Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 65354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
He watched me as I came before giving into his own desire. I gasped at his heat and kissed him as he let my legs go to drop over me. We were both breathing heavily, and I marveled over the night. Something felt different, and I reached up to stroke his damp hair slowly.
Ryder turned to look at me, and I smiled weakly.
“Are you okay? That got a little crazy,” he asked.
“I’d tell you if it didn’t. It was incredible.”
He smiled and kissed me. I remembered that he was leaving for a week and tried to push it away, but he frowned.
“It was one of the best nights of my life, Elyse. What’s wrong?” he asked as he rolled away from me and turned my face to look at him.
“Nothing. I think I’m overwhelmed.” I smiled, and he stared at me for a moment before cleaning me up.
We fell asleep for a while before waking up hungry. Ryder suggested snacks and I agreed, making us popcorn and some appetizers from his freezer. We didn’t talk about the away games, just snuggled and ate. I smiled as he took me back to bed and left the mess behind, giving me another good memory for the time that he was gone.
I kissed him goodbye that morning and walked to my car. He had some packing to do before he left, and I wanted to paint. I was thrilled with the newfound rush of creativity, but it confused me as well. I’d been hiding behind my wall for a long time, and Ryder slowly seemed to be breaking it down.
I spent most of the day in my studio working on another vibrant piece, finally breaking when Tori called to ask if I had dinner plans. I told her what I was doing, and she offered to bring something over. I agreed. I pulled my hair up into a bulky bun and waited for her in the living room with some water.
Tori knocked and I let her in, loaded with bags of Thai food. It was our favorite, and I smiled at her.
“Thanks. That smells amazing. I always forget to eat when I’m working.”
“I know.” She shot me a sympathetic look. “Justin said they’re going away for a while. Are you okay with that?”
“I should be since I have so much work to do. It’s perfect except that I feel good with him. Safe. I don’t know.” I stared at her as she raised an eyebrow.
“Justin said he’s a good guy. I know that athletes get a bad rap a lot, but they’re not all bad. You can trust Ryder.” She patted my hand and looked at her empty plate. “How about another glass of wine and I go look at your work?”
Tori always came over and went to look at the studio. It was how she got the idea for my show, though I still don’t know how she got it for me. She was my biggest cheerleader. I filled our glasses and followed her into the room, smiling as she slowly looked everything over.
“These new pieces are different. Brighter… but so gorgeous. Keep this up, and you’ll have too many pieces for the show.”
“You’re sure that I can do this?” I asked, and she nodded.
Her eyes were stern, and I shook my head at her. “You’re an amazing artist, Elyse. I wish you’d see that.”
“You know that creative people rarely do.” My reminder made her laugh.
“You’ll see the night of the show. Everyone is going to love you.” She looked at the last painting again. It was a sunset with several colors and a figure on the beach. We didn’t have that here in Colorado, but good memories of Mom were flooding me now. I just kept them under the surface on the days I missed her the most.
“Not a lot of time. It’s crazy, isn’t it?” she said.
“I need to paint a lot.” We both knew that wasn’t an issue since I worked fast when inspired by something. I had a lot of older paintings to sell as well. I was feeling something new bubbling inside me.
“You will. I’ll feed you for that entire time. I’m planning something great for that night.” She clapped and ran over to hug me. “Don’t overthink any of this, Elyse. Just do what you love and let life happen. You’re growing now and finally moving on. I love that.”
“I hope so.” We took our wine to the couch and watched Mean Girls for the hundredth time, nibbling on a bowl of popcorn. It reminded me of last night when Ryder was feeding it to me in between kisses. I took a slow breath and focused on Tori as she spoke. I had a week to get through.
Chapter 10
RYDER
I USUALLY LOVED road trips. I didn’t have many ties in Denver, and lived on the rush that playing hockey gave me. We traveled as much as possible when I was a kid, and I grew to love it.