by Susanna Carr
He wasn’t sure he would make it. He wanted her so much that it was turning him inside out. It didn’t help that he was supposed to look out for her this year while she was house-sitting for her parents. They were very academic, but they were stupid not to realize how he felt about their daughter.
Ryder watched Katie greet some men from the biology department. Ryder gripped his drink tightly as he watched one of the men get overly familiar with a hug, his hands too close to Katie’s pert ass. He wanted to go over there and break it up, but Katie skillfully disentangled herself. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
The sad thing was, he would like to hold Katie close, but he didn’t trust himself. He was on guard every time she was near. It didn’t used to be that way. When she was in high school, Katie was his favorite person to ski with. When she got older, they enjoyed playing pool together at the hall late into the night. He liked how things were before she changed, when she was sassy but never crossed the line. He remembered how much fun it had been teasing her. She gave as good as she got, but he stopped the minute the teasing held a sexual undertone.
Now she seemed to delight in provoking him by flaunting her confidence and independence. Not to mention her skimpy outfits. And just last week she’d informed him that she was going to use the small inheritance she’d received from her grandmother to buy the Merrill house. She was foolish to even consider it, as she well knew—that house was a death trap; it should have been condemned years ago. He wondered if she was trying to get a rise out of him with that outrageous plan, but he wasn’t sure.
When it came to Katie, it was best not to get involved. He’d tried to follow that strategy for the past couple of months. He wanted to keep his distance, but it was difficult. As a carpenter for the college’s Building Services, he had too many opportunities to drop by her office and see how she was doing. She was always around when he was hanging out with her brother, Jake. And no matter where he was after work, whether playing pool with friends or out on a date, he would see Katie strutting around in a cute little skirt and flirting with other guys. She had men drooling over her wherever she went and he couldn’t take any more. His restraint was slipping.
Eight more days, he reminded himself again.
Katie turned her head and their gazes collided.
Shit. His heart began to gallop. She was going to come over. He might as well get this over with. He could handle this. He would just greet her as he always did, like old family friends, nothing more. . . . As long as Katie never realized how dangerous she was to his self-control, he could get through it.
Katie knew it was time to strut her stuff. She had been practicing all afternoon. She moved toward him, praying that she wouldn’t trip. She enjoyed the aggressive feel of her new boots as she strode through the crowd, her hips swaying with every step.
She kept eye contact with Ryder, noticing not for the first time that he was all harsh lines and sharp angles. He watched her in tense silence, his brown eyes narrowing warily. She expected nothing less from him. One could tell by the crooked nose and the small white scars on his high cheekbones that he was familiar with the rough side of life.
Ryder was taller than most of the men at the party, but that wasn’t what gave him a commanding presence. Tonight he wore a pair of snug faded jeans and a dark charcoal cashmere sweater, the sleeves casually pushed up. He was the kind of man who stood out in a crowd. He didn’t have to do anything to garner attention, it was simply granted to him.
Katie was suddenly finding it difficult to keep her balance, especially with the way Ryder was looking at her. She had felt the same way when he helped her with her Christmas decorations earlier in the week. And there was an odd smirk on his face. That didn’t bode well. She was almost breathless by the time she reached him. She gave him a slow smile, ready to toss some amazing pickup line when he gave her the look.
No, not the I’m-going-to-do-you-right-this-minute look. Wouldn’t that have been nice? It was more like the you-have-to-be-kidding-me expression, complete with arched eyebrows and condescending amusement.
“Isn’t it way past your bedtime?”
Her mouth dropped open. She felt the blush zooming up her neck. Her first instinct was to fold her arms and growl out It’s freaking ten o’clock, but she knew, of course, no sexy siren would act that way. She might have been flaunting her newfound confidence for almost a year now, but it still didn’t come naturally—at least not where Ryder was concerned. He knew how to hit all of her buttons.
Instead she tilted her head to one side and fluttered her eyelashes. “Is that an invitation to tuck me in?” she purred.
Ryder scowled, but she saw the hot flare in his eyes before he banked it. She couldn’t tell if he was taken aback by her answer. Or did her suggestion tantalize some forbidden fantasy of his? That was probably wishful thinking.
“You better watch that mouth,” he ordered in a brusque tone. “It’s going to get you in trouble someday.”
“Promise?” she asked, pursing her lips.
“Give it a rest, Katie.” His voice was dangerously soft.
Unfazed by his warnings, she decided to throw caution to the wind and go after what she really wanted. Leaning forward, inhaling his delicious scent, Katie reached for the glass in his hand, making sure her breasts were visible as she moved toward him. “I thought you liked trouble,” she said, with what she hoped was a sexy smile.
His jaw clenched and a ruddy color stained his cheekbones.
Feeling like she just scored a major point, Katie brazenly took his drink and gave a hefty swallow.
Oh, God. The man drank liquid fire. She braced herself as the alcohol melted her esophagus and ate a hole in her stomach. It took superhuman effort not to cough, wheeze or keel over.
Catching a drop at the corner of her mouth with the tip of her tongue, and ignoring the fact that it tasted worse than cold medicine, she returned the glass to him. “Here, Ryder,” she said hoarsely, hoping it came across as husky, “you might need this tonight.”
She wanted to stay with him, but the magazine articles she’d glanced over during the day warned her about crowding her man. The “Give Him Space” article promised that if she was the first to leave, he would follow.
Reluctantly, Katie started to move away, letting her hips roll as much as her precarious balance allowed. She sensed Ryder behind her and she hoped he was watching her sexy walk. She felt the tension radiating from him. Follow me, she silently urged. Chase after me. You know you want to....
She counted to one hundred, probably quicker than she should have, and paused, pretending to look for someone. Ryder didn’t collide into her. Then again, his reflexes were superior. Katie looked over her shoulder, her come-hither look withering to nothing.
Ryder was nowhere to be found. He wasn’t behind her, and he wasn’t watching her, stunned and gawking. He wasn’t even where she had left him.
Damn, that “Give Him Space” writer had some explaining to do. She may have missed a golden opportunity by taking that advice. She looked around, not caring if she was obvious, but she couldn’t find Ryder. Knowing her luck, he’d probably left. Double damn.
Craning her neck, she caught a glimpse of frizzy red hair. That had to be Hilary. Peering into the shadowy corner, she saw her friend sitting at a table wearing a beige thermal shirt and a light green cardigan sweater that dwarfed her petite frame. Next to Hilary was her other friend, Melissa. Melissa’s long brown hair was pulled back into the usual ponytail and she wore a college football jersey over a white long-sleeved T-shirt.
Dressed casually, Melissa and Hilary could easily be overlooked among their festive and boisterous coworkers. Katie frowned when she realized they were huddled around a forgotten table, people watching. She hurried over, as quickly as her heels would allow, determined to get her friends in a party mood.
“Wow!” Melissa’s eyes widened when she noticed the knee-high, laced-up black leather boots. “Did you get those boots around here?�
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“No, I borrowed these from Winter.” The goth student worker in her office had loaned Katie a couple of items that promised to make grown men weep. Winter forgot to mention that they would cause some weeping on Katie’s part, too. She sat down gratefully next to her friends and gave a sigh of relief. “Why are you guys hiding in the corner?”
Hilary popped a Christmas cookie into her mouth. “Hiding is such a loaded word.”
Katie wasn’t deterred by Hilary’s comment. Her friend was all about details, proof and rationalizing. “Remember why we’re here?”
“Because you forced us to come?” Hilary responded.
“And you promised to be my designated driver for New Year’s Eve if I came to this party.” Melissa turned to Hilary. “Do you know how hard it is to find one for that night?”
“We are here,” Katie replied, “because you, Hilary, want to make your move on Jake, remember?” Katie couldn’t fathom why someone with a high IQ would want to date her brother, but there was no accounting for taste.
“I can make a move on Jake anytime, anywhere,” Hilary said as she washed down the sugar cookie with a frothy, peppermint pink drink. “I don’t need to do it today.”
“But you do need to make the attempt someday, so why not tonight?” Katie argued. “And, Melissa, you wanted to meet someone special. You can’t do that waiting in the shadows. No one will see you!”
“I know,” Melissa said with a sigh and propped her chin on her hand. “It’s just that . . . if he were Mr. Right, he would find me no matter what.”
“Nice fairy tale,” Hilary said, “but anecdotally speaking, it’s not going to happen.”
“I hate to say it, but I agree,” Katie said. Although she would never use the word “anecdotally” like her research librarian friend. “Why else would I wear stiletto boots?” She lifted her leg to show off the five-inch heel. “It’s to be seen, to be noticed. No, it’s to make Ryder’s head snap back and his tongue hang out.”
“How’s that working out for you?” Hilary asked as she brushed the cookie crumbs from her mouth with a napkin.
“Not well.” Katie gave a huff of frustration and leaned back in her chair. “For the past year I have followed every article from every sexy magazine, and what do I have to show for it? Nothing.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Hilary said. “You have a new attitude, a killer wardrobe and plenty of dates.”
“But I don’t have Ryder,” Katie pointed out. That was her mission. Anyone else was a distraction from her main goal.
“Don’t give up,” Melissa insisted, patting Katie’s hand. “You and Ryder were made for each other. He’s always been there for you. Nothing will ever change that.”
“As much as I would like to believe that,” Hilary said, crumpling her napkin, “Katie has basically served herself up on a silver platter and Ryder hasn’t taken a nibble. I think we should take that as a sign and move on.”
Katie shook her head. “No way. I’m not giving up yet. Just wait and see.” She tapped her finger on the table. “This time next year I will be knee-deep in a wild affair with Ryder Scott.”
Melissa and Hilary exchanged glances.
“What?” Katie asked.
“You have made Ryder Scott your New Year’s resolution for the past two years,” Hilary pointed out.
It was true. Two years in a row and she hadn’t even had a kiss from the guy. . . . Ouch. “And I’ll make it for next year.” She tilted her chin up defiantly. “Who am I to break tradition?”
“Katie, maybe you need to cast your net a little wider,” Melissa suggested.
Katie couldn’t believe that Melissa, her love-will-conquer-all friend, had just said that to her. “You just told me that Ryder and I were destined for each other.”
“I know, but that doesn’t mean you need to wait around until he wises up,” Melissa said. “Ever since your makeover, the men in town have been falling all over you. Why not go for one of them?”
“I’ve tried.” She had purposely dated guys who didn’t remind her of Ryder. That may have been her first mistake. Like Jason, the sexy banker who was the complete opposite of Ryder. Unfortunately, he was more interested in her credit rating than her body. Then there was Brian, the hot young history professor. Brian’s idea of a good time was touring through cemeteries and making tombstone rubbings. “They bored me. But it wasn’t all bad. Those guys must have gotten into a bragging contest because now they all want to date me. I seem to have gotten myself quite the reputation.”
“Deservedly or undeservedly?” Hilary asked with a smile.
“Let’s just say that reports of my bedroom activities were greatly exaggerated.” There had been a couple of times this year when she’d thought she would never achieve her goal of getting Ryder into bed. She decided to “move on” with a man who knew how to treat and please a woman, but in the end the men she’d dated were just pale imitations of Ryder. “But I’m not wasting my time on those guys. I’m not going to settle for second best.”
“Then you need to be aware of your competition,” Hilary decided. “Take a look over there.”
Katie turned around to where Hilary indicated with the tilt of her head. Her heart lurched, excitement tingling in her blood when she saw Ryder. He was talking to someone she couldn’t see when he leaned back and laughed.
She had to smile in return. Katie loved watching Ryder, especially when his face lit up with pleasure. Who was he talking to? Most likely Jake. She shifted in her seat and her smile dimmed. Ryder was leaning in very closely to a stunning woman of Amazonian proportions.
A dull ache radiated from Katie’s chest as the night’s sparkle suddenly went out. Ryder was with Tatum, his ex, and they were so absorbed in each other they looked as if they existed in an intimate bubble that shielded them from the rest of the world. “That dress Tatum is wearing is very . . .”
“Nonexistent?” Hilary supplied the word. “If you want Ryder, go get him before he gets lost in that cleavage.”
Katie took one look at Tatum’s plunging neckline and regretted wearing a turtleneck sweater. She was writing a letter of complaint to that fashion magazine as soon as she got home. “I can’t compete with that.”
“Yes, you can,” Melissa said fervently. But then, Melissa would say that. Not only did she work with the coaches in the athletic department, but she was a very loyal, and very blind to reality, friend.
“Oh, yeah, right,” Katie said, letting the sarcasm seep into her voice. “After all, what does she have that I don’t?”
“Besides an audacious body and vast sexual experience?” Hilary asked in her no-nonsense way.
Katie sighed. “Thanks.” Hilary could never identify sarcasm. At least Katie could count on her friend to break it down in percentages and PowerPoint presentations, and without a hint of delicacy.
“There has to be something else,” Hilary said, watching Ryder through a narrow gaze. “Those two qualities couldn’t hold Ryder’s interest for long. I could find out if there’s a pattern in his mating habits.”
“Mating?” Melissa groaned. “Please, Hilary, can you just call it dating like everyone else?”
“I could, but it would be inaccurate.”
Katie tuned her friends out as she watched Tatum flirt with Ryder. The woman’s sexy look was effortless. It just wasn’t fair, Katie decided as she folded her arms across her chest. Compared to Tatum, Katie felt kind of stupid strutting around in an outfit that probably wasn’t so sexy after all.
So what if most of the men at this party found Katie attractive? If there ever was a Who WouldYou Rather Do? contest, Tatum would win in a landslide. Why did Katie think she could catch Ryder’s attention when he was used to dating the sexiest women around? It didn’t matter if she had reinvented herself into the woman she needed to be; she still wasn’t in the same league as Tatum.
Katie stared at Ryder and Tatum, hating how the woman could flirt as if she was born to do it. She’d bet Tatum never had to c
onsult a magazine or expert for tips or tricks. Katie wanted to intervene, but why give Ryder side-by-side comparisons? She longed to escape and head home, but she was driven to watch. What should her next move be?
“Let’s go,” Hilary said, pushing her chair back.
“No, not yet,” Katie said, still watching Ryder. She wasn’t going to give up at the first sign of difficulty. “You just have to be patient. Something might happen tonight.”
“Katie, have you made a move on him since you walked in?” Hilary asked. “Did you say anything suggestive? Flash a little skin?”
Flash Ryder? Katie smiled. Oh, yeah, that would get a response, but not the kind she would be hoping for. He’d probably throw a blanket over her and tell her she was going to catch a cold.
“There is a time for patience, and there’s a time for action,” Hilary said. “If you aren’t ready to make a move, then why are we here?”