Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
LEXI
NOW
W hen Ryan sent me that address earlier while I was sitting on the bedroom floor, I didn’t know where it would take me, but when I pulled up to the apartment building it was probably the last thing I expected. I knocked on the door to his apartment and when he opened the door, his dark hair looked even darker from the water of his shower. He stood in gray sweatpants with no shirt on, showing off his tattoos. When he raised his arm against the door frame and smirked at me, I couldn’t help but wrap my arms around his waist and press the side of my face into his hard chest. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into the apartment, kicking the door shut with his foot as he leaned down to kiss me.
I pulled away from him and looked around his apartment. It looked just like I thought a single man’s apartment would. Simple and minimalistic. He had a TV sitting on a wooden cabinet and a two-seater gray couch with no decorative pillows or throws. He had only two framed pictures on the wall. I walked straight over to the photos and realized that one photo was a photo that Ryan took of me one day when we were up at Cove Point. I had put on his leather cut and was sitting on his bike with a massive smile on my face. I remembered the day like it was yesterday. The other was a photo that I had taken of Jay, Haz and Ryan. They were standing in a circle, all holding up a beer out to each other and you could see the Viper tattoo on all of their forearms.
I felt Ryan come up behind me and wrap his arms around my waist as he leaned down to leave a soft kiss on my shoulder before resting his chin in the same spot.
“I remember this photo. The three of you got so drunk that night that you all passed out in the backyard. Dad told me to leave you there to learn a lesson.” I laughed at the memory. It was only a week before I left and at the time I thought those three boys would be in my life forever.
“We woke up soaking wet because it rained and your dad locked the back door so we all tried to sneak through your window because it was the easiest.” His laugh was loud in my ear and I could smell the mint on his breath.
“You all look so happy.”
“We were. Have you visited Jay since you’ve been back?” he asked as he tucked his face into my neck.
I took a deep breath at the mention of my brother. I wasn’t brave enough to go visit him yet and to see him like that. I wasn’t sure if I would ever be truly ready, so I shook my head in response.
“Come here, I want to show you something.” He pulled me back a few steps before I turned around to face him.
“Straight to the bedroom? Ryan Blake, you should buy a girl dinner first.” He moved his hands lower and pulled me tight against him before kissing me again.
“Funny you say that.” He let go of my waist and grabbed my hand to lead me towards the kitchen. He pulled out a chair for me to sit in and when he opened the oven, it made the whole apartment smell like heaven. I could smell the garlic and herbs he had used along with the savoury scent of the meat. He opened the cupboard above him and grabbed out two wine glasses before pouring a white wine into both glasses, sliding one over to me.
“Do I lose the chance on the bedroom tour if I made dinner instead of buying it?” He leaned against the kitchen bench as he crossed his arms which made his chest muscles look even bigger.
“You definitely haven’t lost the chance. It smells incredible, Ryan.”
Ryan dished out dinner and we ate at his breakfast bar because as he said, he had no need for a dining table for just him. I didn’t know that Ryan could even cook but that was the best meal I had ever eaten and it was even better being in his company again.
He showed me around the rest of the apartment after dinner and told me to have a shower while he cleaned up the dishes. The shower at home felt so weak compared to his. I rubbed his body wash over myself. I inhaled the sandalwood scent and felt like Ryan was right beside me. When I turned off the water, I got out of the shower, wrapped the towel around me and I looked for my clothes, but they weren’t where I left them on the bathroom floor. Instead there was a folded black t-shirt and a pair of Ryan’s boxers sitting next to the sink.
I slipped his shirt over my head and his boxers were too big for me, which was no surprise. I rolled the waistband a few times so they stayed on my hips. I walked through Ryan’s apartment and found him sitting on the couch, scrolling through a list of movies to watch on the TV. I sat next to him on the couch, and he pulled my legs onto his lap and I rested my head on his shoulder. Whatever movie Ryan ended up choosing, we didn’t watch. Within five minutes we were kissing and his hands had slid into his boxers I was wearing. From there, I was done for.
* * *
“S o, is this your usual trick?” I asked Ryan as we laid in his bed, both only covered by his thin sheet. He looked up to me with an eyebrow raised. “Bring a girl home, cook her dinner and seduce her into your bed.”
He rolled on top of me and put one hand on either side of my face and kissed me. “Lexi, I don’t have any tricks. I haven’t needed any because you haven’t been here.”
“You haven’t had any other girls here while I was gone?”
“Why would I? I never wanted anyone else, Lexi. It’s only ever been you.”
I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled him even closer to me before kissing him passionately. He kissed down my body, lingering in the sensitive spots just long enough to make it unbearable. He was teasing me and he knew it. I reached down to run my hand through his hair and pulled it with just enough tension that he got the hint and kept moving around my body. My body felt like it was on fire from every touch. It loved his touch, it craved it and it missed it.
We were already naked under the sheets so it didn’t take long for our touching to escalate. Ryan leaned over to grab a foil wrapper from the bedside drawer and put it between his teeth to rip it open. He was back on top of me, holding himself up by his elbows to make sure he didn’t put his full weight on me as my hands went back into his hair. He kissed my neck as he pushed inside me.
There hadn’t been anyone else for me either. I went on a few dates but nothing ever felt right; it never felt like it did with Ryan. I thought since I left Haven Cove that I would just have to deal with my decision, that living my life alone was the choice I had made. I left all those years ago because I couldn’t be in this town anymore. I couldn’t just sit by and wait for another person in my life to be taken away from me, yet here I was. I was back in Haven Cove and I was back in Ryan’s bed.
As I looked into his green eyes, I realized I made the right decision earlier. Now that I had him back in my life, I didn’t want to ever let him go again.