Page 61 of Save Me

“Yeah, no,” she said with another wide grin. “Most eyes were on your girl, so you really should quit chit-chatting with me and go after her.”

Sure enough, when he looked up the aisle, there were three guys walking with her, and she didn’t look like she was hating it.

“Oh, hell no,” he muttered as he grabbed his satchel. “Secure everything for me, Bill.”

“I’m on it!”

As Ryker strode up the aisle, he noticed people stepping out of his way and most got a little wide-eyed as they recognized him, but he wasn’t looking to stop and talk to anyone. There was only one person he wanted to talk to and he had a feeling she was going to make him work for it.

Picking up his pace, he caught up with her—and her three admirers—and boldly stepped in front of her, effectively blocking her path. Her green eyes blazed fire, but he wasn’t afraid to stand here and argue with her in front of an audience.

“So you just showed up here to yell my name at me and then leave?” he asked, crossing his arms. A quick glare at the trio with her and they all scattered.

“Wow. Impressive,” Ryleigh said, her voice dripping sarcasm. “You come here, talk, tattoo, and then scare people off. I’m surprised they didn’t bow at your feet first.”

“Ryleigh…”

“What the hell, Ryker?” she hissed, looking around nervously because clearly she wasn’t as into putting on a show. “You’ve been lying to me!”

“That’s not how I see it,” he countered. “You never asked what I did! Hell, you never showed any interest in me or my life until it suited your purpose! All those times I hit on you at the pub and you looked at me like I was something you scraped off your damn shoe. You turned me down with snark and disdain every chance you got. And the funny thing is, I’m used to it. I’m used to people looking at my ink and thinking less of me because of it. You knew nothing about my background, my upbringing, nothing, and yet you passed judgment on me based on how I look. Why the hell would I willingly give you more ammunition against me?”

Okay, now a lot of people were crowding around and he saw several phones up taking video. Muttering a curse, he took her hand and dragged her away from the spectators.

“Where are we going?” she demanded.

“Anywhere that isn’t here.” He had a room here at the hotel and knew it was the only logical place for them to go.

Fortunately, there wasn’t a line at the elevators and neither of them said a word the entire ride up to the top floor.

That’s when Ryleigh’s sharp tongue was back. “VIP level. Why am I not surprised? I guess when you’re a freaking global champion tattoo artist, you get to stay in the Presidential Suite.”

“It’s even got a balcony overlooking the beach,” he snapped back.

Yeah, they were heading for one hell of a fight and part of him couldn’t wait. He’d been keeping a lot of his feelings—and himself—quiet for her sake. And had it gotten him anywhere except into her bed?

No.

A no-strings fling or affair or whatever you wanted to call it was something he’d never had a problem with before, but it wasn’t what he wanted with Ryleigh. It was never what he wanted with Ryleigh.

But apparently, it was all he was going to get from her.

Fucking A.

As soon as they were in his suite, he turned to her before she could say a word.

“If you’re looking for an apology, I’m not offering one,” he stated firmly. “You said this was fake! You said nothing we were doing was real, so you’ve got a whole lot of nerve coming here and saying any damn thing to me! So if this is it—if you drove four freaking hours here so you can tell me off and tell me this charade is over—then do it.”

The defiant stance was back. “I could’ve done it down on the show floor, but your adoring fans probably would have chased me out of there.”

Ryker’s head slowly fell back as he mentally counted to ten. When he faced her again, he saw a little crack in the tough girl attitude. She looked…disappointed. Sad.

“I don’t know what you want from me,” he said, his voice raw. “I’ve played by your rules and it’s not enough. Well, you know what, I’m done playing. It’s all too much so…just tell me off and go because I’m too damn exhausted for this.” Turning away from her, he walked over to the sofa and collapsed on it. Every inch of his body hurt, his head was pounding, and this so wasn’t the way he wanted to end a successful day. Closing his eyes, he slumped back against the cushions and waited for Ryleigh to tell him off.

And waited.

And waited.

“It hurt my feelings that you kept who you really are from me,” she said quietly, and even without opening his eyes, Ryker knew she was standing in front of him. “I realize I behaved horribly since we’ve met, but you have to know that your tattoos had nothing to do with it.”

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