soft against my cheek as the wind tousled my hair.
Parker was a constant presence in the back of my mind, but I was trying really hard to shove thoughts of him away. There was no earthly reason why I shouldn’t enjoy Ryker’s company and forget all about Parker and all that wasn’t going to happen between us. We’d had a really fun time at the baseball game, and I liked how Ryker made me feel. I’d gone so long with a one-way admiration for Parker, it was as though I’d forgotten what it was like to have a man constantly touching me, giving me compliments, asking me about myself, and looking at me as though he was picturing me naked inside his head.
Ryker walked me up to my door, but this time I was smart enough not to unlock it. I was honest enough with myself to know I was in a vulnerable state, and sleeping with Ryker tonight would be a lot more about Parker than it would be about Ryker, and that wasn’t fair to him.
“I have to work tomorrow,” he said, “but I can see you on Sunday.” He was close to me, his hands settling on my hips as I looked up at him. The hall light glinted off his dog tags.
His blue eyes twinkled into mine, his jaw shadowed with slightly more than a day’s growth of whiskers, giving him that bad-boy look that went so well with the muscles and motorcycle.
I abruptly decided that Ryker was just what I needed to move on from Parker. There were worse things than a drop-dead gorgeous cop with an attitude matched only by the size of his ego. He may be a player and a cliché who’d lose interest the moment after we had sex, but at least I was going into it with my eyes wide open.
“What if I have plans Sunday?” I asked.
“Break them.” He took my wrists and lifted my arms to wrap around his neck, then kissed me.
It was way easier not to think about Parker with Ryker’s lips on mine. He tasted of beer and salt, his cologne now masked with the scent of sun and sweat from sitting outside at the ball game. And not the nasty kind of man-sweat smell, but the kind that oozes pheromones and is more potent than the most expensive cologne.
His arms wrapped tight around my waist, drawing me up onto my toes as he kissed me. He was a good kisser and my brain stopped working entirely as I sank deep into the moment. Time passed, but I didn’t notice, until we finally came up for air.
Usually it took more than a man’s kiss to get me going, but if we’d been inside my apartment I would’ve dragged Ryker to my bed without a second’s hesitation. Now reality crept back in and I was glad we weren’t inside. Sort of.
“I had a really nice time today,” he said, his voice a husky rasp that shot straight through me. He was looking at me with a promise in his eyes that I sincerely hoped he’d keep come Sunday.
“Me too,” I said.
“See you Sunday.” He winked, then eased away to head down the hall, leaving me weak-kneed and propped against my door. I watched as he disappeared into the stairwell, the door slamming shut behind him.
I was lost in a misty world of daydreams about Sunday as I unlocked my door and walked into my darkened apartment. I stepped out of my flip-flops as I thought. I’d have to clean tomorrow and change the sheets on my bed. Definitely didn’t want to bring Ryker back here since I hadn’t had a chance to clean in a while—
I screamed.
A man was sitting on my couch in the dark, the outline of his body seen only because of the glow from outside filtering in through the slats on the blinds. A lamp flicked on, and I could breathe again.
It was Parker.
“Oh my God, you scared me,” I said, leaning against the wall. My hands shook and my heart was pounding. “Why the hell would you do that?”
Parker stood and walked toward me. He still wore his suit jacket, but he’d discarded the tie and undone the top two buttons of his shirt. The look on his face had me swallowing hard and rethinking the wisdom of sassing him earlier on the phone.
He ignored me, snapping back with a question of his own. “Where’s Ryker? I thought he was keeping