Page 12 of Bite Your Tongue

“Amazing.” I wink. “Thanks so much.”

The second they disappear, I’m ready to bolt, but Ryder isn’t having it.

He leans in closer. “Was I that bad the other night that you can’t spare me a look?” He pauses. “Or maybe I was that good that you can’t look at me without blushing?”

“Don’t be so cocky, Pretty Boy,” I coo, craning my neck to face him. “I’m staring at you right now, big fella. So, no, I don’t think it’s the latter.”

His smirk only grows, and his eyes glimmer with amusement. He smells delicious, and it’s annoying as hell because I want to hate this man.

“See, I didn’t take you for a liar, Saylor Sawyer. But now I know you are one.” He rolls his tongue over his lips, and my stupid eyes dart to watch, drinking it in. “Because the claw marks you left on my shoulders when you were riding my cock? They painted a different picture.”

My back straightens, and I roll my eyes. “Relax,” I coo. “I was in the drama club all through school,” I lie through my teeth because—let’s face it—I had a nice time with this man.

But my brother is only twenty feet away, and I’d prefer he not catch on that I used his best friend to make his ex-teammate mad.

Before I know it, his lips are against my ear. “Your pussy squeezed my dick like it was trying to cut it off from my body because it was greedy to keep it for itself, babe. And your clit? Fucking throbbing so hard that I felt like there was a vibrator between us.”

And now it’s throbbing again.

I swallow harshly. Usually, I can keep myself in check. I can act like the girl who is unaffected. I’m good at putting on a show. So good, in fact, that my mom has always teased me that I should have gone into acting instead of nursing. But right now, I’m struggling to keep my composure.

Between his scent and his body being so close … my brain feels fuzzy. Still, I push my shoulders back and stand taller.

“Calm down, Ry-Ry. You seem desperate.” Winking, I pat his shoulder. “But, yes, I’ll give your ego a snack. I enjoyed myself that night.”

Walking away, I can’t help but grin foolishly on my way back to the table. I know I need to stay away from him, but it might be harder than I originally thought.

I’m so fucking lost in thought that I hardly realize everyone is leaving until I’m sitting at the table alone and everybody else is walking away. The last hour has passed in a blur. I vaguely remember the waiter bringing out a bunch of lava cakes and passing them around. I didn’t take one, but instead, I gawked at Saylor while she ate hers, licking the spoon clean with a tongue that I couldn’t stop picturing lapping at my cock.

Smith turns around and frowns, stopping in his tracks while his sister peeks over her shoulder, rolls her eyes, and keeps walking.

“You good, man?” he asks, his eyebrows pulling together.

“I’ll be in the car,” Saylor singsongs, giving me an amused look before basically skipping toward the door.

She’s toying with me, and I can’t decide if I like it or not.

Pushing my chair back, I stand and head toward him. “Yeah, I’m good. Tired, is all.” I elbow his side once I reach him. “We’re getting old, you know.”

“Fuck right off with that nonsense.” He punches my shoulder. “You sure you’re good? You were quiet for a lot of dinner.” He pauses, huffing. “A dinner that I can’t believe Sterns fucking created into a birthday party.”

“Hey, cut him some slack. His old lady is out of town, and you know he can’t cook for shit,” I joke, but his eyes remain on mine, telling me he’s still wondering why I was quiet. “I’m good, I swear.”

He doesn’t seem to believe me, but he simply shrugs. “All right then, let’s get the hell out of here.”

As we walk outside, I can’t push away the guilt that’s rising in my body. Smith is my best friend, and not only did I hook up with his sister, but I am also keeping a secret from him about what Rowan did. If he ever found out that Rowan had taken that video of Saylor and shown our teammates … he’d never forgive me for not telling him. But, Christ, I’m in an impossible situation right now because I’m sure she doesn’t want her brother to know—not to mention, he’ll think I hooked up with her because I’d seen it, which isn’t true.

And then there’s the other side of things, the one where … I saw a few seconds of the video, and she’s eventually going to find out. When she does, she’s going to feel betrayed.

I need to stay clear of her—that much I know. And maybe, eventually, I’ll stop thinking about her, and I’ll quit imagining her mouthy lips wrapped around my aching cock.

I hope so anyway. Because between everything Rowan did and her brother being my best friend, I’d be wise to cut my losses and walk away now.

That’s what I’m going to do. Yeah. For sure.

Ipull my scrub pants on, shimmying into them before tying the waist, and then tug on my top. Looking in the mirror, I run my hands through my hair, smoothing it out a bit before pulling it into a low, lazy-girl ponytail. My head’s already aching today because the hospital was so busy yesterday that I hardly drank any water, but instead, I kept cracking open a new energy drink, thinking it would somehow wake me up and bring me to life. No such luck though. Instead, I just felt like shit when I finally got home. Either way, the last thing I want is my hair piled on the top of my head, making things worse today.

Grabbing my sneakers, I plop down on the edge of the bed and pull them onto my feet just before my phone starts buzzing. It’s probably my mom or maybe one of my brothers, but when I grab it from the nightstand, it’s a number I don’t recognize.

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