Sugar and Spice (12 page)

“I’m too controlling, demanding…too impulsive. I’m completely unreliable—hell, I’m always late!”

“Do you honestly think in twenty years Brooks hasn’t seen all of that? She knows what she’s getting with you and given what I just saw in that office a few minutes ago, she doesn’t seem to mind.”

“But sexually—” Ryan began.

“Did you take her back to your room at the club?” Anderson asked. His friend was well aware of his sexual practices—it was one of the things the two men had in common.

“Yes.”

“Did she run from the room screaming?”

Ryan grinned as he recalled exactly what kind of screaming Ginny did in that room.

“She was a bit too tied up to do any running.”

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“Shit,” Anderson said, looking at his face. “Don’t say another word. I don’t want to know. I love that girl like a sister and I think if you try to tell me any details, I’ll have to kill you.”

“Let’s just say she wasn’t scared.”

“Well, I could’ve told you that. Ginny’s never scared. She’s perfect for you…in every way, so accept it and move on. There’s no way I’m going to let you waste another twenty years of her life while you’re trying to screw your head on right. Go marry her.

Make babies. Be happy.”

Ryan closed his eyes, the image of Ginny with his baby at her breast winding its way around his hopes and dreams for the future until marriage and a family was all he wanted.

“You’re right.”

The door banged open and Taylor stormed in. “Where’s the fire?”

Ryan looked at Anderson, who suddenly looked guilty. “I called him before I woke you up.”

“What’s the matter, Anderson? Didn’t think you could take me alone?” Ryan teased.

“Why are we beating you up?” Taylor asked, not looking too concerned about the prospect of kicking some ass. It appeared Anderson’s call had woken him up and he wouldn’t mind hitting someone.

“He found me in a compromising position with Ginny,” Ryan answered.

“Who’s Ginny?” Taylor asked and Anderson and Ryan burst into laughter.

“Brooks,” Anderson replied.

“I’m going to fucking kill you,” Taylor said, his fists clenched as he approached Ryan.

“No you’re not,” Ryan assured him, still laughing.

“Why not?”

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“Because I love her and I’m going to marry her.”

*

Ginny heard murmured voices in the outer offices and blushed to realize she was lying on the couch in Ryan’s office, naked, except for the shirt he had obviously covered her with. Rising, she crossed the room to retrieve her clothing. She slid on the skirt and her shoes, but decided her blouse was a lost cause. She threw Ryan’s shirt on, buttoning it and rolling up the sleeves until they no longer swallowed her hands. She tried to move quickly in case the voices she heard decided to come into his office. She could hear Ryan’s deep, dulcet tones and as she listened she realized the other voice belonged to Anderson.

Tiptoeing to the door, she opened it a crack, wondering if Anderson had seen them together and trying to decide how she’d face him if he had.

Ryan was speaking. “I wouldn’t make a good husband. I can’t marry Brooks. Jesus, Anderson. I’ve screwed up everything.”

Ginny quietly closed the door, the loud crash of her heart shattering drowning out Anderson’s response.

Ryan regretted it. All of it.

She struggled to suck in a breath and fought back the nausea that was attacking her in waves. Air. She needed fresh air. Rushing to the window, she threw it open, thrusting her head out into the cool night breeze. All she could think about was escape.

She had to escape. Get away from here.

No. Dammit,
no
! She’d run from Ryan once and she wouldn’t do that again. She was in love with him and she’d had more than enough of the foolish man’s games. If this was only sex to him, he was in for a rude awakening because she wouldn’t settle for that. She wanted him, his body, his heart, his mind. She wanted his friendship and his love. Hell, after spending the last twenty years making excuses for his tardiness, organizing his desk and business affairs, listening to his locker-room talk, he owed her.

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She loved him. God help her but she really, truly loved him.

I wouldn’t make a good husband.
Husband? Travers? Was he considering marriage?

Shit, she was still trying to get used to the idea that she loved the man and he’d already made—and dismissed—the leap to ’til death do us part.

Although…why was marriage out of the question? She loved him and, after thinking about Allie’s comments all weekend, she was beginning to suspect Ryan loved her as well. He’d hated every man she’d ever dated on sight. He was so furious the night she’d lost her virginity she’d thought he would punch a hole in the wall. At the time, she’d thought it was because he’d disliked Erik, but he’d made a comment Friday night that kept floating back to her.
I’ve had a hankering to have you at my mercy ever since
you were eighteen and gave your virginity to that dipshit Erik.

Was he upset that she’d slept with someone other than him? Had
he
wanted to be her first?

God, he’d already claimed that title in so many other respects.

The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced they were perfect for each other and if he couldn’t see that, she would just have to prove it to him.

But how?

A thought came to her. A plan so deliciously devious it might just work. Rushing to the desk, Ginny reached down and scooped up Ryan’s cell phone before returning to the window. Swinging her leg over the windowsill, she jumped down to the ground— grateful for their single-story office building—and started dialing Allie’s number. She was going to need help.

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“Crap. I knew it was a mistake to let you in Saturday morning.”

“Oh hush, Allie. You’re loving every minute of this and you know it. You’ve done nothing but talk about coming to this club since the place opened.”

“Ginny Brooks. When I said I wanted to come to the Way Down Under Club, believe me when I say this was
not
what I had in mind.” Allie grabbed the jumbo bag of M&M’s out of the grocery sack and sighed. “God, I’m probably going to need therapy after this.”

Ginny giggled nervously. Usually she was grateful for her sister’s sense of humor, but tonight it wasn’t helping to ease the so-called butterflies that were attacking her stomach like a swarm of locusts. After she’d escaped Ryan’s office on Monday night, she had called her sister and asked her to pick her up at the end of the block. Together, they’d hit an all-night convenience store and cleaned out the candy aisle.

“You better hope all this candy sweetens him up,” Allie said.

They’d been loading their sugary booty into Allie’s car when Ryan’s cell phone rang. To say he was pissed off that she’d run again—this time with his phone—was probably an understatement.

Allie was still chatting away, oblivious to Ginny’s anxiety. “Anderson said he hit the roof Monday night when you told him you weren’t coming into work this week and that you’d be out of reach for a few days.”

“Yeah, well. It’s for his own good. Mom always said, ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder’. Maybe if he weren’t so stubbornly attached to his bachelor status, I wouldn’t have had to go through all of this.”

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Allie shook her head. “Anderson said he and Taylor have been taking all their meetings out of the office this week just to avoid running into Travers. They said he’s like a volcano about to erupt.”

“Dammit, Allie! Shut up about what Anderson is saying. I know what I’m doing.”

She didn’t mean to snap at her sister, but she was terrified and not at all certain she wasn’t making a gigantic mistake.

Allie fell silent and continued unloading the candy.

“I’m sorry,” Ginny said softly. “I’m a nervous wreck, but that doesn’t give me the right to take it out on you.”

Allie grinned and Ginny knew she’d been forgiven as easily as that. It was one of the best things about her sister. None of their fights—and they’d had millions in their lifetime—ever lasted beyond the apology. “You’re going to knock his socks off, sis. You are so hot, you’re going to melt the chocolate.”

Ginny’s hands instinctively reached up to her hair. After their midnight candy run, she and Allie had driven into the city, checked into a swanky hotel and treated themselves to a day at a spa. She’d let her sister talk her into a new hairstyle to go along with the highlights. She’d kept most of the length, opting for more layers, simply because she suspected Ryan liked her hair long.

“What time is it?” Ginny asked nervously.

“Time to get you ready. Anderson and Taylor should be here with Travers in a few minutes. I’ll just get you situated and then mark the trail.”

Ginny nodded. They’d called Anderson a couple of days earlier to recruit his help.

Once they’d told him their plan, he’d jumped on board and dragged Taylor along with him for the ride.

“So get undressed and lay down,” Allie prompted.

Ginny blushed despite the fact she and Allie had shared a room the whole time they were growing up.

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Mari Carr

Tonight, however, was definitely pushing the boundaries of sisterly love.

“Hurry your ass up or I’m not going to have time to work my magic.” Or perhaps they weren’t pushing anything at all. Ginny shook her head and marveled again at Allie’s complete lack of the embarrassment gene. Nothing fazed her sister…ever.

She stripped off her clothes and positioned herself spread-eagle on the bed. She and Allie giggled as Allie set the stage for the night. Ginny couldn’t wait to see Ryan’s face when he saw her.

Please
, she silently prayed,
please let this work.

*

“Listen, I appreciate you guys trying to cheer me up but I told you, I’m not depressed. I’m pissed. I’m going to find Miss Ginny Brooks and beat her ass for this disappearing act. I really need be home in case she calls.”

“Face it, buddy,” Taylor said, slapping him on the shoulder. “She hasn’t called all week and she’s not going to call tonight. She said she’d find you when the time was right. Come on, it’s Friday night. Let’s live it up a little.”

Ryan picked up his beer and took a long swig. He’d been going out of his mind for days wondering where Ginny had gone, why she’d run away from him again. Damn woman was driving him insane. When he’d called her Monday night after finding her
and
his phone missing, she’d merely said she was taking a little trip. She’d said she needed to do some thinking and that she’d be back. Then she’d warned him not to look for her and not to worry.

Yeah right.
Like that was possible. He’d torn the town apart twice looking for her before finally admitting that she’d flown the coop and covered her tracks well.

“What the hell is
she
doing here?”

Ryan looked up, surprised by the annoyed tone in Anderson’s voice. He watched, amazed, as Allie Brooks sauntered into the bar like she owned the place. Several men approached her and she smiled and flirted with all of them before moving forward.

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Ryan glanced over and noticed that Anderson’s face appeared to be carved in granite and his fists were white from clenching the table so tightly.

She walked straight up to where they sat and smiled at him. “Hey, Travers.”

“Where the fuck is Ginny?” He suspected Ginny’s sister, who’d been missing this week as well, knew exactly where his wayward girlfriend was.

“Oh you know, she’s around. She would have joined us for a drink, but she’s kind of tied up at the moment.”

Ryan stood and gripped Allie’s elbow. The girl had been a pain in the ass since grade school, always trailing around after their group, teasing them, causing trouble.

“Listen Allie, I’m not in the mood for your games.”

A firm hand on his wrist distracted him. “Take your hand off her, Travers.”

Ryan looked over at the undeniable fury in Anderson’s face and he released Allie’s arm.

Allie giggled and patted Ryan’s cheek affectionately. “Ginny wanted me to give you this.”

Ryan grabbed the envelope from her hand and stepped away from the table.

Ripping it open, he found a message written in Ginny’s handwriting.

Sugar and Spice and everything nice lies at the end of the rainbow.

What the fuck did that mean?

Allie walked over to him and handed him an empty bag of M&Ms. “The hallway,”

she whispered.

Rapidly walking out of the bar, Ryan was instantly greeted by a line of colorful chocolate candies, leading down the hallway through the club. Following the line, he found himself standing outside the door to his own room. His heart was racing. What was Ginny’s game?

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Mari Carr

He opened the door and stepped inside. The room was dimly lit, the light of a few candles providing the only illumination. He noticed the trail of candy continued at his feet and led straight to the bed. His eyes followed the line—and he found her.

He blinked several times, trying to understand and believe the tableau before him.

Ginny was naked and bound on the bed. As he approached, he could see her wrists and ankles were tied spread-eagle with cherry licorice laces. She wore a candy necklace around her neck and on each nipple rested a Hershey’s kiss. Her pussy—good God, her shaved,
bare
pussy—was artfully decorated with whipped cream and someone had created an intricate pattern on her chest with SweeTarts. The pattern mimicked the one he’d created with the hemp rope just a week ago.

He looked at her face and then narrowed his eyes. “What the hell did you do to your hair?”

Ginny giggled at his question and he was aware it was the same one he’d asked last Friday.

“I got it cut. Do you like it?”

“Shit, it looks hot as hell. Ginny?” he asked. He was so shocked by her appearance that he forgot his anger in an instant.