ScandalandSin (18 page)

“Why is it automatically my fault?”

“Because Alaina is one of the sweetest
women I’ve ever met and she’s crazy about you. She wouldn’t hurt you for the
world.”

“Yeah,” Dax agreed with a nod. “And don’t
you dare spout any shit about her being Alesia’s sister.”

Rye never would have believed his brothers
would gang up on him like this. “You’re taking Alaina’s side without even
hearing what happened?”

Dax and Griff looked at each other, then
back at Rye. “Yes,” they said at the same time.

“I don’t believe this,” Rye muttered.

“What did you do?” Griff asked again.

“I told Alaina I didn’t want her going to
dinner with Rufus.”

He waited for his brothers to agree with
him. Neither said anything. “Y’all think that was
wrong
?”

“Rufus invited her to dinner?” Dax asked.

“Yeah. She said he wanted to discuss
business
with her. The only business he could want to discuss with her is making her
wife number four. I told her that.”

“And
told
her not to go with him.”

Rye nodded.

“You blew it, man.”

“Telling her not to go to dinner with him
was like a red flag waved in front of a bull,” Griff said. “Alaina is
independent and headstrong. She doesn’t like to be told what to do.”

Rye didn’t realize Griff had spent enough
time with Alaina to know her so well. “And you know this…how?”

“We’ve talked. She told me she was sorry
about Jana and…” Griff stopped, looked down a moment, then looked back at Rye.
“She’s a special lady, Rye. Don’t fuck things up and lose her. You’ll regret it
the rest of your life.”

“Call her,” Dax said. “You know you won’t
be able to think straight until you talk to her.”

His brothers were right. He didn’t want any
bad feelings between Alaina and him. He cared too much for her to leave things
unsettled. “I’m gonna take a walk.”

Rye walked out the back door and far enough
away from the house so no one would hear his conversation. Unhooking his cell
phone from his belt, he punched in Alaina’s number. Four rings later, he
received her voice mail. Disappointed not to get her, he listened to her
message while trying to decide what to say.

“Alaina, it’s Rye. I’m sorry for the way
things ended between us today. Call me, please.”

He snapped his phone shut and replaced it
in its holder. He had no choice now but to wait for her to contact him.

* * * * *

Alaina tossed her purse on her dresser. She
removed her earrings as she stepped out of her heels. She’d taken a shower
before her dinner meeting with Rufus, but felt as if she needed another one.

She didn’t like him. She’d figured that out
before they’d finished their salads. He made her think of a slimy snake in the
bushes, waiting for a mouse to scamper by so he could attack it.

The thought of when he’d touched her hand
made her shiver in disgust.

“Hey,” Kelcey said, sticking her head in
the door. “You’re home early. I didn’t expect you here until after midnight.
How was your dinner?”

“Shitty.”

Kelcey entered the room. “You had a shitty
meal at Emma’s restaurant? That’s impossible.”

Alaina waved a hand in the air, as if to
erase Kelcey’s question. “No, the meal wasn’t shitty. It was wonderful, as
always. The time with Rufus Olinghouse was shitty.”

Kelcey crossed the room and sat on the bed.
“What happened?”

After slipping off her dress and bra,
Alaina pulled a huge T-shirt over her head and joined Kelcey on the bed. “I
agreed to meet Rufus at the restaurant because he said he had a business
proposition for me.”

“What kind of business proposition?”

“He wants to buy Stevens House from me.”

Kelcey’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped
open in obvious surprise. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope, I’m serious.”

“How did he react when you turned him
down?”

A chill passed through Alaina when she
remembered the anger in his eyes before he masked it. “He wasn’t happy. He was
still cordial, but I could tell he was angry at my refusal. Kelc, I don’t think
I’ve ever eaten so fast in my life. I just wanted to get away from him. I felt
almost…dirty being close to him.”

Alaina recognized that look on Kelcey’s
face…the one where she clenched her lips and that little furrow formed between
her eyebrows. “What are you thinking?”

“I can’t help but wonder why he offered to
buy that particular piece of property from you. According to what you’ve told
me, his grandmother owns thousands of acres around Lanville. She’d probably
give him anything he wants.” She tapped one forefinger against her lips. “There
has to be something there, something he wants.”

“But what? The house was almost falling
down before the Colemans started working on it. It sits on twenty-two acres,
and that’s nothing but weeds and a few scraggly trees. Besides, like you said,
Bella owns tons of property.”

“Maybe you should ask Rye about the place.
Maybe he knows something you don’t.”

Alaina hadn’t told Kelcey about what had
happened earlier with Rye. “I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

Before Alaina had the chance to answer
Kelcey’s question, her cell phone rang in her purse. She’d given Rye’s number a
distinctive ringtone over the weekend, so knew right away that he was the
caller.

“Are you going to answer that?” Kelcey
asked.

“It’s Rye.”

“I repeat—are you going to answer that?”

Alaina shook her head. “We had a fight. I’m
mad at him.”

Kelcey’s eyes softened in sympathy. “Maybe
he’s calling to apologize.”

“This is like the fifth time he’s called
tonight.”

“Then he’s definitely calling to apologize.
Talk to him, Alaina.”

The ringing stopped. “It went to voice
mail. Problem solved.”

Giving Alaina the don’t-be-stupid look,
Kelcey stood and walked to the dresser. She pulled the cell phone out of
Alaina’s purse and handed it to Alaina. “Call him. I’ll see you in the
morning.”

Kelcey left the bedroom, closing the door
behind her. Alaina stared at the phone in her hand. She didn’t have to listen
to her housemate. Rye had practically ordered her not to see Rufus. That kind
of caveman attitude did
not
sit well with her.

Except that Rye had been right. She never
should have gone to dinner with Rufus. And she didn’t like these bad feelings
between Rye and her.

She unlocked her phone and punched in Rye’s
number.

Chapter Fourteen

April 26, 1937

I saw him outside the café with Ruthie.
They stood against the building, but were in plain sight. Anyone could have
seen them together, seen the way he ran his fingers up and down her arm. Ruthie
batted those long eyelashes at him and kept licking her lips, as if begging him
to kiss her.

I wish Laura was here to see him
flirting with a woman who had the reputation of sleeping with any man who asked
her. Then maybe Laura would realize what a horrible man he is.

* * * * *

He answered after the second ring. “Hey,”
he said softly. “Did you just get home?”

“Yes.”

“Alaina, I’m sorry for hurting you. That
stupid shit about not trusting you… It isn’t true. I swear it.”

She wanted to believe that, yet she
couldn’t. Despite his apology now, his hesitation earlier today when she’d
asked him if he trusted her proved he didn’t. Not completely.

She’d tell him to go to hell if she didn’t
truly believe he cared for her, and believe that caring could turn into
something stronger in time.

“I’m sorry it took me so long to call you
back. I was really pissed at you.”

“You had a right to be pissed. And you
don’t owe me an apology. I owe one to you for being such an ass about Rufus.”

“You were right to be an ass. He gave me
the creeps. I’ve never eaten a meal so fast in my life. I couldn’t wait to get
away from him.”

“Did he hurt you?” he asked, his voice now
sharp, intense. “If he did I swear—”

“No, he didn’t hurt me. He offered me
seventy-five thousand for Stevens House. That’s the business he wanted to
discuss with me.”

Silence. She didn’t blame Rye for not
knowing what to say. Rufus’ offer had shocked her speechless too.

“If he wanted the house, why didn’t he get
it from his grandmother before she sold it?”

“That’s what I asked him. He never actually
answered my question, just gave me excuses about being out of the state on
deals.”

“Alaina, I don’t want you…” He stopped. She
thought she heard him blow out a breath before he spoke again. “I’d rather be
with you if you see Rufus again.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. I have
no intention of seeing him again.”

“Good.” She heard the clink of ice cubes
against glass. “Did you finish your laundry and banking and paying bills?”

“I’m all caught up again. My Visa is back
to zero, at least until I find another shoe sale.”

He chuckled. “What is it with women and
shoes?”

“It’s in our genes. We can’t help loving
shoes.” She stuffed a pillow behind her back and leaned against the headboard.
“What are you doing?”

“Watching the baseball game.”

“Who’s winning?”

“To be honest, I don’t know. I’m not paying
attention to it.” His voice lowered, turned more husky. “I keep wishing you
were here with me.”

Her chest felt tight as her heart seemed to
swell. She wished she could tell him how much she loved him, yet knew he wasn’t
ready for that. Their relationship was too new for declarations of love.

“Give me your address and I’ll drive to
your house.”

Logically Alaina knew it would be silly for
Rye to drive to Dallas tonight when she planned to go back to Lanville tomorrow
morning, even though she would love to see him. “You don’t have to do that. I’m
taking back my resignation, if that’s okay. I want to come back tomorrow and
work on my house.”

“It’s way more than okay.” His voice
dropped back to the soft tone he’d used earlier. “I’ve gotten used to falling
asleep with you in my arms. That big bed is going to feel very empty tonight.”

“So is mine.”

“Will you stay with me tomorrow night?”

“Yes,” she said without hesitation.

“Great.” She could hear the smile in his
voice. “Bring plenty of clothes so you don’t have to go back to Dallas for a
while.”

“Okay.”

Silence again for several seconds, then he
asked, “Where are you?”

“On my bed.”

“What are you wearing?”

His question surprised her. “What am I
wearing
?”

“Yeah.”

She looked down at her body, not having a
clue why he would ask such a thing. “A big blue T-shirt.”

“Anything under it?”

“Panties.”

“No bra?”

God, Alaina, you’re such a dunce. He’s
starting phone sex!
A delicious thrill shot through
her body. She’d never had phone sex with a man. “No,” she said, lowering her
voice. “Just panties.”

“What color are they?”

“Gold.”

“Bikinis?”

“Hip huggers.”

She thought she heard his breathing
quicken. “Do something for me.”

“What?” she whispered.

“Imagine I’m lying beside you.”

His request made her pussy clench, her clit
tingle. “Rye—”

“Take off your panties.”

She knew what he wanted her to do. She’d
pleasured herself in between lovers, but she’d never done it in front of a man.
The few lovers in her past hadn’t been adventurous enough to try anything new
or different. With Rye, she would be willing to try anything sexual he wanted.

Lifting her hips, she tugged on the
waistband until it slipped to her thighs. She slid her panties down her legs
and dropped them on the floor next to the bed. “Okay.”

“You took off your panties?”

“Yes.”

“Touch your breast. But imagine it’s my
hand on it.”

Switching the phone to her left hand,
Alaina slowly slid her right hand beneath her T-shirt until she cradled her
breast. She lifted the heavy weight the way Rye would.

“Are you touching your breast?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“How does it feel?”

“Good.” She passed her thumb across the
nipple. “Really good.”

“Squeeze it.”

She did as he ordered, kneading first one
breast, then the other. Her mouth fell open as her breathing deepened.