Page 31 of Wicked Obsession

“I’m sorry I hurt you, Langley. I never meant to do that.”

Uncertain how to respond, she shrugged.

Ryder shook his head. “Say something. Tellme to go to hell if you want, but don’t be polite with me. I fu—freaking hate it when you go distant.”

“What am I supposed to say? That it’s okay that you hurt me? That it’s okay you considered me some kind of convenient sex partner and nothing deeper? Well, guess what? I can’t absolve you. I can’t say no worries, it was fun.” Langley stopped and reined in her emotions. She was close to crying and she wouldn’t allow him to see her in tears.

“Convenient?” Ryder sounded as shocked as he looked. “Hellcat, I’ve never thought of you as a convenience.” He took a step forward but stopped when she backed up. Grimacing, he continued. “You got under my skin, wormed your way into my head. Shit, you messed me up in so many ways, I can’t name them. All I can think about is you, and when I’m not with you, I feel it physically. Here.” He briefly touched a hand over the center of his chest.

Taking a deep breath, one she hoped was unobtrusive, Langley said, “How am I supposed to believe that? You only allow me to get so close, and then you deliberately put distance between us.”

He reached out, removed the bread and syrup bottle from her grasp, and placed them on the counter. “Langley,” Ryder took both her hands inhis. She wanted to pull loose, but that would be too telling. “I’m sorry. It wasn’t because you meant too little, it was because you scared the shit out of me, and I was hoping that some space would help. It didn’t. You still scare the shit out of me, but I can live with that as long as you’re with me.”

Langley tried to sort through everything he said. Her brain was spinning, and she was trying to separate what he meant from what she wanted to hear. “Why the change of heart?”

Ryder frowned. “Because I didn’t realize what I was doing to you until you broke up with me. Because arriving in California and discovering you’d been kidnapped woke me the hell up. Because someone shot at you and would have killed you if you hadn’t tripped.”

Langley could see torment in his eyes as he spoke of the sniper. That raw emotion was why she let him tug her against his body and wrap his arms around her. It was why she hugged him in return.

“Give me another chance. I promise I’ll do better.”

Part of her wanted to hold on to her pride, to tell him no, but doing that would hurt her every bit as much as it hurt him, and it wouldn’t fill the emptiness she’d carried in her heart since she’d walked away from him at the airport. She loved him, and as long as Ryder was willing to meet herhalfway, she wasn’t going to push him away. Leaning back in his embrace, she rested her forearms against his chest. Langley needed to see his eyes. Reassured, she nodded. “Okay, let’s try again.”

Ryder smiled and drew her closer against his body. “Thank you.”

Sliding her arms up his chest and around his neck, Langley melted into him the way she’d wanted from the instant she’d seen him this morning. “I love it when you shave.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she drawled, mimicking his casualness. “You’re too good looking to hide that handsome face.”

A hint of red appeared on his cheekbones, and instead of replying, he lowered his mouth. His lips brushed over hers, asking rather than taking. Easing back a few inches, Ryder said, “Damn, Langley, I need you.”

Without warning, he lifted her and turned. He placed her on the island counter and moved between her thighs. Langley broke the kiss. “Here? What about your team?”

“I’ll take care of it.” He walked to the pantry door, shut it, and turned the lock on the doorknob. “There,” he said, returning to her and settling back between her legs. “Nobody will walk in on us now.”

“A child could pick that lock.”

“Nobody’s going to interrupt us,” he repeated firmly.

Her murmur of agreement was lost beneath his mouth.

Chapter 13

Langley ran her hands across Ryder’s shoulders before winding her arms around his neck. For a moment, she stopped and savored his warmth. After the ride to the airport, she thought she’d never enjoy this closeness with him again. Maybe he believed the same thing because there was a pause, a moment when they did nothing except stare at each other, before he lowered his head to hers.

His lips brushed hers, his restraint even more pronounced than it had been earlier. Langley was torn between frustration and anticipation. Part of her wanted the screaming orgasm his self-command would give her, but another part of her wanted him as out of control as she felt.

They’d been lovers for a year—she knew whathe liked and where to touch him—she could use that to provoke him. Langley opened her mouth under his, trying to encourage Ryder to deepen the kiss. Instead, he moved to tease her lower lip, nipping it before pulling it into his mouth. She shivered, her body tightening with desire. Yes, she knew him and what he enjoyed, but he knew her every bit as well.

Not quite ready to go along with him yet, she trailed her fingers over his nape, teasing his skin with her nails. His shudder made her lips curve beneath his. He always loved a light touch there.

“I’m not”—he kissed her chin—“that easy to distract.”

“I know.” And Langley wasn’t certain that she wanted to dissuade him anyway. It wasn’t only the way he’d make her come, it was the message behind the slow, teasing pace. They weren’t having sex, they were making love and sealing their commitment to each other.

He kissed his way up her jawline to her ear, bit her lobe gently before soothing it with his tongue. Her fingers clutched at him briefly and she tilted her head, giving him free access. This time he made her breath catch as he trailed his mouth slowly down to the base of her throat, nipping and teasing as he went.

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