But this was a fresh battle. One on his home turf, which gave him the advantage. She wanted him for sex, which he had to admit made his chest puff out a little with pride. But he wanted to attempt to maintain some kind of damn willpower, because if he kept up this habit of bedding her every time he saw her, it was going to be a tricky summer.
He stirred the Top Ramen and checked on the Bagel Bites in the oven. He couldn’t cook for shit, but he needed Whitney to come over to his house for a very important reason. Dinner was the best excuse he’d come up with. And if he could make it through tonight without wanting to lay her down every time he looked at those sexy thighs, he’d consider himself a winner.
The past few days she’d barely looked at him, had spoken even less, and that bothered him. He should be happy she was maintaining distance, but all it did was heat his blood every damn day that he saw her and she ignored him. He’d watched her work, slinging drinks and running plates to tables. Smiling, laughing, and engaging with other customers. But not him. He was…jealous.
Everyone else got to see her smile. They got to hear her voice. He didn’t. Platonic or not, that couldn’t continue, either. Yes, he needed control, needed to keep boundaries, but he couldn’t watch her and not get a taste of her presence. It was a special kind of torture and he was dangling somewhere between trying to date her, trying to be her friend, trying to bed her, and trying to stay away from her all at the same time.
He blew out a breath. It was exhausting. But he could do this. Could keep his will power. Be friends. Be in her company and be a gentleman of sorts. Because giving in to the wild was a bad idea. But staying away and missing out on all her light was frustrating as hell in its own right.
Maybe he was a selfish bastard. Wanting her the way he did. Wanting to be near her. Wanting to feel that high she made him feel, but wanting to keep control…
A knock came at the front door. Excitement flooded through him like he was eight and Santa had shown up early. He forced himself not to run and open the door.
He stopped, took a long, measured breath, and then opened the door.
Whitney stood there in a red sundress, the thin straps draped over her delicate shoulders and the hemline dancing high on her thighs. All that olive skin was on display, and thick glossy hair hung down her back in large, natural curls.
Yep, he was definitely selfish. Because this was why he wanted her around. The woman was like a damn sex dream come to life. This was going to be harder than he thought.
“Good evening,” he said and let her in.
She stepped through the door and looked around. “Nice place.”
Ryder nodded and glanced at what she was seeing. He’d built the place with an open floor plan. Rustic wood and stone. Exposed beams that gave the house a log cabin feel. He’d worked hard on it, side by side with his dad years ago. Everything about it felt like home, and damn if Whitney didn’t look like she belonged there.
“Seriously,” she said on a wispy breath, looking out the large, floor to ceiling windows that gave a view to the setting sun and Diamond Lake off in the distance. “This is amazing.”
“Thank you,” he said.
“Did you build it?” she asked. “I know you’re a contractor, but do you build houses or just remodel buildings?”
“Both. Land development in its entirety is my area. But my father and I built this place years ago.”
She nodded as she walked over to the fireplace and ran her hand along the smooth stone. “On my way here, I kept winding down this back road, and I thought for a minute that you were luring me out into the middle of nowhere.” She tossed him a grin.
“I did.” He smiled back.
“All this land is yours?”
He nodded.
“You must work very hard.” There was seriousness and respect in her voice, and Ryder clung to it. He did work hard. For every damn thing. But usually what he got from women were questions.
How much land do you have? How much are you worth?
But Whitney looked at his home and complimented his work ethic. She didn’t want to steal a piece of him or his family. And that made an ease settle over his skin.
She was different. He’d known that. There was something grounded about the tumbleweed before him. She’d said she didn’t come from anywhere, but the way she looked longingly at his home, as if she could take warmth from it, made him think she was desperate to have something stable in her life. Yet he also saw the vibrant wild-child in her eyes, the soul of a woman who refused to be tied down to things.
The timer went off on his stove. He took out the Bagel Bites and turned off the oven.
She came to stand by him and looked at the ramen and mini pizzas. “You didn’t tell me you were breaking out the fancy cooking skills. How am I supposed to resist you now?” She smiled.
“Told you this is part of my plan to—”
“Polite me to death?” she said. Just like she’d said the other day. Maybe that was what he was doing. It was all he could do, because he wanted to be around her, but he needed his control. So this was how he got both. He mentally made a note to take yet another cold shower tonight.
Yep, control…totally worth sexual frustration and freezing water. Totally.
“These are actually my favorite,” she said, lifting her chin at the mini pizzas.
“Don’t fib,” he said.
“I’m not. I had these almost every day after school when I was a kid. My sister and I lived on these.”
Her eyes shot down like she’d said something she hadn’t meant to.
“You have a sister?”
“Had,” she said, then walked toward the big window again. “So…” she said with a large smile. But it didn’t reach her eyes. “Now that you’ve lured me out here, how about a grand tour?”
She was changing the subject, and Ryder let her. Whatever memories her sister brought up looked like painful ones. Maybe he could eventually get some kind of history out of her. In the meantime, he’d stick with what he did know for certain.
“Actually, there is something I want to show you,” he said.
She took several sultry steps until she was back within reach. She glanced at his belt and bit her lip. “I like where this is going.”
Damn, she was hard to resist. Especially when just her hot chocolate stare at his cock made it start to harden.
Maintain.
“Come with me,” he said, and then grabbed her hand to stop himself from grabbing something else. The woman had a power over him that was hard to beat. But he had to.
With her hand in his, he led her outside and around to his shop, where several pieces of equipment were housed. He’d brought out one piece of machinery earlier and parked it in the middle of the field in anticipation of Whitney’s visit.
“What is that?” she asked, looking at the black and yellow machine.
“That is an excavator. Otherwise known as a heavy piece of machinery.”
Her eyes shot up to his. They were wide with happiness and a look like that made him feel like a superhero. He just smiled down at her. “Key is already in it.”
“Are you serious?” she asked around a growing smile. Looking between him and the rig.
“I never joke about heavy machinery,” he replied. “Just like I take your ‘I’ve Nevers’ seriously.”
What sounded like a thrilled giggle burst from her, and she hustled toward the machine and climbed up. She looked so excited, and pride boomed beneath his rib cage that he could give her something so simple—an experience she’d never had.
He was right behind her, standing on the edge of the machine and holding on to the side while he explained the controls.
“Turn over the key there,” he said as she wiggled in her seat. She twisted the key, and the machine started up with a loud rumble.