Page 32 of Riding Danger

Even getting me into the car, he didn’t say anything. Since the hospital insisted I get wheeled to the entrance, he was the one to push the wheelchair. He helped me into the car and drove to his house in silence. I had no idea what he was thinking

After a quick call to Ethan, Ryder placed a plate of spaghetti and meatballs in front of me, as well as two painkillers. “Eat. Doc said you need to take those pills with food.”

“Then what?” I mean, I wasn’t expecting us to have sex but I needed to know what was happening. “Are you taking me home?”

Ryder frowned as I took a forkful of food. “Seriously? You have had an adrenaline dump and need sex, and your solution is that I leave you alone? Or are you waiting to be alone so you can go…”

“Get laid. You can say it.” If he was going to judge me, we might as well get it out of the way. “That’s what happens. When I have a day like today, I go out and get laid. Always out of townand never with someone I know. If you’re going to judge me, I’ll have you know that you’ve been with?—”

“Why the hell would I judge you?” He looked offended at the notion. “If you use sex as a way to self soothe, so be it. There are a lot worse ways. Hell, I’ve done worse to forget.”

“Then why am I here?” Nothing about the situation made sense to me. “Why did you bring me here instead of letting me go with Maggie and Tiff?”

“Just eat Shi.”

“No, answer me.” The fact that he was trying to take care of me irritated the shit out of me. I knew I was being irrational, but the last thing I needed was for him to be nice to me. “Why are you feeding me instead of letting me go?”

He scrubbed his hands over his face. “Because I don’t want you having sex with anyone but me. And if we’re going to go there, I need you pain free. So, eat your food so you can take those fucking pills and then we can see where things lead us. Okay?”

“You want to have sex with me?”

“From the moment you stepped into the studio. And every day since.” He brought his own plate and sat next to me. “And if that’s what you need tonight, I can be that for you.”

Sex with Ryder. I could do that without getting feelings involved. I mean, it wouldn’t be what we had all those years ago. That was two people who were young and naïve falling in love when neither of them were ready for it.

Nervous energy filled the room as we both finished eating and I took my painkillers.

Ryder stood and held his hand out for me. “Can you shower without getting that bandage wet, or would you prefer a bath.”

A shower would be quicker, but that meant getting my arm wet. “I’ll run myself a bath.”

“You’ll do no such thing.” Ryder led me down the hall, through his bedroom and into his bathroom. “It’s not fancy and some things need updating, but the bathtub is big.”

He picked me up and set me on the counter. Then he ran the water and filled the tub.

“I don’t have any bubble bath or those fizzy things, I’m afraid.”

“Do you have cheap shampoo?”

“I have kiddies’ shampoo in Ethan’s bathroom.”

“Pour some of that in, it will foam nicely.”

In the seconds it took for him to retrieve the shampoo, I took a few cleansing breaths. I knew if it got awkward, we would stop. In fact, I was positive Ryder would stop if I even looked uncertain. But what we were about to do was a big deal. We weren’t having sex because it was a natural step in our relationship. We didn’t have a relationship. What we had was a child. A beautiful boy who would get very hurt if things went sour between Ryder and me.

As it stood, we were getting along well. Sure, he was becoming impatient with my need to have everything just right before I would let go of the reins. But that was understandable. He needed to know Ethan had a routine and he needed to fit into that.

I was also sure I needed to learn how to loosen those reins a little. Not that I would admit it to anyone.

The bubbles started forming almost as soon as Ryder drizzled the shampoo in. Once he turned off the water he came over to me. His fingers grazed the skin at my waist as he lifted the hem of the white shirt I normally wore under my body-armor. His hand went around my back and he unclasped my bra. I rolled my shoulders forward and allowed the plain white bra to fall forward, exposing my breasts. His eyes dropped and my nipples puckered.

Next, he lowered to pull off my boots and socks.

“Stand for me.”

He helped me move off the counter, barely an inch between our bodies. Kneeling down he unzipped my navy-blue pants. His fingers hooked into the waistband of the pants and my panties at the same time.

Tingles ran up my spine at the slowness of it all. The goosebumps on my thighs had nothing to do with the temperature, but more the awareness of him looking at me. Getting his fill.

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