedroom with me and make love.”
“I—”
She put her hand on his lips. “Shh. No more talk. Please.”
He surprised her by scooping her into his arms. She felt warm then, cradled next to his heart. His wing, his bedroom was a long walk from the kitchen but he hurried there. He set her on the bed gently. She could see the conflict on his face but didn’t understand it.
Don’t do it this way, Ryder. You’ll regret it.
Forcefully, he pushed his psyche down. He was possessed by a drive so strong he was incapable of stopping this. He managed to rip off his shirt, pushed down his jeans and briefs and kick them off with his docksiders.
She was on her elbows watching him. Fuck! She licked her lips. He counted numbers in his mind as she slid over to a pillow and rested her head on it. He joined her. She turned to her side facing him.
“You look…tortured.”
“I’m aroused.” He took her hand and pressed to his groin. “Very aroused. I want you badly, Juliet.
Slowly, he kissed her mouth, her jaw, her neck, her collarbone then moved to her breasts. She bucked when he took a nipple in his mouth. So he sucked her gently. Then moved to her abdomen and laved her beautiful stomach.
When he started to go lower with his mouth, Juliet startled. “Ryder.”
He managed to stop. “What, love?”
“I never did this before. Where you’re, um, going.”
He halted abruptly. Came up on his elbows. “Never with Michael?”
“No.”
“Juliet, have you ever made love with anybody but him?”
“Of course not. But I want to. With you.”
“I think we should—”
“If you say stop, I’m going to scream. Keep going.” She moaned “I want to know what this feels like.”
“Are you sure?”
“Uh-huh.”
He pressed his mouth to her groin. Gently sucked.
“Oh…Oh…Ryder…” She came in a burst of pleasure, the kind she’d never felt before.
Ryder could barely contain himself. He tried to slow his breathing but he couldn’t. Especially when she said, “Can I—can I do this to you?”
The laugh hurt. “No, not now. I have to come inside you.”
She opened her legs further. He slid into her; she was wet. Wonderfully wet. “Hurt?”
“No, not a bit.” Her eyes were getting glazed.
And then, his body took over. He thrust, and not gently. Again, and again. He felt her spiral and let himself go. The pleasure was acute. Almost painful. But not quite.
* * *
They spent the day lounging in bed. Ryder had canceled all his appointments and Juliet did the same with her sessions for yoga. But at two, she said, “Ryder, I have to be home when the boys get off the bus. I can’t keep staying here.”
“Of course you can.”
“No, Billy and Tommy need their routine. The authorities served Joey with the restraining order so he won’t come near me.”
“You’re in danger from all that’s going on at the collective.”
“Police patrol all our streets. I’m safe.”
“Juliet—”
“You have to listen to me. You have to respect my wishes.”
It took him a bit, but he finally said, “Of course I do. I’m sorry. I worry about you.”
“I know. I’m going to take a shower now so I’ll be home by three.”
“Whatever you want.”
She left his bed and headed to his bathroom. She showered quickly and when she came back out, he was dressed. “I showered in the other bathroom.”
She gave him a once-over. “I’ve never seen you in jeans.”
“Probably not.”
“Are you ready to leave?”
“Yes.”
This time they took the yellow corvette. When she got inside she inhaled leathery scent. “This car is decadent.”
“You want it?”
“Don’t be silly.”
“I wasn’t kidding.”
“You’re unbelievable.”
When he started the engine he asked, “Should you go back to the collective to get your car?”
“No. The guys will bring it over after work.”
They were silent as they drove but he held her hand and she was grateful for that. They pulled up to her house too soon. “I’ll walk you to the door.”
“I’d like that.”
His hand at her back, they crossed to the porch and she unlocked the front door. She turned, cupped his cheek and said simply, “You mean so much to me.”
“I love you, Juliet. Remember that.”
He left her standing there open-mouthed.
* * *
The impact of what he’d said didn’t hit him until he got back in the car.
He’d never said those words to a woman. And for God’s sakes, his hands were shaking.
When he calmed, he drove away. The day was crisp and cool, weather he always appreciated.
Too bad he wasn’t appreciating anything else right now.
He needed distraction so he called Carter.
“I’m free now, Carter. If you wouldn’t mind meeting me at the offices. ”
“Of course not. I’ve had a nice long weekend. I’ll be over in fifteen minutes.”
Ryder knew work would take his mind off Juliet and he’d get business accomplished. Where had they left off? Right, the merger. This was a tricky one, but one he’d wanted for a long time. But in truth, he didn’t even feel like doing that. Instead, he thought about Juliet all the way home.
Soon, he was immersed in Global Inc’s spread sheets. The conglomerate was doing well, but the contract needed work. “Let’s go line by line.”
He didn’t know how much later it was when the phone rang. Brought back to reality, his pulse sped up. Was it Juliet?
It wasn’t. “Hello, Marietta.”
“Hell, Ryder. I just got in and you’re not at the airport nor did you send a car for me.”
“I’m sorry. It’s been a day.”
Since he didn’t usually apologize for himself, she quieted. “I’ll take a car from here to your offices.”
“I’ll alert the security at the gate.”
“Thanks.”
He clicked off.
“I forgot about her, too,” Carter said. “That she was coming in tonight.”
“Yeah. Lots going on.”
Carter held his gaze. “Are you all right Ryder? You seem…down. Which is rare for you.”
“I am down. I’m distracted by Juliet Sullivan again.”
“I figured. Want to talk about her?”
“No. It’s way too long of a story to get into now.”
“Sure. I understand.”
He looked back at the contract. When Juliet’s image swam before him, he ignored it and got to work.
* * *
Juliet’s class was full of women today, which was good. She didn’t think she could deal with men right now. She’d unconsciously compare them to Ryder. And boy, was she mad at him.
“Two more poses, ladies,” she said to the class. “Then we’ll go to savasana.”
She stood in the middle of her mat and put her hands in prayer position and lifted her foot above her knee. The group, a bit past beginners, tried to manage tree pose. There was a lot of fumbling. “If you need some support go to the wall and use your hand for balance.”
Four women chose to go for support. Most got it. Held it.
“Let’s end with goddess pose. She took a three-foot stance, bent her knees and with her gaze straight ahead, she lifted both arms, bent at the elbow. She was pleased to see everybody was able to hold the pose.
“Good job. Let’s prepare for savasana. Get a pillow and a blanket. Lie down and make yourself comfortable. We’ll do this for three minutes and when I ring the chime, class will be over.”
Juliet laid down, hoping she could forget about Ryder Pace for a little while longer.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t.
After she bade goodbye to the group and tidied up the studio, she walked out into the common room where she found Daisy and Scarlet having coffee.
Scarlet said, “There she is. Have a nice weekend?”
“You could say that.”
Daisy studied her. “What’s wrong? You seem troubled.”
“I am.” She sighed heavily and sat next to Daisy. “I spent the weekend at Ryder’s house. Me and the boys. Yesterday, we took them to school and…we were together after that for most of the day.”
“Oh no, Juliet.”
“He’s not what you think, Daisy. He told me he loved me.” She glanced at the clock. “Forty-eight hours ago. And I haven’t heard from him since.”
“Maybe you should call him.” Scarlet was a romantic now that she had a wedding coming up.
“And say what? I love him, too?”
“Do you?” Daisy always pushed.
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t want that. He’s going to hurt me.”
Scarlet waited a bit then said, “But you don’t know that for sure. You’re afraid, honey. And you must feel something for him. You haven’t been with anyone else since Michael died.”
“Meaning?”
“You need to examine your feelings,” Scarlet finished. “Get your head on straight. How about if I pick up the boys and bring them to the ranch.”
“The boys are with my parents tonight.”
“That’s probably a good thing.”
Daisy asked, “Anybody hungry?”
“I am.” Scarlet answered.
“I have an idea. Let’s all change and go out somewhere special.”
“I don’t feel like doing that, Daisy.”
Daisy touched her forearm. “Come on, Jules. You can’t just mope around. Let’s go have some fun.”
“All right.” She stood. “I’ll try to be good company.”
* * *
Ryder sat across from Marietta at The Lakeside Grill. He didn’t want to go out tonight, but she insisted. She was leaving at ten o’clock, so he humored her. After all, she was a big client and they could talk more about work. They settled at a table and ordered drinks.
As she sipped her martini, she took a bead on him. “I’ve never seen you like this before. Where did the cool and collected businessman go to?”
Ryder took a swig of his drink. “He’s here. Somewhere.”
“Hmm.”
“Let’s talk business.”
“Are you sure? I like you, Ryder, and I’m a good listener.”
Before he could answer, a group of women walked by the table. One of them stopped at his. He didn’t recognize her. “Well, well well, if it isn’t Ryder Pace.”
The others backtracked. Fuck! One of them was Juliet. She looked beautiful all dressed up in rust colored one-piece outfit, her hair curled, wearing makeup. “Ryder.” She looked to Marietta. “Ryder?”
“Juliet. This is my business associate, Marietta Cramer. Of Global Inc. Marietta, this is Juliet Sullivan.”
Marietta nodded. “Nice to meet you.”
Juliet still stared at him with that awful expression on her face.
One of the women with her said, “I’m Daisy Taylor and this is Scarlet Smith.”
Scarlet said, “We work with Juliet but we’re very close.”
She moved in and linked arms with Juliet.
Daisy did the same. “We’re very close. She tells us everything. Everything, Mr. Pace.”
“I-I…Juliet…” He fumbled for the right words. “We should talk.”
Her gaze transferred to Marietta. “I don’t think so Ryder. Enjoy your associate’s company.”
Then Juliet surprised everybody by slapping him across the face. She pivoted and hurried out of the restaurant. Ryder started to get up. “Don’t you dare,” Daisy said. “You’ve already done enough to her!”
She and Scarlet hurried out after Juliet.
Marietta said, “At least now I know what’s wrong. What the hell did you do to her?”
* * *
“Juliet.”
They turned around as a group and gaped at him.
“Juliet, please. Don’t leave like this. Let me explain.”
She bit her lip and just stared at him. With a resigned sigh, she said, “Daisy and Scarlet, wait for me in the car.”
Daisy frowned. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“It’s what I want.”
Daisy shook her head, but said, “We’ll wait in the car.”
Reluctantly they left.
Ryder crossed to Juliet but she stepped back. “Don’t touch me.”
He moved away a bit. “You’re angry with me.”
“What was your first clue?”
“Which thing are you most mad at?”
“That you’re out with another woman.”
“Let me be clear. She is an associate. She flew in to complete a merger and is leaving at ten tonight.”
“Let’s say I accept that. You can’t explain the other reason away. The last thing you said to me was that you loved me. Then you don’t call for forty-eight hours. What kind of man does that?”
His face reddened. “A scared man.”
“Scared? You?”
“Sweetheart, I’ve never said those words to anyone before. And you’re so wary of me. I don’t know. It threw me off kilter.”
She closed her eyes briefly. “Do you know what you’re doing to me?”
“Hurting you again. I’m sorry.”
“No, not that.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re making me fall in love with you.”
His whole body relaxed. “Thank God for that.”