He stared at me before resuming right where he left off.
Utilizing the one brain cell in my head that he hadn’t made stupid, I pulled away and rasped through heavy breaths, “We have to stop.” My hands went from gripping the smooth cotton fabric of his shirt to pushing against the muscles that hid beneath it.
Ryder’s mouth hung open as he blinked a few times. It took a moment for him to come to his senses before he said, “You’re right. I guess that was the opposite of taking it slow.” Assuming my demand came from geography, Ryder scanned the beach, where others enjoyed the pleasant Floridian temperature. “I’d rather be somewhere in private when I remind you how good we are together.”
“No, Ryder. I can’t do this… not here, not anywhere else.”
My harsh admission caused a switch to flip in him as he nodded and released me. With those words, I seemed to have killed the determination he had held on to all evening. “Okay. I’ll back off. It won’t happen again.”
And with those words, as my lips tingled from the loss of his, I had to bite back from retracting my statement.
Chapter Eight
Ryder
Fuck.
Despite knowing we weren’t on the same page, I thought we had made progress. Even though she friend zoned me, her body had responded… no, she had responded to that kiss. I felt it. She was right there with me. Granted, we were on an active beach as couples milled around us, enjoying the comfortable evening. Apparently, based on her statement, location wasn’t even the issue. But something stopped her from succumbing to our renewed desires. Sooner or later, I’d find out why she needed to keep me at arm’s length, though.
“I don’t mean… I just…” Struggling with what to say, she gave up and instead released a frustrated sigh before she looked up at me with those big brown eyes. “You must think I’ve lost my mind.”
My arms ached to pull her back into my hold. But I refrained and simply shook my head. “I don’t think that, Ree. I do think something is messing with your head. Whatever it is, you don’t have to hide it from me. I’m here however you need me to be.”
That same internal battle that I’d seen all night was back, revealed by her tormented expression. I hated seeing it.
Surprisingly, she took my hand. “I know. Thank you. I just need you to be patient with me.”
“I can do that.” Placing a soft kiss on her knuckles before she pulled away, which she did the moment she could, I then scooped up our shoes and her bag. “Let’s find somewhere to sit and enjoy this fantastic night. I’m in the mood for ice cream.”
“That sounds nice.”
We trekked back the way we’d come, dusted off the sand, and found an ice-cream parlor a block away. With our sweet treats in hand, we then settled on a stone bench facing the beach.
When I saw her eyeing my massive cone while shaking her head, I asked, “Want a taste?”
She scrunched up her nose as she stared at my brown sugar bacon confection. “Definitely not.” Riana always went for the safe bets—vanilla, chocolate, maybe strawberry. The most adventurous she’d get was rocky road. I, on the other hand, always chose the weirdest combination I could find. “That looks vile. Besides, I don’t eat meat.”
“You used to eat meat,” I shot back with a wink. Suppressing a laugh, I added, “Regarding bacon, you shouldn’t knock it unless you try it.” Her eyes homed in on my tongue swiping across the bulbous ball before she looked away. “It’s really yummy.”
“So is mine.” In a retaliation of sorts, she scooped some of her vanilla caramel swirl on the small plastic paddle and made a ceremony of sliding it into her mouth. Same as she had, my eyes now homed in on her tongue poking out to lick her lips. Maybe ice cream wasn’t the smartest idea. Especially when I’d been aching for her all night, and watching her now made me desperately want to sample that flavor off her tongue.
Instead, I avoided her tormenting me and focused on the ebb and flow of the dark surf. Whether she was aware of my struggles, she didn’t let on.
While we enjoyed our desserts, we chatted about benign topics such as my client list and her being let go from Angels on Earth. “That’s when I decided to really take the leap and come down here,” she admitted.
“I know