Hot Finish (Fast Track #3)(27)
Author: Erin McCarthy

His skin was dewy, his breathing ragged, and he stroked her backside softly. “Jesus. You’re amazing.”

Her eyes were already drifting closed, so with great reluctance she disengaged them and slid down his side to the mattress. Hand on his chest, leg draped over his, she murmured, “I told you I would finish it.”

“That you did. But Suz,” he said in her ear, his lips brushing up and down her jaw, “I don’t think any of this is finished. It never was.”

For the first time in a long, long time, Suzanne actually agreed with Ryder.

SUZANNE’S first thought when she opened her eyes and saw Ryder lying naked next to her, softly snoring, the sheet just barely reaching his waist, was that she had just had an awesome night of amazing sex.

Her second thought was now what the hell did she do with him?

The room was lit with the morning sun streaming in and she was curled up snugly under the sheet and comforter on her bed. Rolling onto her side, she studied him. Damn, he was just as cute as he’d ever been, perfect lips, perfect nose, perfect eyebrows that were not too small and not too big and bushy. Cute, cute, cute, the bastard.

When it was good, it was good, and last night had been just that.

Why couldn’t they make it work?

Suzanne wasn’t even sure anymore, and that was dangerous. There had been reasons, solid, legitimate reasons. She had not walked away lightly, in fact, she’d agonized over it, yet here she was telling herself that maybe there was a chance . . .

She sat up in bed, tossing the covers aside and shivering when the chill of the room hit her. Time for a dose of cold November air on her ridiculous thoughts. Which was good timing, because as she padded across the room toward her bathroom, stepping over the pile of Ryder’s clothes, his phone went off on the nightstand.

Ryder groaned and silenced his phone before asking in a groggy voice, “Where are you going?”

“Bathroom.”

“Can I come with you?”

“You want to watch me pee?” Suzanne shot a glance at him over her shoulder, wondering why on earth she suddenly felt self-conscious being naked in front of him. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen her ten thousand times before. But she was feeling oddly vulnerable, and Lord knew, she couldn’t stomach that. “I don’t think so.”

“Hurry back. I have plans for you.”

Just to prove to herself she could, Suzanne stopped in the bathroom doorway and turned, putting one arm up on the door frame and posing, giving him a full frontal view. Not that it was meant to seem posed, but she wanted him to look at her and see all her stuff. And get that lusty look in his eye that he was already getting. It made her feel more in control.

“Suzanne . . . damn, you’re gorgeous.” He tossed the sheet aside so she could see his erection. His hand enclosed it and he stroked lightly up and down. “Come on, babe, come back to bed.”

“I have an appointment with Nikki to try on wedding gowns at ten.” A glance at her bedside clock revealed the ugly truth. “It’s nine already. I’ll be lucky if I can shower the smell of sex off me and still get there on time.”

His hand fell off his penis. “Well, that totally sucks.” Then he gave her a wheedling smile. “Just five minutes? What are the odds Nikki isn’t totally hungover anyway. And maybe Strickland didn’t realize she was supposed to meet you and she’s still up at the lake with him.”

“No, I can’t. She texted me that she’ll be there.” Which was a total lie, and Ryder was probably right, she would find herself at the bridal shop solo as Nikki slept off her skinny bitches, but she had to leave. She was feeling all sorts of tied up in knots, and suddenly like she might cry again, an annoying emotion that seemed to raise its sissy head only when Ryder was involved.

She expected an argument but he just nodded. “Okay. I understand.”

Dropping her arm, she cocked her head at him. “That’s it? You’re not going to try and talk me into it?”

“Do you want me to talk you into it?”

“Yes and no. I wouldn’t mind going for a pony ride, but I really can’t be late for this appointment with Nikki.”

“And I get that, so I’m saying I won’t push it.”

She stared at him, not sure what to say. “Why do I feel like we’re supposed to fight here, but there’s nothing to fight about?”

Ryder grinned. “Old habits die hard.” He got out of bed and padded over to her, stretching his arms over his head as he yawned. When he reached her, he kissed her forehead. “But I was thinking that maybe it would be nice if for once we walked away content with each other instead of pissed off. What do you think?”

Suzanne ran her fingers lightly over his back, dumb-struck and touched all at once. “I think sometimes you have kick-ass ideas, Ryder.”

“Why thank you.” This time his lips brushed hers before he backed up. “I’ll use the other bathroom so we don’t put you behind schedule. I can be ready in ten minutes.”

Ryder bent over and scooped up his clothes and ambled toward the door to the hallway.

“There’s towels under the sink,” she told him, just standing there, watching him walk away. She should be hurrying, yet she felt no urgency. Quite the opposite, in fact. Ryder had eradicated her fears with his reassurance that he wanted no drama either, and watching him, she just felt . . . happy.

That sad little sack in her chest was all puffed up and telling her that things were good with a capital G. Whatever they had been, whatever they would be in the future, Ryder was and always would be in her heart, and at the moment she wasn’t minding that one bit.

Until she opened her bathroom drawer in pursuit of her hairbrush and saw her birth control pills sitting there. Well shit fire and save the matches. She had forgotten to take one the night before. One didn’t matter though. Did it? Of course not. The timing was all wrong anyway. Popping it into her mouth, she told herself that the odds of getting pregnant were slimmer than Nikki’s forearms, and promptly put it out of her head. No sense in adding more pointless worry to the heaping pile she had already going.

Twenty minutes later she and Ryder were out the door and she drove him home, hitting the drive-thru for some coffee for her and muffins for him. A glance over showed he was destroying the giant blueberry concoction, balancing his black coffee between his knees.

“You’d better not be getting crumbs in my car.”

“I’ll lick them up if I do.” He wiggled his tongue at her and moved his eyebrows up and down. “I’m good at licking.”