Chapter 5
Ryder
Part of me thinks I should see this woman to the door and send her on her way. I’ve eased her mind. She can report back to the town that I have no intention of taking my slice of the pie and running.
But that’s not what I’m going to do because I don’t want her to leave. I’m probably making a huge mistake here, but Claire intrigues me. She also intrigues my cock.
I like her tenacity. She may be young, but she’s sharp and intelligent. And sexy as fuck. The way her breath hitched when I drew her fingers into my mouth has made my dick permanently hard.
I scoot my chair back and stand. “Do you have to be anywhere this afternoon?”
“Uh…” I like that she tips her head back to look up at me. I like the way her eyes are wide and her lips are parted. I like that I’ve made her unbalanced and uncertain.
I like how her breasts are high and pert and that she’s wearing a tank top, which makes it possible for me to see her cleavage and the edge of lace on her black bra.
I’m not willing to send Claire on her way yet. I want to spend more time with her. I find myself drawn to her even though it’s probably not in my best interest.
I hold out a hand. “Stay. Explore this monstrosity with me.”
She swallows. “You want me to explore with you?” Her eyes narrow skeptically.
I shrug. “Why not?”
She takes my hand and slowly stands before asking, “I’d like to repeat my question from yesterday, Mr. Wilde.”
I chuckle. “Which question was that?”
“What are your intentions?”
I tip my head back and laugh. “Touché.”
She tugs her hand free and puts both of hers on her hips, narrowing her gaze at me.
I like it when she does that, and she does it often—stares me down, confronts me, postures. Her chest rises and falls with every breath, and I want to grab her around the waist, pull her against me, and kiss the sense out of her until she’s dizzy, pliant, and confused.
This girl likes answers, though, so I should stop smirking and be honest with her. I can accomplish that partly with my body, so I step closer, set my hands on her shoulders, and slide them up until I’m holding her face and my fingers are wrapped around her neck.
She swallows.
I set my forehead against hers and inhale her sweet scent. “My intention is to drag you around this odd mansion so that I won’t be alone all day. I suspect I’m going to find some of the strangest things in every room, and no one will believe me if I don’t have a witness. I need someone to laugh with me every time I discover another hilariously eccentric trinket. You do know how to laugh, right?”
She rolls her eyes. “Yes, Ryder. I can laugh. If I recall, your brother is also somewhere in this mansion. I bet he would explore with you.”
“That may be, but he won’t appreciate it if I plaster him against the wall in every room and kiss him.”
She swallows harder. “This is probably true. What makes you think I will be receptive to such advances? And let’s not forget you thought I was a child when you met me. Have you changed your mind? Or do you think I’m just easy?”
I chuckle. “Claire, you are anything but easy, and for the record, I was pulling your chain. I never thought of you as a child for a single moment. Am I too old for you? Probably. But that’s not going to stop me from exploring the chemistry we have. You can argue and fight me on this, but you know it’s there. You feel it, too.”
“Does that line work for women in the big city?”
I laugh again. “I have no idea. I’ve never tried it.”
“Oh, please…” She rolls those pretty green eyes again.
I give her neck a squeeze, keeping her from turning away from me. “Such a sassy girl. Do the local boys let you talk to them that way?”
This time, she’s the one who chuckles. “Local boys? Do you have any idea how many single men in this town are in my age range?”
“So, you’re saying the reason you’re here is because you haven’t been laid in a while?”
She gasps. “Ryder…”
I give her a slow cocky grin. “Are you going to stay with me today and take a risk?”
“Not if you think it will end with me in your bed. I’m not that kind of girl.”
I widen my grin. “Challenge accepted.”
She swallows again, her cheeks turning bright red. She’s so easy to rile up, and I love it. I would never coerce a woman to sleep with me. Claire is intriguing enough that I want her to stay because I’m truly interested in seeing where this heat between us might lead. It’s a bonus that I make her blush.
My love life has been boring for a long time. I dated Stacey for several months, if one could call that dating. It was more of an arrangement where we hooked up when it was convenient. I never thought about a future with her. She was fun. No strings attached.
But Claire? My heart was beating faster within moments of meeting her. My cock was hard, too, but I’m not an asshole. I would never fuck a random woman in a small town where I’m planning to spend the next ten years. That could potentially ruin my already horrible reputation—the reputation the townspeople assigned to me and my family before any of us arrived. Not to mention I would never want to cause rumors to spread about Claire either.
I get it. The folks here are scared—understandable, based on what I’ve learned so far. Sleeping with the baker’s twenty-two-year-old daughter is not a good idea.
I’ll remind myself of that several times today. But what harm is there in spending the day with a woman who makes me laugh, challenges me, and keeps my dick hard at the same time? “Stay,” I say gently. Begging is not my usual modus operandi. “I promise my cock will stay in my pants.”
Claire shakes me off and takes a step back. For a moment, I think she’s going to tell me to go fuck myself, but she reaches for her back pocket and pulls out her phone.
“Do you need to call your daddy and get permission?” I tease, regretting my words as soon as they leave my mouth.
She jerks her head up and shoots daggers at me with her eyes.
I lift both hands, palms open, and take a step back. “Sorry. That was uncalled for.”
She cocks a hip. “For your information, yes, I am going to text my daddy and tell him my plans. I’m going to do so because it’s the polite thing to do. I work in my parents’ bakery and live in their home. Like most people in this town, I’m not made of money. I can’t afford to move out. I couldn’t afford to go to a big university and move away. My parents needed me to work in the bakery because they couldn’t afford to hire outside help. So, I’m going to text my parents and let them know where I am and that I’ll be home later than planned because I’m a thoughtful daughter.”
Something about the way she dresses me down makes me even hotter for her. I lurch forward and yank her against my chest, trapping her arms and her phone between us. I want to kiss her. Instead, I bring my lips to her neck, nibble a path to her ear, and say, “You’re right. You should text your parents.”
She’s panting when I release her. “You give me whiplash,” she mutters as she lifts her phone with shaky hands.
While she quickly types, I stare at her and wonder if I could possibly give her whiplash every day for the rest of my life. I can’t believe I would entertain such an idea. I’ve never thought about a future with any woman I’ve ever dated or slept with. I’m forty years old, and no one has ever captivated me like Claire Kennett. Visions of this woman in my life flash through my head. Claire in my bed, in my shower, under me, and holy fuck…round with my child.
Suddenly, I realize I want to be on her parents’ good side. “Tell them the pastries were delicious.”
She lifts her head, eyes wide, and stares at me like I’ve grown a second head.
I point toward her phone. “And tell them I’d like them to come for dinner in a few days so they can express some of the citizens’ concerns. I’ll talk to Gretchen about what nights are good options.”
She blinks. “You’re serious.”
“Of course.”
“You want my parents to come for dinner…”
“Well, you would ideally be with them, but yes.”
“Why?”
“I just told you that?—”
She shakes her head. “No. That’s a bullshit reason you made up on the spot. Why on Earth do you want to meet my parents?”
I quirk the corner of my mouth up. “Because I intend to win over the heart of their daughter. It seems fitting I meet them.”
I’m rather stunned by both my thoughts and the fact I’m expressing them out loud. I’m not sorry, though. Is it possible to fall hard for a woman after spending less than an hour with her? If anyone would have suggested such a thing to me before I arrived in town, I would have laughed at them. But that was before I met Claire.
Claire is more stunned than me. After staring me down with a serious expression for several long seconds, she rolls her eyes and chuckles before lowering her head to her phone and typing out not nearly enough words.
I don’t know what she texted, but it couldn’t have been everything I instructed her to say. When she’s done, I hold out my hand, palm up.
She narrows her gaze. “What?”
“Let me see what you said.”
“Not a chance, old man.” She reaches back to put the phone in her pocket.
I lunge for her hand and grab the phone.
“Hey,” she shouts, trying to get it out of my grasp. “What the hell? Give that back.”
I hold it behind me out of her reach. “Such a potty mouth on such a pretty girl.”
“Fuck you. Give me my phone.”
I laugh and twist farther to keep her from grasping it. She’s nearly half my size and nowhere near as agile. “Am I going to need a swear jar for you, Clarie?”
She shoots me another pointed glare. “Fuck no. Give me my phone.” She lurches around to my side, but I’m faster. I twist with her, keeping her cell out of reach.
“Yep. I’m definitely going to need a swear jar,” I taunt.
“Ha. Even if you make it ten cents a time, I wouldn’t have the money to contribute.”
“Oh, baby, money is not what you’ll be using to pay for your transgressions.”
She gasps as she dodges back and forth, trying to get behind me. “Excuse me?”
“I think a firm swat on your ass for every naughty word would be a good deterrent.”
Claire’s breath hitches delightfully at my words, and I’m pretty sure her nipples pucker harder. They’re poking through both her lace bra and her tight black tank.
“You like the idea of me spanking you,” I say to provoke her further.
“I most certainly do not. Ryder, my phone. Now.” She ducks under my arm, but I grab her around the waist and hold her to my side, facing out.
“When was the last time someone spanked you, Claire?” I’m half in love with this woman already. If we continue to spar like this for the next sixty years, I’ll be a happy man. She’s going to marry me and carry my babies. I know it in my soul.
“When I was two, probably. I don’t remember it,” she shouts, squirming. Her breasts are pressing against my forearm, and I’m not inclined to ever let her go.
“Do you use that sassy mouth with everyone you know, or is it just for me?” I grip her tighter, her back flattened to my side, her fucking hot tits holding my attention. Perhaps it would be in my best interest to let her wrestle me for the phone. I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t take long for her cotton tank to get tugged to one side to give me a better look at her bra and cleavage.
“It’s for you, old man. You’re the only one who provokes me like this.” She shoves at my arm to no avail.
She’s breathing heavily, and her heart is racing against my forearm. It’s not from exertion. She’s aroused.
So am I. I tuck her phone in my back pocket, pull her in front of me, and use both hands to trap her back to my chest, her arms at her sides. I tuck my arms under her breasts again because I’m a guy. My cock is at full attention.
She fights me, but there’s no oomph behind her battle.
I set my lips on her ear. “Stop struggling, and I’ll let you go,” I whisper. It’s a challenge.
“Fuck you.”
“Tsk tsk. That’s three fucks in a row. Three swats to your sweet cheeks. You want to make it more?”
“You can’t spank me, Ryder. Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Wanna bet? Keep using that dirty language and you won’t be able to sit for the rest of the day.”
Claire gasps. She licks her lips and squirms futilely. “In your dreams.”