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My legs shake as I rise from the bed, and I feel an arm wrap around my waist. “I’ve got you, Zo.” I blink back my tears and place my arm around him. I lean against him, feeling his warmth against my body.
I say nothing. I’m so afraid to speak. The last thing I want to do is have him ask me to recall the nightmare. So, I don’t say a word. My lips form a thin line as we reach the bathroom, willing myself to keep it together. As we enter, I grab onto the countertop and grip it tightly. Ryker walks away from me momentarily to turn the shower on, and the loss of him is felt immediately. It’s cold and empty.
I turn and look into the mirror, and immediately I see the redness of my eyes. I run a hand down my cheek, wiping the couple tears that broke free. The stress is starting to wear on me.
“Hey, it’s going to be okay.” Ryker comes up behind me, and his strong hands run up and down my arm, giving me back the warmth. Worry fills his eyes, and his lips form a thin line. He slowly removes my shirt and helps me out of the rest of my clothes. He wraps himself around me to keep me warm as he checks the water temperature.
“Go. Get in, rinse off. I’ll be right here if you want me to stay.”
I nod. “Please. Stay.” My voice shakes as the words leave me. Ryker’s eyes soften, and his hand finds mine as he helps me in.
I let the hot water cascade over me. I try not to close my eyes unless I absolutely have to. I bring my hand to my heart and will it to calm down. Tears prickle from the corners of my eyes and mix with the water as it falls down to the bottom of the shower.
As the water warms me, a calmness rushes through me. The fog of the nightmare starts to lift, and I start to feel a little better from the ordeal. Turning off the water, I turn and wring out the excess water from my hair. Before I can get cold, Ryker is right there with a towel to help dry me off before wrapping up my hair. Our noses touch, and sparks between us ignite. He plants a soft kiss on my nose that makes my stomach flutter.
I look to the countertop as he moves away and see the set of clothes lying there. He reaches over and grabs the shirt. Slowly he pulls it down onto me, allowing me to take in the woodsy scent left on the fabric. Ryker. I grab the pants and slowly pull them on. Before I can move, he steps closer into me and cups my face. His eyes are filled with determination. He presses his lips together and stares at me.
He doesn’t say anything, and he doesn’t need to. I can see it all in his eyes: the words that aren’t being said. Ryker’s lips brush mine in a promise. A promise that he will always protect me. I’m his.
We head out to the kitchen, and he starts making dinner for us. I watch him and admire how handsome of a man he really is. He moves gracefully through the kitchen as he preps and cooks. Every now and then he looks up at me, giving me a small smile. The one thing I’ve learned about Ryker is that he’s loyal and protective to those he cares about. He left a job in Texas without a second thought to come home to help take care of his mom.
Such a great and wonderful man. A man who has me falling for him.
He places the chicken fettuccini in front of me. As good as the food looks, I really don’t have an appetite. Ryker sits down next to me at the kitchen island and starts to eat. I push the pasta around my plate. My body is exhausted, my mind is burnt out, and my heart is heavy with worry.
There are two sides of me at war. One side wants to run and hide somewhere else and give into the idea that I’ll never be free. The other side wants to fight like hell. That side wants to live, laugh, and love, never living in the shadows.
Ryker breaks me out of my internal war. “You know you can talk to me about them. The nightmares. It might help.”
I just shake my head and put my fork down. It’s bad enough that I have to live through it in my head; I don’t want to hear it out loud.
Ryker grabs my hand. “Hey, look at me.” I turn my head and can see the pleading in his eyes. I can see his worry even as he tries to hide it. “Everything’s going to be okay, Zo. Trust me.” He pulls me into him, and I rest my head on his shoulder.
My entire body is tight with tension and stress. Waiting for Mitch to show his face is slowly wearing me down. It’s breaking every ounce of strength I had when I left. There has to be something I can do to end this. I just have no idea what that is.
“Come on. Let’s leave this here. I’m tired, you’re tired. Let’s just go get some sleep.” Ryker holds out his hand and pulls me up from the chair.
We walk into his bedroom. It smells like him, like a forest. It’s a comforting scent that I’ve honestly come to love.
We get into bed and turn to face each other. His hand softly runs over my face. I place mine on top of his as he moves it over my skin. His warmth radiates into me, giving me serenity.
“I’m sorry, Ryker,” I whisper.
“For what? You have nothing to be sorry for.” Ryker reaches out and pulls me closer. “Nothing that has happened has been your fault. Don’t apologize for it.”
“I brought it here. It’s my fault Mitch is turning this town upside down.”
“First, the town is not upside down. Second, you ran with good reason. A fucking really good reason. And thankfully, into my arms.” Ryker leans in and kisses me with fervor.
My hands move to his chest, and I can feel his heart beating against me. Ryker rolls me onto my back and hovers over me. My eyes find his blue ones. His hand runs under my t-shirt as he leans down, and our tongue thrust against each other. He squeezes above my hip, causing me to moan as he slowly moves above me.
Ryker breaks apart from my lips and hastily removes his shirt. He leans in and takes my shirt off, then quickly pulls off my pants and panties.
“Ryker, I need to feel you.”
He doesn’t say anything. He merely moves to his side of his bed, sliding off. I hear a drawer open and a foil packet rip. I turn my head to see Ryker has shed his pants and is sliding the condom over himself.
Ryker climbs back in bed and crawls over me. His head dips down, and his lips find my swollen nipple. I let out a gasp as I feel a soft bite against it, and then a tongue swirling around the nipple to soothe the pain. He turns his head to the other nipple and gives it the same attention. The sensations are too much for me, and I reach my hand down to wrap around his shaft.