Page 61 of Ryder: Shadows and Desires

“Oh, believe me, Jules, I’m nowhere near done with you.”

Another knock.

“Yeah, one sec,” I say to the door, lowering my voice as I sit up. “Just hide around the corner,” I suggest, pointing to a wall that blocks the entrance.

It takes a hot minute, but the reality of Andrew at my door, searching forRyder, finally sinks in.

Shit.

Ryder picks up his jacket and moves it out of sight, leaning against the wall as he unabashedly looks me over. I make sure my clothes and hair are straight.

“Yeah?” I ask, opening the door.

“You seen Ryder?” he asks, peeking into my room.

“Nope,” I say in a high-pitched voice, the throbbing between my thighs still present.

“Someone said they saw him come up with you,” Andrew implores, narrowing his dark eyes.

“Oh, well, yeah, he didthat,” I reply, spinning a lie as my heart races with slight panic. “But he got off on a different floor. Said he saw someone he knows.”

“What floor?”

“Third, or something.”

“Alright.” Andrew’s tone is unconvinced. “If you see him, tell him I want him. I’ve spotted his ‘situation.’”

“I’ll text him,” I say, trying to end the conversation, hating the way he seems to suspect me. Then again, his senses are top-fucking-notch.

I shut the door and peer out the peephole, watching him walk away. “Clear,” I whisper. “Although he issneaky.”

I round the corner to where Ryder stands, who seems like he can’t decide on what he wants to do next. “Now I gotta pretend like I know someone on the third floor.”

“I’m sure yourenigmaticbrain can figure it out,” I retort with a coy smile.

The hardness of his gaze relaxes when our eyes meet, using his fingers to motion me closer. The simple gesture enchants me. “Come here.”

I don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing that my body listens to him before my mind even thinks that through. Once I’m close enough, he brushes his lips against mine. It starts off gentle enough, but like a candle desperate to burn, the heat ignites as our kissing deepens, our bodies moving with each other.

He readjusts the two of us by spinning me around, picking me up the same way he did earlier, and pinning me against the wall as I straddle him, only held up by his strength.God,I love the way I have to wrap my legs around him for stability, his hand sliding up my ass to pull my legs further around him.

I don’t know how much time passes as we feverishly make out before my phone vibrates on the dresser. It’s too far away to check, but it’s a reminder that we need to part for the night.

Ryder groans, pulling back from the kiss, dipping his head down, although he doesn’t let me go. He kisses my jaw. “I know I should go, but I just can’t fucking move my legs.”

I whisper into his ear, “What really needs to happen is I need to get a new house as soon as we get back.”

He laughs into my neck, the warmth of him and his voice spurring something more than physical inside of me.

“Yeah, you do,” he solemnly says before putting me down.

He slides his hands up my hips before removing his touch, looking as if he’ll grab me again, but he sharply puts his hands in his pockets and curtly sighs.

Even his frustration drives me wild.

He glances me over before walking away with a defeated grin, shaking his head. “Have a good night, Jules.”

“I probably won’t sleep now, but yeah, have a good night.”