by KB Winters
She laughed and grabbed for my hands. “Tell me about you? What’s going on with you and stud-muffin?”
“Absolutely nothing.” My eyes drifted to look at Ryker. The two men had their backs turned, and my eyes raked in the sight of him with a surprising hunger.
“Uh huh…” Tori’s tone dripped with sarcasm and I looked over at her and blushed, realizing she’d caught me staring at Ryker’s perfect behind. “Come on, girl! I’ve been holed up! I need something juicy!”
I propped my cheek on my hand. “There’s nothing to tell. Not much anyways. He came into town because he found out about you and he wanted to help. I was too busy with rehearsal to do much except worry…a lot. Anyways, he came to the studio one day and saw me and Jason…”
“Oh shit!”
I nodded. “Yeah. He got the wrong idea and when I went to see him and tell him we weren’t together, he was a total asshole and told me he was leaving to go back to his ranch. Honestly, until I saw him staring back through the peephole just a minute ago, I thought he was long gone.”
“Wow. Well thank God he didn’t!”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s the one to thank for me being free again! He’s the one who found the guy who saw the conversation between Cassandra-bitch and me out there at that house. If not for him, I don’t think I’d be here right now. I’d probably be on my way to prison or a courthouse or some shit like that.”
I looked back at Ryker and blushed even more when he turned and our eyes met through the window. I darted mine away. “Well, I’ll be sure to tell him thank you before he leaves for the airport then…” I tried to make my tone sound detached, but I was sure I wasn’t fooling anyone. Especially not my best friend.
“Right.” She didn’t look the slightest bit convinced. “So, Jason’s on deck then? Anything going on there?”
I shook my head. “No, actually, I’m done with Fly. I resigned yesterday.”
“You what?” She shouted.
“Everything okay in here?” Bennett asked, popping his head back into the apartment.
“No! It most certainly is not!” Tori replied, waving her arms like a lunatic. “She quit her job!”
“Tori, calm down!” I turned in my seat and waved Bennett away. He reluctantly closed the door again and I silently prayed he wouldn’t tell Ryker what Tori had said. “It’s okay. I’ve given it a lot of thought. Being in the show wasn’t what I really wanted. I thought it was, but the reality was a far cry from what I imagined. I found out…in the hardest way possible…that I’m not meant for the spotlight.”
Tori stared me down, not bothering to hide the skepticism in her eyes. “So, what are you going to do?”
I sighed. “Well, this is that part you’re not gonna be too crazy about…but, I’m going back to Kentucky.”
“What?” She shrieked again, even more decibel shattering than the shout before.
“Shhh!” I hissed. “I want to be a teacher again. Not here, but somewhere that I can really make a home. I want that small town, friendly feeling again. And besides, my mother’s husband might be a dick, but he’s a rich dick, and I’m fairly sure all it’ll take is a phone call to ask for some help. You and I both know my mother would do just about anything to get me back home again. I can have my own dance studio and teach classes all day and who knows, maybe I’ll meet someone, have a family of my own…” The words tore at the stitches on my broken heart. It was hard to imagine a life like that without picturing Ryker in the lead. My time with him in Oklahoma had revived my joy for the simple life, and while I knew I could find that part back in Kentucky, I also knew it wouldn’t feel quite the same without him.
All I could do was hope that I’d come to terms with it over time and find someone who’d make me forget Ryker’s name someday.
“Wow. You’re really serious about all this,” Tori said. She whistled under her breath. “God, everything is changing so fast. I’m going underground. You’re going country.”
I laughed softly and took her hand. “It’ll be okay, Tori. We’ll always be friends. What would I do without my zany, outgoing, spunky roommate. Besides, without you around to hit on me, I fear my self-esteem would suffer dramatically.”
She winked. “You know it, baby girl.”
“In a few months, you’ll be free, and you can come visit me in Kentucky. It’ll be fun.”
“Oooh! Can we go to that thing where everyone wears fabulous hats and gets smashed in the middle of the day?”
I giggled. “The Kentucky Derby?”
“Sure!”
“You know what, for you, anything.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Everlie
Tori and I didn’t have long to bask in our reunited happiness. Bennett and Ryker came back into the apartment a few minutes later, and Bennett announced that their car was on the way. Tori raced off down the hall to pack and Bennett followed after her. I had no idea what had happened between them, but he was looking at her with the same starry eyes that she’d had when staring at him through the window.
Ryker hung back by the front door and I stood to face him. “Are you going with them?”
“No,” he replied, shaking his head. “I’m booked on a three thirty flight back to Oklahoma.”
“Oh?” I twisted my fingers together.
“You quit the show?”
My eyes snapped to his. Damn Bennett.
“Yeah. It wasn’t a good fit.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
I waved him off. “Don’t be, it’s for the best. I’m uh—actually planning to get things settled here and then go back to Kentucky.”
His eyebrows shot into peaked arches. “Really?”
“Mmhmm.” I gave him the brief rundown of what I’d finished telling Tori minutes before.
“Wow,” he said, as soon as I wrapped up my plan. “That’s all really fast, but really exciting, I guess.”
“You guess?”
“Sorry, no, that’s not what I meant. It is exciting. I’m proud of you.”
It was my turn to arch a brow.
“I just mean, it takes a lot of guts to walk away from such a big opportunity—God, I’m saying this all wrong…” He stopped and grit his teeth together. “I think it’s admirable to know yourself that well. Your passion changed and you’re going to chase it down even though it’s a big jump. Most people wouldn’t be willing to do that.”
I nodded, smiling slightly at his frazzled speech. “Thanks. I guess, in some ways, it’s like what you did, though. You walked away from the military to take over your grandfather’s ranch. That’s a big leap too.”
Ryker nodded earnestly. “I’d never really thought of it like that, but yeah.”
Silence fell between us, and I went back to twisting and joining my fingers together. “You know…Ryker…that guy you saw me with, I wasn’t lying. He wasn’t my boyfriend or anything like that. He was my dance partner, the male lead.”
Ryker’s eyes went dark as he met mine. His jaw tensed but then relaxed. “You don’t owe me an explanation, Everlie. It’s really okay.”
“No it’s not…” I replied, my voice soft. “I still care about you, and I don’t want you to think you could be so easily replaced.”
I was surprised by my own raw words, and Ryker looked even more startled. He took a few steps towards me. “Ev…”
“All right! We’re outta here!” Tori’s voice blasted down the hall. She appeared seconds later, bags hung over both arms. Bennett followed behind a beat later, pulling two gigantic suitcases in his wake. He grimaced at us, and Ryker and I both laughed at the sight.
Tori stopped at the door and her eyes pooled with tears when they landed on me. She grabbed me around the waist and squeezed tight. “I love you, girl. Don’t ever forget it!”
“I won’t,” I said into her hair, too choked up to offer much more than a whisper.
Neither of us had any idea when we’d be able to speak again, but Bennett assur
ed us we would find a way. Ryker and Bennett exchanged the classic bro-hug, and in a whirlwind of goodbyes, a train load of luggage, and a swiftly closed door, they were gone.
Leaving Ryker and me in the apartment alone.
“Are you all right?” He asked, following my stare to the door.
“She’s really gone…”
Ryker closed the gap between us and gently drew me into his arms. I went willingly, and rested my head against his chest, surprised by how familiar and comfortably I nestled into place. We fit together seamlessly. I exhaled a shaky breath, and Ryker reached up to stroke a hand down my loose waves. “It’s not forever, Ev. She’ll be safe, and all of this will be over soon.”
“Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Ev.”
I looked up, resting my chin on his solid chest. “Tori told me what you did. That you were the one who kept looking for the truth and found the witness that was able to clear her name. You don’t even know how much that means to me. Is that why you’re still here? To help with the case?”
He hesitated, almost looking embarrassed, but finally nodded. “I couldn’t leave things like they were. Even after…well, you know. It didn’t feel right, and I knew that as soon as I got back onto the ranch, I’d be kicking myself every day and wonder what had happened.”
I ran my hands up his back and held him close. I pressed my eyes closed and took in a deep, soothing breath of him. His flannel shirt smelled like sunshine, but a hint of his aftershave burst through and made my knees quiver. It was a simple—but powerful—scent.
I opened my eyes and found his deep brown eyes staring down at me. “You’re a good man, Ryker Knight.”
“I try. More so recently.”
My stomach swirled at his soft confession and the raw look behind his dark eyes. “You don’t always…have to be…you know…” I said, my voice quietly daring him. My fingers curled against the hard muscles of his back and before I could even finish my next breath, his mouth was on mine. He captured my lips, devouring them with a burning hunger that set my body on fire in a split second. I dug in my nails even harder and he groaned into my open mouth as his tongue swept past my lips, exploring and taking everything he wanted.
“God, Everlie, you have no idea how much I’ve missed you…this…” he said, running his hands over my body. His hands were on a frantic search, reclaiming every lost detail as he found each curve, line, and hollow of my body. Everywhere that his hands went, lines of heat were left behind, melting me into his arms all the more. He stripped off my shirt first, his hands skimming my bare skin as he lifted it up and over my head, and I shuddered when his fingers brushed the sides of my breasts. Even through the fabric of my bra, a thousand sensations shot through my body, charging every cell with a crackling of electricity.
I tore at Ryker’s shirt, matching his fervent urgency, and moaned with delight when my hands sprawled across the expanse of his bared chest. He was pure sex and lust and hot desire, and I didn’t know where to start. I traced the curved lines of his abs while his lips and tongue found their way to my neck. I panted and arched against him, letting out a yelp, when his hot tongue triggered a sweet spot under my ear. Ryker chuckled and lapped at the spot again and again, leaving me shaking and shivering in his arms.
When my bra released, and the cups fell forward, I jolted with surprise. I’d been so consumed with the delightful torture that I hadn’t even felt him reaching around for the clasps. Ryker backed up as the bra fell down my shoulders and I stripped it away. “Everlie…you’re so fucking beautiful.”
Before I could think of the male equivalent of beautiful, as my eyes devoured his solid chest and flat stomach and little v-lines at his hips, Ryker’s fingers found my nipples and tugged at the tender buds. I gasped and met his eyes, watching him enjoy my body was as powerful of a turn on as I’d ever experienced, and I couldn’t hold back from reaching for him. I tugged him to me by the pockets on his jeans. I wanted to feel my skin against his. The contrast of the hard and soft together driving me even further into my wanton lust for him.
“Should we take this to the bedroom?” I asked, my breath coming in ragged pants.
Ryker’s hands went to my hips. He slid them down the curves and wrapped around to hoist me up against him. I hooked my legs around his hips, loving the way our skin melded together as he carried me down the hall. He remembered where my bedroom was without me mentioning it, and when we kicked through the door, he released me down onto the bed. I wriggled under his dark stare and he flashed his signature devious smile before lowering next to me and beginning to work on peeling away the leggings I’d thrown on that morning. His smile grew wider and he looked up at me. “Nice. I didn’t know nice little country girls went commando.”
I blushed but giggled. “Occasionally…mostly when it’s laundry day.”
“Well, in that case,” he shed the leggings, leaving me naked beneath him, and kissed up my thigh, “I think every day should be laundry day.”
I laughed again, but it vanished in a swift gulp of air when Ryker’s lips found my center. His tongue gently went between my thighs and within seconds, he had me writhing and tearing at the covers, fisting them into tight balls as my pleasure built to a fever pitch. “Ryker, Ryker, oh my…” I moaned and thrust, desperate for release.
Ryker slid a finger deep inside me, fingering me until he found the spot that made me see stars. I bucked, and my hands went to the back of his head, running through his hair that had grown out long enough for me to dig my fingers into. His fingers, slick with my excitement, slipped from me, and I screamed out with a mix of horror and ecstasy when he slipped one finger into my ass. I was shocked by the bold move, but it felt so good, I couldn’t help but melt into it as he began sucking at my clit while his fingers worked both openings. I looked down my body, watching as my breasts heaved and Ryker’s head moved as my hips bucked and my back arched.
“I like watching you,” I said, my breath hitching as I gasped with each new plunge of his fingers, ever deeper inside me. Ryker’s eyes flashed up to meet mine and I came undone, shuddering back against the bed. My eyes slammed closed, and I moaned uncontrollably as my body hit the heights of my own pleasure and then went free falling back down, leaving me exhausted and dizzy.
“Mmmm... You should skip the panties more often,” Ryker growled, climbing up my body to lay beside me. His fingers toyed with my breasts, pinching and squeezing the tender nipples. “Makes me wanna do crazy things to you…”
I sagged into the pillows and rolled my eyes open again. I grinned up at him. “Then, I’ll never wear panties again.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep…” Ryker warned, his voice warm with amusement and content.
I pushed off the bed and straddled him, pinning him down to the bed. I ground against him, teasing his cock with my soaking wet pussy, and the smile at his lips fell away as his eyes went wide. He sucked in a shaky breath and his hands went to my hips. He pulled me down onto him, and we both groaned out at the tight fit. I rocked back and forth, slowly at first, letting him fill and stretch me, and then let him urge me faster with his hands, still at my hips. His hips raised to meet every thrust, and we moved together in a dizzying dance of give and take until we were both breathless and moaning. Ryker kept his eyes locked with mine as I rode him hard and fast, only closing them when he released. He jerked my hips still and I felt him pulsing inside. I collapsed down onto his slick chest, and rested my head against him, ignoring the thin sheet of sweat that clung to us. I pressed my ear to his heartbeat and smiled when I found it was racing at the same speed as my own. We came down together, and eventually, Ryker rolled me to the side and slid out of me.
We lay face to face, our bodies flush against one another on the small bed. He traced a finger down my face and smiled.
“What are you thinking about?” I asked, my voice a whisper so as not to break the intimate bubble that surrounded us in the afterglow.
“How mu
ch I missed you.”
“I missed you too.”
Our vulnerable confessions hung in the space between us, neither of us sure what to say or do next. Ryker kept an arm draped over my waist, and my hands rested against his chest. I didn’t know what all of it meant. My thoughts and emotions were still a hot mess, and as much as I wanted to stay in bed beside him all afternoon, I knew it would only complicate things further. I pushed up to a sitting position and swung my legs over to the opposite side of the bed.
“Where are you running off to?” Ryker asked, a hint of alarm in his voice.
“I don’t know about you,” I grinned back at him, “but I’m starving. You wanna go get some dinner?”
Ryker grinned back at me and got out of bed. “My kind of girl. Fucking and food.”
I laughed and smacked his behind as he passed me on the way to the living room to retrieve the rest of our clothing.
* * * *
I woke up pressed against Ryker’s chest. My full-size bed was really no place for two people, but we hadn’t minded the night before when we finally collapsed together after hours of pleasuring one another. Ryker’s chest was bare, and I traced my hands over the smooth, but firm, lines of his muscled torso. My heart swelled with love as I watched him sleeping. His jaw was relaxed, and the lines of stress were smoothed. I didn’t think I’d ever seen him so at peace. Ryker was always an intense guy, one of the things I’d come to adore about him, but it was nice to see him fully relaxed.
My fingers worked their way south, somewhat involuntarily, seeking out the heat below the covers. I bit back a smile when I found his morning erection. I stifled a giggle and resisted the urge to tease him into waking up. My body was spent from the night before, but as my mind got carried away with a new batch of impossibly naughty thoughts, a new wave of warmth built between my legs, and I squirmed against Ryker’s sleeping form.
“Mmmm, someone’s all ready to go…” he mumbled, popping open one eye to glance over at me.