Chasing Mr. Wrong Read online

  She licked her lips for the hundredth time and glanced at his belt. She wanted to see a lot, and only Ryder could help her with that. But the other night raced through her memory. She remembered how horrified he’d looked after taking her against his truck. That recollection alone made her stomach turn to ice.

  “I’ll figure it out on my own,” she said and spun to walk away.

  “Hey.” He caught her hand, and she froze—but not from the cold, from the heat. “Why have you been avoiding me?”

  She faced him. “I’m not. Just giving you distance. Boundaries, remember? Isn’t that what you want?”

  His thumb brushed back and forth over her knuckles. “Yes.”

  She nodded. Super. This was just super. She was drooling for a guy that wanted space from her, and she was ready to push him into the back of his truck and jump him at the first sight of his muscles.

  Get ahold of yourself!

  “How about dinner?” he asked, those gray eyes glinting with the reflection of sunshine.

  “I’m not working at the BBQ tonight. Day off.”

  “Well, that’s great luck, because I was talking about me making you dinner.”

  “Did you hit your head recently?” she asked. “Because I can’t figure out how you say you want boundaries then dinner in the same breath.”

  “I enjoy testing myself,” he said with a sly smile.

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “So I’m a test to you?”

  “You test a lot of things. But I’d like to have dinner with you. Tonight. My place.”

  She raised her chin. “And what test should I expect? The ‘coffee’ kind where you’ll polite me to death until I can’t take any more of your respectable manners?”

  “Yes, that’s the test.” He stepped closer and rasped, “And it’s one I’ll likely fail.”

  Her breath hitched. “I don’t want to be your buddy, Ryder.”

  “Good. I don’t want that either.”

  “Dinner sounds like a date. The kind I already turned down.”

  “So you won’t go out to coffee with me or do anything that resembles a date, but truck sex is on the table?”

  She pursed her lips, but she couldn’t deny…

  “Yeah, that’s basically it.”

  “You make no sense to me, sweetness,” he said, and the smell of him was getting to her. Rough, raw male, spice and sweat, all mixed with a hint of cologne. It was enough to make her crazy.

  She made no sense to him? The truth was that she didn’t make sense to herself, either. She could do sex, no commitments, no dates, no expectations. Just sex. But Ryder was trying to make their interactions walk a line between friends and lovers that felt like a tightrope. One minute polite and cordial, the next wild and wanton.

  “I’m not looking to date you,” she said, more for her own good than his.

  He leaned back against his truck. His tool belt swayed a little, and she couldn’t help but imagine him wearing nothing else.

  “Oh, I know that, sweetness,” he said with a sly smile. “So then you’ll have no problem coming over for dinner? Just two people having a meal. I promise to be on my worst behavior.”

  She laughed a little, and he tilted his head to examine her with interest—a look like that did funny things to her chest.

  “So long as we understand each other.”

  “I understand that we want two different things. I’m going to do my best to show you that just hanging out can be worthwhile.”

  She started to tell him that was the problem. She didn’t do “worthwhile,” not when she was never around long enough to get attached to anyone. The risk of losing them was too great, and she refused to ever experience that pain again.

  Except Ryder wasn’t asking for her to get attached. He was playing their usual game, and she finally understood that those rules might be what would help her get another piece of him without her taking the risks she knew to avoid. This way they could stay temporary. This way she could stay safe. This way she could maybe get her lips on his again. And she’d love seeing him try to stop her.

  “You mean you’re going to try to deny me?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” His eyes roamed over the length of her and melted her core instantly with a single sweep of that gray gaze.

  Casual was good. Casual was where she operated. Because she’d leave, he’d stay, and life would go on. He wanted dinner? She wanted sex.

  “Looks like I’m going to have to bring my A game then, Mr. Diamond.”

  “Game on, sweetness. Game on.”

  Chapter Eight

  Ryder was either the biggest idiot on the planet or plain delusional. Because he knew, knew, he was waging a losing war against Whitney, but here he was, yet again running into the fray, half-cocked and ready to go. Literally.

  But this was a fresh battle. One on his home turf, which gave him the advantage. She wanted him for sex, which he had to admit made his chest puff out a little with pride. But he wanted to attempt to maintain some kind of damn willpower, because if he kept up this habit of bedding her every time he saw her, it was going to be a tricky summer.

  He stirred the Top Ramen and checked on the Bagel Bites in the oven. He couldn’t cook for shit, but he needed Whitney to come over to his house for a very important reason. Dinner was the best excuse he’d come up with. And if he could make it through tonight without wanting to lay her down every time he looked at those sexy thighs, he’d consider himself a winner.

  The past few days she’d barely looked at him, had spoken even less, and that bothered him. He should be happy she was maintaining distance, but all it did was heat his blood every damn day that he saw her and she ignored him. He’d watched her work, slinging drinks and running plates to tables. Smiling, laughing, and engaging with other customers. But not him. He was…jealous.

  Everyone else got to see her smile. They got to hear her voice. He didn’t. Platonic or not, that couldn’t continue, either. Yes, he needed control, needed to keep boundaries, but he couldn’t watch her and not get a taste of her presence. It was a special kind of torture and he was dangling somewhere between trying to date her, trying to be her friend, trying to bed her, and trying to stay away from her all at the same time.

  He blew out a breath. It was exhausting. But he could do this. Could keep his will power. Be friends. Be in her company and be a gentleman of sorts. Because giving in to the wild was a bad idea. But staying away and missing out on all her light was frustrating as hell in its own right.

  Maybe he was a selfish bastard. Wanting her the way he did. Wanting to be near her. Wanting to feel that high she made him feel, but wanting to keep control…

  A knock came at the front door. Excitement flooded through him like he was eight and Santa had shown up early. He forced himself not to run and open the door.

  He stopped, took a long, measured breath, and then opened the door.

  Whitney stood there in a red sundress, the thin straps draped over her delicate shoulders and the hemline dancing high on her thighs. All that olive skin was on display, and thick glossy hair hung down her back in large, natural curls.

  Yep, he was definitely selfish. Because this was why he wanted her around. The woman was like a damn sex dream come to life. This was going to be harder than he thought.

  “Good evening,” he said and let her in.

  She stepped through the door and looked around. “Nice place.”

  Ryder nodded and glanced at what she was seeing. He’d built the place with an open floor plan. Rustic wood and stone. Exposed beams that gave the house a log cabin feel. He’d worked hard on it, side by side with his dad years ago. Everything about it felt like home, and damn if Whitney didn’t look like she belonged there.

  “Seriously,” she said on a wispy breath, looking out the large, floor to ceiling windows that gave a view to the setting sun and Diamond Lake off in the distance. “This is amazing.”

  “Thank you,” he said.

  “Did you build it?”
she asked. “I know you’re a contractor, but do you build houses or just remodel buildings?”

  “Both. Land development in its entirety is my area. But my father and I built this place years ago.”

  She nodded as she walked over to the fireplace and ran her hand along the smooth stone. “On my way here, I kept winding down this back road, and I thought for a minute that you were luring me out into the middle of nowhere.” She tossed him a grin.

  “I did.” He smiled back.

  “All this land is yours?”

  He nodded.

  “You must work very hard.” There was seriousness and respect in her voice, and Ryder clung to it. He did work hard. For every damn thing. But usually what he got from women were questions.

  How much land do you have? How much are you worth?

  But Whitney looked at his home and complimented his work ethic. She didn’t want to steal a piece of him or his family. And that made an ease settle over his skin.

  She was different. He’d known that. There was something grounded about the tumbleweed before him. She’d said she didn’t come from anywhere, but the way she looked longingly at his home, as if she could take warmth from it, made him think she was desperate to have something stable in her life. Yet he also saw the vibrant wild-child in her eyes, the soul of a woman who refused to be tied down to things.

  The timer went off on his stove. He took out the Bagel Bites and turned off the oven.

  She came to stand by him and looked at the ramen and mini pizzas. “You didn’t tell me you were breaking out the fancy cooking skills. How am I supposed to resist you now?” She smiled.

  “Told you this is part of my plan to—”

  “Polite me to death?” she said. Just like she’d said the other day. Maybe that was what he was doing. It was all he could do, because he wanted to be around her, but he needed his control. So this was how he got both. He mentally made a note to take yet another cold shower tonight.

  Yep, control…totally worth sexual frustration and freezing water. Totally.

  “These are actually my favorite,” she said, lifting her chin at the mini pizzas.

  “Don’t fib,” he said.

  “I’m not. I had these almost every day after school when I was a kid. My sister and I lived on these.”

  Her eyes shot down like she’d said something she hadn’t meant to.

  “You have a sister?”

  “Had,” she said, then walked toward the big window again. “So…” she said with a large smile. But it didn’t reach her eyes. “Now that you’ve lured me out here, how about a grand tour?”

  She was changing the subject, and Ryder let her. Whatever memories her sister brought up looked like painful ones. Maybe he could eventually get some kind of history out of her. In the meantime, he’d stick with what he did know for certain.

  “Actually, there is something I want to show you,” he said.

  She took several sultry steps until she was back within reach. She glanced at his belt and bit her lip. “I like where this is going.”

  Damn, she was hard to resist. Especially when just her hot chocolate stare at his cock made it start to harden.

  Maintain.

  “Come with me,” he said, and then grabbed her hand to stop himself from grabbing something else. The woman had a power over him that was hard to beat. But he had to.

  With her hand in his, he led her outside and around to his shop, where several pieces of equipment were housed. He’d brought out one piece of machinery earlier and parked it in the middle of the field in anticipation of Whitney’s visit.

  “What is that?” she asked, looking at the black and yellow machine.

  “That is an excavator. Otherwise known as a heavy piece of machinery.”

  Her eyes shot up to his. They were wide with happiness and a look like that made him feel like a superhero. He just smiled down at her. “Key is already in it.”

  “Are you serious?” she asked around a growing smile. Looking between him and the rig.

  “I never joke about heavy machinery,” he replied. “Just like I take your ‘I’ve Nevers’ seriously.”

  What sounded like a thrilled giggle burst from her, and she hustled toward the machine and climbed up. She looked so excited, and pride boomed beneath his rib cage that he could give her something so simple—an experience she’d never had.

  He was right behind her, standing on the edge of the machine and holding on to the side while he explained the controls.

  “Turn over the key there,” he said as she wiggled in her seat. She twisted the key, and the machine started up with a loud rumble.

  “Now, these levers here move the bucket back and forth.” He reached in and showed her. “Then up and down is like this.”

  She watched him work the levers and studied how the machine responded.

  “Then if you want to drive forward, just push on the gas and do this…” He showed her how to steer and move. Her eyes were fixed on his movements, and her smile seemed to grow even larger throughout the quick tutorial. “You ready to handle this rig yourself?”

  “Yes!” she said and clapped a little.

  He hopped down and yelled, “Go on then, girl. Give it some gas.”

  She drove the excavator slowly, lifting the bucket and lowering it as she went. There were acres and acres of open field she could drive through, so she could feel free to run as wild as she pleased. She drove in circles, only pausing to mess with the jaws of the bucket.

  “This is so cool!” she yelled over the loud machine and continued to move the joystick around. Ryder smiled, and when she caught his eyes on her, she smiled back. And then her look turned form happy to intent.

  She killed the engine and moved to get out of the cab. Ryder was right there, hands ready to grab her hips and help her down. But instead of lowering her, he brought her into his body, and she threw her arms around him and yanked him in for the hottest kiss of his life.

  She moved her mouth against his in what felt like lust and gratitude all mixed into one. He chanced a look at her face, and her delicate brow was knit and her eyes squeezed shut like she was lost.

  If he wasn’t careful, he might get lost, too.

  “Thank you,” she whispered against his mouth. The sun fading over the horizon gave off light purple colors that made the woman in his arms glow like a dream.

  He set her on her feet, and she looked up at him, her hands sliding down his chest and over his stomach, until finally she took his hands in hers.

  “Now it’s your turn to follow me,” she said with a saucy grin, and headed toward the lake.

  Ryder let her pull him along, realizing that he would, in fact, follow her into the pits of hell, likely with a smile, if she simply looked at him the way she just had.

  Whitney did the one thing she’d been dying to do since she’d met Ryder Diamond.

  She bossed him around.

  “Shirt, pants, boots, off. Hop to it, cowboy,” she said, coming to stand by the lakeshore.

  “Still not a cowboy,” he said, then reached behind his neck and tugged the T-shirt over his head and off. The moon was shining bright and high in the sky, coming down on them like a spotlight. Thank God she could see him. The man was incredible, with large, hard chest muscles that tapered to even harder abs.

  He kept his eyes on her when he reached for his belt clasp. Those biceps flexed as he worked the metal open, and the deep V of his hips made her salivate with anticipation.

  “You have your own private lake, and you’ve still never gone skinny-dipping?” she asked, tossing off her sandals and standing in the thick grass, just a few meters from the lapping water.

  “Like I said…never had the opportunity.”

  “Or maybe you didn’t have the right company,” she teased.

  But he looked serious. “Agreed. But I’m set to change that.”

  She raised an eyebrow. The fun side of Ryder was starting to come to the surface. Which was good, because a moment ago, w
hen he’d fulfilled one of her “I’ve Never” moments, she’d been ready to hug him and kiss him and…like him. Like, really like him. For more than a night at a time. Which was why she not only would return the favor and resolve his “never gone skinny-dipping” issue, she’d remind herself that this was just one experience at a time.

  “So…this is you wanting to see me without clothes on?” she challenged, sliding her thumbs beneath her straps.

  His hands on his belt paused, and his gray gaze stayed transfixed on her. “If you kept your dress on, that defeats the point of skinny-dipping,” he said.

  “Yes, but I recall you saying something about boundaries.” She let one strap fall down her arm. Then the other. “This dress is one tug away from giving you your ‘I’ve Never,’ but then…uh-oh!” She ran her fingertips along the low neckline of her dress, which was getting lower by the second, thanks to gravity. “That would just wreck all those boundaries you like so much.”

  A low growl rumbled from his chest as he stared her down. Keeping his eyes on her, he bent to unlace his boots, then he kicked them off. His hands here back at his belt, letting it open completely, and then he unsnapped and unzipped his jeans. With the fly spread open wide, she caught a glimpse of his hard cock straining against his boxer briefs.

  “My boundaries are growing difficult to keep,” he rasped.

  “I can see that,” she breathed. And boy could she. He was big and built in every sense of the word. And those boundaries were getting really annoying, because they were keeping her from seeing all of him. “So tell me then,” she said, holding her dress up with a single arm over her breasts. “What is it you want to do?”

  She was tempting him. Trying so hard to get the Ryder that she’d caught a glimpse of to come out and take her up on every naughty thing going through his mind. He just had to give in—something he’d made clear he was fighting.

  “What do I want to do?” he said, repeating her question with a venomous smile. “I want to rip that dress off of you and burn it for daring to cover your perfect curves.” He reached into his pocket and took out a condom, then pushed his pants down and off, and stepped from them to stand gloriously naked with the moon shining off his skin. His gray eyes beamed with light, like they were made of liquid silver.