A Wild Ride (6 page)

“Men!” Marie swore.

“I resent that,” Ryan said.

“I didn’t mean you, honey. What did you do?”

“Nothing. What could I do? He was scared,” Ryan explained.

Marie paused, and Ryan heard nothing for a long time. “I think you’re going to have to explain that to me,” Marie said.

Ryan’s breath caught in his throat. “I don’t know if I can, not over the phone.”

“Fine. I’ll see you in ten minutes. Should I bring a bottle of wine? Something stronger?” Marie asked.

“I have everything here,” Ryan said.

“All right. See you in a few.” She disconnected, and Ryan set the phone on the table beside the chair. Damn it, that woman had missed her calling. She should have been with the CIA instead of in investments. He hadn’t wanted to talk to anyone about what had happened between him and Dante, but Marie had wheedled just enough out of him that he was committed now. Granted, he knew Marie could keep a secret.

Ryan picked up his bags and carried them to his bedroom. He threw the dirty clothes in the laundry and put the few clean things back in their places in the drawers or on their hangers in his meticulously organized closet. Then he put the suitcase and carry bag away and closed the walk-in closet door. He was just leaving the bedroom when his bell sounded. He buzzed her in and went to open a bottle of wine. A soft knock sounded on his door as he placed a tray with glasses, wine, and a few crackers on the coffee table.

He opened the door, and Marie surged in like a force of nature, hugging him within an inch of his life before breezing past on her way toward the wine.

“So, you have me curious as hell,” Marie began as she poured two glasses of wine, then handed one to Ryan as he followed behind.

“I know, but this is hard and… are you sure you want to hear this?”

“Right. The last thing I want to hear about is two gorgeous men in bed together. Please.” She exaggerated her expression. “I haven’t had a date in six months that wasn’t some kind of cross between the Hunchback of Notre Dame and Hannibal Lecter. Every loser in town seems to have beaten a path to my door. So, please explain to me why after a night of mind-blowing sex, you think Dante Rivers, a man who rides bulls for a living, got scared.” She sounded dubious. “How could you scare him? You’re a pussycat.”

“Because of the way I made him feel,” Ryan said and took a sip from his glass before setting it back on the table. Marie seemed skeptical, but she kept quiet, holding her glass in her hands and waiting. “I don’t have to tell you this is private.” Ryan shifted in his chair. “When I met Dante in the bar, we flirted back and forth and it was nice. But….” Ryan reached for his glass again, figuring he might as well keep it close. “There was this feeling in the pit of my stomach, an excitement and flutter I haven’t felt in years. It’s hard to explain, but it was definitely there.”

“I don’t understand what that means,” Marie said.

“I know, and it’s hard to explain, but it meant that there was something Dante needed from me, something I could give him. I should have simply walked away, but the pull was too strong.”

“You’ve lost me,” Marie said, clearly intrigued, because her gaze never left Ryan for a second.

“It’s hard to describe to someone who doesn’t feel it, but in the bedroom, I’m the one in control, and what I felt from Dante was that he needed someone to be in control for a while.” Ryan gulped from his glass, waiting for Marie’s reaction. He expected surprise, horror, or maybe a snort of derision, but what he got were chuckles.

“I do understand.” Marie leaned closer. “You and I have more in common than we thought.” She took another sip from her glass, and it was Ryan’s turned to be surprised. “So were you able to give him what he needed?”

“Yes, and the thing is, I don’t think I’ve ever been as in tune with another human being like I was with him. I knew, deep down, what he needed.” Excitement filled Ryan that he could talk to someone he trusted.

“Were you able to push his limits?” Marie asked.

Ryan shook his head. “It wasn’t like that.” Ryan paused and thought how he was going to explain without going farther than he wanted to. “He didn’t need me to push his limits. What he needed was someone else to be in control. So I deprived him of some of his senses and allowed him to just feel with the others. It was sensual, hot, and incredibly erotic.” Ryan moved to the edge of his chair. “You know that moment when your partner becomes transcendent?”

Marie nodded and sipped from her glass. “It’s what we always want.”

“I know I had him there more than once. And how many times does that happen the first time you’re with someone?” Ryan asked, and Marie thought for a minute and then shrugged. “It’s rare, right?”

“Very,” Marie answered. “In books it comes off perfect the first time; in real life, almost never.”

“It was perfect, and I think that scared him.”

“If you didn’t hurt him and he had an experience to remember, why would it scare him? If anything, it should build trust.” Marie finished her wine and half filled her glass again.

“Because he’s a bull-riding cowboy who should always be strong and in control of everything,” Ryan said with a touch of sarcasm. “And his ego couldn’t stand having someone else in charge. Oh, he could take it and love it while I was driving him out of his mind, but once the lust, passion, and everything else that flew him to the moon were gone, he started to think, and fear took over.”

“They love it while you’re with them, and then they’re ashamed of you and themselves once it’s over,” Marie said as she nodded.

Ryan set his glass on the table and took the one from her hands as well, setting it next to his. Then he gently held her hands. “When he came, I could swear there were tears on his cheeks.” Ryan swallowed around the lump in his throat as he remembered wiping the wetness from Dante’s cheek with his thumb. “And I can’t stop thinking about him.”

Marie held his hand in her dainty ones. “If you want my opinion, you need to sleep on it and get some distance. I mean, it isn’t likely that Dante is going to be calling or suddenly show up at your door, so you need to move on.”

“I know, and thanks,” Ryan said before kissing her cheek. Then he handed her back her glass and sat back in his chair. “So I have to know, should I be picturing you in leather with a whip?” Ryan grinned, and Marie leaned forward in her chair.

“Only if you want me to use it on you,” she said seriously. Ryan swallowed, and she burst into laughter. “I’m hardly so cliché.” Ryan laughed as well, and they sat together and finished their wine, shifting the conversation to other topics. Marie switched to juice because she was driving, and they talked for much of the evening. Once she left, Ryan cleaned up and then got ready for bed, hoping like hell he could put Dante Rivers out of his mind.

No such luck.

A
COUPLE
weeks later, Marie strode into Ryan’s office and closed the door. “Where were you?” she asked as she sank into one of his chairs. Instead of going it alone in a tough business, he and Marie had formed a team years earlier, and that team worked together to bring in new clients, manage their existing clients’ accounts, and provide portfolio and risk-management services. Ryan and Marie were the senior members of the team. “For the past two weeks, whenever we’re in a meeting and it slows down, you seem to take a trip somewhere.”

“Sorry,” Ryan said, looking away from the ticker symbols that streamed across the bottom of his computer screen.

“Are you still thinking about him?” she asked, and Ryan nodded. “You have to stop. It was only one night.”

“I know. But how do I turn my mind off? Or my—” He was about to say heart, but that would sound way too corny.

“I know. It’s happened to me once or twice,” Marie admitted. “I thought once that I had a real connection with a guy I’d been dating for a few weeks. He was successful and kind. He was also a real submissive and we got along great. That is, until I ran into the bastard and his wife at a party.”

“He was married? God,” Ryan said.

“It gets worse. He lorded over his wife and didn’t let her out of his sight. He controlled everything she did, and yet came to me to be dominated. It was bizarre, and it hurt that he’d lied to me.”

“What did you do?” Ryan asked. He knew there was no way Marie was going to take something like that lying down.

“I followed his wife to the ladies room and explained to her just what it was her husband liked. I gave her details, and lots of them. The poor woman was shocked as hell at first, but I told her everything.” Marie grinned. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a person go from mouse to lioness so fast in my life. The last I saw of them, she was dragging him from the party by his balls.” The office was surrounded by glass, and Marie glanced out to see who might be watching. “It hurt like hell, because I’d really come to care for the bastard, but it all worked out in the end. She left her husband, and I found the best administrative assistant ever.” Marie stood up. “So things work out in the end, and if you say a word to anyone, I’ll be leading
you
around the office by your balls.”

Ryan held up his hands. “I wouldn’t dream of it, but now I can never look Anne in the eyes again,” he said, shivering slightly. He also made a mental note never to cross Marie under any circumstances. “Was that all you came in for?”

“No, actually. I got a call from an elderly man who lives in Hollister, about an hour or so from here. He was given my name, but he’s looking for some help with real estate and converting some older investments. You’re a hell of a lot better at those things than I am, and I thought if you have the time, you could call him and arrange to meet. I asked if he could come into the office, but he said he doesn’t get around very well anymore.” Marie handed him a sheet of paper with the contact information. “His name’s Hyram Murphy, and he seems like an absolute sweetheart.”

“I’ll give him a call,” Ryan said.

Marie stood up to go, but paused before opening the door. “By the way, if this guy you keep thinking about is scared enough of his own feelings to run out after having completely mind-blowing sex, he probably isn’t worth spending your time on. Because even if you do meet him again, you’ll only end up disappointed and brokenhearted. Mark my words. You’ll be so much better off moving on and finding someone else. Trust me.” Marie left the office, and Ryan stared down at the notecard with Hyram’s phone number on it. She was right: he needed to get over it.

Ryan picked up the phone and dialed the number while opening the call-log screen on the computer so he could make notes. When a man answered the phone, Ryan said, “Good morning, Mr. Murphy, this is Ryan Abbott from Earl, Gordo, and Weller. You called my partner, Marie Warner, about some help with your real estate and investments.”

“You boys work fast. I talked to her this morning, and she said she would have someone with the right experience call me. I guess that’s you.”

Ryan smiled. “Yes, that’s me. When would be a good time that I could meet with you?” Ryan was already pulling up his calendar.

“The sooner the better, young man,” Mr. Murphy said and then paused before adding in a softer voice, “I’m not long for this world and I want to make sure I have all my affairs in order.” Ryan heard him begin to cough, then move the phone away. Ryan waited for him to catch his breath. “Can you come this evening? I can see you right after feeding time. Say, seven?”

Ryan checked his calendar. He’d been hoping to have one evening free where he didn’t have a client dinner or some evening meeting, but it couldn’t be helped. “I can be there. Marie gave me your address. It looks to be a little over an hour from where I’m at, so please bear with me if I get stuck in traffic.”

“No problem, young man. I’ll be waiting,” Mr. Murphy said and then hung up. Ryan finished recording his notes on the call and saved them. One thing that had been drilled into him early in his career was to record everything. It was required, and it meant he could provide answers if the Security and Exchange Commission came calling.

Ryan checked for any messages that might have come in while he was on the phone before calling clients to check in and then leaving the office for a lunch appointment. After he got back, he spent the rest of the day on the phone, the calls only letting up once the markets had closed.

Ryan left the office about five thirty and went through a drive-through on his way out of town toward his appointment with Mr. Murphy. He hated to be late for anything, especially a client meeting, and he had no real idea how long it would take to get where he was going.

The city fell away behind him, and some of Ryan’s nervous energy went with it. Yes, he was meeting a client, but it was evening, and as he drove, the terrain around him became more and more rural, grass and rangeland stretching out in front of him. Housing developments and strip malls gave way to individual homes and then ranch houses surrounded by land, fences, and cattle. He probably should have asked Mr. Murphy just what kind of real estate and investments he was talking about, but it was too late now. His GPS continued giving him directions, and he got farther and farther from the city. After a while, he began to wonder if he was in the right area, but the GPS voice kept directing him, and he followed it, eventually turning down a long drive that led to a neat, well-maintained ranch house. As he parked, the front door opened and an old man slowly stepped out onto the porch.

“You must be Mr. Murphy,” Ryan said as he closed the car door and climbed the few steps. He shook the white-haired man’s hand. “I’m Ryan Abbott, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Good to meet you too, Mr. Abbott.”

“Please call me Ryan,” he said as he took the porch chair Mr. Murphy indicated.

“And you can call me Hy,” Mr. Murphy said as he settled into one of the other chairs. “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, and a friend of mine met your Marie at a shindig and pointed me in her direction. You see,” Hy said, indicating the land around him, “this here ranch has been in the family for generations.”

“And you want to keep it in the family?” Ryan said, but Hy shook his head.