Gypsy Beach (13 page)

“You have insanely bad timing, my friend.” He
cleared the sleep from his throat as he answered John’s call.

Sienna grinned but hadn’t yet opened her
eyes. Ryan tucked the phone between his shoulder and face. He
indulged himself in a thorough exploration of her hip and then slid
his hand up her waist until he cupped her right breast, making her
nipples awaken and bead against his palm. She wiggled her ass
against him, and he did his best to turn his groan into a
convincing cough.

“Okay, what are you doing that makes you
sound all happy? The past two years every time I call you sound
like you’re walking the plank at gunpoint. Now, you sound damn near
elated? What the hell?”

Ryan couldn’t help but laugh. “You don’t
worry about what I’m doing. Just tell me why you’re calling me at
five-thirty in the morning.”

“Well, you might consider this good news. I’m
not really sure. For your custody case, it’s fantastic, but it’s
probably about to piss you off, too.”

Ryan squeezed his temples and sighed. “What
the fuck has she done now?” Sienna yawned and sat up. She rubbed
her eyes and stared at him in confusion. Her hair was mussed and
tangled. Her cheeks were flushed and her body smooth from her
slumber.

His breaths labored. Sienna, in her natural
state, was one of the most beautiful things he’d ever seen. He
qualified it right under the way her face contorted and her body
trembled when he brought her to climax.

“Evie is here at my condo.”

So caught up in the intoxicating beauty that
he’d had the pleasure of sleeping with, it took Ryan a split second
to understand John’s words.

“What?!”

“Yup. Queen Alexa dropped her off at five.
Poor kid. She’s asleep on my couch. Alexa is a bitch of epic
proportion — not that you don’t know that, but this is really good
for you.”

“How exactly?” Panic dissolved any thoughts
of languidly awakening with Sienna, making her a cup of coffee, and
then seeing if he could work her into another love-making session
before they spent the day figuring out all that life had heaved on
them as of late.

“Hey, just be thankful that I did get enough
sleep to remember to make her sign the document saying that she’s
forfeiting her two-weeks of this month in the temporary custody
agreement and giving them to you. Evie is yours for the next month,
and dumping her here is not going to look good for her at the
hearing. She’s not an idiot, though. She did happen to leave her
with the one guy that can’t testify on your behalf since I am your
legal counsel.”

Ryan’s molars began to ache from the fierce
clench of his jaw. He glanced at Sienna. Nothing like baptism by
fire. If he could talk her into it, she was going to get to meet
Evie that afternoon instead of in a few weeks when they’d settled
in a little more.

“Where did Alexa go?” How something so sweet
had come out of someone so vile still stupefied Ryan. His baby girl
was nothing like her mother, and he would see to it that Alexa
never got the chance to poison her mind.

“Oh, you won’t believe this,” John
huffed.

“Try me.” Ryan rolled his eyes. There was
very little that he wouldn’t believe when it came to Alexa.

“New boyfriend whisked her off to Paris for
the next two weeks. This won’t exactly stand up in court, but I
went through her purse while she was in the bathroom. I took
pictures of the plane tickets. I plan to ask her about her
whereabouts on the stands.”

Squeezing his eyes shut, he debated exactly
how to proceed.

“You know I love Evie Grace, and I’d do
anything for you, man, but you gotta come get her. It took me ten
minutes to figure out which doll was Elsa. She was crying. It was
horrible.”

Ryan’s heart ached. “I’m on my way, John.
Tell her I’ll be there as fast as I can. Just let me find some
coffee and something to eat on the way. I have a situation here I
want you to look over anyway.”

He ended the call and met Sienna’s frightened
expression. Certain that sleeping with her and then telling her
that he was leaving for Atlanta would bring back every horrible
moment he knew he’d put her through, he drew her back into his
arms.

“I need you not to freak out, okay?”

“You said you’d be there as fast as you
could. Who were you talking to?”

“That was John. Sienna, would you mind coming
back to Atlanta with me today? Please. Just for a few minutes, then
we’ll head back here. I’m not leaving you again, but I have to go
back.”

Her body tensed against his, but he was
prepared this time. Her first instinct was always going to be to
fly. He just had to keep her grounded for a little while
longer.

“I’ll explain everything on the way. Just
please say you’ll come with me. There’s someone I really want you
to meet, and we can talk to John about Roby’s claims.”

Sienna ordered her mind to think logically.
This was not like it was ten years ago. He wanted her to come with
him this time. Talking to John about Roby would be the right thing
to do. Running away wasn’t. She knew that. She’d learned that
lesson over and over again. Trying to locate calm, she drew a deep
breath. Her lungs filled with his scent. Sexy Southern pine and
that musk that somehow made her feel like everything really was
going to be okay.

If he was going back to Atlanta, then she was
going to go, too. With a silent prayer that she wouldn’t have to
see his horrible mother, she swallowed and opened her eyes. “Okay,
I’ll go, if you’re sure you want me to.”

Relief eased the fierce set of his muscles.
“Thank you. I do want you to. I need to tell you why I never showed
back here after school. I need to tell you what happened. I’m not
walking away this time, Sienna, but there are a few major
complications that we need to talk about.”

She didn’t like the way
major
complications
sounded at all, but she’d just agreed to go so
she extracted herself from the bed and tried to figure out what to
do next. Glancing down at her body, she decided clothing would be
an excellent first step. As sexy as she’d thought it was the
evening before, Ryan having ripped the pocket out of her jeans now
posed a bit of a problem.

She held up the tattered denim. She could
patch the back pocket, but not here and not now. It sounded like
whatever was in Atlanta required Ryan’s attention immediately.

He stood beside her. His tense frown had
given way to a slightly cocky grin. He hugged her to him again.
“You can borrow a pair of my sweats, but they’re gonna be huge on
you. I’m driving you home so you can wear those and I’ll get you
inside the Inn without anyone else seeing that sexy ass that I’ve
decided is all mine.”

“Oh, have you?” she drawled.

That possessive look in his eyes made her
entire body shiver. Heat blossomed from her womb. Her nipples
pebbled, though she’d ordered them not to. Her clit twitched in an
imploring, hopeful plea to regain the level of attention he’d given
it the evening before. She very much liked the sound of being
all his
.

His thumbs circled the rosy tips of her
breasts. “Yes, ma’am, I have, and if what I have to go to Atlanta
to pick up was anything else, I’d take you back to bed, have you
all over again, and tell Atlanta to fuck off.”

With a hint of reckless abandon that made her
vibrate in need, he leaned and kissed her again. His arms left her
breasts to draw her back in as his tongue made gentle exploration
of her mouth. His kisses had always been so soft they made her feel
loved and so predatory that they made her weak in the knees.

Whatever he was going to tell her on the way
to Atlanta, she hoped against hope that it would grant her some
kind of magic wand that would erase the hurt she’d endured. She
wanted so badly to forget that part of her life. She wanted a new
life with him. That was all she’d ever wanted. She didn’t want to
run anymore.

Having lived with Alexa for far too many
years, Ryan was stunned when Sienna took approximately ten minutes
to wash up, brush her teeth and hair, throw on long, billowing
sundress, add a half dozen bracelets and necklaces, and declare
herself ready to go.

“Uh, wow.” He’d settled in prepared to wait
endlessly. He’d been given the perfect woman when he was seventeen
years old. How the heck had he fucked up and lost her? Everything
he rediscovered made him love her all the more. “You look
beautiful.”

She wrinkled her nose and looked down at her
sleeveless dress. She touched her bare shoulders and then ran her
hands down the dress to smooth it. “Really? My mom always says this
dress makes my ass look even bigger, but it’s so comfortable, and
it’s a long way to Atlanta.”

“Your ass drives me wild, Sienna. Now, let’s
go before I get too hung up thinking about it and make it
impossible for me to walk or drive.”

Her cheeks colored, and he was rewarded with
another one of those intoxicating giggles. She may not require much
time to get ready, but he did know of a few things that Sienna
Cooper needed to make it through the day.

“Let’s get some coffee and breakfast at
Montgomery’s before we go.” He opened the passenger side door for
her and helped her in.

“Are you sure we have time? I would really
love some coffee.”

“Yeah, we’ll just be quick.”

Mac Montgomery glared at the man dressed in a
cheap suit grilling him for information on Ryan McNamara. It
wouldn’t have been more obvious what this guy did for a living if
he’d worn a sign around his neck that said ‘Private
Investigator’.

“Look, I don’t know where you got your facts
from Mr…”

“Nesbitt,” the man supplied.

“Um hmm, well, Nesbitt, the McNamaras did own
a big mansion on the beach several years ago, but it wasn’t here.
It was way down in Hilton Head. That’s where all the money goes.
McNamaras wouldn’t have bought up here. This is cheap Gypsy land.
Why do you think they call it Gypsy Beach?”

Nesbitt nodded what Mac hoped was agreement.
“You said their place is in Hilton Head?”

“Now, I’m not directly sure, see. You know
they got into some financial trouble a while ago, and seems to me
they sold their big ole’ house and the oceanfront right away.”

“Yes, that’s what I assumed as well. I’m just
trying to make certain that my client gets everything she’s owed in
the divorce, you understand.”

Mac fought not to roll his eyes. “Well, if I
was you, I’d either head on back to Atlanta or go down to Hilton
Head and check it out, but there aren’t any McNamaras here on Gypsy
Beach, like I said.”

Nesbitt checked his watch. “Yeah, I haven’t
come up with anything in the past few weeks. I think this case is
about dry. Thanks for your help. I’m heading to Charlotte for
another client now.”

“Well, have a nice trip.” Mac edged the man
closer to the door. He breathed a sigh of relief when the man’s
Mercedes pulled out of the parking lot approximately two minutes
before Ryan’s truck pulled in.

“Well, that was close,” Molly sighed. She and
Mac shared a conspiratorial grin when their eyes landed on the girl
Ryan had his arm around.

“Well, looks like Ruthie might’ve done her
due in the magic making and the love giving departments.”

“Ryan and Sienna were meant to be. I don’t
care what his mama or any investigator thinks, and I intend to work
a little magic of my own,” Molly decreed.

“Gypsy blood runs deep.” Mac winked at her
just as Ryan opened the door and escorted Sienna inside.

After a mildly odd breakfast, where the
Montgomerys insisted that they sit in a hidden away corner of the
restaurant behind a six-foot stack of foam boogie boards, Ryan and
Sienna were on their way.

“Were Mac and Molly trying to hide us?”
Sienna quizzed as she settled into the truck seat and they headed
out.

“That was very strange.” Ryan shifted the
truck into drive and pulled out of the gravel lot. He watched her
sip the large to-go cup of coffee that Molly had generously offered
her at no additional charge.

Neither of them seemed overly anxious to
start the talking portion of the journey. Ryan’s nerves were eating
at him. Finally, she kicked off her sandals, propped her feet up on
his dash, and let the long skirt of the sundress cascade upwards
past her knees. Ryan’s mouth was suddenly drier than the
Sahara.

He’d momentarily forgotten how to speak when
she sighed. “Okay, so just tell me. I’m going crazy, and I think
I’ve had enough coffee to make it through whatever it is you’re
about to say.”

Ryan tried to draw a steadying breath. He
laced her fingers through his and settled in. “All right, but
please know how sorry I am about every single stupid thing I did. I
was an idiot, and I just kept screwing up. I don’t blame you if you
hate me, but Sienna, I do need you to know that I am now and have
always been in love with you.”

Sienna’s eyes goggled. Wow. The “L” word. No
hesitation. She hadn’t used that word in ten years. She hadn’t felt
the emotion for the same length of time. “I kind of think I might
need to wait until the end of this story to tell you that
again.”

A deep, wounded pain etched his chiseled
face. “Yeah, I get that.” He choked and then blew out a long drawn
breath. “Might as well start at the beginning, I guess.” Ryan
continued to put off the inevitable.
Stop being a coward
.
“Okay, so you remember how bad I sucked at school? I barely passed
much of anything except Shop.”

Sienna nodded. She did recall him getting
into trouble over his grades. She just didn’t know what that had to
do with her.

“And you know that my parents kind of had my
life all planned out from the moment I was born. I never really had
much say. I think the ballsiest thing I ever did was quit the track
team without their permission. Anytime I tried to do anything that
wasn’t exactly what they wanted, they threatened to take my car,
privileges, anything involving money of any kind. They lorded it
over me, and I guess I just went along with it. It was easier that
way.”