Dirk's Love

Chapter Five

Ryann sat in the passenger side of Dirk’s BMW convertible with the top down, enjoying the wind in her hair as he drove them to Roxie’s place. Since it wouldn’t be dark for another couple of hours, when Dirk had asked if it were okay if he took it down, she’d quickly agreed. She’d never ridden in a convertible before, or a BMW, for that matter. Ryann had had a feeling that her new boss had money, considering some of the things he’d said while they’d talked on the phone. The first and foremost giveaway had been the fact he lived in Marin County.

Dirk sent a quick look her way before he focused back on the road. “Is it too windy for you?”

Ryann tucked her hair behind her ears. “No, it’s fine.”

“Just let me know if it is, and I’ll put the top up.”

“I will.”

They drove in silence for a little while until Ryann noticed the neighborhood they were in. “Ah, I take it Roxie’s rich like you.”

He gave her a quick smile. “You could say that, but mostly because of Beowulf. You could say he comes from very old money.”

“If that’s the case, I hope he isn’t one of those stuck up rich people.”

Dirk laughed. “I can assure you Beowulf’s nothing like that. He’s a pretty laid back guy. He even owns a nightclub. You might’ve heard of it. Wulf’s Den?”

Ryann shifted in her seat to better face Dirk. “Are you kidding me? I’ve heard of Wulf’s Den. Where I used to work, that’s all the single girls talked about. How the hottest guys could be found there. Like off the pages of GQ hot. I think some of them went to the club every Saturday night, hoping to get lucky with one.”

“Yeah, it does have a reputation for that,” he said with a chuckle. “Beowulf says it’s very good for business. So did any of those girls hook up with one of the guys?”

“Only one. Supposedly.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, she came back to the office that Monday, bragging about how the guy could keep it up for hours, even after he came, repeatedly. We, of course, thought she was full of crap.” Ryann looked at Dirk’s profile. “But after what we shared in my apartment, I’m starting to rethink that. She could’ve very well told the truth. Though I think I might have to do a little more research into it before I fully believe it. Do some testing of that theory on my own.”

The glance Dirk shot her was heated, making a thrill shoot through her from her head to her toes.

“You can use me as your guinea pig any time you want,” he said huskily. “And I’m sure you’ll be more than satisfied with the results.”

If they hadn’t been in a car, driving on the road, Ryann would’ve unclipped her seatbelt and thrown herself on top of Dirk. Her pussy grew wet as her imagination ran wild with all the things she would do to him to test her theory. She was so very tempted to tell him to turn the car around and go back to her apartment, to forget about Roxie’s dinner invitation. And from the tight expression on Dirk’s face, she had a feeling he’d have no problem going along with it.

His knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel tighter. “God, you have no idea how much you’re killing me here. If it were anyone else but Roxie, I’d be saying the hell with it.”

“She wouldn’t understand?”

“Not even close.” He reached across and squeezed her leg. “We’ll get this over with, then leave shortly after the meal’s done.”

“I’m going to hold you to that.”

Dirk put on his indicator to turn left before he pulled into a gated drive. He rolled down his window and punched in a series of numbers on the security pad located near the entrance and the black, iron gate swung open.

“You must come here a lot, if you know the code to get in,” she said.

“There are times I practically feel as if I live here, especially when Roxie was helping me set up the website.”

Dirk drove up the long drive, then parked in front of the garage next to a black Chevy Camaro. Once he turned off the car, Ryann got out and walked around to Dirk’s side. He took her hand and linked their fingers together as he guided her over to the mansion’s front door. It’d been years since she’d walked with a man like this. She’d actually missed it.

Dirk didn’t bother to knock and just walked inside. He called, “Rox?”

“We’re in the living room, Dirk,” a woman answered.

Still walking hand in hand, Ryann allowed Dirk to move her in the direction the voice had come from. Once they stepped inside the room, the two sets of couples already there seemed to turn their gazes directly on her. She found it a bit disconcerting to be the center of attention to a bunch of people she’d never met. They didn’t stare at her in a mean way, more of a curious one.

As they came closer, a woman with long, golden brown hair got up from the couch where she’d sat with a man with longish, black hair. She headed straight for Ryann with a big, friendly smile on her face.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Ryann,” the woman said when she came to stand in front of her. “Dirk’s talked a lot about you these last couple of weeks. I’m Roxie.”

Ryann returned her smile. “I can say the same about you.”

“Well, don’t just stand there. I’ll introduce you to the others.”

Dirk and Ryann followed Roxie over to the two couches. Once they were all seated, Roxie made the introductions. Ryann learned that the man with the black hair was Roxie’s husband, Beowulf. The other two people were Jager and Daylen, another husband and wife.

She couldn’t help but stare a bit at Jager and Beowulf. The two men were tall, muscular and had supermodel looks just like Dirk. Their spouses were pretty, but didn’t look like models found on a fashion runway. Ryann was thankful for that. At least, she wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb when it came to the looks department.

Ryann had just sat back as Dirk put his arm around her shoulders when Jager said, “So, have the two of you slept together yet?”

“Jager!” both Daylen and Roxie said sharply at the same time.

“What?” he asked. “I know you’re both dying to know, well, at least Roxie is.”

Daylen shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Just ignore him, Ryann. My husband has the bad habit of saying whatever the hell’s on his mind, regardless of how bad it sounds coming out of his mouth.”

With his long, light brown hair pulled back in a ponytail and tough looking exterior, he had the appearance of a man you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley. Jager’s expression softened, showing the feelings he had for his wife when he looked at Daylen. “And that’s part of the reason why you love me,” he said with a smile.

Next to Ryann, Dirk groaned. “As another person who lives in the same house as you, I can definitely say it doesn’t make me want to love you. Sometimes it actually has the opposite effect.”

As the others laughed at Dirk’s quip, Ryann turned her head to look at him. “Jager and Daylen are your roommates? I thought you lived alone.”

The laughter petered out as he answered her. “They’re not roommates, more like family. I like to think of them as the siblings I never had. Along with the others we live with.”

“There are more than just the three of you?”

Dirk nodded. “Altogether, including the new baby Jaden and Leif are expecting, there are eleven of us.”

Ryann looked at him, feeling very much surprised. “That’s one big family. I don’t know if I could live with that many people. I’m so used to it just being Tyler and me.”

“Don’t worry, Ryann,” Jager said. “You’ll think nothing of it once you’ve moved in.” He grunted when his wife elbowed him in the side.

“Would you shut up, Jager,” Daylen said. She then looked at Ryann. “Like I said before, ignore him. Who’s Tyler?”

Ryann couldn’t help the smile that formed. “He’s my three-year-old son.” She quickly added, “I’m divorced.”

“Where is he now?” Roxie asked. “You could’ve brought him along instead of leaving him with a sitter. We have plenty of room here for him to sleep, if and when he got tired.”

“He’s with his dad for the weekend.”

“Oh, so you don’t have to rush back home?”

“I suppose not,” Ryann said, though getting Dirk alone again was something she planned to do as soon as she could without being rude.

Roxie stood. “I think the food should be done. Why don’t the rest of you head to the dining room while I get everything ready to serve?”

“Do you need any help, Rox?” Daylen asked.

“Nope, I’m good.”

Once Roxie left, Beowulf got up and led the rest of them to the dining area. The table was long, more than enough room for six people to sit comfortably. A dark blue tablecloth covered it, and it had already been set.

Coming through another doorway at the other end of the room that must be connected to the kitchen, Roxie came in carrying a large pan of piping hot lasagna. She placed it on the center of the table on a cooling rack. She took off the oven mitts she wore before she said, “I’ll just get the garlic bread, then we can dish up.”

The smell of garlic preceded Roxie when she returned. Ryann’s stomach growled in anticipation. She had a weakness for Italian food. All heads turned her way, and she blushed. She hadn’t thought the sound of her stomach grumbling had been that loud.

She looked at Roxie. “It smells delicious. I guess I’m hungrier than I thought.”

“Well, help yourself, and eat as much as you want. I made lots.”

No one spoke as the food was dished up on their plates. Once she had hers, Ryann picked up her piece of garlic bread and took a bite. It was really good, so was the lasagna when she had some of that.

While they ate, a large bottle of red wine was passed around, everyone filling the wineglass next to their plate. And as the meal progressed, it went around a second time. Once that was emptied and another bottle had been opened, Ryann knew there was no way she’d be able to keep up with the others at the table. Two glasses were her max, especially if she wanted to remain sober for later. She wasn’t one of those drunks who could liven up a party. No, finding a corner somewhere and going to sleep was more her style. She doubted Dirk would enjoy that.

When the food was all gone and everyone was on their fifth glass of wine—not that any of them appeared to feel the effects of the alcohol—Ryann was still amazed by how much they’d had. It also made her think that Dirk really couldn’t be in any condition to drive. And after having her two glasses, she didn’t want to get behind the wheel either.

Trying not to be too blatant about it, she leaned toward Dirk, and whispered, “When you want to leave, I think we should call a cab. Neither one of us should be driving.”

He smiled and replied just as quietly, “I’m fine. I can drive.”

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. We don’t need you to get a DUI.”

From the end of the table, Roxie said, “Ryann’s right, Dirk. You don’t need one of those. You two can stay over. So can Jager and Daylen.” Her gaze seemed to lock on Dirk’s. “I insist.”

“Really?” Dirk asked. “You’re going to be like this?”

Roxie smiled. “I’m afraid so. I told you I was going to watch you.”

Ryann got the distinct impression she was missing out on part of what Dirk and Roxie’s conversation really meant. She had a feeling it all didn’t have to do with Dirk driving while under the influence. But she didn’t say anything.

“Fine,” Dirk said with a sigh. “I guess we’ll be staying the night.” He turned to Ryann. “You don’t mind, do you?”

She shook her head. “If you want to stay, I’m fine with it.”

There was no way she’d pass up the chance to actually spend the entire night with Dirk in a bed. It didn’t matter where it was, so long as he was in it.