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She tilts her head at me. “Well, yeah…”
“And your phone?”
“Yes.”
I bolt to my feet and move over to the bag, my heartbeat thudding through my body hard.
I should’ve thought of this sooner.
But Princess Ruby has got my head all kinds of fucked up.
“What is it?” she asks.
“There could be a tracking device on your laptop. Put your phone on the table too. I’ll need to check them both.”
She lets out a ragged breath through clenched teeth. “Oh, fuck, fuckiddy fuck. You’re right.”
I smirk over at her. “Fuckiddy fuck? I thought princesses were supposed to be civilized.”
She smiles at me, broadly, as though forgetting the heartache of the last few moments. “Not this one, apparently.”
Despite everything, we both laugh, intoxicated with each other.
I’m not sure how long I can fight this feeling.
Chapter Five
Ruby
I stand behind Rider as he takes my laptop from the bag. My phone is already on the table next to his computer, ready for him to plug it in and run his software on. His office is spacious and sparsely furnished, just like the rest of his modern sleek apartment. It’s a stark contrast to the way Uncle Aaron overstuffed our house after Dad died… after he killed him.
My body is burning after our sit-down on the balcony when he stared at me like he was going to leap across the table and freaking consume me.
When he had his hand on my shoulder, I had to stop myself from reaching up and grabbing hold of him, squeezing tightly and moaning yes, yes, yes for him to move his hand over to my breasts, to squeeze and palm and tease them.
It was completely inappropriate timing, considering I had tears in my eyes about Dad’s death.
But that’s the thing with Rider Rawson.
He pushes all my buttons and he doesn’t give a damn about timing.
Even now, when everything in me should be focused on the possibility of my uncle being able to track me down, I can’t help but study the way his back muscles ripple through the fabric of his shirt.
His arms are huge and throbbing, drawing my eye to them over and over, making my whole body tingle when I think about what it would be like to squeeze down on them and feel how rock solid they are.
Or, better yet, I could sink into his muscled chest and lay my cheek against his pectoral, listening to his heartbeat thundering through as those solid arms wrapped protectively around me.
Something buried deep in my belly sings out for the embrace, as I watch him handle my laptop like it’s a toy. He flips it open and nods to me to type in my password.
“It’s Annabelle five-five-one,” I murmur, “with a capital A.”
His eyes meet mine for a moment, as though silently asking me why I feel comfortable enough to give him my password.
I shrug, blushing under the weight of his gaze, the way it burns into me, seems to own me.
“I trust you.”
I want to snatch the words back the moment I utter them. His smirk drops and he narrows his intense eyes, staring hard at me, as though he’s trying to make me burst into flames with his gaze alone.
“You shouldn’t trust anybody you just met, princess,” he growls. “For your own safety.”
“My dad said you were a good man. That’s enough for me.”
Rider nods shortly. “Johnny was a good man too, despite his profession. He worked behind the scenes to make this city a better place. He started charities that helped underfunded communities. He kept the damn Cartel from infiltrating the city. What your uncle…”
My heart expands as his words crash into me.
I’ve always known Dad was a good man, but knowing it and hearing it are two different things.
“Thank you for saying that,” I murmur. “And don’t worry. I know Uncle Aaron is an evil son of a bitch.”
Rider nods. “Alright, let’s check this.”
“How does it work?” I move closer to him, feeling once again the heat of his predator’s body, as though he’s sending me hot signals to sink into his embrace.
But if I threw myself at him right now, if I told him all the crazy thoughts that are rushing through my head, I doubt he’d grab me and kiss me and claim me like I want him to.
He’d probably push me away, shaking his head fiercely.
“I was just being nice,” he’d growl. “Do you really think I’d want you?”
I push the mind-made Rider away and focus on the man in front of me, on his iron hair and his glinting eyes. “One of my tech buddies hooked up some software so I can automatically scan anything for traces of tracking devices.”
“Isn’t that what anti-virus software is for?”
“It’s supposed to be. But it doesn’t always work.”
I nod, watching as he types a few keys and then hits enter. On the main computer monitor, a progress bar appears, ticking by slowly.
