I lay in bed and stared at the ceiling. Sleep wouldn’t come. That was okay. Tomorrow was Saturday, and I didn’t have any plans anyway, except for seeing Ryder. I really hoped April was going to be okay.

I’d missed Ryder more than I could fathom. Just seeing him made me want to smile until my face broke. He still had the power to make me happy.

Damn redheads. Rory had been the same way with Lucah. At least for her things had worked out. I flipped over on my stomach and punched my pillow so it would go into a more comfortable shape.

It didn’t do any good.

~*~*~

A delicious smell woke me the next morning. I’d finally gotten to sleep a few hours before daylight. I opened my eyes and saw a tray of steaming food sitting on my dresser. I only needed one guess to figure out who it was from.

“Ryder!” I yelled, and there was a knock at my bedroom door before he poked his head in.

“Yes? How can I be of service?”

I sat up and covered myself with my blanket even though I wasn’t naked. It was too intimate to have Ryder in my bedroom. The last time he’d been here we were naked.

“I want you to give me that key back,” I said as he grabbed the tray and brought it over to me, setting it on the bed. The food distracted me for a second. French toast, sliced oranges, a cup of coffee, and a little vase with a daisy in it. He was a charmer, that was for sure.

“Sure. I’ll give it back as soon as I’ve made a copy.” He grinned and sat down on the edge of my bed.

I shook my head. “No, I want you to give the key back so you can’t get into my apartment anymore. Or else I’ll just change the locks.” That would be expensive, but necessary.

“But I brought you breakfast,” he said, pointing to the tray. I was absolutely ravenous, and I wanted to fall on the food like a wild animal, but I resisted. I couldn’t show him how much I wanted it.

“Ryder. Aren’t you supposed to be earning my trust? Breaking into my apartment isn’t exactly a good way to go about that.”

He smiled. “But I didn’t break in. You gave me a key.” I nearly picked up the tray and threw it at him. “I just wanted to do something nice for you to thank you for last night and everything. For agreeing to give me another chance.”

“You are on thin ice, mister,” I said, picking up the fork and then spreading the napkin on my lap.

“Enjoy your breakfast,” he said, ignoring my comment and getting to his feet. “I’ll be down the hall if you need more syrup.” He closed the door and I listened as he left the apartment, locking the door behind him. I really needed to get that key back.

I stabbed a corner of the French toast with my fork then cut it up with my knife. I knew it would be good. I’d given him a very extensive French toast lesson once. He’d done great. The toast wasn’t mushy in the middle or too done on the outside.

“Damn,” I said as I ate. If he kept cooking like this for me, he was on the road to forgiveness.

When I was done, I got up and got dressed, pulling my hair back and applying light makeup before carrying the tray to the kitchen. He’d obviously cooked in Rory’s kitchen, so I needed to bring the plates back, but I could do that later. I texted her and asked how things were going, but she didn’t respond right away. I really hoped that no news was good news.

Figuring I should get back to my babysitting duties, I walked down the hall. The door was unlocked, but no one answered when I knocked so I just went in.

“Ryder?” I called out. No answer. I started looking through the apartment. It took me a minute to hear the shower. Oh. I backed slowly out of the apartment and decided to come back later. I definitely didn’t need to see Ryder in the shower or think about Ryder in the shower or anything relating to Ryder being naked and running water.

I really needed to get a grip.

~*~*~

I waited so long for Ryder to get out of the shower that he came and found me.

“How was breakfast?” he asked as he unlocked the door and walked in.

“You have a real problem with respecting personal space, you know that?” I really needed to put my foot down.

“I guess. Next time I’ll knock. How’s that?”

“That should have been your first instinct. I mean, this is my apartment. I’d, you know, like some privacy.”

He thought about that for a second. “Yeah, you’re right.” And he dropped my key on the counter.

Tags: Chelsea M. Cameron Erotic
Source: readsnovelonline.net