Wild Embrace (Wilder Irish #11) - Mari Carr Page 0,63

our way,” Darcy said as Ryder shook his head and chuckled.

“How long do we have to stay before I can steal you away to your place? Bubbles wasn’t the only one I bought a present for.”

“I’m supposed to stay and help clean up afterwards, dammit. Hang on.” She closed her eyes, thinking hard.

“What are you doing?

“Trying to remember if I have any blackmail on Sunnie or Finn that I can use to get out of it.”

Ryder wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “I’ll help you clean up. That’ll make it go faster. Then it’s you and me all night.”

“All night?”

He nodded. “Cleared it with Leo before I headed over here.”

Darcy didn’t even bother to hide her delight.

Best. Day. Ever.

Chapter Fourteen

Darcy giggled as Ryder hastily pushed her into her bedroom, tossed his overnight bag down, then closed and locked the door behind them.

“Don’t get me wrong. It was a great party, but I never thought we’d get here,” he said as he pulled her shirt over her head, his quick actions to divest her of her clothing, backing up his words.

“Me, either.”

It appeared she was anxious to get him undressed as well, considering they were both naked within seconds. Their time alone was precious little, so when they managed to get somewhere private, clothing was typically the first thing to go.

Kissing Darcy was seriously becoming his favorite thing to do, and he found himself attempting to steal those kisses from her as often as he could. He ran his hands through her hair, his lips traveling along her soft cheek to her neck, to that little spot that never failed to provoke the cutest squeak.

He grinned when he hit the jackpot. Then he nipped her earlobe and she giggled.

“All good on birth control?” he whispered.

She nodded, and he started to kiss her again, surprised when she pulled away. “Why do you always ask me that?”

Ryder blew out a quiet sigh as he pondered what to say. In truth, he wasn’t sure why she hadn’t asked him that question before.

And on the flipside, he was pissed at himself for continuing to succumb to these stupid doubts that wouldn’t leave him alone. “I’m sorry, Darcy. I shouldn’t do that. But…”

“But?” she prompted.

He ran his hand through his hair, suddenly uncomfortable. He and Darcy had been together several times now, and more often than not, a memory of Denise found a way to sneak into the bedroom with him and fuck him up.

He considered shrugging off her question, attempting to distract her from her curiosity with more kisses. Finally, as always, he gave her the truth. “Denise was pregnant when we got married. That’s why we got married. We’d only been dating a few months. One night I didn’t have a condom. She said she was on the pill and…”

“She wasn’t on the pill?”

Ryder shrugged. “I don’t know the answer to that. When she found out she was pregnant, she said she’d forgotten to take it a few days, that she thought it would be okay.”

“Alright. I get that. But if you’re worried, then why not use a condom with me?”

Ryder studied her face for a long time. “The truth is, Darcy, I…”

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her that he trusted her.

That he loved her.

Fuck.

He felt a little bit light-headed as he looked at her and realized…

This had all gone way too far.

He swallowed deeply, trying to push his stomach, which was now lodged in his throat, back down.

What the fuck had he done?

“It’s okay. Forget I asked,” she whispered, taking in what he was sure must have been one hell of a deer-in-the-headlights look on his face.

She was letting him off the hook because Darcy knew him too well, saw things he didn’t intend for her to see.

She gave him a sweet—God, hopeful—smile, and his guts twisted. The woman didn’t have an ounce of self-preservation, insisting on looking at him like some goddamn Prince Charming or Westley or…

Panic mingled with anger and confusion and frustration.

Not a good combination.

He’d told her he didn’t want this. But she didn’t listen to him, didn’t heed his warnings.

She stepped closer to him and placed a hand on his cheek. “Don’t ask me about the birth control again,” she said softly. “If it’s not safe, I’ll tell you. I promise.”

Ryder remained motionless for a second or two, uncertain where to go from here. Part of him was telling him to take the high road, to be a smart man, put his clothes back