Page 49 of Blue Moon

He kissed her softly, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, which did nothing to deflate his dick and everything to make him fall harder.

“I took off my make-up, and I don’t look so pretty without it.”

“Bullshit.”

“There’s nothing about us together on the internet,” Luna said, and Ryder didn’t question the subject change. She might have spent her life chasing likes, but she found it hard to accept a genuine compliment.

“You did a great job of distracting everyone. You and Jorge.”

“I meant when we were kissing in that room at your office. There’s not even one picture.”

“None of my colleagues are gonna dish dirt on the internet.”

“They’ll sell the story instead?”

“No, moon. They’ll keep their mouths shut.”

“Really? Huh.”

“Your colleagues leak stories?”

“All the time. Some of them keep their mouths shut, and I think my dancers at the Palace wouldn’t sell a story unless they got offered too much money to turn down, but the musicians, the crew, the stylists? Totally.”

Until now, she’d had nobody loyal. Even her own family would sell her out, and that fucking sucked.

“Blackwood folks will gossip in the office, but it won’t go farther than those walls. Full disclosure, there’s a pool running on us in Richmond.”

“A pool?”

“On how long it would take us to hook up. Guess somebody won a few bucks today.”

“Sometimes I love the people you work with, and sometimes I hate them.”

Ryder chuckled. “They’re good people. And I told a tiny lie about your job tonight—you need to sit there, look pretty, and answer questions for your DMV knowledge test. I picked up a box of practice cards.”

“I’ve never taken a test before. Is it hard?”

“Nah, moon. Multiple choice.”

“At least there’s no hurry. It’s not as if I have a car.”

Ryder stacked a bag of fresh pasta, a jar of tomato sauce, and a package of roasted vegetables on the counter.

“Your car is in the parking lot at Blackwood.”

Luna’s shriek rivalled Marcel’s. “You got it back?”

“Piece of cake.”

“I love you.” She threw her arms around him, oblivious to the fact that Ryder’s heart had sputtered and stopped. “Did you get Parmesan?”

I love you. She was probably being flippant, the way she said she loved curly fries and chocolate chip cookies. Or maybe, like with so many aspects of her life, she just didn’t understand the rules. Didn’t realise that declarations of love were meant to come after things got serious. Were they serious already? Ryder wasn’t interested in any woman but her, and she sure as hell wasn’t looking at other men.

He bent to kiss her forehead. “I love you too, moon.”

Now she met his gaze, her sapphire eyes locked on his green ones.

“Nobody’s ever said that to me before,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

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