“It’s nepotism, and it’s wrong. I can’t be treated any differently than any other employee.”
I kiss the tip of her nose. “Babe, there has to be some benefits to dating the owner.”
She quirks a brow. “Is that what we’re doing?”
I frown. “It’s actually much more than that, but I know you want to take it slow, so dating works for me.”
She traces patterns on my chest with her finger. “I think we’ve moved way beyond that.”
My heart stutters, and panic is waiting in the wings. “Please don’t tell me you’ve changed your mind.”
“No!” She circles her arms around my neck, and I pull her hot body against mine. “It’s far too late for me to protect my heart. We’re both way too invested.”
I capture her lips in mine, pulling her flush against me, my erection hardening to the point of pain as her taut nipples press into my chest. But I keep my hands loosely on her spine and resist the urge to thrust my hips up into her pelvis, kissing her slowly and passionately, pouring everything I’m feeling into every brush of our lips, every sweep of our tongues. When I reach the point of no return, I gently break the kiss, wrapping my arms around her shoulder and holding her face to my chest. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she whispers, pressing a delicate kiss to my left pec.
The bed sways ever so gently as the plane accelerates, taking off into the sky.
“Sleep, baby. We’ll talk more about it when we get home, and we can call Kat and see what she thinks. If moving Luc in with us will help his recovery, then I’m all for it. But only with you by my side.”
“Together,” she murmurs in a sleepy tone, and I drift off to sleep rocking her gently in my arms, committing my new favorite word to memory.
29
Zeta
Ibolt upright, awoken by shouting and movement in the bed. Ryder is thrashing about, legs entangled in the sheets, screaming and whimpering, in obvious distress. “It’s my fault! It’s all my fault! I’m so sorry.” Tears pour out of his eyes, and the most agonizing cry punches through the air, as if it’s been birthed straight from his soul.
“Ryder.” I gently shake his shoulders, not wanting to alarm him but needing him to wake up. “Wake up, Ryder. You’re having a nightmare. It’s not real.” I caress his face, continuously murmuring the same sentence, until his eyes blink open. He frantically gasps, as if he’s just surfaced for air, and I whisper assurances as I stroke my hands lightly up and down his arms, over his face, and across his chest.
The sheet underneath us is stuck to his back, and beads of sweat cling to his forehead, dampening the edges of his hair. “Sit up,” I urge, helping him lean back against the headboard, before swinging my legs out the side of the bed. I continue to hold him, watching as his breathing recalibrates to more normal levels. When I feel it’s safe to leave him for a quick minute, I press a kiss to his forehead and stand. “I’ll be right back.”
I head out of the bedroom and hunt down the flight attendant, asking her for supplies. “You need any help?” Mike asks, straightening his chair up as he looks at me through troubled eyes.
I shake my head. “Go back to sleep. I’ve got this.”
I take the bottles of water and spare bed linen from the attendant, thanking her before returning to Ryder. His legs are bent at the knees, and he’s hunched over his body, softly crying. My heart bleeds for him. Placing the fresh covers down, I sit beside him, wrapping my arms around his trembling body. “It’s okay, baby. Let it all out.” I hold him as he sobs, my heart breaking for him.
When his tears dry, I give him the bottle of water, urging him to drink it all. He stumbles to the bathroom, and I change the bed linen, tossing the sweaty covers in a ball over in the corner of the room.
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” he whispers, crawling back up onto the bed, looking at me with bloodshot eyes.
“Don’t be. We’re together. That means we’re there for each other through the bad times as well as the good.” I brush damp strands of hair back off his forehead. “And I understand better than most how past memories can haunt your sleep.”
“It happens to you?”
I nod. “Not as frequently as it used to, but, yeah, I sometimes wake up having had a vivid dream of my mom.” My voice comes out as a whisper. “I see her bleeding out. Clutching her fingers to her chest, trying to quell the blood flow.” I squeeze my eyes shut.
He kisses my lips, softly, a few times until my shoulders relax.
“I tried to kill myself a month after Luc jumped off the roof,” he quietly says, and I instantly tense up again. My heart aches as I take his hands, entwining our fingers. “My life was already a mess, and that happening to him was my breaking point. I got fucked up on drugs and booze and took my car out on the highway in the middle of the night. I put my foot to the floor, pushing the car to its limits, knowing I’d spin out of control and welcoming it.”
I fight back tears, not wanting to make this about me. He needs to get this off his chest.
The media reported details of his car accident for days, and I’ve wanted to ask him about that night, but I didn’t want to pressure him into telling me. I knew he’d tell me in his own time. What he says next surprises the heck out of me.
“You saved me, Zeta.” My eyes pop wide. He clasps my face in his big hands. “I lost control of the car, and I was spinning toward the barrier, head-on, when your face popped up in my mind’s eye, as clearly as if you were right there, and I knew in that instant that I couldn’t leave you. I managed to jerk the wheel around so the passenger side of the car took the brunt of the impact. If I’d plowed headfirst into the barrier, I would’ve been dead instantly. As it was, every part of my body was shattered from hitting it at such high speed. I had so many broken bones, and I was in a coma for a couple days.”
