“Not at all.” I shook my head. “Especially when I didn’t even have time to prepare myself. Prepare mentally. For the shock of it. Not like…prepare with lube. Although I imagine a lot of lube would be necessary…”What the hell am I saying?!I cleared my throat to try to distract my stalker from the pure awkwardnessthat had just left my mouth. “So…how about you show me around this place?”
“Got it.” Ryder pulled out a little notebook and jotted something down.
“What are you writing?” I asked.
“Nothing.” He tucked the notebook back into his jacket pocket. “So where shall we begin with our tour? The master bedchamber?”
“Sure.”Who the hell calls it a bedchamber?I thought I was the only one who said weird stuff like that.
He led me up the stairs and into a ridiculously awesome bedroom, complete with a four-poster bed. He kicked something into a closet and slammed it shut.
“Was that a Croc?”
“What?” asked Ryder with a laugh. “Why would there be a crocodile in the penthouse? That sounds like the title of a children’s book.”
Okay…There was no time to dwell on that, though. Because my eyes went straight to the silk neckties tied securely to two of the bedposts. “What are those for?” I asked.
Ryder stared at me. “Would you like to find out?”
I gulped. Was my stalker about to tie me to his bed? I’d had this fantasy before. But it usually ended with him cutting me upin little tiny pieces. Luckily Frankie would never let that happen though. “That depends. Have you used them before?”
“Oh definitely. But they’ve been thoroughly cleaned since then.” He took a step towards me. But then he stopped when his cellphone started ringing. “Hold that thought.” He answered his phone. “Talk to me.”
I tried to listen. Was he getting a call from the last girl he’d tied to this bed?
I couldn’t make out much, but I thought I heard a guy saying something about agents coming.
“You’re sure?” asked Ryder. “Okay. Thanks for the heads up.”
“What was that about?” I asked.
For a second Ryder’s confident smile faltered. “Nothing important. Want to see the balcony?” He put his hand gently on my back and guided me through a maze of rooms and out onto the balcony.
And then the wind blew through my hair and the familiar sounds of honking taxis and squealing brakes filled my ears. For the first time since I’d stepped foot in NYC, I felt like I was able to get a breath of fresh air. And the view… God, the view was everything.
“Not a bad view, huh?” asked Ryder.
“It’s amazing.”Is this even real life right now?I had no idea how I had gotten so lucky to end up on this balcony with my super sexy stalker. Who apparently wanted to tie me to his bed and dounspeakable things to me. Trying new things was working out pretty damned well for me.
And it was about to get even better.
My stalker leaned down towards me.Is he going to kiss me?Oh my God!I closed my eyes and got ready for it. I wasn’t even scared of whatever germs he had. I just wanted to taste him. But instead I felt his breath on my neck.
“Stay calm,” he whispered into my ear. “And don’t look back. There are some agents after us. Frankie might be one of them.”
My eyes flew open. “Agents? Like…FBI agents?”
Ryder nodded. “Yup. Exactly. FBI agents.”
What?“Quit messing with me.” God, why did it always seem like the FBI was after me?
“I wish I was.” He looked dead serious. “But an acquaintance of mine in NYC was recently taken, and I think I’m next. I’m sorry, I never meant to tangle you up in this.”
Taken? What?
“Where’d you guys go?” called Frankie from inside.
“We’ll just be out here another second,” yelled Ryder. “Why don’t you go ahead and draw up a rental agreement?”
