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“This reminds me of being a kid.” His tone was happy and a bit wistful.
She looked at him, his perfect profile, strong jaw, and corded neck. How was it possible this man loved her? She had no idea. “How so?”
“In my town, during the summer, every Friday night there would be a concert in the park. My mom would pack a picnic and we’d go up there and listen to music and eat cold fried chicken. It’s one of my favorite memories. Once a summer we all get together and go for old times’ sake.”
She rolled on her side and propped her head on her open palm. “I can’t imagine what it would be like to grow up like that.”
He looked at her. “I’m lucky. I know that.”
“Why’d you leave your hometown and come here when you’re so close to your family?”
He put his hand under his head. “I love my hometown, but I started to feel like everyone saw me one way and I wanted something different. My grade school teachers always wanted to get out of speeding with a warning. And when I went out with a woman, she’d already heard everything there was to know about me an hour after I asked her out. I guess I got to the point where I wanted to build a future based on who I wanted to be versus who I was growing up.”
One of the things she and Ryder shared was wild beginnings, and she knew all about his past exploits. She teased. “You know, no matter how respectable you are, you’re always going to bring out a woman’s wild side.”
He pushed a lock of hair from her cheek. “I don’t care about other women, all I care about is you.”
She bit her bottom lip. “I’m not sure what I did to deserve you.”
“I could say the same.”
She shook her head. “I feel like I’m ruining your life.”
He met her gaze. “Sophie, no matter what happens, you are one thing I’ll never regret.”
“Why’s that?” She wanted to know, wanted to feel it down in her bones that he felt the same way about her that she did about him.
He pushed her back so she lay flat on the ground before putting his hand on her stomach. “Because with you, I don’t have to hold anything back. Most people, even if they fall in love, don’t get that. I don’t take the privilege for granted.”
Yes, that was exactly how she felt. Even in this mess they’d created, he understood her. And she understood him.
She draped an arm over his neck. “I want to say, to promise we’re going to work this all out.”
“I know, so do I.”
“I keep thinking if I could just go back and stay away from you, we’d be saved.” She kissed the line of his jaw. “But I understand now that was never going to happen. The pull is too strong. I was gone the second I laid eyes on you.”
He squeezed her tight. “Is that why you were so sassy?”
She smiled. “I didn’t understand I’d just met my match. All I understood was when I looked at you I needed to be careful.”
“Are you sorry?”
She shook her head. “It’s selfish, but I can’t be.”
“Me either.” Then he kissed her under the stars while the band played on.
* * *
The rest of the weekend past in a blur of activity and increasingly depraved sex, each time becoming more desperate as the hour for her to leave drew near.
And now there they were, in what felt like a blink of an eye. Sophie stood in front of him, bag at her feet, ready to leave. Ryder had just dragged her up from the floor where he’d stripped her naked and impaled her. Claiming her in the most visceral way possible. Communicating all that he wanted from her in the only way he knew how.
He encircled her waist. “Call me when you get there?”
“Of course.”
He bent and kissed her lips. “I’m assuming eleven o’clock orgasms are on the table.”
