Page 100 of Seduction in Spades

“Wait. Why didn’t they take me with them?”

He covers his heart with his hand and pretends to be offended. “Am I not better company than grumpy Baxter? He can’t boil water without setting off the smoke detectors.”

Ryder puts his hands on my shoulders and gently pushes me into the chair.

“Is he okay? Is he hurt?”

“Trey? No. He’s not, but you know that already. He’s Hercules with King Kong’s personality. Two or three pieces?” He serves me two pieces of toast and hovers a third in the air.

I hold out my hand, stopping him from distracting me with food. “You’re avoiding my question, which means—”

“No.” Ryder drops the food and quickly yanks my chair closer to him. He lifts my chin and stares intently into my eyes. “Am I trying to distract you? Yes. Do I believe Nolan is hurt? No. True story. Nora has a deadline to meet and the Wi-Fi here is spotty. I came up here to save you from the misery of having to spend more than forty-eight hours with your brother. And to lure you into my web with my cooking. Besides the fact that I’m better looking than Nolan, I can cook, I’m funnier, and I know way more erogenous zones than him. Just throwing that last part out there.”

He tosses me another wink, then scoots my chair back and points at my plate.

“Eat.”

“You are a good distraction. But if I find out you’re lying about Nolan being hurt...”

“Oh. Angry women turn me on.” He takes a bite of his breakfast and waves me on. “Continue with the threat.”

“I’ll give you this.” I take a bite of my meal and moan. “You’re a better distraction than my brother.”

“I’ll take the compliment and the moans. Keep themcoming.”

I can’t help the laugh that bubbles in my chest. The rest of the day continues much the same. As soon as he sees the worry etched on my face, Ryder distracts me with sexual innuendos. He doesn’t ever cross the line. He wouldn’t do that to Nolan. Flirting is second nature to him.

When the sun has set, and darkness looms outside, worry sets in again. I turn to Ryder, stretched out on the couch as he channel surfs. “We should start heading back. It’s a long drive.”

“Not a chance, sweetheart. You’re sleeping with me tonight.” He pats the spot on the couch next to him. “Come cuddle, Aves.”

“I have to work in the morning.”

With a heavy sigh, Ryder swings his legs to the floor and sits up. “You’ll need to call out tomorrow. Can you ask to work from home? We can head down the mountain and find a better connection, or you can use my hotspot. And by hot spot, I mean—”

“Have you heard from him yet?” I can only take so much of his teasing. He hasn’t mentioned anything about Nolan all day, and I haven’t bugged him since this morning. “Avoiding talking about the situation is only making my imagination go wild. I’m thinking the worst. So if you really want me to calm down, tell me the fucking truth. What’s going on with Nolan? Is he okay?”

Ryder stands and moves over to me, taking my shoulders in his hands. “He’s checked in, yes. He hasn’t given us any details, which was part of his plan from the beginning. He wants to keep us in the dark.”

“Why?”

“The less we know, the better.”

Tears pool in my eyes. That means whatever he’s doing, he’s not going through the authorities. He’s doing this alone. “If he gets... hurt, who will...”

Ryder dries my tears with his thumbs. “He texted me an hour ago.”

“He did?” I snap my head up. “What did he say? Show me!” My heart thumps in my chest.

“He didn’t say anything. Just a thumbs up.” Ryder shows me his phone.

I scroll through their text messages, not even trying to hide the fact that I’m snooping on their private conversations.

Ryder:Enjoying your weekend?

SEALY:Good to get away

Ryder:Don’t have too much sex.

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