‘I see,’ she said at last. Megan didn’t get a sociopath vibe off him, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t one. Those kinds of criminals often adapted to give the appearance of societal perfection, becoming just what everyone needed them to be. ‘Very well.’
Ryan looked as if he didn’t believe she’d said it. He wasn’t very good at the blackmail thing. Though the look did make her think he was just a sorry loser and not a mastermind criminal. ‘Yeah? Really?’
‘It’s what you want, isn’t it?’ Megan crossed her arms over her chest. Damn, but her nipples stung.
Unsure what she was going to do with this turn of events, she did know things would go a lot easier for everyone if the crime-scene photo stayed out of the newspapers. Not many things scared her and Ryan was no exception. At worst, she’d have to hold out until the trials were over. In that time, she’d study him, learn all she could about him and then deal with him accordingly.
‘Hey.’ Kat slid open the balcony door, her finger hooked through two teacup handles. ‘Mom wants you both to drink these.’
‘What is it?’ Ryan asked.
‘Tea.’ Kat laughed and shook her head as Ryan started to decline. ‘You have to. She’s going to read your future in the leaves. She says it works better when the person who she’s reading drinks from the cup as they think of their future and themselves, as opposed to her concentrating on the person or situation as she drinks it herself.’
‘Is this for real?’ Ryan glanced at Megan.
She met his eyes, not answering. She took the tea from Kat and gulped back the hot liquid. It burnt her mouth, sending fire down her throat, but she refused to let her suffering show. Her cup empty, she gave a small gasp. Then, mumbling under her breath, she said, ‘I need a beer. If I’m going to be forced to do this, I might as well not remember doing it.’
Ryan’s knees weakened as soon as Megan left him alone with Kat. His heart beat fast and he felt as if the wind had been knocked out of his lungs. Megan wasn’t happy. Could he really blame her though? He’d weaselled his way into her life, become her fiancé, told her parents and talked about making babies.
I’m insane, he thought. There is no other way to explain it. I’ve gone crazy.
‘I think it went rather well.’ Kat slapped him on the back.
‘Well?’ Ryan choked. Tea sloshed over the side of his cup, running hot down the back of his hand. ‘I can’t believe I let you talk me into this. It’s crazy. I just declared myself engaged to a woman who can’t stand to be in the same room as me. She’s in there getting drunk to forget I exist.’
‘Hey, look on the bright side.’ Kat tilted her head towards the edge of the balcony. ‘She didn’t throw you over the edge. It’s a pretty good start.’
‘This was a stupid idea. What were we thinking?’ Crossing over, he leant to look over the side of the building. From the angle, it felt almost as if he could step upon the stone wall and walk down. Gravity pulled his hair as he watched people walking through the narrow street below. He wished he had super powers and could fly down into the oblivion of the city. ‘She will never love me.’
‘Love?’ Kat asked. When he looked at her, her face paled. ‘Oh, Ry –’
‘I said
like
,’ he lied. ‘She will never like me. Not like this. Never like this. What were we thinking?’
‘I’ll tell her I did it. I told our parents the news before you got here and you were too confused not to go along with it.’ Kat paused. ‘No, that won’t work. She’ll ignore you again. We need something. What did she say? Anything?’
‘She said OK.’
‘OK? Are you sure it was OK?’ Kat asked.
‘She said, “Very well”.’
‘Oh, that’s not good. OK would have been OK, but very well is not very well.’ Kat frowned, rubbing the bridge of her nose. ‘I’ll need to get Zoe to help me and maybe Sasha. Mom’s planning a big trip for everyone – everyone but Ella. She couldn’t make it home after all.’
He said nothing.
‘Can you get the next month off from work?’ Kat asked.
Ryan nodded. ‘The captain called me into his office this morning when I dropped off the museum crime-scene photos and said they’d hired some new guys to take some of my workload. They’re training them to weed out the ones who won’t stick with it. If I didn’t know better, I would think I was being punished for something, but really they’re just giving me a break since I’ve been doing the work of three men.’
‘Perfect. I’ll convince Mom to pick a place out of the city, somewhere romantic and secluded, so you two can get plenty of alone time. Vincent’s his own boss and can do whatever he wants, so I’ll make him come with us. You could use a guy around to back you up. If he complains about missing work, I’ll just buy him a bug-catching net.’
‘Where is Vincent, by the way? I thought you said he was coming today.’ Ryan glanced inside, only to find Sasha and Zoe staring back at him, grinning. Zoe lifted her hand, wiggling her fingers in a little wave.
‘Oh, something to do with dignitaries and African fire ants.’ Kat waved her hand dismissively. ‘All I know is I sent him a naked picture earlier on his cell phone, so he’ll be home on time tonight.’
Ryan chuckled.
‘Hey, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do to get her husband’s notice.’ Kat winked. ‘I know he loves me, but I swear I’m the only woman in the world who has to fight a bunch of bugs for her husband’s attention.’
‘Vincent would give it all up for you,’ Ryan said quietly. ‘I’ve seen it in the way he looks at you – once that distracted look he gets wears off, that is.’
Kat gave a small girlish giggle. ‘It is adorable, isn’t it?’
‘Yeah. Adorable.’ Ryan’s tone was dry.
‘Oh, sorry, forgot. I’ll save that talk for the girlfriends.’ Kat cleared her throat. ‘OK, so here’s the plan. We will go in. Ignore Megan for the most part. She’s drinking and surly. The goal right now is to get to know my parents. Don’t worry, they will all love you. Dad likes anyone who he thinks makes his daughters happy and Mom just likes everyone. We will have dinner, Megan will drink too much and you will get her home on your motorcycle.’
‘I don’t have a motorcycle.’
Kat grinned, reached into her pocket and pulled out a set of keys. ‘You do for tonight. I have a friend dropping his bike off in front of the building for you to use. This is the spare key. Just make sure you don’t crash. Jack will kill me if anything happens to it.’
‘I don’t have a licence to drive a motorcycle,’ he insisted.
‘Well, don’t tell Megan that. She’s a cop and wouldn’t think twice about having you arrested for it.’ Kat giggled. ‘Now, gulp that tea and get inside. If I know Mom, she’ll have nothing but glowing things to say about your future with our Megan.’
Chapter Three
‘Ohhh.’ Beatrice’s loud sigh fell over her family as she turned a teacup in her hand, staring down into its depths. ‘This is not exactly what I . . . Oh. Hmm. Well? Maybe, but, oh.’
Megan blinked, looking up from her place at the table. She slouched back in her chair, her feet sprawled forwards. The dinner Zoe had prepared for them – a masterpiece of garlic zucchini, baked tortellini and bread with basil-flavoured olive oil for dipping – had been devoured to the last bite. Megan especially enjoyed the intense ruby-red wine her chef sister had brought from the Italian restaurant she worked at. The liquor left her feeling warm and sleepy, not to mention the dulling effect it had on the arousal Ryan stirred inside her with his surprisingly expert kiss.
Her mother shook her head, worrying her lower lip as she stared from one teacup to the other. ‘They could have gotten bumped sitting on the countertop. I should have read them right away.’
‘Dinner was ready,’ Douglas said. ‘No tea readings during dinner.’
‘That’s
your
rule, dear.’ Beatrice frowned, tilting the cups around, still studying them.
‘It was a fair trade. I gave up reading newspapers at the table.’ Douglas winked at Megan. She knew her father only read the papers to annoy her mother and get her to stop the nightly tea readings. ‘Besides, Zoe’s cooking is always well worth our full attention.’
Kat and Sasha laughed uncontrollably from the opposite side of the table. The two of them had been cracking jokes at Zoe and Megan’s expense all night. It was clear they were drunk by the way they swayed in their chairs, hopping up and down excitedly each time they found something amusing.
Feeling Ryan’s gaze on her, Megan turned to him. His soft eyes and easy smile caught her attention and held it. He hadn’t said much to her since coming inside with Kat, but he said plenty to her parents until both of them seemed completely enchanted by the man.
Wine coursed through her veins, pleasantly hazing her senses. Her lids felt heavy, her muscles relaxed and the pressure of Ryan’s touch haunted her mouth. He was everything she told herself she didn’t want. Maybe it was the liquor, or perhaps the fact she’d been so long without a lover, but the thought of sleeping with Ryan made her heart beat just a little faster. She clenched her thighs together, as they again sparked to life, and tried to get her sex to stop aching. The more she fought her arousal, the more erotic notions curled in her brain.
Ryan’s breathing deepened, matching hers. The sound of her sister’s laughter faded. If she leant up in her chair, she’d be able to touch his leg under the table. His pants hugged his body, giving away the strong muscles of his thighs. Megan flexed her hand, pressing it to her own leg. She imagined what it would feel like to frisk him, standing behind him as she ran her fingers along the inside of his leg, reaching his balls. And then to push forwards, cupping his shaft in her hands until his cock became so hard it strained the material covering it.
Or maybe he’d frisk her, pressing her down like a dangerous criminal. One hand to her back, keeping her still, as he jerked her pants down to expose the wet lips of her pussy. His free hand would release his erection, stroking the length so it was good and hard. Megan tried to suppress the hunger, the impulsive desire, the ache of unfulfilled passions. She began to lean forwards, but Zoe’s voice stopped her, dragging her hazy mind back to reality.
‘Shh!’ Zoe waved her hands at their two giggling sisters to get them to be quiet. ‘What is it, Mom? What do you see?’
‘Yeah, Mom, what do the voices tell you?’ Sasha whispered, not too quietly.
‘Don’t go to the light,’ Kat added, causing another fit of giggling.
Megan took a deep breath, shaking herself out of her stupor. She’d forgotten Ryan’s blackmail as she stared at him. But now, it came back to her as Zoe’s words brought her attention to the teacups.
‘I . . .’ Beatrice frowned. She looked up at Megan glancing between her daughter and Ryan, shaking her head. ‘I’ll do it again.’
‘Why? What does it say?’ Megan asked, sitting forwards. By the look on her mother’s face, the leaves said the truth. They said she was not destined to marry Ryan and bear him children. She didn’t need a fortune teller to know that much.
‘It’s unclear.’ Beatrice picked up the cups and hurried towards the kitchen.
Megan knew her mother was lying. For one thing, the woman was a horrible liar, perhaps one of the worst. For the second, in all the years Megan could remember, her mother never claimed she was unable to read what the tea leaves supposedly said.
‘Mom probably doesn’t want to be the one to tell Megan she’s going to have twelve kids.’ Sasha laughed, snorting as she fell over in her chair.
‘Oh, can you . . . ?’ Kat’s laughter joined Sasha’s in a fit of hyperventilation. ‘Can you see Megan and . . . ?’
‘Twelve kids?’ Sasha finished. She lifted her hands in an obvious attempt to imitate her sister, waving them in the air and screaming softly in a panic.
‘OK, I think you two have had too much wine.’ Douglas reached over to take their glasses away.
Megan grabbed her own before her father decided to confiscate it as well.
‘Mm, it’s late,’ Kat said, stretching her arms. ‘Anyone want to share a cab? My rich husband is buying.’
‘Me,’ Sasha said. ‘I’m a broke college girl.’
‘I’ll take you up on that. I’m a broke chef.’ Zoe stood from the table.
‘I’ve got a bike,’ Ryan turned to Megan, ‘and I haven’t been drinking. I’ll take you home, sweetheart.’
Megan instantly shook her head. Her blood was too heated with fantasies of him. Tonight was not the night to be alone with Ryan, let alone on the back of a motorcycle, straddling a hard leather seat as the engine vibrated beneath her. ‘No, that’s OK. I’ll get a ride with Kat.’
‘Mm, no, you two are probably only going to meet up later anyway,’ Kat said. ‘Ryan can give you a ride home.’
If her family wasn’t looking at her expectantly, their tired eyes curious as to why she would refuse, she would have protested more. Megan thought of the picture, of Jersey St Claud. She could not afford her credibility to be in question because of a stupid mistake. St Claud was guilty and she was going to make sure he was put away for a long, long time.
All this because I stepped on a rock some cave dweller carved centuries ago.