“It’s fine,” smiled Lisa, “his charm hasn’t stopped quaking my knees yet. That man calms my nervous system like nothing else, Nina.”
“Was he like this years ago? It’s like seeing a book hero springing out of the pages, the way he’s so freaking attentive and adoring with you.”
“He was always intense, but now...”
“It’s worse?”
“Worse, orbetter.” Lisa leaned toward Nina’s chair so the men couldn’t hear as she said, “The way he is, I am origami for the number of times I want to fold for that man. Seriously, he looks at me with those smoky gray eyes, and I want to give in to everything he asks for.”
For days, they’d been almost joined at the hip, spending nearly every waking and sleeping moment together. And Lisa had been on cloud nine, despite the serious situation that had prompted Ryan to stick close to her. Even driving her to the local university yesterday, where she was working for the day.
He was just a beautiful man. Inside and out.
“He makes me happy, Nina.” She murmured. “I wish I’d run back to him years ago. I wish I hadn’t left him behind.”
Nina rubbed her knee. “You’re together now; that’s what counts. And you’ll both make up for lost time.”
Right then, the boys stepped out onto the decking. One was carrying a tray of mini sliders; the other, a jug of red liquid she assumed might be alcoholic punch.
The food smelled amazing, but Lisa was instantly on alert at the serious look on Ryan’s taut jawline as he came down in a crouch before her.
“I’ve gotta go deal with something, sweetheart,” he told her. “Stay here with Nina and Tomb, okay? I’ll come back for you soon.”
She nearly bit her tongue off to ask what it was, but these bikers had a code of silence surrounding certain things, and she could respect his boundaries.
So, she cupped the side of his stony face. “Okay. You’ll be safe, right?”
“Always.”
“Try not to bite anyone.” She attempted to lighten the mood.
“I only bite you.” He leaned in and lingered a kiss on her lips. “Back soon.”
“He’ll be okay, won’t he?” she asked Tomb when Ryan was through their back gate. He, too, had lost some of his earlier jovial mood, and he shared a knowing look with Nina.
“Yeah, stuff comes up, and we’ve gotta take off with little notice, but it’s nothing to worry about.”
Being told not to worry made Lisa worry even more, but she kept it all internalized. Whatever he was off doing, it couldn’t be as bad as she was imagining. Maybe it was a work problem at the bar, like she saw him handle it when they all grabbed drinks. She had no clue what was going on until she saw Ryan leap over the bar to stop a brawl between four guys. The way he managed it was thorough and capable. Sexy even. Lisa had been left breathless, glued to the sight of her boyfriend.
If she hadn’t witnessed it firsthand, she wouldn’t have believed he was a Doberman with a golden retriever’s temperament.
Yeah, she hoped he was only dealing with that kind of issue again.
It was odd how little she’d considered the stranger bothering her in recent days, given his silence since that single call. She tried to convince herself that he had left, lost interest, or discovered a new hobby.
But the thought of Ryan being in danger right now brought back all her fear and worry so intensely that she could hardly focus on Nina and Tomb trying to keep the chat light.
Be safe, she said in her mind.I didn’t just get you back to lose you now.
Her man was a beast, she thought. A sweet puppy with her, but a beast to everyone else. He’d take care of himself and return home to her any time now.
TWENTY-EIGHT
Splice
DAYS EARLIER
Scraping both hands through his hair, Splice inhaled hard enough to stretch the long-sleeved Henley shirt underneath the black t-shirt.
