Page 34 of Ryker

“As your Butterfly, my only purpose is to…” My words trail off because my headache’s making a righteous comeback. Clutching the side of my head, I groan and close my eyes.

“Fuck.”

Before I know it, Mr. Hudson has scooped me up and is carrying me back to my suite. He no sooner lays me on the bed than pulls out his cell and makes a call. “D, I need you in here now.”

“I’m fine.” Honestly, he’s overreacting.

“You’re not fine. You can barely open your eyes.”

A gentle knock interrupts what I want to say, and Ryker leaves me so he can open the door. I hear low whispers and the fresh scent of coffee wafts through the air and into my nose. My mouth waters for it.

“Here.” Ryker sits on the side of the bed and hands me a mug.

Steam trails into my nose, making me perk up a little more when I take it from him. “Caffeine addiction is a bitch.” I can drink my weight in coffee on a bad day. I can drink a river of it on a normal one.

“Take these,” he says, handing me two little pills. “It’s over-the-counter shit.”

“Thank you.” I pop them in my mouth and chase them down with another sip of this amazing coffee.

“Don’t you burn your mouth doing that?”

“Sometimes. But it tastes too good for me to care about the pain.” I take another small sip. “What’s in this, heavy cream and cinnamon?”

“Fuck if I know. Dmitri makes it.”

“Had I known the club had an expert barista on staff, I’d have joined last year instead of waiting so long.” Man, this is good stuff. My stomach growls and Mr. Hudson hands me a pastry. It’s only after I take it from him that I notice my hands are trembling.

“When was the last time you ate, Tara?”

The way he says my name makes me melt. I like it. “I guess yesterday morning.”

“You guess?”

“Mmm.” I chomp down on the pastry Dmitri brought too and take another sip of my coffee. “I don’t keep track.”

There’s that look again. Mr. Hudson keeps dropping his mask, which makes me want to see what it would take to tear it off for good.

“If you get me my suitcase, I can get dressed and be ready for lunch in twenty minutes.” My head’s still not okay enough for me to use the blow dryer on my hair, but I can braid it if he wants me to. “We can go out somewhere.”

“No.”

My heart drops, along with my stomach. “Why?”

He reaches up and I think he’s about to touch my face, but stops himself. “I…” His hand falls again. “I’ll be back later.”

With that, he gets up and leaves me again.

Chapter 13

Ryker

What the hell am I doing?

I couldn’t get out of her suite fast enough, but now that I’m in the hallway, I can’t seem to drag my sorry ass away from the door. Bracing against the wall, I take a deep breath.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

My heart’s pounding a mile a minute. My dick’s a steel rod in my pants. Squeezing my eyes shut, I lock down on my emotions and shove them right back where they belong—in the black hole where my heart once was.

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