CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

SAVANNAH

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We pull into my driveway and sadness fills me. I don't want to be home. Which is not a feeling I'm used to.

I love my home.

Buying it was a dream come true after growing up in an unhappy home and then being a poor struggling actor for years.

Now, I want Ryder to turn the car around and drive me back to his place so I can snuggle up on the sofa with him and Max and hide from the world.

It was the perfect weekend.

The hot tub, the cake, the flowers, the champagne. Max. Who is cheeky and boisterous and sleeps like the dead as kittens do.

And Ryder.

The most handsome and kindest man in the world. Also the most skilled lover in the world.

He's surprisingly sensitive and caring.

Protective.

Sexy.

Perfect.

And my bodyguard.

We both know this can't continue, but the longer it does—and god it's only been a week—the more my feelings grow from simply lust to something way deeper.

He took me to the Black Hawke Security offices today so we could work out together in the gym—that cake was not hitting my hips—and I loved seeing where he worked.

There were only a few people in the office and two guys in the gym who soon left when Ryder glared at them.

Afterward, I sat at his desk and spun around on his chair. Then he closed the door and stalked over to me like I was his prey.

I was.

He lifted me up and placed me on his desk, stripped off my lycra shorts and licked my pussy until I almost stabbed him with my long nails.

"Do I need to trim those like I do Max's?" He asked, rubbing his shoulders afterward.

"Do I need to purr?" I teased.

"Sweetheart, I'll make you purr," Ryder said in response and slid his cock inside me.

Holy hell. I had purred. And I was still purring a few hours later.

Now I wanted to whimper because he's dropping me off and leaving.

What did I think was going to happen? We'd move in together, or Ryder would want to stay here with me for the night.

He can't. Everyone would notice.

"I'll get your bag," he says, opening the door and going around to the trunk while I climb out.

I open the front door and Ryder drops the bag inside, then closes it behind him.

"Are you leaving?" I ask pathetically.

"I don't want to," he says, taking my hips and kissing me.

But he has to.

Two BHS guards at the gates saw him come in and are expecting him to leave. When I'm home, he's not required.

"Thank you," I say, resting my face on his chest. "For last night. For today. I love Max."

"He loves you," Ryder's rough voice rumbles.

"Can I keep him?" I ask cheekily, lifting my face and smiling. I don't mean it and he knows that, but I suppose I'm just trying to delay the moment he leaves.

God, maybe I like this man far more than I realize.

How can I not?

His deep blue eyes hold mine, and I can see how much he wants to stay. It's not just physical anymore. The things we shared last night have changed everything.

Waking up, we immediately made love and spent the morning in a slow domestic lull. We showered. We ate breakfast. We sipped coffee while listening to the birds. We watched Max fail as he tried to catch them and laughed.

Then curled up and watched a movie together.

It was perfect.

Just like him.

"No. Then I don't have him or you." He taps my nose. "Get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

Ryder kisses me once more, then walks out the door. I remain standing in the lobby with my fingers on my lips for a long moment.

No, then I don't have him or you.

He has no idea how much those words mean. Way more than they should.

Beep beep.

I pull out my phone.

Go to bed. Ry

Smiling, I pick up my bag and walk upstairs.