Bound (19 page)

He lowered me back to the ground, but I couldn’t let go of him. One hand was wrapped around the back of his neck and the other was still buried in his hair. He bent to accommodate me and pressed his forehead against mine.

I was still breathless from the kiss, and thoughts of tonight made it hard to slow my breathing. I wanted to see Ryke feel the same way he made me feel: consumed by passion. Could I have that effect on him?

A loud male yelp broke the spell we were under, and we both turned to see Deacon sprawled on the ground. He’d tumbled out of the makeshift hammock he’d
made between two trees.

Reluctantly, I slid my hands down Ryke’s chest.
With a deep breath, I pulled away and forced my gaze from the sizeable bulge in his shorts. I just had to find something to distract myself with for the afternoon. Surely I could do that. I hadn’t been with a man in a year, what was another few hours?

Chapter 9

I was disoriented when I opened my eyes to the lenses of my shaded sunglasses.

“Hmm?” I said, poking my head up.

“You fell asleep,” Lexi said from next to me. We were on the dock getting some sun. I remembered feeling warm and relaxed, which must have led to a nap.

“My cell reception here is shit,” Lexi grumbled, tossing her phone onto the dock.
She wore a wide-brimmed hat to protect the new chocolate shade of her hair from fading.

“Do you have pictures of your son on there?” I asked, turning to her.

“Yeah.”

“Let’s see,” I said, pushing my sunglasses up into my hairline. “What’s his name?”

“Cade.”

She passed me the phone and I scrolled through photos of
a bright-eyed, dark-haired baby on assorted blankets, in a baby swing and in Lexi’s arms.

“He’s beautiful,” I said, my vision clouding with tears. There was a tinge of regret that I didn’t have pictures like this of my own, but mostly I was glad for Lexi that she did.

“Hey,” she said softly as I handed the phone back. “It’s totally fine if you don’t want to talk about it, but if you do, it stays between you and me.”

I sighed. She had always been a good friend in high school. She and John had gotten together then, and were one of those couples you knew would be together forever.

“I was at the doctor for the sono to find out the sex and when the doctor went to look, the baby was gone,” I said, staring up at the perfectly puffed shapes of clouds in the bright blue sky.

“Do they know why?”

“No. Not for sure. They took blood from me after the delivery and did a lot of tests, but they never found anything. The doctor said there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with me. That it can happen from an illness or sometimes just because the baby’s not developing right.”

“How are you doing with everything now?” Lexi asked. Concern wrinkled the corners of her eyes.

“I’m not sure,” I said, smiling and furrowing my brows. “It’s been hard, but I’m trying to move forward. Talking about it with you now . . . it’s the first time I’ve talked about it and not cried.”

“Does it feel good to talk about it?”

“It does,” I said, surprised. “It didn’t at first. But with you . . . I know you understand, and it’s safe. I don’t know if I could talk to just anyone about it.”

“I’m always, always here,” she said, reaching for my hand. “I’m so sorry I didn’t call you after. I’m ashamed of myself. I cried for you and prayed for you, but I just didn’t know what to say.”

“Thanks,” I said. “Really. I know it’s hard when you’ve never been there. I go to this grief support group, and it’s actually helped me a lot. That’s where I met Ryke.”

“Really?” Lexi cocked a brow in surprise.

“Yeah. His wife was killed by a drunk driver two years ago.”

“His wife?” Lexi’s hand flew to her chest. “God, that’s terrible.”

“Yeah. It had to be so much harder going through that in the spotlight.”

“He seems pretty great. But I’m confused, because you said he’s your boss and not your boyfriend—”

I covered my face with my hands. “It’s complicated. I think. I don’t even know, Lex. I haven’t been with anyone since Quinn. Sometimes I wonder if I should try to sleep with some random guy I’ve got no investment in. Ryke and I have been doing this dance for three months now, and I . . . really like him. A lot.”

“He really likes you, too. I can tell. Tha
t kiss earlier was hotter than any sex John and I have had since Cade was born.”

“But he’s probably not looking for a relationship after losing his wife—”

“Two years ago, Kate. He’s moved on, trust me.”

“But what if he just wants sex?”

Lexi rolled her eyes dramatically. “Is he seeing anyone else?”

“I don’t know.”

“Really?” She eyed me skeptically.

“I don’t think so,” I said. “I called him last weekend on Saturday afternoon to play games with me and Mom and Dale and he was free.”

“He came all the way here with you, he plays board games with your family and he’s willing to take it slow? He doesn’t just want sex, Kate. He’s into you.”

I smiled as I stretched in the late-afternoon sun. “I really like him, Lex. I’ve been reading about hockey and watching games on the Internet so I
’ll know what’s going on when his season starts.”

“But you’re gonna let him
score before that, right?” She grinned at me and we sounded like high schoolers again as we giggled. “You’d better, he’s hellasexy.”

I planned to let Ryke have as much of me as he wanted sooner than Lexi even realized. The sun’s rays were fading, making me aware that tonight was almost here.

***

Ryke

The
lemon juice I squeezed onto the grilling fish sizzled as drops fell into the flames of the fire. It reminded me of all the camping trips I’d taken with Dad and my brothers as a kid. I rarely got to hunt and fish anymore, two things I loved almost as much as hockey.

“You’re making the rest of us look bad,” Deacon said. I’d grabbed a stick to turn the baked potatoes I was making in the campfire. All the couples cooked their own food on this trip, and tonight I was making dinner for me and Kate.

“It’s not that hard, man,” I said. Deacon’s mouth was set in a line, more serious than usual, when I looked at him.

“So you like our girl?”
he asked.

“Yeah, I do.”

“She’s been through a lot,” he said. “You know that, right?”

I nodded. “I care about her. She’s important to me.”

“Good. She’s important to all of us, too. Don’t hurt her. I realize I can’t kick your ass or anything if you do, but I’d definitely root for another hockey team for the rest of my life.”

“Hey, you’ve got an open invitation to the games,” I said. “You can sit with Kate in my reserved seats. If she wants to come to my games, that is. Maybe she’ll hate hockey, who knows?”

Deacon laughed lightly. “Kate? She’ll be there. She’s one of the sweetest, most supportive girls I’ve ever known.”

I saw Kate approaching with Lexi and smiled. She’d gone to take a shower while I made dinner. As much as I liked the peace of my single life, there was something about this that felt exactly right. When Kate had fallen asleep wrapped in her sleeping bag with her back to me the night before, it had been the first time I’d slept next to a woman since Maggie. I planned on makin
g tonight a lot more eventful.

***

Though the campfire was crackling and climbing higher, the evening air had a chill to it tonight, and I snuggled closer against Ryke’s chest for warmth. I hadn’t realized it was possible for a person’s body to be so solid. Every inch of his chest and arms was firm with muscle.

“You want a drink?” he
asked, a faint smell of beer on his breath.

“No thanks.
”

“How are you feeling?” The concern in his voice melted my heart.

“Good,” I said, running a hand up his thigh. My friends were talking, laughing and rounding up shot glasses for a drinking game. Ryke and I were in our own little bubble, and I wanted to stay there.

His lips grazed my forehead and I squeezed his thigh, anticipation coursing through me.

“Are you ready for bed?” I asked.

He shifted to get up
. “Yeah, definitely.”

He curled his fingers around mine and led me toward our tent, which sat by itself on the outer edge of the campground.

“It’s not even nine yet!” Lee called as we passed.

“We’re tired fro
m running earlier,” I said.

“Oh.” He looked down and I felt bad for a second. Hopefully he didn’t still have a crush on me.

“Goodnight,” I said.

“Night.”

Ryke unzipped the tent’s door and held a flap of nylon up so I could crawl in. “He’s got a thing for you,” he said.

“He used to.”

Ryke turned on the solar powered lantern he’d brought and met my eyes in the dim light. He looked hesitant and a feeling of dread rose in my chest. Had he changed his mind?

“Uh . . .” He sighed deeply. “I’m not great with words, Kate. But I want you to know you’
re more to me than . . . you know, than . . .”

I smiled as he struggled for words. “Are you nervous?” I asked, surprised.

“No, I just want you to know you matter to me. You’re not just a casual thing. But hockey, it ties me up. I can’t have something . . . normal with you.”

“Tonight’s just tonight,” I said. “I don’t expect anything else.”

He was sitting on his sleeping bag, his legs stretched in front of him, and I straddled him. His hands gripped my ass and pulled me into him tightly.

“Just make me feel good,” I whispered against his mouth. “That’s all I want.”

One of his hands ran up the length of my spine, my long hair sliding through his fingers.

“I love your hair, Kate,” he said. “So long and beautiful. I’ve fantasized so many times about pulling it just when you start to come.”

He wrapped his fingers around a section as he spoke and tugged it down, tilting my face toward the screened tent top. His lips met my throat, warm and gentle, and the scattered stars I saw through the mesh ceiling faded as my eyes fluttered closed.

He kissed his way down my collarbone to my chest and then slowly back up my neck. It was good, so exquisitely good, and my breath grew shallow as one of his hands slid beneath the waistband of my jeans, his fingers pulling me against him tightly.

When he released my hair, I lowered my mouth to his greedily, moaning as our tongues tangled in a deep kiss. I gripped his cheeks with my hands, loving the feel of his rough stubble.

He was rock hard beneath me, and I pushed my knees into the ground, grinding against him feverishly. Apparently my shyness had passed; I was about to come within our first five minutes together.

When he wrapped his hands around my hips and eased them back gently, I groaned with disappointment. He sat me on my sleeping bag and I knew my confusion was etched on my face.

“Lay down,” he said
softly. I complied, but my gaze never left his face. His caramel eyes were pools of desire, and I wanted to satisfy him so badly.

Ryke stripped his t-shirt off his head in one quick motion and stretched out next to me, leaning up on an elbow and looking down at me. I
reached a hand to his bare chest and let my fingers trace every line and ridge.

His lips parted as I explored him, and in that momen
t, I stopped thinking of him as Jason Ryker, panty-dropping hockey star. This was Ryke, whose sweet, sexy gaze made me feel like the only woman in the world.

He moved one knee between my thighs, and the feel of his body hovering over mine was a sensory o
verload. His warmth, the tingle his breath on my neck caused and the light scent of his cologne all competed for my attention.

Just as he eased my shirt up past my stomach, his other knee found its way between mine and he edged it against my thigh, spreading my legs. I couldn’t help my audible moan.
I was drowning in a flood of emotion for him.

He slipped my shirt over my head and his lips were back on my neck, caressing away the anxiety that was starting to surface. I wanted him so much. More
than I’d ever wanted anyone. But he’d all but told me this wasn’t going anywhere by saying hockey kept him tied up. I told myself I didn’t need it to go anywhere, that all I wanted was tonight, though I knew it was a lie.

My worry slipped away as Ryke slid the strap of my bra down my shoulder and his tongue slid over my taut nipple. I let out a sound that was half
-sigh and half-groan.

A smile of satisfaction turned up his lips as he
flicked his gaze up to meet mine. He slipped down the other bra strap, kissing the spot where it had been on my shoulder.