“I know I’m a laid back guy that tries not to take things too seriously in life, but that doesn’t mean I think everything is a joke. I respect you, Trina. I like you.” He glanced at me again. “A lot.”
That knot was loosening even more, and it scared the bejeebers out of me. I couldn’t let myself get ensnared by Ryder’s seeming sincerity or charm.
“Thank you. I appreciate your apology.”
“Good.”
Needing to keep a barrier between us, I said, “I don’t know why you kissed me like that—”
“I just told you why. I like you.”
My heart fluttered but I told it to calm down. I didn’t need it to get any ideas about me and Ryder. That crush I had on him in high school was long gone. He made my hormones go haywire because it had been a long time since they’d been stimulated. When this bet was over, I’d need to consider dating more again as clearly they’d become less discriminating during my long sexual drought.
Just to be sure he understood where the boundary line was, I said, “I think we should keep things platonic. No kissing or touching. We win the bet and that’s it.”
He nodded, but didn’t say anything.
When we got back to his place, I immediately went to my room. I worried he might continue to want to talk or kiss, but luckily, he let me be.
I climbed into bed and willed sleep to come, but I didn’t have any luck there. Each time I closed my eyes, Ryder appeared. One thing about him, he was smooth. At the senior center, he looked suave and sexy, like he’d stepped off a 1950’s Vegas stage with the Rat Pack. His voice was smooth and silky and if I were prone to romantic notions, I’d have been lured in by its lovely tone. Instead, I’d been bewitched by his kiss. His mouth consuming mine flashed in my brain, making my body heat with the memory of his soft, yet firm lips. I could still taste him. I could still feel the way his hands held my hips and the growing arousal in his fancy slacks.
I wasn’t completely innocent when it came to men. I’d dated a little bit and I wasn’t a virgin. But I couldn’t remember ever having a kiss electrify my entire body like Ryder’s had. Of course, most men didn’t stick around for too long. I knew why. I was well aware that I was a difficult woman. For a time, it made me sad and I tried to temper my sharp tongue and strong opinions. But that didn’t feel right either. I didn’t like the discomfort of pushing aside my own needs to try and impress or keep a man.
What I needed was a man who could weather my temperament and need for control in my life. Not a pushover, because I didn’t like that either. My father was a pushover, which was partly why his life was so chaotic. I needed a man who could challenge me without disrupting the order in my life. A man who could understand and accept my quirks. And, I suppose, one who could help me relax and enjoy life more. I needed someone that I could trust to take charge so that order could remain even if I wasn’t at the helm of the ship. Jesus, it sounded like Ryder.
But no. Ryder, for all his sexiness and ability to dodge and weave at my snark, wasn’t serious enough. He coasted through life instead of directing it, like my father had, and I couldn’t be with someone like that. I needed direction and a plan.
Finally, my eyelids drooped closed and sleep arrived. With it came Ryder, with his sexy smile and his talented tongue doing unspeakably pleasurable things to me. I woke with a startle, my nipples hard as rocks, my pussy throbbing with need. God damn that man. Even in my dreams, he haunted me and turned me on until I had no choice but to relieve the ache myself.
9
Ryder
I liked Sundays because I had no appointments. No work. No obligations. Even in this fake marriage, Trina had no expectations of me except to leave her alone.
After an extremely satisfying kiss outside the senior center earlier in the week, we had a bit of a truce. I truly hadn’t known how using her poems made her feel and I felt like shit that she’d thought I’d been making fun of her. She’d been less snarky to me after that, making me think she believed me and accepted my apology. Or maybe she’d just completely detached from me and was trying to avoid me.
What had been clear was that she didn’t want anything more from me than to get through this bet. I didn’t believe that, of course. She’d kissed me back at the senior center. Her nipples had hardened, pressing into my chest as I devoured her mouth. No, she wanted me. She just didn’t want to want me. Of course, in the end, it didn’t matter that she was denying her own attraction to me. No was no, and I would respect that. It made me crazy to no end. I woke up every morning with a hardon after dreaming of her sexy mouth on my dick. I wondered what she’d do if she knew I was jerking off to her every morning with the image of her sucking me off? I didn’t want to find out, so I kept it as my own little secret.
So on this lazy Sunday, I’d left her alone as I had for the previous several days. I’d taken a run which was a form of meditation as well as exercise for me. Some of my best songs were written while I was running, and today was no different as I arrived home with the beginnings of a song that I thought the band would like.
When I got back home, Trina was locked away in her room. I headed to the shower and continued to work out the song that had come to me during my run. Eventually, I knew I needed to get my guitar and play what I was hearing in my head. I exited the shower and went to my room. I was naked, but my door was closed, as I picked up my guitar and started to play and sing the song that I was getting more excited about.
I was working through the bridge of the song when the door flew open, and Trina barreled in startling me.
“Do you always have to play that blasted—” The rest of the sentence seemed to catch in the back of her throat as she took in my state of dress, or more accurately, the lack of dress. Her gaze drifted down, and my poor dick didn’t stand a chance as he started to perk up at Trina’s wide-eyed admiration of him.
“Is there something you need?” I asked.
Her gaze jerked back up to my face. “I…ah…”
I’d never seen Trina at a loss for words. I’d also never seen her look at me like I was dessert. I liked it. A lot.
I set my guitar down and moved closer to her.
She blinked and then stammered, “Never mind.” Then she ran from my room.
I blew out a breath and decided to let her go. But as I went to pick up my guitar, her lovely face showing admiration for my body came back to me. My dick grew hard again.