Page 21 of Second Chances

“No, he was an only child. His parents died shortly after I was born. I’ve distant cousins somewhere, but I’ve never met them. It’s just my mum and I.”

“Where does your mum live?”

“Kensington. Not far from James and Amy actually.”

“You’ll have to introduce me to her one day.”

I don’t reply. Simply go quiet and turn my attention back to the show as the performers finish for the night. When all the plates are cleared, the lights are turned up, and Ryan leads me back out to where Matthew is waiting for us with the car.

“You have a good time?” my best-friend’s bodyguard asks.

“It was brilliant. Thank you for driving us.”

“Not a problem.” Matthew gives a mock tip of his fake hat. “Where to next?”

The wine and food have left me tired. I yawn, and Ryan must pick up on my exhaustion. “Can we take Elena home, please?”

“Of course,” Matthew replies.

We all climb into the car, and I settle against Ryan’s chest as he holds me closely.

“Thank you for the best evening ever.” Closing my eyes, I speak into his chest.

He lifts my head and brings my eyes up to meet his.

“Whatever despondency you get from talking about your mother, we’ll discuss another time, but for now, there’s something I want to give you if you’ll let me?”

“What?”

Ryan leans forward and taps Matthew on the shoulder.

“Can you find somewhere safe to stop and give us a moment, please.”

Matthew looks up into the mirror at me and then clicks the indicator to pull onto the side of the road. He turns the engine off and gets out of the car.

“Take all the time you need. You won’t be disturbed here. Call me when you want me back. There’s a café around the corner—I’ll grab a coffee.”

“Thank you,” Ryan acknowledges, and Matthew shuts the door and disappears.

“What’s happening?” I try to peer out of the window to see where we are, but it’s pitch black outside.

“I said something earlier to make you sad, and I don’t like that. It’s not the way I want your evening to end, so I’m going to have to do something about it.”

The car fills with sexual tension. The smoldering look on Ryan’s face tells me his plans include getting into my underwear. Fuck! I should be scared being in the middle of nowhere with a man I don’t fully know yet and with a dubious past I’m not entirely sure about either.

“I won’t sleep with you yet. I’m not that sort of girl. We’ve only had our first date.”

“Second,” he retorts quickly, shifting over in the seat toward me.

“The cage fight doesn’t count.”

“I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t want to, Elena.” Ryan strokes my hair. “This isn’t about having sex with you. It’s about making you smile again, and I know just the way to do it.”

“How?”

“With my tongue.”

Chapter Ten

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