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Chapter 4

Ryder

On the forty-ninth floor of the high-rise, I enter the glass-encased condo offering a bird’s-eye view of the San Francisco Bay and city skyline I frown at the floor-to-ceiling s in her living room I would never have picked this condo for her She’s too exposed

“Are you planning on telling ?” Hadley asks, closing the front door “Don’t you ever take a day off?”

I glance overme a puzzled look Believe me, this is the last place I want to be is what I want to say to her Being alone with Hadley spells danger of all types But instead of telling her that, I raise a finger toroom to find some way to communicate with her other than verbally and spot a notepad and pen by the telephone Feeling tense and not particularly thrilled at the s on the piece of paper before handing her the note

She reads my scribble before her worried eyes return to mine Of course I want to reassure her, but at theher, it’s ensuring she’s safe

Although I’m determined to do exactly that, my focus is drawn to her…how fresh her face looks without eous lines of her neck The way her yoga pants accentuate her curves, and how her tight T-shirt eine how she’d feel pressed against me How she’d taste Even how she’d sound when she corab her and make her mine once and for all

You’re not here to fuck her, dipshit

I focus on the task at hand and take the bug detection device out

froain, because that’s where danger lives, I begin scanning over the s, then cos, until I end up in the one room I don’t want to be anywhere near: her bedroom

There’s nothing special about this rooainst the ith a lavender-colored duvet and fluffy decorative pillows on top There’s a night table beside the bed with a reading lamp, a chair in the corner, and a dresser on the far wall, and that’s about it Regardless, sweat is for on my upper lip at the way her sheets are cru of her in her bed

My ins to wonder Surely, she’s touched herself in that bed Maybe even cliether

I force the carnal thoughts and ih her roo fro fro to the pictures on her walls to her closet and under her bed I find nothing, which is good and bad as I’ in her place Last, I ah her drawers and save the best for last: her panty drawer

It’s when I sift through the lacy garirl has every thong, really led in a red pair she makes a smartass comment, “Like what you see, Blackwood?”

I don’t dare look over my shoulder I’ll be fucked if I do I hear the heat in her voice I don’t need to see it in her eyes, too My cock is already hard, throbbing for release, and I’ve been tortured enough