Page 48 of The Scars of Us

“Why did you tell him?”

That had surprised even me—I hadn’t told anyone anything involving Kaleb except Kamden and Nori.

“When he saved me, I felt like I at least owed him some of the truth for my actions. And, even after what he said to me, I trusted him. Like you said, actions speak louder than words.”

“Yeah, he seems like a great guy that just has some issues. If anyone should be able to understand that, it should be you.”

I snorted. “Yeah, I’m sure his issues are nowhere even close to being as fucked up as mine.”

“You never know, Ky. Maybe you should ask him about them.”

“I don’t like being asked about mine. He’ll tell me when he’s ready.”

“Just like you will?” she countered.

Will I?“I don’t know if I’ll ever tell him—I don’t want him to look at me differently.”

“If he cares about you, he won’t. Then, you’ll know whether he’s worth it or not.”

“I’m not ready for that yet.” I blew out a deep breath. “I don’t think either one of us are. We just agreed to start dating. Baby steps, Nori, baby steps.”

“You’ve made a lot of progress. I’m really proud of you, Ky. Seriously.”

I smiled from her words. “Thank you. It’s hard, but I’m trying. Oh, I almost forgot! Monday is our appointment at the hospital.”

“I know. I thought that’s why you were acting all crazy yesterday.”

“Oh. No, I totally forgot. Kamden just reminded me.” My smile began to fade as I thought about the appointment, my chest tightening in anxiety. I rubbed my hand over it, trying to ease some of the tenseness.

“I’m planning to come over to your apartment that morning and we can all ride together.”

We talked a little more about Monday before we hung up. Heading to the bathroom, I searched for some aspirin since my cheek and head were still pulsing with pain.

I didn’t realize how exhausted I was until I lay back down on my bed. Sleep found me within seconds.

I was extremely wound up at class on Sunday because of my impending visit to the hospital the next day. I was so not prepared to be in the same building as Kaleb. It also didn’t help that I was unsure of how to act around Ryker in front of the other students and instructors. It was probably against policy or something for him to be with me, so I didn’t want to get him into any trouble.

Ryker approached me as I was hitting my bag. “Everything okay?” he asked as he eyed me warily.How could he always tell when something was bothering me?

“Yeah, just a little stressed.”A lot stressed, actually.

“Anything I can help with?”

“No—I’ll be okay. Hitting the bag helps.” I forced a smile.

Those warm eyes told me he knew better, but he didn’t question me further. “Just don’t overdo it, Warrior,” he said as his lips curved up slightly.

After class ended, I waited for Ryker to close up before we left together. He walked me to my car, then crushed his lips against mine, stealing my breath as he passionately kissed me.Holy crap.

Pulling back slightly, we both gasped for air.

“I’ve been wanting to do that all night, that and so much more,” he said, holding my face in his hands.

Our mouths reconnected in a frenzy as Ryker’s hands roamed over my body. He hooked my legs around him, pushing me against the car as his erection pressed into my core. I might have moaned, I wasn’t really sure since I couldn’t process anything but the feel of Ryker all over me.

“Come home with me,” he murmured against my lips.

Oh, how I wanted to—so badly. It probably wasn’t the best idea given what I had to do tomorrow, but then again, it might be good for me to lose myself in Ryker before I had to deal with Kaleb.

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