Page 68 of Bad for Business
“I mean it when I say I don’t hate you, but?—”
It’s Ryker’s turn to cut me off with a kiss. He presses his lips against mine because it’ll keep me from telling him that we shouldn’t be doing this.
And yet, I don’t move. There’s been so much back-and-forth between me and Ryker since we got here that I can’t seem to care about anything other than this right here.
The kiss is slow and lazy. There’s no urgency to it. It’s like a silent agreement from the both of us that, at least for today, neither of us is going anywhere. That we’re not on borrowed time, at least not right now.
Finally, I pull away, unable to hide the smile on my lips. “I’m sick. You probably shouldn’t kiss me.”
“If I’m going to get sick, then I’m going to get sick. It’s too late to go back on that.” His gaze focuses on my lips for a moment before he meets my eyes once again. “Plus, now that I have youwantingto kiss me, I’m not going to waste my chance to do it.”
I swallow, wondering how much I want to share with him. I don’t know if I can even explain to myself the shift that’s happening inside me as I look at him, let alone explain it to him. All I know is that the moment he walked through my bedroom door last night, I felt immense relief. I wanted him here to take care of me.
I just…
I wanted to be around him.
I try not to think too hard about what that means because then I’ll start to analyze it. If I analyze it, I’ll talk myself into running before I can get hurt, and that’s just not something I want to do right now. One day of giving in won’t hurt.
Right?
Once I feel better, I can figure out what to do from here.
I reach up and press my hand to his cheek, wanting to feel even more of a connection with him. I’m still trying to figure out if this is real or if I’m having some sort of fever dream. While I’m feeling better than last night, my head still has a dull ache to it, and my body still feels sore. Whatever sickness I’ve caught hasn’t fully run its course.
My fingertips press against his cheek. He’s very real. This is real.
“Thank you,” I whisper. I’ve gone so much of my life being the only person to ever take care of myself that I thought it’d feel weirder to allow someone to be there for me. But it wasn’t weird at all.
At least not with him.
His brown eyes roam my face. There’s so much warmth to them that it makes my heart race. “You don’t have to thank me,” he responds.
I trace my thumb over his bottom lip. “But I want to.”
He smiles before pulling me into him. I tuck my face into the crook of his neck, savoring the smell of him. The scent of his cologne from yesterday is still faintly there, and I love the way it mixes with the smell of his skin.
My eyes go wide. “I need to shower,” I say, my words hurried as I realize I probably smell. Because of the fever, I kept waking up sweaty.
Oh my God, even the sheets probably smell.
I finally got Ryker to stay until morning with me, and of course, it happens to be when I’ve been sick and disgusting.
Before Ryker can respond, I crawl out of bed and head right to the bathroom. I stand up too fast, my hand having to reach out and grab the wall to steady myself from the sudden movement.
“Easy there, princess,” Ryker says from behind me, his voice closer than I was expecting. His hand finds the small of my back, the feel of it gentle but firm against my skin.
I look over my shoulder and give him a smile. “I’m fine. I just moved a little too fast.”
“Let me help you,” he offers.
I shake my head. “What? No. You can’t help me shower.”
His lips twitch with the beginning of a smirk. “Why not? I’ve seen you naked before. You’ve seen me naked before. Let me shower with you so I can make sure you don’t…I don’t know…slip or something.”
I lift an eyebrow. “I’ve taken plenty of showers in my life. I promise I’m capable of taking them alone without slipping.”
“Just because you can do something alone doesn’t mean you have to.” He presses one of his large hands to his chest as his smile breaks out into a wide grin. “I promise I won’t try anything. You’ve been sick, and I’d just feel better if I was in there to make sure nothing happens to you.”
