Page 34 of Locked Down

"Anything else?"the barista asked.

"Yes, a black coffee,"Ryker directed from behind her.

She turned to glare at himbuthe whipped out his credit card and paid before she could argue. She didn't want him to pay. She didn't want anything from him. Not anymore. Never again. She gave him a harsh smile and then moved to the other end of the counter to wait for her tea.

Eighteen more days, but who was counting? She heaved a long sigh. By rights, she should be looking into the family business, already preparing for this giant leap in her life.

But she was terrified. Her father had run an agricultural supply store before giving it up to live on the commune and start the solar farm. She had no idea what shape it would all be in. He had hated running the store, so she couldn't imagine he'd been any good at running the solar farm.

Either way, it didn't matter.She had some savings and she could live on the commune, if needed, until she could get the place up and running again properly. Not that she had any experience at that kind of thing, but she'd read a ton of books about the subject in the past few months, and she finally felt like she had a good knowledge baseor at least she hada place to start.And she excelled at research. That was key.

The barista called her name, and she grabbed her tea. She headed for the elevator, then hit the button to call it.Score!She caught an empty one right away. As the doors began to close, Ryker slid inside. She stared at him."What are you doing here? I thought you had your coffee and left."

"Had to make a phone call,"he said as he leaned against the rear wall of the elevator.

Ofcoursehe did.Sheclampedherjaws together. His scent filled the air around her.Lemon with somekind ofmint added.Her lady parts tingled. She tried not to breathe deeply. It just wasn't fair.

"You seem better today."

"What?"She frowned at him.

"You seem better. More relaxed."He studied her with barely banked heat in his gazeandher nipples hardened.

"Right. Sure."

She turned back to the front of the elevator and watched the numbers crawl by. Why couldn't this old thing move faster? Why was it that the one time she wanted it tobe filledwith strangers, she was alone withRyker.The universe was not playing fair.

The elevator stopped on their floor. Before the doors opened, Ryker leaned over her shoulder and saidin a quiet voice,"For what it's worth, I enjoyed yesterday very much."Then the elevator doors openedandhe strolled out without a backward glance.

Vic was left standing there with her mouth open. Fucking unbelievable. What was it with this man leaving her behind?

"Vic?"Peter asked as hecame over tothe elevator."Are you getting off?"He looked at her quizzically.

"Um, yeah,"she mumbled.

"Are you okay?"Peter asked. He was staring at her."Your cheeks are flushed. Are you feeling ill?"

"Er, yeah. I mean…no."She shook her head."I'mfine,"she said again, then hustled to her desk.

She dropped her purse in her bottom drawer and sat down. What the hell did he mean, heenjoyed it. He couldn't get out of her place fast enough.No way. Asshole.Did he think he couldjustscrew my brains out and leaveandthat was okay?

She gulped her tea and burned her mouth."Shit,"she mumbled.

She closed her eyes and took a few deep, steadying breaths. She was being infantile.Hewas right. Yesterdayhadbeenfun.Amazing, in fact. And she would jump at the chance for a repeat performance. But it had just been sex.No big deal.That's what any of her friends would say if she told them about it.

The thing was, to heritwas a big deal. She'd had a few lovers, but she wasn't one for casual sex.Neverhad been.Not that there was anythingwrong with it, but it just wasn't for her.

But how would Ryker know that? Why would he think she was different from most women her age?Hewouldn't. He didn't know her. To him, the intimacy they'd shared was casual.

Only, to her, the thought of sleeping with Ryker again was so appealing yet so humiliating. She needed more than just sex, and Ryker was not the kind of guy who was looking for anything long-term. She was better off forgetting the whole encounter.

She squared her shoulders and turned on her laptop. As she reached for her tea, she resolved she could do this. She could be as cold and detached about sex as Ryker was. If the opportunity ever presented itself again.

A loud explosion of voices made her jerk her handandshe spilled her tea."Shit,"she muttered again as she set down her tea and looked toward the source of the commotion.

Congressman Philip Harris from Pennsylvania was at Joyce's desk yelling."I want to see him now!"The normally well-coifed congressman was in serious disarray. His light brown hairwas standingup like he'd run his hands through it multiple times. His blazer was caught on his belt in the back and his face was an interesting shade of puce.

Vic's heart thundered in her chest.She'dnever been very goodat dealing with yelling.She bit her lip. Her uncle was going to have a cow about this. He hated scenes.

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