and I were pulling away from each other and greeting Ryder as if the little skip of time had n’ t occurred.
But the tension hung in the room, crushing my heart until I almost could n’ t breathe as Ryder began speaking to me.
“ How are you feeling ?” he asked first, his eyes filling with the now familiar concern, breaking the awkwardness.
“ I feel pretty great, actually. I ate like a ravenous wolf or something. Cherry makes amazing bacon ,” I replied, as my stomach growled out loud. Embarrassingly loud.
Ryder looked down at my belly, and then back up to my face, his eyebrow arched questioningly as he smiled.
“ Well, that was hours ago. I guess I’ m hungry again ,” I said, shrugging.
“I’ ve been thinking, though ,” I said. “ I think I should go into town. Take a look around a bit. See if it triggers anything for me . ”
“ Yeah ?” he replied. “ So, no luck on the computer ? ”
“ No, nothing useful at all. I’ m still a complete blank . ”
Ryder nodded silently. The air grew thick with tension again as the three of us exchanged glances.
Riot closed his computer and stood up.
“ Well, good luck ,” he said to me. “I’ ll keep thinking and searching . ”
“ Thank you, Riot. I really appreciate your help . ”
“ Sure, sure, no problem .” He left, nodding respectfully at Ryder as he passed him.
“ So, you want to venture into civilization, huh ? ”
“ Yes. Seems like the logical thing to do next . ”
“ Well, all right then, I’ ll take you. You said yo u’ re hungry? We can go to Tillamook. Find some dinner . ”
“ Yeah? Okay, thanks, Ryder ,” I replied .“ That sounds great. I’ m ravenous ! ”
“ W e’ ll take it slow. Tillamoo k’ s closer than Portland. We can eat, drive around, see what happens . ”
“ Perfect .” I said, smiling gratefully at him. I was taking this one tiny step at a time, and while everyone had been so nice to me here, the only person I really felt safe with was Ryder. Maybe it was because he was the first person I saw when I woke up. Maybe it was because he was the one who rescued me. Maybe it was because he was obviously concerned about me. Or, maybe, just maybe, it was because he was dripping with extremely masculine confidence that inspired complete trust in him.
He strode past me, his confident swagger satisfying something deep inside me. I needed that. I had no confidence in anything else, but this man in front of me was like a rock. A force that could n’ t be compromised. I was n’ t sure of much, and when it came to my feelings about myself, I felt nothing but vulnerable and empty. The last thing I wanted was to be dependent on anyone, but I did n’ t know what I would do without Ryder at this point.
I sighed, submitting to the fact that I needed him.
I was n’ t about to say that out loud, though. No matter how strongly I felt it.
“I’ ll see if I can find you some leathers ,” he said, turning on his heel and walking back out of the room.
“ Leathers ? ” I asked to the empty room.
***
We flew around the curves of the winding road leading to the coast. I held on tightly, my arms wrapped around Ryde r’ s waist, his Harley vibrating loudly between my thighs as I wrapped them around his narrow hips. Heat radiated from his body, and my tight grip kept slipping up under his cut, giving me a chance to feel the rippling muscles under his t-shirt.
As we rounded a particularly tight curve, I clutched him even tighter. He reached back, his glove-wrapped hand patting my thigh reassuringly. There was something about that action that cut right through me. Electricity shot through my body, and it was all I could do to catch my breath as the bike sliced through the wind.
The sun was just beginning to set, but the tall pines lining the
But the tension hung in the room, crushing my heart until I almost could n’ t breathe as Ryder began speaking to me.
“ How are you feeling ?” he asked first, his eyes filling with the now familiar concern, breaking the awkwardness.
“ I feel pretty great, actually. I ate like a ravenous wolf or something. Cherry makes amazing bacon ,” I replied, as my stomach growled out loud. Embarrassingly loud.
Ryder looked down at my belly, and then back up to my face, his eyebrow arched questioningly as he smiled.
“ Well, that was hours ago. I guess I’ m hungry again ,” I said, shrugging.
“I’ ve been thinking, though ,” I said. “ I think I should go into town. Take a look around a bit. See if it triggers anything for me . ”
“ Yeah ?” he replied. “ So, no luck on the computer ? ”
“ No, nothing useful at all. I’ m still a complete blank . ”
Ryder nodded silently. The air grew thick with tension again as the three of us exchanged glances.
Riot closed his computer and stood up.
“ Well, good luck ,” he said to me. “I’ ll keep thinking and searching . ”
“ Thank you, Riot. I really appreciate your help . ”
“ Sure, sure, no problem .” He left, nodding respectfully at Ryder as he passed him.
“ So, you want to venture into civilization, huh ? ”
“ Yes. Seems like the logical thing to do next . ”
“ Well, all right then, I’ ll take you. You said yo u’ re hungry? We can go to Tillamook. Find some dinner . ”
“ Yeah? Okay, thanks, Ryder ,” I replied .“ That sounds great. I’ m ravenous ! ”
“ W e’ ll take it slow. Tillamoo k’ s closer than Portland. We can eat, drive around, see what happens . ”
“ Perfect .” I said, smiling gratefully at him. I was taking this one tiny step at a time, and while everyone had been so nice to me here, the only person I really felt safe with was Ryder. Maybe it was because he was the first person I saw when I woke up. Maybe it was because he was the one who rescued me. Maybe it was because he was obviously concerned about me. Or, maybe, just maybe, it was because he was dripping with extremely masculine confidence that inspired complete trust in him.
He strode past me, his confident swagger satisfying something deep inside me. I needed that. I had no confidence in anything else, but this man in front of me was like a rock. A force that could n’ t be compromised. I was n’ t sure of much, and when it came to my feelings about myself, I felt nothing but vulnerable and empty. The last thing I wanted was to be dependent on anyone, but I did n’ t know what I would do without Ryder at this point.
I sighed, submitting to the fact that I needed him.
I was n’ t about to say that out loud, though. No matter how strongly I felt it.
“I’ ll see if I can find you some leathers ,” he said, turning on his heel and walking back out of the room.
“ Leathers ? ” I asked to the empty room.
***
We flew around the curves of the winding road leading to the coast. I held on tightly, my arms wrapped around Ryde r’ s waist, his Harley vibrating loudly between my thighs as I wrapped them around his narrow hips. Heat radiated from his body, and my tight grip kept slipping up under his cut, giving me a chance to feel the rippling muscles under his t-shirt.
As we rounded a particularly tight curve, I clutched him even tighter. He reached back, his glove-wrapped hand patting my thigh reassuringly. There was something about that action that cut right through me. Electricity shot through my body, and it was all I could do to catch my breath as the bike sliced through the wind.
The sun was just beginning to set, but the tall pines lining the
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