BIG: (A Bad Boy Stepbrother Romance) (34 page)

Time for a topic change. “I was surprised to hear you’re re-joining Ryker Arms.”

“Yes, you looked as ecstatic as Ric!”

“I wasn’t unhappy about it,” Annalesa lied. “Just surprised.”

“Well, I’m always better when I have a cause.” Elsa winked.

“So this is your new cause?”

“I know most of the guys on that board on a first-name basis. I have drinks with them regularly. I’m friends with their wives. And I
know
the business. Brad’s hoping I can get them to see that they’re not going to achieve what they think they’ll achieve by selling ammunition to these vigilantes.”

“What vigilantes?” That word made her heart thump harder in her chest.

“I won’t name them. As Brad so sensibly said, the less you know, the better.”

“Mum, I can’t look after myself if I’m completely in the dark.” Annalesa sat up straighter on the bed to face her mother. “And it’s really not fair to Ric.”

“All right.” Elsa pinched the bridge of her nose. “Let’s see how succinctly I can put this. These vigilantes are French-African, and they see themselves as liberators of peace.”

“For who?”

“For whom, dear. For peace-loving Muslims persecuted by Fundamentalist Muslims.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound like such a bad cause?”

“No.” Elsa sighed. “But these vigilantes’ methods of crushing oppression are just as oppressive as the oppressors’. Ric’s already told them we’re not interested—as a company—in arming them.”

“French-African, huh?” Annalesa gulped.

“Yes... why?”

Annalesa wasn’t going to admit she might have seen the guys her mother was talking about—at Hotel de l’Europe in Amsterdam when she’d gone to meet Ric months ago.

She patted the empty side of the double bed to encourage her mother to make herself comfortable and changed the subject. “Isn’t there some way of proving that these people are more dangerous than the board members think?”

“That’s Ric’s plan,” Elsa told her. “For the last few weeks, he’s had Anders’ men protecting a journalist who’s doing an exposé on these vigilantes. I don’t know if it will ever air—the network is nervous. But this journalist told Ric he’d be happy, at the very least, to give the board a private screening.”

“Brilliant.” Annalesa meant it, feeling a huge, silent well of pride. “That way the board gets to see the kind of people they want to supply weapons to.”

This was the strategy of the new Ric. Forceful, but quietly persuasive. The old Ric, who’d have run his mouth off and then stormed away, seemed to have gone for good.

“I just hope it’ll be enough to get everyone on the board to come to their senses. Then all this ridiculous stock-moving will be moot. We’ll see.” Elsa’s eyes welled suddenly and she wiped them dry with the back of her hand, leaving mascara streaks.

“Mum?”

“I’m fine.” Elsa sniffled and straightened. But the moment she got a grip, she was sobbing again.

“Mum!”

“Sorry, sorry.” She sniffed again, trying to get control. “I’m just so proud of him!”

“Ric?” Annalesa asked and Elsa nodded. “That’s... good, isn’t it?”

“Yes, yes of course it is, but it’s
such
a relief. I really worried that Ric and Brad wouldn’t be able to work together, and that our whole family would come crashing down to the ground again. We’ve had enough of that hell, and I’m not going there again.” She grimaced as she pulled her hand away, streaked with black. “Damn, hand me a tissue. I’m turning into Alice Cooper.”

“I’m proud of him, too.” Annalesa reached over to her bedside table and grabbed the pocket tissues next to her wallet, handing them back to Elsa.

“You’re a lot more than proud of him, sweetheart.”

Crap.

Elsa fixed her with a sharp, red-eyed gaze and Annalesa felt her heart drop into her stomach.

She got off the bed and went over to the window, buying herself some time before replying.

She wasn’t sure what Elsa knew—if anything at all—and she wasn’t about to confess something before she knew what she was being accused of. It wasn’t just herself she had to think about, but Ric too.

“He’s really been looking after me,” she said eventually. “It’s hard not to feel close to someone who watches over me like he does.”

“I’ve seen the way you look at him.”

Annalesa stared out of the window. Anders was climbing out of his BMW. He’d arrived earlier than planned, and looked very casual and at ease, in a dark sweater, jeans and sports jacket, with a rucksack hooked over one shoulder. He pulled his phone out and laughed at something on the screen as he walked around to the front entrance, a spring in his step.

She wondered how much longer he’d look so cheerful.

The press of a light hand on Annalesa’s shoulder made her jump hard enough to bang into the glass. “Mum, Christ! You nearly gave me a bloody heart attack!”

“You’re very jumpy, darling.”

“I wasn’t until you made me jump.”

“Please don’t try to bullshit your mother, dear.” Elsa turned Annalesa around by the shoulders, a lopsided smile flickering at the corner of her mouth. “I’m not going to tell you how you do or don’t feel about Ric, but if you’ve developed feelings for him which are less than... sisterly... you’re going to have to be strong. Fighting them will be the hardest thing you’ll ever have to do, but you’ll be better for it in the long run.”

Annalesa felt tears sting at the corner of her eyes and looked away from her mother’s searching gaze.

“Oh, sweetheart, it’s happening already, isn’t it?” Elsa pulled her into a warm hug. “He’s so protective, and it’s so easy to mistake that for something more. And you’ve just spent a weekend with him in a cave, which has to have done some strange and painful things to your heart.”

Annalesa wanted to snap back, demanding to know why her mother felt that Ric couldn’t possibly feel the same way. But for now, however undignified the lecture, there was incredible relief in knowing her mother had no clue about their relationship.

“Thanks for the advice. To be honest, I’m a little tired, so...” Annalesa shrugged, wiped her face and pulled away.

“I know, mother-daughter chat over. I can take a hint.” Elsa pecked her on the cheek. “I’ll see you soon, darling. Get back to Paris safely, won’t you?”

“Actually, I thought I’d drive through a minefield on the way back. Just to make things exciting.”

Elsa rolled her eyes and headed for the door. “You’d actually make a very good foil for Ric, if it weren’t so out of the questi—”

“Night, Mum!”

“Sleep well.”

Annalesa savagely undressed and flung her clothes into the corner of the room before getting into bed and turning off the light. She loved her mother very, very much, but sometimes... it was a good thing they lived in different countries.

By the time Annalesa got down to the kitchen, Elsa and Brad were done with breakfast, carrying suitcases over to the Lexus that would take them to the airport. She made herself a coffee with the machine and scraped some jam onto a couple of slices of Ryvita. She didn’t have any appetite for much more, not after the night she’d had.

The dream that woke her in a sweat had started well. She was in her Parisian apartment in the shower and he’d stepped in after her, pulling her slippery body against his. They’d stroked and touched each other in the hot spray until he finally turned her to face the wall then guided her down onto his thighs, taking her deep with his cock, sliding his hands across her breasts and between her legs, making her moan. And then the shower door had been wrenched open, framing Elsa, her face frozen in a silent scream.

Annalesa had damn near screamed herself, sitting bolt upright, all her juice on her fingers and suddenly nothing inside.

She still felt shaky.

She abandoned her coffee halfway through and decided to just go pack.

Anders appeared in her peripheral vision just as she was loading the dishwasher. He came to a halt at the corner of the cabinets and cleared his throat to announce his presence.

“Miss LaFevre, there’s something I need to say.”

She clicked the dishwasher door shut, realizing it was ridiculous for her and Anders to dance around each other after what he’d tried to do. She met his gaze and was a little surprised to see him looking nervous.

“You now know your brother and I were overly ambitious in the way we tried to secure the family stake in Ryker Arms.” He tucked his hands behind his back and rocked on his heels “My tactic to force you to sell your stock was... heavy-handed. I had difficulties with my family, and I can only say that it made me paranoid in many aspects of life. I want to apologize.”

“I know you’ve had a lot to deal with in the last year.” Annalesa was a little touched at the flush of mortification in his cheeks as he looked down at the floor. “I was very sorry to hear about your father, by the way.”

“You always were a kind girl at heart, Miss LaFevre.” He gave a flicker of a smile as he looked back up.

“Annalesa.”

“I can’t call you that until you’ve accepted my apology.” He kept shifting from one foot to the other, like a kid who couldn’t relax until told he was off the hook. “It would be wrong.”

She wondered how much of a severe talking-to Brad had given him last night, and whether he’d been forced to apologize. He didn’t seem like the kind of man who could be made to do anything though, and his discomfort seemed very real as he waited for her to respond with something more than evasive condolences.

On impulse, she crossed the kitchen and gave him a light peck on the cheek.

“Apology accepted.”

He blinked, startled, but then a huge smile came over his face that made it clear he’d probably been an extremely handsome man at Ric’s age, before all the anxieties and responsibilities of life etched lines into his face.

“It is a weight off my shoulders, Annalesa. Thank you.” He gave a happy little laugh of disbelief and kissed her right back. “I can go to Maine a happy, focused man and do my job for the family.”

She watched him march off to the back door to help Brad load up the car, feeling unexpectedly lighter for having seen the more human side of him for the first time. So, the iceberg really
did
have feelings.

No wonder Ric had been so reticent about hurting him with a major change of plans. After all those years coaching and encouraging Ric, having his right to buy a bigger share of Ryker Arms snatched away from him must have been like a slap in the face, at least at first. Ric must have handled the delicate conversation more smoothly than she—or anyone—could’ve imagined.

She glanced over at the clock and found it was already nine, giving her almost no time to see Ric before she went back to Paris. She almost jogged across the house to his room, expecting to have to say goodbye while he was in the shower. She knocked and heard a groan. She knocked again but let herself in this time with a discreet glance down each end of the hallway.

She pressed the door shut silently behind her and turned to find that he hadn’t actually gotten up yet. Wearing only boxers, he was sprawled out on his bed like an ill starfish. His eyes were squeezed shut and he was making small death-like noises. She almost laughed as she walked over and climbed up onto the side of the mattress.

“Rough night?”

“I never learn,” he croaked. “I’ve got four inches and forty pounds on Anders, but Jesus, that man can drink.”

“How did it go? Really?”

“Better than I thought.” Ric pushed himself up onto his elbows. “Things didn’t get ugly, I’ll say that much, but Dad didn’t really help with his whole spiel about overstepping the line. In the end, I had to send Dad out to the deck with a cigar while I spoke to Anders in private. After that, things got a little better.”

“He seemed quite happy this morning. I was surprised.”

“He made a very good point that he’s been in the business a long time and been a confidante to both of us for even longer, so he’d expected more autonomy in the way he chose to handle things, even if he didn’t make the right decision to co-sign your share papers. Dad totally got that, and I think he worried about Anders feeling under-appreciated and threatening to walk. So... he made him Chairman of the Board.”

“That’s a lot of trust.” Annalesa blinked.

“But it’s trust well-earned.” Ric looked serious. “He’s had a bad year and apologized for mishandling things in terms of the family. When it comes to the business, he’s at the top of his game. We’re lucky to have him.”

“He apologized to me this morning,” she conceded, but didn’t want to talk about the ubiquitous Norseman anymore. Not when she only had a few more minutes with Ric. “I thought you’d be on a jet back to Bergen by now.”

“Not without saying goodbye.” Ric got up with a grunt and pulled her against him, roasting her face with his warm, bare skin. “And thank you. You really went to bat for me last night.”

She slid her arms around his back, stroking down the deep, curved dip of his spine with her fingertips. “I’m going to miss you so much.”

“Me too. Hell. I’ll be thinking of you all the time. Hopefully not during tomorrow’s video-conference with the board though. I don’t think they’ll take me so seriously if I make my case while I’ve got a boner.”

She grinned and kissed the Fenrir tattoo on his chest. Hopefully, he’d change his mind about having Fenrir’s hand lasered off now that he was no longer so consumed with vengeance over his past.

She felt a great rush of love for him and squeezed him hard, trying to imprint the feel of him against her body before they parted. In some ways, it was good she wouldn’t see him again for a little while. As Elsa had proven, she was terrible at hiding her feelings for him.

“I’m going to ask you something difficult.” Ric tilted her face up, his fingertips gentle beneath her jaw. “But I promise I won’t do or say anything unless we agree.”

Annalesa felt something tighten inside, but the ball of anxiety that always appeared in her gut when Ric was about to ‘talk serious’ didn’t appear.

She really trusted him now. “What is it?”

“How would you feel about telling Mom and Dad about us?”

“Terrified.” She was thinking about Elsa’s disparaging comments the night before.

“Me too... God. The thought of it makes me feel woozy. But... you saw how Mom and Dad were last night, right? They’re not
just
business partners again, are they?”

“I doubt it.” She shook her head. “And if they’re not already back together, I don’t think that time is far away.”

“You know what
really
made me nearly pass out last night?”

“Other than having to tell Brad about your dodgy deeds with my papers?”

“With Elsa back in the business for good, I thought we’d never be able to be open. Ever.” Ric threaded his fingers through her hair and sighed. “If I had to keep it a secret, every time I touch you or hold you... Last night was hell.”

Annalesa took a deep breath. She wasn’t going to tell him about her talk with her mother until the crisis with the board was over, but there was no way she could keep this to herself now. “Mum’s already seen through me.”

“What?”

“Don’t worry, she’s only seen through
me.
She gave me this talk about how I have to fight my feelings for you and not read too much into you being protective.”

“So she assumes you’ve got some kind of crush on me now that I’m not a fat slob?” Ric’s face looked pained.

“Stop.” She put her fingers to his lips, frowning. “I’ve let her think it’s a little crush for now.”

“I’m sorry. That’s really harsh.” He stooped down and kissed her. It was the lightest brush of his lips over hers but it made her whole head tingle. He folded her back into his arms and murmured into her hair. “I don’t deserve you.”

“Don’t you even start that.”

They held onto each other for a while before he finally pulled himself away and grabbed his towel. “I could hold you all day, but I’ve gotta get moving. Got a hell of a lot to organize just to have all the European board members around the table in Trondheim. But you and I... we’re going to talk. Soon. Figure out what we want to do and how we’re going to do it.”

“Okay. Call me when the meeting’s done, okay? I’ll be worrying about it.”

“I will.”

She was pleased when he went straight into the shower without looking back, but saying goodbye to him was getting harder to do each time.

As Brad promised, it took less than forty-eight hours for the paperwork to get to her by email. She’d sent David out on landlord duties late morning, and wasted the next hour of her life trying to use her mouse to draw something resembling her signature for the sale permission documents.