Ryder's Surrender (Hell Yeah!) Page 16

  Heath blew out a disgruntled breath. “I think he would’ve been good for Ryder. He’s stable, he’s conservative, and he would’ve fit into our family well.”

  “So, when are you meeting with him again?”

  “Soon, I hope. Anyway, I appreciate you looking into things for me. I’ve missed you, Dushku. What’s in Hong Kong that you can’t find here in Austin?”

  “Geishas.”

  “You perv.”

  “Hey, you must be developing a taste for pervs. After setting the bar at Eagleton, I can’t believe you’re letting Ryder date one of the Dukes.”

  “Awww, you’re just jealous because they’re richer than you, Dush.” Heath chuckled. “Honestly, I can’t stop her. I tried. I don’t think Duke’s a perv, though.”

  “No, seriously. They do stuff that I don’t do.” Jimmy smirked. “I’m into BDSM, but those two share.”

  Heath frowned, keeping one eye on the road. “Share what?”

  “Women… Hey, watch it!” Jimmy bounced around, holding onto the dash as Heath ran off the road, bouncing on the rock-strewn right-of-way.

  “They share women!” Heath bellowed. “What the fuck?” Then, he calmed. “I’m not sure what that means.”

  Jimmy shook his head. “You need to get out more.” Slowly, he drew Heath a mental picture. “Being richer than God, the lives of the Dukes are a constant source of fascination with some people. And one of the things that’s common knowledge in some circles, is that they share women…with each other. Always. No exceptions. So, if Ryder is involved with one Duke, she’s involved with both.”

  The explosion in the old red truck could be heard in the next county.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “Ryder, are you all right? Is Duke in there with you?” Heath stood at the edge of the drive as she climbed from the limousine, his hands on his hips, his jaw jutting out and his nostrils flaring.

  Gervis answered for her. “No, sir. Mr. Duke had urgent business. I escorted Miss Ryder home.”

  “What’s this all about, Heath? I phoned and told Pepper when to expect me. If something had gone wrong I would’ve sent word to you.” Ryder had no idea what her big brother was angry about, but she’d seen this look too many times before to mistake it for anything else. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you!?” Heath yelled, stomping toward her as the big black car pulled away. Before Ryder knew what was happening, her brother had her by the arm. He wasn’t rough at all, but when she tried to pull away, he wouldn’t loosen his grip. “Let me go, Heath!”

  “Heath, you don’t want to do this,” Cato’s voice came from the open doorway.

  “Stay out of this, baby. This is something we have to do.”

  “We? What are you talking about?” Ryder went with Heath, climbing the steps – not like she had any choice. This whole thing felt familiar. She’d been here before, but it had been years, a lot of years. Heath had only spanked her once when she was fourteen for climbing to the top of a rickety old windmill. He’d told her she scared ten years off his life.

  Well, she hadn’t been climbing any rickety windmills lately.

  “If you don’t let me go, we’re going to have a problem. I’m not a teenager anymore, I’m a grown woman. I don’t know what grass burr you’ve got up your ass, but…”

  “Watch your tongue, little girl.” Heath led her through the door and the question of who the ‘we’ was – was answered. Her whole family stood waiting on her. Her brothers on one side and her female relatives on the other. And none of them looked happy. Jaxson, Ten, and Philip looked disappointed and Cato, Pepper, and Molly looked peeved. They were glaring at the men like they were on separate sides of a paintball war.

  “Where are the twins?” Ryder asked, trying to make sense of what she was seeing.

  Ten answered, “Olivia’s watching the babies. We didn’t want them here for the intervention!”

  “Intervention!” Pepper spat at the same time Ryder yelled the word in the form of a question. “Intervention?”

  “I’m not doing anything that needs to be intervened in!”

  “Oh, I beg to differ,” Heath spoke in a loud booming voice, worthy of a legal orator proclaiming his case before the Supreme Court. “Now, is the time for us to step in and insure that you don’t do something to permanently scar your life!”

  “Now, just hold on a gol-darned minute.” Ryder again tried to struggle, but Heath led her to a straight back chair in the middle of the living room and urged her down. All four of her brothers proceeded to sit in a straight line in front of her – while the girls stood defensively at her back.

  “No, you hold on.” Heath pointed his finger at her. “I’ve just learned these men you’re seeing are involved in all manners of sexual deviance.”

  Ryder pressed her lips together. So, this is what all the hell was about. “Who told you that?”

  “Oh, so you’re not denying it!” Heath put his same finger in the air as if he’d just scored a point of some kind or was making a declaration that deserved a religious amen.

  “Denying what?” Ryder’s anger flared. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

  “You’re spending time with Samson Duke!” Heath fired back.

  “I am, Samson is a wonderful man.”

  “Well from what I hear, if you’re dating one of those Dukes you’re dating the other one too. Do you have a clue about what you’re doing?”

  “Yes, I do.” Ryder let her gaze go from one brother to another. Philip looked contrite, Ten and Jaxson were backing Heath all the way. Pepper and her sisters-in-law seemed fit to be tied, they were almost as angry as she was. “I’m living my life the way I see fit.”

  “No, you’re disgracing this family, that’s what you’re doing! Jimmy says if you’re sleeping with one Duke, you’re sleeping with them both!”

  “Heath…” Philip cautioned.

  “Heath McCoy, this is your sister!” Cato admonished her husband.

  He gave both his wife and his brother barely a glance. “If you think I’m going to allow you to ruin your life, Ryder, you couldn’t be more wrong.”

  “I’m not the one who’s wrong, Heath.” Ryder understood what he was saying. He was fulfilling her worst nightmare, doing exactly what she feared would happen. “For your information, I haven’t had sex with anyone.” She stood to her feet. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m still a virgin.” She let her eyes rove over her brothers. “Look at all of you. We’ve all got our own little soap operas going on, don’t we?” She shot a look at Cato and Molly. “I’m sorry.” Then, she centered her gaze on Heath. “How did you treat Cato?”

  “Let’s leave Cato out of this,” Heath bit back at her.

  “The only fling you’d agree to have with Cato was one that came with an expiration date.” Heath started to respond, but Ryder rounded on Ten. “And you! You wouldn’t believe your own wife when Molly tried to tell you she didn’t betray you. You accused her of unspeakable things. You’re lucky to have her and those two babies!” Before Ten could say anything, she turned to Jaxson. “And who knows what’s up with you? Do you think we don’t know you pushed Tamara away because you felt sorry for yourself!”

  “Ryder…” Pepper cautioned.

  Throwing up her hands, she lashed out at them all. “You’re wrong, I’m not involved with both Samson and Gideon, just Samson. But you know what?” She didn’t wait for a corresponding question. “I wish I was involved with Gideon too! I’d give myself to both of those men in a heartbeat!”

  Heath reeled at her words and there were several gasps heard around the room. “So, you want to throw yourself away on the likes of the Dukes of Hazzard? You could’ve had a respectable man like Scott Eagleton. What kind of woman are you?” Her big brother was so mad his ears were red.

  “I know exactly what kind of woman I am! A mad one!” She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. “I might as well be hung for a sheep as
a lamb.”

  At Jaxson’s perplexed expression, Philip murmured an explanation. “When people used to be hung for sheep-stealing, the thought was that if you’re going to die anyway, you might as well take a full-grown sheep rather than a little lamb. So…she’s saying if she’s going to be condemned for the crime…”

  “I might as well commit the crime!” Ryder finished for their ‘absent-minded professor’ brother. “Good day to you all, I’m out of here.” She strode out of the room with her back straight and her head held high. “I don’t know when I’m coming back and I’ll send someone for my things – including Vashti!”

  Pepper ran after her. “Ryder, wait. Heath didn’t mean all of that, he’s just worried.”

  “Our brothers are asses.” Ryder hugged her sister quickly. “Check on Daddy for me. But if he gets wind of this, it won’t be because of anything I did.”

  “Be careful,” she urged.

  “I’ll be fine.” She headed for the garage door. “I’ll be with Samson. Don’t let anyone follow me, Pepper. They won’t like what they find.”

  * * *

  Ryder was so angry; she could barely see to drive. Her brothers had just proved her every instinct to be right. As the tears streamed down her cheeks, a small, sad gasp of laughter slipped from her lips. “God, what all did I just say?” She tried to think. “I told them I was a virgin and that I wished I could make love with both Duke brothers.” Ryder hiccupped another sob. “I guess that about covers it, at least I didn’t lie.”

  When she’d covered the short distance between Highlands and Falconhead, it occurred to Ryder that Samson didn’t know she was coming. What would he think? Would she be welcome? Once she pulled up to the guarded entrance, the gate opened automatically. Her car and face was familiar to all the Duke’s employees. Apparently, she was still on the approved list. She gave the men admitting her a slight wave, then used the same hand to swipe at her damp cheeks. “I bet I look a mess.”

  Before Gervis ha a chance to reach her door, Ryder jumped from the car. She couldn’t afford to give herself time to change her mind. Thurgood was a bit more prompt, greeting her with concern. “Are you all right, Miss Ryder?”

  “Could you tell Samson I’m here?”

  “Certainly.” The butler brought her indoors, but that was as far as they got before Samson came rushing up.

  “Ryder?”

  He opened his arms and Ryder ran to him. “Oh, Samson. Can I stay with you?”

  “Forever.”

  His unequivocal acceptance was exactly what she needed. “Thank you.”

  Samson wrapped his arms tightly around her. “I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve wanted to ask you to come, but I didn’t want to rush you.” He held her for a few more moments before guiding her farther into the house. “Come in and let’s make you comfortable.”

  Ryder hadn’t turned him loose. “If you still have business to attend to, please don’t let me take you away from it.”

  “My visitor left just a few minutes before you arrived.” Samson drew her to the couch, pulling Ryder down into his lap. “Having you here is such a wonderful surprise.” He lifted her hair from her neck. She was obviously upset. “Now, tell me what happened.”

  His total acceptance freed something inside Ryder. She buried her face in his neck and everything just came pouring out. “Heath and the others, they confronted me over what they think you, I, and Gideon are doing.”

  Samson felt his anger rise. He knew this was what she’d been so afraid would happen. Cradling her close, he apologized. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart.” He wanted to defend her honor, protect her feelings, and hide her away from the world so no one would ever make her cry again. “I guess you explained to him that it’s just you and me, that Gideon isn’t involved.”

  “I told them I was still a virgin and that I was leaving to be with you. But I also told them I wish it was all three of us, that I’d be with both of you in a heartbeat if it were possible.” She held onto him his shirt so tight, her knuckles were white.

  Samson was stunned. He didn’t know which piece of information hit him the hardest. Her words felt like a fist had just been planted in his solar plexus. Air was forced from his lungs in a harsh breath. A virgin? He’d suspected, but hearing the truth from her lips did something to him. And she still longed for Gideon? A mass of emotions roared over Samson. Triumph. Joy. Regret. Hope. He didn’t get a chance to formulate a response before Thurgood rejoined them with a drink for Ryder.

  “Ma’am, this will make you feel better.”

  “Thank you, Thurgood.” She accepted the hot toddy and sipped it, holding the warm mug with both hands.

  Samson ran a comforting hand down her back, trying to assimilate the data he’d just been given. None of this should have been a surprise. Ryder had a sexy but untouched quality about her. Even after he’d loved on her for hours – just kissing and petting, she’d still look at him with those big, innocent doe eyes that turned him inside out. Hell! Having confirmation that no other man had touched her but himself and Gideon was a massive turn-on. Primal possessive instincts rose in his chest.

  And hearing she wished Gideon were back in the picture?

  This shouldn’t have been a surprise; Ryder had said as much when she’d come to tell them goodbye after her father was hospitalized. Somehow, in the intervening days, he’d pushed this truth from his mind. “Better?” he asked gently.

  “Yes.” She lifted her head, revealing a line of milky goodness all along her upper lip. He couldn’t resist licking it off. “What else can I do to make you feel better, Princess?”

  Ryder quivered, the ugly events of the evening catching up with her. She wanted to forget. She wanted to feel safe and cherished. “Would you make love to me?” A flare of doubt blossomed in her mind. “I know you said we should wait. So, if you don’t want to, I’ll under…”

  Samson silenced her with a kiss. “I want nothing more.” With that revelation, he placed her drink on a nearby table and gave her no further chance to speak. Taking over, he didn’t abandon the silky heat of her mouth long enough to begin to undress her.

  Samson kept their lips fused together as he slid his hands under the lace camisole she wore, slipping it up and over her head. Their petting sessions to this point, discounting what he and Gideon had shared with her at the Driskill Hotel, had been fairly chaste. For some reason, Samson had held back, like he was waiting for something.

  But the time for waiting was over.

  Ryder had chosen to gift herself to him and Samson was ready to claim her. She belonged to him. His desire ran so high, his hands fumbled as he unfastened her jeans, helping her yank them down and off. She helped him, making tiny sounds of frustration and passion.

  “Hurry,” she murmured. “I want you so much.”

  Her obvious arousal, her desire for him, sent his own need off the charts. Reaching around Ryder, Samson unhooked her bra, drawing the thin straps from her shoulders, slowly unveiling the delicious globes of her breasts. “I’ve dreamed about this moment, don’t think I haven’t.”

  A blush rose in Ryder’s cheeks, a heat that swept down her neck and over her chest, even making the swell of her breasts pink. “Oh, me too. I’ve touched myself every night, imagining you and…”

  She stopped – but Samson filled in the blank. Gideon. “It’s okay, honey. I understand. I wish I could give you…”

  This time it was Ryder who stopped him from speaking. She stopped the flow of his words with a kiss, pressing her naked breasts to his chest. “Hush. Don’t you ever think that you’re not enough – you’re everything to me.” She groaned in frustration, dipping her head to rest on his shoulder. “I can’t explain it.”

  “You don’t have to. I, of all people, absolutely understand.” Sliding a hand down her back, he let his fingers pass beneath the band of her panties, lifting her up long enough to push them over the round, firm cheeks of her bottom, and down her legs. Once he was through, she was totally – gloriou
sly nude. “If I live to be a thousand, I’ll never tire of feasting my eyes on your beauty, Princess.” His gaze boldly caressed every exquisite inch of her body, from her long brown tresses to the pink tips of her toes. Bending his head, he pressed a reverent kiss on each nipple, loving the bob and sway of her tits as they moved with every breath. She was utter perfection. Unable to resist, he sought out the velvet of her pussy, caressing her mound, rubbing the soft narrow trail of fuzz that led to paradise.

  “Love me, please,” she whispered, trembling in his arms like an Aspen leaf in the wind.

  Sweeping her up, he carried her through the house and up the stairs, knowing Thurgood wouldn’t disturb their progress. Resting his chin on her hair, he strode purposefully to his suite. Placing her down on the bed, his eyes met hers the moment she lifted her head. “Never doubt that I want you, that I cherish you.”

  The approval and heat in his gaze chased away the tiny bit of trepidation in Ryder’s heart and mind. “I don’t. I trust you, Samson.”

  Samson bent to kiss her once more, as if he couldn’t resist. No gentle kiss this time – no, this was a possessive claiming, stroking his tongue in and out, eating at her lips, giving her just a taste of the pleasure to come.

  “I need to touch you, to see you too,” she gasped when he pulled away to rip off his own clothing, taking little care with the expensive materials. As he stripped, his ego couldn’t help but respond to her stare, to the appreciation and feminine curiosity in her eyes. Having women like the way he looked was something he was used to – but their shallow admiration paled in the light of Ryder’s innocent yearning. He’d always prided himself in pleasing a woman, but this time was critical – imperative – giving her pleasure was far more important than attaining his own.

  Lying down next to Ryder, Samson faced her, their legs tangled together. One hand skated up the smoothness of her hip, caressing the indention of her waist, before finding its way up to palm her breast. “I thought you wanted to touch me,” he teased her as he played with a nipple, tweaking and rubbing it between his fingers.