“It’s okay, honey. I’m almost there, and everything’s going to be okay. Probably just some kids messing around.”
“Yeah, probably.” I wish I believed him, even just a little. Hell, I wish he believed it.
“I’ve got you, Ember. You know that. I won’t let anything happen to you or Amelia.”
“I know.”
Gripping the phone tightly, I sit on the steps. At least, I can serve as a barrier to Amelia, a way to protect her should anything happen.
“I’m almost there.”
Hearing the speeding car coming down the street, the rustling and noises cease.
“They’re gone.”
A moment later, Ryder storms into the house. He rushes over to me, dropping to his knees and taking my face in his hands. “Are you okay?”
The concern I see in his eyes cracks my last bit of resolve. Tears flow freely down my face as I stare at him. “I was so scared. I was afraid someone was going to break in. Hurt Amelia. I didn’t know what to do.”
“You did the right things. You secured the house, made sure Amelia was safe, and called me. I will always come running when you need me.”
I nod, knowing in my heart his words are true. Ryder isn’t Devlin. He would never let anything happen to me, let alone be the one to hurt me.
He stares at me intently, and I gaze back, trying to determine which of the myriad of emotions I see in his eyes will win out.
He tilts my head up, his head dipping toward mine.
“I was so worried about you.”
Soft, warm lips brush against mine. His kiss consumes me, making me forget I’d been scared. All I can feel is him. No sooner do I drift off into this glorious abyss, Ryder pulls away. Away from the kiss and from me. His eyes give my body a once over, visually assessing me for any physical damage, but like with Devlin, it’s mental—all mental.
Seeing I’m okay, physically at least, Ryder lifts me into his arms and carries me to bed—his bed. There’s nothing sexual about it. It’s pure emotional healing he’s providing by wrapping his strong arms around my body and holding me close to him.
“I will never let anyone, or anything, hurt you,” he whispers into my ear, my back pressed firmly against his front.
We lie like that, never moving, until morning when the light streams through the windows.
I’m still in his arms. Tight. Safe. Secure.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX
Ryder
My eyes open and fall on the beautiful woman in my bed. The one I had no intention of ever letting in here. Not to sleep. Not to hold. Certainly, not to fall in love with.
That’s exactly what happened, though. At some point during the friends-with-benefits bullshit or maybe even before, I fell in love with her. Hearing the panic in her voice last night only solidified it for me.
When I heard her voice on the phone, I knew something was wrong. I feared for Amelia but also for Ember. Certainly not in the ‘I’m worried about my babysitter’ way, either. No, it was more than that. It went straight to my heart—a heart I never intended on using again. Not after the shit that Norah pulled, that’s for sure. Ember isn’t Norah, though. In fact, Ember’s here doing what Norah should be doing—raising our daughter.
Seeing her sitting on the stairs, safe and sound, I felt a sense of relief I didn’t even feel when I was in combat. Amelia and Ember were safe. My world was still in order. One look at Ember is all it took—every rule I wrote for us, every decision I made to keep business and pleasure separate out the window. There is nothing business about Ember. She became a part of me, a part of Amelia, the moment she walked into our lives, and it’s been for the better.
I roll onto my side, my head propped up on my hand.
“You’re being weird,” she says, her eyes still tightly shut and a hint of a smile on her lips.
My fingers trace her skin, over her stomach, then her hip, and finally reach her inner thigh. She lets out a hiss as my finger slips between her folds.
“Still weird?”