She turned to face him with a little jump.
“Do you have some sneak-up quota you have to fill every day or something?”
“Answer my question,” he asserted. He was not in a friendly mood. This was his show. He’d gone to the BBQ to see her, and he’d be damned if she twisted this game of theirs to her favor.
“Let’s see, the night you met me… Pretty sure you were thinking I was someone else.”
He walked toward her until he reached the pool table and stood before her. “I was actually thinking of what this”—he spun her around, bent her over the pool table, and ran his fingers along the back of her knee—“tasted like.” He knelt quickly to trace his tongue up along that soft skin and felt her shudder, and then he rose and whispered in her ear, “Just as I thought. Sweet.”
She turned to face him, and he grabbed the edge of the pool table on either side of her hips, caging her in.
“What are you doing here, Ryder?” she asked softly. Something in her eyes was pleading. Like she was half scared, half desperate for his answer.
“I came to see you.”
The edge of her lips tugged upward, like those five words were all she needed.
“You’ve been working hard, I hear,” she said.
“So have you.”
She nodded and looked over his face in a way no other woman ever had. Like she was studying him. Maybe even doing some of that learning she’d mentioned a time or two. Whatever it was, he felt seen. Like she could grasp the real him.
“See, I finally got a night off and came to call on this sexy, bright woman, and you know what she did?” he asked, leaning in a little so his face was in line with hers.
She swayed in between his straightened arms, but he wasn’t letting go of that table. She gave an innocent look, but Ryder knew she was playing with him. So he moved a bit closer, until his chin was a millimeter from hers.
“What did she do?” she whispered.
“She ran off on me.”
“The nerve,” she chastised, in her mocking way. The same tone that kicked his pulse into high gear. But he kept it simmering and went on with this little conversation.
“That’s what I thought,” he agreed. “Which made me think of how I’d retaliate against her when I finally caught her. You see, this woman likes being chased.”
“You sure?”
He nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I even happen to know that every now and again, she likes being caught.”
“Interesting,” Whitney said, playing along.
“Unless she really was running away because she can’t stand the sight of me,” he amended.
She laughed like he’d just told her the world was flat. “The sight of you is not the problem, big guy. My guess is she thoroughly enjoys the sight of you.” She glanced down, something she rarely did, but he was picking up on the notion that she had more to say. So he waited a moment and hoped she’d give voice to whatever silent thoughts she had.
Finally, his patience paid off.
“Maybe this woman also knows that you’re different in public than you are in private.”
That swatted his ribs like a rolled up newspaper. Of course he was different with Whitney in private than public. It had been a basis of their whole frustrating relationship. The truth was, though, he felt more himself—safer—alone with her than anywhere else.
“Do you think the woman in question likes me in private or public?”
Whitney looked at him. “She likes you in private, just wishes she knew the public side of you better.”
She reached up and ran a finger along the edge of his Stetson.
“I’m learning she has a thing for cowboys, too,” he whispered, his mouth hovering just over hers.
“But you’re not a cowboy,” she countered.
“No, ma’am, I’m not.”
She searched his face, those fingers dropping from his hat to his cheek, then down to his neck. “So maybe she just has a thing for you.”
“If that’s so, why would she run?”
She lifted a shoulder. “She’s bound to leave eventually.”
That made something twist in his stomach, but he did his best to ignore and move past it. “Maybe so. But she’s not leaving tonight.”
He leaned down and snagged the smallest sample of those full lips, tasting the sweetest drug he’d ever had. And damn he’d missed it. Not having a hit of her for a week had strung him out in a way that hurt. It left him jonesing for more, needing that fire to feel alive. With one taste, he turned on like a broken engine revved to life.
“Whoa,” she breathed against his mouth. “It’s not very fair that you can rock a girl’s world with one kiss.”
His thoughts exactly. He grinned, but stopped short, because the truth was, the woman in his arms was rocking a lot in his own world. Like, the whole damn atmosphere.
“You’re the one who’s shaking up my life, sweetness.”
She looked up at him, and he kept her close so he could continue slowly kissing her lips, taking little tastes, like she was the last spoonful of sweet cream and he wanted every drop.
“You don’t seem like a shakable guy,” she whispered, then gently met his tongue with the tip of her own. It took all of his will to keep the languid pace and light brushes from escalating prematurely. Because he was ready to dive deep and get lost for the whole night.
“I’m not,” he admitted. “But I’ve had my moments.”
“Tell me,” she asked, and the softness in her voice, paired with the way her breath hit his face, made him give in. Something, once again, he shouldn’t do. But Whitney was there with him, making him feel like he wanted to confide in her. As if, in this one moment, just the two of them, away from prying eyes and the reality of a public persona, he could be himself.
“I’ve followed the wildness all the way, and it didn’t turn out well for me.”
Her hand smoothed up his stomach, his pressed shirt giving off a crisp sound as she went, as if she were quietly urging him to go on.
“I was young,” he said, “I got caught up in a woman that had certain interests. I thought I was one of them. I was too far gone to see what she was really after, and I almost lost everything.”
Whitney’s mocha eyes searched his for a moment, then she leaned in. Her nose skimmed along his jaw as she tilted her head, and a look of anger and sadness crossed her face.
“You are more than…” She trailed off, and Ryder really wanted to hear the rest of that thought, but she changed gears. “What do you mean you almost lost everything?”
“I eloped with her. My money, my inheritance, my family’s legacy, it all came into play. I knew that. My father had warned me about it every day of my life. But I was young. Stupid. I didn’t think she’d want anything more than me.” He shook his head. “Luckily, I got out of it without losing too much of my family’s money or good name.”
Just talking about it filled him with anger at himself. She could have taken his family to the cleaners. The settlement hadn’t hit them too hard, but that wasn’t the worst part. It was that Ryder had flat out lost control and given in to what he shouldn’t have—his own wants, his own desires—with no thought for the consequences.
“It’s hard to imagine that you eloped.”
“Not one of my finest moments,” he rasped. “Which is why I don’t jump into anything. Don’t play casual and don’t—”
“Go for women with nothing to offer,” she said, and the expression that crossed her face was one he couldn’t stand.
“I was going to say that I stay away from things that tempt me past the point of reason.” Using a single fingertip, he raised her chin until her dark gaze was back on his. She was the most tempting thing he’d ever encountered. Which was why he did know better than to pursue her. He was trying to control his addiction, and he was slipping. He felt it every time she was in his arms. And try as he might, he kept finding her back in them.