He kissed me again before I could answer. Pressing my back against the tiles, he deepened the kiss, exploring me with so much urgency that I felt on fire. Not just the simmering kind, but a full-on inferno.
I felt wanted, claimed with every stroke of his tongue, every inch of skin he bared.
I had no idea when he’d undone the zipper of my skirt. I’d been too consumed by feeling his hard, naked body pressed against mine. When I was buck naked, he turned off the water, and we both stepped out of the shower. He wrapped a towel around me and another around himself before pulling me in a bear hug.
“My clothes are drenched,” I said, glancing at the pile. I would have pinched him, but he had me firmly captive in his hug. “Why did you pull me in the shower?”
“I didn’t plan on it.”
“So you just couldn’t help yourself?”
“Exactly. Just saw you standing there and wanted you with me.”
I sighed, just sinking against him. Well, I was completely disarmed now. I disentangled myself from his arms, turning around, running my fingers over his chest.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Getting my fill of you. And shhhh... your voice is too sexy. It’s distracting me.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He was silent right until I reached the hem of the towel he’d wrapped around his lower body.
“Heather....” His voice was dangerously low.
“All done, had my fill.”
“Really?”
“For now,” I amended.
“We’ll see about that.” Ryker’s smile was wolfish now. And his voice was still in that lower octave that made my entire body tingle. “How was your evening?” he asked.
“Excellent. The interview was just what I needed. I’m going to edit it tomorrow morning while it’s still fresh.”
“You can do it tonight if you want.”
“Ha! I’ve got you here to kiss and touch as much as I want, and you think I’ll waste my time editing?”
“Happy to know I’m more important than editing.” He wiggled his eyebrows, but then he swallowed hard, looking at me intently. “I want to talk to you about something.”
“Okay.”
“So... Avery made me a friendship card today.”
“Oh, that’s cute. She does those sometimes.”
“Yeah... but she made that after telling me she’d prefer if I was her friend, and not her dad. Because dads leave.”
My vision faded at the corners. I blinked a few times. My throat wasn’t just dry now; I had a lump the size of a fist at the base of it too.
“She... she said that?” My voice was shaky.
“Yes. And I was thinking, why don’t you two spend some time at my apartment too? Maybe then she’ll trust that I want to stick around. That I’m here to stay.”
Air rushed out of me. I hadn’t expected this, not in a million years.
“You want us at your apartment?” I whispered. Yes, I was double-checking, but I just couldn’t help myself.