by R. Linda
I hadn’t realised I had stopped breathing until he said that. The moment I sucked in some much-needed air, the room stopped moving, and I was steady on my feet.
“I don’t want you passing out on me.”
“I’m okay. I just forgot to breathe.”
“Well, let’s go. We’re halfway there, and I have a surprise planned for you at the top.”
“You do?”
He winked and climbed the stairs, pulling me along with him. “Just look straight ahead and focus on my touch,” he reminded me.
Easier said than done. I don’t know what possessed me, but I looked down, and my heart leapt into my throat. The stairs moved beneath my feet and…I sucked in air, but it didn’t help.
“What the hell did you look down for?” Ryder growled, pinching my chin and forcing me to look at him. His hand rested on my waist, thumb brushing across my rib gently, and combined with the harsh words, snapped me out it. The tightness in my chest eased, and the stairs beneath my feet stopped moving up to meet me. “You good?”
I nodded and held Ryder’s arm tight as we continued climbing the stairs. Every time I hesitated or wobbled, he’d remind me to breathe.
We eventually made it to the top, and I sagged against the wall, gasping for breath.
“That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“It was horrible, but…”
He pulled me through the door in front of the stairs. “Worth it?”
Oh, my god. It was beautiful. My mouth fell open as I took in the sight before me. The butterflies in my stomach exploded. The four-hundred-thousand-foot drop behind me, forgotten. “You did this?”
“You like it?” He propped one foot against the wall as he leaned back, watching me.
“Yes.” I spread my arms out wide and spun around slowly. “It’s so pretty.”
He’d somehow managed to string up fairy lights between the glass windowpanes. There were blankets and pillows on the floor, along with a picnic basket set up in front of the windows, overlooking the ocean. The room was dark except for the twinkling of the lights above, and a giant spotlight sending beams of light out to the water for the ships passing by. The towns in the distance looked both smaller and larger from up this high. Smaller and farther away because we were up so high, yet larger because we could see farther beyond the coastline.
“Hungry?” Ryder pushed off the wall and motioned for me to sit on the blankets.
I nodded and sat beside him. “How did you manage to pull this off so fast?”
“Jack helped.” Ryder pulled open the picnic basket and removed a bottle of wine, two glasses, and two takeaway containers. “For an extra fifty bucks.”
I laughed and poured us each a small glass of wine, while Ryder opened the food.
“Of course, he charged.”
We sat and ate our meal in silence, not needing to talk. I thought about bringing up Chace a few times, but we were having such a good time that I didn’t want to ruin our night. Tomorrow. I’d tell him tomorrow.
“You look lost in thought,” Ryder mused, pushing his bowl aside.
“I’m okay.” I smiled. “Just enjoying our time alone together.”
“I was serious when I asked you to move in with me. I think we should do it.”
“Yeah?” I dropped my fork and looked at him.
Ryder grinned and moved onto his knees so he could lean over and kiss me. “Absolutely.”
It would be the solution to all our problems. I could finally get away from Chace and Christina. It would be quieter than living on campus, and we’d finally have our own space.
Ryder stood. “Come on.”
I raised my hand and placed it in his outstretched one so he could pull me to my feet. “What are we doing?”
“Dance with me?”
I stopped and arched an eyebrow. “You don’t dance.”
“You make me want to dance.”
“I don’t dance either.”
“Dammit, Bailey. Don’t make things so difficult. I’m trying to be fucking romantic, okay?” His voice was rough, annoyed, but his hands on my neck were gentle, and there was a lightness in his eyes.
It was a dangerous combination.
The harsh words and soft touches. He turned me to putty. Pretty sure I’d rob a bank or help him murder someone if he demanded it in that tone while tracing patterns on my skin with his fingers.
I’d totally be the Bonnie to his Clyde any day.
“There’s no music.”
“Shit, that’s the one thing Jack didn’t do. I should demand a refund.”
“Definitely. You should complain to management about not receiving the full date night experience.”
“Shut up and kiss me.” He rolled his eyes and closed the distance between us. I swayed on my feet, my hands clutching at his shirt as his mouth dominated mine. He pulled back smiled against my lips. “See, you’re dancing.”
We were rocking back and forth in a circle. I’d hardly call it dancing. Ryder placed his cheek on mine and held one of my hands to his chest.
He really was romantic when he wanted to be.
“Are you humming?” I asked, his voice providing a smooth melody in my ears.
“Mmm-hmmm.”
“What song is it?”
“The first song we danced to at the stupid prom, remember?”
I chuckled. “You remembered that?”
“I remember everything about you, Bailey. Every word. Every moment. Every experience.”
I looked into his eyes, bringing my hand to his cheek. “I love you.”
“Fucking.”
“What?”
“I fucking love you.”
“Sorry. I fucking love you.”
I kissed him softly on the mouth.
“That’s better. Now, you want to get out of here?”
“So soon?”
“What did you have in mind?”
“Seems like a waste of fifty dollars, fairy lights, and all these pillows and blankets.” I shrugged, stepping out of his hold and kicking off Indie’s boots. “Campout?”
“Here?” Ryder arched an eyebrow, his lip ring pulled between his teeth.
“Here.” I nodded, taking a step back until my feet touched the blankets.
“We have an empty dorm waiting for us.”
“We have an empty lighthouse with fairy lights, Jones. Right here. How often do we get something like this?”
“Screw it,” he said, stripping out of that blue checkered shirt. “We can kick Jack out again next week.”
He kicked off his black boots and placed his hands on his hips.
“Don’t let me stop you,” I said and flicked my hand, indicating he should take his shirt off. Because Ryder in that outfit was hot, but Ryder without his shirt, a bazillion times hotter. There was something about the tattoos that completely covered his arms and pecs that just made my mouth water.
He yanked his white t-shirt over his head and threw it to the side before turning his expectant gaze on me.
“What?”
“Tit for tat, love.”
I shrugged out of my jacket and tossed it to him. He discarded it to the side and shook his head.
“What?”
“I can’t be the only shirtless person in this, Bailey. That hardly seems fair.”
I glanced down at my clothes. All I had left was my dress. “If I take this off, then I’ll be down to my underwear.”
“What a coincidence. I’ll be the same if my jeans come off.”
We were at a standstill, neither of us prepared to make the next move. Not because we didn’t want to; more because neither of us wanted to give in. It was an unspoken challenge between us. We were both waiting the other out.
The first one to move lost.
Or did they?
If I dropped my dress first, Ryder would lose those jeans quick smart, and, well…things could only look up from there, right? Then who’d be the real winner? Pretty sure that’d be me. I won every time when
it came to this man.
Sometimes I had to pinch myself to make sure it was real, and sometimes that dreaded fear rooted its way into my heart, and I waited for things to come crumbling down. How could things be so perfect, so right all the time?
Then he looked at me the way he was doing right then and eased all my fears.
I flicked one strap off my shoulder and waited for Ryder’s reaction. His eyes darkened as he stepped closer, his forearm flexing with the movement as he popped the button open at the top of his jeans.
My fingers slid the other strap down my shoulders so I could pull my arms free.
Ryder took another step closer and released his zipper, sliding it all the way down until his jeans hung open and his black boxers were on display.
Heat prickled at my skin, and the sudden need to be rid of my dress took over. With a gentle tug, it fell to the floor and pooled at my feet. With confidence only Ryder could bring out in me, I closed the distance between us. Hooking my fingers through the belt loops on his jeans, I yanked them down his legs.
“In a hurry, love?” Amusement tainted his voice.
“Well, you looked like you needed a hand.”
“I was simply enjoying the view.”
Chapter Fifteen
Ryder
I loved confident, self-assured Bailey. She didn’t make appearances too often, but when she did, she was a force to be reckoned with.
Her fingers danced along the waistband of my boxers, tickling and teasing the skin. My stomach muscles contracted, and Bailey splayed her hands across my abs, feeling each one.
Her eyes followed the movement of her hands as she touched and traced and explored every inch of my skin. Her breath was warm, fingers soft, and they sent all the blood in my body rushing between my legs. I itched to touch her, but I refrained, wanting to let her have this moment, enjoying her attention on me briefly before I completely ravaged her.
I needed to touch her, taste her, and mark her perfect, flawless skin. I wanted to lose myself so deep in her that she felt me in her soul because that was exactly what she’d done to me.
She was ingrained in me. Bonded together and…
Her lips seared my flesh as her teeth grazed my collarbone. She bit and nibbled and sucked on the sensitive skin between my neck and shoulder until it stung. Her hands continued exploring my body, moving around to my back, over my shoulder blades.
“You have about three seconds to put those hands to good use, or I’m going to pin them to that wall over there.”
Her hands stalled their movements on my ribs, and she whispered, “Promise?”
Hell.
She was testing my patience. Something I had very little of, to begin with. I turned and faced her.
“Three.”
Her eyes widened, and her hands dropped to her side. I smirked. Little minx, she was.
“Two.”
She bit her lip as I stepped forward, causing her to move back over and over again until…
“One.”
Her back hit the wall, and she gasped. I grabbed her wrists and placed a kiss to the inside of each before raising them above her head and holding them to the wall. Her eyes lit up, and her tongue darted out to wet her lips.
Lowering my head, I kissed her neck, dragging my lips up the column of her throat until I claimed her mouth.
She gasped, parting her lips for me, and I took full advantage. Kissing Bailey was one of my favourite things in the world. I loved her mouth. Her full lips, soft against mine, her tongue, warm and hot in my mouth. She tasted sweet, like candy.
Dragging my free hand down her body, I traced my fingers over her ribs and down her side until I gripped her leg and lifted it over my hip.
Bailey sighed against my mouth and arched her body, trying to pull her arms free of my grip. I released them, and they immediately found their way into my hair, pulling and tugging on the ends.
I wanted her naked.
I wanted inside her.
Her leg still wrapped around me, I ground my hips against hers.
“Ryder,” she moaned my name, her hands slipping between us to pull my boxers down.
Dammit.
I stepped back, and her leg dropped. I wanted to take it slow, be romantic, but the heat in her gaze as she shimmied her underwear down her legs was too hard to ignore.
She arched an eyebrow and traced her fingers lightly across my chest, down my stomach, and gripped my hips, pulling me to her.
I slammed my mouth against hers and lifted her so both her legs wrapped around me and her back was pressed hard against the wall. There’d be time for slow and romantic later. We had all night. But right then, Bailey moved in such a way that left me no choice but to push my hips into hers, filling her completely. Over and over until her nails clawed at the skin on my back and her mouth moaned my name.
Sweat broke out across my skin, my body tightened and shook as tingles ran up my spine, and I collapsed against Bailey, absolutely wrecked.
She was limp in my arms, and my legs could barely hold us both up. Bailey let out a breathy laugh as she bit into the top of my shoulder. “So, that was fun.”
“That was fucking phenomenal, love.” I chuckled and dropped my head to her shoulder.
“I think I’m going to enjoy Friday night date nights,” Bailey whispered, wrapping her lips around my earlobe and sucking it into her mouth.
I groaned and dug my fingers into her hips, pulling her away from the wall. I carried her back over to the blankets on the floor and knelt down.
Bailey squealed and wrapped her arms and legs tighter around me as I lowered us to the floor. She sat across my lap, and her hands cupped my jaw as she dusted her lips across mine, pressing herself into me.
My fingers traced her skin, leaving goose bumps on every curve, every inch.
Chapter Sixteen
Bailey
Last night had been magical. The lighthouse, our picnic. Everything. Waking up to a sunrise over the ocean, wrapped in blankets and Ryder arms, what more could a girl ask for?
But the excitement, the bliss, the magic was about to wear off.
“Jones?” I said softly.
“Yes, love?” Ryder lifted my hand and pressed a kiss to my knuckles, shooting me a small smile before focusing on the road as we headed back to the dorms.
“Last night was…” I didn’t have the words for how amazing it had been.
“Epic?”
I smiled. “Yes, it was epic.”
“I think so too.”
“But…” I hesitated.
Ryder’s fingers tightened their grip on mine. “I don’t like buts, B.”
“I have to tell you something.”
His jaw clenched, and his knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. “What?”
“Umm, yesterday before…” I groaned. Why was it so hard to say the words I needed to? Because I knew how he would react.
“Yesterday?” Ryder prompted.
“Yesterday before you picked me up from Indie’s room, I had a visitor.”
“Okay.”
“In my room.”
Ryder quirked an eyebrow, not seeing where this was going, but judging by the tightness in his jaw and the way his leg bounced up and down, he knew he wouldn’t like what I was about to say. “From?”
“Chace.”
Ryder cursed and slammed his foot on the brake, pulling the truck to an abrupt stop on the side of the road. I jolted forward, bracing my arms on the dashboard for support.
Magic gone.
“He what?” Ryder growled, shutting off the ignition and turning to face me.
“He was in my room. I don’t know. He could have been waiting for Christina and took the opportunity to talk to me. I’m not really sure.”
“I don’t care why he was there. He shouldn’t have been in there. What did he say?”
I shrugged. “Not much. He just really wanted to apologise or talk, but I wouldn’t give him the time of day to do so.”
&nbs
p; “And?”
“And nothing. He left.”
“He left? Just like that?”
“Pretty much.”
“Bailey?”
“I swear that’s it. I wouldn’t let him talk to me, and he left, promising me that our conversation wasn’t over. I think he just really wants to apologise or explain his actions. That’s all. But I’m way past the point of caring. As far as I’m concerned, he’s nobody.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this yesterday?”
I gave Ryder a soft smile. “Because it was nothing to worry about, but I knew you’d be pissed about it, and I didn’t want to ruin our first date night.” I pressed my hands to his cheeks and leaned in.
Ryder’s eyes closed. “You’re right.”
“I’m always right.” I brushed my lips against his.
“I am pissed.”
“And?”
“It wouldn’t have ruined last night. But I don’t like secrets, Bailey.” His hands came up to rest over mine, cupping his face.
“We don’t have secrets, Jones. I tell you everything. Can you blame me for not wanting to ruin last night? Look at what we would have missed out on.”
“I don’t care. No more secrets.”
“No more secrets,” I agreed and slid my mouth across his.
“You know I’m not going to let this go, right?”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less, Jones.”
“He’s going to have to deal with me.”
“I know.”
“And—”
“Just shut up and kiss me.”
Ryder grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”
His fingers threaded into my hair, and he angled my face, sliding his lips across mine, the heat from his body searing my skin until his alarm went off.
“Dammit,” he groaned, pulling back. “I have to be at work in an hour.”
“We better go, then.” I sat back in my seat, but Ryder had other ideas.
He leaned back over the console and gripped my chin. “I still have an hour. Wanna make out?” His eyes sparked to life, and he gave me a playful smile.
I laughed but leaned into him. And that was what we did.
We made out for an hour until his boss rang to see where he was.
