Page 34 of Claimed Gem

“What?” she asked him.

“That you could be so hypocritical. You want to hold me accountable for the women I’ve played with in the past – the past, mind you, and yet you’ve just admitted to having used your share of men to get whatever you needed.”

“I’ve used no one,” she argued, facing him and shaking her head at him in disbelief. “I don’t know what you heard but I never said I was using people, men in particular. I don’t use people. Ever. I do what is necessary to keep myself going…”

“Is that what you’re doing now? Surviving? Am I a means to an end?”

Stephanie’s eyes glittered with unshed tears and she made a sound that was part hurt and frustration. “Believe whatever you will. I’m not a manipulator or so shallow as to believe I’m worth anyone’s special consideration.”

She turned and left. Ries stared at her shadow, wondering if he was being used or if he’d made a monumental mistake and lost the best thing to ever happen to him. Fear that he was being manipulated led to an inevitable conclusion: that Stephanie would end up resenting him.

Chris stuck his head into the room and asked, “Everything okay?”

Ries shook his head and stalked to the window, looking down on the people milling around on the sidewalks below. “No, everything isn’t okay.”

“Anything I can do to help?” Chris asked.

“Catch this guy and let me get back to living a normal life,” Ries told him. “I want my life back.”

Chris nodded, leaving Ries alone with his thoughts.

Something had changed between him and Stephanie. And Ries was stumped on how to fix things between them.

15

Later that evening…

Stephanie had spentthe afternoon by herself, rehashing the fight with Ries, and coming to the conclusion that she was penalizing him for having a past.

She felt terrible about her behavior – but also about his treatment of her. She knew he only wanted to protect her and that she meant a great deal to him – but she couldn’tstandbeing dependent on someone else.

She couldn’t stand the distance between them. After she ate supper alone, she went searching for the only man to ever stir her heart so deeply.

She found him in his room, reclining on the bed and flipping through the television channels. She observed him from the doorway, an idea forming in her mind. She yearned for the closeness they had experienced right after he’d gotten shot.

She knew he was still a little sore but he’d not taken any pain meds all day today. It meant he was clear headed and she decided she needed answers.

She needed to know if the intimacy and sexual chemistry she’d experienced with Ries had been a temporary situation or if there was something there that might be worth saving.

She backed out of the doorway and returned to the guest room she’d been using the last several days. She freshened up in the bathroom, removed her bra and donned the button-down shirt she’d borrowed from his closet several days before. She left her skimpy lace thong on but removed her leggings and her socks.

She brushed out her hair, leaving it down around her shoulders and unbuttoned two more buttons on the shirt, ensuring that her audience would have a tantalizing glimpse of her unfettered breasts with each step she took.

She returned to his room and slowly approached the bed. Ries looked up and his eyes instantly filled with heat. She felt sexy beneath his stare, and when he slid to the side of the bed, she found herself slowing her steps and toying with the buttons at the top of his shirt.

The hem of the shirt brushed against the top of her thighs with each step she took, her pulse sped up, and memories of being loved by Ries assailed her.

She paused a few steps away from him and bit her bottom lip as doubts entered her mind.Ries had been acting so cold toward her, and then with the snap of his fingers he could switch gears and he was the most attentive and passionate man she’d ever met.

Ries was only wearing a pair of black silk boxers, and when she glanced down, she could see the evidence of his desire for her, but then as she raised her eyes up, she caught sight of the healing wound in his shoulder. He was no longer wearing the sling and only a small bandage covered the wound now.

“How are you feeling?” she asked, gesturing toward his shoulder.

Ries glanced at it and then smiled at her, getting to his feet and closing the distance between them. He brushed the back of his fingers over her cheek and then cupped her jaw, tilting her head up as he took possession of her lips.

Long moments later, he skimmed his lips over her jaw and down her neck, nibbling at the tender cord where her neck and shoulder met before venturing lower.

Stephanie gasped when he skimmed his hands down her sides before bringing them back up and cupping her breasts through the thin fabric of the shirt. She reached for him, squeezing his sides and then she placed her lips on his chest.