Chapter Five

Everlie

The blind date was turning out to be opposite of what I'd expected in so many ways. As we all ate our meals—which were all to die for delish—conversation flowed easily between the four of us at the table, and covered several different topics. Tori and Bennett did most of the talking, with Ryker and me interjecting every few minutes to give an opinion or joke about something. We went through three bottles of very fancy wine over the course of the meal, and though I rarely drank, I found myself reaching for more than one refill—which Ryker poured for me. By the time the chocolate soufflés arrived to the table, I was warm and fuzzy, smiling, laughing and having a better time than I'd ever expected.

After we'd all but licked clean our soufflé dishes, Tori and I excused ourselves to the ladies room while Bennett and Ryker sorted out the check.

"Okay! Admit it, Missy!" Tori said, pointing her finger at my reflection in the mirror. "You like him!"

I laughed, too happy to argue that I really didn't know him well enough to make that determination. "He's not bad."

She laughed and washed her hands in the marble sink. "Where are you guys gonna go next?" She asked, drying her hands on a thick white towel. I gawked at her, unsure of what she meant. She dropped the used towel into the bin provided, and stared at me. "Oh, come on Ev, you didn't think we'd foursome around town tonight did you?"

"I didn't—I don't know. Where are you going?"

She smiled. "Wherever Bennett wants. My panties are wet, girl! He can take me anywhere he wants as long as he promises to fuck me good and nasty once we get there!"

My cheeks went red, and then even redder as an older woman harrumphed her way through our conversation on her way out of the restroom. "Tori!" I hissed.

She just laughed even harder. "You better make a plan fast, Ev. Ryker isn't ready for the night to be over, I'll tell ya that much."

She didn't wait for me to decide, and pushed out of the restroom, obviously eager to get back to Bennett so they could run off to wherever they were going. I got back to the table and they were already standing up. "—all right, man, see ya later," Bennett said to Ryker. He looked up at my approach and held out a hand, "It was nice to meet you Everlie. You take good care of my boy here, all right?"

I shook his hand. He smiled and Tori gave me a small finger wave as he led her outside.

Leaving Ryker and me alone.

He stood from his seat, pocketed his wallet and turned to me.

"Thank you for dinner, that was amazing," I said, looking down at the black folder that contained the signed receipt. "I've been dying to come here since they opened."

"You're very welcome. I don't know about you, but I need to walk off that food." His dark eyes searched mine, waiting for my answer.

My desire to go home and slip into yoga pants faded away as he reached out and took a hold of my hand. "Come on, Everlie, be my escort." My eyes darted to his again, his suggestive words rattling through me. He laughed—the sound deep and velvety soft. "You know what I mean."

"Right," I smiled, but a part of me was beginning to wonder if his choice of words hadn't been a slip at all. I let him lead me away from the table, and as we walked, he rested his large, firm hand on the small of my back, guiding my steps as we made our way back to the front doors. The hostess that had flirted with Ryker while seating us was there, staring at him as though I didn't even exist. She hurried around the hostess station to prop open the door, her big boobs jiggling with her high-heeled jog.

"Good evening," she purred, giving Ryker dark, bedroom eyes, and a full pout of her too plump lips.

He nodded to her, either oblivious to her attraction, or he was so used to women fawning over him that he brushed it off like a non-event. I figured it was probably the latter. Even as we'd been eating, any woman that had walked by our table had done a double take. At first, I'd told myself I was being paranoid, but it was too obvious to ignore as the night went on. Ryker—and Bennett—were movie star hot, and I didn't fault the women for noticing, but the hostess grated on my nerves because she didn't even care that he had his hands on me, she acted like I was invisible.

We got outside and the balmy night air hit my skin. Ryker kept his hand on the small of my back as we got out of the entrance of the restaurant where clusters of people were waiting to go inside.

"Wow, this place is popular," he commented, as we broke free of the crowd.

"Yeah, I'm surprised we got a table," I replied, looking over my shoulder.

Ryker laughed. "Well, you'd be surprised what a military ID can get you," he said.

"I see, so that's why you enlisted, all the perks," I teased, looking back up at Ryker. He was several inches taller than I was, and I liked how it felt to be walking next to him. Even though I'd lived in Vegas for nearly four years, there was something about it that usually unnerved me, but with Ryker walking beside me, all of that melted away. "Although your fan at the hostess station probably would have found a way to get you in without it."

"Uh-oh, someone a little jealous?" He asked, his voice light and teasing, buzzing with amusement. He looked down at me and slight lines showed at the corners of his eyes. He'd been pleasant, and had even told a few jokes at dinner, but looking up at him, under the glow of the lights, I realized that he was really, genuinely smiling for the first time all night.

"I'm so not!" I protested, but felt my cheeks warm, giving me away.

He laughed again and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me into him. My skin tingled and I leaned into him for support as my knees went wobbly again. He smelled amazing, and was so warm—it was like sinking into a warm bubble bath. But when his hand went lower on my hip, it was like someone threw a toaster in the water, lighting me up with sparks of electricity. I shivered and he grabbed me tighter. "Cold?" He asked, with a smile from the devil himself, that told me he knew it wasn't the night air that had me shivering— or my nipples hard and perky for that matter.

"I'm good," I wriggled free of his touch, putting some space between us so I could think clearly. "So, where did you want to walk to?"

"My hotel is up here on the left." He gestured with his chin in the direction of one of the high rise hotels. "I have a pretty amazing view. Why don't you come up and see for yourself."

My heart jolted, tapping out a frantic eight count beat. I shook my head. "That's all right. I'm sure you're tired."

I cringed at my lame statement. It had barely cracked nine o'clock. There was no way he was going to sleep. Ryker laughed and reached for me again. "Come on, Everlie, have a little fun with me."

I shook my head. "Ya know what, I think I'll just catch a cab and go home," I said, putting on the brakes and turning towards the street. Tori had insisted that we take a cab to the restaurant, even after I'd told her I had no plans of drinking at dinner—or at least, not enough that I'd need a cab to take me home. In hindsight, she'd obviously just been planning to run off with Bennett and wanted me to go off with Ryker and not have to worry about getting the car out of the parking lot before we racked up a massive bill.

"Hey, hey, come on Everlie, I didn't mean anything," Ryker said, coming to a stop beside me. He kept his hands to himself, but was standing so close to me, I could feel his body heat on my skin. "We can just walk if that's what you want."

I considered his offer. He looked sincere, but he was still way too hot. I didn't trust him, and I was starting to not trust myself either. "Listen, Ryker, in case you hadn't figured it out already, I'll be super blunt, I'm a good girl. I don't date around, or sleep around for that matter, and I definitely don't do one-nighters. I know Tori and Bennett are probably going at it like a couple of spring time rabbits, but that's not me, all right?"

Ryker held open his hands. "I get it. I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to do," he replied. His voice vibrated through me and when he set his hand on my bare shoulder, a bolt of heat hit me straight between my thighs. I am so in over my head. How could Tori leave me like this?

"Come on, let's keep walking for a little bit, then if you still want to go, I'll grab you a cab. Deal?"

I fidgeted with my lip as I thought about his offer. I couldn't think of a way to back out without sounding like a complete basket case. I didn't think the reasoning that he was too sexy to walk with, would come out right. "All right. Deal."

We walked on, and Ryker inched back closer. His fingers brushed mine every few feet as we kept the same pace, making small talk about the city or the peculiar people we encountered on the street. He came to a sudden stop at a corner, and I crashed into him. "Oof! Sorry," I stammered, as he stabilized me. "And before you say it, yes, ballet dancer with a clumsy streak."

He laughed and it took me a second to realize he still had his hands braced on my arms, holding me close to his rock solid chest. "Don't worry—I'll take good care of you." The suggestive tone crept back into his tone, giving his words a deeper, darker meaning, and I pulled free from his grip.

"Thanks, but I got it."

We waited for the light to change so we could cross the street, and I mentally started working through a reasonable excuse to leave. He hadn't done anything wrong, per say. In fact, I'd been having fun until he tried to kick up the flirting again. There was no denying that I was attracted to him, and I'd be completely lying if I said my mind hadn't wandered through some deviant fantasies as we'd walked together, but I also knew myself, and how I would feel about a one-night stand. Some people could do that and not bat an eye—I just wasn't one of those people.

Even for someone as ridiculously good looking and charming as Ryker Newman.

I shook my head, as though I needed to finalize my decision, to lock it into place in my mind. I wouldn't go there.

"Want to get a drink?" Ryker asked, coming to a stop on the sidewalk. I looked up and realized he'd circled us back around to the hotel he'd pointed out earlier as the place he was staying. "Relax," he said, reading my expression. "The hotel has a bar."

From the outside, his invitation sounded harmless enough, but I knew it wasn't so simple. I also knew that if I turned him down, I'd never hear from him again. He'd be just like Ben or any of the other one date guys I'd met over the past couple of years. My stomach twisted at the thought of not seeing him again, but I found the willpower to shake my head. "No, thanks. I think I'm gonna head home."

Ryker's expression darkened and while he offered a small smile, and a slight nod, I knew he didn't feel it. "All right, I did promise I'd let you go if you wanted, and I'm a man of my word." He stepped to the curb and flagged down a cab. One screeched to the curb seconds later and he opened the back door for me. "It was nice to meet you Everlie. Thank you for a very lovely evening."

He reached for my hand, and I gave him mine, expecting him to shake it, but he turned my hand over, and planted a soft kiss to my palm. Only then, did his smile reach his eyes. His lips on the tender skin of my hand let off an entire box of fireworks in my stomach, and it took every drop of self-control to keep from flinging myself into his arms. I offered him an unsteady smile when he released me, and waved before sliding into the cab.

Ryker shut the door and gave me a wink before the cab pulled away from the curb.

I hadn't made it a hundred feet away before I was questioning whether or not I'd made the right decision.