Rush Into You (8 page)

I cringed in sympathy. I hadn’t meant to hurt him. I was embarrassed for kicking him, and looked away from his pained expression. I noticed his hat thrown off to the side, sitting in a nearby puddle—another victim of our fall. I leaned forward to get it for him, then froze.

Ryker’s blue and gold eyes had starred in my dreams, but what I saw right now caught me off guard.

“What color are your eyes?” I asked breathlessly.

“They change sometimes.” Ryker’s voice was raspy. He cleared his throat. “They’re blue and yellow, but the blue gets really bright when my emotions are high. Like when I’m pissed or upset.”

“They’re wicked blue now.”

“Or if I’m hurt.”

“Wow…” I was hypnotized. I reached up to touch his face. “They’re fucking beautiful, like sapphires and gold.”

Ryker snorted and broke my spell. “Just what every guy wants to hear. That his eyes are beautiful.” He laughed again. “You could at least tell me that they’re dead sexy or some shit.”

I smacked his chest playfully. “Jerk.”

We untangled ourselves and stood up, brushing the dirt off our clothes. “Aren’t you supposed to be showing me some crazy cliff or something, or was this the big adventure?” I pointed to the ground where we just were, my eyebrow arched high.

“We could make that our adventure,” Ryker said suggestively.

I shot him a warning glare, and he threw his hands up quickly in surrender. He began walking backwards. “Easy, tiger. Follow me.”

THE HIKE TO the cliff was insane. There was a path, but it obviously wasn't used often. We constantly had to push through branches, step over logs, and avoid tripping in holes disguised by the leaves. I lost my footing several times, and would have landed on my ass if Ryker hadn’t been there to help me. After what felt like a million miles, and at least thirty minutes later, we reached the cliff.

Oh my goodness.

“Ryker…” I breathed. Through the pitch black sky, the colored lights from the looming city glowed, their beauty reflected in the dark water before us. “It’s absolutely breathtaking.”

He moved closer to me. “I know. Beautiful,” Ryker said quietly.

I looked over my shoulder, and saw that he was staring directly at me, and not at the view in front of us. I couldn’t help but laugh. Ryker looked alarmed by my reaction, and the confusion on his face made me laugh even more.

“That was just so incredibly cliche.” I continued laughing. I knew that I had just killed what could have been an intimate moment, but I wasn’t going to ruin anything with him by moving too fast. I liked Ryker’s company, and I didn’t want to do anything stupid and risk ending things with him before they’d had the chance to start. I wanted the opportunity to get to know him first.

“All right, Gabby, you ready for this or what?” Ryker’s smooth voice broke me away from my thoughts.

“Do what?”

“Oh no, you don’t.” He shook his head at me. “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

My gaze darted down to the water. Yep, I definitely knew what he was talking about.

“This jump takes balls, Gabby.” Ryker smirked. “You in? Or are you too scared?”

I was definitely scared, but I didn’t want him to know that. “So having balls is a requirement for the jump?” I looked down at my jeans and then back up to his smiling face. “I don’t think I qualify.” I shrugged.

Ryker’s stare roamed the length of my body, a predatory gleam in his eyes. “You sure don’t.” Ryker's voice was so low I almost didn’t hear him.

“And you didn’t tell me to bring a bathing suit,” I countered, trying to come up with a valid excuse not to jump in the water.

“You don’t need one. Your bra and underwear is the same thing as a bikini.”

“Uh, no. Nice try, but I don’t think so, Ryker.” He raised his eyebrows at my tone. “I’m not stripping for you. You’ll have to work harder than that.” My shoulders lifted in a slight shrug. “Besides, my underwear is definitely not the same as a bathing suit.”

Ryker’s jaw dropped. On the outside, I’d played it cool, but on the inside I squealed like a teenage girl. His eyes were burning—vivid blue. If eyes could talk, Ryker’s would scream ‘sex.’

And they were focused on me.

Ryker finally closed his mouth and looked as if he were about to say something to me. Instead, he whipped off his shirt in one fluid motion and tossed the fabric right in my face. Before I could comprehend what he was doing, he sprinted to the edge of the cliff and jumped.

Oh. My. God. This guy was insane!

I snapped myself out of my stupor and cautiously but swiftly made my way to the rock’s edge and peered down to where he should have landed. When I looked down, I didn’t see him. I only saw the black water with its large ripples making its way to the land. I looked everywhere, but still didn’t see Ryker.

Holy shit.

“Ryker!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. My eyes searched the dark expanse, looking everywhere for his head to break through the surface, but I couldn’t see him.

It was the middle of the night, the water black as the sky, and there were rocks jutting out in different directions all over the place. The thought of Ryker landing on one of them…I couldn’t even think about it. Instead, I uselessly looked around for anyone to help me, but of course no one was out here this late. I pulled out my cell phone and was met with no service.

“Ryker? Ryker!” I called again. When I didn’t get an answer, I mentally mapped out my route. It was going to be a steep climb down.

The slick rocks made it almost impossible to keep my footing. I continued shouting for Ryker, hoping that he would respond. I prayed nothing had happened to him as the tears poured down my cheeks. Selfishly, I knew my soul couldn’t handle another trauma.

“Holy shit!” I yelped as I slipped on the wet surface. I was an inch from bashing my head on a sharp rock, when I reached out and steadied myself against the side of the largest boulder. Right as I was about to lose my balance again, I heard him.

He was laughing.
Oh my goodness
, he was really laughing. Now that I knew he was okay, I wanted to hurt him.

“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t resist.” Ryker chuckled and lifted his hands in surrender when he saw my death glare.

I shifted my weight on the rock, getting ready to charge toward him and give him a piece of my mind.

Suddenly serious, Ryker motioned for me to stop. “Just stay there. I don’t want you to get hurt trying to come down here.”

I tossed another angry glare in his direction and shook my head. I was furious. “You didn’t think of that when I was yelling your name, scared out of my fucking mind that you were dead? When I was already climbing down these slippery as hell rocks, sliding all over the place afraid that I was going to fall to my own death!” I screamed. “I’m a big girl, Ryker I can get down on my own and find my own way out of these forsaken woods.”

I turned, and against his repeated warnings, I quickly tried to make my way back up the rocks. I got about halfway there before my foot slipped and I fell, scraping my arms and legs on the stone’s jagged edges. I tried to reach the rock’s crevices, anything I could grasp to keep from falling any further. My efforts were futile, and I ended up landing hard, ass first, on a sharp edged rock at the bottom of the cliff.

Ouch, that hurt!

Maybe I’d jinxed myself earlier because everything sucked.

A lot.

I stiffened when Ryker touched my shoulder. I was so consumed by my thoughts that I hadn’t heard him come up behind me.

“Gabby, I’m sorry. That was a real shit move on my part. I don’t know why I did it. I’m a fucking idiot and do stupid shit a lot,” he explained quietly.

“The first time we really hang out and you pretend to fucking die after jumping off a cliff? How on earth would that be funny? Who even does that?” I was seething, my eyebrows raised high in annoyance.

“You keep doing that.”

“Keep doing what?” I snapped.

“You keep raising your eyebrows, and your left one skyrockets into your hairline. Have I been bothering you that bad? You were doing it even before I jumped.”

“Actually, other than you pretending that you just died…” I dramatically emphasized my words, then paused. “You haven’t bothered me at all. I was having a good time with you.”

I looked up to see him smiling sweetly down at me, a spark of hope in his eyes.

Reflexively, I began lifting my eyebrow in question, then stopped myself. I guess I really did raise them a lot. Ryker noticed it because his smile turned knowing.

His eyes took me in, noticing the scrapes running the length of my forearms and upper arms, and the rip in the knee of my jeans. A deep cut marred the skin, gravel peeking through the blood.

Immediately, all humor left his face and the intensity in his eyes surprised me. I almost forgot to breathe as emotion swept through me, but I quickly shook it off.

Ryker slowly bent down so that he was eye to eye with me, and slightly stretched his hand out. He looked as if he were approaching a wild animal, and I was thankful that he seemed to care enough to be gentle. “I’ll help you up.”

After a brief moment of hesitation, I took his still offered hand. As I stood, I let out an audible hiss of pain. “Yeah, that looks as if it hurts. Can I carry you, Gabby? No funny business, I swear.”

I knew there was no way in hell that I was getting myself back up to the trail on my own unless I wanted to hurt myself further, and I knew that I couldn't just stay down here for hours in the dark, so I nodded my head shyly. He looked relieved that I’d agreed to his help. Ryker carefully placed his muscled arm beneath my knees, and the other behind my back, then lifted me like a baby.

“Hold on to me. Put your arms around my neck.”

He lifted me easily as if I weighed nothing. I was petite, but my body was far from perfect. I knew I could afford to lose some weight, but I was happy that I was no longer skin and bones. I loved my curves.

Ryker was strong and solid, and I instantly felt safe in his arms. I didn’t feel uncomfortable at all cradled against his body, and I found myself not ever wanting to let go. That thought scared me more than anything else that happened tonight.

By the time he’d set me down atop the rock where the jump occurred, I felt relatively peaceful. I’d never had a guy show me such sweetness without an ulterior motive, and I didn’t think he was being sweet in the hopes of getting in my pants later. He knew how much my legs hurt from the fall, so he suggested that we wait a while before making the long walk back to his bike.

After making sure that I was as comfortable as possible, he sat down beside me. Nothing about the silence between us was awkward. It was comfortable. It felt right.

I took a deep breath and looked out at the beginning of the sun rising. The sky was the most beautiful combination of purple and orange. The sun looked as if it were coming out of the very water before us— a private sunrise just for Ryker and me. It was amazing to share something so beautiful.

“I’m glad you brought me here. It really is beautiful, Ryker,” I whispered. I didn’t want to raise my voice, afraid I would break the spell of the magic surrounding us. My life hadn’t been filled with much beauty, so I wanted to hold on to it as long as I could.

“I’m glad you decided to come. I love it here,” Ryker whispered back.

My insides fluttered at the sound of Ryker’s voice. A hard shell with a sweet middle. I wanted to take a bite out of him and see what he tasted like. I bit my lip, and mentally reeled myself in. I didn’t need to make a fool out of myself.

“You come here a lot?” I was genuinely curious.

“Yeah, I do. I used to come a lot more when I wasn’t as busy, but I still try to come here as often as I can.”

“What has you so busy if you don’t mind me asking?”

Ryker smiled reassuringly. “Work, and racing.”

“How often do you race?”

“A few times a month, at least. Usually once a week.”

“I can’t believe you really race motorcycles.” I shook my head. “Isn’t that suicidal?”

He erupted into a full-blown belly laugh. I loved the sound of it. “It’s dangerous, definitely, but no, I’m not suicidal. It’s damn good money, and it’s a hell of a rush.”

“Earlier you said you have a different bike you race with?”

He nodded. “Yeah, no way would I race with my Harley. I race my Ducati.”

“What’s a Ducati?”

“A 2012 Ducati 1199 Panigale S. It’s a street bike. A racing bike. A fucking gorgeous, fast as hell bike.” His animated expression matched his passionate voice. “I never lose. You should come watch me next time. Check it out, and see what I’m all about.”

I loved the fire in his eyes right now, and I would do anything he asked me just to see it there again. Whatever could get that look in his eyes must be real damn special.

“I’d really like that, Ryker,” I told him truthfully, looking him right in the eye.

Ryker’s stare stayed on me, and his smile made my belly dip. His silence spoke more than his words could. His presence affected me more now than it had all night, and I was suddenly very aware of our proximity, and how close his hand was to mine. Almost as if he wanted to reach out and touch me.