I sip my drink. Yeah. Everything’s fine. I can work for the company for a few more months.
Then I think of Claire and the fact that I have to tell her about the delay in my plans, plans that she’s just as excited about as I am.
I gulp down the rest of my gin. Fuck.Chapter NineteenClaire
I rush to the door of my apartment the moment I hear the doorbell.
I know it’s Ryker, even though he hasn’t called to let me know he’s coming. It’s Saturday, after all, and we usually spend our Saturdays together. Plus he promised we’d do something special this weekend to reward ourselves for doing such a great job with Joel and Natalie’s wedding shower, and I can’t wait to hear what he has planned.
I open the door. At the sight of Ryker standing just outside in blue jeans and a long-sleeved plaid shirt with the top three buttons undone, my heart skips a beat.
“Hey, handsome,” I greet him playfully. “Where are we going?”
He smiles, which makes him instantly ten times hotter. I nearly melt at the knees on the spot.
“Do you want to pack your bags and find out?”
~
I was hoping Ryker and I would go somewhere out of state, like Mineral Park in Wisconsin or Ann Arbor in Michigan. But when we arrive in Lake Forest, which is less than an hour away from Chicago, I can’t bring myself to be disheartened.
I’ve only been here twice before, both times in summer, so I’ve never seen it covered in a blanket of snow. Right now, it is, and somehow that makes it more enchanting. It almost feels like Christmas all over again.
And I feel like Christmas. I’m eating candies and popcorn. Ryker bought me an old cookbook I’ve been searching for for a while. I spent some time helping out in the kitchen at the Elawa Farm. Best of all, I’m having sex with Ryker between luxurious sheets.
I focus on that, burying my nails in Ryker’s ass as his sheathed cock moves slowly in and out of me. I already came—twice—which is why my body still feels like it’s drifting and my mind is lost in a haze, but I have a feeling there’s one more orgasm coming.
Ryker kisses me once more and my head goes blank. His tongue, which still has a bit of my taste on it, wriggles against mine. I shiver.
He tosses the blanket aside as he pulls away, but I don’t feel cold at all. He holds my feet up in the air. His fingers grip my ankles as he pounds into me.
I clutch the edges of the pillow behind my head and moan. It’s all I can do as he rocks my body, with each powerful thrust pushing all the buttons inside me and sending fire spreading through my veins.
Yup. I’m close again. And this time, so is Ryker. His hips are going faster and faster. He’s gasping for air.
“Coming!”
When he jerks his hips and that final thrust hits deep inside me, I fall over the edge. Cries spill from my lips as my back arches. My fingers rake at the sheets. My eyes roll to the back of my head as I bury it against the pillow.
I keep my eyelids shut as I catch my breath and wait for my heart to slow down. Ryker lets go of my ankles and my legs fall. He pulls his cock out of me, leaving me feeling hollow and yet content at the same time.
The bed creaks as he gets off to get rid of the condom. Only then do I open my eyes to find the blanket. I grab it and pull it over my body up to my shoulders. Moments later, Ryker returns to the bed and joins me between the sheets. I rest my head on his shoulder and snuggle against him.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“For the sex?” he asks, surprise in his voice.
“For bringing me here,” I tell him. “To this magical place just outside of Chicago and yet an entirely different world of its own.”
He lifts my chin to give me a tender kiss. Then he looks into my eyes.
“I’m glad you like it.”
I smile and start to run my fingers across his chest.
“I’m going to take you places, too, you know. There’s this scenic city in Nepal called Pokhara. There’s this beautiful waterfall in Laos that just seems like it’s out of a video game but better. There’s an island in Cambodia that isn’t too well-known but has this marvelous combination of jungles and white sand. And don’t get me started on Japan. There are just so many places there that you’ll absolutely fall in love with.”
In spite of all my excited blabber, Ryker says nothing. I lift my head and look at him.
“Is something wrong?”
As soon as he meets my gaze, I know there is. A lump forms in my throat as a bad feeling pricks my chest and spreads.