Page 58 of Rescuing Ryder

“Then the kiss?” she whispered.

“I missed you. I saw you in the hallways with the teens or in the groups with the veterans. When I saw you running and glancing behind you, I thought you were running from something and were in danger. When you collided with me, I wanted to protect you. I felt something shift inside me…” his voice drifted off.

Claire turned to find him struggling with his emotions.

“I’m sorry, Ryder. I’ve confused you,” Claire cupped his cheek. “I let my own feelings get in the way. I’ll call Chase and Kassie tomorrow,” she confessed to him, disappointed.

Ryder’s face twisted as he shook his head. “Don’t you see, Claire Bear? I felt something. For the first time in a long time, I feltyou. Once I tasted you, I tried to shove you back into the box and stay numb. I can’t,” His forehead met hers.

Claire’s breath caught at his admission. “I want you to feel. You deserve this, Ryder.”

“No. I don’t. I can’t stop thinking about you, Claire Bear. The night of the barbeque, I saw your face when Doc told you.”

“I acted the way I did because it surprised me you didn’t feel comfortable enough to speak with me about it,” Claire admitted.

“I requested to switch. It about killed me. I wanted you to understand, so I came to your house ready to tell you everything. You asked me to leave.As I left, something didn’t feel right. I called Whiskey and returned. When I heard you yell at Kilner and saw you hit him in the head with the paperweight, as you stood there bleeding …I wanted to tear him apart with my bare hands. Once the smoke and feathers cleared, all I saw was you.”

A tear ran down her cheek. “Ryder,” she whispered.

“I don’t want to talk. Let me feel you, Claire.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

He pulled her closer and crushed his mouth to hers.

“Ryder, I don’t want you confused while you’re still in recovery. How can you be sure you feel this way and it’s not transference?”

“As a head shrink, you’re incredibly slow on the uptake. Do you feel me beneath you? And you still have doubts?”

She giggled as he gently pushed her off him, stood, scooped her up and headed toward her bedroom.

Standing beside the bed, he let her legs slide to the floor. “Are you wearing those thigh-high silk stockings with the pink embroidered bra and panty set?” He kissed around her injured eye and down her neck, leaving a searing trail where his lips caressed her skin.

“No. Is that why you volunteered to wash my delicates? You’re a closet stalker,” she accused as she pulled off his T-shirt.

“Remember when you used yourself as a smore? I searched for your first-aid kit and you decorated your bathroom with all my teenage wet dreams.”

“You’re way past your teenage years. Yet, you seemed to have given it some thought.” She unbuttoned his jeans when his hand closed around her wrist.

“In this office, I’m in charge, Doc,” he murmured.

“It’s my house and my bedroom,” she argued.

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t remind me. It’ll make my dick shrink if I think about having sex in this hot pink mess.”

She started to punch his shoulder when he caught her hand and brought it along his neck. “How about the blue number with the rhinestones?”

“Nope. How do you know about the blue one? It wasn’t in my laundry.”

“I might’ve searched for your pajamas and opened the wrong drawer.” He picked her up and placed her on the edge of the bed. “What about the sheer white one with the lacy edge?” His hands started with the tiny buttons on her top. “Geez, how many buttons does this thing have? Did you buy it at Cock Tease R Us?”

She laughed as she brushed his hands away and hastily undid them. His eyes gleamed as he parted the top, as if he were unwrapping his favorite present.

“Oh, it’s the green one with the pretty cutouts,” he sighed. Ryder kissed her hard as his hands traced along the edge of the design. “Lay back and let me see the panties.”

“But I want to see you,” Claire pouted. Her hand shot out and grabbed his, preventing him from removing her slacks as she stayed upright. His eyebrow arched at her challenge.

Straightening, he unbuttoned his jeans and dropped them and his underwear to the floor.

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