Chapter 22
Eli had been quiet since they got back. Hell, since they’d left the hospital he’d barely said two words. She knew he was mad at her, but she didn’t engage. She had no energy to fight.
It truly wasn’t her fault, but she felt it was. She should have known better than to be out in the open. It was stupid, she knew that. Worse, she felt she let Eli and Jerry down, and to an extent, her Uncle Joe.
When they had arrived home, she had gone upstairs and showered. It was crazy, but she was sure she could smell gunpowder. And…she just needed to be clean.
Now that she made her way downstairs, she wondered where Eli was. She wasn’t in the mood for a confrontation, but she knew it was coming. Her father had taught her to face things head on.
She stepped into his library and found him sitting in front of the big window.
“I think you need to leave,” he said without turning around. He was sipping whisky and said it just like he could have said they were expecting rain. No big deal. You need to leave.
She looked at him, irritated that it hurt her to hear the words. She had been through this before. Not exactly this, but something similar. Finding your Dom and fiancé fucking his personal trainer was a little different. Still, the rejection was the same.
This hurt more, even knowing what was behind it. He was trying to protect her and she would not have it. If she left, he lost everything. It would give whoever was doing this the result he or she wanted. She would feel like a coward.
She wanted to pick up one of the massive books in the library and hurl it at his head. “I’m not leaving.”
He turned and gave her a narrowed look. “Didn’t you hear me?”
The coldness in his voice turned her blood to ice. “Yeah, I heard ya.”
“What did you not understand about it? I don’t want you here. I want you gone.”
“Seriously?” She snorted trying to hide the pain that was now ripping her heart to shreds. It seemed so easy for him, and maybe it was. Maybe she had been the one to think there was more to their relationship than just submission and sex.
“I think I have the final say on who stays and who goes.”
“I might be your sub—was your sub—but I don’t have to listen to you outside of the bedroom.”
“Really? I think I run this ranch.” He stood and set down his whisky.
She walked closer and looked at him. Crysta was trying to hide her emotions. It was amazing that the words hurt her more than anything in the world.
She crossed her arms, more for protection than for warmth. Tears were burning the backs of her eyes. She blinked.
“I think we both own this ranch, and I’m not leaving. Even if you are a fucking ass, I can’t let you lose it. Joe wanted you to have it and I will be damned if I leave. I can, however, avoid any time with you.”
She turned to leave, knowing that any second she was going to cry in front of him. She would not do it. Giving him that satisfaction was a little too much for today. She might not have a lot, but she had her pride.
She was at the threshold when he grabbed her by the wrist. Before she knew what was happening, he’d backed her up against the wall and was nuzzling her neck.
“I’m sorry.” His mouth touched the tender skin just beneath her ear. “Babe, I’m so sorry. I went a little crazy. For a second there, I thought the blood was yours.”
Crysta closed her eyes and tried to ignore how wonderful that made her feel. She shouldn’t be happy he was scared for her, and she should still be pissed. But his body crowded hers, the heat of his flesh warming her.
“I…I just couldn’t stand it if something happened to you.” He said the words in a jolting fashion, something that tugged at her heart. It was as if the words had been dragged from somewhere dark.
He pulled back from her and settled his forehead against hers. “I don’t know what I would do.”
“Nothing happened to me. I’m fine.”
He closed his eyes but not before she saw the pain there. How could she have thought he was cold? She knew that’s what he showed a lot of people, but inside he was warm. So warm, and loving.
“I haven’t done a good job at protecting you,” he said, the words filled with torment.
She shook her head and cupped his face. She gave him a long, sweet kiss.
“I was shot at once.”
His lips twitched. “All in a day’s work. I don’t think so.”
“And it’s not your job to protect me, Eli.”
“I promised your father I would take care of you.”
She shook her head. “Alphas. Surrounded by them all the time.”
“I told you to leave.”
She smiled, but then she felt it fade. She cupped his face again and leaned in for a slow, wet kiss. “I won’t leave you, Eli. I love you.”
He didn’t say anything for a few moments. She started to wonder if she made a mistake, but she fought the urge to take it back. Loving him wasn’t a mistake. It might not be smart, and it caused so many issues that she didn’t even want to think about it, but it would never be a mistake.
Eli still said nothing as he stepped back and took her hand. The house was still quiet, just the two of them, as he led her up the stairs to his room. He let go of her hand and bent down to pick her up. He walked into his room and laid her on the bed. He undressed her slowly, kissing and loving every inch of her. He slid his tongue over her body. He left no part of her flesh untouched.
When she was nude, he undressed, his gaze on hers. It had been two weeks of pleasure, of play, and now this. He climbed on the bed with her and pulled her up. He sat back, slowly entering her. Together, they moved. No hurry, no rush. This was about feeling, about love. It was about mutual pleasure, sharing together this one moment in time.
She bent her head back as he kissed her throat. His teeth grazed along her jaw as he licked and nibbled her sensitive skin. Crysta wanted this to last forever.
“God, your skin is the most amazing thing,” he said. “So sweet and tempting…it’s like you’re made of honey.”
She shivered, loving the way he talked to her. She always did. The lazy pleasure they took in their bodies soon dissolved into the rising need of completion. The urge grew and almost without warning, her orgasm exploded through her. She convulsed as she whispered his name. He kissed her then, thrusting up into her once more, and followed her into bliss.
* * *
The creakof the floor was the only thing that gave Eli a warning that someone was in the house. He slipped off the bed, taking his handgun with him.
“I would rather you not shoot me, St. John,” Dillon said from the hallway. “And I really don’t want to embarrass Ms. Miller the first time I meet her.”
Turning, he walked away.
“Wait. What?” Crysta said starting to wake up. She was nude, of course, the sheet falling to her waist as she sat up.
Eli sighed. “It’s Dillon, love. He apparently doesn’t understand when I say I can handle things on my own.”
He leaned down and gave her a long kiss. “Let’s see what he wants.”
By the time the two of them made it to the kitchen, Dillon was already making coffee. “I take it you didn’t bring Jillian with you?”
He shook his head. “She’s still in the self-imposed deadline area. The woman is tyrannical about her writing time.”
Dillon smiled at Crysta. “Crysta Miller I assume. Nice to meet you. Sorry about waking you up, but I made coffee.”
“Thank you for making yourself at home, Dillon,” Eli said, but he wasn’t going to complain beyond that.
A good cup of coffee would get his blood pumping. Of course, the sex he had wanted would’ve been better, but Eli didn’t see a way of getting that to happen now.
“I didn’t want to waste time. I’ve gone over everything and we have little to go on. But, there is one person I think we both need to talk to, and I don’t want to involve the authorities.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Crysta said.
Both men ignored her and her snort was filled with disgust.
“Who?” Eli asked.
“Sean Kaheaku.”
“He wasn’t here. He was on Oahu,” Crysta said.
“Yeah, but he’s got something going on. I can’t get into his records, and he was back that night. There’s another problem.”
“What?”
“He had a meeting on Oahu with his stepbrother. Then, five thousand dollars was transferred from Sean to Sam’s account. Sam also acted suspiciously while he was on the island. He was out buying ammo. We need to figure out what those two are up to. I want you with me, St. John.”
“And I’m going,” Crysta said.
“No.” Both men said it at the same time. Eli knew from the determined look on her face, they had a fight on their hands.
“Stop me. I’m not staying here at the house by myself, or with a guard. And I am not going to spend a bunch of time arguing with you about it. I have my own questions for Sean, if you don’t mind.”
“I said no,” Eli said. He tried frowning at her, but it did no good.
“If you order me to do something one more time, I’m going to stab you with a fork. I want to be there to keep you from killing him.”
“And why would you want to do that?” he asked.
“I don’t want the man I love in prison for killing someone. Let’s go.”
With a sigh, he gave Dillon a look as she marched off. “We might as well let her go.”
Dillon nodded. “I’ll call the office, see if they have anything else. Plus, Maura was trying to hack into some…sites.”
Eli chuckled thinking of Dillon’s sister. There was a good chance that whatever she was doing, it was illegal.
“Give us ten minutes then we can go kick Kaheaku’s ass.”
And with that, he jogged up the stairs. The bastard had a lot to answer for if he set Sam to attack the ranch. Bastard would pay for doing that.