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CHAPTER TEN

Jay rolled onto his side and slowly blinked his eyes open, his gaze landing on a toothy grin. What the hell? Wait. It took him a heartbeat to remember Ryden’s sharky friend, and Jay couldn’t hold back his smile until he remembered where he was.

Shiiiiit . Jay’s eyes widened. O.M.G. He was in Ryden’s bed. The thought should have sent him running, but instead, warmth spread through him. Was this a good life choice? Did he care if it wasn’t?

A soft sigh came from behind him, and he carefully rolled over to face Ryden, his heart squeezing at how handsome he was.

Jay had sneaked a long peek at Ryden on multiple occasions at work.

Okay, he might have ogled him a few times, but Jay had refused to acknowledge how good-looking the man was.

His hair was shorter than usual, thanks to the neat and trim military cut he’d had to get for the wedding, but the scruff Jay liked so much had grown back quickly.

Last night had been so…strange. Usually, a bad dream wouldn’t send Jay fleeing from his bedroom, but this nightmare had been terrifyingly vivid.

He’d been too scared to lie down and go back to sleep, so he’d come to Ryden’s bedroom without thinking of what he’d do when he got there.

With his heart still pounding, he’d stood in the doorway, unsure what Ryden would do.

He certainly hadn’t expected the tenderness and comfort offered. Jay had been so wrong about him.

Guilt ate away at him for all the times he’d been so terrible to Ryden, snapping at him or throwing books at him, even if Ryden did get his revenge by keeping them or playing pranks on Jay.

It wasn’t like Ryden hadn’t done his fair share of instigating a reaction out of Jay.

How many times had he teased Jay about his outfits?

Or his taste in books, coffee, music… Only now did Jay question Ryden’s motives.

Thinking back to any of those times, Ryden hadn’t been cruel or malicious. An ass, maybe. A juvenile, for sure. But purposefully cruel? Not once. He’d been hurtful the day they kissed, but even Jay would admit that things between them recently had escalated.

Their relationship was complicated, but Jay could no longer deny the attraction. Not that they had to do anything about it. Talk about a terrible idea. Neither of them needed any more drama in their lives.

“You’re thinkin’ an awful lot over there, sweet pea,” Ryden mumbled, his throaty voice laced with sleep. Ugh, the man’s voice and that accent. So not fair. How was Jay supposed to ignore the sexiness? You’ve been doing it for years. Why stop now? Mmm, but had he?

Jay arched an eyebrow at him. “Sweet pea?”

“It’s a flower,” Ryden said, eyes still closed. “The term of endearment came from a pretty fragrant flower, not the tiny green vegetable.”

“Yes, I know. Just wondering why you chose sweet pea.”

“Because they’re pretty and smell sweet.” Ryden opened his eyes and smiled, stealing Jay’s breath away. “Mornin’, sweet pea.”

Jay might have said good morning back. He wasn’t sure.

Maybe he’d mumbled something that sounded like a response.

Mostly, he was busy trying to get his pulse back down to a normal level.

Ryden reaching out to take a lock of Jay’s hair and twirling it around his finger certainly didn’t help.

Was his face red? He hoped his face wasn’t red.

“How about I make you some breakfast? I make some killer scrambled eggs.”

“You cook?” Jay asked. He needed to stop being so surprised by everything Ryden said. The man was allowed to have talents, and it seemed he had many. Oh, do not go down that rabbit hole.

“I’m no Red, but I manage.”

“Thank you. Mind if I hop in the shower?”

“Go for it,” Ryden murmured, still twirling Jay’s hair.

He moved his gaze to Jay’s mouth and then to his eyes.

The urge to lean in and kiss Ryden was overwhelming, but Jay managed to restrain himself.

Far too much had happened in the last twenty-four hours for him to unpack.

Besides, he’d only made out with Ryden at the wedding to keep up with their ruse, and last night, he’d been seeking comfort.

Their kiss in Red’s office didn’t count, so if he kissed Ryden this morning, it might lead to something else he couldn’t pretend never happened, and Jay wasn’t ready for something else.

They lay there, just looking at each other.

Jay could tell Ryden wanted to say something, but he didn’t.

Was he waiting for Jay? Waiting for him to talk about what happened last night?

To make the first move this morning? Jay had no idea what he wanted.

Okay, that was a lie. He knew what he wanted, but that didn’t mean he should give in to his desires.

Besides, maybe Ryden didn’t want to start something with him.

“We should get movin’,” Ryden finally said, and Jay nodded. He got up, his gaze landing on the little shark. With a smile, he picked it up. He turned and held it out to Ryden.

“Don’t forget your little friend.”

Ryden snickered as he sat up. “Why don’t you keep him? I think he likes you better anyway.”

That shouldn’t have made Jay as happy as it did.

It was just a silly kid’s loofah, but somehow, it made his heart soar.

He took his new little friend, dropping him off in the guest room before grabbing his clothes and heading for the bathroom.

A nice, cool shower was just what he needed to distract himself and not think about Ryden or how their relationship had changed so drastically in such a short time.

By the time he’d dressed and fixed his hair, Ryden was in the kitchen, freshly showered and in his Four Kings Security uniform, which shouldn’t have been hot, considering this was hardly the first time he’d seen Ryden in it, but it was. Incredibly so.

The black tactical pants accentuated his ass so very nicely, and the black T-shirt with the company logo on the front breast pocket hugged his athletic frame. The fabric stretched across his broad shoulders, the shirt sleeves showcasing his sculpted biceps. He looked so solid. Strong.

And…oh my God, he was dancing at the stove as he scrambled eggs.

Jay put a hand to his mouth to keep himself from making a sound.

He needed to watch Ryden get down to whatever ’70s song was playing on his phone.

It sounded familiar, but Jay couldn’t put his finger on it.

Ryden dancing was nothing new. He danced all the time—at work, family parties, and events—but this was the first time Jay saw him .

Jay had always assumed Ryden was showing off, using his moves to get attention, but no one was watching now. Well, Jay was watching, but Ryden didn’t know that. He danced like he always did. Not for attention, but because he enjoyed it.

Ryden shook his ass, then did some fancy footwork as he swirled the scrambled eggs with what looked like a rubber spatula. He didn’t miss a beat as he served the eggs, then turned with the empty frying pan in hand.

“Holy shit!”

“Sorry!” Jay quickly threw his hands up. “It’s just me.”

Maybe standing silently behind a Marine hadn’t been the best idea. He was lucky Ryden hadn’t turned the frying pan into a weapon. Ryden let out a breath as he leaned one hand on the counter.

“Sorry,” Jay repeated. He cocked his head to one side. “You didn’t know I was here?” Ryden had killer instincts, and like the rest of the Kings, it was rare to catch him by surprise.

“I’m in my house. Why would I have my guard up?” Ryden asked. He tapped next to his right eye. “That, and you were standin’ in my blind spot.”

“Oh. Right. Sorry.”

“Stop apologizin’. It ain’t a big deal.” Ryden put the frying pan in the sink and carried their plates to the kitchen counter.

He motioned for Jay to sit. As soon as he did, he placed the plate of scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, and toast in front of Jay.

Placing his plate next to Jay’s, he turned and grabbed two mugs that Jay hadn’t seen.

One was black coffee, and the other a frothy latte. Jay beamed up at him.

“You made me a latte?”

Ryden’s cheeks went pink. “Yeah, uh, I know you like all the fancy stuff.”

“Thank you,” Jay said, taking the mug from him. “How did you froth it?”

“Um, what?”

It was so hard not to laugh at Ryden’s deer-in-headlights impression.

“The latte. It has foam. How did you froth it?”

“With one of those frother wand things.”

Jay studied him. “But you drink your coffee black. Why do you have a milk frother?” He took a sip of his latte and hummed. “Mmm, this is good.”

Ryden sat at the counter next to Jay, his cheeks still flushed. “It was a gift.”

Wait a minute. Jay stilled. Was it possible? No, probably just a coincidence. Still. He had to know. He jumped out of his seat and darted around the counter to the kitchen cabinets. Where did Ryden keep his mugs? He started opening the doors.

“What’re you lookin’ for?” Ryden asked, confused.

Jay was about to say when he found what he’d been searching for. He plucked the familiar floral mug from the shelf, his stomach doing flips.

Last Christmas, Jay had pulled Ryden’s name for Secret Santa.

Knowing Ryden drank nothing but black coffee, Jay decided the guy needed to up his coffee game, so he got Ryden a cappuccino set.

It included a beautiful floral mug that said, “Good morning! I see the assassins have failed,” along with a milk frother, French roast coffee, and chocolate dust. He’d expected Ryden to chuck it the moment he got home.

“You kept it.” Jay turned, smiling at Ryden. The flush on the man’s skin was adorable.

“Course I did. Why would I throw out a perfectly good mug?” Ryden murmured.