Page 24 of Bound by Vengeance
Friends, my ass.
“WHAT’S GOING ON?” Emery asks, setting her keys down on the table as she eyes Ryker, who is lounging on our couch, bag of chips beside him and a remote in his hand.
The afternoon hasn’t been bad, considering I spent much of the time in my bedroom, but I can’t spend my life in there.
“We have a roommate.”
Emery coughs. “What?”
“I’m her bodyguard,” Ryker says through a mouthful of chips. At least he chewed them first. “That body is mine to guard.”
I roll my eyes to the ceiling.
“Wait, Ryker is your bodyguard and staying here, with us? For how long?”
Ryker beats me to answer, which is good because I have no idea. “Until that dickhead is caught.”
Fuck.
“This is going to be interesting,” Emery says, giving me a holy-fucking-shit look. “What’s for dinner? It smells good.”
Stirring the pot of sauce, I look up from it to see that the question has piqued Ryker’s interest too. “Just pasta, hamburger, sauce, and cheese.”
“Oh, my gawd! I love that! I haven’t had it in forever,” Emery says excitedly, turning toward Ryker and continuing. “You eat this, you’ll want to marry her.”
She did not just say that. Did she just say that? I’m going to kill her. I am. Holy shit.
Ryker chuckles. “Let me be the judge of that.”
There are so many things I could say here. I could balk and make a point that, that is never going to happen. Or I could tell him that he’s not eating with us so it doesn’t matter. Or I could just call him a jackass and be done with it. I do none of those things.
If I do, it will egg him on, and my energy is too depleted to argue with him. I want to eat and go to my room, where I can get back on my computer.
The food smells great as I put the finishing touches on it, then put it on plates. “Come and get it.”
Ryker winks at me before grabbing his plate and going to the table. This is going to be a long-ass night.
Before I can find my escape, Ryker scoops his first bite. His eyes lock on mine as the appreciation for a good meal shows and so much more.
My heart beats so hard in my chest I can hear the roaring in my ears.
There is no more.
No, the only thing I have room for inside me is retribution. Ryker can’t happen.
C H A P T E R N I N E
Fuck, every fucking time she rolls her eyes to the ceiling, I want to grab her, pull her to me, and devour her lips. But watching her today, really watching her, she has more hesitation in her than I initially thought. JK did a number on her, which only pisses me off more where he’s concerned. She shouldn’t have any of that clouding her mind, yet she does. And from the looks of it, it’s often.
“Here.” Austyn hands me a pillow and blanket. The clock says it’s still early, but I’ve thrown her a curveball and am going to let her ride this play. The way she cooked dinner, only to scurry to her room, lets me know she is off-balance having me here. She needs space.
I reach out and take them. “Thanks.”
She turns on her heels. “Night.” Seconds later, I hear the door to her room clicking shut.
Emery left, so it’s just Austyn and I in this small space. My cock grows hard as I toss everything onto the couch.
Friends. What the fuck was I thinking?
