Ryker’s Justice Read online

  “If we hear anything, I’ll come fetch you,” Adam said.

  Their footfalls echoed behind them as Jude and Nicole walked down a short flight of stairs into the original hospital. Dimmer lights made the corridors seem narrow and with a little imagination, Jude thought he could easily believe in ghosts. They passed rooms still equipped with beds in the event of patient overflow and turned a corner. The same waiting room he recalled from childhood remained, untouched. A coffee table held outdated issues of Reader’s Digest and Ladies Home Journal. Jude sank down with relief onto a rump sprung couch and Nicole joined him. He shut his eyes and willed the headache to abate but it hadn’t slackened at all.

  “Head still bad?” Nicole sounded sympathetic.

  “Oh, yeah.” He’d have to suffer through it, he decided. It’d help if they would receive good news about David.

  Nicole pointed to the floor. “Come sit here,” she told him.

  “Why?”

  “Just sit there and I’ll show you.”

  After a brief hesitation, Jude lowered his body to the floor. Nicole sat behind him on the couch and straddled him, one leg on either side of Jude. Her small hands rested on his shoulders and without a word, she began to massage his tired flesh. “You’re all in knots,” she said. “No wonder you have a headache, Jude.”

  “Lot going on right now,” he mumbled.

  “I know but it won’t help your nephew or anyone else to be so tense.” Her voice lowered as her hands intensified their kneading action. “Try to relax.”

  He shut his eyes and yielded to the pleasant sensations. Under her ministrations, his rock-solid muscles eased, a little at a time. Jude lost track of how long Nicole’s hands wrought their magic but as the tension faded, his focus shifted. The more she touched him, the drowsier he became. “Oh God, honey, you’re gonna put me out,” he told her.

  “I bet your headache’s gone.”

  Damned if it wasn’t. He opened his eyes and nodded. “Yeah, it is. Thanks.”

  She replied with a smile. Nicole let her fingers trail through his hair, slow and gentle. Then she cupped one cheek, her hand soft against his stubble. “Good,” she told him. “Maybe you should grab some sleep, if you can. I’ll stay awake so if anyone comes with word about your nephew, I can wake you.”

  Loggerheaded, he’d love a nap, but Jude shook his head. “I probably better head back down to check with the rest of the family. I wish I could, though.”

  Her expression sobered. “Jude, can I ask you something?”

  Jude ached to deliver a tender kiss. “You can ask anything, honey.”

  “Are you a law enforcement officer or something?”

  The question stunned him. It put him in an awkward position. If he loved her—and he thought he probably did—he didn’t want to lie. Somewhere between falling in love, finding a link to the moonshiners, and his nephew’s accident, Jude had figured he would need to tell her. If he didn’t, such a secret would fester between them like an infection. Now, however, wasn’t the moment he’d imagined or expected. “Before I answer, can I ask why you wondered?”

  Nicole’s steady gaze never wavered. “I thought you might be, even before you said downstairs that you’d see justice was served. You sounded like a cop. Are you?”

  Telling the wrong person the truth could mean life or death. It might compromise his investigation and if his superiors knew, he’d be out of a job. But Nicole had to know. He nodded one time. “Yeah, I’m an ATF special agent, but you can’t tell a soul. No one knows, Nicole, not even my family.”

  “I won’t. I won’t even ask why you’re here but I’m guessing you didn’t just come home for the memories.”

  Sharp-minded, he thought, intelligent, and beautiful. Jesus, she’s one hell of a woman. “No, but I like being back. I belong here, something I’d almost forgotten. I came to do my duty and I will.”

  “And afterward? Will you go back to your world far away?”

  If he knew the answer, he’d be wise but he wasn’t. “I don’t know, Nicole. I’m not sure I want to go.”

  She put her arms around his broad shoulders and snuggled against his back, her head resting against his cheek. “You’ll figure it out,” she said. “You will. I hope you can stay awhile, though. I am.”

  “I know.”

  They sat still, cheek to cheek, silent but in accord, until Adam walked into the room. He halted in front of Jude and despite the heavy fatigue shadowing his face, Jude knew he brought good news, not bad, because Adam’s dimples were visible.

  “The kid made it through the surgery,” he said. “They think he’ll recover. He’s going to ICU now for a few days and they’re going to keep him sedated for a while. Elijah and Tania plan to stay but the rest of us can go get some sleep. They’ll need us later so we can relieve them and such.”

  Relief washed over Jude’s weary soul with the consuming power of floodwaters. “Thank God,” he said and meant it. “Then we’ll go home for a while. I’ll come back after I’ve gotten some rest.”

  Adam nodded. He offered Jude his hand and Jude took it. His brother pulled him up from the floor and hugged him. “Glad you’re here,” Adam said. “And I’m glad you’re back. I’ll see you tomorrow, probably. Take care, Jude.”

  “I will, brother.” He forced the words out around the knot in his throat.

  Then he put his arm around Nicole and they walked out, pausing long enough to say good-bye to the others. Once in the truck, he pointed it toward home and he knew what would happen next. Jude figured that she did too.

  Chapter Eight

  Although they left the hospital holding hands and sat pressed together in the truck on the way home over the dark, lonely roads, they didn’t speak. Jude’s need intensified with each mile he drove, the tension rising with the same heavy anticipation of an approaching storm front. The space between them narrowed to nothing and their breath drew in tandem. Nicole touched him often, her hands stroking the length of his arm or caressing his belly. Sometimes she placed her hand between his thighs but when he let out a strangled half moan, she retrieved it.

  Good choice, he thought, if she hadn’t pulled back, I’d probably have nailed her right here in the truck.

  At the house, she climbed out at the same time as Jude. He circled to meet her and caught her face in one hand, fingers cupped under her chin. “I need you,” he said. “I know I should’ve asked before I brought you here but…”

  Her eyes meet his. “It’s okay,” she told him. “Jude, I want this as much as you do. Please love me.”

  She meant physical intimacy and he knew it, but her words resonated deep within. Jude almost said, “I do,” but stopped himself. Nicole might not be ready to hear it and he wasn’t sure he was ready to say it. Before things progressed on an emotional level, he hoped she would share her past, including her former husband’s violence and cruelty. She’d pegged him, but he suspected if he told her what he’d learned, she would be angry. She might resent his intrusion. He had to wait.

  In response to her request, he kissed her. His mouth pressed rough against hers, his hunger too extreme to be gentle. Desire roared within, potent and powerful. When Nicole kissed him back, he lost any chance at moderation and rammed his tongue into her mouth. She shuddered and grasped his shoulders to pull him closer. Her fervor matched his and heat radiated between them. Jude forgot the October chill as an erotic fire swept through his veins, burning away all restraint, everything but the woman in his arms.

  Desire consumed him, but for the first time he could recall, his lust was tempered with a deep caring and infinite tenderness. Jude kissed until his breath caught short and his lungs burned in his chest. He came up for air with a gulp. Nicole inhaled, then laughed with unbridled joy.

  “Let’s go inside,” he said. When she nodded, Jude swept her up into his arms and carried her up the porch steps. He pushed open the seldom-locked door and entered the house. Pleasant aromas wafted toward him, the lingering scent of cooking, a hint of Ni
cole’s rose perfume, and the clean, fresh scent of dish soap. Until now, after the long vacancy and his brief bachelor residence, it’d been stale within, but now Jude felt as if the house had come to life again.

  Without pausing, he toted her to his bedroom, moving up the open staircase with ease. Once there, he put her down and kissed her again. Once she managed to shrug off his high school jacket, she snuggled against him, head tilted to allow his mouth to reach hers, and hung tight. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her fingers strayed into his short hair. The way she caressed him increased his already volatile passions and he tongued her again, deeper than before. Nicole moaned in response.

  Her hands fumbled and worked the button of his jeans free. When she undid the zipper, Jude gasped. If he lost control, he’d shoot off worse than a teenager with his first hard-on so he steeled himself to hold his orgasm. And if she grabbed his cock, it’d be over in a hurry.

  “Slow down, honey,” he whispered.

  Like a sleepwalker, she gazed at him without seeing. Jude undid her blouse and thrust his hands beneath her bra. He cupped her breasts and savored the weight of them. After he managed to undo the front opening bra, he bent and suckled one ripe nipple in his mouth. God, the warmth almost drove him crazy and when the sweet bud blossomed inside his mouth, a ripple of sheer pleasure rolled over him. He licked the hard nodule with his tongue and sucked harder. Nicole’s fingers caught in his hair and despite its short length, they held tight.

  She can snatch me bald-headed and right now I don’t give a damn. He switched nipples and repeated as she moaned. The small sounds she made increased his want ten times over.

  Jude stripped away her top and when he tugged at her jeans, she unfastened them and worked them to her ankles. Nicole stepped from them in one swift motion, graceful as a dancer, and pulled his shirt from him with speed. He wiggled his hips and shed his pants faster than a snake sloughing away an old skin for the new. His cock sprang out between them, twice as long and solid granite. Such a major boner hurt but he knew it would be worth the pain when he came.

  He maneuvered her to the bed but before they toppled onto the mattress, he stroked her body, his hands running over each reachable bit of flesh with slow strokes intended to tantalize. Jude kissed her again, this time with a slow, deliberate heat potent enough to burn. Fire singed his lips as if he’d held a lit match against them and the sensation sizzled all the way down to his dick. Nicole used her fingers to tweak his nipples, her thumb rubbing against first one, then the other until they ached. Before he had time to fully appreciate the intense pleasure, she broke from the kiss and nibbled above his left pectoral muscle with sharp bites. Each nip sent a thrill through his body.

  Nicole rose on tiptoes to use her teeth on the tender skin of his throat, using them with such skill his cock throbbed to the beat of his heart. He delivered a series of kisses and licks to her breasts and then dropped to his knees. Jude stroked her pussy with his entire hand and then inserted one large finger into the box. The heat amazed him and as he probed, her wet cunt convulsed and he shivered with erotic delight. So did she.

  Unable to wait any longer, Jude pushed her back onto his bed, her head landing on his pillows. Nicole opened her legs to him, knees upright and he plunged between them, his cock finding the way home, blind. The moment he entered, her pussy wrapped around him tight and she squeezed her box. Every sensation he had intensified and he pumped harder. She scissored her legs behind his back and pushed him deeper. He rocked her, pulling out and back in a slow rhythm which delivered both incredible pleasure and something close to pain.

  By the time he entered for the final time, they both made soundless noise, whines, groans, and cries. As they climbed together, the tension increased until Jude found it near unbearable. When he thought he couldn’t stand any more, a powerful orgasm struck with the force of a tornado. It overwhelmed him. His body quivered and shook as he came, pumping his passion into her body with force.

  “Jude!” His name burst from her mouth, loud and sweet to his ears. “Oh, Jude.”

  Her hands clung to him, clawing and pawing as her face suffused with a crimson glow. She came hard, he thought, but with blinding joy. They shuddered together in a blast of delightful sensation and powerful pleasure. For the first time, emotion, coupled with the erotic rush, created something he’d never known before, a cocoon of well-being and wonder.

  Breathing hard, sweat-soaked, and happier than he had been in a very long time, Jude flopped down beside Nicole. Her chest heaved as she struggled to catch her breath, and her body trembled with sweet aftershocks. He put his palm against the mouth of her pussy and she came again, a hot rush against his hand. “Ohhh,” she moaned. “Jude, you’re killing me.”

  Surprised she could summon enough air to speak, he laughed. “Good lovin’ never hurt anybody, honey.”

  A smile emerged, brilliant and bright. “If you say so,” she whispered.

  “I do,” Jude told her. He shifted position to prop up against the pillows, then extended his arm in invitation. Nicole scooted into its curve and nestled against him.

  “I’m sleepy,” she murmured.

  He kissed the top of her head, too spent to do anything more. “I am, too. Let’s get some rest while we can. I need to go back to the hospital in a few hours after I drop you off at the inn.”

  Oh, shit. Mary and Rick will have a fit when they realize Nicole hasn’t come home. If they do. Maybe they won’t. I hope they had a full house.

  He cared for the older couple very much but he didn’t always hold with their old-fashioned ways and strict moral code. Although he didn’t know for sure they’d object, they might, and he didn’t want any trouble for Nicole.

  She shook her head in disagreement. “I want to go with you,” she said. “Don’t you want me to?”

  To his surprise, he did. “Yeah, but if you’d rather not, I understand.”

  “Uh-huh,” Nicole said. “I wore your jacket. We were seen shopping at the store together. So we’re a couple, right?”

  In every way he could imagine, they were. “Yes, honey.”

  “So I’ll go with you.”

  Her caring wowed him and touched him deep within the places where he seldom let anyone reach. “I’d like that a lot. Thanks.”

  “Jude?”

  Sleep threatened to drop like a curtain soon. “What?”

  “I need to tell you some things about my ex-husband…”

  “Sure,” he said, relieved she’d brought up the subject. “But later, Nicole, later.”

  “Okay.” She yawned. “Then I’ll tell you something else.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I love you.”

  The barriers he’d erected around his heart long ago, built from hurt and heartbreak, cracked. Emotion flooded him, deeper than a mighty river, darker than midnight, and sweeter than a stash of wild honey in a bee tree. He never doubted she meant it, and so before her eyes closed and he succumbed to fatigue, he repeated them back to her like the vow they were. “Oh, honey, I love you, too.”

  He drifted to sleep on soft wings, content in the knowledge that he loved and was loved in return. Jude didn’t fret over the future, not his nephew’s or the investigation or what would happen with Nicole. This moment, this interlude contained the world—for now.

  Morning changed everything. He woke to the shrill insistence of a ringing cell phone, a sound which would not stop. Jude roused, aware of the warm woman cuddled beside him, her hand resting on his broad chest. His ringtone continued and he untangled from Nicole to find the phone, still in the pocket of his discarded jeans. Tense with concern, afraid the call might bring ill news, he answered.

  “Ryker.”

  “Jude?” Mary’s voice echoed in his ear. “I’m sorry to call so early but I’m worried about Nicole. She never came home.”

  Jude relaxed. “It’s okay, she’s with me,” he said. Then he realized how it must sound and added, “After the football game, my nephew David was
in a bad car accident. He needed surgery but he’s in ICU now and the docs say he should recover. Nicole wanted to stay, to offer what support she could.”

  Mary’s tone altered. “Oh, my. I hadn’t heard. Well, you’ve both put in a long night. I’m glad David will be okay, though. If you can leave, come to the inn and I’ll fix you a nice breakfast, Jude.”

  “Thanks,” he said. “We’ll see. I appreciate it.”

  Nicole stirred and opened her eyes. He watched as she became aware of her surroundings, then stretched out her hand to find him. When she didn’t, he stepped to the bed and sat down on the edge. “Good morning, honey.”

  She answered with a smile and stretched out her hand. He took it. No woman had ever seemed more beautiful than she did, hair tousled and bare skinned. “Wanna come back to bed for a while?”

  His cock tightened at the idea but he shook his head. “I wish. But I need to head down to the hospital and see what’s going on. You can sleep awhile longer if you want.”

  Jude stroked hair back from her face as tenderness welled up within. Nicole shook her head. “No thanks,” she said. “I need coffee and then we need to talk.”

  “Mary offered to feed us if you want to head over to the inn.”

  “She’s sweet but I want this to last, just us, for a little longer.”

  He had no desire to argue so he pulled on his jeans and padded barefooted downstairs to plug in the coffeepot. Reality, he thought, would be back soon so he resolved to enjoy the interlude while it lasted.

  Chapter Nine

  After plenty of black coffee and leftover biscuits, Nicole cleared the table while Jude lingered over his last cup. She paused behind him and put her hands on his shoulders, then leaned closer. “I meant what I said,” she told him.

  Jude tilted back so he could see her face. “So did I,” he said. “I love you, Nicole. I’ve never said those words to any woman until now. Just so you know, it’s not some ‘morning after sweet talk’. But I’ll be damned if I know what happens next.”