Chapter Nineteen
Ryker
Sydney, Australia. Ryker got his tablet set up for a video call
with his sister, Rachel, a good distraction for his consuming
thoughts of Wes and how much he missed him. Who am I right
now? He focused his attention on the task at hand and waited
for his sister to dial in.
“Ryker, you shit, you haven’t called me in a
month! What’s with that, bro?” His sister’s laughing face appeared
on his screen. Despite their differences in age and personality,
they shared the same blue eyes and dark hair. She looked healthy,
glowing. Her usual happy self.
Ryker shrugged. “Sorry, I get so caught up
in my writing sometimes that I lose track of time. You know me.” He
smiled. “So, what’s up with you, Rach? How’s the weather down
under?”
“Hot and sunny, honey. I’m busy as usual,
but classes finish in two weeks, then finals, then grading papers,
ugh. Then I’m headed back to New York, baby!” She squealed and
punched a fist in the air.
Ryker laughed at his sister’s antics.
“Awesome. Do you know where you want to stay yet?”
“I’ll bunk in with Mom.”
“Okay. You’re always welcome here, too,” he
replied.
“I know. Maybe I’ll spend a week with you,
split the time. As long as that’s okay and I’m not crimping your
style,” she joked. “Oh, and I have some other good news. I was
offered a tenured position at Stanford, so I’ll be moving back to
the US in August!” she yelled.
“Stanford! Holy shit, Rach, I’m so proud of
you. Congrats! Wait, that’s in San Francisco, right?”
“Close by, yup.”
“I’ve got a friend traveling through San
Francisco now on a book tour. He says the food and people are
amazing.” Ryker flushed just thinking about Wes.
“And who might that friend be?” she asked
teasingly.
Ryker cleared his throat. “Wes Stewart. You
may have heard of him.”
Rachel interrupted. “The mystery author?
That’s fucking awesome. And he writes all those other books for
wannabe authors. He’s a great writer. And he’s hot. And gay. So, is
he a work-only friend or a friend with benefits?” she asked with a
smirk.
“No comment. Next subject, please,” Ryker
replied, his flushed cheeks giving him away.
“Come on, Ry, spill,” she cajoled.
“Nope. All I’ll say, in confidence, is that
he and I are working on a new book series together. We’ve started
on some ideas. So far, so good. He’s smart, charming—he knows he’s
charming—and despite an initial rocky start, things are moving in
the right direction. And, yes, before you ask, he’s even better
looking in person. Next topic. How’s your dating life? Any cute
Aussie men catch your eye?”
“Please, with this teaching schedule and my
research, who has time? Maybe when I land back in the US. Oh, wait,
I know absolutely no one in California, so that means I’ll probably
have to use one of those dating apps. Agh!” She rolled her eyes
dramatically. “I’m thirty-eight years old, Ry. I just want to find
one nice, decent, extremely hot guy to settle down with. Is that
too much to ask?”
“He’s out there, Rach. But just to be sure,
you better get your dating profile updated for your move back to
the US.”
“Yeah, yeah. There was something else I
wanted to talk to you about, but I want you to listen to what I
have to say before you respond, okay? Please don’t freak out or
anything.” She paused and ran her hands through her hair. “I’m
going to submit my DNA to one of those genealogy sites.”
Ryker was stunned into silence. “Why would
you want to do that?” he finally asked.
“I think it might be helpful to find out
what happened to Dad,” she replied quietly.
Ryker was both horrified and frightened at
the turn of their conversation “Rach, he left us. Left a note
saying he couldn’t do it anymore and then disappeared. Never paid
child support, nothing. And you want to see if we can track him
down? After all these years? For what?”
“For closure. You may not need it, but I do.
I need to know why the man who was so caring and loving with me
just up and left. I have questions that I need answers to,” she
said passionately.
“You do what you feel is right, but I’m not
comfortable with this. Have you told Mama? I don’t want to think
about him. He’s not worth my time,” Ryker spat out, the anger at
his father simmering inside him like red-hot embers, burning slowly
but never quite fading.
Her blue eyes filled with tears. “I’ve got
to talk to her before I proceed, but I’ve already made up my mind.
I just wanted to tell you so you were prepared,” she murmured as
she wiped her face.
Ryker rubbed his bracelets. “I’m sorry, but
I don’t know what to say about this. I think you’re opening a door
that is better left closed. I love you and I don’t want to see you
get hurt, Rach,” he said, kissing his fingertips and pressing his
palm to the screen. Rachel did the same, so that their hands were
aligned. Just like they used to do when they were kids.
“Thanks, Ry. I love you, too. I’ll be okay,
I promise.” She sighed and cleared her throat, back to her usual
perky self. “I have a class to prepare for, so I’d better say
goodbye. I’ll e-mail you the details of my trip home and my moving
plans once it’s all arranged, okay?”
“Okay. Will you be here June fifteenth? I’m
attending the Heart2Home shelter benefit and would love for you to
come with.”
“Definitely. Hugs and kisses to Spock,
Isaac, and Princess Leia. Bye!” She waved and logged off.
Ryker stared at his laptop screen, trying to
process Rachel’s bombshell news about searching for their father.
At thirty-three, Ryker had made peace with not knowing where his
father was. But his sister obviously did not feel the same. She was
older. She remembered him, and it was clear she had questions that
needed answers.
Ryker’s gut told him that Rachel’s search
might lead to difficult truths. More changes to his life were
coming, and he’d better be prepared.
He needed to talk to someone. Without
thinking, he dialed Wes’s number.
****
Wes
So much for business before pleasure,
Wes thought as he made his way past the baggage area at La Guardia
Airport, hurrying to get out of the terminal. The impulse to see
Ryker again was too strong for Wes to ignore, even if it meant
rescheduling two days, taking a five-and-a-half-hour flight from LA
to New York, going through security screening, and enduring
additional transit time. By coincidence, on his flight over, Ryker
had called and left a voicemail. Once Wes landed, he’d texted to
let him know he was in a business meeting but would contact him as
soon as possible. Something in Ryker’s voice was off and it worried
Wes. Maybe he wasn’t sleeping again.
Wes knew as soon as he’d booked this
surprise trip that he was done pretending Ryker was a casual fuck
buddy. The intimate connection they shared overpowered any concern
Wes had about their personal and work lives weaving toward a
potentially disastrous end. Ryker’s emotional grip on him was an
unexpected revelation. He just hoped his surprise visit would be
welcomed by Ryker’s open arms.
Wes located his car service and hopped in,
and another thirty minutes later he crossed the Queensboro Bridge
into Manhattan. Wes’s body felt more on edge now that the reunion
he craved was so close at hand. He replied to several e-mails,
calls, and texts to keep himself from jumping out of his skin. They
pulled up to the hotel and Wes leapt out of the car, heading for
the front desk to check in.
It had been a long-ass day, so Wes grabbed a
quick nap and shower to recharge and a nip of bourbon to calm his
nerves. Two hours later, dressed in his favorite black jeans, grey
Henley, and Chelsea boots, Wes was ready to go. Grabbing his
Burberry trench, he checked his phone again: 9:05 PM. He noted
several texts from Luca and replied to them on the ride over. He
was pacing in the lobby of Ryker’s building fifteen minutes
later.
As he stood there, now mere minutes away
from Ryker, he replayed their last encounter in his mind. He
recalled every touch and taste, and the gorgeous smile on Ryker’s
stunning face, his smooth, resonant voice moaning in pleasure.
Their pleasure. Wes wanted more and more memories of them together, and he wondered how many times would be
enough. He didn’t have an answer—and he was so far gone at this
point, he didn’t care. Maybe it would never be enough. He was
ready, and there was no turning back.
Wes: Hey, Sleeping Beauty, you
awake?
Ryker: Yup, watching a movie with my
furry sidekicks.
Wes: Feel like company?
Ryker: FaceTime?
Wes: Better.
Ryker: ???
Wes: I’m downstairs. Call security so I
can access the elevator.
The security guard’s phone rang two seconds
later, and the older man motioned Wes over.
As he stood up, a huge, fluttering sensation
took flight in Wes’s gut, and his whole body trembled with
excitement, his hand shaking slightly as he signed in. The elevator
ride felt like thirty minutes instead of thirty seconds, and as he
exited, Wes’s entire body clenched at the sight of Ryker leaning
against the doorjamb at the end of the hallway.
Ryker was barefoot, wearing a pair of
ripped, threadbare jeans, his dark hair spilling over sleek
shoulders, his smooth chest and biceps on display, the veins in his
arms bulging as one hand rested on his hipbone and the other high
up on the door. So much hot, supple skin just waiting to be touched
and explored. Wes had never seen a sexier vision in all his life
than Ryker, and his dick swelled so fast and so hard he caught his
breath.
Then Ryker slowly smiled, and Christ, his
face transformed—it was even more stunning than Wes remembered. He
wanted to be the reason that smile appeared over and over and over
again. Wes’s heart raced wildly at the sight of his beautiful man.
Yes, that was how he thought of Ryker in this moment. His.
Wes’s steps quickened. Drawing closer, he
threw his coat on the floor just outside the door and reached for
Ryker’s face with both hands, rubbing his stubbled cheeks with his
thumbs and taking in the sight of the deep blue eyes that haunted
his days and nights.
“Missed you,” Ryker whispered just before
their lips met.
The claiming kiss that followed echoed the
sentiment.