Stranger Mine: a Base Branch novel (16 page)

“Whether this lasts another minute, day, or decades, I’ll love you forever.”

The weight of his chest pushed her into the mattress. His palms caressed a path to her hands. He wound his fingers with hers and squeezed, cuddling her with his entire torso. The security blanketing her in that moment topped it all.

When he released her he straightened as much as the bunk would allow and gripped her hips. With his effort they lifted off the bed, plumping her ass in the air and setting her onto her knees. She rose to her elbows and braced her quaking body with two fists full of sheet.

The broad head of his cock grazed her supple rose, coating it with the evidence of his raging need. Without another word or further play, Ryan pressed inside the barest of an inch. Piper’s body screamed in rejection. The sting and strain bore down even as his hips stilled.

“Relax, sweet, and when you’re ready push against me.” He soothed her thighs and cheeks with whisper light strokes of his hands. “If you need it, use your word.”

It wasn’t pride that stopped her from hollering, but a soul-deep need to possess him as he possessed her. To feel the strange and mind shattering release his fingers wrought. Piper let go of her fear, loosened her muscles, and put her trust in Ryan’s decisive hands. The pain faded and in its place a bone deep tingle spread.

He gathered her hair from her back, swirled it into a ponytail, and tugged. Her neck arched with the haul. The whole of her scalp became an erogenous zone, coursing a wave of hunger all the way to her toes. “Yes.” She pushed against his head and accepted another inch. “Oh God.”

Ryan’s hands continued to alternate toying with her nipple and drawing on her hair. Sensations stacked one atop the other. Palms now spread wide on the white sheet, she pressed back again.

This time he groaned. “Oh. Piper. Fucking sweet, Piper.”

His words whipped her into a frenzy. She bowed deeper, taking him to the base. Sensations reeled and her insides melted into a puddle of want. Ryan moaned as he pulled out the tip and slipped more easily home. Her clit thrummed with excitement.

“Piper, I’m not going to last very long. You’re killing me. God. The curve of your hips. The sway of your back. Fuck.” His hips rocked.

The brunt of his power and wide head rammed into her with each thrust. Ryan abandoned her hair. One hand clamped onto her hip while the other slid around front. He gathered her desire and slicked her aching bud, circling it like a man possessed. The rhythm rose higher and higher. One more battering stroke and she exploded like the detonations at the compound. Her eyes clamped against the brilliant light. She flew through the air, screaming her release to all of Mexico.

“Fuck. Piper. Oh.” Ryan rode out the rest of his orgasm in silence, but his muscles yelled for him, contracting in tight bands all around her and pulsing inside.

Breath by ragged breath they returned from the insane high together. He pulled from her and it was as if he’d given her legs permission to give out. They quivered as though she’d done PT for two solid days. And, in a way, she had. Ryan eased her down and flipped her to face him.

There were no words. He simply kissed her lips, and then lay next to her. With a flick of his wrist he rolled her on top of him, pillowed her head against his chest, entwined their legs, wrapped his arms around her, and sighed. And she felt the same way. Piper hugged the breadth of the man beneath her and passed out.

A
noise barged
in on Piper’s slumber. She snuggled her face into the warmth and tickle-soft hair of Ryan’s chest only to have her world tilted on its axis. Her lids flew open wide and she bolted upright. Ryan knelt proposal style on the floor and leveled the gun at the bunkhouse door. Her heart shot off like a rocket as she struggled to orient to the unusual surroundings and even crazier situation.

How could she help? Were Matthew or the Varrera family hurt? How many were there?

Before a single question was answered the door swung wide. Manuel and Matthew stepped into the threshold. “Let’s go, lazy…” Matthew’s gazed jumped between her, Ryan, and the gun. His hand clamped over the young boy’s eyes as Manuel announced, “Lunch is ready and Momma won’t let me eat without our guests.”

Ryan set the gun down while Piper searched for the damn sheet. The freaking thing hung off the end of the tiny bed. She lunged for the pillow instead.

“You can cover your own eyes too, Reece,” Ryan growled.

“Oh, sorry.” By the time she covered all the important parts, her brother-in-law had averted his gaze. “Hey, we’re not blood and I’m a guy. She’s…never mind. Sorry.” He walked them backward out of the door and fumbled for the handle. “Lunch is ready, whenever you guys are.”

“Thanks,” Piper squeaked.

“We’ll be there in ten,” Ryan said, more confidence in his voice. When the door closed he fell onto the bed. A deep rumble of laughter vibrated the mattress. Those teeth gleamed as bright white as the sheet and his dimples hollowed.

Piper reared back and smacked him in the belly with the fluffy pillow. Damn the man, but he only laughed harder.

“Okay, could it have gotten any more awkward. I mean, Manuel is what? Ten years old? And my brother-in-law. Ugh!”

“Hey,” he said, struggling for a straight face. “At least I wasn’t balls deep.”

That was it. She buried her face in her hands and shriek with amusement. Her shoulders shook. Her stomach cramped. Ryan joined her and before long both their faces streaked with tears.

Maybe it was the break in life-and-death tension and emotional Russian-roulette they needed. They each lay naked in the fetal position on the teensy bed, fighting giggle induced stomach cramps. When at last they subsided he pulled her face to his and laid one on her.

“Good morning,” he winked.

“Good afternoon,” she countered.

He stood and scooped her into his arms. “By my estimate, we have nine more minutes before we get another rescue party. Shower with me. I promise not to be naughty.”

“But I don’t.” She smiled.

F
ifteen minutes
and two orgasms later they raced to the house in the only clean pairs of civilian clothes they had left. Piper’s face heated the closer to the house they came.

“Don’t sweat it, sweet. You gave a young boy something to dream about for the next ten years.” Ryan’s grin spread damn near ear to ear.

“Disgusting,” she whispered, slipping through the door he held open.

“Sorry, we probably should have knocked first,” Ryan said by way of greeting to the four people gathered around the dining table.

Gabriella and Matthew blushed. Manuel found an interesting spot on the ceiling. Old man Varrera slapped the table with his leathery hand and giggled. In Spanish he said, “It’s about time these old beds got put to good use.”

The couple at the table blanched. Gabriella hid her face in her napkin, which only made Matthew pale all the more.

“Listen, chica.” At his place at the head of the table, Varrera stood. He used the table as leverage and leaned to his left, grabbing Gabriella’s hand. He removed the thatched hat from his head. When he placed it over his heart the thing crackled like his joints did when he moved. “You love my son. I love my son. But he’s gone and it is a beautiful gift to be able to love another. Don’t squander it on my account or anyone else’s.”

He set the hat over his halo of white hair and shuffled right. “Son, stand and give me your hand.” Matthew stood and placed his big, strong hand in the old man’s well-used one. “If you love her, tell her so, and prove it every day. If you don’t, tell her so as to keep from breaking her heart again. Know that if you hurt her, you won’t have to worry about Guzman, Gabrone, or Izar. I’ll handle you myself. I may be old, but I’m a decent shot.”

Matthew glanced at Piper. She blinked the tears from her eyes and offered him a smile. His gaze hopped to Ryan, and then made the rounds to Manuel and Gabriella for a moment longer than the rest. He smiled at Señor Varrera. He surprised her by speaking Spanish. “I love her, Señor. I’ve told her and I plan to prove it every day. I love Manuel too. And I’m fond of you as well.”

“You love me?” the little boy screeched and jumped from the table. His small feet thundered across the wooden floor. Five feet away he leaped toward Matthew. Her brother-in-law lurched forward, catching the trusting boy in mid-air and pulling him to his chest.

“Of course I love you,” Matthew whispered.

With all the commotion Piper didn't have time to feel awkward. Now that things wound down her wheels began to creak and squeak. She’d told Ryan she loved him, and she did with everything she had. She didn’t say it to get him to respond in kind. Heck, she hadn’t even thought about it until the wise man’s speech. Life was too short to horde your feelings, or worse, not allow the possibility for them to develop in the first place. Well, she’d come a hell of a long way in a short time. She’d allowed Ryan into her heart. She’d said her piece, and she’d be at peace with it. No matter the outcome.

Varrera eyed her and Ryan. “Same advice goes for you two.”

“Sí, Señor.” Ryan looped his index finger around her pinky and lifted it to his mouth.

The old man patted his belly. “Now that the kissy stuff is out of the way, come sit, and we’ll eat.”

Gabriella wiped her eyes and stood. She kissed her father-in-law on the cheek, smiling at Matthew and her son. “One moment and I’ll be back with the food.”

“Please, let me help,” Piper offered.

Her pretty brown gaze widened on Piper and her smile fell. Still, she nodded. “Certainly.”

Ryan released her hand and headed for the table.

As she and Gabriella walked toward the kitchen she heard Matthew. “Red or white?”

Off the dining room stood a gorgeous garden kitchen. Herbs sat in boxes on each of the four windows and houseplants’ vines snaked across the cabinet tops. The bowl at the center of the wood-slab island overflowed with fresh fruits and vegetables. Gee, all Piper had were two dead ferns on her back patio and frozen dinners in the freezer. She hadn’t had anyone to entertain or cook for in a long time. Still didn’t. Not really.

But she’d like to.

Gabriella’s brown waves swished about her shoulders as she hurried around the kitchen, stirring pots and arranging food.

“How can I help?” Piper asked.

The woman set the lid back on the pot and turned to her. She opened her mouth. Closed it. Then covered it with her hand.

“It’s okay, Gabriella. Just say what you’re thinking.”

She batted at more tears. “I’m sorry.” Her palms smoothed over her teal-blue sundress. “I mean, you must hate me. And—”

Piper raised her hand and shook her head. “Quite the opposite actually. You and your family are perfect for Matthew.”

“But he’s still married to your sister.” Gabriella’s hand settled over her bosom. “I’m not okay with that. I don’t see how you would be. But I do love him,” she rushed to add.

A smile etched Piper’s face. “My sister made Matthew suffer miserably for her selfishness. When you betray someone so deeply as to sell the one you supposedly love it makes a marriage no more than a technicality. A piece of paper.” She walked around the island, stopping a few feet away from Gabriella. “I know you love him. And he loves you. I saw it before you were willing to admit it. That’s why it’s okay.”

Gabriella lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Piper’s neck. No question where Manuel learned the art of physical displays of affection. She smelled of dirt and flowers, was as petite as a miniature horse, and hugged like a bear.

“It’s a piece of paper I’d like you to sever for me,” Matthew said from the doorway. He stepped into the room and slid an envelope across the table. His fingers pinched his lips, and then he sighed. “You know you’re always my sister, right?”

“And you’re always my brother.”

Gabriella flagged him over with a hand and shoved Piper at him. “Hug. You two are making me a mess.” The hand that flagged now fanned another gush of tears.

Ryan strode into the kitchen. “All right, enough mushy stuff.” He smiled. “The men are hungry.”

“Yeah, they are,” Matthew agreed. He kissed her hair, and then set her back next to Gabriella. “How can we help?”

His new love’s weep grew to a wail. She covered her mouth with her hand to stem the noise. With her other hand she hugged her arm, until Matthew pulled her into his. Ryan’s brow furrowed. Instead of high-tailing it into the dinning room, he advanced around the island, stopping only a few feet away.

“You know Piper is happy for us. So, what is the matter, Gabriella?” Matt smoothed a hand over her hair and held her close.

“She is, but the Sinaloa won’t be. Guzman and Gabrone are dead, but the Federation still lives. If anything happened to you…” Her head shook. “Izar knows you’re here.” She wept onto his shirt.

At once the men both spoke. “My aim has improved. I can shatter a bottle at a thousand yards. Now—” Matt offered. “They won’t be a problem for you anymore,” Ryan said.

Piper and Gabriella returned the favor by gasping, “What?” at the same time.

Matthew turned to Ryan. “What did you say?”

“By nightfall your records with the Sinaloa Federation will be erased,” he answered her brother. “As will your family’s, Gabriella.”

Joy swirled in the room. The lovers said and showed their appreciation in big hugs. But dread sucked Piper into a vortex with no air. This was it. Why he’d told her to wait until tomorrow. He would leave to handle the cartel and she’d never see him again. It made sense, really. She was safe. He’d made her brother and his new family safe. Now he’d crush her heart. Piper hadn’t lied. She’d love Ryan forever, but damn, she wanted to like him too.

His warm, wet mouth glided over hers. “It’s not my mission, Piper. When it’s time, you and I will leave here together.”

And then what?

She didn’t know, but she wouldn't waste good time borrowing trouble. It would find her soon enough. It always did.

“Ewww. Disgusting.” Manual teetered into the kitchen, carrying three wine glasses.

The old man shuffled behind him, hauling three more and a tall glass of water. “I thought we were done with all this mushy stuff.”

“I’m sorry,” Gabriella offered. She rushed forward to help the men. “What are you doing?”

“Figured since the majority of us were in the kitchen with the food, we’d eat in here,” Varrera answered.

When all the bustle was said and done, the old man and women sat on stools around the island while the younger men stood. Manual’s head scarcely cleared the wooden top, but he managed to eat and not ogle her covered breasts too many times. His head was at an inconvenient height, though.

Near the end of the meal, Ryan filled everyone’s glasses and raised his. “To family and future.”

“And the present too,” Matthew added.