Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
ELIZABETH
“Babe,” a voice says as lips nuzzle my ear.
Nope. Not happening. I’m too warm and comfortable.
“Baby,” the voice says, more insistent now but muffled because the owner of said voice is trailing a path of open-mouthed kisses down my collarbone to my breasts.
My body isn’t stupid. Between sleep or sex with Ryder, it will choose sex with him every time.
I come fully awake when I feel his warm breath fan across my mound.
“Time to wake up.” His tongue licks up my center.
The boys came over yesterday and helped me clean the apartment and grocery shop for Daniel’s visit. Afterward, we ordered takeout for dinner and watched a movie.
Meredith still hasn’t told me how things went with Trevor at the party. Last night, she texted me a bunch of emojis that I’m still trying to figure out.
After the movie, Ryder left with Julien and Jayson, so I didn’t get to have him with me in bed last night. I did, however, slip him a key to my apartment along with the alarm code.
I spear my fingers through Ryder’s soft, thick hair and peer down at his grinning face between my legs. “Trust me. I’m very much awake.”
“Good.”
He slides up my body and kisses me.
“That’s it?”
He grins and lifts me in his arms.
Carrying me into the adjoining bathroom, he sets me down and, after turning on the shower, gives me a tap on the butt to get going.
I scowl up at him. “You are a tease, Mr. Cutton.”
“We need to hurry if we’re meeting Daniel before your first class.”
Right. It’s Monday morning, and Daniel’s plane is scheduled to land at six.
Daniel is friends with Dr. Wruthers, the dean of CU, and is going to stay at her house while he’s here. Apparently, they went to college together. Daniel introduced her to her husband, who was his roommate at the time. Daniel has hinted, none too subtly, that he wants me to meet Dr. Wruthers. I don’t want to receive any special treatment while at CU. I know Daniel would try and pull strings if I gave him an inch.
“What time is it?” I yawn out.
“Four thirty.”
I sleepily undress. “Want to join me?”
“You know what will happen if I do. I’m going to make us breakfast. Be quick,” Ryder says and walks out.
“But I’m horny!” I yell and get under the warm spray.
Seconds later, the shower door opens, and Ryder steps inside. “We can grab something on the way,” he says and backs me against the shower wall.
Morning orgasms are so much better than coffee and chocolate donuts.
After a brief but explosive round of shower sex, we rush to get dressed and hurry out the door. On the way, we stop and get breakfast and coffee to go.
“So, what’s the plan for the day?” Ryder asks as we drive toward the airport. There’s a private runway and hangar we need to find where Daniel’s corporate jet will be landing.
I sip my coffee and open a breakfast sandwich, holding it out for Ryder to take a bite.
“He’s only staying for a few days, so I’d like to spend tonight just with him, if that’s okay.”
“Babe, you don’t have to ask my permission.”
“I was going to tell him about us tonight.” I chew on my thumbnail when Ryder doesn’t say anything. My stomach turns, and I put my sausage biscuit back in its wrapper, no longer hungry. “Um…I need to tell you something.”
We approach the exit we need to take, and Ryder flicks on the blinker to merge onto the offramp. “What about?”
This is harder than I thought it would be. And why did I think it was a good idea to bring it up while he’s driving?
Screw it. Here we go.
“Julien knows.”
It’s still dark outside, the sun won’t be rising for another half hour. Streetlights and the interior dash are our only illumination. Ryder looks at me, then the road, then back at me, before staring straight ahead.
“He does?”
“Yes.”
“Hold on.” He pulls into a parking area and turns off the engine. “We’re here.”
My stomach flips again because I can’t get a read on the situation. We agreed to keep our relationship private for now, and I broke that promise without discussing it with Ryder first.
“It was Saturday, wasn’t it?” he guesses.
What? “How did you know?”
“Baby.”
Baby .
“You can’t get mad,” I say, and he just raises that sexy black brow at me. “Julien asked me to give Jayson a chance. Go out on a date with him.”
Before Ryder can respond, I hold up my hand, begging him to wait. To hear me out.
“I said I couldn’t because I was in love with you.”
Ryder’s chest rises with a deep inhalation.
“We talked. It was a good talk. He got a lot of stuff off his chest. He’s happy for us but said he wouldn’t keep it from Elijah or Jayson.” My hands are doing gymnastics in my lap, and Ryder reaches over to still them. “We need to tell Jayson.”
“Okay.”
Okay?
“Okay? Are you mad?”
He leans over the console, his hands taking possession of my worried face. “I’m not mad. Jay and I have a complicated history when it comes to you, and Julien doesn’t want to be put in the middle.”
“Next weekend after Daniel leaves?”
“Are you sure you want to wait that long?”
“I don’t know what’s going to happen when we tell Jayson, but it’s something I don’t want dropped on Daniel while he’s here. His focus needs to be on Drew.”
Ryder gets out of the car and comes around to open my door. As soon as I’m standing, he presses his mouth to mine.
“I love you, Elizabeth. Everything will be okay.”
“Ryder?”
“Yeah?”
“Something else Julien said has been bothering me. What happened to me isn’t your fault. It’s not Julien’s or Jayson’s fault. So, please don’t ever think that you failed me in any way, because you didn’t.” I cup his cheek when he averts his gaze. “And I’m ready to talk about it. We don’t have to dance around the subject anymore.”
“What if I’m not ready?” he says brokenly.
The rest of our conversation gets interrupted when Daniel’s plane arrives.