15. Chapter Fourteen
“I don’t want to be a third wheel.”
Olive slipped into her shoes and reached for her car keys, but Lulu snagged them off the table first and curled her hand around them.
“You could never be a third wheel. Seriously, Olive, I want you to come.”
Lulu was trying to be lighthearted, but something was a little off. She and Fox were meeting his mother for lunch to reveal the pregnancy. Bunny was going to be so surprised and excited. Olive cried when Lulu told her last night. They immediately dove into browsing pregnancy websites for the best baby gear and researching baby names. As much fun as that was, she didn’t want to intrude on Bunny’s turn to be excited, too.
“This is a private moment between you and your family, Lulu—”
“You are my family.”
“I appreciate that, but this isn’t my moment. It’s yours.”
Besides, Cara had called to let her know the electrician worked on the electrical system yesterday, and everything was back up and running. She wanted to go home and spend the day in her apartment doing nothing. The weird symptoms she was experiencing got steadily worse overnight and if there was a chance she was ill, she didn’t want to expose Lulu.
This didn’t feel like a cold, though. The hot flashes were unrelenting, and her clothes felt uncomfortable and itchy. Whatever it was must be messing with her hormones, too, because her libido decided to make an appearance for no apparent reason, and her lady parts wouldn’t stop throbbing to remind her. A little voice in her brain said there wasn’t a sex toy in her small collection that was going to make it better.
But Ryker could.
“Olive, are you feeling okay? Your face is pretty flushed.”
Wishing she could run out of the door and get out of there, Olive muttered that she was fine. But she wasn’t fine. Her body was up to something that she had no control over.
Fox walked into the living room just in time to get her out of having to explain herself to Lulu. He’d come home last night in what Olive could only describe as ‘full protective mode’. After checking the locks on all the windows and the back door, he went outside and walked around the house.
He acted like they were about to be under attack.
Lulu tried to pretend everything was fine, but her poker face was lame, and the saccharine smile she’d worn all morning gave it all away.
“I’m going to go,” Olive said quickly. Taking her friend’s hands, she gave her a reassuring squeeze… and snatched her keys.
Fox rolled the cuffs of his shirt. “Why don’t you stay here? I’ll show you how to arm the security system, and you can watch movies all day.”
She looked between them, waiting for one of them to tell her why exactly she needed to arm the security system.
“Is there something I should be concerned about? You two are giving off a vibe.”
Fox looked at his wife, who smiled flatly and shrugged.
“I don’t want to scare you unnecessarily, Olive.” Fox hesitated. “A man commented on you at the bar last night. Something about him didn’t sit well with Ryker and me. He’s probably a tourist, but it never hurts to be cautious.”
“Whoa! What kind of comment?”
Olive hugged herself as a chill raced over her body. Her shirt pressed against her back as her skin grew clammy.
“He wanted to know if we had your number. He probably came into the boutique, saw you, and decided to be a creep about his interest in you.”
Her shoulders hunched inward with the sudden need to make herself small. “That’s not terrifying, or anything.”
Fox lightly touched her shoulder. “Dax tailed the guy, making it clear that he was being watched. If this guy shows his face again, we’ll get rid of him. In the meantime, be vigilant.”
“I saw someone,” she blurted. “When I was waiting for the electrician yesterday. A man came to the door and jiggled the handle so hard, I thought he would break in. I hid behind a clothing rack so he couldn’t see me.”
It felt silly to be scared at the time, but now? It hadn’t been silly at all.
“Did you see his face?”
“No. The shades were half drawn so all I could see was his outline and the lower half of his body. Someone must have scared him off because he high-tailed it out of there.”
Men didn’t routinely come into the boutique unless their wives dragged them along. She couldn’t remember the last time a man had come in alone, aside from Ryker. Which suggested this asshole was likely someone’s husband and had been creeping on her with his wife in the store.
She shivered hard. What a dick.
Osprey, Fox’s Labrador, whined and looked at her adoringly, tongue lolling out of her mouth as if she knew Olive needed comfort. The moment lasted a nano-second before the dog burst to her feet and barked menacingly at the sound of tires crunching the gravel outside.
“That would be Ryker.” Fox let Osprey out, who wasted no time viciously attacking their visitor with kisses.
Looking out the door, Olive forgot her unease as Ryker dropped to one knee to scratch the dog’s ears and tell her she was a good girl in his deep, rumbling timber. She stumbled over nothing and slapped her hand against the doorframe to avoid falling.
Good girl.
She wanted to be a good girl… with Ryker’s big, strong hands cupping her face and holding her against his hard body.
A low moan rose in her throat. She barely stopped herself from letting it lose. The waft of something spicy and woodsy drifted her way. She drew it in, closed her eyes, and savored it.
Don’t look at him. Do not look at him.
She needed to get the hell out of here.
Gabbing her duffle, she slipped the strap over her shoulder and picked up her purse.
“Thanks for letting me stay, Lu. I’m going to head out.”
She ignored the curious look her friend gave her as she pulled her in for a hug. “Congratulations again. I’m so excited that you’re going to be a mom.”
Darting out of the house, she trotted down the steps and hurried past Ryker without looking at him. Deep sexual tension worked through her muscles, causing a barely perceptible quiver. Horrified by her reaction, she rushed to her car before it worsened.
Ryker stopped petting the dog to follow her. This would be a great time for him to start ignoring her again.
“Olive, where are you going?”
Do. Not. Look. At. Him.
“Home.”
“Wait a second.”
Boots crunched on dirt as he increased his pace. She slipped into the driver’s seat, but he reached her before she could close the door. One hand on the side of the car, the other gripping her open door, Ryker boxed her in, which did nothing to help the tension.
Her body felt thick and hot and so highly primed to receive his touch that if he even brushed against her, she would pull him into the car and forget they were only friends.
“I really have to go.”
“Hey.”
Warm shivers coated her thighs and forearms as their eyes locked. She licked her lips, breathing faster. Harder.
“I really need to go.”
Ryker’s eyes darkened as he looked at her lips. His chest picked up speed as he searched her face, nostrils flaring, eyes flashing.
Oh, God. He was feeling it, too.
A predatory growl ripped out of him. It was the most beautiful sound. Closing her eyes, she ran a hand down the front of her throat to her chest, catching his eyes again as she dipped her hand between her breasts. She had no control as something deep inside her took over to make it clear that she was ready and willing. Getting him into bed wasn’t a fantasy anymore.
It was a necessity.
Metal screeched as Ryker dug his fingers into the frame of her car door.
“Go home,” he whispered in a pained voice. “Before I drag you into the woods and fuck you right here, right now.”
As if that was a threat. It’s exactly what her body demanded. “I’m game.”
The veins in the sides of his neck distended. He gripped the frame so hard, she thought he might bend it. Dragging deep breaths through his nose, he clenched his jaw and stepped back.
“Go!”
Slamming the door closed, he put his hands on either side of the window, his eyes piercing hers as their gazes locked. Ryker was a predator separated from her by a single sheet of glass. If it shattered…
Olive put her palm against the window, but Ryker backed away, his hands digging through his hair before he spun and disappeared into the woods.