Page 45 of Wicked

“Does that mean I go where he goes?”

“Nah,” Collin says with this gleam in his eyes, like he found the answers to the burning questions of the universe. “He’ll go whereyougo. You have him, hook, line, and sinker.”

“I’m right here, you little shit.”

Collin smirks. “Real men mind their mouths when around the ladies.”

“You little snot.” Ryker reaches for him. Collin sidesteps his big paws, laughing. Ryker’s laughing too. “Can I be on your team, Harper? I want to hand this smart-aleck his ass.”

“Sorry, boys, but I plan on kicking butt and having the big guy on campus pay for our tickets tohisgame.”

“Hook, line, and sinker, right, Harper?” Ryker asks with a ruthless gleam in his eyes.

“Or we’re solid. Nothing, not even the NFL Draft, can strip, erase, or cross the solid line of what we have.”

Oblivious to the kids watching us with cheesy smiles on their faces, Ryker pulls me flushed against his body and whispers in my ear, “You better mean that, Harper.”

“I do.” Oh, God, I do.

“Good. You’re mine, and nothing will take you away from me.”

Including Shephard.

The unspoken words hang between us. But it won’t be Shephard who takes me from him. It’s something far worse.

16

Harper

“Wait, this is your place? I thought you lived in the party house?”

“Not anymore. This is the reason I skipped out on you guys last week.”

Ryker pushes the key into the lock. The boys crowd around him on the porch. The girls and I are lined up on the steps.

“Sorry I missed out, but I hope you like the place. We can hang here on Fridays if you guys are up for it.” He pushes open the door.

“Yeah.”

“Cool.”

“We love it!”

The kids barge past. Ryker spins in circles, his tree trunks for arms stretching high above his head. I hold back my laughter. He looks adorable.

“Is everyone okay with pizza, or do you kids want something fancier?”

“Pizza!”

I cover my ears. Ryker pulls my hands away and drops a kiss on my nose. The kids make obnoxious kissing noises from the living room, hanging off the gaming recliners lined up in front of the big-screen television. I should chastise him for the PDA, but I don’t have it in me. He’s been so nice to the kids.

While they set up their video games, we hang out in the kitchen. After Ryker orders pizzas and drinks, I circle back to why he’s here and not at the party house.

“Don’t you want to live with guys from your team?”

“For what reason?”

“Bonding.”

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