Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 65862 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 329(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65862 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 329(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
I know the answer to that question. I could be gone for months before someone actually noticed, and the thought is depressing. Roxy will probably toss all my crap out and get another roommate without a second thought. I’m not sure how long it would take my mama to notice. At least a few months for sure. If she did notice I hadn’t called in a while, I don’t think she’d even know where to begin to look for me. I've had to tell her multiple times where I went to college. I’m guessing nothing else stuck in her alcohol-soaked mind. Hell, the police would probably think she was some loony woman just rambling about a daughter she knows nothing about. Not one single person in my life would care that I vanished.
He’d notice.
I glace back over to Ryker. Why does the thought make my heart flutter? Probably because it feels nice to have someone that would miss me.
“No one is looking for me, are they?”
I finally ask the question that I’ve been afraid to voice. I can’t even really say it out loud. It’s almost a whisper, and I’m feeling all kinds of sorry for myself. How sad is that? I left home to start a new life, and look where I ended up. I’ve got no family to speak of, and not a single friend in the world. What do I have besides a degree I don’t even want?
The only friend I thought I had was Johnny. A flash of him standing behind Ryker the night I ran out of the studio sparks in my mind, but it’s gone before I can grab onto it.
Ryker looks at me, and his eyes soften. I can see the answer there and he doesn’t have to speak it out loud.
“You brought me Bear,” I mutter, breaking eye contact with him as the realization hits me.
He had to have gotten Bear from my apartment. Why hadn’t I even thought about that before? Probably because there were too many other things to think about when I first woke up. I also kept falling under some spell of Ryker’s where I didn’t question things. I’ve been pretending he’s some prince who saved me that night from a horrible boyfriend. If only.
“I cleared out your stuff. I should have done it the day I found you. That fucking roommate.” He says the last part through clenched teeth. It makes the hair on my arms stand up and I can see the jealousy in his eyes.
“It was you, wasn’t it?” I shake my head. “The one who threatened Roxy?” Of course it was. Fritz wouldn’t threaten anyone or get jealous over me. He was so passive when it came to confrontation.
Ryker shrugs, but I can read the tension in his body. He’s pissed just thinking about it.
“I don’t belong to you!” I yell.
His horse comes to a stop, and mine follows suit. I know I’m not yelling at him for putting Roxy in his place. I’m upset and angry because that’s what I wanted Fritz to do. To care that I was living with a man. To get jealous over me and to care about my safety.
Even today I noticed that I carried on talking and talking while Ryker listened. Really listened to me and soaked in everything I said. It wasn’t something I was used to. Normally Fritz did all the talking. I want to like Ryker, but it’s wrong. Besides, he’s hiding something else from me. I can feel it. I already trusted one liar, and I won’t fall for another. I won’t be like my mama. She would take men back who did the most fucked up shit to her, but I’m better than that. It’s why I left that life behind. To make sure I didn’t become like her.
“Yes, you do,” he says calmly. “You’ve been mine from the first moment I saw you. You’ll always be mine.”
I nudge my horse to move, not looking back at Ryker. I can’t bear to right now. I’m falling for this man with the things he says, even though none of this is making sense. I need to keep my distance from him. I’ve got to put up a wall and protect my heart. Because a man like him might just crush it. I know with him I could fall fast and hard. It wouldn’t be forced like it was with Fritz. I know because I already feel myself falling.
“Why couldn’t you have just asked me on a date or something? You could have come after me like a normal guy,” I finally spit out when the silence becomes too much.
I want to understand Ryker, because without the whole crazy kidnapping thing, I like him. Really like him. And I damn well shouldn’t. I’ve never had an attraction to a man this fast before. Not even with Fritz. It had to build that up over time, but with Ryker it’s sudden and overwhelming. Instead of trying to make myself fall for him like I did with Fritz, I’m fighting everything in me that’s pulling me towards him. I’ve been letting myself get lost in these sweet moments he keeps creating. He’s pushing out the reality of what he’s done, and the lines are all pear-shaped.