Ryker hasn’t released her hand since they left the plane and she wonders if he can feel the clamminess of her palm.
“Have you eaten?” he whispers in her ear, and she realizes that she hasn’t had anything since her quick breakfast this morning.
She shakes her head and Ryker directs Preston to the fast food restaurant up the road. He orders what seems like everything on the menu but then tells her no one has eaten since breakfast since they all left before the meal was served at the reception. A thinly wrapped burger falls into her lap followed by a container of French fries and Norah has never smelled anything so good before in her life, except for the man sitting beside her.
“This is delicious,” she mumbles as they pull away from the drive-thru and make their way back onto the road.
“Glad you think so,” Ryker replies as he smirks and reaches his hand out. At first, she thinks he’s going to rest his palm against her cheek, but instead he reaches out toward the corner of her mouth and swipes his thumb across. “Sorry, you had some ketchup.”
She instantly blushes in embarrassment and tilts her head toward the floor.
“Hey,” he says as he uses his fingers to tilt her chin toward him, drawing her attention. “Don’t be embarrassed. You’re starving, I’m sorry I didn’t think to feed you sooner.”
“You know, you’re not anything like I expected.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“Yeah,” she replies just as Jameson chimes in from behind them. “Can you two knock it off?”
“Aw, bro, don’t be jealous,” Ryker taunts.
“I’m not jealous.”
“Well, you should be,” he says as he winks at her.
For the remainder of the ride, she lets her thoughts travel far away from the men probably trying to track her down and allows them to hone in on her feelings about Ryker. She never believed in insta-love; that is something that only happens in fairytales. Insta-lust is something she could totally get behind, but she knows what she feels for Ryker is more than just lust. Even from their few conversations she knows that there is so much more to the singer than anyone, or even himself, give him credit for.
But she’s never known what love is, real love. She has Jameson’s family as an example and that’s it. Growing up love wasn’t something she was familiar with.
Does she take the chance of having her heart broken or worse breaking his heart? Or does she step back and reassess the situation, figure out a way to keep her distance from Ryker.
Suddenly they pull up to a large brick fence and Preston slides a card from his wallet to swipe at the security booth. The iron fence screeches as it pulls across the opening and the truck moves forward into the community. Norah takes in the extravagant homes with their perfectly manicured yards and wonders what she’s doing in this place. Her thoughts scatter even further as they pull up to another gate and Ryker rolls down her window and types in a code then scans his finger on a biometric scanner.
“Wow,” Norah exclaims, and Ryker just shrugs.
“I told you it was secure. But don’t worry, most of my friends and family have access, too.”
Two oversized doors swing open and Norah gets her first glimpse at the home of Ryker James – singer of Exoneration, multi-platinum rock star. As her mouth hangs open wide in amazement, she can see Ryker shrink down from the corner of her eye. And then Norah realizes that she isn’t here with Ryker James. No, she’s here with Ryker Connelly – loving son and twin to her best friend.
She lets her hand slide down to his and she squeezes it warmly.
“Hey, tell me about your house. What made you chose this design?”
The house is styled like an old plantation, looking as if it’s been here for centuries and not just a few months. It shines brightly in the dark of the night by numerous spotlights.
“I wanted the house to be something familiar, not over-the-top or ostentatious. Jameson and I share it, but eventually, he’ll build his own house on the adjacent lot. It just seemed silly at the time. We both loved the house our sister Everleigh bought and our brother Austin renovated an old farmhouse a few years ago so we asked him to design something for us that is a mesh of the two. This is what we got.”
“I love it. It looks like you’ve moved it from Charleston, South Carolina or Savannah, Georgia. Or at least from what I’ve seen from pictures. I haven’t traveled much.”
“Thank you. I’ll give you a tour once we get settled. And one day I’d love to take you traveling.”
“Let’s just get through the next few days before we make any plans, okay?”
“Sure,” Ryker complies, but she can tell by the gleam in his eye that he is already making vacation plans in his head.
Norah steps out of the SUV still wearing her navy blue dress and glances upward at the front façade of the home.
“You’re smiling,” Jameson says as he comes to stand beside her. “What’s funny?”
“We’re all still dressed up, and I feel that I should be wearing an old-style Southern Belle ball gown. It seems more appropriate.”
“That would be a sight. Anyway, I can message Cassidy and see if she can have her assistant bring you some clothes.”
“That would be nice of her, but please don’t go through any trouble. I can put on my clothes from earlier.”
“Let us help you, Norah. That’s why you came to me, isn’t it?”
Norah nods because Jameson is right, she did come for help, just not with her own clothing. She just needed him to save her life. The two weren’t really on the same wavelength in the scheme of things.
The group moves as one to the front of the house where Ryker opens the double doors widely letting them all inside and out of the night air.
Inside he guides everyone to the den and kitchen which runs the length of the back of the house in one giant space. Norah loves the light wood tones mixed with the Southern charm of the shabby chic style. She knows that Ryker must have had a designer come in to decorate their home becomes it does not scream bachelor pad.
“I’m going to show Norah around. There is beer in the fridge and the remotes are in the basket by the couch. Help yourselves,” he says to the group.
RYKER PLACES HIS HAND gently on her lower back and Norah can feel the heat simmering through the suit jacket and her thin dress; which she desperately wants to change out of. She stumbles walking up the stairs, almost forgetting that she is wearing the god-awful heels. Norah bends forward and removes the shoes, stretching her toes against the navy and white runner on the stairs beneath her feet.
“How about you get a shower before I give you the tour? I can bring your bag up and hopefully the clothes will arrive soon. If not I can lay out a pair of sweats and a shirt for you,” Ryker offers.
“You know what? A shower would be great,” Norah answers as she turns on the stair above Ryker and throws her arms over his shoulders, hugging him tightly. “Thank you.”
Norah doesn’t let her embrace linger too long, she pulls back and then allows Ryker to guide her to a set of double doors at the end of the hall.
“This is my room. It’s the only one with a stocked bathroom, but if you want to use another, I can grab some soap and shampoo for you.”
“Oh no, this is fine,” Norah claims as he opens the door to a large room filled with blues, grays, and whites. The look is both masculine and inviting. In the corner, a few stands sit holding different guitars in their arms. A notepad rests on a small end table beside a leather chair in a little nook with a bay window looking out over the large yard and wooded area.
“Here you go,” Ryker points out as he gestures for her to enter the bathroom.
The space is similar to the décor of the bedroom and Norah’s body blushes at the sight of the over-sized tub. She can imagine resting her body in the heated water against Ryker, his chest to her back. His hands would trail up and down her arms and shoulders pooling the water in his palms and releasing it over her skin.
“Th
e knobs are pretty simple,” Ryker continues to explain, and she realizes that she missed most of what he had been talking about. “Hey, what’s got you so flushed over there?” he asks and then takes a glance at the tub and smirks. “Ah, yes. We’ll save that for another time. Right now, let’s get you clean and dressed. It’s almost midnight.”
“Yeah, thanks. It’ll be nice to put on something comfortable.”
Ryker nods and leaves her in the space. She takes off his jacket and brings it to her nose, taking one last inhale of his manly scent before hanging it on the doorknob of the linen closet. In the mirror across the way, she stands sullenly, not recognizing herself. Not just the hair and silken dress that she wears, but the brightness in her eyes, the tell-tale sign of being in love.
Not that she is in love with Ryker, they only just met, but she can see how easily she could fall under its reign.
The zipper slides down her side effortlessly, and she lets the dress pool at her feet along with the shoes that were clasped in her hands. She unhooks her bra and removes the thumb drive from its confines, placing it on the vanity in the far corner. Her panties quickly follow, and she spins around to enter the shower, turning the knob and adjusting the temperature.
The water feels divine on her body and she uses the moment to rid her mind of everything, because from this moment on her life will change. Not just with Ryker, wherever that may lead, but everything she’s known up to now is gone. Norah will no longer be able to work in the lab, she’ll have to leave the University, and she has no home to return to. Her father is, who knows where, and her mother died in a drive-by shooting a long time ago. To top it off the government is most likely going to ban her from ever working again since her product is lost.
With that depressing thought, she ducks her head under the powerful spray and lets her hair fall around her in a curtain as the water soaks it through. Norah wraps her arms around her chest, covering her breasts, as she lets the first tear fall. She’s tried to be strong for so long, far too long. Since she was five and had to fend for herself for weeks at a time when her parents were off doing their jobs. What five-year-old should have to get themselves ready for kindergarten, pack their own lunch, and get themselves to school? She always felt she was lucky her parents had the thought to leave her bread and snacks. But to this day she can’t stomach a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Her pity party lasts for a few minutes until Norah feels that she’s able to compose herself. She opens the bottle of shampoo, lathering and rinsing her hair, then she pops the top of body wash and inhales the scent that is so familiar. How many girls would kill to know that they have bottled up Ryker’s scent? She squeezes a generous amount into her palms and rubs it over her skin, the suds leaving trails as they travel down toward the drain.
Norah’s hands travel across her breasts and between her legs just as a groan sounds from the entrance to the bathroom. Startled she spins around and opens the door to the shower to peek out, only to find Ryker standing with a ball of clothes in his fists, and his eyes squeezed tight.
“Ryker?”
“I’m sorry. I was going to leave the clothes just inside the door, and then I heard you crying. I stepped inside out of reflex. I didn’t mean anything by it, but then I saw you there in the shower and I just -”
She knew he could barely see anything, the glass of the shower being heavily frosted, but the way his eyes burn her skin, Norah knows that he could see enough. And she isn’t even mad about it. Instead, it turns her on.
In a brashness that she didn’t know she possesses Norah blindly reaches inside the large shower to turn off the water then steps fully through the door baring herself to him. The pained look on Ryker’s face only motivates her to continue.
“Could you hand me a towel please?”
Ryker stands in awe as a chill moves over her. Her skin breaks out in gooseflesh and her nipples harden from both his gaze and the cold.
With his jaw slackened and his eyes penetrating every inch of her body Norah says, “Ryker? Towel?”
Finally, he snaps out of his stupor and opens the linen closet to remove a towel. Ryker steps toward her outstretching his hand with the cloth for her to take but she stands in her spot with a poised smirk. Instinctively he steps up closer to her, practically pressing his own body against hers, and wraps the towel around Norah’s shoulders.
As she reaches up to grab the towel, she whispers a thank you and Ryker takes a step back, but still within her reach.
“You’re welcome,” he replies with his eyes trained to hers – questioning, wanting, pleading.
Somehow she holds a power over Ryker and that control both thrills and scares her. She has only known him for roughly ten hours, but their connection is overwhelmingly strong and powerful. Norah could easily bring him to his knees, and fearfully she realizes that he could do the same to her.
“I’ll just let you get dressed.”
“Will you wait in the bedroom for me?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Norah leans forward with the intention of leaving a kiss on Ryker’s smooth cheek, but he takes another step back instead.
“If you kiss me right now, I won’t be able to control myself, and you’re too special for that.”
She understands, honestly, she does, but the years of rejection and hurt fill her, and she immediately ducks her head to hide her mortification.
“I want to, Norah, just not now. Not today. Not until we know each other better. You deserve better than that.”
Unable to meet his gaze Norah pins her eyes to his lower body, realizing only now that he has changed into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.
“I understand,” she whispers.
“I hope that you do, Norah.” Ryker’s voice commands her attention, and she looks back up at him as he says her name. “You are mine.”
Defiantly Norah replies, “I am no one’s.”
“Not yet, princess, but you will be. Make no mistake about that.”
He efficiently spins on his heels and leaves her alone in the bathroom. Norah quickly dries off her body trying not to ponder how she feels about being possessed by him. At the vanity, she searches through the drawers until she locates a comb and scrupulously untangles her hair.
Norah exits the bathroom ten minutes later and heads straight for her purse resting on the plush bedding, snagging a clip she keeps inside. She twists her hair up on top of her head and secures it before scanning the room. She finds Ryker sitting in the chair at the window with a notepad and pen in his hands.
“Writing anything good?”
“Maybe.”
“Do you have a safe or something secure that I can place the thumb drive and server inside? I’d rather not have it on me or out in the open.”
“Sure. I have a personal safe in my closet.”
Norah steps back into the bathroom and snags the two-inch piece of plastic and metal and brings it out to Ryker who waits patiently at the closet door. She follows behind him with her purse in hand into the large master closet filled only halfway before they stop at a mirror. He tucks his hand behind the frame, and it swings open to reveal an in-wall safe.
“The code is 3592.”
“Oh, you don’t need to tell me. I trust you.”
“I want you to know it. If anything happens you’ll be able to get the drive. What was the code?”
“3592,” she repeats once out loud and then again in her head, solidifying the numbers to her memory.
“Good. Ready for the tour?” he asks as he extends out a hand. She accepts it and places hers in his grasp.
“Sure.”
First, they make their way through the second story, Ryker pointing out the bedrooms and bathrooms. They don’t venture into Jameson’s room, but Ryker insists that his twin spends most of his nights sleeping in his actual office, which doesn’t surprise Norah in the slightest. He did the same thing when they were in school.
They bypass the first floor on their way down and head st
raight for the basement which boasts a game room, theater, small wine cellar (which was his mother’s request), extra bedroom and an indoor pool.
“I can’t believe you have an indoor pool.”
“It’s just the space under the garage. We’ll go swimming sometime.”
“Oh, I don’t know how. I’ve never been to a pool really. It wasn’t something my parents took me to when I was a kid and I’ve been busy with school and work.”
“We’ll have to remedy that soon then. I’m a great teacher,” he smirks at her as he leads her back to the first floor.
“I just bet you are,” she murmurs under her breath as she watches his tight butt encased in well-worn jeans move with each step.
Before they meet with the rest of the group Ryker shows Norah the office and sunroom at the far end of the hall, and then they head through the kitchen to meet everyone in the living room.
Jameson quickly rushes to her side, and she tries to reach out to hug him, thankful that he’s been able to help her, but Ryker doesn’t release his hold of her hand. He’s staking his claim for everyone to see and Norah can’t quite decide how she feels about that.
“How are you feeling?” Jameson asks after rolling his eyes. He takes in her attire of oversized sweatpants she had to roll about six times and the loose T-shirt she has knotted on the side so that it doesn’t hang to her knees.
“I’m . . . okay. As okay as I can be.”
Ryker looks to Jameson as he squeezes her hand. “Did you find the stuff?”
“It’s past midnight, man. No one is awake but us. And I’m not sure which labs keep that stuff in stock,” Jameson explains.
Speaking up Norah adds, “I think we’re going to have to get it from my lab. I had it on special order with the grant from the government.”
“Okay, I’ll see if we can get Cohen or Eli to head up there tomorrow to get it.” Jameson nods his head and looks back at the boys playing with a gaming console.
Coming Unplugged Page 6