Page 89 of A Lot Like Love
Chapter 23
Ryder slipped his key card into the slot and pushed the door open. He walked in and stopped when he saw a pair of high heels kicked over in the middle of the room. One glance into the bedroom and it was obvious there was someone in his suite. He pulled off his boots so he didn’t make any noise and made his way in, taking his wallet and his phone out of his pocket and leaving them on a sideboard. Long blond hair was pooled over one of the pillows, the woman’s face obscured, but there was no mistaking who was in his bed. He’d been in the hospital two nights and she’d been keeping his bed warm.
He lowered himself onto the bed, not giving a damn about how sore he was if it meant cradling Chloe in his arms. He pushed the covers down a little, frowning when he saw that she wasn’t naked. Only… He chuckled. His favorite sweater had been missing for weeks and all the searching in the world hadn’t found it. Until now.
Chloe groaned, one arm rising from under the covers, her hand falling over her face. He went to touch her, then hesitated, not wanting to scare the crap out of her.
“Mornin’, gorgeous,” he murmured in a low voice.
The groaning stopped and she flipped her body, facing him in a second.
“Ryder?”
Her eyes were wide, hair all tangled around her face and mascara smudged under her eyes. She was tousled from bed but still sexy as hell.
“I’m guessing you had a big night?”
She groaned again and fell back into the pillows. “My head feels like it’s about to split open. What time is it?”
“Nine thirty,” he told her.
“Shit!” She sat up, one hand pressed to her forehead. “I’m so sorry, I promised to come see you first thing and…”
“You’re forgiven. You know why?” Ryder reached out to brush some tangled locks from her face, resting on one elbow so he could watch her.
“Why?” she mumbled, her gaze hooded as she half shut her eyes when he stroked her face.
“Because I’m guessing my brothers are to blame.”
“They’re evil,” she said, dropping back down and wriggling closer to him, snuggling her face into his chest. “They need to be punished. Severely punished.”
He laughed, but it wasn’t his brothers he wanted to talk about right now. “They got you drunk?”
“Worse. I beat them at every card game we played, so they decided I needed a handicap.” Chloe’s groan turned into a moan as he brushed her hair back to reveal her neck, nuzzling her soft skin. He kissed her gently, lips moving softly across her skin, inhaling the scent of her perfume. Even mixed with a hint of alcohol from the night before she smelled good enough to eat.
“Just tell me they didn’t talk you into strip poker,” he asked, talking straight into her ear before nipping her lobe. “I don’t want either of them seeing my girl naked.”
Chloe laughed and shook her head. “Don’t worry. I still beat them, so even if it had been strip it would have been me seeing them naked, not the other way around.”
Ryder watched as she nestled back into the pillows, her eyes on his, flickering to his mouth and back again. He lowered himself half over her, resting on his elbows so she didn’t have to take his weight.
“And that’s one of the reasons I love you,” he told her, the words coming easier than he’d expected.
Her eyes widened at the same time a slow smile spread across her face. “You do?” she asked.
Ryder nodded. “Yeah, I do,” he told her. “I love you, Chloe. I was a goddamn fool for not telling you at the hospital, but I’m telling you now.” Ryder dropped his lips to hers, caressing her mouth as gently as he could, wanting her to know that he meant every word. “I love you,” he whispered as her lips moved against his.“I love you.”
A knock echoed, followed by an even louder series of thuds on the door as Chloe kissed him back, her arms wrapped around his neck, tugging him down like she was never going to let him go.
“Chloe? You in there?”
“Go away!” Ryder yelled over his shoulder.
The knocking started again and Chloe pushed him back, one hand to his chest. She was smiling up at him when she shook her head. “Go tell him you’re in here.”
Ryder grunted. “No.”
“Seriously, if the way he ran off a guy who so much as looked at me last night is anything to go by, he’ll probably ram the door down to check on me before he just gives up.”
