The Pleasure Series: Complete Box Set (90 page)

I looked at Rylan and he shrugged, clearly at a loss about what was going on.

“It's not an excuse, but everything...I love my brother, Jenna.” Suzette glanced at Rylan, but then turned back to me. “He does the whole protective older brother thing, but he needs someone to protect him too.”

Protect him? From me?

“You don't know what it was like when things with Lara...ended.” She was deliberately not looking at Rylan now. “I hated her for hurting Rylan that way. He's my brother,” she repeated fiercely. “My family. And I never wanted to see him hurt like that again.”

Pieces were starting to fall into place. Suzette didn't actually hate me. It wasn't personal. She wasn't done yet though and I kept my eyes on her as she continued.

“Since Lara, he'd never really dated anyone so I didn't worry. Then he met you.” She glanced at Rylan, but his face was blank. “I remembered how he'd been with Lara, what he looked like when he was in love. But when he looked at you...what I'd seen with Lara seemed like nothing, and I knew if you...losing you would kill him.”

My heart gave a painful thump and a flood of guilt went through me at what I'd put him through. Rylan crossed to my side and put his arm around me. I leaned into him and he kissed the top of my head.

“Is there a point to this?” he asked, his tone clearly saying he didn’t appreciate what his sister was saying.

“It's not an excuse, but I just wanted to protect you. That's why I acted the way I did. I wanted things to end before they got too serious.” She had the good grace to look embarrassed. “And then I saw you after she left.” She looked at me. “And I was furious at you for hurting him. Until I realized why you'd done it.” She shook her head. “I was an idiot, Jenna. Can you forgive me?” She looked at Rylan. “And you too. I'm sorry.”

“Forgiven.” I stepped out of Rylan's embrace to put my hand on Suzette's shoulders. “We do crazy things for the people we love.”

He came forward with me and pulled both of us into his arms. Despite everything that had happened, I felt a wave of peace wash over me. There were still things to do, issues to deal with, but for the moment, things were good.

Chapter 30

Once Suzette was convinced that we didn't hate her and that we really were okay, we told the cops we were going to be leaving. We both did a quick clean-up, put on clean clothes and grabbed a few necessities. As we walked out of the house, Rylan looked down at me and I knew what he was going to ask. He was torn between taking care of me and needing to see if Zeke was okay. I wasn't about to make him choose.

“Hospital first,” I said as I climbed into the passenger's side seat.

“Are you sure?” he asked. “We can get a room first and I can go see Zeke after we get settled in.”

I leaned over and kissed his cheek. “He may not be my best friend, but I need to know how he is too.”

I'd been trying not to think of it, trying not to think about what would happen if Zeke died. I wasn't worried about being arrested for it, but I was worried about what it would do to Rylan. And to us. We both knew it had been an accident, but would Rylan blame me if his friend died? Would Zeke's death accomplish what he'd wanted in life? Rylan choosing him over me?

“It wasn't your fault.” Rylan interrupted my thoughts. “No matter what happens, we're in this together.”

I turned so I could use my good hand to squeeze his arm. I appreciated his words, but they didn't completely ease my anxiety. I knew I wouldn't relax until I knew for sure that Zeke was going to be okay.

We made our way into the hospital and found ourselves talking to a stern-looking nurse.

“Are you family?” she asked.

“Yes,” Rylan said firmly.

I could tell the nurse was skeptical, but she didn't push it. “Mr. Wesson is resting right now. The bullet went clean through. He should be fine.”

Rylan grabbed my hand as a rush of relief nearly made me stagger.

“Can we see him?” he asked.

She raised an eyebrow and looked pointedly down the hall. A uniformed cop was already standing in front of the door.

“Aside from that,” she said. “Visiting hours are over. If you want to see him tomorrow though, you’ll have to talk to the police and get their permission.”

Rylan nodded. “Thank you, ma'am.”

The drive to the hotel was quiet, but as we headed up to our room, I spoke. “I'll call Agent Matthews. I'm sure he can get us in to see Zeke tomorrow.”

“You don't have to go,” Rylan said. “I can see him alone.”

I stopped partway into the room and turned towards him, putting my arms around his neck. His hands automatically went to my waist. I stood up on my tiptoes and pressed my lips firmly against his.

“No. We're in it together.”

He smiled at me and lowered his head to give me a longer, much more thorough kiss. When we finally came apart, my pulse was racing and my face was flushed.

“What do you say we get cleaned up and spend the rest of the day in bed?” Rylan slid one hand lower and squeezed my ass.

I didn't even have to think. I stepped away from him and pulled the shirt over my head, dropping it on the floor as I walked towards the bathroom. He followed, shedding his own clothes as he went.

We did indeed spend the remainder of the day in bed. We made love, slow and sweet. We fucked, hard and fast. We watched tv, laughed and slept. We ordered room service and answered the door wearing just a sheet. And we didn't talk about what had happened or what we were going to do tomorrow. The only concession was when I made my call to Agent Matthews.

Monday morning, he called back to let me know that Rylan and I had permission to see Zeke if we still wanted to go. When Rylan looked at me for the answer, I had only one request.

An hour later, I was dressed in my own clothes and a couple boxes were in the trunk of Rylan's car. I didn't mind leaving a few things for movers, but I didn't feel comfortable going into the hospital again, and certainly not to see Zeke, without at least my underwear.

As we walked towards the cop, Rylan reached over and laced his fingers through mine. I didn't need him to say anything to know he was as nervous as I was. I squeezed his hand and followed him into the room.

Zeke was lying in bed, his skin still pale, but he looked better than he had the last time we'd seen him. His left hand was cuffed to the bed, but his right was free. I assumed because of the IV.

His eyes had been closed but as we moved closer, they opened. As soon as he saw Rylan, his entire face lit up for a moment before a mask slammed down. He smiled at both of us, but there was a timidity to it. Shame.

“Hey.” His voice was weak and I didn't think he was pretending. He'd lost a lot of blood yesterday.

“Hey.” Rylan and I walked over to Zeke's side, but neither of us touched him.

“I know I said it yesterday, but I wanted to say it again. This time when I know I'm not going to die,” Zeke said. “I'm so sorry. For everything.” He looked straight at me. “I'm sorry, Jenna.”

“I meant what I said yesterday,” I said. “I forgive you.”

“Me too,” Rylan said. His voice was thick with emotion.

“I wish I could give some sort of explanation as to why I went so crazy,” Zeke said. “I don't know. My head's just all messed up.” His eyes went wide. “I'm not trying to make excuses. What I did was inexcusable.”

“Jenna and I talked on our way over,” Rylan said. He was staring down at the handcuff around Zeke's wrist. “I told her that this wasn't you. That the guy who'd been by my side for years never would've done something like that.” He looked at Zeke at last. “We want you to get help, Zeke.”

“Ry?”

Surprising myself, I reached out my injured hand and put it on top of Zeke's. “We're going to talk to the DA about getting you a plea deal where you can get the help you need.”

“Why?” Zeke's voice cracked, his eyes shining with tears. “After what I did. What I almost did. Why would you want to help me?”

“Because you're my best friend,” Rylan said. “And I want that good-hearted, fun guy back.”

“And I want to meet him,” I added.

Zeke swallowed hard and rubbed at his eyes with the palm of his free hand. “Thank you.” He looked at me. “Rylan's lucky to have you.”

“Thanks.” I smiled at him. I hadn't been entirely sure that this was the right thing to do, but I'd trusted Rylan when he'd said that Zeke's behavior had been different over the last six months or so. Now, I was glad I'd agreed to his idea.

A knock at the door interrupted us before things could get awkward. Detective McPhee gave Rylan and me a look that clearly said she didn't want us to be there.

“If you'll excuse me, I need to speak to Mr. Wesson.”

“We were just leaving,” Rylan said. He looked down at Zeke, but it was clear he didn't know what to say. They held each other's eyes for a few seconds and then Rylan walked away. I followed, our hands still clasped together.

We spent the next week getting our lives back together. First, there was the obvious cleaning that needed done in the kitchen. The men Rylan hired were excellent and by the time we came back on Wednesday, it was as if nothing had happened there. It was still a little strange to be in that room, so we tended not to linger, but it was slowly getting easier. Soon, I hoped neither of us would think about it at all.

We hired movers to pack and bring my things to the house, including my bedroom suite. We decorated the house together, shopping and staying up late to hang pictures and pack away things to be dealt with later. We also discussed where things were going to go for work. I hadn't been sure if going back to Archer Enterprises was the best thing to do, but Rylan had slowly talked me into it. But, he'd said, that he didn't want me to come back as an assistant or anything like that. He wanted me to be his partner.

I still hadn't decided how I felt about that. He'd taken the week off to give us the time to work things out, but I knew he needed an answer soon.

Not tonight though. Tonight, we were going to see his parents.

I hadn't spoken to or seen Suzette since she'd come to the house that day, but Rylan had talked to her twice and he assured me that she had told his father and her mother that she approved of us. I wasn't quite sure how much that really meant, but it was a comfort to know I wouldn't have to worry about being attacked by her.

While asking about some more background on his family, I'd also learned that I'd been mistaken the first time I'd met his parents. I'd thought of them as all having the last name Archer. I'd completely forgotten that Suzette and Rylan had different last names. Apparently, Rylan's mother, Theresa Ricin-Archer, had gone back to her maiden name, hyphenated as it was, after the divorce. She'd also insisted that Rylan's last name be changed from Dougall to Archer. Rylan didn't say why or how she'd managed to win that one, but she had. His stepmother's maiden name was indeed Golden, that much I'd known from her former modeling career, but she was now a Dougall as well. I was just glad I hadn't addressed any of them by their last name the last time we'd met. That night had ended badly enough as it was.

When Rylan and I walked into his father and stepmother's house, I could immediately tell something was different. Adam Dougall, a handsome defense attorney in his mid-sixties, greeted me with a kiss on the cheek. His wife, Lindsay, who was at least twenty years his junior, shook my hand without scowling at me. And, most surprising, was Theresa, Rylan's mother, who actually hugged me. I was starting to think that Suzette hadn't just told everyone that she was Team Jenna now. I had a feeling that she'd also shared at least one reason for her change of heart.

The dinner went better than I'd dared to hope. Rylan's stepmother still seemed to have some reservations about me, but Rylan's parents were much more open about accepting our relationship. I supposed knowing that I'd saved their son from being shot by Zeke had softened them. None of them seemed thrilled that I'd finished moving in, but at least we avoided all of the gold-digger accusations that had been such a memorable part of our previous dinner.

By the time Rylan and I made it back to the house, it was well past eight and I was feeling like the evening had been an overall success. A nice, quiet night on the couch watching a movie would be the perfect way to end things.

After trading in our dinner clothes for more comfortable attire, we headed back downstairs and settled on the couch. Instead of turning on the television, however, Rylan turned towards me, his expression serious.

“Are you happy?”

I gave him a puzzled look. “What?”

“Are you happy that you met me, or do you ever regret it?”

I reached out and pushed his hair back from his face, letting my fingers linger in the silky softness. “The only thing I regret was leaving instead of being honest with you. You not only make me happy, Rylan, you make me feel safe.” I tilted my head. “What about you? Are you happy?”

He smiled. “Jenna, you make me happier than I'd ever thought possible.” He took my good hand and raised it to his lips, lightly kissing my knuckles before releasing it. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box.

My heart leaped into my throat and I told myself to calm down. It was probably my house key and he was making some romantic gesture about it.

“From the moment I saw you, I was drawn to you, helpless to keep myself from falling in love.”

I could hear my heart pounding in my chest.

“I fell in love with you, Jenna Lang. Your strength and intelligence. Your beauty and your heart. You are the singular most amazing woman I've known.”

He opened the box to reveal the most beautiful ring I'd ever seen. The band was silver and it was immediately clear why. A lovely diamond sat between two slightly smaller sapphires. It matched the necklace and earrings he'd given me for Christmas.

“I love the person you were, the woman you are and the woman you'll be.” He swallowed hard. “Rose Lenore Kingston, will you marry me?”

I stared at him. No one had called me Rose since I'd made her disappear. He was the only person here who knew my birth name. I'd given it to him for Christmas because it had been all I'd had. And I understood why he'd used it now. He was accepting my past along with my present. He didn't just want to marry Jenna, he wanted Rose as well.