Chapter 20
Robyn
I try not to look as Cassia puts her hand on Ridge’s arm again. She’s shameless. I’m his date, and she’s over there flirting with him.
She leans in, and her breasts brush against him.
No.
Just no!
I shouldn’t care. He’s my bodyguard, not my actual date. That’s the sum total of it. So why in hell does it feel like he’s about to leave with her, and I’m the one being ditched at my own fundraiser?
He wouldn’t.
It’s fine.
The fact that he is entertaining this from her is annoying as anything.
I take another small sip of the champagne. It’s warm. I roll my shoulders back and tell myself to focus. I’m here to do a job, and I’d best do it.
I’m feeling hot and flustered and very annoyed. This wrap is killing me, so I take it off and hand it in.
There.
That’s better.
“I thought it was you. Hi, Robyn.”
I turn at the voice, grateful for the interruption, and find Rider with an easy grin on his face.
I smile, instantly cheering up.
He’s exactly the kind of distraction I need. Rider is sweet, and it helps that he’s good-looking too.
Screw Ridge!
Rider’s sandy blond hair is brushed back from his forehead.
He has a dimple in one cheek that comes out when he smiles.
He’s asked me out a good couple of times.
I might have said yes, but he’s a major donor.
The kind we cannot afford to lose. I’ve had to be very careful whenever I’ve turned him down. So far, he’s taken it well.
From the look on his face, I’d say he’s about to try again.
“Hi, Rider,” I say, and I’m smiling for real for the first time in what feels like an hour. “You came. Thank you so much.”
He looks me over as I walk up to him.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he tells me. “How does it feel to be back this year as the Head of Shifter Medicine?”
“It feels great, daunting but great.”
“You don’t look intimidated at all. And for the record, I knew they’d give you the position.”
“Thank you, that’s so sweet.” He is sweet.
“You look amazing as always.” His eyes twinkle as they dip down to take in my length for a second or two before moving back to my face.
“Thank you. You don’t look so bad yourself.”
I glance over my shoulder before I can stop myself. Cassia is laughing at something Ridge has said, head tipped back, hand sliding up his forearm.
I look away fast and back at Rider, who tilts his glass toward mine. “To another successful year for the hospital.”
“To another year.” I clink my glass against his. “Although with this war ending, we may no longer need three facilities on the island, which is a good thing.”
“We’ll have to wait and see.’
“That’s what I keep telling my staff.”
“Tell me something, Robyn.” He angles in slightly. His eyes travel over my face, then drop briefly, taking in the dress, then come back up to meet mine. “When are you going to go out with me?”
“You do realize that I’m here with another male tonight?”
“I had noticed, but he seems to have allowed you to wander off. Something I would never do.”
I smile at him.
“You’re going to turn me down anyway.” He grins back. “One date and no hard feelings if it doesn’t work out between us.” His eyes dip to my mouth for a moment.
I wish I could feel something for Rider, but I don’t. I should be attracted to him, but I’m not.
Even now, all I want to do is check on Ridge. I won’t! I refuse.
I sigh. “I’m sorry, Rider. I—”
“No. Don’t say it. Leave it there so that I can try again at the next function. Tell me what you’re actually raising money for this year so that I can pretend I read the program.”
“You read the program, and you know it.”
“You know me so well.”
“Then why are you—?”
“I was wondering where you ran off to.” Ridge slides into the space at my side, his big hand landing on the small of my back, then sliding around my waist to splay flat against my hip. He pulls me into him until my side is plastered against his. “I was worried about you.”
I look up at him. There’s a moment where my brain refuses to catch up.
“Oh,” I say, and I’m proud of how level it comes out. “I didn’t think you’d notice my absence. You were engrossed in conversation.”
His head dips a little toward mine. “Of course I noticed. I notice everything about you. Can’t take my eyes off you.”
He’s acting. That’s all it is. He’s being the perfect date.
His hand tightens a fraction at my hip. “I’m not sure I told you how beautiful you are looking tonight.”
Rider clears his throat.
Shit!
I had almost forgotten he was there.
“Oh…um…” I drag my eyes off of Ridge. “Rider, this is Ridge. Ridge, this is Rider. He’s one of our largest annual donors.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Ridge says. He extends his free hand to Rider. Rider takes it.
They shake. Both their eyes narrow on one another. Their jaws tighten and so do their hands, if their whitening knuckles are anything to go by. Rider grunts, and they let go.
“Likewise.” Rider’s tone is neutral, but his smile is gone. “Have you guys known each other long?” he asks.
“Yes,” Ridge says.
“No,” I say at the same time.
Rider laughs.
“Which is it?” he asks, looking from Ridge to me and back.
“It’s been six months, sweetheart.” Ridge’s arm tucks me even closer. I can feel the heat of him through the dress. “I know it’s gone by in the blink of an eye.”
He’s laying it on a little thick.
“Like we met just yesterday,” he leans in, his eyes on me. They’re more of a stormy gray with very little green. “But it’s been months already.”
I wear my best smile. The one I trot out for board meetings, difficult patients, and that one auditor who comes every March.
“You’re so right,” I say, and pat his chest gently with the hand not holding my glass. The fabric of his suit jacket is fine and soft. The body beneath it is not. It’s like patting a wall.
Ridge looks up at Rider. I don’t think he likes him, and I’m not sure why that is. Maybe he considers him to be a threat to me. He might be a big, burly shifter, but he’s a nice guy.
I can see that he’s about to ask him something.
Both males are looking at each other in a way I don’t like.
What the hell is going on?
“Um…honey, please, would you grab me a fresh glass of champagne? Mine has gone warm.” I hand my glass to him.
Ridge takes the glass. “Of course.” Then his whole expression shifts again as he glances at Rider. “I’ll be right back.” He bends down and kisses me. It’s soft. Not much more than the lightest brush of his mouth against mine.
My lips part on a small inhale of surprise. He straightens. His thumb brushes the corner of my mouth, making every part of me tingle. Then he turns and walks away. I watch him go, and I am, for a beat or two, completely useless.
What. The. Hell?
Rider laughs softly. “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”
I drag my eyes from Ridge’s retreating back.
“What was that?” I ask, shaking my head.
“That’s a strange question, considering he’s your date and you’ve been together for six months. That whole interaction was…strange and mildly entertaining.”
“That’s just it.” I lower my voice. “He isn’t really my date.”
Rider’s eyebrows lift. “Who is he, then? A friend with benefits? Your boyfriend?”
“Actually, he’s my bodyguard.” I close my eyes for a moment, then open them again. “I’m so sorry about that. Ridge was rude to you. He’s acting completely out of character. I don’t know what’s gotten into him.”
“I do.” Rider laughs a little harder.
“I’m glad you’re taking this so well.” I’m smiling now, too, in spite of myself.
“You have no idea, do you?”
“No idea about what?” I frown.
“Your bodyguard is jealous.”
I roll my eyes. “Oh, please. He is not. Trust me on that one. He’s upset that I left without him shadowing me. He’s trying to make a point or something. That’s all this is.”
“Okay, if you say so.”
“I do say so.”
Rider cocks his head a little. The grin is still there. “You know what this means, right?”
“What?” I sound skeptical.
“It means you’re available. One little date, Robyn. Don’t give me the whole I-don’t-mix-business-with-pleasure speech.”
“I don’t.” I shake my head. “I like you, but it will never be like that between us. Can’t we just be friends?”
He pretends to put a dagger in his heart. “You’ve ruined me, Robyn. You know that, right?”
I laugh.
“Here is your champagne.” Ridge’s voice is a deep rasp.
Then he turns and looks at Rider, and the expression on his face would do well stripping wallpaper. His arm comes back around me, his hand returning to my hip.
“I need to tell you the story about how Robyn and I met,” Ridge says, eyes on Rider.
“I can’t wait to hear this.” Rider folds his arms across his chest.
“I told Rider that you’re my bodyguard, Ridge,” I murmur under my breath. “It’s fine. It’s all good.”
He doesn’t let go of me. Instead, he looks down at me, his jaw ticking. “Can we be excused, Rider? Robyn and I need to talk.”
“No problem.” Rider puts his free hand up, palm out, and his grin gets, if anything, wider. “You two carry on.”
He winks at me.
Then Ridge takes my hand and leads me across the room.
A male voice comes on over the loudspeaker. “Please, can everyone make their way to their designated table and take a seat. Appetizers are about to be served.”
“We need to take our seats.”
Ridge doesn’t answer.
“Ridge. We’ve been asked to sit.”
He stops walking, his hand still in mine. “I need a two-minute conversation with you, and then we’ll take our seats.”
“Okay…fine.”
We thread through the small clusters of people and around a column.
We pass a waiter and then go through an arched doorway into one of the side passages that lead off the main hall.
The light is lower in here. The carpet absorbs our footsteps.
The noise of the function dulls behind us as we walk further away from the hall.
“I thought you didn’t want me anywhere near the staff areas, sweetheart,” I say, with as much sugar as I can pour into it.
“That’s cute, Robyn.”
“Oh, are we back on a first-name basis? I thought you preferred for me to call you Commander and for you to call me Doctor.”
He doesn’t take the bait. We walk past a service trolley that has been pushed against the wall, past a closed door, into a darker section where the light from the hallway barely reaches. Then he lets go of me and turns to face me.
His eyes have a glittering, almost-not-human quality to them in the dim light, and even though I am annoyed, my body decides this is an excellent time to remind me how big he is. How much space he takes up. How close he is currently standing.
“What’s gotten into you?” I ask when he doesn’t say anything.
“I thought we were telling people that I’m your date.”
“I thought you were going to be nice to the donors. I think you referred to yourself as the perfect date.”
“Back to my question. Why am I suddenly your bodyguard? Why are you deviating from our plan? Who is that asshole?”
“He’s a nice guy. I’ve known Rider for almost two years,” I tell him. “He’s fine. He—”
“There’s nothing nice about him. He couldn’t take his eyes off your tits.”
“You’re exaggerating yet again.”
“He wants to fuck you; did you know that?”
“No, he doesn’t. He wants to date me, but—”
“Same thing.”
“It isn’t the same thing. He wants to get to know me.”
“So that he can spread your legs and fuck you.”
I gasp. “You’re being crass. What has gotten into you, Ridge?” I finally manage. “Why don’t you go back to Cassia and leave me alone. You looked really cozy with her. Don’t let me hold you back.”
“I’m not interested in Cassia.”
“The two of you were flirting. I saw it with my own eyes. I left to give you some space to work your magic, and you didn’t even know I was gone.”
“Work my magic.” He snorts and sort of smiles. It’s feral, and I feel it in my lower belly, which I hate. “She was flirting with me while I was trying to placate her. To let her down easy so—”
“Is that what we’re calling it? From where I was standing, it sure as hell looked like flirting.”
“So you had to find the first male and throw yourself at him?”
“Yes,” I shoot back. “I am a woman with needs, and you clearly aren’t interested in meeting them, so I’ll look elsewhere.”
Okay. Shit. I hadn’t meant to say that.
“Oh, I’m plenty fucking interested.” His voice has dropped low and dangerous. He’s closer now, his chest almost against mine. “I’m trying to do the right thing here, Robyn.”
“Well, do me a favor and don’t. I’m sick of you doing the right thing.”
Then his mouth is on mine. He cups my face in both his big hands, tilts my head back, and kisses me like I’m all he needs. There is nothing soft about it. It’s deep and demanding, and my brain shuts off in an instant.
I make a small noise against his mouth. His hands slide from my face.
One drops to my shoulder. The other lands at my waist and uses it to walk me backward.
My shoulder blades meet the cool wall. My dress slides up against the surface.
He doesn’t stop kissing me. His tongue strokes against mine.
His teeth catch my lower lip, just enough to make me gasp, and he uses the gasp to deepen the kiss.
His knee nudges between mine, and I let it. I grip his huge biceps and make a small whimpering sound.
Then his hand is at the hem of my long skirt.
He gathers it up in one fist, dragging the fabric up the outside of my thigh.
Up, up, and up some more. He keeps going until I feel his palm against my hip.
He grips my pussy in his big hand over the thin fabric of my panties, cupping me.
His thumb is directly over my clit. It’s warm and pressing.
He breaks the kiss long enough to put his mouth right against the corner of mine. “Tell me to stop.” It’s not a request. It’s an instruction. I should heed it. I really should.
I open my mouth to say it, but a different word comes out.
“No,” I whisper against his lips. “I want you.”
His fingers hook into the side of my panties, and he yanks them aside.