Page 50 of Wicked Games
“She’ll feel the same about you.”
“Ryder, what have you told your family about me?”
“They know nothing about you, Lucien.”
“Sebastian Deveraux? Have they heard about him?”
“They don’t like him much, so it’s a good thing he doesn’t exist. I don’t know what the feds have said to Mother about Lucien Clarke, but I haven’t told her Lucien and Sebastian are the same person. We can keep it that way.”
“I don’t want to build our lives on a lie.”
“You want to build a life with me?” Ryder asked, smiling shyly.
“More than anything. That wasn’t my dick doing all the talking for me the other day. I won’t let you go again.”
Ryder traced the rim of his cocktail glass, and I could tell he was thinking hard about something, like he wanted to ask me a question but was afraid to hear the answer. I thought I knew, so I took a stab in the dark. “After I left you in Paris, I was in terrible shape. My mother knew something was horribly wrong and wouldn’t stop badgering me until I talked. I told her I’d fallen in love with someone in Paris, but it could never work out because of the line of work I was in. She looked at me and said ‘Lucien Clarke, it’s not like you to give up without a fight. If you really love this man, you’ll find a way to make it work.’ At the time, I didn’t believe it was possible.”
“And now?” Ryder asked softly.
“You make me believe anything is possible.”
Ryder was on the verge of telling me he loved me just like he’d been earlier in the day. I didn’t need the words then, and I didn’t need them sitting across from him in a fancy restaurant. I saw how he felt about me.
“I know, love,” I said softly.
Our waiter showed up with our dinners before either of us could say something else. “Does everything look okay? Is there anything else I can get you? Sour cream for your baked potatoes?”
“No, but thank you,” Ryder and I told him.
“Okay. Enjoy your meals. I’ll check back in a bit.”
I ordered the ribeye and lobster tail, and Ryder ordered the filet and crab legs. We didn’t do a lot of talking once we tucked into our food. I liked my steaks on the rare side while Ryder liked his cooked to death, so neither of us was keen on trying each other’s steaks, but we did share our seafood.
“Glad to see you still like your steak moving,” Ryder said.
“I’m not surprised you still like yours as tough as shoe leather,” I countered.
After dinner, I took Ryder to Fuego. It was a multilevel, gay club offering a little bit of everything to suit everyone’s needs. When we arrived, they had one hell of a drag show going on with laser lights, fog machines, queens on rope swings sailing over the crowd while dropping glitter, and barely clad go-go dancers in gilded cages.
“I want to dance with you,” Ryder yelled when the show ended and the DJ cranked up the club music. “It’s something we’ve never done together.”
“How do you know I can dance?”
“You move so gracefully. There’s no way in hell you can’t dance.”
“I have no rhythm,” I told him.
“Lies!” Ryder grabbed my hand and led me onto the dance floor. He turned my body, aligning my back to his chest, then lifted my arms and looped them behind his neck. Ryder gripped my hips and started to move, guiding me to sway with him. “See, you have beautiful rhythm.”
“You’re doing the real work. I’m just letting you lead me.”
Ryder kept one hand on my hip while slipping the other beneath my shirt to caress my stomach. My dick hardened beneath my thin linen pants, matching the hard-on pressing against my ass. Ryder trailed kisses up my neck, and I tilted my head back, granting him more access. Our hats made it harder to make out, but I wasn’t going to risk losing his gift.
When the next song started, I turned in his arms and pressed my chest to his so we could dance facing one another. Ryder grinned and sang along with the music as we danced, burrowing himself deeper in my heart.God, how I love him.
“I know, Lucky,” Ryder said, reading my emotions.
We leaned in to kiss and bumped hats, nearly knocking them off. We removed them so we could kiss and sway to the music unencumbered.