Lasting Pride (Pride Series Romance Novels) (15 page)

Rob sat back and listened quietly to them talking and tried to stifle another yawn.

“You must both be exhausted, I’ll let you get some rest.” She started to get up and Rob watched with slight amusement as it took her two tries to get out of the soft chairs. Megan walked inside and came back out with a red key chain. “You know where everything is.” She hugged Ric again who was standing, holding the little girl. “I’m so glad you’re okay. Both of you.” She smiled at them as she took her daughter from Ric.

Ric had both bags tossed over his shoulder as they walked down a well maintained pathway. Rob wasn’t really a “nature” kind of girl, but she couldn’t help but be impressed with the flowers and the beauty of what was surrounding her. The trees were tall, providing shelter from the sun and they let the soft light in, lighting the path, which made her feel welcomed. They’d passed a few small cabins and when they reached another path which jutted off, they took it. She could see their cabin then, it was larger than the others and sat back by itself near a grove of trees. Three wooden steps lead up to a large front porch, which overlooked the most breath-taking view of the ocean.

Rob had seen the Pacific before, for her tenth birthday her dad had gotten an idea in his head and driven them to Seaside, Oregon. They had spent the whole day riding the bumper cars and eating junk food on the avenue. They’d walked away with the great memories and several hundreds of dollars from other people’s wallets. It had been the best day in her arsenal of childhood memories.

Ric set the bags down on the porch and crossed over to where she stood looking out at the view. His arms came around her and she leaned back into his chest.

“You should see it at sunset.”

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and smelled ocean and clean air.

Katie Derby sat across from Jason and wondered why she had agreed to meet him at the coffee shop. She’d been embarrassed every since Lynda’s party several weeks ago where she had gotten drunk and admitted to him all the years of having feelings for him. Then she topped it off with a stupid kiss. One, that he’d held still through, very still. It had been apparent to her by his face and actions that he didn’t think the same way about her. Now, she sat fidgeting with her napkin in her lap and wished to be anywhere else on the planet.

“It’s not that… Well, it’s just that… I had never…” He was mumbling and she could tell he was terrified.

“Jason,” she interrupted him, trying to explain before he said something that would rip her heart out, “I don’t want you to think – well, I was very drunk. It was just a mistake. I don’t want there to be any weirdness between us.” A little part of her heart broke off and floated to the floor when he looked almost relieved.

Before he could respond, her cell phone rang. Seeing her brother’s number she hit ignore. But, not two seconds later, she it rang again, this time she saw her father’s number and hit ignore as well.

Looking back at Jason, she noticed the fear in his eyes and could already tell the weirdness between them had settled in. Taking a deep breath, she wanted to pound her head on the table.

“Katie, I don’t know…” Her phone rang again. Looking down she saw her mother’s number.

“I’m sorry Jason, I better…” she nodded to her phone.

“
Sure,” he looked like he wanted to bolt for the door.

“Hello Mom, what’s so important?” She answered stepping away from the table, and walked towards the back of the almost empty coffee shop.

“Katie, oh thank god you answered. I wanted to talk to you before you heard a bunch of lies from anyone else.”

Her mother cleared her throat and then continued on, “Well, sweetie, first of all, I think you might have already heard from your brother that his apartment blew up, don’t worry, he wasn’t in it and he’s fine.”

“What?” Katie tried to get more details, but her Mother just continued talking.

“But, I wanted to tell you, because I know it’s going to come out very soon and I thought you would want to hear the truth instead of the lies they are spreading on the news or hearing something completely false from the police.”

Katie waited knowing that she wouldn’t be able to interrupt her mother once she had started.

“Twenty-six years ago after your father and I had a huge falling out, I went to Italy to recover from my pain and I had an affair with a man named Damiano Cardone, well, we had a son. I left them in Italy to come back and divorce your father, but he… well, we didn’t get a divorce. Anyway, I kept in touch with them and in a round-about way Damiano and I are married. Well, that’s not the important part. Anyway, four more years later I visited them in Italy after your father was being difficult, and when I returned back home I realized I was pregnant again and well, this time I had you. Obviously it was too late to keep it from your father since he had already found out I was pregnant. He was just so happy about it.”

Katie felt herself starting to hyperventilate.

“But, since your father did find out, I just couldn’t break his heart, I made him believe you were his. Damiano Cardone is your biological father, not Rodrick. I’m sorry I had to tell you over the…” Katie dropped her phone, her ears were ringing and her vision grayed around the edges. Then Jason was beside her yelling at her to breath. The last thing she saw before she passed out was Jason’s blue eyes, hovering over hers.

Ric let Roberta sleep as he made a few more calls using the cabin’s phone. The first one was to his mother’s cell phone. When he got her voice-mail again, he left a vague message like the one he’d left the night before.

“Mom, I don’t know if you listened to my message last night, or if you’re on the way to Portland. Just don’t go to my apartment, I’m not there. Actually, if you haven’t already heard, my apartment isn’t there anymore either, I’ll be in touch with you when I can.”

Then, he called his sister, “Katie, I’ll tell you what’s going on later, I promise. I’m okay, don’t worry about me. I’m with Rob.”

The last call was to his father, he’d called and left him a message last night when he was at the station, telling him he was alive and well. He didn’t usually talk to him this often, when he did it was usually uncomfortable. This time was going to be much worse than any other in the past.

Rodrick Stanton the second, had been raised in such lavishness that he demanded excellence from everyone that was around him. Including his son, Rodrick Stanton the third. Ric hated being called that. His father had almost had a stroke when, in junior high, he had started going by Ric instead of Rodrick.

His father answered the phone on the first ring. “What now, Kathleen?” He sounded annoyed.

“No, Dad, it’s me,” Ric didn’t know that his parents had even been talking.

“Ric?” He heard relief in his father’s voice. “My god, son. Where are you? You’ve had your mother and I scared to death.”

“Dad,” he tried to cut in.

“We heard about your apartment exploding, then we don’t hear a word from you, just quick voice-mails. Those damn cops in Portland don’t know a thing either. Your mother is stuck on a long layover in New York and is calling me every two minutes.”

“Dad,” he waited until his father was quiet. “I’m okay. I’m sorry I didn’t get a hold of you sooner. We’ve had some things to deal with here on this end and I can’t tell you where I’m at right now, but I can tell you I’m safe. I’ll be off the grid for a few weeks until things settle down.”

“What are you talking about?” His father sounded more annoyed than he’d ever heard before.

Less than an hour later, Ric stood over Rob. She’d fallen on the large bed face down and was still wearing all her clothes. It didn’t appear that she’d moved at all in the last hour. Walking to the end of the bed, he gently removed her boots and noticed that she didn’t budge.

Toeing off his own shoes, he stretched out next to her. There were two bedrooms in the cabin and he had it in his mind to only use one for their visit.

Everything had gone terribly wrong. Now, he was another man down. He would have to hire some more pawns to do his bidding. He’d watched yesterday evening from down the street as Ric had exited the building and right into the pretty detectives arms. Damn! The man was still alive and he’d failed at getting his revenge and his hands on her again.

Driving away slowly, he tried to think of his next move.

R
oberta felt pinned, when she tried to move, something held her down. Opening one eye, she saw Ric’s face next to hers. She knew where she was, she was in a small cabin somewhere along the coast of Oregon, she was also being smothered by a very large, very heavy man.

“Would you get off me?” she groaned. His legs had her pinned, and his arm was thrown over her chest making it hard for her to breath.

When she tried to push him off, he snuggled in deeper, putting his nose into her neck. She laughed and shoved harder. He was a solid wall, then she noticed the smile on his face. “You think this is funny?” She rolled and ended up sitting on him, pinning him down as she smiled down at him.

He laughed, “Okay, okay, I give up.” He chuckled as she pinned his arms. Bending down to hold her face inches from his, she decided to enjoy herself.

She hadn’t expected the slam of desire that spread through her quickly. His mouth was warm and welcoming and she took his bottom lip between her teeth and nibbled then sucked until he moaned. Then she was being tossed around until their positions were reversed. Her breath was coming faster and she could see desire in his blue eyes, deepening the color.

“Ric,” she whispered as he claimed her mouth.

“You’re so soft,” he said running kisses down her jaw to feast on her neck just below her ear. She felt like her eyes were crossing. His mouth was spreading heat throughout her body. She arched up into his hands which had been running down the side of her, then he reached just under her shirt and she moaned when she felt his fingers play across her sensitive skin.

She pulled his shirt up and off and enjoyed the look of him as he hovered above her. She saw the two scars, the one on his shoulder was larger than the one on his side. He smiled as she ran her fingers over his tight chest. “Mmm,” she licked her lips and had him claiming her mouth again.

His hand continued on an upward motion until finally she could feel it pulling down her silky bra. Then he was rolling her nipple between his fingers and she bucked underneath him.

“Please,” she said against his mouth.

“God, I want you,” he leaned down and pulling up her shirt, exposed her skin to his view. Then, he was taking her breast into his mouth and he sucked lightly causing little bumps to rise on her skin and a moan to escape her lips.

She ran her hands over his arms and back and fisted a hand in his hair and just held on. He ran his hand over her stomach, lightly tracing circles slowly as he feasted on her. Then he was following his downward path with his mouth. He ran his hand over her slacks, tugging them down and lightly touching the silk that covered her below. She moaned upon the feather light contact.

“Beautiful,” he said as he bent over her. “So soft,” he ran kisses down the insides of her thighs. Running his hands over her hips, over her ribs. He was touching her everywhere, except the one place she needed. Then, when she felt she couldn’t wait any longer, he touched her lightly through her silky underwear and she almost came right then.

She was wet and hot waiting for his touch. Finally, when he did pull the silk aside, exposing her to him, she almost bucked off the bed.

He tugged her slacks further down her legs and pushed the small silky underwear down her legs all the way. His fingers played with her, causing her to let out a moan and close her eyes. His touch was so light, so warm, she didn’t think she could take much more.

Then, his mouth was on her and her hands went to his head, holding him where she wanted him. His fingers roamed her legs and hips gently. She enjoyed the feel of his calloused hands running over her skin. Closing her eyes on a moan, she felt him slip a finger into her and almost came off the bed.

She didn’t know how much she could take, “Ric,”

“Shh, just let go,” he whispered.

She did and screamed when the lights exploded behind her eyes, convulsing into his mouth. She knew she couldn’t have control herself if she had tried.

Ric had never seen anything more beautiful than Roberta in the throws of ecstasy. Her face was flushed, her long dark hair was a jumbled mess spread out on the crisp white sheets. He could have sworn her skin glowed afterwords. He laid there and held onto her until he could feel her breathing level.

“Mmm, thank you.” She said against his bare chest.

He chuckled, “No, thank
you,
” Just then he heard her stomach let out a loud growl and laughed.

“I guess we’d better go see what there is in the kitchen.”

She looked at him with concern. “Didn’t you… Don’t you…” Was she actually blushing?

“Later, we have time. I think we both need some food and maybe a shower.” He kissed her nose. “Why don’t you jump in the shower while I try to find something decent to eat?”

Twenty minutes later, he sat on the front deck watching the sea gulls. There was a light breeze coming from the water and he enjoyed the sights and sounds of the evening. It was about an hour from sun set, but even now the sky was filled with wonderful hues.

He looked up and watched Rob walk out the opened front door. Her long hair was wet, and he liked the way it curled lightly around her face. She wore a tan pair of shorts with a blue top and light brown jacket over it. Her feet were bare, she looked like she belonged on the beach.

“I whipped up some scrambled eggs and toast. If we want anything more elaborate, we’ll need to make a list for Megan.” She sat next to him on the bench.

“It looks wonderful,” she smiled over at him. He could see the concentration on her face.

“I need to deal with…”

“Tomorrow,” he said and took a bite of his toast.

“But,” she started to say. He just looked up at her.

“We can deal with all that tomorrow. This is Pride not Portland. Everything moves slower around here, you’ll see. Besides, it’s almost eight, and I doubt you’d get the local Sheriff on the phone. He’s probably home watching a ball game by now.”

They sat on the deck and ate their toast with eggs while watching the sun sink lower over the Pacific Ocean.

Heading to the shower himself, he left Roberta to enjoy the sunset. He’d been lucky to have his bag in the trunk of his car. He had an extra suit, something he wouldn’t need in the next few weeks that they were going to be in Pride. He was happy to discover a razor and his extra gym clothes. There had been an older pair of jeans and three extra shirts. Still, he supposed it could have been worse. He thought of when Allison’s house had burned down almost two years ago and remembered that she’d lost everything.

It wasn’t like he was homeless, like she had been. After all, he still had his three thousand square foot apartment in Los Angeles.

He appreciated Megan and Todd helping them out. Since he’d first met her, he had nothing but the highest respect for the pair of them and the small town he’d frequently visited.

Actually, he’d enjoyed his time here so much, he had at one point thought about buying a place to spend his down time at. Maybe some place over looking the beach, like Allison and Iian’s house did.

Allison had been his greatest discovery. The fact that Megan had actually discovered Allison’s wonderful artistic talent, didn’t stop him from claiming her as his discovery. He gave Megan props for finding her, but it was thanks to his talent and hard work that she was now one of the most known names in the art world. Ally was not only a great artist, she was his friend. When she’d lived above his studio a few years back, they’d become close friends. He loved and respected her as a person and an artist. Something he never thought he’d be able to say about an artist working with him. Most of the time they were moody, self absorbed snobs that thought they were better than they actually were.

Then he thought about Sandi, the young artist that he was trying to sign, and wondered if the girl was alright. He didn’t like leaving when everything was still up in the air with her. He didn’t even know where she was or if she was safe.

Allison had helped him realize not every artist was created equal. He looked forward to seeing her and Iian’s new son, Conner, again. He’d visited last summer when she’d given birth. The small bundle had reminded him so much of Iian, he’d sworn they’d just cloned him. He laughed now remembering how proud the man had been.

Since that day, he’d been wondering about kids himself. He hadn’t planned on a family, to be honest, he’d gone through the last ten years avoiding any deep relationships.

After all, his parents weren’t the best role models. Now, with the news of his mother’s infidelity, he wondered if he could ever try to maintain a stable relationship with anyone.

Then, he remembered the glow of Roberta under him and ached for her.

“What the hell do you mean he’s dead?” He heard her saying as he walked out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist. She looked over at him and he thought he saw a flash of desire cross her eyes.

“Fine, I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Yeah, okay, give me the details then.” She pushed the button hard on the untraceable cell phone they were to use.

“Who’s dead?”

“Robbie Bender,” she tossed the phone down on the couch and started to pace the floor. “apparently, he was stabbed twenty times in his cell.” She turned and looked at him. “What the hell is going on? Who have you pissed off?” She approached him and pointed a finger in his chest. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

He just looked at her, questioning this himself.

“I mean,” she turned and started to pace again. “This someone has either power or a lot of money. First, Kenny Sorvillo ends up floating down the Columbia, then they hire Ricky Scoles to grab me. Why? Why me?” She shook her head, “Now, Robbie Bender ends up with a shiv sticking out of his back.” She continued to pace and stare off into space.

Deciding she needed to wind down, he stepped in front of her.

“Put it away for now,” he pulled her close. Her hair was still damp from her shower. He could smell her sweet scent and wanted to taste her again.

“You’re still wet,” she pulled back, looking up into his eyes and he watched as she licked her lips as her eyes ran over him.

Then she was shoving him back against the wall and her mouth was on his. She moved like the wind, fast and dangerous. She tasted like warm summer nights with a hint of exotic flowers and filled his senses completely. He reversed their positions and held her against the wall, running his hands up and down her body. Her shorts were tight and he enjoyed playing his hands over her tight rear end as he deepened the kiss.