by E. L. Todd
“Then you handle him.” I handed over the leash.
He chuckled and held up his hand. “No, thanks. He’s your dog.”
“He might pull me along to some other hot guy.” We walked forward, Safari still tugging a little too hard on his leash.
“Hope not. I’ll have to kick his ass.”
“For being hot?” I asked incredulously.
“No. So he won’t be hot anymore.” He nudged me in the side playfully. “I’ve got to eliminate the competition, you know.”
“Ryker, there’s no competition when it comes to you.” I dropped our playful banter and turned serious when I didn’t mean to. It slipped out, and I dropped my guard. Ryker turned me into mush and he knew it, so it wasn’t that alarming.
“Yeah?” He gave me that sexy smile mixed with a smolder then came close to me. He leaned down and kissed me as we walked, the hair from his jaw rubbing against my skin in a tantalizing way.
Anytime I felt it, I pictured his face between my legs and that beard prickling my skin. “Yeah.”
He pulled away, still looking smug. “Say things like that more often.”
“So your ego will get bigger?”
“No. So I’ll know you’re hooked on me.”
I released a sarcastic snort. “You already knew that.”
“A little positive reinforcement never hurt anyone.”
Safari dragged me along even harder, pulling me through the park and past another jogger. “Goddammit, Safari.” I dug my feet into the concrete again. “Why do you always act like a brat when Ryker is around?”
“Maybe he wants to give us some privacy.”
“No.” I yanked on the leash. “He just wants to sniff someone’s ass.”
Ryker laughed from behind me, watching me try to tame my dog.
He kept pulling me along until we stopped right in front of some guy. Safari immediately sniffed his crotch.
“Do you have any manners?” I pulled Safari away so his nose wasn’t buried in this man’s shorts. “I’m so sorry. He’s just—” I looked up and saw Cameron staring at me, his eyes looking displeased with Ryker beside me. “Oh. Hey, Cameron.” I tried to recover from the shock of seeing the last terrible date I had before I found Ryker. I would never forget the way he shoved his tongue up my nose during our goodnight kiss. It was the last bad date before Ryker blew me away with his incredible—and less sloppy—moves. I tried to appear as normal as possible, but the tension was getting to me.
He stared at me with a look I’d never seen before. It was like he hated me. “Texted you a few times and never got a response. Glad to see you’re alright.” The anger in his voice contradicted all the concern he just showed me.
“Well, you know…” I didn’t want to come out and say I didn’t want to see him again. He didn’t know Ryker, but I didn’t want to embarrass him in front of another guy. “How’s the firehouse?”
His eyes darted to Ryker and his anger burned brighter. “Looks like you moved on to a new boy toy.”
It’s not like Cameron was my boy toy prior to Ryker. “Well, it was nice seeing you. Take care.” I pulled Safari away so we could remove ourselves from the most awkward conversation ever.
“I’m sure I’ll see you around town picking up every guy you see.” He turned away, his shoulders tense in his firefighter t-shirt.
I ignored the jab because it wasn’t worth my time. I walked with Safari. “Glad that’s over…” I turned to Ryker but realized he wasn’t there.
Oh no…
“Allow me to introduce myself.” Ryker stepped in front of Cameron but didn’t extend his hand. “I’m Ryker, Rae’s boyfriend.” He got dangerously close to him, towering over Cameron with his height and strength. Even though Cameron was a firefighter, he seemed small in comparison to Ryker. “And you’re going to apologize for that asshole comment.”
Cameron stood his ground but didn’t speak.
Ryker took a step forward. “Get to it.”
“Ryker, it’s fine…” I didn’t want this to explode into an unnecessary fight. People were already staring at the commotion with their phones held up in the hopes of something to record.
Ryker took another step forward, making Cameron step back. “You insult my girl, you insult me. It’s not her fault you’re a terrible date and an even worse kisser. Man up and admit the girl just didn’t like you. She wasn’t interested, which is completely her right. But that doesn’t give you the right to imply she’s a whore. Now, apologize.”
I held my breath as I waited for someone to throw a punch. I thought Cameron might, but if he had dishonorable conduct, he could be punished at the fire house. He loved his job and couldn’t afford to lose it. Ryker had a lot on the line too, an entire company he represented. But I had a feeling he didn’t care.
Cameron stepped back and turned around. When he looked at me, he didn’t wear the same look of pure hatred. Now he seemed indifferent, like he wanted to get away from Ryker and me as quickly as possible. “Sorry.”
“That was a shitty apology and you know it,” Ryker barked.
Cameron sighed before he spoke. “I’m sorry for what I said.”
“Much better,” Ryker said. “Now you can go.”
Cameron turned on his heel and immediately walked away. He moved as fast as he could without running. Everyone watched him disappear before they finally returned to their routines. People put their phones away when they realized there wouldn’t be a brawl.
“You didn’t have to do that.” I didn’t need a man to fight my battles. I would have defended myself if I cared enough to. I knew Cameron was just hurt deep down inside, that he wanted us to turn into something more than a simple date. He didn’t handle it very well. I wasn’t justifying him basically calling me a whore, but I understood his hatred stemmed from pain. Seeing me with a new man who was obviously attractive just made him more jealous.
“Yes, I did.” Ryker came to my side and wrapped his arm around my waist. “Every decent man in the world would have done the same thing. It’s not okay for him to talk to you that way. It’s not okay for him to call you a whore just because you wouldn’t sleep with him. It’s not okay to be a dick just because he didn’t get what he wanted.” He hugged me hard against him and looked me in the eye. “Especially when it comes to my woman.”
***
“So relaxing.” I lay against the wall of the tub with my head resting on the towel.
Ryker was on the opposite side of the enormous hot tub, his chest looking appetizing as beads of water dripped down the grooves of his abdominal muscles. “Really?” He cocked his head to the side, his jaw stern and his eyes indifferent.
“You’re not?”
“Not really. You’re sitting in a tub of warm water as it slowly cools to room temperature.”
When we came home from our jog, we got nasty on his bed. We skipped dinner because neither one of us were hungry. But afterward, I wanted to slip into his tub. I’d seen it in his master bathroom but it was never used. “Then why do you have one?”
“It came with the place.”
“And you’ve never used it?”
He shook his head. “I’m not even in the shower this long.”
“Not even when you beat off?”
He immediately grinned when I said anything sexual. “I don’t like to stand when I jerk off. I prefer to sit.”
“Lazy?”
“Nah. I just like to watch porn as I do it. Can’t bring my laptop in here.”
“You don’t use your imagination?” I liked to let my mind wander when I had a go with my vibrator.
“Not really.”
“Even now, you still do it that way?” He didn’t picture me when he went to town on himself?
“Do what what way?”
“Jerk off to porn.”
“I haven’t jerked off since you came into the picture.”
I laughed because it was absurd. “I’m not that kind of woman. I really don’t care.”
&n
bsp; He raised an eyebrow. “You think I’m lying?”
“Definitely.”
“I’m really telling you the truth.” He rested his arms along the curve of the tub, the water and bubbles draining down.
“Cut the shit,” I said with a laugh. “It’s me.”
Now his eyes narrowed. “If I did, I would admit it. But I don’t. I’ve never been in a long-term relationship before, so I didn’t know what to expect. But honestly, I don’t have the urge. But now I’m concerned…”
“About?”
“Do you touch yourself when I’m not around?”
I grinned from ear to ear. “This conversation isn’t about me. It’s about you.”
“Nope. You aren’t getting out of this after you interrogated me like that.” His hands disappeared under the water, and he grabbed my thigh. “Now answer me.”
“What does it matter?”
He gave me a gentle squeeze. “It matters to me.”
“Sometimes…” I looked away and sipped my glass of wine.
He didn’t seem aroused by that confession. In fact, he seemed annoyed. “Am I not doing a good job?”
“You are. Actually, you’re doing a really good job. That’s the problem.”
He looked at me like he didn’t understand.
“I’m charged a lot. I spend a few days with you, come home, and then I remember everything. Then I need more…”
Now Ryker just looked annoyed. “I never thought I would say this, but I’m a little jealous.”
“Jealous?” I asked with a laugh.
“I don’t want you to touch yourself anymore.”
“That’s a weird request. It’s not like I don’t think about you.”
“I still feel like I’m not doing my job right.”
“You are. Honestly, it’s not an insult to your performance.”
“Well, I’m taking it that way.” He looked out the window and to the city beyond. “Whenever you need a fix, I want you to call me.”
“You can’t be serious.” Sometimes it happened late at night or early in the morning before work.
“Dead. Serious.”
“It lasts five minutes, and then it’s over. It’s usually a quickie before I go to work or something.”
“Don’t care. Call me, and I’ll be there.”
“You’re going to come all the way to my apartment just to fuck me then leave?” That sounded like a lot of extra time and work.
“Yes.”
“Every time I tell you I’m horny?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t think you understand just how horny I am.”
He didn’t crack a smile. “I want you to call me the second goose bumps form on your arm. End of story.”
If he was serious, I wasn’t going to complain. I had a sexy man at my beck and call the second I snapped my fingers. Everything worked out in my favor. “Sounds good to me.”
“Good. The only fingers that should be down there are mine.”
“Alright.” I sipped my wine again. “But there really is nothing to be jealous of. You’re the only man I think about.”
“Not good enough. I don’t want you to think about me. I want you to be with me.”
A little intense, but that was okay. It sounded like more orgasms were on the way.
“We have an understanding?”
I nodded. “Looks like we do.”
***
Zeke raised his hand in the crowd so I could see him. “Over here.”
When I spotted him, I joined him to the side. We decided to meet at Pike Place Market for lunch. We invited Rex, but he was too busy at Groovy Bowl to leave. “Hey. I’m sorry I’m late.”
“It’s fine. I don’t have an appointment for another hour, anyway so we’re good.” He smiled then walked beside me as we went into the deli. “What are you getting? The BBQ beef?”
I always got the same thing whenever we went there. “Yeah…it’s so good.”
“Then let’s get extra napkins,” he teased. “You always make a mess of yourself.”
“It’s really messy, alright?”
“Then why do you always order it?” he asked with a laugh.
“I’m telling you, it’s delicious.”
We ordered our food then got a seat by the window. It was drizzling outside, but we were both used to the constant rainfall. I took my waterproof jacket everywhere I went, and today, I didn’t bother doing my hair since it was going to turn into wet mush anyway.
I unrolled my sandwich and went to town.
Zeke stared at me with a partially hidden grin. He ate his turkey sandwich and chips, careful not to get it on his collared shirt and tie. He looked too young to be a doctor, like he skipped several grades. “How’s work?”
“Alright. Jenny called in sick, so I’m in the lab alone.”
“Better than being stuck in a lab with a sick person.”
“I get lonely sometimes. Wish I could take Safari with me to work.”
“Ryker doesn’t stop by?”
“Once in a blue moon,” I said. “He’s usually busy upstairs, and we don’t want to make it obvious we’re seeing each other.”
“I can see the hazards.” He grabbed a handful of chips and dropped them into his mouth.
“So you’ll never guess who I ran into at the park the other day.” I wiped the BBQ sauce off my fingertips then rested my elbows on the table.
He pointed to the corner of his mouth. “You got sauce everywhere.”
I quickly wiped it away without breaking my stride. “Remember that firefighter I went out with? You know, the one who stuck his tongue up my nose.”
Zeke laughed at the memory. “Like I could forget.”
“Ryker and I were jogging when we ran into him.”
He finished his bag of chips before he crinkled it into a ball. “Was that awkward?”
“Very. Cameron was pretty annoyed to see me with some other guy.”
“Why?” His humor immediately dropped. “You haven’t seen him in months.”
“But he was really infatuated with me and was pretty upset when I never called him back.”
Zeke shook his head. “It’s just how it goes sometimes. No need to get angry.”
“He made a few mean comments then straight up called me a whore.”
Now Zeke was just pissed. “Are you fucking serious?”
“Ryker got angry and forced him to apologize. Then he walked away.”
“Good. If he didn’t, I would have taken care of it.”
“I didn’t tell you the story to make you upset.” I spoke in a calm voice so he would mellow out. “I just thought it was ironic. I mean, if Cameron really wanted to get a girlfriend, he could try kissing her mouth instead of her nose.”
Zeke didn’t laugh but his anger was definitely dimming. “I’m glad Ryker stood up for you. He’s a good guy.”
“I didn’t need him to.”
“He has no right to call you his girlfriend unless he bends over backward for you. If it were Rochelle, Cameron would be knocked out cold on the pavement. I wouldn’t put up with that shit.”
This was a new side to Zeke I wasn’t used to. He was always loyal and protective, but not full of rage like this. “If anything happened, Safari would have taken him out. So Ryker didn’t need to do anything.”
“True,” he said. “Safari would have bitten his face off at your command.”
“But Cameron didn’t deserve that, despite what he said.”
Zeke rolled his eyes. “That guy is such a loser. What was Jessie thinking when she set you up with him?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m sure he made a better impression with her. He is cute, so she wasn’t wrong about that. But everything else about him sucks.”
“You’re too good for him in either case.”
I smiled. “Thanks…”
“I think you’re too good for Ryker too. But then again, I think that about every guy.”
“Then who can I dat
e?” I asked with a laugh.
He sipped his soda for ten seconds before he finally looked at me again. “Good point.”
I finished the first half of my sandwich and got it all over my hands and my mouth. I could feel the sauce caking in the corners and just below my nose. Thankfully, I asked for more napkins because I wouldn’t know where to start.
Zeke stared at me, clearly debating whether he should bother telling me about the shit all over my face.
“I’m just going to wait until I’m done.”
“It’ll save you some napkins,” he said with a chuckle.
“So things seem serious with Rochelle.”
He averted his gaze and stared at the table while he ate. “Sorry, I can’t take you seriously when you look like that.”
“Whatever,” I said as I rolled my eyes. “I look the same.”
“I beg to differ.” He took a few bites of his sandwich before he spoke. “Yeah, things have been great with her. But why do you think things are serious?”
“Rex said you guys are using the L word.”
“Oh…I didn’t know he heard that.” His voice trailed away.
“What does it matter if he did or didn’t?”
He shrugged. “Just a weird thing to say in front of a friend.”
“I don’t think it’s weird. If you love her, you love her. So it’s serious, then?”
He came out of his awkwardness once I showed him there was nothing to be concerned about. “Yeah, we are. Kinda just happened.”
“Good for you. I thought she might be the one when I found out she was a doctor.”
He shook his head. “I don’t care about that. I mean, we have a lot in common but her career wasn’t the most important thing to me.”
“Then what was important?”
He took a moment to compose an answer. “She really makes an effort to be part of our group. I told her how important you guys are to me, and she respects that. She’s sweet and kind…she makes me laugh. I mean, she’s just great to be around.”
“I’m happy for you.” I finished my sandwich and wiped my mouth with a napkin. “She does seem like a terrific girl.”