Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 65862 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 329(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65862 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 329(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
“I’ve wanted you from the first time I saw you,” Ryker says, placing his hands on the counter on either side of me. “I wasn't even looking for you, but there you were.” A small smile pulls at his lips like he’s remembering the day.
“You were sitting on a bench outside. You were wearing white shorts with a pink tank top and flip-flops. Your toenails matched your shirt. I’m guessing you were waiting for your next class to start, or at least that’s what I tell myself you were doing. I don’t like the thought of you waiting for him.” His eyes grow a shade darker. He doesn’t have to say who he means, I already know who he’s talking about. “You were thumbing through your textbook looking completely bored. I thought you were stunning. I wanted to walk over to you and make you smile. I knew if you looked so breathtaking with that bored look on your face, I couldn't imagine what you’d look like smiling. I wanted to see that more than I’d ever wanted anything else.”
I search my memory trying to think back to the time he’s talking about. I wonder if I saw him that day, but I don’t recall. When I try to remember if he was there, the only thing I can think of is that I felt like I was being watched. More so in the past few months, but now I know it wasn't in my head. It was Ryker. Maybe that should make me mad, and it might have if he told me this when I first got here. But now? Things are different. I like that he watched me. He cared so much about me that he had this crazy need to make sure I was always safe.
“I saw you and I completely forgot why I’d gone there in the first place.” Ryker pushes off the counter and goes around to the other side of it. He picks up a plate of food and brings it back over to where I’m sitting. He lifts a strawberry and brings it to my mouth. I take a bite of it, then he pops the rest of it in his mouth, finishing it off.
“Then he showed.” I glance down at my hands, locking my fingers together.
I don’t want to talk about Fritz, and I can tell he doesn't either. I actually feel guilty about Ryker seeing me with Fritz. I think I would lose it if I ever saw him with another woman. Even just thinking about that happening hurts more than when I saw Fritz with Lilith.
Ryker’s hands come to mine, untangling my fingers and locking his around them. “Don’t do that. It’s my fault. I should have taken you from him that day,” he tells me. His voice is deep and filled with emotion. “I just wasn’t sure of how to do it then. I thought you’d see through him and leave him soon.”
“I should have,” I admit.
“It helped that you two weren’t together much. It was hard to believe you were a couple at times. I think that helped me not to lose it.” His hands tighten in mine in a possessive yet gentle grip.
“I’m yours now,” I remind him, trying to cool the anger I see sparking in his eyes.
“You were always mine,” he corrects.
He picks me up quickly and it breaks the tension of the moment.
“You have got to stop carrying me everywhere,” I say though my laughter, hoping that he never does. He walks us out of the kitchen and down the hall to his office. He sits me down on the sofa he has in there before walking over to a picture. It’s like something out of a movie when he pulls the painting back to reveal a safe behind it.
“Zero five one nine,” he says aloud while he hits the keys. “The day I first saw you.” He winks at me over his shoulder before he opens the safe door.
I sit up a little straighter when he reaches in and pulls out a stack of folders. I see a gun sitting inside, too. It makes me nervous, although I shouldn’t be shocked. This is the south, but it still catches my eye. He shuts the door to the safe and comes over to me and sits down.
When I look down at his folders, I see Fritz’s name on the top one. I also see the folder I made that last day I was at the art studio. It reminds me of the things I found. It all slipped my mind since being brought here.
“Are you into something illegal?” I ask, feeling my stomach drop.
I need to know. I don’t know what I’ll do if he says yes, but I can’t be lied to again. The fact that he could be wrapped up in this should make me want to get away from him, but right now I just want the truth. If he’s mixed up in whatever it is I found that day, then I have to know.