The Keeping (30 page)

Licking her
suddenly dry lips, she forced her mind to abandon that
oh-so-interesting train of thought. It wasn’t prudent when they
were lying half naked in bed together. Mel wiggled her toes again,
trying to focus on mundane matters and not on the man beside her. A
lock of hair was falling in her eyes and she brushed it away, then
began twirling the hair around her finger. Hair. That was a safe,
distracting topic. She’d trimmed the bangs herself a few weeks ago,
but all in all, it was getting way too shaggy. A good cut was what
she needed, maybe even a new style. Highlights? Or a totally
different colour? Shifting a bit so she could see Ryne better, she
sought his opinion. “What do you think I should do with my
hair?”

“Hmm?”

“My hair. It’s
really getting long and there’s no style left. Do you think I
should just get new layers put in it or go for a complete change? I
could dye it red or even black. Maybe cut it really short, a bit
spiky on top? I don’t want anything that requires too much work,
though. You know, it needs to be something simple so I can just
wash, add a bit of product, dry, and go.” She knew she was
babbling, but the silence between them was too hard to handle.
Setting her cup of coffee down, then shimmied around so that she
was sitting cross-legged, facing him.

“Um...I think it
looks fine.”

Mel noted he had a
sort of dazed look about him. Hairstyles probably weren’t his cup
of tea, but since he was a man, she’d figured his opinion was worth
exploring. “I’ve done it all, you know; short, curly, straight,
streaked, long... I’ve always heard that men prefer longer hair,
but I don’t know why exactly. What’s your opinion?”

He stared at her
for a moment then shook his head. His lips were twitching as if
trying to hold back some form of emotional expression. “It’s
sexier.”

“Really? How
so?”

Ryne set his
coffee cup down and turned so that he too was facing her, a
mischievous grin on his face. “Because, you can run your hands
through it.” He demonstrated. “And use it to pull a woman closer.”
Which he did, and then leaned in close to whisper against her lips.
“And, when you’re having sex and the woman’s trailing her lips all
over your body, the feel of her hair brushing softly against your
skin drives you wild.”

“Oh!” Mel squeaked
out a response as Ryne gently brushed his lips back and forth over
hers. He’d buried his fingers in her hair and was now leaning back
and using her long tresses to slowly pull her down on top of him.
Once he was on his back and she was leaning over him, he deepened
the kiss. Vaguely, Mel noted how her hair provided a curtain around
them, blocking out the rest of the world. Mmm... Long hair did have
its advantages she thought as she slid her hands over Ryne’s
chest.

“I won.” He
whispered against her lips.

“Hmm? Won what?”
She traced his lower lip with the tip of her tongue.

“The bet.” He
nuzzled the curve of her neck, inhaling deeply.

“What bet?” Mel
guided his face back up.

“That you could
ignore me.” Ryne cupped her face and stared into her eyes, the hint
of a teasing twinkle apparent.

She furrowed her
brow briefly. Was it worth arguing over? Not at the moment... The
waves of sensations zinging through her were more important.
“Doesn’t matter. This is more fun.”

“Mmm... I agree.”
He traced her cheekbones with his thumbs before combing his fingers
through her hair to hold her head.

Leaning in closer,
she flicked her tongue over his, savouring the taste and texture of
him. Gently she bit his lower lip, pulling softly before soothing
it with a soft kiss. Ryne growled his approval and his hands
clenched her hair more tightly before releasing it. He kept one
hand on her head while sliding the other down her neck. Using his
fingers, he brushed them delicately over her ear and jaw, before
pushing the neck of her robe open so he could tease her collar
bone.

Mel shivered in
delight at the lightness of his touch and how it brought all her
nerve endings screaming to life, begging for more. Shifting so that
her knees straddled his hips, she leaned closer, rubbing her torso
against him while trailing kisses over his face. She raked her
teeth along the column of his neck and felt his throat vibrate
against her lips as another growl rumbled up from his chest. The
sound brought a wave of warmth to her lower body; how he made that
sound and why it turned her on, was a mystery, but at that moment
she didn’t really care.

Frustrated at the
bed sheets and clothing that separated them, she made no protest
when Ryne pushed her robe completely off her shoulders. It fell
down about her waist, leaving her breasts bare and exposed to his
scrutiny. A combination of the cooler air and the heat of his gaze
had her nipples pebbling and she whimpered with the need to feel
his mouth around them.

As he cupped her
breasts in his hands, she pulled at the sheets covering him,
muttering in frustration as she realized she was sitting on them
and they wouldn’t move any farther until she moved. Rising up on
all fours in preparation for doing just that, Ryne reached up and
held her upper arms to still her movements. Mel looked down,
questioning his actions.

He avidly studied
her for a moment and possessively ran his hands down her ribcage to
her waist where the tie of the robe stopped his journey. A
half-smile played over his face and Mel contemplated his
expression. There seemed to be something wild and untamed lurking
just below the surface.

“I love how you
look, standing over me like that.” He moved his hands back up and
caressed her breasts, thumbing her nipples. “You should see your
eyes. They’re burning with desire, glowing... You remind me of a
she-wolf—” Abruptly, he stopped speaking and a frown appeared on
his face.

His comment
touched her sense of humour and Mel chuckled, leaning back on her
haunches. “Is that a polite way of calling me a bitch?”

Ryne stared up at
her. For a moment he seemed puzzled or disoriented, but then he
shook his head. The wild look faded and, if anything, he now
appeared regretful. “No.” A heavy sigh escaped his lips. Grasping
her by the hips, he lifted her off and sat her down beside him.
Then he swung his legs over the side and sat with his back to her.
He rubbed his face roughly with his hands. “You’re not a bitch. Far
from it. But I am a bastard. I just meant to tease you a bit and
things got out of control.” There was a pause and then he seemed to
force out one final word, as if he wasn’t accustomed to uttering
it. “Sorry.”

Mel watched in
confusion as he stood and walked towards the door, the sight of his
taut rear-end and muscular thighs doing unspeakable things to her
insides. “Where are you going?”

“To see if my
clothes are dry. I think I should head home now.” And with that he
left the room.

Blinking slowly,
she processed his message. He was leaving. Right in the middle of
everything. Right after getting her all worked up, he was leaving!
Giving an exasperated huff, Mel pushed her hair from her face and
clambered off the bed. She pulled her robe shut, straightened the
covers, and picked up the empty coffee cups. For a moment she stood
in the middle of the room, unsure what to do.

Half of her was
hurt, that he’d walked away like that, while the other half was
relieved that he’d had the common sense she lacked. Still another
half of her—wait a minute. She frowned; that was too many halves.
Well, whatever. There was some anger mixed in there too. Anger at
herself for wanting him and at Ryne for being such as jerk.
‘Teasing her!’ Ha! The joke wasn’t funny. He needed to keep his
hands, lips, and oh-so-yummy body to himself if he wasn’t going to
follow through.

Intent on
informing him of just that, she marched into the living area only
to freeze when she saw him, still naked, leaning over her laptop.
It was one of her little quirks, but she didn’t like people messing
with her electronics.

“What are you
doing with my computer?” She winced at the accusing tone of voice
she had used and was just preparing to apologize when she realized
that Ryne ignored her question and countered with one of his
own.

“Where did you get
these pictures?” He gestured towards the screen; his tone of voice
was sharp and angry, with something else thrown into the mix.
Puzzled, she could only come up with ‘fear.’

Well, so much for
feeling guilty over her own rude comment; his was even more surly.
She walked to the table and peered over his shoulder. It was the
file of pictures she accidentally downloaded from the camera and
explained as much to him.

“Did you look at
these?”

“No, not really.
What are they? Part of the next Ryne Taylor exhibit?” Her attempt
at lightening the mood fell flat. Ryne just scowled at her and
tightened his mouth. Sighing gustily, Mel started to explain. “I
just opened the file, wondering what it was, skimmed over a few,
and when I realized they must be yours, I just left them, end of
story.”

He glared at her
for a moment, seeming to search her face for...something. Finally,
he grunted appearing satisfied with whatever he saw. Turning back
to the computer, he quickly deleted the file.

Mel held back her
initial indignant reply that he had no right to just delete things
from her computer. They were his pictures after all and she should
have erased them right away. Seeking to keep the peace, in the
spirit of ensuring a future interview, she apologized. “I’m sorry.
I didn’t mean to snoop. I was just downloading the pictures I took
and I didn’t think to see if there were other photos there. Your
pictures are still on the camera, though; I didn’t erase the chip.”
She looked around, grabbed the camera from the table where she’d
set it upon returning home and handed it back to him. “Here, you
can have it back.”

Taking the camera
from her outstretched hand, Ryne looked as if he were about to say
something, but then thought better of it. Instead, he turned and
headed towards the door.

“Umm... Didn’t you
forget something?” Despite the tense mood that had filled the room,
Mel couldn’t keep a tinge of amusement from her voice.

“What?” He had his
hand on the door knob, his back to her.

“Clothes?” A
snicker escaped her lips, despite her best efforts to keep it
back.

His whole body
went rigid and he turned, shooting her a filthy look before
grabbing his clothing from in front of the fire. “I’ll get dressed
outside.” With that, he left carrying his clothes in his arms.

Well! Mel wasn’t
sure what to think about that. At least there were no neighbours
nearby to wonder why a naked man was getting dressed in front of
her cabin. She giggled again. It sure beat the traditional gnomes
and pink flamingos as far as lawn ornaments went.

Walking over to
the computer, she sat down in front of it, her mood sobering again.
Staring at the screen, she chewed on her lip. Why hadn’t Ryne
wanted her to see his pictures? It couldn’t be because they were
bad shots, he didn’t strike her as having a perfectionist streak in
him, and besides, the few she’d seen had been perfectly fine.

Furrowing her
brow, she tried to recall the images on the screen. The one he’d
seen—the one she’d left open on the computer—had been of a lake.
Before that, there was a house, an older couple, a woman by a lake,
a group of people, a butterfly on a flower... That was all she
could recall. It seemed pretty innocuous. There was no reason for
him to get all bent out of shape like that. Sure, he was heavily
into maintaining his privacy, but she hadn’t purposely gone
snooping and the pictures didn’t really show anything... Or did
they? Had she missed something significant? Or were there important
photos that she hadn’t viewed yet?

Too bad he’d
erased the file. Just for curiosity’s sake, she’d love to have
another look. It would certainly make Aldrich happy if she could
come up with something specific about the man. She winced, thinking
of his disparaging comments when she’d reported Ryne’s ‘I didn’t
exist before photography’ answer. He’d been even less impressed
than she was, insisting she needed to be more pushy when delving
into Ryne’s background. Even worse, Aldrich threatened to have Mr.
Greyson cancel her contract and demand the money back. That had
sent a wave of fear down her spine. His cold accusing voice echoed
in her head.

“Excuse me if I’m
mistaken, Ms. Greene, but isn’t an investigative reporter supposed
to actually
investigate
? Not just sit around and wait for
the subject to hand over the information. From where I sit, all
you’ve done is tiptoe around the man. Hardly earning your keep now,
are you? Especially considering how many zeros were on that cheque.
Don’t be surprised, if things continue as they are, to find Mr.
Greyson initiating legal proceedings with the aim of obtaining a
full refund of all monies paid, up to and including this date.
Unfortunately, you’ll be out of pocket any expenses you’ve incurred
up to now, but that’s what happens when you don’t deliver what you
promise.”

With that the man
had hung up, leaving Mel madly calculating how she’d cover the rent
on the cabin, the cost of the plane tickets, the car rental...

Mel’s stomach
quivered nervously. She didn’t have any money beyond what Greyson
had given her. She’d been living hand to mouth before getting this
job and used her small savings to pay her apartment rent a month in
advance. But what was she supposed to do? If Ryne didn’t want to
talk, didn’t want to share, well then... A thought popped into her
head as she stared at the computer screen. An internal battle
raged, even as her hand manoeuvred the mouse across the screen.
Ryne didn’t want her to see those pictures, obviously worried
they’d reveal some personal information, but... She bit her lip as
she double clicked on the recycle bin icon and stared at the
deleted, but not yet erased file.