I pulled the blanket tighter and watched my friends laugh around the fire, memorizing every detail. Just in case this was the last time.
I wanted to rewind the clock. Go back to Blake and Tessa’s wedding, when my biggest concern was whether the best man would notice me. Back when Ryker was just the gorgeous, untouchable lawyer who made my pulse race. When the most dangerous thing about that night was the possibility that we might hook up …
18
RYKER
One Month Ago
I watched Faith from across the room for what felt like the hundredth time this evening. God, she was gorgeous. The color of her bridesmaid dress made her skin glow in the candlelight, and the way the fabric clung to her curves had me gripping my whiskey glass a little too tight.
Every time she moved, the dress shifted, revealing the long line of her leg through the slit. My eyes traced the swell of her breasts above the neckline, remembering exactly how they’d felt pressed against me in that elevator a month ago. How they’d felt when I touched them in Axel’s living room …
After Blake and Tessa completed their first dance, as other couples made their way to the floor, Faith stood on the other side of the room, tracing the rim of her champagne glass. Another outsider, like me, watching everyone else pair off.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I crossed the room, coming up beside her.
“You’re watching,” I said, leaning against the wall next to her. “Like me.”
She turned, and the scent of her perfume hit me.
“Maybe I like to watch.” Her eyes dropped to my mouth for just a second before meeting mine again.
She’s flirting.Christ. She was going to kill me.
“Is that right?” I moved closer, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from her skin. “What else do you like?”
Her breath hitched, but she held my gaze, and to my immense relief, she continued flirting rather than cutting it off. “Dangerous questions, Counselor.”
“I’m good with danger.” I leaned down to her ear, my lips barely grazing her skin. “I can’t stop thinking about you. About the sounds you made when I made you come.”
Her breasts rose as she inhaled sharply. Clearly, she didn’t expect me to hit the nuclear button of flirtation, but I was done being patient. I wanted her. Needed her. “Ryker …”
“Tell me you don’t think about it,” I challenged, pulling back just enough to see her face. Her pupils were dilated, her lips parted. “Tell me you don’t wake up at night, remembering how it felt.”
I wondered if she’d ever touched herself, thinking about us, the way I’d stroked myself, thinking about her.
“You know I can’t.” Her voice was breathless now. “But Blake is finally back in my life. I can’t complicate things by?—”
“Getting involved with his best friend. Yeah, I know.” I let my fingers brush hers where she held her glass, the contact creating instant static electricity in my blood. “You’ve made that clear. Repeatedly.”
“Then why are you?—”
“Because you’re standing here in that dress, looking like every fantasy I’ve ever had, and I can see your pulse racing in your throat.” I watched her swallow hard. “Because every time you look at me, it’s like you’re imagining what would happen if we left this room right now.”
“That’s presumptuous.”
“Is it?” I set down my drink and turned to face her fully. “Then why do you keep biting your lip like that? The same way you did in the elevator right before you kissed me?”
“You kissed me,” she shot back.
“Did I?” I let my gaze drop to her mouth again. “Because I remember you grabbing my shirt and pulling me down to you.”
A flush crept up her neck. “You’re remembering it wrong.”
“I remember everything about you.” I stepped closer, eliminating another inch between us. “The way you tasted. How your nails dug into my shoulders. The little gasp you made when I slid my hand up your thigh.”
“Stop.” But her voice had gone breathy.
