Page 35 of Wicked Obsession

He made her sandwich with care, making sure he folded the slices of corned beef so they covered every millimeter of the bread. Okay, it was stupid, but Ryder wanted it to be perfect. Wanted it to be an apology he wasn’t sure he’d be able to adequately verbalize. What did he say?Sorry I fucked you instead of making love?He wasn’t sorry, not exactly. He’d loved every second of it. Using the butter knife, he measured the width of the bread and tried to cut the sandwich into exact halves. Langley noticed things like that.

After putting her plate on the table with a tumbler of ice water, he placed the creamer and some sugar out in case she wanted coffee. NoLangley. His stomach gave a low rumble, and he remembered that he’d only eaten a partial bowl of microwave oatmeal, not nearly enough to fill him up. He made a sandwich for himself, too.

And she wasn’t out of the bathroom yet. Maybe she was in there crying, not wanting him to know he’d hurt her. “Shit,” he muttered, and squaring his shoulders, he went to the door and knocked softly. “Langley? Are you okay?”

Her response was muffled.

The doorknob turned when he tried it and he pushed the door open. She was completely dressed except for her shoes. Again, he asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yes, sorry.” She shrugged. Leaning down, she slipped on her running shoes and tied them. “Is the food ready?”

“Yes. Are you sure you’re okay?” Ryder held out a hand, gesturing toward where she sat on the closed toilet lid. “You’ve been in here a long time.”

Langley reached up, took his hand, and waited for him to pull her upright. “Sorry,” she apologized again. “I’m so hungry, I’m shaking and that caused me to spill water on the floor. After I cleaned that up, I needed to sit down. My legs might not show the wounds from wearing those heels on Saturday, but I feel it in my calves and thighs.”

Remembering how tight the muscles in her legs had been, Ryder grimaced. He should have factored that in. “How bad? If you needed to run, could you?”

“Am I going to need to do that?”

“I hope not, but can I assume you answering my question with a question means no, you can’t run?”

She walked out of the bathroom, not hobbling, but definitely not moving fast. He hovered, sticking close in case she had any problems. When she sat at the table, he breathed easier. “Are you going to answer the question now?”

“I’m fine.” Langley held up a hand before he could point out that wasn’t what he’d asked. “Can I run? Yes, if I absolutely had to. Do I want to do it? No, I’d prefer to skip that particular bit of exercise for the next few days.” As she picked up her sandwich, she asked, “Do you think I’ll need to run?”

“I hope not.” He went to the coffee maker. “Did you want coffee?” Ryder asked, glancing over his shoulder.

“Yes, please.”

He brought her cup to the table, then went back to the pot to pour his own, but before he could grab the handle, the door at the end of the hall opened. Ryder moved, putting himselfbetween Langley and whoever had entered. It was Griff.

“What are you doing here?” Ryder asked tersely.

“Grabbing some coffee before I relieve Bryce in the comm room.” Griff glowered at him, then smoothed out his expression and stepped to the side to see around him. “Good morning, Langley,” he said a lot more pleasantly. “How are you feeling today?”

“Good morning, Jonah,” Langley said with a smile. “I’m doing well. Is everything okay?”

“Yes, it’s only a shift change.” He crossed the room and poured himself a mug. “Did you make the coffee, ma’am?”

Since Langley had a mouthful of food, Ryder answered, “She did. If it’s too weak for you, there’s some instant coffee in the pantry.”

“Ski, I have standards. I’ll have two cups to get the caffeine.” He chugged down the mug and then poured a second one. “See? Problem solved without resorting to instant.” Griff headed toward the hallway, but stopped near Ryder to ask, “Some reason you decided not to carry your phone?”

“Shit, I knew I forgot something.” Ryder made a move to go get it, then hesitated, not wanting to leave Langley.

Griff said, “Don’t worry. I’ll hang with Langley until you get back.”

“Mako is going to be pissed.”

“He’ll get over it.”

Ryder headed for the staircase. He stopped inside the guest room and couldn’t prevent the smile. She’d made the bed. After everything she’d been through, with feet and legs that hurt like a son of a bitch, his OCD little hellcat had taken the time to make the bed. The grin remained on his face as he retrieved his phone from the top of the nightstand. When he got back to the kitchen, the plate in front of his chair was empty, nothing on it except a few crumbs.

“You took my sandwich,” he accused Griff.

He shook his head. “Nope.” Pointing at Langley, he said, “She did.”

Langley swallowed the bite she was chewing. “Jonah, you ratted me out!”

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