Rush Into You (12 page)

“Ice cream, Ryker?” I tried to fight the corner of my mouth from lifting up, but failed to hide my smile. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-six. Why?” He dropped his hands from my face and stepped back, arms out wide as I laughed. “What? You trying to tell me you don’t like ice cream?” His eyes were wide and disbelieving.

“Oh, I love this place. I just didn’t think this was where you’d take me.”

“I come here after every race if it’s still open, so I figured I’d take you with me tonight.” I watched his broad shoulders lift in a slight shrug.

“What made you start that tradition?” I’d never pictured this tattooed biker stopping for a cone of soft serve after winning an illegal drag race.

“You’re kidding me, Gabby! You don’t need a reason to come here. This place is fucking delicious! I don’t care who you are, you don’t grow out of ice cream.”

I burst out laughing. It was just too damn funny watching Ryker defend his love for ice cream, his arms flailing wildly as he emphasized the points he was trying to make.

Ryker’s voice lowered. “Besides, tonight it’ll do more than just taste good.” His hooded eyes found mine, and I had to sit down at the wooden picnic table behind me before I collapsed from their intensity. “It’ll cool down that fire you lit inside me on the ride over here.”

I swallowed loudly. “What?” I squeaked.

“Babe, your hands touching me like that? It took everything I had not to pull over and bend you over my bike to finish what you started.”

I would have let him.

I looked him right in the eyes, letting him know how I felt with only my stare. He looked right back at me, and the heat in his eyes warmed my lower body.

With a jerk of his head, Ryker let out a pained sound and all but growled at me. “How do you like it?”

I shook my head, riddled with desire and confusion. Was he seriously asking me how I liked it? I wasn’t complaining, and I couldn’t say I was really surprised…he had just told me he wanted to bend me over his bike. But I was shocked that we were about to discuss preferred sexual positions here. My cheeks burned.

“Well, I’m not picky.”

Ryker stalked toward me, closing the gap between us. His arms extended forward, his hands landing on the table on either side of my body. “You like it plain? Or would you rather mix it up?”

His proximity to me, plus the huskiness in his deep voice, made my lower body tighten. “Sometimes,” I answered breathlessly, “but I like to switch things up and try different things.”

“Oh, yeah?” He leaned in closer, his biceps bulging from holding up his weight.

My body leaned into his, drawn to him like a magnet, and I panted like a bitch in heat. “Yeah. You?”

Ryker leaned closer until he was an inch from my lips. I held my breath, anticipating the moment that he would kiss me.

“Same, but my favorite is a hot fudge sundae with whip cream and a cherry on top.” He winked at me.

The second his words registered in my lust-driven mind, I leaned away from him, and my eyes widened. My blush went past my cheeks and seemed to devour my whole body. I ducked my head down into my chest and tried to hide my embarrassment.
He damn well knew I wasn’t talking about ice cream!

Clearing my throat, I looked at Ryker, his arms still locked on the table around me. “Why do I feel like we weren’t really talking about ice cream that whole time?”

The dimple in his left cheek popped when he smiled at me. “Maybe because we weren’t, babe.”

Ryker’s soft lips were on mine, and my heart stopped beating. I would never have guessed that someone so large and powerful could be so gentle. His eyes flicked up to mine, gauging my reaction, and I know he saw in my gaze that I was right there with him. His lips pressed into mine again, and I felt his tongue glide over my bottom lip, and then my top, begging for entrance. My mouth parted, granting him access, and the sensation of his tongue tangling with mine was surreal. He was a great freaking kisser. He was passionate, and kissed exactly how I liked it. Kissing can be a major deal breaker, but Ryker passed the unspoken test.

A rush of arousal burned through me as he gently sucked my tongue into his mouth. When he released me, I felt the slightest nibble on my lower lip before his tongue swept across it, easing the sting, and I couldn’t help the quiet moan that escaped me.

Ryker chuckled quietly against my mouth, obviously pleased with the reaction he got out of me. I pulled my head back slightly and sucked in a quick burst of air, wishing that we’d just forget about the ice cream and go somewhere private where he could ease the ache building between my thighs.

I felt Ryker’s mouth against my ear as he whispered, “Let’s go get that ice cream now.”

I COULDN’T STOP thinking about Ryker’s mouth on mine. The seductive way he kissed me in that ice cream parking lot, had my mind reeling. I’d never once been kissed like that. As ridiculous and unrealistic as it sounded, I felt like our mouths made love last night.

He’d looked so sexy as he’d sat on the wooden bench. His leather jacket was thrown lazily across his bike leaving him in only a fitted, plain grey, V-neck t-shirt with a sprinkling of chest hair peeking out from under his collar. When he’d leaned his back against the table with his elbows propped up, the fabric had tightened across his chest and profiled his pierced nipples. I’d wanted to play with those piercings for hours, sucking and licking the barbells and tasting his pebbled nipples as if they were my own personal Ryker flavored dessert. My gaze had studied his inked skin, and I’d appreciated the unique designs and blends of color that I saw. His bronze skin had screamed out to me, begging me to worship the artwork covering it.

I’d wanted the chance to memorize each and every tattoo that graced his body with my tongue, and outline every glorious line and curve. His lean yet bulging biceps had been on display, flexing each time he brought the ice cream cone to his mouth.

I’d been mesmerized as he’d licked the creamy goodness with long, slow strokes. His eyes had been trained on me the entire time as we ate in silence, and the sight of his tongue lapping up the escaped ice cream drips on his cone had made me wet. Ryker Rosse had somehow turned a simple outing for ice cream into a very sexual experience. I’d sat with my legs crossed as I’d enjoyed my own treat, trying to keep my throbbing, slick sex under control.

That devilish gleam in his eyes all night meant he had known what he was doing to me.

And he’d enjoyed it.

This morning, my mind was still replaying last night over and over in my head. I needed to spend the day relaxing, and not pining over Ryker, so I decided to come back to the beach—the same beach where I was reunited with Ryker. I came by myself, hoping to clear my mind with the calming effects the ocean always brought me. Luckily for me, a train stop was added right in front of the beach, so I didn’t have to worry about how I was going to get here since I didn’t drive anymore.

Growing up, I used to come to this beach with my family. We would make the drive out here and spend the day basking in the sun, and eat seafood for dinner. We would always grab some dinner at The Lobster Shack a short walk away and bring it back to eat on the sand. Even today, I’d had to stop by and get myself a lobster roll— delicious.

Now, I was sitting on my beach towel with my toes in the sand, reading another romance novel. I liked how the characters always found their happily ever after, even if they had a shitty life in the beginning. I’d love to find my happily ever after, but this is reality…not some romance novel.

I decided to put my book back in my tote before I continued comparing my life to the main characters. I took a deep breath and inhaled the salty smell as a mist breezed over my face. The ocean was a fabulous place to go if you wanted to relax. I had always loved watching the sunset—the water swallowing the sun, and I wanted to share that moment with someone special, but tonight would be another night when I enjoyed the beauty alone.

I grabbed all my stuff and walked over near the shops, wanting to kill time before the sun made its descent into the water. I was craving the cheese fries from the little hot dog joint a little way up the strip. There was no one in line, so I got my hot order of fries right away. I didn’t wait until I got to a table to eat. I lifted a fry up and tipped my head back with my mouth open wide and my eyes closed, prepared to taste a little piece of greasy heaven. I let some of the hot cheese drip on my tongue before I shoved the large fry in my mouth. It tasted delicious, and I couldn’t help but let out a soft moan. I cracked opened my eyes just long enough to spot a drop of cheese that landed on my thumb. They closed again as soon as I sucked the cheese off of it, even the smallest bit setting my taste buds off in a cheesy explosion of pleasure.

“You might be the only person I know who enjoys cheesy fries more than me.”

I’d know that voice anywhere. I held the paper tray of fries out to him in an offering. “Hey, Ryker.”

He closed the distance between us with confidence and grabbed a fry. He looked up at me with a big toothy grin and gave me a playful wink before tossing one into his mouth. He chewed a minute and then let out his own moan that made my toes curl.

“Oh, yeah.” He clapped his palms together once, loudly. “That’s what I’m talking about. How come I didn’t know about this place? I always walk right by it. Just think, I’ve been missing out on these orgasmic cheesy fries all these years.”

An unattractive snort escaped me when I tried not to laugh. “Did you just call these fries orgasmic?” I squeaked out, and looked around to see if anybody had heard us. A middle aged woman quickly shuffled her tween past us, but I caught the flirtatious look she gave Ryker before giving me the stink eye.

“Hell yeah, I did. They got us both moaning over here, and your eyes were rolling in the back of your head. Which, by the way, definitely made me wish I was that cheesy fry.”

Despite his joking words, there was an intensity in his eyes that made me blush. I didn’t know if I’d ever think of cheesy fries in the same way again.

“So what brings you out here, Gabby? Are you with anyone?”

“Actually, no, I’m by myself tonight.”

I looked down at my feet as the weight of my loneliness weighed heavy on my shoulders. I had chosen to come here by myself to clear my mind from the confusing feelings I had for Ryker, but seeing him here in front of me made me realize that I didn’t want to be here alone. I wanted to spend time tonight with Ryker and share the beauty of the sunset with him.

“Good. Now you can hang out with me.”

We devoured the basket of fries while we walked down the strip. By the time we finished we were across the street from the Penny Arcade. I hadn’t been in there since I was a little kid. My dad would fill his pockets with change before coming out here with us on my birthday, and after dinner we would play as my mom took the opportunity to explore some shops or read a book on the beach.

Dad would put me on top of his shoulders so I could play the basketball games since I was always too short to reach the net. He knew how much I loved being up there, so even when I was done playing, he would let me stay on as we walked around the arcade. I felt like such a big girl being able to see everything from that vantage point.

“You want to go in?” Ryker asked, bringing me back to the present.

“Go in where?”

He nodded his head in the direction of the arcade, and I shook my head furiously. “Uh-uh, no way. I suck at video games.”

“I don’t care if you’re good or not. You were staring at that Penny Arcade with a smile in your eyes that I haven’t seen before. I want to see it again. Let’s go.”

Ryker reached for my hands and pulled me towards the entrance. He looked so carefree and happy right now, and his grin was contagious. I found myself smiling as we stumbled into the arcade entrance.

“Wow…everything looks exactly the same. It’s been so long. I figured they would have gotten a bunch of new games.”

We ran around the arcade like little kids, playing everything from pinball to motorcycle racing. I beat Ryker on the motorcycles, much to his amusement. By the time we walked out of the arcade, the sky was getting dark. He was holding my hand, a smile softening his masculine features. I tugged at his hand, stopping him short.

“This might sound silly but…” I sighed and looked down at my feet. “I’m planning on staying to watch the sunset. It’s something I like to do, but don’t get to do enough. Do you want to stay and watch it with me? You know, just hang?”

Crashing waves and the caw of seagulls filled Ryker’s silence. Embarrassed, I looked up ready to recant my request, but he was staring at me with a smile and a gleam in his stare. I stared back, waiting for him to say something, but he was silent as his smile widened the longer I kept eye contact. Even though he had yet to answer me, I couldn’t help my own smile from lifting my lips.

Ryker tightened his hold on my hand, and started walking away, pulling me with him. I followed him down on to the beach, and settled next to him on the cool sand. I kicked my flip flops off and snuggled deeper into Ryker’s side, thoughts of kissing him at the front of my mind. Sitting here so close to him, smelling his unique combination of leather and smoke, I suddenly wanted to devour him.