Guide Me Home (SEAL of Fortune) (4 page)

CHAPTER SEVEN

“Grayland,” Ryker says into the phone as Ronnie continues to unpack their bags.

“Evans. Hargraves. The drop has been picked up. The spooks are following, but you need to be ready to move.”

“Understood.” Ryker says.

“I’ll contact you as soon as they go to ground.”

“I’ll be ready,” he replies, killing the call.

Ronnie finishes unpacking Ryker’s bag and opens her own. On the very top is a folded piece of paper. Curious, she unfolds the paper and reads the neat handwritten note inside. “I’m sorry. A gift for your wedding night. Paul Spreck.” Ronnie frowns slightly, not understanding the note, so she sits it aside. She takes the top garment from her bag, the one lying directly under the note, and allows it to fall open. It is the sexiest white negligee she has ever seen. Made from the finest lace, the thin shoulder straps support a deeply plunging neckline. She holds it to her and turns to face Ryker. He is standing there, his phone still in his hand, staring at her.

“Where did you get that?” Ryker breathes.

“It was in the suitcase,” she says, picking up the note and handing it to him.

He quickly reads the note and hands it back, saying nothing.

Ronnie smiles. “Should I wear this tonight? It is our honeymoon, after all.”

Before he can answer, she sets aside the white nothingness and pulls out a black negligee of equal quality. “Or do you prefer black?” she asks with a grin, holding the second negligee to her body.

“What kind of game is Spreck playing?” Ryker asks quietly, his tone dangerous.

“I don’t think it’s a game,” Ronnie says, pulling the negligee down and laying it on the bed with the other one. “Did you know he has a daughter? She has leukemia. I think he really is sorry for what he ordered you to do, for driving us apart, and he is trying to make up for it. Making me a peace offering.”

He considers it. “Is it working?”

She smiles. “It’s not hurting.”

Ryker helps Ronnie unpack her suitcase and he finds he approves of Mrs. Grayland’s taste in clothing. Comfortable but with a casual sexiness. As they unpack he tells her about the phone call.

“We just got here and now we are going to have to pack up and leave again?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. We will just have to wait for the call.”

Ronnie looks into Ryker’s eyes. It is awkward, but she knows she is going to have to make the first move. He has signaled his acceptance of her apology, but he has made no other steps forward. She can’t really blame him. She is the one that broke it off, so she is going to have to put it back together. When he turns from the closet she is standing there and walks into his arms. “Ryker… I’m
soooo
sorry,” she says, laying her head against his shoulder.

He hesitates for just a moment before surrounding her in an embrace, pulling her to him. “It’s okay,” he says softly, tipping his head so that it is lying against hers.

“No… It’s
not
okay. I should have trusted you. I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on you like that. Can you ever forgive me?”

“Already done,” he replies, his eyes closing in the pleasure of having her in his arms again.

She can feel her own eyes become wet with tears. “Why are you so good to me?”

“Because you deserve it.”  

They stand silent for several long minutes, feeling the warmth of the bond between them as it reforms, stronger than ever. “You talked to Kenneth?” Ryker finally asks, still holding Ronnie to him. He has to know if it is over between her and Kenneth, as she said, or if she gone back to him.

“Yes. I was so lonely and hurt and out of sorts. I called him. I just wanted to hear his voice. I wanted to know that someone still wanted me.”

Ryker can feel his heart sink. “And?”

“I realized it is truly over between us and I couldn’t go back to him.”

“Why?”

“Because of you.”

Ryker suddenly feels hot, his skin burning from the rush of emotion that washes over him. “I don’t understand.”

“When I called Kenneth he wanted me to come home. Not because he wanted me, but because he needed me to help him. He doesn’t want
me
. He just wants my presence. I can’t live like that anymore.”

Ryker decides right then that Kenneth, a man he doesn’t even know, is a fool. “I’m sorry Ronnie.”

“Don’t be. That relationship was going nowhere, and I knew it. I was content to live like that then. But not now. Not ever again. Life is too short, too precious to let it pass by and not live to the fullest.”

He slowly pushes her back, tipping her head up so he can look into her eyes. He sees sadness there, but also hope, and he bends to take her lips gently with his own.

Ronnie feels all her fears and doubts dissolve with the kiss. What was she thinking, walking away from Ryker like she did? Twice she has pulled back from him, only to return him. And twice he has taken her back. She had promised herself the last time she pulled back that she wouldn’t do it again, and then she had. But not again. Not ever again!

He slowly pulls back from the kiss, tipping his head down so his forehead it resting against hers. “I will never hurt you Ronnie. Never.”

“I know. I’m sorry I ever doubted you.”

“What are we going to do?” he asks, unsure of their status. He wants her. Has never stopped wanting her, but he has to know if she is ready to take him back. He has to hear her say the words.

She steps back as her lips form a smile.. “You are going to take me to dinner at that restaurant on Independence. Then you are going to bring me back here where you are going to make love to me until we are exhausted—or we have to leave. Whichever comes first.”

Ryker likes Ronnie’s plan. “Will you wear the honeymoon negligee?”

“If you like. But not for very long,” she says softly, kissing him gently on the lips once more.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Ryker pulls out the chair for Ronnie, pushing her up to the table when she sits before taking his own seat. “You’re going to have to help me. I have no idea what is what,” she says.

“Do you trust me?” he says, leaning in close.

“Implicitly.”

He barely glances at the menu. “We’ll each have the
man’oushe
. Is your juice freshly squeezed?”

The waiter seems almost insulted. “Of course, sir.”

“Two orders of the pineapple then.”

The waiter seems to approve, scribbling on his pad before walking away.

“What are we getting?” Ronnie asks.

“
Man’oushe
. It’s kind of like, uhhh, Lebanese sausage pizza I guess you could say.”

“It’s good?”

He smiles. “I guess we'll find out, huh?”

The
man’oushe
arrives in only minutes, along with the drink orders. Ronnie looks hers over with a critical eye. It doesn’t look very appetizing with its dark topping and glob of some unidentified mass in the center. Ronnie dips her finger into the creamy goo in the center and gives it a tentative lick. “Is that yogurt?”

“Yeah,” Ryker says, picking his up
man’oushe
, rolling it into a tube before taking a small bite. “Ooh, hot,” he says, taking a sip of his juice.

Ronnie follows suit, rolling the
man’oushe
into a tube before blowing on it a moment to cool it before taking a bite, her eyes widening at the rich cheese and beef flavor. “Oh, wow! That’s really good!”

“I thought you would like it,” he says, blowing on his
man’oushe
before taking another bite.

They take their time, lingering over their food. By the end of the meal the stiffness that has been between them for nearly a week is gone and Ryker notices Ronnie looking at him in a way that makes him feel flustered and out of sorts.

“Are you ready to go?” he asks as she stares at him over the rim of her glass.

“Very.”

It is still early evening so they walk slowly, husbanding their energies for the labors to come, holding hands, talking softly, and enjoying the cooling evening air. Ronnie feels as if a suffocating weight has been removed from her chest. She once again feels alive in that way that only Ryker can make her feel, the simple pleasure of holding his strong hand as they stroll suffusing her with a glow on contentment.

Ryker can’t believe his luck. Twice now he has lost Ronnie only to win her back. But as they walk, lingering doubt remains. How can he keep her safe? The first job, the one they are waiting to start, will be the safest. She can wait in the hotel. But once the bad guys know they are onto them it will become increasingly difficult to keep her safe and still perform the mission.

“What are you thinking?” she asks, as he falls silent.

“Nothing. I’m just worried about your safety.”

“So long as I am with you, I’m safe,” she says… and she believes it. 

“For this first mission, you’ll be safe enough in the hotel. But after that…”

“You’ll figure something out. You always do. We just need to finish this so we can go home.”

“Yes. Keep your fingers crossed that we are lucky and the virus turns up with his first guy.”

“What’s going to happen?”

“I don’t know. As soon as I know the target I will recon the site and figure out how to get in. If I can get in. If the virus is there I will grab it and run. If not…”

“If not?”

“If not, then the target is going to have a bad day.”

She feels her blood run cold again. “You’re not going to kill him, are you?”

“No. Not if I can help it. We need him to find the next link in the chain to the virus. I will drag him out and stash him somewhere for the spooks to pick up. They will work him over and then tell me the next step.”

“So we will take it one link at a time until we arrive at the virus?”

“That’s the only way that I know of. Keep your fingers crossed this guy is the guy holding the virus.”

She smiles and holds up her free hand, her fingers crossed.

When they arrive at their room, Ronnie makes a big production of placing the Do Not Disturb sign on the door. Ryker meets her grin with one of his own as the door clicks shut the second time. “Are you trying to kill me?” he asks as she sways by, retrieving the white negligee from the drawer. 

“Somehow I think you are up to the challenge. Open the curtains. I want to see the city lights as we make love. I will be ready in a few minutes. No peeking!”

He opens the curtains, taking in the view. They are on the sixth floor and will have a good view of the lights as the skies darken. Curtains open, he quickly shaves and then turns the bed back, settling in to wait for her to appear.

Ronnie takes her time getting ready, letting the anticipation build. She spends several minutes brushing her hair until it glows. Finished, she looks at herself in the mirror. She could stand to lose a few more pounds, but she has always been a full figured girl.

She and Ryker had started working out in the gym and she lost three pounds before they had their falling out and she stopped going. But now that they are back together she will start working out with him again. In fact, she is planning on a strenuous workout tonight. She smiles at the thought and smoothes the silky fabric, looking at herself in the mirror once more.

Ryker forces himself to be patient. He is nude and waiting for her in the bed, anxious to see her in that negligee. He hears the door to the restroom open and he begins to smile in anticipation. She steps into sight, his heart skipping a beat as takes her in. She may be eight years older than him, but she can still put most women fifteen years her junior to shame. “You are so incredibly beautiful,” he says softly.

He is sitting propped against the headboard of the bed, covered to the waist, one leg raised with an arm draped casually across it, the tented sheet preventing her from seeing if he has an erection. Looking at him, she can feel herself become wetter still. Ryker is, quite simply, the most gorgeous man she has ever met. Dark of hair and eye with a chiseled body, he is any woman’s wet dream.

But he is also kind and down to earth, seemingly oblivious to the effect he has on women all around him—an effect that she is quite aware of after having seen numerous pairs of female eyes tracking him as he moves past.

Not only is he stunningly good looking… he has also demonstrated his willingness to die to protect her, unlike that prick Kenneth who can only think of himself. Looking at him, she begins to realize what he means to her and her emotions become so tumultuous that she can feel herself wanting to cry... and she doesn’t even know why.

“Hey… hey…” he says softly as her face twists. “What’s wrong?”

She steps across the room, tumbling into his arms and holding him tight. “I don’t know,” she gasps, tears leaking from the corner of her eyes as she battles to hold them in.

“Shhhh…” he says, dumping her onto the bed, then covering her with his body and holding her tight. “It’s okay. Everything is going to be okay.”

Ronnie squeezes her eyes tightly shut and clings to Ryker with desperate strength. “Can you just hold me for a minute, please?” she mewls, trying to get her emotions under control. This isn’t how she envisioned the evening going at all!

He pulls her in tight, holding her and making comforting noises as she clings to him as if drowning, until she finally relaxes. He slowly loosens his embrace, pulling his head back from her shoulder to look into her eyes. “Are you okay?” he asks softly, kissing at her cheeks to dry the tracks of her tears.

“I’m sorry,” Ronnie says, sniffing once and wiping at her eyes. “I don’t even know why I’m crying.”

“It’s okay,” he comforts. “We don’t have to do this. Or we can wait if this isn’t the right time.”

“No!” Ronnie gasps desperately, afraid she has ruined the mood. “No… I want you,” she says as she looks into Ryker’s dark eyes, losing herself in their depths. They gaze at one another for a long moment before he slowly brings his lips to hers.