Page 49 of A Lot Like Love
He knew she was drunk, but the look on her face right now told him she was right about being happy, because so was he. He might have screwed up big-time at home, but right here, right now, he was just damn pleased to be hanging out with a woman like Chloe.Dangerouslyhappy to be with her.
“I’ll make you a deal,” he said. “If we don’t pass one on our way back, I’ll tip the concierge an insane amount of money to go find one for you.”
“Deal,” she said, grabbing his hand and shaking it, tugging him so they had to stop.
The tequila had sent a buzz through his body, too, and when she yanked him close enough to kiss, he had no hope of behaving anything other than badly. Ryder opened his palms against her waist, holding her firm, kissing her rough when she rubbed her body hard against his. She was digging her fingers into his shoulders one minute and worrying the top button of his shirt the next. Ryder groaned, grabbing hold of her hands and forcing her to stop.
“I think we need to get a room,” he grumbled into her ear. “As much as I’m all for public displays of affection, I don’t want to be arrested for public indecency.”
Chloe tipped her head back and laughed, still clutching his shirt. If she hadn’t hustled a table full of experienced poker players a few hours earlier, he’d have taken her for a naïve young woman who’d had too much to drink in Vegas and needed to be looked after. Only he knew that she was more experienced in this city than half the men who visited regularly. Hell, maybe even more than him.
“Come on. It won’t take long.”
“You know, being with you is kind of like having a burly bodyguard on duty,” she told him, her thumb hooked into his belt as they walked side by side, bodies fused together.
“Is that a compliment?” he asked, not sure what she was getting at.
“For the first time in my life I feel like someone’s looking out for me,” she told him, her voice low as she dropped her shoulder half against his chest. “No one’s ever really given a damn about me before, so it’s kinda nice.”
Ryder’s chest tightened, his hold on her even fiercer. “Where I come from, all women deserve to be looked after.” His voice was raspy; he could hear how dark it sounded.
“If only I lived in your world.”
Ryder steeled his jaw, hating that her words hit him with the force of a truck slamming into concrete. There was no part of him that wanted a real relationship—he had to get his own shit together, there was no room in his life for anyone else, not even Chloe. He glanced at her, admiring how damn touchable and silky her blond hair was, her side profile all pouty lips and long lashes framing her dark eyes. And underneath those clothes? He fought not to stop her from walking and scoop her up, remembering what it was like to have those long legs wrapped tight around his waist. Ryder ground his teeth instead, staying in control.
If he’d ever met a woman who could tempt him into something more, it was Chloe, although maybe it was the combination of her being goddamn beautifulandcapable of winning his ranch back that was making him want her so bad. Once it was all over, maybe the thrill of wanting her would disappear. He groaned when she leaned up and grazed a kiss across his jaw. Or maybe he was a goddamn liar.
