Page 7 of Ryder

Her long, thick, brown braid is hanging over one shoulder, and I have the urge to pull the band off the end and run my fingers through it to see how it looks down. She’s wearing little or no makeup. She doesn’t need any.

I’ve been trying to keep my gaze above her shoulders, but I lose the battle as she hesitates, her gaze still on the pastries. I glance down at her pert tits. She’s wearing a black tank top, skinny jeans, and flip-flops.

Claire certainly didn’t get dressed up to pay me a visit. I suspect she came straight from the bakery, which is undoubtedly open at this hour and managing without her.

“Seriously?” she asks me, glancing in my direction. She lowers her hand and starts to scoot her chair back. “I’ll go find a serving utensil.”

I grab her wrist. What’s wrong with me? “I dare you.”

Her breath hitches. “You dare me to touch your Danish?”

I don’t release her wrist as I bring her hand closer to the open box. “Yep. It’s fun watching you squirm.”

“Ryder…” Her voice is breathy. She’s staring at where I’m holding her arm.

“Double-dare you,” I tease. “Live on the edge. Touch my pastry.”

She rolls her eyes, shakes free of my hand, and reaches into the box to pick up what looks like a cherry Danish. One of her fingers slips into the red swirl of jelly as she sets it on my plate.

Now she has a new problem, and watching her fidget over the fact that Gretchen didn’t leave us any napkins is even more fun than watching her try to decide to touch the pastry in the first place.

Claire is holding her hand up. Her thumb and pointer have red jelly on them.

I can’t resist continuing to taunt her. I wrap my fingers around her wrist again and lean in closer. “Areyourich?”

She frowns at me. “Of course not. The bakery is in the red. Same as every other business in this town. Why would you ask that?”

“If I weren’t here, would you lick your fingers?”

She swallows, staring at me.

“Wouldyou?” I push.

When her tongue slips out to lick her lips, I nearly groan. We may have a strange verbal-sparring thing happening between us, but at the same time, the sexual chemistry is sizzling. It’s undeniable, and she knows it as well as I do.

I lean even closer. My face is inches from hers. I’m still holding her sticky fingers between us. “Your heart is racing,” I murmur.

“You’re intense,” she whispers.

I smile. “I want to watch you lick your fingers, Claire.” I shouldn’t be sitting so close to her. I shouldn’t be touching her, breathing her air, or talking to her like I’m two seconds from dragging her to my bedroom. I know my tone is filled with desire.

When she licks her plump lips again, I do groan this time. “If you want my fingers licked so badly, you do it,” she says.

Oh, baby… I hold her gaze, not even blinking as I bring her pointer to my mouth and draw it in, sucking and swirling my tongue around the digit before releasing it with a pop and doing the same with her thumb.

She’s panting, eyes wide with shock.

My adrenaline is pumping, and I act instinctually when I release her hand and hold the flap of the box open again. “I’ll pick one for you. Do you have a preference?”

She slowly shakes her head.

I lift out a bear claw and set it on her plate before lifting my sticky fingers to her lips and teasing the bottom one back and forth until she opens for me and leans forward an inch to suck my pointer into her mouth.

It’s the most erotic thing I’ve ever experienced. My cock is harder than it’s ever been from watching Claire suck my fingers clean, eyes wide, tongue driving me mad.

Chapter4

Claire

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