Wicked and Dangerous (27 page)

“I know. But I need you to do this for me, Lil. And I don’t need an argument. Please.
Just go.”

She frowned, but nodded. She didn’t look back as she made the short walk across the
hallway, then closed the door to his bedroom behind her.

“I’ll wait in the hallway,” Mike said, making it clear that he didn’t object to what
was about to happen.

When they were alone, Ryder looked back down at Radovich. “You can’t shoot a man who’s
already down,” the terrorist said with a gritty laugh.

A cold smile twisted Ryder’s mouth. “That just shows how little you know me.”

“You’re a lawman. A soldier,” Rado sneered in his thick accent. “Your honor ties your
hands and makes you weak. Your mercy makes you pathetic.”

“You came after my woman and you think I’m going to show you fucking mercy, you miserable
piece of shit?”

Radovich wiped at the blood on his face, his upper body twisted to the side as he
braced himself on an elbow. “You don’t have any choice,” he muttered.

“If the choice is between my honor and her safety,” Ryder said in a low, deadly voice,
“then it isn’t any choice at all.”

As if he was finally starting to get the picture, the terrorist’s eyes widened. “Are
you serious? You’re going to let a little snatch decide your actions?”

“She’s my fucking heart, you stupid prick. And you’re nothing more than a dead man.”
He lowered his aim, then fired, shooting the bastard straight through the heart, killing
him instantly. But he put a second bullet through Rado’s forehead, and would have
kept firing if not for the fact that Lily was waiting for him.

Stepping over Radovich’s stinking body, Ryder intended to find her and just . . .
hold her, but Ben and a small army of deputies suddenly arrived and almost two hours
had gone by before Ryder finally made his way to his bedroom. He found her inside,
talking on the phone, making arrangements for what sounded like a car service to take
her to the airport.

“Lily? What’s going on?” he demanded, shutting the door to the room behind him.

She set the phone down on the bedside table, then turned to face him. Her face was
tense and pale. “Now that Radovich is dead,” she said quietly, wrapping her arms around
her middle, “I . . . um, called one of my friends in Virginia. She’s bought me a plane
ticket home and paid for a car to pick me up. I just needed to give the driver the
address.”

“What the fuck? You’re just gonna up and leave?” he scraped out, while inside he was
thinking
No, don’t do this. Don’t make me lose you. Not now . . .

She sniffed, then took a deep breath before saying, “I’ve had some time to think while
I was waiting for you, and I . . . I know you well enough to know that what he said
about you being the reason he came after me is only going to push you away from me
again. I can’t go through that,” she whispered, swiping at her tears with her fingertips.
“Not again. I have to get out before it happens.”

“That doesn’t make any fucking sense!”

Her mouth trembled. “I’m sorry, Scott. I just . . . I know we won’t be able to get
through this without something strong holding us together. Without something that’s
permanent and lasting. I know . . . I know you care about me. But that’s not going
to be enough.”

Christ. This was such a fuckup, and he didn’t know whether to be pissed that she had
so little faith in him . . . or if he should just kick his own ass for failing to
make his feelings for her clear. “You think I
care
about you? Like the same way I’d
care
about my elderly neighbors or a pal at work?” He moved closer, hating the pain he
could see shimmering in her beautiful eyes. But, damn it, he was hurting, too. “After
last night, is that honestly what you think, Lily?”

She bit her lower lip, and her gaze slid away. “I don’t want to fight with you.”

Bitterness sharpened his voice. “Then you should have thought of that before trying
to sneak out on me.”

Her head snapped back in his direction and her eyes went wide. “I wasn’t sneaking
anywhere. I was going to talk to you before I left.”

“Yeah? Then call back and cancel that damn car.”

“Scott, I—”

“There’s a hell of a lot we need to say to each other,” he growled, cutting her off,
“and we can’t do it here. At least come back to my house with me. You owe me that
much.”

She sucked in a sharp breath, then reluctantly nodded, calling the car service to
say that she’d be in touch with a new address and pickup time as soon as possible.
Working his jaw, Ryder grabbed their bags—a deputy had brought hers from across the
hall earlier—then followed her out of the room. They came across Ben in the living
room, which was still crowded with deputies, and Ryder told him he was taking Lily
home. Ben nodded, casting a worried look at her pale face, no doubt thinking she was
upset because of what had happened with Rado, and Ryder didn’t correct him. But he
knew Lily well enough to understand that even though she’d been concerned for his
safety, she was as thankful as he was that Radovich had finally been dealt with, once
and for all.

They made their way out to the Jeep after finding Mike and thanking him, and the drive
to his house was quietly tense, the air heavy with the weight of everything that needed
to be said. No matter how many ways he turned it over in his head, Ryder knew that
the crux of the matter was the fact that she trusted him. Since coming back into his
life, she’d trusted him with her body, with her heart, and with her well-being. It
was far past time that he trusted her, too. And maybe, just maybe, he needed to trust
that together they were right where they were meant to be.

Fuck, there was no maybe about it. He was
meant
to be by this woman’s side. Today. Tomorrow. For fucking eternity. And there was nothing
he was going to let stand in his way. Not fear. Not his past. And sure as fuck not
his desire to protect her. It was what he’d been made for. If he was crazy and overly
protective at times, Lily would handle him. Hell, that’s what she did best.

After all this time, he finally got it. He’d always felt like he was getting it wrong
with Lily because he hadn’t done what he should have done the second she was legal.
Which was claim her sweet little ass by putting a ring on her finger, his name after
hers, and make sure his fucking stamp of ownership was on every inch of her. And he
didn’t feel like a possessive ass for wanting it, because he expected her to claim
him in the same fucking way.

The sun was only just coming up as he parked the Jeep in his driveway and climbed
out, not bothering with their bags, just wanting to get her inside as quickly as possible.
She followed him up the walkway and he opened the front door, letting her go inside
first. Then he went in and locked the door behind him. If he could have barricaded
the damn thing to keep her there with him, he would have. He couldn’t stand the thought
of her leaving him. Of not going to sleep every night with her soft little body in
his arms, and waking up to her beautiful smile.

“What do you think of Moss Beach?” he asked, tossing his keys onto the small table
that sat at the end of his sofa.

She was standing a few feet away, arms crossed over her middle again, and her expression
made it clear that she thought it was a strange question. “Um, I haven’t gotten out
much. But what I’ve seen is beautiful. And I like the people you work with. The friends
you have here.”

He lifted a hand, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s a good place to build a life.
Raise a family. All that normal shit I know nothing about, but that I’m, uh, hoping
you’ll show me.”

She stared back at him, her breaths starting to come a little faster. “What are you
saying, Scott? Spell it out for me.”

Yeah, it was about damn time that he did that, wasn’t it?

He knew that he was going to spend a long time being pissed at himself for not telling
her how he felt all those years ago when he’d had the chance. He’d fucking choked,
but he wasn’t going to choke now. He scrubbed his hand over his mouth, then dropped
it back to his side, looked her right in the eye, and said, “I love you.”

Ohmygod
. Lily’s throat shook, melting, her eyes instantly filling with tears. “Wh-what did
you say?”

He took a step toward her, looking as if he very much wanted to grab hold of her.
“I love you, and I’m not the kind of man who does things in half measures. So I hope
you know what this means. I don’t just love you—I fucking
live and breathe
you, Lil. You are in every part of me. And I’m done running. I can’t do anything
now but grab hold of you so hard and tight you can’t ever get away.”

“I don’t want to get away,” she told him, breathless, unable to believe this was actually
happening. “I just want
you
.”

His smile was slow and sweet and sexy. “Then it sounds like we’re finally on the same
page. About fucking time, too. Don’t you think?”

“I can’t think,” she gasped, barely able to breathe through her happiness. “You’re
smiling and that always blows my mind.”

He laughed one of those rich, husky rumbles that made her toes curl, and the next
thing Lily knew she was in his arms and he was kissing the hell out of her. Then they
were ripping each other’s clothes off, and he was taking her down to the sofa, growling
that he was too desperate to get inside her to make it to a bed. She smiled and told
him that she couldn’t care less about a bed . . . and he could get inside her
whenever
and
wherever
he wanted, because she could never get enough of him. He came down over her, his
big, beautiful body caging her in, and the way he took her mouth made it clear that
he
loved
what she’d said.

“Sweetest fucking pussy in the world,” he groaned when he slid inside her, a sexy
lock of hair falling over his brow as he started to move. The muscles in his shoulders
and arms flexed with his incredible strength, his mouthwatering abs rippling beneath
his skin with each driving, deliberate stroke.

Straightening his arms, he looked down, then brought that heavy-lidded gaze back to
hers. “Watch it go in, Lil. Look at us together. You’re so pretty and pink, your swollen
little entrance stretched so tight around me, barely able to take me. But you’re slicking
me up so nice and hot, you just suck me right in.”

“Oh, God,” she gasped, lifting her head from the sofa cushion so she could watch.

A deep, guttural growl rumbled in his chest. “You have no idea how incredible it feels
when I pull out, all those plush little muscles inside you fighting to hold on to
me. And then the slow thrust, forcing my way back in. You have no idea how it feels
to know that you’re
mine
. If you knew, baby, then you never would have thought I could let you walk away.”
His gaze sharpened, and his voice got rougher, the raw edge telling her how much he
liked what they were doing. “I’ll never get enough, Lily. No matter how many times
I have you, I’ll just want you more.”

“
Scott
,” she moaned, writhing from the blissful sensation of having him so hard and deep
inside her. A part of her.

“I love you.” He punctuated each rough word with an even harder thrust, slamming into
her with thick, grinding lunges that sent her crashing over the edge. She screamed
his name, arching, shuddering, her mouth open as she gasped and cried and tried to
breathe through the wrenching pleasure, her body convulsing in sharp, heavy jolts
that pulled her tighter and tighter around him.

“
I don’t want to lose you
,” he snarled under his breath.

“You won’t. I’ll always be here. Always,” she promised, her words pushing him over
the edge. His hips jerked against her as he let out a guttural shout, his arms banding
around her as his cock spurted hot, heavy blasts of cum into her, filling her up until
she was drenched in him. A grin curled her lips when she realized they were definitely
going to be dealing with a BIG wet spot on the sofa.

“You’re not getting away from me.
Ever
,” he groaned when he could finally lift himself onto his elbows and look her in the
eye.

“I’m not trying to get away. All I’ve ever wanted was to get closer. Even when I was
telling myself that you would break my heart, I couldn’t stay away from you.” She
grinned, and gave a dreamy sigh, knowing she must look like a besotted idiot and not
even caring. “God, I’ve been waiting for so long.”

He rubbed his thumb against her cheek, his dark eyes showing her every incredible
emotion that was burning inside him. “For what, Lil?”

“For this. For you to make me yours.”

“It was inevitable,” he told her, his deep voice husky and low. “There’s no other
woman in the world who could ever fit me the way you do. Inside
and
out. You were meant to be mine.”

She shot him a playful smirk. “I’m glad you finally figured it out.”

“I might be slow, but I get there in the end. And you’re going to enjoy how I make
it up to you, baby. I promise.”

There was a wicked smile on his lips, a scorching look of hunger in his dark eyes
as he started to harden inside her, and Lily looked forward to his efforts. Almost
as much as she looked forward to their future. She had her man, his heart, and she
knew that from this point on her life would be filled with pleasure and laughter and
more love than any woman could ever possibly deserve.

And she was going to cherish every beautiful, breathtaking moment.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rhyannon Byrd
is an avid, longtime fan of romance and the author of more than twenty erotic and
paranormal titles. She has been nominated for three RT Reviewers’ Choice awards, including
best shapeshifter romance, and her books have been translated into nine languages.
After having spent years enjoying the glorious sunshine of the American South and
Southwest, Rhyannon now lives in the beautiful, but often chilly, English countryside
with her husband and family.