“Yeah, come on.Let’s head upstairs and I’lltuck you in bed.”
“My bed?”she asked as he got out of the carto open her door.
“I’ve kept your room exactly as you leftit.”
She stumbled out, but he easily caught her.Sky let out a breath as his body crushed her soft curves.His gazeslid from her face to the swell of her breasts under that thin tee.How many nights had he slept alone in his bed, thinking of havingher underneath him?Would she be pliant, eager?
Fuck, but he was a dirty bastard forharboring those kinds of thoughts.He gripped her wrist, fingeringthe old scars underneath the long-sleeve shirt she wore.Old angerresurfaced.The scars had faded to white, thin lines, but he’dnever been able to wipe the image of that night out of hismind.
Ryker harbored little guilt for ending Riverand those two lowlifes.He pushed her sleeves further down andcursed when he saw the fading bruises there.Ryker should have puta bullet hole in that fucker Rodney’s skull after all.She battedhis hand away, and he released her.
“Let’s head up, and that’s sweet of you, tokeep my old stuff I mean.”
“Of course.I wanted you to have a place youcan always return to, in case things didn’t work out.”
Ryker grabbed her bag from the back andoffered his hand.She smiled almost hesitantly, shyly at him, andtook it.He led her inside the building and into the lift.
“Are you disappointed in me?”she asked in asmall voice.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I lost my job.I never mentioned that onthe phone, and that’s what set Rodney off.”
“Rodney’s a sorry excuse of a human being.If you changed your mind about him, tell me.I can make him screamfor a very long time.”
Most women would turn jittery, queasy, whenhe talked like that, but Sky met his gaze evenly and squeezed hishand.On the outside, she looked so tiny compared to him—petite andshort, but underneath, she had steel in her spine.His woman wasperfect.
Mine.That word resonated inside ofhim with absolute certainty.Ryker had killed to protect her once,and he’d do it all over again just to see her smile.
Need surged through him like a flood.Hisdick twitched in his jeans, but he needed to calm down.He waitedyears for her, and nearly thought she was a lost cause.Half ofRyker hoped she’d find a life outside of the Familia, that she’d behappy, but the other half of him wanted her here with him, to standby his side.
The rest of the world might see him as amonster, a killer in a suit, but she’d always been different, ableto see past his flaws and accept him as he was.
“Forget about him,” she said.“I alreadydid.”
“Did you love him?”he had to ask as theyexited the elevator and walked to their unit.
Theirs.He’d always seen the placebelonging to the two of them.After killing River and his friends,he’d moved out of that crappy apartment and into this place,knowing Sky needed a fresh start.Neither of them had any fondmemories of home to begin with.Sky lived on her own after herparents left, while River and he had moved from one roach-infestedshithole to the next.
Although he could afford a better, swankierplace uptown, he kept this place because it always reminded him ofgood memories.He opened the door, turned on the switch, and waitedfor her answer.
She shut the door behind her, locking it.“Ithought I did, but I think I only settled for him because—can wetalk about this tomorrow?A lot happened tonight.I’ll tell youeverything tomorrow.Will you do the same?”
Ryker nodded, realizing he came off as akind of interrogator but fuck.Thinking about her living with ascumbag like Rodney easily set him off.What did she see in thatasshole?
Giovanni told him he had Gino do a check onthe bastard.No dangerous red flags came up, and they’d step in ifRodney did cross the line but still.He didn’t realize he’d gonesilent until she touched his arm, a concerned expression on herface.
“Ryker?”
“Yeah?”he asked, voice harsh.Shockreverberated through him when she suddenly hugged him fiercely.
The smell of her floral shampoo and soapwashed over him.He banded his arms around her waist, breathing inher scent.He’d missed the perfect fit of her body against his.
She raised her face to his, smiling.“Thankyou for dropping everything and picking me up.I really appreciateit.”
Ryker didn’t know what made him raise herchin with his hand.He traced the swell of her tempting bottom lipwith one callused finger, waiting for her to push him away.Instead, her cheeks turned an endearing shade of pink.Sky leanedforward and sucked on his finger, so slowly that it was hard tomistake the gesture for anything but erotic.
His dick dug painfully against the zipper ofhis jeans.
