Page 19 of Ryker

Maybe that was enough.

“The last time you were alone with my sister, you nearly killed her,” Flicker said.“Why would I let her go to your house?”

I glared at my brother.

“I never meant to hurt Laken,” Ryker said.“That’s the last thing I want to do.If she’ll give me a chance, I’d like for us to start over.Get to know each other, spend some time together.When it comes to Laken, I don’t just want sex.I want to have something more with her.”

I melted a little at his words, but Flicker didn’t look pleased, if the tic in his jaw was any indication.I wasn’t certain that Ryker would ever be able to win over my big brother, but as far as I was concerned, he was saying everything right.Something bothered me, though.Ryker wouldn’t have just invited himself over.At least, I didn’t think he would have.So who had asked him to come to dinner?

“Danny,” I said softly, drawing his attention my way.He lost a little of the hard glint in his eyes as he looked at me.“Don’t chase him off.Please.”

“He’s not good enough for you, Laken.He goes through a different woman every night, sometimes more than one a night,” Flicker said.

“Not anymore,” Ryker said.“That’s the old me.Since my first night with Laken, I haven’t been with anyone else.”

“Really?”I asked, looking his way.

“I don’t want anyone but you,” Ryker said.“Whether you believe that or not, it’s the truth.All it took was one taste, and I was hooked on you.But it’s more than that.I don’t just want another night in bed.I want all of you, Laken.The good and the bad.”

Flicker shoved his plate away and stood up.“I can’t stand to listen to this shit.He’s going to hurt you, Laken, just like he did last time.I won’t keep the two of you apart, but I don’t like him being on Dixie Reapers’ territory.And I sure as fuck don’t like him being with you.”

“Danny, please try to get along with Ryker.He’s the father of your niece of nephew.Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”I asked.

Flicker shrugged.“I’ll be home late.Don’t wait up.”

He stomped out of the room, and I heard the front door slam a moment later.I winced, hating that I’d chased him out of his own home.Ryker reached over and took my hand, giving it a squeeze, and I smiled at him.My brother was always an ass, so I didn’t know why it should be any different now, but my hospital stay was still a bit of a blur.If anything had happened between them to make things worse, I didn’t remember it.Had Ryker and Flicker gotten into it?

I’d lost my appetite and stood up, gathering my plate and Flicker’s before heading over to the sink.I heard Ryker’s chair scrape as he stood.I’d expected him to leave his plate, then take off, much like my brother did most nights.But he didn’t.He hip-checked me to scoot me over, and he took my place washing dishes.I’d never seen a man wash a dish before, and if anyone had ever asked, I’d have said it was a myth that such a thing ever happened.But there was Ryker, scraping and scrubbing the dirty dishes, then handing them to me to place in the drying rack.

“You don’t have to do this,” I said.

“You cooked dinner, then you served everyone.You shouldn’t have to do the cleanup too,” Ryker said.

I was a little surprised.Danny had never thought to wash the dishes for me, and I didn’t think it was something he’d ever think to do.It made me wonder if Venom or Torch ever did the dishes for Ridley and Isabella.Did men do housework too?Maybe I should have trained Flicker better.I felt sorry for whatever woman ended up with him.He was a complete slob.My brother had a heart of gold, at least when it counted, but he definitely had a lot of rough edges.

We finished the dishes, and then Ryker took me by the hand and led me into the living room.Now that Flicker was gone, I felt a little more at ease around Ryker.As I sat down, he claimed the spot next to me, but he didn’t release my hand.It felt right, sitting here like this with him.But Ryker wasn’t the same as before.He’d always been a little arrogant, and dare I say smug, but I didn’t see that when I looked at him now.

“You seem different,” I said.

“I missed you.I never meant for things to end up the way they did, and I’m sorry I left without saying bye.”

“Why did you?”I asked.

“I thought I was doing the right thing.I never wanted to hurt you, and I was worried that if I stayed, something bad would happen.Flicker told me to leave the hospital and not come back.I guess I just figured it would be better if I left town altogether.”

“I didn’t want you to leave.”

He squeezed my hand.“I’m sorry, Laken.And I’m really damn sorry for the way I reacted before your accident.”

“The accident wasn’t your fault,” I told him.“It was no one’s fault.It’s why they call it an accident.”

“If you’d died… if you’d lost the baby…”

“But I didn’t.I’m fine, Ryker.I have headaches sometimes, but even those will go away.”

He slowly reached over and placed his hand on my belly.“You’re sure the baby is okay?”

“They used a special monitor at the hospital to check on the baby.Everything is fine.”

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