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“But.” I couldn’t let myself get carried away. Or was I already swept far away from shore? “Ryder,” I started to speak, for his sake as well as mine. “Your big fight with O’Connor is in a few days. Don't you have to train?”
“Gym’s open twenty-four hours.” His grumble was muffled against the pillow, but still very, very grumpy. And kinda cute.
I found myself pushing his hair off his forehead. “Your trainer and coach won’t like being kept waiting.”
He gave me a shrewd look. “You’ve learned too much about the business already, you know that?”
I gave a naive shrug. “It’s my job. And don’t worry. I’m going to keep last night between us.”
He brought my head down for a kiss. I felt him hesitate before he pulled away from me and rose from the bed. He put his boxers back on at some point. It was probably a good thing he did. If I glanced at his big cock of this morning, my best laid plans to get going would shift right back into the bed. Why was I having such a hard time leaving? It was just a one-night stand. So why did it feel like we had something more going on?
Ryder headed to the shower. “I’m not going to the gym yet. There’s something I need to do first. If you want to run by the dog shelter, I’ll be there for a couple of hours.”
I found my bra and panties on the floor. “Sure, I’d love to see you around the dogs.”
He lingered at the bathroom door, watching me put on my underwear. “I gotta admit, seeing you out of bed, I’m not thinking about much else.”
My nipples hardened as he stared at them.
“There’s room for two in the shower.” His hint was far from subtle.
The way I wanted to remove my panties again so fast was scary. I held my composure as I stomped down on my sex drive. “I’d better not. Just trying to get back into pro mode, you know?”
He smirked. “Judging by the way your body’s responding to me, it’s going to take awhile.”
“Look who’s talking, big guy.” I glanced at the long shaft that made me lose my mind last night.
“I told you. You make it difficult to hide anything.” He went into the bathroom.
While he was in the shower, I hunted for my dress, shoes, and accessories. I had most of them on by the time he came out of the bathroom, a towel slung around his hips. “I’m going to need to swing by my place first for a change of clothes.” I looked for my keys out of habit. “Shoot. I forgot I took a rideshare.”
“I’ll give you a lift.”
My eyes veered to the thin trail of dark hair on his stomach that disappeared beneath his towel. “I’m, uh, going to wait for you in the living room.”
About twenty minutes later we were in his car. This was where it all started last night after we left the mayor’s ball. My pussy tingled in remembrance of Ryder making me come.
“Thanks for the ride home.” I unbuckled my seat belt once he pulled into the parking lot of the extended stay hotel.
He peered out the front window, a perplexed look wrinkling his brow. “I thought you said you grew up in this town.”
“I did. My parents moved a while ago, so this is where I’m staying while on assignment.”
He nodded. “Are you going back to LA when it’s over?”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “I haven’t really decided what my next move is going to be.” It felt awkward telling an established MMA champion that I had no clue how my life was going to end up in a matter of weeks. “I’m focusing on the article for now.”
“I have to give you something interesting to write about then.” He cast a lingering look my way before his gaze moved to the flickering hotel sign. “I can’t have you running back to Hollywood.”
He made it sound like a joke, but I heard something else in his voice. Maybe I was kidding myself when I thought there was a hint of sadness in his tone. Heaviness settled over my empty stomach. Was I feeling sadness, too? “I’m not going anytime soon. Me and show business don’t get along on the West Coast.”
“I read one of your bios.”
“Did you?” Surprised, my hand stayed on the door handle instead of opening it.
“I did a little investigative work of my own when you first got here. Born and raised in Sunridge. Your online bio said you went to Berkeley, got married right after graduation. You used to work for one of those big shot celebrity entertainment networks not too long ago.”
I was impressed he put in the work to learn about me. “All of that was before my divorce. Show biz can be tough on a personal life.”
