Page 11 of Ryder

Suddenly, I realize I want to be on her parents’ good side. “Tell them the pastries were delicious.”

She lifts her head, eyes wide, and stares at me like I’ve grown a second head.

I point toward her phone. “And tell them I’d like them to come for dinner in a few days so they can express some of the citizens’ concerns. I’ll talk to Gretchen about what nights are good options.”

She blinks. “You’re serious.”

“Of course.”

“You want my parents to come for dinner…”

“Well, you would ideally be with them, but yes.”

“Why?”

“I just told you that?—”

She shakes her head. “No. That’s a bullshit reason you made up on the spot. Why on Earth do you want to meet my parents?”

I quirk the corner of my mouth up. “Because I intend to win over the heart of their daughter. It seems fitting I meet them.”

I’m rather stunned by both my thoughts and the fact I’m expressing them out loud. I’m not sorry, though. Is it possible to fall hard for a woman after spending less than an hour with her? If anyone would have suggested such a thing to me before I arrived in town, I would have laughed at them. But that was before I met Claire.

Claire is more stunned than me. After staring me down with a serious expression for several long seconds, she rolls her eyes and chuckles before lowering her head to her phone and typing out not nearly enough words.

I don’t know what she texted, but it couldn’t have been everything I instructed her to say. When she’s done, I hold out my hand, palm up.

She narrows her gaze. “What?”

“Let me see what you said.”

“Not a chance, old man.” She reaches back to put the phone in her pocket.

I lunge for her hand and grab the phone.

“Hey,” she shouts, trying to get it out of my grasp. “What the hell? Give that back.”

I hold it behind me out of her reach. “Such a potty mouth on such a pretty girl.”

“Fuck you. Give me my phone.”

I laugh and twist farther to keep her from grasping it. She’s nearly half my size and nowhere near as agile. “Am I going to need a swear jar for you, Clarie?”

She shoots me another pointed glare. “Fuck no. Give me my phone.” She lurches around to my side, but I’m faster. I twist with her, keeping her cell out of reach.

“Yep. I’m definitely going to need a swear jar,” I taunt.

“Ha. Even if you make it ten cents a time, I wouldn’t have the money to contribute.”

“Oh, baby, money is not what you’ll be using to pay for your transgressions.”

She gasps as she dodges back and forth, trying to get behind me. “Excuse me?”

“I think a firm swat on your ass for every naughty word would be a good deterrent.”

Claire’s breath hitches delightfully at my words, and I’m pretty sure her nipples pucker harder. They’re poking through both her lace bra and her tight black tank.

“You like the idea of me spanking you,” I say to provoke her further.

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