Diamond (Rare Gems Series) (11 page)

The right led to a large office
library. The shelves were stocked full of old and new books the banker had told him were just too valuable to let go at auction. But if they decided to buy the house, they, too, would be part of the entire house. As was every room in the house, this one was fully furnished. The desk alone could serve as a massive bed if they could find a mattress large enough.

The left side of the hall opened into a large sitting area.
Robert had called it parlor, but she thought of it as a reception area. There were small sitting areas spread out over the large room, which boosted three fire places and four of the biggest doors she’d ever seen. They spilled out onto the deck that surrounded the entire side of the house.

The middle door opened into an expansive staircase.
It was as wide as twenty feet and branched off into three areas when you got to the first landing. They hadn’t gone up there yet, but she’d been told what she’d find. The branches led to the separate wings of the house that spread out from the house, making a half circle around the deck and pool that could be accessed by any of the lower rooms, including the kitchen.

“
Want to go up?” Did she? Not really. She’d already fallen in love with the house, and the upstairs was just going to be more of the same. Diamond knew that he could well afford the house, but what happened when he decided to move back to Texas? She didn’t think she’d be able to afford the electric bill, much less the house payment. She followed him up the stairs.

There were six bedrooms to the left
, all of them with a private bath as well as closet spaces large enough to hold the entire inventory of a store. She walked along the middle bedroom and ran her fingers over the beautiful chest of drawers that was between two large windows across from the bed. Diamond looked at Thad when he cleared his throat.

“
What do you really think of the house?” Diamond looked around this room. A little girl’s room, she’d bet. Even without the personal things, there were enough small touches to show that a girl had used this one.

“
What would we do with it? I mean, it’s lovely…no, it’s beautiful, and I love it, but it’s really large. Bigger than I think we’d need for entertaining.” Thad didn’t move from his position at the door, so she sat on the bed to continue. “We’re a couple who are together because of fate. Not because we love each other, not even because we like one another. We’re just…here.”

“
Do you want to fall in love with me?” His voice was soft and soothing over her. When she didn’t answer, she watched him walk toward her in a smooth, almost wolf-like move. Her body temperature skyrocketed, and he paused.

“
Can you feel that?” He nodded. “It’s my wolf. She’s not as shy as I’d be if I knew how to be seductive.”

“
You think you’re not seductive? Christ, baby, I only have to think of you and I’m hard.” He rubbed his hand down his cock. “I’ve been hard since I saw you when we pulled up, even before that actually. And I was trying to think of a way to get you bent over anything that could hold up to the pounding I wanted to give you when Robert showed up.”

He was nearly to her when she felt her wolf skim along her skin. She wanted to mark her mate too
, but Diamond wasn’t sure Thad would want that. Fingers danced softly along her skin at her throat, and she moaned when he kissed her.

“
I want you right now.” Nodding, she let him lay her back on the bed. “I sent Robert outside so that we could explore the house on our own. Do you think you can wait long enough for us to go to where the master suite is? I have plans for your delectable body.”

When his body covered hers for a few seconds
, she felt every nerve ending come to life. As he lifted from her, she reached for him to pull him back when she suddenly found herself on her feet.

“
It’s at the end of the hall and to your right. Go now before I tear your clothes from you and you’re left standing here naked.” She took off toward the door. “Be naked when I get there too.”

Her heart was pounding by the time she found the room.
Diamond nearly fell over when she saw how big the bed was and stopped to stare. But then she heard Thad coming down the hall and tore her clothing off and tossed them everywhere to get to where he’d told her. She was just lying on the bare mattress when he stepped in the room.

“
I wish I had time to make you needy, but I’ve wanted to be deep inside of you for days.” She lay back when he stood over her. “Spread your legs for me.”

She did what he asked without hesitation.
He dropped before her and opened her wider with his finger, and she felt her juices flow. When he hummed, she knew that he could see her fully. Thad licked her from gate to clit. She cried out, the feel of his tongue so intimately against her making her want more.

“
Do you want me to fuck you or eat you?” Christ, she was on fire for either. “I can’t do both because I have a feeling that Robert will come looking for us if I do.”

“
Please, fuck me.” He stood up and opened his pants. Reaching for him, he rocked into her hand as she pulled him to her mouth. The pearl of cum on the tip of his thick head had her sucking hard for more.

“
Christ, you’re going to make me come down your throat and I need to fuck you.” He continued to rock into her mouth as she cupped his balls. “Diamond, I’m going to make you pay for this.”

Diamond didn
’t care. She loved the feel of him in her mouth, and when he cupped the back of her head and held her to him, she moaned. The harder he rocked the more she wanted to have him come this way. When his fingers tightened painfully in her hair, she nearly let him go. His strangled cry was all the warning she got before she tasted him.

Dizziness swamped her as he filled her.
She couldn’t breathe well, but even that didn’t bother her. As he pulled away from her, she growled low, but he rolled her over to her belly before she could beg him for more.

The
growled “on your hands” had her scrambling to do as he bid. By the time she’d figured out what he’d wanted, Thad had pulled her up so that she leaned over the bed. His cock slammed into her so quickly that it took her breath away.

“
I should make you suffer and not let you come. But I need to…Christ. The need to bite you is making me insane with need.” She had the same need, to mark him as her own. When his mouth nipped at her shoulder, she arched up beneath him to give him just what he wanted. As soon as he started to move in and out of her with a speed that had her wolf snarl at him, she felt his mouth suck hard at her flesh.

“
Lick it. Lick where you want to bite me.” His tongue moving over her skin had her shiver. “When you bite, do it quick and hard, don’t think about anything but tasting me, tasting my blood.”

As soon as he tore into her
, she buried her face in the mattress and screamed. Her climax tore through her like a tornado until she was rising for another and another. As her body continued to come, she felt the room dim and her body float when she felt him lick the wound he’d created closed. Her final thoughts were he’d been able to seal the wounds when he’d only been human.

Chapter 11

Ward was
sitting across from his brother’s building when he saw one of the men Morton had told him was a good guy come out. He moved across the street toward him, almost getting hit by a stupid driver in the process. What the fuck was wrong with these people? No one seemed to care at all who the hell he was. Ward moved up beside the man, not having a clue what his name was until he spied the badge on his shirt.

“
Hello, Peter, remember me?” The man was nearly old enough to be his father, so when he smiled at him and nodded, Ward was relieved.

“
You’re that guy that Morton said was going to make us all rich.” Frowning, he wondered about that for a second before Peter continued. “I haven’t seen Morton for a while now. Is he with you?”

“
No. I’m not sure…I’ve been staying at his house for a few days now. He said it would be okay until he came back. I guess he’s…he went with my brother.” Ward was glad that thought came to him just then, because Peter nodded. “I guess they’ve been on some business trip.”

“
Yeah. I guess after the accident he hung around for a few days but then he came back. Then not long after, we were told he was planning to open up the manufacturing plant in Ohio of all places.” Peter shook his head as he opened his car door. “I thought for sure we were all gonna lose our jobs when he moved everything up there. Christ, I have a house and three kids in college down here. I can’t just move to some small city like Zanesville, Ohio, at the drop of a hat. Then I guess his marketing team is there too, so I guess it wouldn’t be too bad to have him out of the building more.”

Ward wished he
’d have brought a pen and paper now. The guy was a fountain of information and none of it he’d had to ask for. By the time Peter told him he had to get home, he had a wealth of information. Not only did Ward know where his brother was, but also the name of the marketing company he was using in Ohio, as well as how long he’d been gone. He wondered for a moment if he should have inquired after his brother’s health about the accident, but Peter had never shut up long enough for him to do anything more than nod. Smiling, Ward made his way back to Morton’s house.

There was little to nothing in the house to sell. And what there had been had gone up his nose this morning.
He was searching around the bedroom again when he heard the doorbell ring. He never answered it unless he was sure who was coming, like the pizza person and such, but the last time she’d been there, something had pissed her off and she vowed never to return. All he’d done was ask the woman if she’d want to go down on him for her tip. What was the harm in asking if you didn’t know?

There was a man in a suit at the door.
Cautiously, Ward watched him for several seconds to see if he was the police or a bill collector when the guy said his name.

“
Jane sent me. She said you were expecting me.” He wasn’t but opened the door anyway. “She said to tell you that this is the money for the phone as well as the house payment. Nothing more I’m supposed to tell you.”

Ward snatched the envelopes in his hand and slammed the door shut in the man
’s face. Ward heard him laugh as he made his way to the kitchen but was already tearing open the first of five envelopes to see if the bitch had written checks or had given him cash. He did a jig around the kitchen when he found all of them held cash.

Laying it out on the dirty table
, he counted it three times. There wasn’t a lot, he thought. Probably just enough to get him to Ohio, but not back. He had no idea how much things cost because he never really bothered with the mundane things like paying for things when there was always some sucker that would do it for him. Ward glared at his phone that had been off now for three days. And there was no hope for him to get it back on until he saw his brother. Thad would have to take care of it for him just like he’d want him to.

Taking his dirty clothes to the airport seemed
stupid to him, so he made his way to the first men’s clothing store he could find. The suits were a little more than he wanted to spend on one, but he needed something that said I’m successful, not run-down and out of money. The sales person came up to him with a smile.

“
They’re nice, are they not? We can have it tailored for you in a few weeks if you’d like.” Ward did want that, but waiting a few weeks was out of the question. He moved to another rack and was just pulling out a blue jacket when Bill (according to his name tag) was right there again.

“
I’m really just looking.” Bill nodded, but didn’t move away. “Don’t you have someone else you can bother? I said I’m just looking around.”

“
I can help you look if you’d like. I think you should look at the lavender shirt just on the rack near the back.” Ward looked around the store, wondering if he could just hit the guy in the face and see if that got rid of him. “We’re here all alone, and I could help you in any way you want.”

A come on. The guy was coming on to him
. Ward had an idea. He was strictly a heterosexual, but if he could flirt with Bill enough, maybe he’d give him a good deal on the suit. Nodding, Ward followed him back to the sale rack and watched as he sorted through the shirts.

“
I’m looking for an entire suit. The one I have is a little on the worn side.” Ward showed him the small place on the button that hadn’t been there before he’d left for Texas. “I know I can have the thing replaced, but I’m ready for a new one anyway.”

Bill dropped before him and inspect
ed the button. On his hands and knees like this Ward felt his belly tighten and his cock swell. He was just reaching out to pull Bill to his lengthening cock when the phone rang at the desk. Ward took a step back.

What the fuck was he doing?
When Bill rubbed his hand over his own cock and smiled up at Ward, fear and anger nearly took him to his knees. Taking another step back, Ward reached out for something to hold onto when his hands curled around a sign just as Bill cupped his balls.

A surge of something so powerful made him swing out with the sign.
Ward had no idea what came over him, but thoughts of Bill sucking his cock made him both aroused and pissed. Anger won over.

Ward had no idea what had happened when he sort of stepped back into himself.
There was blood all over him, as well as the rack of clothes in front of him. Feet stuck out from under the clothes that dripped blood, and Ward was almost afraid to look at the rest of the body. Dropping the sign, he looked around.

“
Mother fuck.” Ward raced to the front of the store and locked it. He turned over the closed sign and turned off the lights. Backing away, he tried to think what the hell he was supposed to do now. When he realized his prints were everywhere, he grabbed a shirt off another rack and started wiping things down he knew he’d touched. The door, the lock, and anything else he might have brushed against. When he was sure he had gotten everything but the sign, he looked down at his own clothing.

“
Look what you did,” Ward screamed at the legs. “You’ve ruined my only nice suit with your…your touching. Now what the fuck am I going to do? I can’t go see my brother like this.”

He was
panicking. Ward took deep breaths trying to calm himself. He’d been in a situation like this before and knew that things had to be done. Cameras. He looked around all the walls and saw three of them. If he remembered correctly that was what had nearly gotten him caught once before. Going to the back room, he found a messy office and tore through it looking for something that would be used for recording. That’s when he decided that they were fake. There was nothing in the entire room to indicate that anything had recorded what had happened. Looking down at his clothes again, Ward realized he’d have to have something to wear. Going back out onto the sales floor, he nearly screamed when he heard someone knocking at the locked door.

Holding his breath
, Ward wondered if someone else might have a key and could let themselves in, but the person moved away. Going to the rack he’d first been looking at, he found himself a suit that would more than likely fit him and took it to the changing room to see.

He
’d had to make three trips to find something suitable. What the hell these people were thinking when they put the jackets on one side of the room and the pants on the other was beyond him. When he finally had what he wanted, he went to the back again and stripped down. There was no way he was going to be all bloodied, so he washed as best he could, using the wipes he found while looking for a recorder. Ward finally had to sit down and rest.

“
Why am I rushing around as if there is a closing time I have to worry about?” The sound of his own voice calmed him somewhat, and he went to the little refrigerator and found, much to his surprise, a thick roast beef sandwich from a deli he’d only heard of and several colas. He was finishing off the cheesecake he’d also found when he thought of the cash register.

Finally,
he thought.
Something is going my way.
There was nearly four grand in the drawer, as well as five hundred he’d found in Bills pants. In the open safe that he’d noticed earlier, he found an additional ten thousand dollars and several credit card receipts.

Ward
had had some minor luck with a few stolen credit cards in his day. Mostly, it was the people he’d been staying with and it was that that had gotten him kicked out of a couple of the places he’d been living at. Smiling, he wrote down all the numbers as well as the security code that had been provided for him. Calling the airport, he bought himself a round trip ticket to Ohio as well as booked a hotel for when he got there. He was all set. Now he needed some things to wear.

Two hours later he was dressed and had packed him a lovely suitcase with all the things he
’d ever need. The clothing shop had a great selection and he was able not only to get himself outfitted in pants and shirts, but also expensive underwear and tee-shirts all made of hand-spun silk. Ward locked up with the keys he’d found on the counter.

Ward stood outside the back of the shop
, trying to remember if he’d cleaned everything up. He’d wiped things down three times as well as used the wipes again on Bill’s face and hands. Ward wasn’t sure if he’d actually touched him, but he wasn’t taking any chances. When he was on the main street again, he flagged down a cab and was on his way to the airport when he realized he should have taken Bill’s phone too. Damn it all to hell and back, he thought he’d gotten everything. Oh well, no hope for it.

Smiling as he leaned back his head
, Ward was thinking about the reunion that he and Thad were going to have. He knew now that his brother had no idea he’d been coming to see him, and if Ward could find Morton he’d show him just how he dealt with liars. But dead was dead and he was sure that Morton was as dead as old Bill was. Pulling out his brand new wallet, he paid the driver too much and told him to keep the change. He was flush now, and Ward was going to make sure everyone knew who they were dealing with. Ward Galloway was back, and he was fucking taking names and kicking some major ass.

~~~

Thad was just putting his phone away when it vibrated in his hand. He saw that it was Jane and wondered briefly if the bank had notified her and got up to leave the bedroom so he could talk to her.

“
You’re not going to believe what your brother has done,” she said in way of greeting. “He’s wanted for robbery as well as murder.”

“
What happened?” Thad had since gotten rid of Robert after making an offer on the house. Diamond lay on the big bed after they’d had sex, and slept all covered up in his suit coat. He didn’t want to wake her just yet, knowing that she’d be embarrassed when she did. He, however, could have shouted to the world that he’d rendered her unconscious.

“
Apparently he entered a clothing store at about ten this morning and was looking at suits. Three hours later he’s gone and the proprietor is dead, his head beaten in with a sign.” Thad leaned back against the wall as she continued. “According to my friend on the force, it looks like Ward was about to get his pipes cleaned up by William Bolsterer when for some reason Ward decided he wasn’t interested. I guess simply saying
no
was out of the question. Actually, I didn’t even know your brother was a homosexual.”

“
He’s not, not that I’m aware of. Not that it matters.” Thad looked up when Diamond sat up on the bed. He watched her reach for her clothes that he’d picked up for her and was completely distracted by her so much that Jane’s laughter was all that brought him back.

“
Where did you go? Some woman I’m hoping.” She laughed harder. He decided to let her know what was going on.

“
It is, as a matter of fact. Diamond Erickson and I have just purchased a house here and we’re going to be moving in as soon as it’s cleaned from top to bottom.” That shut her up. When Diamond came into the bathroom with him, he pulled her hips back to his groin when she leaned over to get a drink. Her soft moan had his cock aching to take her again.

“
That’s good news, but if you think I’m going to run this place with you up there, you’re nuts. I’ll hunt you down and drain you if you even think of it.” He hadn’t thought of anything other than being close to Diamond and her family since they’d had sex.