That’s his way, I’ve learned over the last two days, of saying he’s done talking, so I turn to Ryder.
He instantly arches that devilish brow of his. I wonder if he knows how sexy he is when he does that?
What am I thinking? Of course, he freaking knows.
“You want to know if I want kids?” I didn’t realize how close he was to me until his voice moves over me in a silky breath. Warm and inviting. His scent of the finest whiskey and cinnamon with a hint of smoke fills my senses, threatening to make me forget my name.
I fight back the shiver that threatens to escape. I’m gettingrather good at it, considering how often I have to do it.
It’s only been a few weeks since we met at the diner, and two days since we arrived here. I can’t explain it, but they make me feel alive. And they’ve inspired me.
And that makes my head spin and stomach hurt.
But there’s no denying they’reunder my skin. They invaded my mind. They consume me.
T-R-O-U-B-L-E.
But I also want to know. I want to know what makes them tick. I want to see inside of them. Especially Ryder. He always seems to be holding back. Keeping everything close to his chest. I see what he means about being in control. He needs it. He feeds on it.
“Tell me please,” I cup his face.
He sucks in a breath. It’s barely perceptible but it’s there. It’s the first time I’ve initiated contact with him. I wonder if I have the same effect on him that he has on me.
I hear Maddox chuckle. He likes when I put Ryder on the spot. He seems to enjoy watching him squirm.
Ryder lays back, pulling away from me, and my foolish heart drops. “I don’t know where I’ll be or where I even want to be. But I suppose I’ve imagined a family – kids once or twice.”
“More than imagined,” Mads confirms. “He already has the names picked out.”
My eyebrows shoot upward. “You two talk about this stuff?”
“We talk about everything, cupcake.”
“What are the names?”
“Uh-uh,” Ryder laughs. “Not getting that out of me.”
“Oh, come on. I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”
“What makes you think I care what yours are?” he asks me.
He’s not trying to be an asshole. It’s just a statement of fact for him. But it still stings.
“Ryder.” Maddox’s stern voice carries a warning.
“No, no. It’s okay. He doesn’t have to tell me.”
“After my sister if it’s a girl and a combination of my father and grandfather if it’s a boy. There. Are you satisfied now?” he grunts as he gets to his feet.
My heart walks off toward the water. My heart breaks again because I’m sure the sister he’s referring to is his twin sister. I learned online that she died earlier this year.
“Should we go after him?” I ask.
“No. If he thought he could process here with us, he wouldn’t have walked off.”
“What happened to her? His sister?”
Maddox shakes his head with a sigh. “That’s not my story to tell, and I can’t promise he will ever tell it. Some things are better left in the past, cupcake.”
