‘I’m just terrified he’ll disappear again.’
‘Lightning doesn’t strike twice. He told me he had no choice. This time, nothing and no one in this world can tell him what to do.’
She’s right. The man has the world at his fingertips. Literally. Look at what he managed to do for me today.
Maybe I should trust him and just go with this?
‘Shave your legs, just in case.’ Megan snorts, lightening the mood again. ‘Now, what do you want to eat?’
***
An hour and a half later, when I’ve checked on Victoria and answered three million questions on FaceTime from Chloe, I knock the door of the penthouse suite, ignoring the smirking security guards positioned either side of it.
Pierce must be taking a rest, because I don’t recognise either of them.
Ryan opens the door wearing a pair of black jeans that hang from his hips like he’s a male model. The rolled-up sleeves of his shirt cling to his pronounced biceps in a way that makes me want to grab them, pin him to the nearest available surface and jump his bones.
Well, one bone.
Several times.
As if he can read my mind, a sassy smirk on his lips sends butterflies crusading through my stomach. And lower.
‘Come in. Welcome to my humble abode.’ He gesticulates around the spacious room and winks.
‘I think you meanmyhumble abode.’ I arch an eyebrow at him.
‘No. For eight grand a night, it’s definitely mine. For the time being at least.’ He winks again, and a ripple of guilt flashes through me at my anger-induced price increase.
I follow him through to the living area. The curtains aren’t drawn. Thousands of tiny lights twinkle in the distant horizon, glittering in the distance.
Ryan’s taken the liberty of ordering a bottle of the castle’s most expensive champagne and it’s sitting in a gleaming chrome bucket filled with ice.
‘Can I get you a drink? Seeing as we had to abandon the last one?’ Without waiting for my answer, he pours fizzing, bubbling liquid into two flutes before handing one to me.
Taking a sip from the glass, I stride towards the patio doors to look out, and to put some space between us. Every cell in my body silently screams and writhes in protest.
To distract myself, I babble, ‘How does it feel to be back after all this time?’
‘Honestly? I love it. For years, I wondered about this place. About you.’
He crosses the room to linger behind me. Resting his chin on my shoulder, he slips an arm round my waist, pulling my back against his chest. My pulse quickens as we gaze out at the horizon.
I turn to face him, drinking in his intoxicating scent. The delectable mouth that’s begging to be kissed. Those lust-filled chocolate eyes. His incredible bone structure. The man is a work of art. The boy I once knew is gone. The man before me is a fucking god.
Our eyes lock. Chemistry cracks the air between us, and his lips land on mine with the same maddening urgency as the night before. His tongue seeks mine and once again I’m incapable of rational thought. Every nerve ending pricks to attention, desperate for more. More of him. More of this feeling.
A knock from the door sends me leaping away from him like a naughty school girl. I suppose last time we were together, that’s pretty much what I was.
Megan herself strides in wheeling a trolley full of steaming goodies. An array of appetising scents permeate the air, but they’re still not nearly as mouth-watering as the man next to me.
‘Hope I’m not interrupting anything?’ Her smirk says otherwise.
‘You were supposed to finish hours ago.’ My eyes roll heavenwards.
‘Yes, but you two need discretion, so I thought I’d hang on a little longer to deliver this myself.’
Huh. More like she wanted to witness the action first-hand.
