Page 60 of Rekindle My Heart

Aw, those lips. He wanted them on him. All of him.

Her attention shifted from him to the room, finally landing on the floor.

“Sorry. There are spare blankets and pillows in the closet if you need them. Goodnight.” She slipped back out like smoke, silently and swiftly, closing the door behind her.

Ryan’s chest fell as the hope he held tight rushed out on an exhale. He could have sworn interest flashed in her eyes. Hell. More than interest. There was out and out lust. It mirrored his.

He scanned the room. If he went by the rest of the house, nothing in here was Erica’s taste. If he didn’t know better, he’d say it was Sarah’s room.

He scanned over the photos. Sarah and Erica. Sarah in her cheerleading outfit. Sarah at three in the hospital. But it was the one in the back that stopped him cold. One of Erica, Sarah, and him. It was taken the day Ryan had gotten his college acceptance letter.

He picked it up and studied it. The smiles were wide, but the eyes… Erica’s reflected a sadness. A heaviness. Ryan understood. His, too, had held that. Erica was staying local for college, but not him. Ryan would be going a state away.

The sadness was natural. But Sarah’s, they shined with glee. He pulled the image closer. Not glee but triumph?

Ryan shook off the thought. Sarah had always been competitive. Everyone who knew her could tell you that. But he didn’t understand why, in that moment of time with him leaving, she looked… happy.

This was the last picture of them together. A month later, all of it went to shit.

With one last glance at Erica’s youthful face, he set the photo down. He’d had a full day, and his mind couldn’t take anymore right now.

He threw his pants on the chair with his shirt, killed the lights, and slipped under the covers.

Ryan took one last look at the photos before turning his back on them and pushing the memories from his head.

The last thing he needed tonight with all the shit going round in his mind were nightmares of the past haunting his sleep.

Erica rolled over. The bright blue numbers taunted her. Five more minutes.

“Screw it.” She flipped off the covers, stepping over the sleeping Karma, then softly walked across the hall.

Why had she bothered to set her alarm? What a waste of energy. Sleep had eluded her since her glimpse at his shirtless chest. The light dusting of hair, a flash of a tattoo on his upper pectoral… Yum. She itched to move in, get a closer inspection. That would have been a bad idea. Instead, she’d licked her lips and shoved the lust back down to the depths of despair where it had been languishing for the last few years. Heck, she’d swear dust motes would float out if she opened her legs.

But now, as she stood staring at her guest room door, she cursed under her breath. Why Ryan? Of all the men to open the faucets to her female parts, why did it have to be him?

Flexing her hands, she shook out the anxiety creeping through her limbs as she prepared to open his door. She glanced down at her sleep shorts and old tee and sighed.

“Shit. What am I doing?” The only reason she was awake in the dead of night was medical. Not for wandering hands, or dancing tongues, and definitely not for midnight romps with the sexy off-limit detective.

Get it together, Randall.She was going to wake him, check his eyes, and go back to sleep. Well, she hoped for sleep. Good thing she’d texted Walker earlier, and he could take her shift tomorrow.

She sucked in a breath and tapped on Ryan’s door. She didn’t want to be shot after all.

When no answer came, she slowly turned the knob and pushed. The door suddenly weighed more than her sleeping dog and was as hard to move. When the crack reached a few inches, she peeked in. His chest gently rose and fell in the rhythmic pattern of sleep. So peaceful. She hated to wake him.

Ten seconds, twenty. Shit, voyeur much? Throwing her shoulders back, she shoved the door wide open. Sure, now it moved like a feather.

Best to be quick. She crossed the room and leaned over him. Shaking his shoulder ever so lightly, she whispered, “Ryan.”

He grunted and flopped onto his side, giving her his back.

A silent snort echoed in her mind. No need to worry about a hair-trigger reflex. She leaned closer and nudged his shoulder again. “Hey, sleepyhead. I need to check your eyes.”

The firm muscle flexed just before his lightning-fast reflexes kicked in.

“What the…” She let out a squeal as he coiled a strong arm around her and pinned her to his chest.

“Ryan… It’s me… Erica,” she bit out between huffs of shock.