Road to Reason (13 page)

There was something about her in that suit that teased about what wonders she had underneath. Since he had just sampled those wonders and planned on doing more of it, he wasn’t too concerned. But he could imagine an older brother might not enjoy the sight.

“Oh for Pete’s sake,” she said, then grabbed another one of Ryan’s T-shirts and threw it over her head. “There, better? Are you sure you won’t go blind by the sight of your sister in a bathing suit now?” she asked, sarcastically.

“Thanks,” he said, visibly relieved, even though a fine sheen of sweat was forming on his brow.

Ryan took pity on him. He felt the worst of it was all over, and now it was time for him to get back to his friendship with her brothers.  It was still going to be awkward for them. Not for him personally, but he imagined the Harper brothers were struggling.

If Kaitlin were his sister, he might have felt the same way. But since she wasn’t, he found the whole thing rather funny. “Want a beer?” he offered Ben.

“Yeah, I need one now,” he stated, then marched right past his sister and up to the bar where Ryan stocked the good stuff.

Kaitlin let herself into her townhouse later that afternoon.  She would like to have stayed at Ryan’s longer, but she really needed to do some laundry and get a bit of food in her house.

Since Sunday was her normal food-shopping day, she was a bit behind schedule.  Not to mention she wanted some time to think.  She had waited so long for last night and now that it happened she wanted to bask in its glory.  And, boy was it glorious.

As she was emptying the tote bag she brought in from the car, she grabbed her phone and realized it had been shut off for over twenty-hours. There had been no reason for it to be on during the party. Everyone that might have tried to reach her was there. Then after the party she didn’t want to have to worry about any interruptions. Mostly from her family.

After powering it up, she noticed she had two missed calls. Both from Sophia. Not surprising, Sophia knew the plans for the weekend. She hit the return call button. Sophia picked up on the first ring.

“Where have you been?” Sophia asked, accusing her. “I’ve been dying to hear from you. How could you leave me hanging like this?”

“Sorry. I just got home a few minutes ago. I actually forgot my phone was turned off.”

“So,” Sophia asked impatiently. “How did it go? Everything you hoped for?”

“Yes,” Kaitlin said, sighing dreamily.  “Everything and more.  I know I’ve focused on this for so long—stressed about it even longer. But I can’t imagine it could have been any better than it was.”

“So it was good then? The actual sex part?  Did you manage to at least have an orgasm? That first time is pretty hard to do much more than hang on and pray for it to be over with. Especially with as nervous as you’ve been.”

“I was definitely nervous, but he was so patient and just well...wonderful. And yes, I actually had two orgasms,” she said with a laugh. “The first time.”

“Two,” Sophia said incredulous. “I can barely manage one, let alone two in a night.  That’s great. Maybe it was fate after all?” Sophia said joking. “Wait, did you say the ‘first time’? How many times were there?”

With a chuckle, Kaitlin said, “Last night and then again this morning in the shower. As for fate, well, I don’t know about that. I wouldn’t have planned on waiting so long for it to finally happen. But I can say I’m happy that it was with Ryan.”

“So now what? Where do you two go from here?”

“What do you mean?” Kaitlin asked, frowning.

“I know you said the actual dating was all Ryan’s idea, and personally I think that was sweet of him. I don’t know many guys who would have gone to the effort. Especially knowing they were getting the prize in the end anyway.  But now that it happened, what’s next? Still dating, or going on your merry way?”

“I don’t know. I mean I thought he was gently pushing me out the door this morning when he asked if I had to be home at a certain time. But when I brought up getting out of his way, he hurriedly explained that he wanted me to spend the day with him. He didn’t mean for me to leave. Matter of fact, he wanted me to stay later than I did. But I’ve got things to do today.”

“Okay, well, that’s him, but what about you? What do you want? I know better than anyone how much you want to settle down and have a family. Do you think Ryan is that person?”

“No. I don’t think Ryan is the settling down type. But right now I want to enjoy my time with him. What are a few months in the scheme of things? From everything I’ve heard about him, he’s never had a relationship longer than a few months anyway.”

“So I know your night went well, but how did it go with your brothers? That’s the first time everyone was all together, right? Since the big news broke?”

“It went as well as expected. There were a few tense moments when Ben and Alec showed up, but everyone calmed down. Phil came later on and was quiet as always. He just shot a look at Ryan once, and then that was the end of it. Actually, Linda was the one who seemed the most volatile the entire day. I don’t know what her problem is, but they didn’t stay long.  Whatever is going on, Phil didn’t look happy with her, and they left before anyone else.”

“When is Phil going to drop her?” Sophia asked with a bit more heat than necessary, but Kaitlin brushed it off.

“I don’t know. It’s his life, and since I don’t want my brothers prying into my life, I’m going to try to stay out of theirs.”

“All right, well, the last piece of advice I have for you is to watch your heart.”

“Oh, my heart is firmly locked up tight against the charms of Ryan Mathews.”

***

The ringing of the phone woke Kaitlin up. She reached over, grabbed her cell phone off the bedside table, noticed Ryan’s name and answered quickly. “Everything OK?”

“What? Yes, of course it is. Why are you asking that?” he said, sounding bewildered.

Her racing heart calmed and she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “I don’t know, maybe because it’s late. And no one calls late at night unless there’s a problem,” she said sarcastically, then reached over and turned the bedside light on and propped herself up in bed.

“Sorry, I got lost in work and didn’t notice the time. I really only stopped because I was hungry, and then I started thinking of you.”

She could hear the smile in his voice, warming her immensely.  “That’s sweet.  But why are you working so late?”

“I never mean to, but it happens. I get stuck on a case, especially the one I’m working on now. And I can’t stop until I find what I’m looking for.  But I’ve hit a brick wall.”

“Is this the Fremont case? I saw in the paper that you’re representing her.” When she was met with silence on the other end, she jumped in quickly. “I’m sorry. I realize you probably can’t talk about your work, and that’s why you never say anything. You don’t have to answer me.”

“No. It’s not that. It’s just no one has ever asked me about my work before. I mean no one I’ve ever dated before.”

“Maybe you’ve dated the wrong women before?” she said slyly.

“Maybe.  Anyway, there are things I can’t share but plenty of things that are public knowledge.  Yes, it’s the Fremont case. Unless you are going to run back to the District Attorney and tell them my game plan, I think I’m safe to tell you what I’m working on.”

He paused when she chuckled, but then continued on. “I’ve been trying to track down ex-girlfriends of Jason Briggs.  I’ve got some names, but I can’t find anything on them. Either my client was confused on their names or spellings, or they never existed before. And I find that hard to believe.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I’ve seen this pattern before.  On the outside Jason seemed perfect. Successful banker, well respected, handsome, and charming.  But he had a dirty secret—he liked to abuse women.  You don’t just start doing that at his age. There’s always an escalation, so that means it had to have happened before.  The trick is finding out who the women are, where they are hiding and then getting them to talk.”

“You should talk to Ben.”

“Why would I talk to your brother about this?”

“Because Ben knows all about finding people.  Security and secret ops was his specialty. I’m sure he has lots of contacts and could help you find these women, or point you in the right direction.”

“I never thought of that, talking to Ben that is. I’ll consider it. But we have a private investigator we use frequently. I just sent him an email with the list of names.  Hopefully he can find something. Thank you, though.”

“For what?”

“For asking about my work, and for listening.  I’m not used to talking about it outside of the office.”

“You’re welcome. I find it interesting, actually.  Analysis is my specialty, though I mainly work with numbers. But I still like to know facts and details and think it all through.”

“I’ll have to remember that next time I get stuck.  I’ll let you get back to sleep. I just really wanted to call and tell you I enjoyed the last two days together.”

Her face softened.  “I did too. You know I did.”

“And to let you know that work is going to be a bit crazy the next few days. But know that I’m thinking of you, even if I don’t get to see you or talk to you much.”

“Don’t worry. I know you’re busy. Remember, Daughter Dating 101. I wouldn’t want to smother you.”

“True, but I don’t want you to think I’m ignoring you or brushing you off either. Because I’m not.”

“I wouldn’t think that.”

“OK, then have a good night. Sorry I woke you.”

“You too, have a good night. And try to get some sleep.”

***

He hung up satisfied that she knew he was thinking of her. He didn’t know where her mind was at, but he definitely didn’t want her to think he was ready to be done now that she got what she had been after. 

He had worried there for a minute this morning when she misinterpreted his question on if she needed to leave and hoped he convinced her otherwise. 

He was pretty sure he did, but he’d never felt this unsure of anything in his life before. For someone who prided himself on being in control at all times, for once he didn’t feel in control at all.

***

The next day Kaitlin received the most beautiful bouquet of flowers at work.  Her eyes lit up every time they landed on them.

They weren’t hard to miss either. There were easily three dozen flowers in the large vase. No plain roses either, but rather a mixture of tulips and orchids plus a few other variety of flowers currently in bloom. 

She had realized he was telling the truth about flowers when she left his house the other day, finally taking notice of his landscaping. There were plenty of shrubbery and other fern-type foliage, but there were also lots of flowers. Tulips, orchids, roses and many more she couldn’t remember the names of. It was beautiful and he obviously took pride in his property.

Just one more thing that added a layer to the ever-confusing man.

Two days later, after a few text messages and one more late night call, Kaitlin decided she would make the next move.

She felt bad. She had been trying to give him space and knew he was busy. Yet he kept finding time to either send her a quick text to let her know he was thinking of her, or call her late. She didn’t even mind he woke her up last night again.

So today she decided she would go to him.  Loaded down with the sandwiches she just picked up at a deli on the way and two drinks, she used her hip to push open the door to the Mathews law firm.

She had never been to his office before, but loved the old historic feel of the building that at one time was a home before it was converted into office space. 

“Can I help you?” a friendly receptionist asked. 

“Yes, is Ryan available?”

The woman eyed Kaitlin, obviously weighing her options.  “Do you have an appointment?”

“No, I don’t.  I saw his car out back, but if he’s busy I can just leave this,” she said, holding up the bag containing food.

“Let me check. Can I have your name?”

“Kaitlin,” she said simply.  She didn’t feel the need to give her last name.

The receptionist picked up the phone and punched in a few numbers, listened to it ring several times and then hung up. “I’m sorry, he isn’t answering right now. He must be in a meeting.”

“No problem. Is Thomas available?” she asked on second thought.

“Do you have an appointment with Thomas?”

Kaitlin tried not to sigh, she understood the receptionist was just doing her job; she would expect no less at her own office, but it was still annoying. “No, I don’t. But if he’s available I’m sure he wouldn’t mind seeing me.”

Before the receptionist could pick up the phone to call, Thomas walked out of a door, noticed Kaitlin standing at the front desk and approached her with a huge smile on his face. “Kaitlin, what a surprise,” he said, walking up and giving her a kiss on the cheek.  “Are you here to see Ryan?”

“I was going to surprise him, but he must be busy. No worries, you can take his lunch if you want?” she said cheerfully.

“It’s OK, Carol. I’ll get Ryan,” Thomas addressed the receptionist, then placed his hand on Kaitlin’s lower back and ushered her down the hall.  “Ryan’s in the conference room. I’ll tell him you’re here. You can wait in his office if you like.”

***

Once Thomas had Kaitlin situated in Ryan’s office, he walked back to the conference room, knocked once and opened the door. Ryan swiveled around in his chair and looked at him. “Ryan, you’ve got a visitor,” he said, happily.

“Who? I don’t have anyone scheduled today.”

Thomas raised his eyebrows. “She’s in your office now. But if you aren’t in there in five minutes, then I’m taking what she brought you.”  Then he shut the door and walked out with his smile still in place.

***

Two minutes later Ryan was pleasantly surprised to find Kaitlin standing in his office. Her back was turned to the door while she studied pictures and news articles in frames on his wall. 

He took a moment to look at her.  Today she was wearing a white and tan print skirt that ended right at her knees—and did nothing to hide her curves. It was paired with a fitted tan jacket and nude-colored heels that made her legs look even toner than they were. A beautiful sight for his tired eyes.

“What a wonderful interruption to my day,” Ryan said, then watched when Kaitlin jumped and turned around.  “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.”

He laughed and shut the door behind him, then made his way toward her.  “Come here.” He didn’t even hesitate to take her into his arms and kiss her gently on the lips before pulling her in for a hug, holding her tight.  “You smell nice.”

She leaned back and reached up to give him another kiss for good measure.  “I wanted to try my hand at being spontaneous. I couldn’t have you accuse me of needing to have everything planned out again, could I?” she said, teasing, then stepped back and made her way to the small table in the corner of his office.  “I brought you lunch. If you have a few minutes, that is? If not, I’m sure your father wouldn’t mind keeping me company,” she said, lifting an eyebrow.

“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. But it so happens I do have time and I would love nothing more than to spend it with you.”

Forty minutes later he was walking her out of his office and back to the front entrance.  “I wish I had more time, but I’ve got a call coming in in a few minutes.”

“I’ve got to get back, too. I’ve been gone longer than I thought I would be. I’m glad we had a bit of time together.”

“I’ll call you tonight. And I promise I won’t wake you this time. I should be home a little after six.”

“Oh, well in that case...” She trailed off before she could finish.

“In that case what?” he asked, holding his breath.

“Nothing. I was just going to suggest you come over for dinner if you were going to have an early night. But if you aren’t sure when you would be done, that’s fine too,” she said in a hurry.             

“Dinner would be great.  I’ll let you know when I’m on my way. Now I get to see if you’re as good of a cook as you are a baker.”

“Maybe not as good, but I can hold my own.” She grinned at him, held his stare a fraction longer than normal.  “Well, I’ll let you get back to work.”

When she didn’t make any attempt to move, Ryan reached up with his hand and gently tucked a loose strand of her ebony hair behind her ear. He felt her lean into his palm and couldn’t resist giving her a soft kiss.  “I’ll be there tonight. Have a good afternoon.”

He watched her walk out the door, staying at the reception area for a few minutes until she turned the corner to go to the parking lot and was out of his sight.  Then he turned to address Carol, who had been watching with interest.  “Always find me when one of the Harpers come in.”

Carol looked at a loss for the moment. “I always have,” she said, reminding him. But he was already walking away.

***

Thomas, who had been watching the entire exchange from the hallway, came forward.  “Carol, that was Kaitlin Harper.”  He placed his big hand on the counter that separated Carol from the visitors. “If Ryan isn’t available when she stops over, then please come and get me.” With a final tap of his palm on the counter, he turned and walked away beaming with pleasure.

He had been watching Ryan on Sunday along with everyone else.  There was definitely more going on than either of those two wanted anyone to believe.

Either that, or they were both clueless.  Because he had seen Ryan with a fair number of women over the years, and he had never seen him act like he did when he was around Kaitlin.

Ryan had always been protective of those he cared for. Loyal to a fault, not to mention generous and caring.  But he only showed those qualities to family, or close friends—friends that might as well have been family. 

Though Ryan was close with the Harper brothers, where they might fall into the second category, he couldn’t say the same about Kaitlin or his relationship with her.  Ryan hadn’t seen Kaitlin in years.

But he had witnessed Ryan with Kaitlin just now, and Kaitlin’s reaction to that simple caress. Only there was nothing simple about it. 

He needed to share what he just saw.  Unfortunately, Michele was still in class, so he would call the next best person.  He couldn’t wait to share the news with William. 

Thomas knew all about discretion. And so did Kaitlin’s parents, which was why none of them let on to Ryan or Kaitlin the joy they all felt over them being together right now.

One thing both Thomas and William knew about their children, the minute you approved of something or pushed for it, was the minute their children pushed right back and decided it wasn’t for them.

***

“Sorry I’m late,” Ryan said, opening the door to Kaitlin’s after work.

“You’re not late, but I am. Later than I thought. Guess I didn’t plan well.” She wiped her hands on the kitchen towel after securing the last piece of meat to her skewer. “I just wanted to do something simple. What is simpler than chicken and steak kabobs with veggies? Only it took longer than I thought to cut everything up and put it together,” she said with a little laugh.  “I’ll just go start the grill now. It won’t take long at all. The salad is put together and the potatoes on the skewers are already partially cooked.”

Ryan waited for her to stop rambling, then took the plate holding their meal off the counter, placed it in the refrigerator, pulled her in his arms and kissed her senseless. “Dinner can wait,” he said breathlessly a few minutes later.  “I’m feeling spontaneous myself right now.”

“Me too,” she said, grasping his hand and leading him to her bedroom.

He turned and pulled her into his arms, then resumed kissing her while he ran his hands up her sides, spreading his fingers through her hair and holding her head in place.

Her hands started to move over his body, down his shoulders, under his jacket, around his back, pulling him close. “You have too many clothes on.”

“Why don’t you do something about that?” he said, challenging her.

She got a wicked gleam in her eyes.  “Gladly.”  Reaching up she pulled his tie loose, threaded it through his collar and dropped it on the floor.

“Hey, that’s silk.”

“I’ll buy you a new one. Don’t care,” she said seriously.

He laughed. He had only been teasing her, but she looked dead serious now and he wasn’t about to stop her.

One by one she undid his shirt buttons, pulled the tails out of his waistband, then pushed his shirt off his shoulders along with his jacket.  This time she tossed them to the chair a few feet away, letting them land partially over the arm. “There, is that better?” she asked with an arch of her eyebrow.

He chose not to answer, as she looked like a woman on a mission. He didn’t want to take her off course.

“Definitely too many clothes,” she said, pulling his white T-shirt over his head.  Next went his belt. She unfastened it, let it hang open, then went for the button and zipper of his pants. Down they went faster than he could blink. 

He stepped back, removed them fully, placing them on the chair with his jacket and shirt after he took the condom out of his wallet. Then he took care of his shoes and socks.  Completely naked and comfortable in his own skin, he stepped back to her and set the condom on the bedside table. “You need to catch up now.”

“Then why don’t you do something about that?” she said, echoing his words.

He removed the apron she had on covering her work clothes. Then off went her silk camisole. She must have removed her jacket when she had gotten home.  His hands reached behind her, unzipped her skirt and watched it fall to the floor around her bare feet.

He was disappointed to see she had taken her shoes off before he arrived.  Now she was standing in a cream-colored lace bra and panty set, looking more innocent than she was at the moment.  Because right at the moment, the look in her eyes made him pause. She looked like she was ready to devour him whole.

She pushed him backwards a step toward the bed, then nudged him on it, and watched while he scooted back and lay in the center before she crawled on top of him still wearing her bra and panties. Straddling his hips and resting on her knees, she leaned forward placing her lips over his.

The tops of her breasts rubbed against his chest. The combination of the lace and silk material exciting him to a higher level. 

He reached behind her, undid the hooks and let her breasts fall against him, her hardened peaks sending jolts of electricity through his body.   He had to touch her. Had to get his hands on her. As he brushed his thumbs over her, feeling her jerk against him was slowly driving him insane. 

She sat back on her heels and her eyes glazed over, watching him while he caressed her, his large hands massaging, squeezing and pinching her.  Changing it up with each gasp of her breath. 

With a ragged sigh, she wiggled out of her panties and straddled his hips once again, then started to rub up and down the length of him.

He didn’t know where her boldness came from and frankly didn’t care. He was beyond caring at the moment. Watching Kaitlin lost in her arousal was one of the sexiest things he had ever seen.

Her dark eyes were piercing while they watched his hands touch her, her hips sliding up and down around his waist and around the tip of his erection.  It was then he realized how close she was coming to the length of him and sliding right on.

“Kaitlin,” he spoke. Only she was so lost in her pleasure, continuing to move up and down and around him, her wetness spreading all over the length of him.  He groaned, pulled his hands away from her breasts, grabbed the condom from the table and shifted her off of him quickly.

“What?” she asked glassy-eyed. She looked down for a second, frowned, but climbed back over him, continuing to slide back around him when he reached for her breasts again.  This time she rose up and lowered herself on him, inch by agonizing inch.