Shattered (Steel Brothers Saga 7)

I agreed. Not so much because I wanted a repeat of what had occurred last night, but because I wanted one last night of peacefulness, listening to the waves, looking at the stars.

I had to force myself not to think that the beach was where I’d last seen Juliet and Lisa. I was thankful that Shayna was safely home by now. She’d have a lot to deal with, but she seemed very strong to me. Anyone who could jump off a Jet Ski into the ocean with no land in sight had a lot of courage. I had enough on my plate with my job and trying to bring my father to justice, but still, I was going to keep in touch with Shayna and follow Juliet and Lisa’s case. I had to.

But tonight I was determined to enjoy the peace of the beach. With Ryan.

He wanted a lot from me. I wasn’t deluding myself otherwise. I also wasn’t deluding myself that I meant anything more to him than any other woman he’d been with.

So, as we walked for the last time along the beach, our toes sinking into the soft wet sand, I made a decision.

I’d give Ryan what he wanted.

I’d give him me.

Thirty-two was way too old to be a virgin, and he’d already allayed a lot of my fears. I trusted him to be gentle, to lead me through it. And I certainly couldn’t ask for a more appealing man. Ryan Steel was magnificent.

So I’d give him my virginity, let him show me what I’d been missing.

After that, I’d let him go.

We walked along in the moonlight, as we had the previous two nights. I let him take my hand, reveling in the warmth that coursed through me at his touch. When icy tingles of apprehension threatened me, I held his hand tighter. This was going to happen tonight.

I needed it.

Maybe he did too. He’d just watched both his brothers say I do. Was he feeling alone?

I didn’t know.

When we hit the nude beach and the cabanas came into view, my nerves prickled again. Could I do this?

Yes, I could. No second thoughts. It was high time for me to experience sex. Way past time, actually.

I slowed down, my heart beginning to thunder wildly. Ryan turned and looked at me, his dark eyes afire.

“Have I told you that you look beautiful tonight?”

I smiled. “You tell me that all the time.”

“Today, when I saw you walking down the aisle, that orchid in your hair… I’d never seen anything so beautiful, Ruby.”

My cheeks heated. Ryan had no doubt been with a lot of women, many more beautiful than I. But I let his words sink into me, warm me, erase all the doubts in my mind.

I had never thought of myself as beautiful.

I had never let myself think of myself as beautiful.

“I know you think I’m talking about your outer appearance,” he said. “And I won’t deny that you have a smoking-hot body, a gorgeous face, and the most luxurious head of hair I’ve ever seen. That’s not where your true beauty lies. Your true beauty lies in your heart. You care.”

“Yes. I do care.”

“I know you do. I’ve seen it. Just in the short time we’ve known each other.”

His words warmed me, and I did something I had never done before. I took the initiative and reached forward, pulling him to me and opening my lips to him for a kiss.

It was a gentle kiss at first, but it became more frantic, our tongues dueling, our lips sliding against each other’s. Our mouths seemed fused together, and my nipples tightened, poking into his chest. Tingles raced through me, making me feel both warm and cold at the same time, and every bit of energy pulsing through my body coursed with concentrated aim between my legs.

I would be wet for him tonight. I was wet for him already. My nipples were aching for his tongue, the folds of my pussy aching for his fingers. And, dare I say it?

His cock.