I groaned at the thought of what he must think of me.Sasha had told me he was a bit of a maverick, ex-military turned crusader, running around trying to save the world.
Sounded like a nice enough guy, and Sasha adored him.A part of me envied the fact that both Sasha and her stepbrother had the financial security to let them do what they wanted with their lives.Unlike me, they were born into wealthy families.Although my salary as a conservation officer was decent enough, there wasn’t much left over at the end of the month.Life was expensive.
I also volunteered at the animal shelter and helped out in the office there.It didn’t pay, but I loved it.When donations were scarce that meant trying to juggle the bills so everything stayed afloat.Sometimes, it would be nice just to have enough money to pay all the bills when they came in.I often felt the job title should be master negotiator.Negotiating for more time to pay the bills, negotiating for lower rates from the veterinary clinics, negotiating for better discounts at the feed and supply stores… Some days the list seemed endless.
Putting the hair dryer down on the dresser, I grasped the door handle and took a deep breath.I opened the door and forced myself to walk down the hall to the living room as if I hadn’t just waltzed in there sporting a towel and nothing else.Matty was family, right?Family got to see you in your tattered jeans and Saturday sweats.
And with your soggy bath towel wrapped around you.
Sasha’s stepbrother was a bit of a mystery to me.His name was Matthew, but Sasha called him Matty, which made me picture a young, slightly nerdy guy.Ex-military, he’d joined the Navy and then entered the SEALs program.He’d teamed up with Jacques, one of the guys in his unit, when they mustered out, and between the two of them, they made a fortune developing and selling an online video game.He’d ended up very rich independent of his parents’ money, so he was able to ignore their attempts to get him to settle down.
I’d never met him.I’d just heard stories about this crazy gonna-save-the-world guy that randomly showed up without prior warning.Sasha adored him because he’d run interference between her and her parents and managed to get them to back off when they wanted to marry her off to some country club guy in their jet set.
From what I’d gathered from Sasha’s stories, he belonged to a group of guys who didn’t always work within the law.I wasn’t quite sure how they went about that, but I suspected it paid to be rich and powerful enough to make people do what you want.He sounded like your typical rebel.
Plastering a smile on my face, I entered the living room at a sedate pace.“So where’s this famous stepbrother of yours?”
“Right here.”Sasha bounced to her feet, her eyes glowing happily as she swept her arm out to indicate the man lounging on the sofa beside her.“Matty, meet the sister of my heart, Kimberly.”
The man rose to his feet and turned to face me, extending his hand.
Taking the offered hand, I looked up and the smile froze on my face as I stared into those gorgeous blue eyes.“Ryland?”
“Kimberly?”
I stood rooted to the spot.I thought I’d never see him again but here he was.I didn’t understand.Sasha’s stepbrother was named Matt so why was Ryland here, and where was Matt?
Ryland pulled me in hard against him, cupping the back of my head while he lowered his mouth to take mine in a demanding kiss that sent waves of heat racing down my spine.
When he finally lifted his head, I gasped for air.Damn.Better than I remembered, if that was possible.
Sasha cleared her throat noisily.“Well, that was… interesting.I take it you two know each other?”
The surprise in Sasha’s voice broke through my stunned brain.“Yes.This is Ryland.I told you about him.The guy from the island.Not Matty.Where is Matt?”
Ryland’s eyes twinkled with a wry mirth.“Let me introduce myself.Matthew Ryland Greenhough the Third.It seems the powers that be are enjoying a joke at our expense.”
I frowned.“So you use a different name with family?”
“He does, and I should have clued in when you mentioned chasing poachers.”Sasha rolled her eyes and took a seat on the chair.“Matty here wanted to make a life away from the movers and shakers that populate our parents’ world, so when he’s not with us he goes by his second name.The family are the only ones who still call him Matt.I never think of him as Ryland, and I had no idea he was in the area which is why I didn’t clue in when you were gushing on about him.”
“Gushing?”Ryland kept a firm grip on my arm as he led me to the sofa, drawing me down beside him.“That sounds promising.Do tell.”
“I was not gushing.”I mumbled the words.I had definitely been gushing, but that was when I thought I’d never see him again.I had no idea he was going to show up in my living room less than a week later.I tried to reclaim my arm without any luck.Secretly, it felt kind of good to have him hanging on to me.
Recalling the explicit details of the one-night stand I’d shared with Sasha, I cringed.You just didn’t tell a guy’s sister those kinds of details, even if she is your BFF.
“Yeah.”Ryland grimaced.“Mommy dearest would do anything she could to get me to settle in with the jet set crowd and ultimately marry a proper heiress with just the right combination of money and breeding behind her.”
He crossed his legs, managing to snuggle even closer to me at the same time.“At least now, Karma has finally cut me a break.”
I looked at him suspiciously.“And that would be?”
That irresistible grin that I knew so well flickered across his handsome face.“I came here hoping I could talk Sasha into letting me crash on the couch while I tried to locate a certain young woman I recently met.For some reason, the woman was reluctant to give me her last name, so I didn’t have a lot to go on.I knew she worked as a conservation officer and volunteered at an animal rescue.I also knew she had an absolutely adorable dog named Diego that can practically read minds.”
He reached down to scratch Diego behind the ears, eliciting a happy sigh from the disloyal mutt.“Now I find out my sister has been keeping my lady love company until I managed to come claim her.Thanks, sis!”
I blinked.He’d actually come here to look for me instead of jetting off after the bad guys?“Seriously, you came back to find me?What about all those poachers you were so keen to catch.Remember?Don’t tell the truth because the bad guys might hear you and get away?”
