by Adele Niles
I nodded. “Yeah, I could use some stuff. A lot of my furniture was Mark’s. So, you know, I’m sleeping on a mattress on the floor, and I don’t have a couch. I sure do have a lot of tables, though.”
Lora laughed. “We’ll get Bradley and the guys to keep an eye out for stuff. And if you need any heavy lifting done, I’ll bring him. Benny can probably come help, too?”
Kenzie nodded. “Yeah. We’ll grab a few of the guys and get everything set up for you.”
What had I done to deserve such wonderful friends?
I smiled, nodding. “I’ll order pizza for everybody. And pick up some drinks for when we’re done. Wine and beer?”
“Wine and beer!” Kenzie nodded. “That sounds great.”
I started to reply but was cut off by a loud yawn. I glanced at my phone. Almost eleven already. “Ah, shit. We probably ought to wrap up soon. We all have to work tomorrow.”
“Yeah.” Lora nodded. She and Kenzie always opened Bakeology, so they definitely had an early morning. We paid our tabs, splitting the appetizers between ourselves, and headed out together.
Outside the door, we exchanged hugs. I held Kenzie just a few seconds longer, letting go and grabbing for my purse to find my keys.
My purse.
Dammit.
“Shit—I gotta go back in.” I shook my head. “I left my purse on the bar after we paid.”
Kenzie nodded. “Do you want us to wait for you?”
“No, no. I’m good. I’ll just be a second.” I smiled. “You two get home safe, okay? Take care.”
“Good night!” Lora waved. She and Kenzie turned, going toward their cars.
I pulled the door to The Republic back open and went inside.
And leaped back, gasping.
I hadn’t even noticed somebody coming toward the door when I opened it. Which was shocking, considering that it was Ryker.
He leaped back, too. My purse hung from one hand, the strap held tightly in his fist.
I pressed one hand to my chest, letting out a nervous laugh. “Wow,” I said, shaking my head. “Wow. Hey, that doesn’t really go with your outfit.”
He smiled. “Should I change, then?”
That smile did things to me.
I shifted, biting my lower lip. “Nah. Don’t change anything.”
Chapter Ten
Ryker
Don’t change anything.
I liked that.
I held Sydney’s purse out to her. She reached for it, and I pulled my hand back, out of her grasp. She laughed, taking a half-step closer and reaching for it again.
“Hey, c’mon!” She bounced up on her toes, reaching.
Her tits bounced with her.
My cock twitched again.
I had to get this girl in bed.
I lowered her purse. She grabbed it, her fingers brushing against mine. The touch was shocking— it felt like fire, or electricity.
I hadn’t felt that since Bay left.
Sydney continued to giggle as she slung her purse over her shoulder. She looked up at me, green eyes heated. “You’re something else, you know that?”
“One of the nicer things I’ve been told about myself.” I folded my arms, grinning down at her.
“I mean it. You’re…mysterious.” Sydney took a step back, mirroring my posture.
It was cute.
“Mysterious, huh?”
“Yeah. Like you’ve got some secrets. Some shit nobody knows about behind those pretty green eyes.”
She had no idea.
“I’m gonna—I’m gonna figure you out, Ryker.” She shook her head. “You can’t keep your secrets forever. I won’t let you.”
I laughed. “Well, you’re welcome to try.”
“Syd?” Kenzie’s voice cut through the dark.
I looked up. She and Lora stood by their cars, watching us.
“Syd, you okay?” Kenzie asked.
“Yeah!” Sydney waved to them. “I’m good. We’re just chatting.”
“Okay, well, see you soon.” Kenzie got in her car, and Lora followed suit. Sydney and I watched as they both pulled out of the parking lot, heading home.
“Now.” Sydney looked back up at me. “Walk me to my car?”
“With pleasure.”
I let Sydney lead, following her into the parking lot. She swayed just a little on her feet.
“Are you okay to drive?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m good.” She smiled. “I promise. And I live really close, too. I’ll be fine.”
I nodded, watching her lean against the side of her car. She looked back at me, smiling.
“What?” I asked.
Sydney shook her head. She reached out, fingers curling around my wrist. She pulled my arm toward her, bent forward to look at my tattoos.
A lock of hair fell in her face. I wanted to tuck it back, out of the way. Just so I could keep looking at her.
What was this woman doing to me?
She hummed softly to herself, pressing one finger to the outline of the skull and serpent inked on the inside of my forearm. “These are cool. I’m not sure if tattoos are for me, but yours are cool.”
“I like to think so.”
She laughed, looking up at me. Her finger continued to stroke my arm.
Her touch was definitely doing things to me.
“Kenzie says you’re a player.” She tilted her head, that loose lock of hair falling across her forehead.
I shrugged. “I like beautiful women. Haven’t found one to tame the beast yet.”
“The beast? Is that what you call it?” Her eyes darted downward again.
I took a step closer to her. “Not usually, but if you’re into it, I can.”
Sydney laughed again. She returned her gaze to my arm, her finger rounding the head of the serpent.
I wished that hand was somewhere else.
“Maybe I am into it.” She glanced up, just for a second.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I shifted, grabbing her hands, maybe a little rougher than I should have.
Her head snapped up.
I didn’t think I’d ever seen a woman look at me with so much lust.
I stepped closer, pushing her back against her car. She moaned as I kissed her, her mouth opening against mine. She tasted like hops and sunshine.
I dropped her hands. She wrapped her arms around me, pulling me closer. Her tongue nudged against mine, then slid inside my mouth.
I tilted my hips against hers. I knew, from the pleased sound she made, that she could feel how hard I was. She leaned back against her car, trying to pull me closer. I leaned over her, giving a slow thrust of my hips against hers.
Sydney suddenly pulled back, pushing against my chest.
“Stop.” Her voice was a whisper.
I drew back immediately. I liked sex, and wanted her desperately, but I wasn’t a monster.
I stood back, both of us panting. Sydney lifted one hand, wiping her mouth.
“You okay?” I started to reach for her but paused, lowering my hand.
She nodded. “Yeah. Yeah. We just…can’t.”
“Okay. Because of what Kenzie said?”
She shook her head. “No. Just, we barely know each other.”
That was fair. I nodded. “Okay. No worries.”
Sydney looked up at me. She was silent for a moment, still breathing heavily. “If…if you want more, then…what about a date?”
A date.
I didn’t really do that.
But for Sydney? I could be convinced. Easily.
“When and where?”
“Tomorrow.” She took another deep breath, relaxing. “My place. I’ll cook for you.”
“That sounds nice. Can I get your address?”
She nodded and pulled a tiny notepad and pen from her purse, writing down her address and a time—seven p.m. I knew the street she lived on, and imagined she was in one of the little duplexes people rented.
“There you go.” She patted my hand as she
put the paper in it. “See you at seven?”
“See you at seven, then.”
Sydney nodded. She slipped into the car, buckling her seatbelt. Smart girl.
“I’ll text you,” she said. “Um…have a good night.”
“You, too, Sydney. See you tomorrow.” I closed the door and stepped back, watching as she backed out of her parking space. She turned onto the main road. I stood there watching until she turned down another street and I lost sight of her.
A date. What the hell had I just agreed to? I shook my head, turning to go back inside the bar.
After that, I needed another drink.
Chapter Eleven
Sydney
I got home, sighing as I locked the front door behind me.
I needed to know more about Ryker.
He was gorgeous and rough around the edges, and everything about him turned me on faster than I’d ever imagined was possible.
Mark had certainly never done that to me.
Maybe that was the appeal. Ryker was the polar opposite of Mark. Mark had always felt safe, stable. Normal. He was clean-cut, no ink, a conservative dresser. And Ryker was…
Well, he was none of that.
He was sexy. And mysterious. The air of danger about him made me want more.
I shook my head, going into my room. I stripped out of my clothes, tossing them on the floor, and dropped onto my bed—well, my mattress on the floor.
I dug BOB out of the nightstand. With Ryker on my mind, I held my vibrator exactly where I wanted it. I closed my eyes, thinking of him—how he smelled, how it had felt to run my fingers over his tattoo.
I gasped his name as I came, shaking on the bed.
Maybe, if our date went well, he’d be the one. Not the One, permanently, but the one I gave up my V-card to.
* * * * *
Jay was in my office.
Apparently, Maggie telling him I wasn’t looking for a relationship hadn’t deterred him at all.
He cleared his throat. “I was thinking, you know, if you’re not busy this weekend…”
Ugh.
I tuned him out immediately.
He was just so boring. I mean, he was handsome, in a way, but I couldn’t see myself with him.
He was too much like Mark—clean-cut, with dark hair and eyes. On the rare occasions when we did a casual day at the office, he still showed up in khakis and a polo.
He liked taking his boat out on the lake and playing golf. I knew that much from overhearing office chatter. He watched football every Sunday when it was on and always made buffalo wings—not homemade, but from a box.
He sounded so dull and uninteresting.
How had I ever considered settling down with someone at work a possibility? It sounded like a punishment. And I didn’t deserve that. No, I was still young, and fun, and…
And I could do better than this.
“Sydney?”
I blinked, looking up at Jay.
He had a look of confusion on his face. “Uh, am I boring you? Everything okay?”
God, yes, you’re so fucking boring I want to die. “No, sorry, I just zoned out for a second. And I’m busy this weekend.”
He deflated a little. “Oh.” Then, emboldened again, said, “Well, maybe another time? Next week? We could go to dinner. There’s this really great Italian place—”
“I don’t think so, Jay.”
Jay blinked in surprise. “What?”
“I said, I don’t think so.” I shook my head. “I’m not interested in dating right now.”
“But…but you’re single. And you’re, what, twenty-five?” He gave me a look up and down. “You won’t look that good forever, sweetheart.”
Right. Fragile male egos couldn’t handle a little rejection. I nodded toward the door. “If that’s how you want to talk to me, you can just leave.”
He turned on his heel. As he left, I heard him mutter, “Bitch.”
I snorted. He wasn’t exactly a catch, either, and way too up his own ass for my taste.
He could find another woman to make miserable. I wasn’t going to tie myself down to anyone, not yet. Not even Ryker. He wasn’t relationship material, anyway—just a little fun for now.
Thinking of him made me smile. Jay’s attitude was almost forgotten. I had to run by the grocery store on my way home, get things going for dinner.
I was sure Ryker had never had anything as good as my shrimp alfredo.
* * * * *
Ryker showed up right on time with a bottle of Chardonnay, just like I’d suggested. He wore jeans and an open button-down over a t-shirt with a cool graphic on it. Even though I knew he’d come straight from the shop, he looked like he’d put in extra effort tonight.
I kissed him at the door and let him into my apartment.
“Smells garlicky,” he said. “I like it.”
“Good. I’d have to tell you to leave if you didn’t like garlic.” I gestured to the dining table. “I’d tell you to get comfy on the couch, but I don’t have one yet.”
Ryker moved to the table, facing into the kitchen. I’d left the corkscrew and wine glasses on the table; I could hear the sounds of him pouring two glasses. I went back to stirring the pot of alfredo on the stove, tapping in just a little bit of ground nutmeg. That was the secret ingredient—it made the flavors richer.
“No couch, huh?” he asked.
I glanced at Ryker; he was looking into my admittedly barren living room. A small TV sat on a coffee table, facing a heap of pillows and blankets that were serving as my nest for now.
“Yeah, uh, it belonged to the ex.” I shook my head.
“Kenzie mentioned your ex.”
So, she’d talked to him about me. I wondered what she’d said. Hopefully nothing bad. I sighed and shrugged. “Yeah, it was a rough breakup.”
Ryker was quiet. This wasn’t what I wanted.
I scrambled to redirect the tone of the conversation. “But, I mean, it’s fine. I kinda just want to play the field for a while, you know? So it’s working out.”
I stirred the sauce one more time, then started to make bowls: fettucine noodles, a healthy serving of sauce, broccoli, and shrimp. A piece of garlic bread on the edge of each bowl. I turned and carried both bowls to the table, where I sat across from Ryker.
“This looks amazing.” He looked down at his bowl, eyebrows raised. “I don’t remember the last time I had a meal like this.”
“Well, enjoy it. It’s kind of my specialty.” I smiled, already twirling pasta around my fork.
For a moment, we were both quiet, enjoying the taste of the food. It was perfect, possibly the best sauce I’d ever made.
Thank God men were easily charmed with food.
Ryker looked up from his bowl, nodding contentedly. “This is amazing.” He smiled. “Wow. Thanks, Sydney.”
“Sure. Thanks for coming over.”
He chuckled, reaching for his wine glass and taking a sip. I did the same. I had a feeling that bottle was going to be gone by the end of the night, and I wasn’t upset about it.
“So,” I said after a moment had passed. “I have to know. And I’ll keep it a secret if you want, but I gotta ask, how’d you know about the contract?”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “Right to the point, huh? You really are a lawyer.”
“Paralegal. But I know my stuff. And so do you.”
“Right, well.” He shrugged. “I was in college. For pre-law.”
Huh. Interesting. I raised my eyebrows, stabbing a piece of broccoli and swirling it around in the sauce. “Why’d you quit?”
Ryker didn’t reply for a moment. He took another bite, chewed and swallowed, then said, “It just didn’t feel right. It wasn’t for me. I was a little too artistic, you know? Didn’t really fit in with the suit and tie crowd.”
I couldn’t imagine him in a suit at all. I couldn’t picture him socializing with the lawyer types, either. Hell, sometimes I had a hard time picturing myself socializing with the lawye
r crowd.
“And now you’re a successful tattoo artist.” I raised my wine glass toward him. “Everything works out in the end, I guess.”
“You think that?” He smiled. “So, your breakup is gonna end up okay?”
Damn. Right to the point. He would’ve made a great lawyer.
“Well, if I let myself think otherwise, I’ll just sink into misery and wallow. So, I have to keep telling myself that Mark wasn’t the right guy for me, and that I’ll find the right one when it’s time. And until then, I can have a little fun.”
“Not a bad way to think about it.” He nodded, but his expression was a little sad.
Was it the girl Kenzie had mentioned? Bay?
It didn’t feel right to ask about her.
I took another bite of pasta, reminding myself to keep my mouth shut. He’d tell me if he wanted to. I’d already asked enough questions.
And he wanted to know about my breakup. Everybody did.
Maybe he needed to know, if I wanted him to fuck me.
I sighed and looked up at him. “Listen, um—so the whole breakup is because my ex kept telling me he wanted to wait for marriage, right? And then I came home early one day and found him in bed with another man.”
Ryker blinked, then let out a sharp whistle. “That’s…that’s fucking rough. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I mean, it hurt a lot. It still hurts. But I was wasting my time with him. The worst part of it is knowing I’ll never get that time back. But now, I’m free to do what I want, when I want, with whoever I want.”
He nodded. “That’s true. So, you just want to play for a little while?”
I nodded. “Yeah. That’s kind of the plan. I don’t want to rush into anything, don’t want to tie myself down to anyone for a while. Maybe date around, maybe hook up.”
And I gave him what I hoped was a very pointed look.
He raised an eyebrow, reaching for his wine glass. “Is that so?”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “I kinda just want to, you know, see what’s out there. Live life.”
“Not a bad plan.” Ryker leaned back in his chair. He was posed like a model, but it was effortless, natural. He looked like he belonged in a magazine spread, not my half-furnished apartment.