Rescued by Love (Love in Bloom: The Ryders): Jake Ryder

by Melissa Foster

  “I can’t stay, Jake. Besides, you have the fishing trip tonight with the guys, and I refuse to be the cause of you missing that.” She reached for his hand, feeling the tension in his grip. “We still have a little while before I leave. I have to pack and say goodbye to everyone, but I’d like to do those things together if you’re willing.”

  He ground his teeth together, disappointment swimming in his eyes.

  TIME MOVED TOO fast as Jake and Addy packed her things, making small talk about the weather, the wedding, and the island. Everything except the elephant in the room. She’d begun this weekend by setting up rules and expectations, as much for herself as for him, and she’d already blown those out of the water. She didn’t like the feeling of not being able to imagine a day without him—or anyone. It went against everything she knew about herself, but her trip loomed over her like a long, dark stretch of loneliness.

  Jake carried her suitcase out of the resort. “How are you getting to the mountains tomorrow?”

  “I rented a car, which I’ll return in Sweetwater, a small town not far from the trailhead where I’m starting my hike. The girl at the rental agency said they could drop me off.”

  He nodded, and she could see the gears in his mind churning. She knew this was killing him as much as it was killing her.

  “I really don’t want to talk about the trip,” she said honestly. Even the little they’d already said made her waffle about leaving.

  He set down her suitcase and hauled her against him. They were on the curved part of the dusty road between the resort and town, buffered by a fringe of trees, giving them a modicum of privacy.

  “You’re too stubborn for such a petite little thing.” With his hands around her rib cage, he lifted her into the air, her legs dangling beneath her, and he gazed heatedly into her eyes. “You’ll miss me when you’re all alone at night on that trip we’re not talking about.” He pressed his lips to hers, still holding her in the air like a rag doll. “But not half as much as I’ll miss you.” Circling her waist with one strong arm, he held her against him. “How do you pack so much power into silence?”

  Swallowing past the lump clogging her throat, she managed, “Thinking…”

  He lowered her feet to the ground, the hope in his eyes too blatant to ignore. She touched her forehead to his chest and closed her eyes, willing herself not to admit what was going on inside her, but it was too consuming, too distracting, too determined to escape.

  “I didn’t want to fall for you,” she said, pressing her palms to his chest. “I just wanted to sleep with you.”

  Taking her chin between his fingers and thumb, he lifted her face and lowered his lips to hers in another tender kiss. “I was falling for you before we ever came to the island. It’s only fair that you endure at least a little bit of torture.”

  How did he make her smile when she felt on the verge of tears? “You’re taking too much pleasure in the fact that I don’t know who I’m becoming and I don’t want to lose who I am.”

  “Don’t kid yourself, sexy girl. I’m taking great pleasure in the fact that you’re letting me into your world. You’re not changing who you are.” He lifted the suitcase as evidence and set it back down on the ground. “We’re just too strong of a force to deny.”

  His arrogant grin told her what was coming next. She put her hand over his mouth and narrowed her eyes, trying to ignore the sensual, teasing slick of his tongue against her palm.

  “Don’t you dare follow that up with you told me so.” Her voice was shaking despite her efforts to hide it. “It’ll just make me want to fight these feelings to prove you wrong.”

  He grabbed her wrist, the cockiness turned to pure seduction. “You think a little rebellion will deter me?” Eyes locked on hers, he sealed his mouth over her neck.

  Every slick of his talented tongue sent heat to the juncture of her thighs. She grabbed hold of his waist, battling her weakening knees as he continued the sensual torture. His free hand traveled over her hip. The thin material of her dress did nothing to block the blaze of his seduction as he caressed her bottom, obliterating her ability to think past the need mounting inside her. When he nibbled on her shoulder, then returned to her neck—Oh God, yes, there—her toes curled against her sandals and she leaned in to him. A single rock of his hips brought his hard length against her belly. She closed her eyes, willing herself to pull back, to fight the lust coiling deep inside her. He captured her mouth, his long, thick fingers slipping beneath her dress, beneath her panties, and plunging into her slick heat. Her breath rushed from her lungs, and she felt him smile against her lips. She went up on her toes, sinking back down along his fingers, urging him to take what he wanted—to give her what she needed.

  “Fuck, Addy,” he growled against her lips.

  “Don’t stop.” She clutched his wrist, holding his hand prisoner between her legs.

  “Not a chance. I want to haul your ass over my shoulder and drag you into the woods.”

  She met his piercing gaze. A silent and very clear message of assent exploded between them, and in the next breath she was over his shoulder and he was charging into the woods, both of them laughing. He laid her on the ground among leaves and grass, buffered on all sides by thick bushes, and made quick work of dropping his pants.

  “Hurry,” she pleaded as he came down over her.

  In one hard thrust he drove into her, and she cried out. He silenced her with a mind-numbing kiss, sending more waves of erotic pleasure crashing over her, each one drowning out the one before, taking her higher, bringing them closer together. Beneath her closed lids, flashes of the time they shared burst in quick succession—the laughter, the teasing, the lovemaking. The fucking. He was the fierce and passionate man she never allowed herself to hope for, careful enough to know when to pull back but manly enough to know when she needed to be pushed. Craving the sight of the man who had awoken her heart and taken her body to heights she’d only dreamed of, she met his gaze. His eyes brimmed with desire so intense she was sure it must be sizzling in his veins. The risk of being seen, the fierce look of hunger in his eyes, and the way he gave her exactly what she needed, wound together, bringing all of her emotions to the surface. Their connection was so raw, so powerful. It was brutally beautiful. He claimed her in another possessive kiss, taking her deeper, harder, as if he were trying to claim every ounce of her, pounding into her again and again, until all she felt was the soul-sucking, earth-shattering greed of their mutual release.

  Chapter Sixteen

  JAKE TOSSED OUT his fishing line, hiked his foot up on the bench, and wondered how he was going to get through ten Addyless days.

  “She actually left.” Duke leaned against the side of the boat with a beer in his hand. “Bet you never thought that would happen.”

  Jake kept his eyes on the dark water, thinking about how he and Addy had run back to the resort because she had insisted on taking a quick shower—alone—and she’d nearly missed the boat. He should have gotten in that shower and made her miss it. “Do you even know Addy? Of course I knew she’d leave. She’s not exactly someone who listens to others.”

  Duke chuckled. “I guess I’m the one who didn’t see it coming.” He sipped his beer. “Sounds like you’re pretty upset.”

  Jake scoffed. “What tipped you off?”

  They’d been fishing for more than an hour and hadn’t caught a damn thing. Normally Jake wouldn’t care, as spending time with his brothers was fun no matter what, but not only was it taking all his willpower not to gun the boat toward the mainland and catch a plane to New York, but all the guys had talked about was getting back to their significant others.

  “There’s no beer in your hand, for starters,” Duke pointed out.

  Because I haven’t written off the idea of leaving yet, and I need to be sober to drive a boat, navigate through an airport, and drive a fricking rental car.

  ADDY HAD BEEN trying not to think about Jake since Elpitha Island had faded into the distance as the boa
t carried her to South Carolina. She’d stood gripping the railing, blinking into the wind for the second time that day. Her emotions had sure picked a grand time to kick into gear. She’d tried to push the image of Jake and Gabriella waving from the dock from her mind as she boarded the crowded plane. She’d even tried to close her eyes for a nap on the flight to New York. Their decadent weekend should have taken its toll, considering they hadn’t slept more than a few hours, but Jake’s voice kept whispering through her mind, keeping sleep at bay. You own so much of me, he’d said as he hugged her so tight she could barely breathe. It’ll kill me if anything happens to you. But he’d stopped asking her to stay. He’d respected her wishes despite how much he hated her leaving.

  Now, as she tossed an armful of camping supplies on the couch, a harsher reality was staring her in the face. Where among the mounds of clothes, blankets, lighters, compass, maps, and a zillion other wilderness necessities did her lonely heart fit in? She’d gotten exactly what she wanted. She just never expected it to hurt so much. She couldn’t even call Gabriella to meet her for a drink and drown her sorrows. A seaplane was picking up her and Duke after the fishing trip and whisking them away for their honeymoon.

  She set her hands on her hips and turned to the mirror she’d had inset in the fireplace. She may not have wanted her parents’ posh lifestyle, but in some respects the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Addy had her father’s flair for design. The mirror made her cozy space look bigger and classed up her eclectic style of mismatched greens, salmon, and distressed grays. When she’d rented the apartment, she hadn’t imagined ever using a fireplace when she could simply kick up the thermostat a notch. The irony was not lost on her that she was embarking on a trip where fire would be the only element to keep her warm on cold mountain nights.

  She sank down to the couch, sighing heavily and sending her neatly packaged lightweight tent, one of her pink hiking boots, and her first-aid kit tumbling off the cushions. They landed with thunks on the plush area rug.

  What the hell am I doing?

  Addy wasn’t a second guesser or a wallower, and the fact that she was doing both simmered uncomfortably in her stomach. She pushed from the couch, sending another pile of supplies to the floor, and stalked into the kitchen for a bottle of wine. She took one from the rack without even looking at the label, uncorked it, and guzzled it.

  “Okay, Addison. Time to get your ass in gear.” Carrying the open bottle, she went into her bedroom and grabbed the backpack she’d purchased for the trip, hooked it over her shoulder, and swigged another mouthful of wine. She could do this. Like everything else in life, she’d put one foot in front of the other and refuse to think about the big, brooding boyfriend she’d left behind. Feeling better already, she picked up the camping books she’d nearly forgotten to pack, and her mind traveled back to Jake asking her to let him go over safety precautions. He was so earnest and sincere in his desire to help. Her mind instantly found the image of him crouched in the shower as he spotted her tattoo while he lovingly washed her. He’d looked as worried as he’d been curious. A lump lodged in her throat. Do not go there. She swallowed the guilt of not spilling her secret and shifted the books to the crook of her arm, taking another swig of the liquid courage.

  An hour later she sat in the middle of her living room floor in her pajamas, among her supplies, eyeing her laptop. She needed to get Jake off her mind. What better way than to get her mind on someone else? Grabbing her technological friend, she remembered her promise to Jake. No looking at my Tumblr page.

  For the weekend.

  She eyed the clock on the screen. It was after midnight.

  Tapping her finger on the edge of the laptop, she debated taking just a peek. Right, like I ever just peek? Would I mind if Jake just peeked at a hot girls Tumblr page? Jealousy gnawed at her. Unless we were looking at hot couple Tumblr pages together.

  Hmm…

  She grabbed her cell phone from the coffee table and called Jake. The call went directly to voice mail. Of course. Elpitha’s cell reception sucked. She closed her laptop and took another drink. She didn’t want to look at anyone else. She wanted Jake, and it was her own damn fault he wasn’t there.

  Chapter Seventeen

  ADDY DIDN’T KNOW how long she’d incorporated the incessant pounding on her apartment door into her dreams, but as she tried to get her foggy brain to focus, reaching blindly for her phone on the floor beside the couch, the pounding began anew. Someone has a death wish. Her phone was dead. Another knock on the door brought her to her feet. She stumbled through her living room, guided only by a sliver of moonlight streaking through the curtains, and tripped over the pile of camping supplies she’d failed to pack before she fell asleep.

  Another knock sounded.

  “Hold on!” What the hell? “You better hope the complex is on fire.”

  She put her tired eye up to the peephole, but whoever was on the other side of it was leaning at an odd angle, and she couldn’t see anything but a shoulder. Great. Some drunk guy probably has the wrong apartment. The guy reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, and her breath left her lungs.

  Her stomach flipped as she tugged the door open and Jake lifted his head, one forearm still resting on the doorframe.

  “Hey there, sexy girl,” Jake said with an easy smile. He wore the low-slung jeans he’d had on earlier and a dark T-shirt that clung to his broad chest. But it was the look of longing in his eyes that made her heart nearly stop.

  “What are you doing here?”

  His arm slid around her waist, gathering her against him. “I missed you, too.” His lips met hers in a toe-curling kiss that left no room for anything but the inferno between them.

  She came away breathless, her hands pressed firmly on his chest. She curled her fingers under, wanting to stay close. “Why are you here?”

  He nuzzled against her neck. “Is that any way to greet your boyfriend at two in the morning?”

  She dragged him inside by his collar and closed the door behind them. He was grinning like a fool as he hauled her toward him again, his back against the door. He spread his legs and sank down so they were eye to eye. She’d missed his greedy stare and arrogant grin. She pressed her hand to his scruffy cheek, feeling like she should be annoyed with the intrusion, but all she felt was relief and overwhelming happiness.

  “Are you checking up on me?” she teased.

  “Do I need to check up on you?” He dragged his eyes down her tank top, lingering on the words emblazoned across her chest: EAT CLEAN PLAY DIRTY. His eyes darkened and flicked to hers for half a second before dropping to her boy shorts, where they lingered on the words printed from hip to hip, ALL-NIGHT BUFFET.

  She cringed.

  He grabbed her butt, pulling her firmly against him. “It just so happens I’m starved.”

  Her body was vibrating with desire, but a hint of worry tiptoed in. Had he come to change her mind about the trip? “Is that right?” She kissed him just below his ear, then bit down hard.

  “Ouch! Damn, woman.” He spanked her ass.

  She drew back, holding his biceps, and glared at him. “Are you here to get me to change my mind about the trip?”

  “No. I’m here because—” His eyes drifted over her shoulder, and he huffed out a disbelieving laugh before meeting her gaze again. “Because I missed you, and someone has to make sure you’re taken care of before you go. Safety-wise, of course.” He reached behind him and handed her a leather journal that he must have had stuffed in the back of his pants, because there was no way it would fit in his pocket. “And I brought you this. In case you want to keep a journal about your adventure.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Really? That’s so sweet, but…this isn’t to soften me up, is it? To get me into an incredible sexathon meant to convince me that I need a six-foot-three tour guide?”

  He set the beautiful journal on the floor and brushed one hand over her hair, which she was sure looked like Medusa’s. “I’ll never forgive mysel
f if something happens to you and I wasn’t there to protect you, but I know you want to do this alone. So no, this visit isn’t meant to convince you to let me go. I want to run through the basic safety rules with you, and…” He gathered her closer, holding her like he never wanted to let her go. “I needed you in my arms one last time. Ten days is a long fucking time.”

  She’d never thought so before, but ten hours without him had seemed like forever.

  “Baby?” he whispered in her ear.

  “Mm-hm.” She wanted to stake a tent right there in his arms.

  “Is that a pink hiking boot?”

  “You have a problem with pink?” She tried to sound offended, but she couldn’t stop smiling. He was there, like he’d somehow known she was missing him, and he wasn’t pushing her to change her mind about the trip.

  He rose to his full height, lifting her in his arms as he did. Her legs wound around his waist. She never imagined herself being carried by anyone, and Jake took her from fighting it to wanting it in the blink of an eye.

  “Let me show you just how much I love pink.” He carried her through the living room. “Nice packing job.”

  “No comments from the peanut gallery. You’re not here to critique me. You’re here to…” She studied his face. Was he really there with no ulterior motive? He missed her? Wanted to teach her a few safety rules?

  He stopped at the threshold to the bedroom, pressing his lips to hers. His hand slid beneath her boy shorts and she drew back from the kiss.

  “You’re here for a booty call,” she teased.

  He carried her into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed with her straddling his lap. “That’s a long way to go for a booty call.”

  She flipped her hair dramatically and batted her lashes. “I’m worth it. I’ve ruined you for all other women.”