Bound (18 page)

“Lots of tempting choices, but I’ll have to go with Jack,” Ryke said, reaching for a bottle. I was momentarily dazed, like someone had slapped me. He tipped back a shot and I let out a slow breath. Ryke had just rejected me in front of all my friends.

Of course Allie kissed him, too.
Of course.
He was looking like a rock star, as usual. Seeing her lips on his didn’t bother me nearly as much as being passed over by him did.

Lee once
told me he had a crush on me in high school, though we’d never been anything more than friends. When it was his turn, he winked at me and rose from the log he sat on.

“Stand up,” he said, reaching a hand down to me. I let him help me up, and then smiled
at the way his shaggy hair hung down near his hazel eyes.

His lips were soft and sweet, the way I remembered from previous years. But there was something about the kiss that reached into my heart. This was Lee, my dear old friend, and I didn’t have to worry about the tingling dizziness Ryke’s kiss
on my front porch had created. I could just enjoy myself, and remember how nice a kiss could be. Lee’s tongue was gentle and lazy against mine.

“Time!” A deep voice called out and I broke away to see Ryke glaring at me and Lee.

“Man, I only get to kiss her once a year,” Lee grumbled, walking back to his seat.

I watched as my girlfriends kissed Ryke one by one, and when it was my
turn, I briefly considered kissing Lee. But a shot sounded better, so I poured from the same bottle Ryke had taken his from.

It didn’t just burn going down, it lit my throat on fire. I sputtered and sucked in a deep breath. When I’d gathered myself, Ryke was looking at me, not with concern, but hurt. Seriously? Did
he really expect all six women here to kiss him first? Screw that. My ego was still bruised from him not kissing me.

The game seemed to move quickly from there.
I’d been kissed by John and Deacon and had taken three more shots when the ground started spinning around me even though I was sitting still. Not good.

“We’re out, guys,” Ryke said, getting up and walking over to me.

“I’m not out, I’m fine,” I said, ignoring the hand he held out to me.

“You’re trashed. Let’s go lay down.”

“I’m having fun,” I said, trying to glare at him. My face wouldn’t do what I wanted it to, and I wondered what kind of look I was actually giving him.

“You can’t drink any more, sweetheart.” Ryke reached down and grabbed my waist and everything really did start spinning when he threw me over his shoulder.

“Ryke!” I yelled. “I want more drinks! More drinking and more kissing!” I kicked my feet in protest and heard him laughing.

“You’ll have to kiss me, then,” he said, smacking my ass so hard I yelped. He was walking, and I wriggled to free myself but gave up quickly. He was just too strong.

The alcohol had mixed everything up, but I knew I was pissed. When Ryke moved me into his arms and carried me into the tent he’d set up for us, I crawled right into my sleeping bag.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” I said, wishing I didn’t sound so petulant.

“What are you mad about?” The amusement in his voice only stoked my anger.

“You blew me off,” I said, slurring the words a little. “We were supposed to spend time together and you kissed every girl here but me.”

“I haven’t kissed anyone,” he said. “I did five shots, remember? We quit right after the last one I drank.”

How was he sitting up straight and talking so clearly? I had to close my eyes to keep from getting so dizzy.

“You kissed all of them,” I said hotly.

“They kissed me, Kate. I was just playing along with the game. You did your share of kissing, too.”

“At least
someone
wanted to kiss me,” I said, sounding a little pathetic. Ryke laughed softly next to me.

“Is that why you’re pissed?”

“Don’t laugh at me,” I said, reaching out to smack his chest but only hitting air.

“You’re a sigh
t, sweetheart. Sleep it off.”

“Why didn’t you want to kiss me?” I asked, hoping to find out before I had to leave the tent to puke.

“I wanted to, Kate. I always want to. But I didn’t want to upset you.”

“You just don’t want my friends to think you like me,” I said, taking a deep breath to quell the waves of nausea.

He laughed lightly again. “I don’t think you need to worry about that,” he said.

“I do,” I said, rolling over to face him. I didn’t even get a look at him before I had to bury my face in the satiny cover of my sleeping bag. “I drank too much.” My voice was muffled by the fabric.

“Yeah, try to sleep.”

“I’m still mad at you,” I said, wondering if he could understand me.

“I know. Just go to sleep.”

“Mmm.” I had no energy left to make words. I couldn’t even muster any excitement about sleeping next to Ryke
. My eyelids dropped and I gave in to the pull of relaxation.

***

Ryke

I was scrolling through messages on my phone when Kate pulled her head off of the pillow. Morning sun
light illuminated her tangled blonde hair and the mascara that had rubbed off under her eyes.

“Shit,” she muttered, wincing a little. “I feel terrible.”

“Probably hung over,” I said.

“Ugh.” She let her head fall back to the pillow. “I need to go running.”

“Running? You need to go back to sleep.”

She sat up and tried to smooth the tangles out of her hair.
“No, I like to run off a small hangover.”

I raised my brows at her, a little impressed. “I’ll come with you. I could use a run.”

“Okay. A hot shower would be amazing, too, but the showers here are more like lukewarm . . . I just need to find some Tylenol in my purse and change real quick.”

I waited for her outside and she emerged soon in a sports bra and shorts, her hair pulled back and her day-old
makeup wiped off. Her fresh face and the sight of her stretching her legs in a wide V on the ground made me want to climb back in the tent with her and make up for not kissing her last night.

“What’s your pace?” she asked, looking up at me.

“We can do whatever you need,” I said, reaching a hand down to help her up.

She smiled and shook her head. “I’ll have to slow to your pace, Ryke. I ran cross country in high school.”

“I ran track in high school.”

“Not the same thing,” she said, laughing. “Unless you just want t
o do a quick sprint.”

“Are you talking about doing a half marathon or something?”

“No, just a few miles.”

I tugged on her ponytail and grinned. “Then set the pace, sweetheart. I can keep up with you just fine.”

She took off for the dirt path in the woods and I followed, my gaze locked on her tight ass. The way she didn’t seem to realize how sexy she was made me want her that much more. I wondered where things would’ve gone if I had kissed her last night.

The path widened and I was able to run alongside her. She was at about a seven minute mile pace, which was comfortable for both of us. I glanced over and admired the slight bounce of her tits in the tight sports bra.

“I saw that,” she said, a smile dancing on her pink lips.

“Wasn’t trying to hide it,” I said. “You’ve got great . . . breasts.”

Her laugh made me feel lighter. “You don’t have to act like you call them that.”

I feigned indignation with furrowed brows. “What else would I call them?”

“Boobs, probably? Tits?”

“I like the way you say tits,” I teased. “Say it again.”

Her eyes gleamed with challenge when she looked at me. “Wanna race, smartass?”

“Hell yes. But I’m not letting you win just because you’re a girl.”

She slowed down as laughter took over. “Ryke, you’re so arrogant! I’ve been running for years. It’s what I do when I’m stressed, so you can imagine how many miles I’ve logged in the past few months.”

“What, like I stress you out?” I asked, coming to a stop.

“No, not you. Just . . . other stuff, you know?”

“Is Quinn still bothering you?”
Kicking his ass would be the most fun I’d had in a while.

“Nothing my ignore button can’t handle. So . . . it’s about two miles to a big sign for Lake Wonton—”

“Lake Wonton?”

“I don’t remember the real name, but it’s close to wonton. That’s what we call it. We’ll go around that sign and then back to camp.”

“Deal,” I said, rocking back on my heels to stretch my legs. “And winner gets . . .?”

Kate’s cheeks flushed and I knew what she was thinking. “Uh . . . I don’t know. Any ideas?”

“Winner gets to decide how we spend this evening,” I said.

“Done. We’ll be giving each other manicures by the campfire, by the way.”

I threw my head back with laughter. “You’re cute. I’ll have breakfast ready when you get back to camp.”

“Let’s go,”
she said, scoffing.

We ran the distance to the sign at a quick pace. Listening to Kate breathing heavily was so hot I wanted to call off the bet and push her against one of the large trees in the
forest. Exploring her sweaty skin with my hands and mouth and watching her react to my touch would be enough for me.

She
bounded past me, planning to break away, and I grinned. Beating me at Scrabble had given her false confidence. I let her stay in front until the last quarter mile, when I picked it up and blew past her.

“Shit!” she cried as she entered camp, pressing her palms to her knees and bending down to catch her breath. “You’re fast for someone so big.”

“I exercise for hours every day,” I said, pulling my sweaty t-shirt off over my head. “Hockey takes a lot of endurance.”

She shook her head and I smiled at this glance of Kate’s competitive side. I liked seeing some fire from her.

“What’s up today?” John asked. “Fishing, rafting? What’s everybody doing?”

“I’m gonna be right here all day,” Deacon said, stretching his legs out in a reclined lawn chair. He was already halfway through his first bottle of beer.

Kate wandered toward the beach and I followed. I’d never let on to anyone how pussy-whipped she made me feel. But anymore, if I wasn’t playing hockey, I wanted to be wherever she was.

***

Kate

Excitement blossomed warm in my chest when I saw Ryke following me toward the beach. It didn’t seem to matter if we were exchanging flirty banter, arguing or discussing the long journey of grief; I liked just being in his presence.

“Hey,” I said, turning when he reached me. “Can I see your tattoo?”

“Which one?”

I wanted to see all of him at that moment. Every last inch. Warmth spread between my thighs and for once, I didn’t try to suppress it.

“Uh . . . I was thinking the one on your shoulder blade,” I said. He turned around and I let my fi
ngertips wander across the lines on his skin, tracing the letter H and the tiny roses that wrapped around it in vines.

“I love it,” I said softly. When Ryke turned around, his expression was vulnerable, questioning. I was powerless to fight the wave of emotion that swelled in my chest. He inched just the tiniest bit closer to me and I reached my arms toward his neck. His powerful arms encircled my waist and pulled my body into his.

With a quick, fluid motion he picked me up, and his hard, sweaty chest pressed against mine, which was only covered by my bikini top. I wrapped my legs around his waist and felt a small groan in his chest as he pressed his lips to mine.

It wasn’t like our first kiss, which I’d analyzed my way out of enjoying. This one was all feeling. His warm, strong body. My fingers finally reaching freely into his gorgeous head of dark hair. His tongue meeting mine insistently.

I pressed myself closer into him, trying to make up for all the times I’d been too afraid to kiss him. And what was to fear? This was bliss. Tasting him and letting my hands glide over his sweaty muscles had arousal burning every nerve ending in my body. He trapped my lower lip between his teeth and nibbled. My legs unconsciously tightened around him.

“Ryke,” I whispered, closing my eyes. My fingertips grazed across his cheek to feel the dark stubble that practically begged me to caress it day and night. I finally was.

He pulled back a bit and I could still feel the warmth of his breath on my lips as he spoke in a low, raspy tone.

“This is the prize I want,” he said. “Let me spend tonight with your heart instead of your head.”

His words filled me with a longing that made tears well tightly in my throat. It was what I wanted, too: to be with Ryke and just feel. Tonight seemed so far away.