Billionaire's Blackmail Bride: Billionaire Brothers Kent - Ridge's Story (The BAD BOY BILLIONAIRES Series) Page 11

  “Aah.” Like he’d just been dropped into a vat of hot oil Ridge gasped out loud and his body jerked up, his back arching, his hips rising to drive him deeper inside. “Oh, Christ, you feel so good.”

  At her husband’s strangled cry Lani’s mouth went dry and she began to move, rocking her body on his, watching his chest heave as he sucked in air.

  And as she moved Ridge began to move with her, meeting her stroke for stroke, his nostrils flaring as he sucked in air, his eyes never leaving her face.

  Her hands splayed on the broad muscles of his chest, Lani rode him, taking all the pleasure she’d denied herself for so long.

  Then, just as she approached her peak Ridge began to pant then he groaned out loud. “Lani, are you sure? I can’t stop-” His voice broke off because instead of slowing down she quickened her pace, driving him on to that point where there would be no turning back.

  Taking full control, Lani pushed until she was over the edge, tumbling down into a whirlpool of ecstasy, dragging Ridge along with her.

  As he found his release Ridge uttered a groan so deep and then he was reaching for her, pulling her down and clutching her to him, crushing her against his chest.

  For a long while they stayed like that, clinging to each other, their bodies shuddering in the final throes of ecstasy. And then, as the seconds passed into a minute and then two, their breathing calmed and they relaxed into each other’s arms.

  As Lani lay on top of Ridge, her cheek resting against his chest, he reached his hand up and gently stroked her hair. “Thank you,” he whispered. “That was out of this world.”

  And as she listened to the words as they rumbled in his chest she didn’t lift her cheek from where it lay just over his heart. Instead, she snuggled even closer, tightened her arms around Ridge, and smiled.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  When Ridge awoke next morning, the memory of his pleasurable night with Lani still fresh in his mind, he smiled and reached out for her. He came up empty-handed. All he felt on the sleeping bag beside him was air.

  Frowning, he opened his eyes. And then he smelled it – the familiar fragrance of fried eggs wafting into the tent. He smiled and relaxed back onto the padded surface of the sleeping bag. Lani had gotten off to an early start. She was busy making breakfast, playing little wife. He liked that. It actually made the tent and this wild environment feel like home.

  Ridge rubbed the sleep from his eyes then got onto his hands and knees and crawled out of the tent. The earth was still damp from the rain but the sun was out and burning bright. The heat would be drying up the moisture in no time.

  “Hey, honey. We’ve got breakfast ready for you.”

  Ridge looked up to see Lani looking fresh as a daisy in khaki trousers and white T-shirt, waving to him and smiling. Like she’d timed him perfectly she was holding a tin plate piled high with powdered eggs, strips of beef jerky and slices of bread she’d probably toasted over the open fire.

  Ridge couldn’t have asked for a better breakfast. Smiling, he got to his feet and lifted his arms in a leisurely stretch. “I’m so hungry I could eat all of that plus the plate it’s on.”

  Lani laughed. “The food, you can eat, but not the plate. We’re going to need it for later. Now go clean up then come get your breakfast before Aurelio and I gobble it down.”

  Ridge took her warning seriously. With a grin he headed off toward the stream but within minutes he was back and reaching for his plate. Then he found a comfortable seat on top of a rock and settled down to enjoy the meal his wife had prepared.

  He’d gobbled down almost half the plate of food when he realized that Aurelio and Lani were just sitting there watching him, the same weird expression on each of their faces.

  “What’s the matter?” he asked, his voice muffled with the piece of toast he’d just bitten into. He swallowed. “Were you guys supposed to get some of this?”

  “No, we ate. Waiting on you.” Aurelio gave him a grave look.

  “Oh.” Ridge said the word, which made it seem like all was clear to him but he was more confused than anything. “Waiting on me to finish eating?”

  “Yes,” Aurelio said, “so we can go.”

  Ridge nodded. “Okay, cool. I’ll hurry up. I guess you guys want to get back to civilization just as badly as I do.” He tucked in, not wanting to hold up their departure from the campsite.

  “Uh, Ridge,” Lani said, her voice sounding strangely hesitant, “about that…”

  As her words trailed off Ridge frowned then he lowered the forkful of eggs he’d just been about to put to his mouth. He had the sinking feeling he wasn’t going to like what she was about to say.

  She bit her lip then flashed him a guilty look. “We’re not leaving camp today.”

  “What?” Ridge frowned and lowered his plate. “Why not?”

  Lani clasped her hands behind her back, which made her look like a child caught in the middle of a naughty act. “Well, we decided to stay here a while longer and do some more exploring.”

  “We decided?” By this time Ridge’s frown had descended into a full-fledged scowl. “You and Aurelio?” He didn’t say the rest of what he was thinking but from the look on Lani’s face he could see she knew exactly where he was going. She could read that he was pissed that their decision hadn’t included him. “Not we,” she said quickly. “I. I was the one who decided we should stay longer.”

  Ridge’s eyes narrowed as he watched her. “May I ask why?”

  Maybe Lani thought his question meant he was willing to have a discussion because her stance relaxed and she loosened the clasp of her hands and reached out to pluck a leaf from the bush beside her. “Aurelio was telling me about another plant,” she said, “one I’d never heard of before. He said I can get some not far from here. If we just hike for eight miles east of here we’ll get to the grove-”

  “Are you out of your mind? After we risked our lives to get your plant samples you want to find more? You’re a sucker for punishment or what?”

  Eyes wide and her look earnest, Lani shook her head. “You don’t understand, Ridge. Aurelio told me it’s a healing plant, known in Brazil for ages. What if it’s the answer to some of the diseases running rampant in our country?”

  Ridge gave her a skeptical look. “I thought those other ones you got were the answer.”

  “We don’t know. Don’t you see? It could be anything. It could be the one Aurelio’s telling me about.”

  As she called his name Aurelio stooped down, sat back on his haunches and began poking at the almost dead fire with a stick. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there right at that moment.

  “Sounds like a wild goose chase to me,” Ridge said with a snort. “If you ask me, the best thing we could do is pack up camp and head on out of here before more bad luck befalls us.”

  “Well, I didn’t ask you,” Lani shot back at him. “And what kind of bad luck are you talking about?”

  “Didn’t you say those bushes you got were bad luck? I got cracked on the head, didn’t I?”

  Lani gave him a look of pure exasperation. “That had nothing to do with it. You didn’t look where you were going and you slipped. Now if you’d only paid attention-”

  “So you’re calling me careless now?” The rest of his breakfast forgotten, Ridge put the plate on the ground and stood up. “It was dark in there, and slippery. It could have happened to anybody.”

  “And that’s exactly my point. It could have happened to any of us. It had absolutely nothing to do with bad luck brought on by my plants.” By this time Lani was getting so worked up her chest was heaving.

  But if she thought her show of emotion would sway him she’d better think again. “We’re leaving,” he said, "and not to go traipsing through the forest again. We’re going back to the city. Today.”

  Lani’s brows fell. “You can’t tell me what to do.”

  Ridge gave her a cool stare. “You can’t go if I don’t let you.” Then he gave her a mirthless smile. �
��You’re not going into the woods unless I go with you. And I’m not going with you.”

  “I’m going,” she snarled, “and you can just sit here and grow moss till I get back. I don’t care.” With that she stalked off, heading in the direction of the stream.

  “I’m packing up,” Ridge yelled after her. “When you get back we’ll be ready to go.”

  She didn’t bother to answer but just kept walking.

  Ridge shook his head. Hothead, that was what she was. Why did she think she should always have things her way? He glanced over at Aurelio who still stooped by the fire, looking uncertain. “She doesn’t understand that I’m doing this for her own good,” he said, trying to downplay the quarrel and reassure their guide. “This place is dangerous. She got what she came for so it’s best to just get on out of here before anything else goes wrong.”

  Aurelio nodded. “We go now,” he said solemnly. “Don’t push our luck.”

  “Now you’re talking.” Ridge gave him a nod of approval. If only his woman would get the point as easily as Aurelio did. Muttering to himself he strode toward his tent, ready to dismantle the thing and pack it into the Jeep.

  And that was when the second stroke of bad luck befell him. Just as he went around the boulder to which they’d secured the tent Ridge stepped down onto a pile of pebbles. Loosened by the pounding rain of the night before, they shifted under his feet, making his ankle twist under him, sending him tumbling to the ground.

  It was his yell that brought Aurelio hurrying to his side. “What is the matter? You are hurt?”

  His face contorted in pain, Ridge looked up from where he’d fallen to the muddy ground. “God, this hurts. It feels like I sprained my ankle.”

  “Not good.” Aurelio clucked his tongue, looking worried. “Not good.” Then, like he was forgetting he was a hundred pounds lighter than Ridge and twice his age, he tucked his shoulder under the injured man’s armpit and reached his arm behind his back to hoist him up.

  “No, that’s okay.” Ridge pushed him off, but gently, and then he rolled over and onto his knees. “I’ll crawl if I have to.”

  “No, you stay there.” Aurelio got up. “I will go and find the doctor.”

  Ridge groaned and he was just about to tell Aurelio not to bother but the man had already disappeared into the brush. He could just imagine what Lani would say when she came back and found him like this. Clumsy, that’s what she would call him, and careless. And if he answered her like he wanted to, then that would be the start to yet another argument.

  By the time Aurelio came back with Lani, Ridge was back inside the tent, lying on top of the sleeping bag. His ankle hurt so much he had to grit his teeth to keep from groaning out loud.

  He was in the middle of a suppressed moan when the flap of the tent was flung open and she tumbled in. “What happened?” she asked, looking more concerned than he’d expected. “Are you hurt bad?”

  Ridge drew in a slow breath. “Aurelio told you what happened?”

  "He said you slipped and fell.”

  He grimaced. That sounded more embarrassing than how it had actually happened. "I stepped on some loose rocks and they shifted. Made me twist my ankle.”

  “Oh.” She didn’t sound too impressed by his version of the story.

  “Anyway,” he said, eager to cover his embarrassment, “you know what that means.”

  “No. What?”

  “It means I couldn’t go on that eight mile trek with you even if I wanted to. And if I’m not going, you’re not going.”

  That got him a glare from Lani. “You didn’t want to go on the hike, anyway.” Then she knelt down on top of the sleeping bag beside him. “You’re right about not being in any condition to go but I’m sorry. That’s not going to stop me.”

  “What are you saying? You’re planning on leaving me in this condition and going into the jungle all by yourself?”

  “I won’t be by myself,” she reminded him. “Aurelio will be with me.”

  “I already told you,” Ridge said through gritted teeth, “you’re not going anywhere.” He didn’t know which was more annoying now, the throbbing ache in his ankle or Lani and her stupid insistence.

  “You can’t stop me,” she said, her look defiant.

  “Oh, can’t I?” Before she could move his hands shot out and he grasped her by the upper arms, dragging her down on top of him. “I’ll keep you here all day and all night if I have to.”

  “Hey, let go.” She was squirming on top of him now, doing more harm than good. She might not even know it but with her little body wriggling on top of him she was wakening the beast inside his pants. He was getting hard, real fast.

  “Stop squirming, will you?”

  “I won’t,” she said, panting as she tried to pull her arms free. “Not until you let me go.”

  “You’re going to have a long wait.”

  Those words seemed to incense Lani because she began to squirm anew, for at least a full minute, and then she slumped down, exhausted.

  As she lay on top of him Ridge chuckled deep in his throat. Sometimes it paid to be a man with enough muscles to keep a woman in her place.

  He’d just begun to get comfortable with her nestled against his chest when Lani made a move he could not have anticipated. Sneaky as a snake, she slipped her hand up under his armpit and began to tickle until he was chuckling then laughing out loud, his grip on her loosening just enough that she was finally able to wrest her arms from his grasp.

  Immediately, she popped up and jumped away from him and although he tried to grab her again it was too late. “I’m sorry,” she said again as she backed away from him and out of the tent. "I’m going. I’ll leave you with water and all the supplies you’ll need. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

  “Lani, don’t play games with me. I said you’re not going.” Ridge’s words fell on deaf ears or rather, absent ones, because by the time he got the words out Lani was gone.

  Ten minutes later she was back with bottles of water, boxes of crackers, a couple of oranges and apples and some plums. “You can snack on these until we get back,” she said. “I’ll ask Aurelio to snare some game on the way back so we can fix you some dinner tonight.”

  “So you’re going,” he said, still not believing it. “You’re leaving me here in my injured state?”

  “Oh, you’re a big boy,” she said, giving him a wave of dismissal. “You’ll be all right. And besides, we’ll be back long before nightfall. I promise.”

  Ridge gave her a sour look. “And what am I supposed to do all day?”

  “I’ve got a romance novel in my backpack. It’s pretty good. One of those billionaire romance thingies.”

  Ridge gave her a scathing look. “I’m supposed to entertain myself with a friggin’ romance novel for the entire day?”

  “I told you, this one’s pretty good. Now I really have to get going so I can be back in good time. I’ll see you later.”

  He didn’t get another word out. In a flash she was gone, leaving Ridge on his back with her sorry pile of food to one side of him and her romance novel bearing backpack to the other. Well, so much for being the man who called the shots.

  After she’d gone he lay there for a good hour but then he got sick of it. There was just so much of lying still, listening to the birds in the trees, that a man could take. With a groan he rolled over onto his side, careful not to bump his injured ankle, and then he got to his knees. He crept over to the tent opening and peered out. Nobody. Nothing but the breakfast fire that was now just a pile of dead ashes and in the background, trees and bushes all around their clearing. It was so still out there he actually felt lonely. He just hoped the fact that the place was so quiet, no stray jaguar would come wandering in.

  At the thought Ridge crept backwards, back into the tent, and made sure to pull his Bowie knife from under his pillow and slide it into the waistband of his trousers. If a jaguar was going to attack he wanted to at least have a fighting chance.

  But
then that thought led to another. Lani was out there in the jungle with only an old man to protect her. Godammit. Why did that woman have to be so stubborn? If he could have walked he would have been there by her side. She knew that. Why couldn’t she have let well enough alone and just stayed at camp with him?

  Two more hours passed and all Ridge could do was keep glancing at his watch. Had they reached their destination by now? Were they on their way back? His chest tightening with each thought of Lani out there in the woods, Ridge crawled to the tent flap and peered out again, knowing full well that they wouldn’t be back yet, but just hoping for a miracle.

  When the hunger pangs grew too strong Ridge munched on some of the crackers Lani had left then washed the tasteless meal down with bottled water. He crunched on one of the apples but when that was gone he turned away from the food. That was all he could stomach for the moment. How could he eat when he had no idea where Lani was just then and if she was safe?

  Two more hours later, still no Lani and Aurelio. He’d tried distracting himself with the romance novel she had left him but even though it started out as good as she’d said it was, he kept stopping after every page, listening for her voice. Then in the middle of the story his mind would wander and then he’d have to start the page all over again. Finally, frustrated, he dashed the paperback into the corner and slumped back on the sleeping bag.

  Several more hours later, after he’d ventured out of the tent a couple of times with a makeshift cruch, the sun was beginning to set and there was still no sign of Lani and Aurelio. And if Ridge had been worried before, now he was damn near frantic. Where the hell were they?

  Raking his fingers through his hair he looked toward the east where they’d gone. It was almost night, not the time to be wandering around in the woods. What should he do now? It wasn’t like he could call them on a cell phone, not all the way out here in this remote wilderness. The only way he could reach them was to follow them into the forest. But that didn’t make a lick of sense. They’d gone east but where exactly? And now that it was getting dark, how the heck was he going to find them?