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)
“Okay,” I whispered and nodded before we continued forward. He introduced me to everyone, and I struggled to remember their names before he was asking what I’d like to drink. I ended up sitting beside a platinum blonde who was sporting a giant diamond ring on her left hand, smiling nervously at her.
“I’m Greta.” She offered her hand and smiled reassuringly at me. “I know how this can be from when I first met Peter.”
“How long have you been together?” I asked, and she beamed at me with perfect red lips.
“Three years married and one and a half before that. We moved pretty fast.” She giggled as she reached for her wine, and I nodded. “Bells is a great guy. The team loves him.”
“He seems like an important part of it,” I agreed and looked at him as he walked in with a beer and my glass of wine. He set mine down and called something out to one of the guys, showing me that they were a family more than a team.
We ordered dinner after some chatter and settled down at our tables. It was easy to hear everyone with the room being private, and I listened as they talked, making mental notes about everyone.
“Elyse just had an art show in town. She sold everything, and not just to me,” Ryder announced. I nearly choked on my wine and blushed as I stared at Ryder in horror.
“What is it that you do?” Greta asked, and I fought the urge to run away.
“I paint. It wasn’t a huge show,” I told her as I prayed for the attention to be away from me.
“It was a great one, love,” Ryder told me, covering my hand as I met his gaze.
“Thank you.”
I quietly told Greta about my plans with painting as well as my job at the bookstore, and she laughed as she told me that Becci raved about it. She even linked me to some of Becci’s books to read, and I thanked her. I was relieved when the conversation moved to something else, sipping my wine as I tried to calm my beating heart.
We ended the evening in a couple of hours, and the women told me that they’d see me at a game soon. The guys all said it was a pleasure to meet me and seemed to share the same look with Ryder before we walked to our cars. Some fans stopped them, and they managed to be grateful without getting stuck for too long. I tried to imagine what that must be like as we walked to the car, wondering if it would ever be me.
“You need to have some confidence in your work, Elyse. You’re amazing,” Ryder told me as he unlocked the car and pulled me into his arms.
“I do. I mean, I know I can paint and everything, but I don’t want to throw it in everybody’s face who I meet,” I argued as he stroked my hair.
“Just be proud.” His voice was soft, and I breathed him in.
“Okay.”
“My place?” he asked, and I nodded before raising my face to kiss him. I had the day off. He drove me there, and I swore that he worshiped my body more than usual. He told me that I was beautiful in every way that he could after I’d come, and finally pushed me to my knees as he fucked me hard and deep. I dropped to my side in complete exhaustion when it was over, and he left to get us some water.
“What was that?” I breathed out as he sat beside me.
“That’s how incredible I think you are,” he told me, dropping to his back after a long drink of water.
Chapter 17
RYDER
I ENJOYED WATCHING Elyse at dinner with the group, at least until she looked like she wanted to crawl under the table. What was wrong with me talking about her art? She had a show and did an excellent job of gaining interest, and in my mind, she needed to keep that up. A lot of my friends appreciated good art.
The way her cheeks reddened and her eyes widened at me sent fear through my heart. I wanted her to see her worth the way that I did. Everyone saw it that knew her, and I glanced at her as we drove to my place.
I showed her my feelings with every touch and kiss that night. Her curves were beautiful, and I kissed down her hip before spreading her legs to lick her. Elyse came with throaty moans, and I finally couldn’t stand it anymore. I pushed her to her knees and took her that way, making her scream my name.
She fell asleep soon after we finished, and I watched her, stroking her hair. She looked peaceful beside me, and a crazy thought crossed my mind. Some of the guys told me that they knew their girl was the right one the second they met, no matter how many puck bunnies there might be in the past. The right girl was different. I thought that Elyse might be my right one and moved to curl up beside her, pulling her naked body against me.