“Will I see you again?” I breathe out. The air around us stills as if his answer will be the only thing to give me life. A rejection will be another blow, but at least I’d understand.
“If I could stay away from you, I would’ve done it the moment I left the island.” He opens his mouth but then snaps it shut. My heart sinks deep into that void of hesitation. “But you need time to figure out your new life before we can give us a true shot.”
I drop my chin, knowing he’s right, but it doesn’t stop the disappointment. “Are you here out of guilt?”
His hand lifts my chin to meet his eyes. “You think I’d sneak past Secret Service, who have orders to shoot first then ask questions, because I feel guilty?”
“I come with a lot of baggage.”
“Whiskey, you come with an island of baggage and I still don’t care. You told me once that the right woman would be worth it.” He shifts forward, pressing his lips to mine. “You’re worth it.” His words take a direct path to my heart, warming it. “I just want to give you time to figure stuff out. And you have a shitload of stuff to figure out. But I’ll be here, waiting. I promise.”
“I’m scared.”
“Of what?” He pushes up on his arm, reaches over and tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear.
“Of everything.” My chest heaves as panic builds. I glue my gaze to the white ceiling. The vulnerability in my voice scares even me.
“Aspen, live life like an adventure. You are the strongest woman I know and since I’ve known you, you’ve attacked every challenge thrown at you.” I close my eyes and a tear rolls down my temple. They ripped away my strength with my past life. With the lightest touch, he wipes it away. “I mean, you wrestle sharks. How much more badass can you be?”
He makes me laugh. “I’ve never wrestled a shark.” Although, I’d rather be swimming with hungry sharks than swimming into the unknown.
“No, but if you did, I’d bet on you.”
I tuck my body into his. “How long are you here?”
“Only tonight,” he murmurs. Disappointment spirals through me. “I’m sorry. I’d stay longer if I could, but I have obligations and you have a family to meet.”
“Thanks for reminding me.” They know about me now. Halli told me they flew to Austin today and they’re waiting for when I’m ready. I’m not even close. The pressure is insane. “What if they don’t like me?” My number one fear rolls off my tongue.
He tsks like that’s absurd. “They already love you.”
I wish I could believe that.
Changing the subject, because I don’t want to think about what happens in the coming days anymore, I say, “I went horseback riding yesterday.”
His grin fades for a beat as he changes his focus, but he ends up nodding in understanding. “I bet it was different riding here than the island.”
“The major difference was riding on a saddle. I prefer bareback.”
My brows furrow, wondering why his lips stretch from ear to ear. Maybe he’s glad I did something I love to do.
“So do I, Whiskey. So, do I.”
“It’s so much more freeing. For both of us.” A horse can’t enjoy having a metal thing in his mouth. Ryker sucks in his lips, attempting not to laugh again. “You like to ride bareback?”
What is so funny?
“I’ve never, but I’ve always wanted to try.” He rolls on top of me, his eyes filled with a mixture of amusement and heat.
“I thought you said you prefer it?” What am I missing?
“I do. Especially with you.” He’s finding this conversation way more entertaining than it is. And by how hard his bulge is pressing into me, arousing too.
“Ryker, does bareback mean something else?” I ask and then moan when he presses his cock against my swollen clit.
“It means I want to slide my dick inside you, bare.” He kisses me in the crook of my neck. “Whiskey, you make me a needy man.”
“What do you need?” I reply in a tangled breath.
“You. Always, you.”
The energy that has always attracted me to him, surges and crackles in the air. As if the heat was burning us, our arms flail to strip each other’s clothes off for relief.
Except it doesn’t come when we’re both naked. Our chests heave as I sit in his lap, his hardness sits at my entrance, begging for consent.