Invisibility Cloak (26 page)

Amanda reached for his belt buckle on his pants and this time, it was Ryder who moaned.

He hissed out a swift breath when his fingers roamed around her skin underneath her dress and found only her soft skin. He pressed harder against her on the bed. “Amanda, I need you,” he said unevenly in between planting kisses on her throat.

All she could do was nod as his hand found her welcoming and ready under the silkiness of her dress.

He kneed her legs open and gave her a lop-sided grin. “I need to get rid of some things, first.”

Jumping up from the bed, his unfastened pants slid down his hips while he unbuttoned his shirt. Greedily taking in his body as he undressed, her insides coiled with desire and she grinned back at him.

He pulled one arm out of his shirt.

DING DONG. DING DONG. DING DONG.

Both of their eyes previously hot with passion, instantly widened in surprise.

No!

DING DONG. DING DONG. DING DONG.

“Damn it!” He growled, “I’m going to rip that damn thing off its hinges.”

DING DONG. DING DONG. DING DONG.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Amanda groaned and she reached her arms out to him. “Let’s ignore it.”

DING DONG. DING DONG. DING DONG.

Ryder flipped his wrist over. “You aren’t going to believe this.”

DING DONG. DING DONG. DING DONG.

Amanda shook her head. “Don’t tell me, it’s time to go? That’s Jeffrey, isn’t it?”

DING DONG. DING DONG. DING DONG.

He nodded and swore under his breath. “
FUBAR
.”

Amanda wasn’t sure what he said. Fubar?

DING DONG. DING DONG. DING DONG.

Buttoning back up his shirt he told her, “Go get freshened up. I’ll answer the door.” After he got his clothes back on, he pulled her off the bed. “We’ll finish this after the party.” And then he kissed her― hard and possessively―before he stalked down the stairs.

“Oh wait―” she softly called out to him, but he was already opening the front door. “What does
fubar
mean?”

Hearing Jeffrey’s voice pushed her into motion and she walked back in to the bathroom. Feeling dazed, she looked at herself in the mirror. Whoa, she looked like a wild woman; hair messed and sticking up around her flushed cheeks. She grinned because it seemed like she always looked and felt like this around him. Sighing Ryder’s name she attacked her hair with a brush. While she stuck the barrette back in, she listened to him and Jeffrey.

“Stevenson?” She heard Jeffrey Smeth say, “What are you doing here? Where’s Amanda?”

Chapter 15

“J
effrey.” Ryder shook his hand and stepped aside so Smeth could enter Amanda’s house, even though he seethed on the inside. Something was off with this guy, but he didn’t know what
, yet
. His instincts had never steered him wrong and this guy smelled bad from the get go.

Smeth spun around on his well-polished heels and scanned the interior of her house before asking, “Where is Amanda?”

“She’s upstairs. She’ll be down in a minute.”

“So, what are you doing here?”

“Aiding Ms. Harris in the installation of a new security system.” Ryder grimaced.
Well, that wasn’t a total lie.
He was going to get her the right security system installed and soon. No way was he going to let on to this jack-off he was here because he was interested in Amanda as a woman. Period. “Didn’t Sophia mention that?” Two can play at this game Ryder said to himself.
Asshole.
“Want a beer while we wait for her?”

Jeffrey took a step back and glared at him. “We? I thought you were taking Sophia to the Club tonight.”

“I am.” Ryder straightened his tie. “I just thought we could drive together, since we’re heading in the same direction.”

Smeth stuck his nose up in the air. “No. I don’t think so.”

“You sure? I’ll even drive.” He prodded him. “You can save on some gas.”

Jeffrey shook his head. “No. I’ll drive Amanda myself.”

Soft feet treading down the stairs directed both men’s eyes to Amanda as she slowly walked down the staircase.

Ryder’s breath got lodged in his throat.
Damn
. Even though the dress was simply cut, she looked beautiful as she floated down. The sapphire blue gown hugged her body like a second skin. The shimmery fabric narrowed to a deep V only enhancing her breasts before it hugged her slight, luscious curves all the way to the floor. Ryder’s head got hot when he remembered touching her earlier and knowing someone else would be taking her to this freakin’ dinner dance.

He suppressed his need to howl. Barely.

“Amanda,” Jeffrey stepped toward her. “You look lovely. Are you ready to go?”

“Yes” Amanda slipped her hand into the palm that Jeffrey held out. Her unique silver bracelet glittered under the lights before Smeth pulled her closer.

“Ryder, are you ready to go?” She turned and asked him.
He
put that flush on her cheeks and damned if he didn’t want to just stay here and explore what she had underneath that blue dress.

Oh yeah . . .
nothing
was on underneath her dainty little number. His head buzzed and wasn’t sure if it was because he knew that little fact or he didn’t want Amanda near Smeth. Let alone touching him
.
Dark thoughts flooded his head.

Stand down
. It would be wrong to tear the guy’s head off just because he was . . . Just exactly what was he? Was this jealousy? He’d never experienced this before and he didn’t like it. His eyes jumped to Smeth’s smug little grin and all that did was amp up his anger and he fisted both hands by his sides.

Stand down.

Fury reared up in his chest and he needed to cap it off.

He grunted. “Yep.” Looking into her house he knew he needed a distraction, before he hit the guy. “Let me just shut off some of those lights.” Walking deeper into her home, he shut off various lamps and overhead lights left on from earlier. As soon as he walked out of the family room, the front door slammed shut.

He ground his teeth together and sailed through the lower level, slamming down the wall switches and jumping at the lamps to turn them off. When he ended up in the kitchen, he decided to leave the light fixture over the table on, so when they got home tonight, they could see. Opening up the garage door, he saw Smeth’s BMW hauling it down the street.

Jeffrey.
He bit down on his back molars. What an asshole. After he closed up Amanda’s house, he hustled it to Edgington’s house. After all, he knew she could be downright mean if you were late picking her up. And he had enough shit going on that he didn’t want to deal with that.

As soon as his headlights pulled into her house, his body shuddered. Her silhouette was plastered against the front door and he immediately flipped his wrist over to check the time. Ready to let a few choice words out―but low and behold―he was five
fricken’
minutes
early
. Sophia had absolutely no reason to get all pissy.

“FUBAR,
”
he grumbled to himself
.
This evening was going to be hard enough watching Amanda with Smeth, and he certainly did not want cat-scratching Sophia on his ass.

At least they maintained pleasant small talk for the short drive they had to the Harbor Falls Country Club. This area surrounding the country club for the rich seemed vaguely familiar to him. Drug bust? Cheating spouse nailed around here?
Hmm, what was it?

It was nearing twilight when Ryder pulled into country club entrance road. Lush velvet mesquite trees were planted on either side of the winding road intermingled with willow trees. In-ground lights illuminated the path that they drove on for about two miles until the Club came into view.

A huge water fountain surrounded by immaculate landscaping bordered in front of the clubhouse. Beyond the elaborate cascading water display was the equally elegant Harbor Falls Country Club. The roofline of the entire building looked like it was lined in white neon. But as they neared the entrance and onto the circular drive that led to the clubhouse, he realized the roof was outlined with small white lights that glistened. Additional lighting was scattered about the well-kept brick veneer that highlighted the beautifully manicured grounds.

Impressive.

He hadn’t been around this area in years. “Very nice place, Mrs. Edgington,” he said as he pulled up to an expectantly waiting valet.

“Yes, it is nice, isn’t it?” Sophia murmured before she stepped out of the passenger door that a red uniformed man opened for her.

He was already out of the car, pressing his car keys, along with a twenty-dollar bill into another young man’s palm. “Take care of her, she’s all I’ve got.” Ryder drawled to the valet.

“Yes, sir!”

When he walked over to Sophia, she slipped her hand through his arm. “Did I tell you how handsome you look tonight, Ryder?”

“Yes, but I’ll welcome as many compliments as you want to give me.” He stood still and took in the majestic views of the mountains that rose up behind the country club grounds. Healthy towering palm trees were spaced on the outside perimeter as if standing guard. Two more fountains spritzing out gushes of water were on either side of the main building. It was a scenic backdrop. But this area, seemed damned familiar. He pulled down his brows. Years ago, he was pretty sure it was a wasteland. Didn’t he take down a few members of the cartel around here? Ryder shook his head to get rid of those thoughts and gave Sophia a compliment instead.

“You look very pretty tonight too, Sophia.” Her sleek dark gray glitter gown reflected light whenever she moved and was deeply cut in the front and met at her waist. Sophia’s breasts were loosely secured behind her gown and they jiggled a lot. Her blond hair was pulled up in a sleek ponytail. Her eyes slanted slightly by the tight pull of her hair and he took a closer look. Her eyes looked almost black, because her pupils looked dilated. Did she have brown eyes? He’d never really noticed before, but for some reason, he’d always thought she was blue-eyed.

She licked her gums. “What I’d really like to do, Ryder is show you how good you look to me. Alone.” Her red lacquered nail touched her nose. “What do you say, handsome?”

No way. No how.

He cleared his throat and led her to the two huge glass doors that were lit up. Couples swarmed inside the vestibule. “How about a drink, first?” He pulled open the door. “We have people expecting us, don’t we?”

She rubbed her body against his side. “I could always think up an excuse.”

He lifted his arm up and waved to Roger and Mimi Carlyle. Mimi saw him and ignored his gesture, but that wasn’t going to stop him. “Hey, there are the Carlyles. I thought you said you wanted to introduce me to some people.”

“I can always do that later,” Sophia purred as her hands slid to his back. She gripped his back hard and her nails dug into his ass. He grabbed the hand that clawed him and set her in front of him as he navigated through the lobby furniture to the bar. He needed a whiskey.

Now.

He turned into the bar and sat down on a stool.

“Sophia,” a low voice said behind them. “How are you?”

Ryder turned to see a gray-haired man cup Sophia’s hands inside his own.

Sophia’s eyes went wide.
Sophia Edgington looked hesitant?

This was a first, Ryder had never witnessed her this tense before. “Sophia, what can I get you?”

Sophia looked over at Ryder and then back at the elderly man. “Martini.”

Ryder got up from the stool. “You got it.” He nodded at the man that held her hand tightly. “Ryder Stevenson.” Ryder held out his hand. “Can I get anything for you, sir?”

“Stevenson . . . Yes, I’ve heard your name before.” Pulling his right hand from Sophia’s the man gripped his hand in a greeting. “General Holmes. Nice to meet you, Stevenson.”

“Likewise, General Holmes.”

“Scotch. Please―scotch and soda.”

“Absolutely, I’ll be right back.”

As Ryder turned to the bartender, he overheard General Holmes ask Sophia quietly, “Well?”

His intrigue was piqued until he saw a swirl of light blue move beyond the bartender in the back of the room. Was that Amanda? Lifting his gaze over the bar, it looked like Smeth had her out on the back patio. As soon as the general’s scotch and Sophia’s martini were ready, he pressed their drinks into their hands. Turning back to the bartender, he ordered a shot of Jack for himself, swigged it down and headed for the rear of the club.

“Ryder, where are you going?” Sophia asked.

Sophia, I’m not done talking to you, yet,” General Holmes announced following her.

“General, please give me a few minutes,” she huffed out, walking away from the elderly man to follow Ryder.

“Come on, I want to see the back of this place.”

“Oh, okay.” Sophia cooed, “It’s really romantic out back.”

Yep, there she was. Amanda. She stood by Smeth in her light blue gown. It fit her like a glove and he clenched his jaw.

Oh yeah, it was because she had nothing on underneath the dress.
Damn woman drove him crazy. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. The soft blue material hugged her body before it narrowed down to her waist. But unlike Sophia’s dress, it didn’t display her assets for everyone to see. Instead it let your imagination go wild. The sleek material hugged her breasts and showcased some nice cleavage, and that’s where it ended. Her arms were bare and the dress molded her trim waist and hips, until it flared softly against her legs in feminine cascading tiers. Ryder groaned. What was wrong with him? He’d never looked at a woman like this before.

Hell
.

Two legs, two arms with all the needed feminine parts sandwiched in the middle and he was good to go. He looked around the back of the country club. No one else had better be checking her out as well or else he’d . . .

He’d do what? He pinched the bridge of his nose. He needed to get a hold of himself.

Numerous seating and chairs were scattered around big ceramic fire pits. Palm trees bordered the back of the property and further out were the mountains. It was a beautiful evening.

“Ryder.” Sophia brushed up next to him. His eyes narrowed as Smeth edged Amanda out further onto the grounds.

He grabbed Sophia’s free hand. “Let’s go explore the grounds back here.”

“Oh, okay,” Sophia murmured as he dragged her behind him. Silently stalking Amanda and Smeth, he noticed two more fountains against the mountainous backdrop until Sophia pulled on him to stop.

“Um Ryder, it should be almost time to eat.” Sophia wrapped her hands around his waist when he stopped to see what she wanted. “Unless of course you want to leave . . .”

God, no.
“What?” He turned to her. “And miss all this good food?”

“Well, I for one have to use the powder room before I eat.”

“Do you want me to walk you back?”

“No, no.” She said, “How about I meet you inside?”

Ryder looked beyond and over her head and nodded. Just where in the hell was Smeth taking Amanda? Jeffrey angled her toward the last fountain on the property. Assessing the situation, he noticed that the parking structures were on the left and mountains were straight ahead. Palm trees guarded the right of what looked like residential properties colliding into the country club development. Turning sharply, he watched Sophia going back through the glass patio doors before he turned back to Amanda and Smeth. Silently catching up behind them, he hid himself in the trees.