Chapter Thirty-Three
Lindsay
Light pressed against my eyelids, turning the world from black to orange, and I burrowed deeper under the covers and curled closer to the warm, naked body I was lying halfway on top of. When my eyes fluttered open, Ryder’s profile greeted me. His eyes were still closed, but the smile that spread across his face when I kissed his shoulder let me know he was at least partially awake.
Last night I’d been pissed and drunk—not a great combo—and I’d planned on letting him have it when I saw him next. I’d meant a different kind of letting him have it originally, but after he told me he needed me and carried me out of that club, my emotions flipped, and I’d wanted him too badly to hold on to my earlier anger.
I ran my finger down the bridge of his nose and tapped it to his lips. Who could blame me for forgiving him so quickly? He was so damn sexy I couldn’t help but marvel that I got him all to myself, even if only for a little while.
But maybe it could be longer… I considered asking him what he’d think if I looked for jobs in Boston instead of New York, but I wasn’t secure enough with where we were yet. I should probably see if there were any positions that’d even consider hiring me before I got carried away.
I shifted, working to untangle my leg from his.
Ryder’s hand shot out. He gripped my elbow and hauled me on top of him, his free arm winding around my waist and pinning me against his firm chest. “Where do you think you’re going?”
I giggled—yes, Ryder had reduced me to a giggly, giddy girl, and while I wanted to roll my eyes at myself, I was too happy to care. I kissed his neck, smiling against his skin at the low hum that vibrated through his throat.
Then I sat up, my legs straddling his waist, and stretched. “I should probably go get some work done at the paper.”
“You should stay in bed with me all day instead.” Ryder gripped my thighs and rocked against me, all the areas that were still sensitive from last night waking up and begging me to stay as well.
“As tempting as that sounds…” I ran my hand across his torso and got sidetracked by the bruises marring his side. I gently traced them with my fingertips. “You sore from the game?”
“Not from the game.” He waggled his eyebrows at me, and I laughed and shook my head. He sat up and kissed the sensitive spot under my ear, and I felt him grow harder underneath me, which was making it extremely difficult to hold on to logical thoughts.
“Some of us have jobs and classes we have to work on. We can’t all just play hockey to get through college,” I teased—or at least attempted to, but my words came out shaky. “In fact, my math tutor’s been slacking. It’s almost like he doesn’t want me to graduate.”
“He doesn’t. If you don’t graduate, that means I get to tutor you some more next year, right?” He nipped my earlobe with his teeth, and I gripped his biceps for support as a delicious shiver worked its way down my spine. “Now you know why I took the job in the first place. I had ulterior motives to keep you here all along.”
That was as good as saying he wanted me to stay in Boston, right?
I reached up, raked my fingers through his hair, and then tugged his head back so I could regain access to his lips. I rolled my hips as I touched my tongue to his, deciding that I could afford a few more hours of playtime. News occasionally sleeps—wasn’t that the saying?
The loud knock on his bedroom door made me jump. I gathered the sheet to cover myself and shifted to the side.
“We don’t want any,” Ryder barked.
“Bro, I’m not selling anything,” Dane said. “Your parents are here.”
“Parents? Like both of them?”
“Do you have more than two?” Dane asked through the door.
“Smart-ass,” Ryder muttered, and I pressed my lips together so I wouldn’t laugh. Amusement mixed in with the sexual frustration coursing through my body. The news that his parents—neither of which seemed to be fans of mine—were in the other room put a major dent in the mood.
Dane cracked open the door and Ryder situated himself in front of me, so he was mostly blocking me from view. “Sorry. I didn’t know for sure if Lindsay was here. I’m glad she is”—he glanced at me—“he’s so much happier when you’re around. Before he was all broody and obsessed with the gym. Not that he’s not obsessed with the gym anymore, but—”
“Kowalski,” Ryder said. “Focus. My parents?”
“They knocked and knocked, until I finally got up to answer the door, then they charged right in and demanded to see you. You’re lucky that I came to knock on your bedroom door instead of them. Can you say awkward?”
“I’m feeling plenty of awkward.” I tucked the sheet tighter around me, my cheeks burning. But Dane was right—at least this exchange was slightly less horrifying than Ryder’s parents barging in on us. “Isn’t the point of college to not have to deal with this anymore?”
Not that my mom ever barged in on me—usually it was the other way around. I’d learned to knock and then give it a minute or so and knock again.
“Apparently I’m not that lucky.” Ryder scrubbed a hand over his face. “Tell them I’ll be out as soon as I get dressed.”
Dane closed the door behind him, and Ryder turned to me and ran his hand down my arm, squeezing my hand when he reached it. “I’m so sorry. This isn’t how I wanted this morning to go.”
“It’s okay. So, do I sneak out the window, or…?”
“No way.” He grabbed my hand, lifted it, and kissed the back of it. “You come out with me. They’re the ones who interrupted our morning. We have nothing to be ashamed of.”
Suddenly I was thinking I should’ve run while I could’ve.