Page 44 of Blue Moon

“I doubt Jorge will be running a marathon any time soon, but everything’s fine.” He nodded at Rocky. “Looks as if you made a new friend.”

“Someone took his voice. Can you believe that? The poor, poor puppy.”

Shani backed out of the room, squeezing past Ryder on the way. “So I just have to go do something at my desk. Rocky, come here.”

The moment the door closed behind her, Ryder tapped a panel on the wall, and the glass walls turned white. What the heck was this magic? I needed that wizardy glass everywhere.

“Moon.”

That was all he said, just one word, but he opened his arms and I walked into them. Ryder Metcalfe was a safe port in a storm, and I’d missed this so much during our time apart.

“I’m super sorry,” I mumbled against his chest.

“Sorry for what? I was the one driving.”

“Sorry that Jorge was there.”

“And how is that your fault?”

“Because half of America knows my name, and pictures of me make him money.”

“Shut up.”

“What? How dare?—”

I trailed off because the way he was looking at me… The intensity made my breath hitch. A hand slid over my back, and his fingers tangled in my hair, tugging gently, returning my gaze to his when I tried to look away.

“Never blame yourself for somebody else’s actions.”

His head dipped, and for a moment, I thought he was going to kiss me. I stiffened, not out of fear but out of anticipation. Okay, maybe a tiny bit of fear. But worry about the past soon morphed into disappointment when he didn’t move any farther. Why?

“What’s wrong?” I whispered.

“I promised I wouldn’t touch you, and I already fucked that up.”

“What if I touch you?”

His lips flickered into a smile. “That’s acceptable.”

Every emotion I felt, his presence amplified it tenfold. The urge to find out if his lips were as soft as they looked was so freaking strong that I stood on tiptoe and brushed my own over them. Then he was kissing me properly, one arm wrapped around me as heat fizzed through my veins. His tongue teased the seam of my lips, and they parted of their own accord, inviting him in. I wanted this. I wanted him. But then I closed my eyes, lost to the moment, which was a mistake because the next thing I saw was Julius, the monster of my nightmares, dilated pupils glittering in the glow from the lamp on the nightstand. The nausea threatened to overwhelm me, and I pulled away, breathing hard.

“Shit, moon. I’m sorry.”

“Give me a second.”

Ryder tried to step back, but I gripped his T-shirt with both hands, holding him close. Julius would not win. Not this time. He’d toyed with me for years, and it wasn’t only the way he’d forced himself on me that night, it was the clauses he slipped into my contracts to keep me bound to him. The clauses Mom said I had to accept because Julius was an industry titan and I needed him to build my career.

Get out of my head, you self-important psycho.

I gulped in a breath, then another, and forced myself to focus on Ryder. He wasn’t Julius. He would never act that way.

“Kiss me again.”

“That’s not a good?—”

“Never blame yourself for somebody else’s actions. Your words, not mine. Now kiss me again, baby.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck because I’d seen that in the movies, and somehow, I ended up backed against the wall. He gripped my ass and hoisted me up so I could reach his lips better, and this time, the heat wasn’t a fizz, it was a full-on inferno.

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