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  "All right," I manage to say even though I have no idea what's waiting for me at my favorite ice cream shop.

  Chapter 11

  Ryker

  Heaven in a horrid dress just walked into my grandparents' ice cream shop. It's Lark Benton eyeing up the menu and pulling money from her wallet. I watch her in earnest from where I'm standing near a table, clearing away what's left of a banana split for two.

  The man and woman, who shared it, fed each other before they practically ran out the door to wherever they're going to next. They might be fucking in the alley next to this place for all I know. Ice cream is apparently an aphrodisiac for some people. It's never been for me. It's too tied to my childhood and summers spent here working behind the counter helping out my mom's folks. I grew up learning the ropes. I took over the business aspect once I graduated from college. The gradual decline of both of my grandparents' memories forced me to take the reins even though I don't draw a paycheck or spend more than a couple of hours a week here.

  That changed a few days ago when they both came down with the flu. My mother flew in from Boston to handle the day-to-day, and I've been picking up the slack when I can. I've kept it quiet, wanting to keep a fair distance between the pictures that surfaced online of me last week and the business my family has spent decades building. I can't stomach the thought of their names or Cremza's being drawn into the Gem's self-created public whine fest. She can bitch and moan about me all she wants to her followers or anyone who will listen. I don't want my family to bear the brunt of her scorn.

  I've fielded calls on my office phone from Gem's fans who have vowed revenge for upsetting their idol. My social media profiles have been blasted by so many ugly comments that I stopped reading them altogether. I can't stomach the thought of anyone walking in here and subjecting my family to that same treatment all because I'm not with a woman anymore who I should never have been with in the first place.

  Time will steal their attention away from me. Gem will post new pictures. She'll find another guy to fuck and I'll go back to being nobody, which is exactly what I want.

  "You can't take your eyes off her, Ry." My cousin, Nathan, slaps me on the back. "Is it the dress or the girl?"

  "That's her." I don't turn to look at him. "That's the woman I told you about earlier."

  "Lark?" He steps in place next to me. "The woman you're crazy for dresses like that?"

  I chuckle softly. "She's hot in whatever she's got on. She doesn’t put too much out there. She's elegant. She's beautiful, Nate. Just look at her."

  "I am. She's a close second to my wife." He pats my shoulder. "Speaking of Jessica, she and the boys are waiting for me at the hotel. I told her I'd stick around here to help you if you need it, but she misses me. She wants me there to tuck the boys in. They're turning in soon because we have an early flight back to Boston in the morning."

  Nathan walked through the door unexpectedly two hours ago. He doesn't have any skin in this game. We're connected because our fathers are brothers, yet he showed up to lend a hand. He wanted to pitch in and take on what he could to help me out. He's like a brother to me. I look up to him.

  "You're not staying in New York for Christmas?" I finally turn to face him. "I thought you'd stick around."

  "It was a two-day trip to spend time with Jessica's sister and her husband." He glances at his watch. "She lives here now. We hung out with them, did some shopping but the family celebration is back in Boston for us. Our roots are there now."

  Mine were too once, but New York won me over. I like the energy here. For years I've craved the constant pursuit of trying to prove myself as the best of the best. My internal drive to succeed is here. I doubt I'll ever go back to Boston permanently.

  "Don't let her slip through your fingers." Nathan smiles, looking every bit the distinguished attorney he is. "I almost made that mistake with Jessica. You may only get once chance with that girl. Don't fuck it up, Ry."

  I turn back to see my mom handing a cone filled with a scoop of chocolate ice cream to Lark. "I won't fuck it up. I'll tell her tonight."

  ***

  "Oh my God," Lark screeches as her single scoop of ice cream hits the floor. "You scared me to death, Mr. Moore."

  Mr. Moore.

  I need that to end now. It's a turn-on in the office. There's a part of me that enjoys it. I admit I sometimes imagine her on her knees taking my cock down her throat and then thanking me for my release in that sweet voice of hers while she adds a sultry, 'Mr. Moore' to the end of it as she licks her lips.

  Jesus. My mom is ten feet away from us and I'm thinking about blowing my load down Lark's throat.

  "I need you to start calling me Ryker." I reach for a napkin from the table she's sitting at and use it to scoop up the ice cream. "Please call me Ryker, Lark."

  She nods. "I can do that. You did scare me. You can't creep up behind people like that."

  "Do you want another scoop?" I ask as I toss the ice cream in a waste container a few feet away. "I'll get you whatever you want. There's a new bucket of a mint white chocolate chip in the back. You can be the first to try it out."

  "How do you know that?" She surveys the almost empty store. Business isn't as brisk in the dead of winter as it is in the summer months, but a few new menu additions my grandmother concocted have helped. Rich hot chocolate and handmade baked goods have kept our regulars coming back regardless of how much snow is on the ground or how low the temperature dips. "Do you know the owner?"

  "My grandparents own this place." I lower myself into a wooden chair across the table from her.

  "Your grandparents are Fred and Nellie Albertson?" She rocks back in her chair. "You're not serious?"

  "That's my mom behind the counter." I fist my hand in the air, my thumb pointing at the counter behind me. "Her parents founded this place."

  "Wow." She bites her bottom lip. "What a small world. They were always telling me that I was perfect for their grandson. Do you have a brother?"

  I huff out a laugh. I'm their one and only grandson. "No, Lark. They were talking about me."

  Chapter 12

  Lark

  "I need to ask you something, Ryker." I stand behind him as he locks the door of Cremza. I waited at the table while he closed the shop with his mom. They worked together like a well-oiled machine, moving seamlessly next to one another as they put everything away.

  Once they were finished, Ryker introduced me as a co-worker and friend to his mom. She smiled, and her eyes danced as if she was about to burst. Before she could say anything, he kissed her goodbye and hailed her a taxi headed for his grandparents' apartment.

  "Are you going to ask me why I smell like cilantro?" He slides the key fob into his jacket pocket.

  "You do smell a little like cilantro." I move closer and breathe in his scent. "I just thought you had something delicious to eat for dinner."

  "I'll explain the cilantro smell once you ask the question."

  I nod, my gaze shifting to the sidewalk next to us. I should ask him back to my place so we can talk in private, but he hasn't mentioned the possibility of us hanging out tonight. I need to gauge his interest before I throw myself at him.

  "What's the question, Lark?" He reaches forward to button up my wool coat. "It's getting windy. You should bundle up."

  I don't brush his hands away. I like that he's chivalrous. I can tell that he was raised as a gentleman. I've seen it in the office when he's moved back to allow women to step onto the elevator first and when he's held open doors for the female and even the male employees. He has good manners which my mom has always told me is a sure sign of a good heart.

  "Why did you keep those pictures of me on your phone?"

  His hands stop mid-button. His jaw tightens as he looks into my eyes. "Do you like me, Lark?"

  "You're not answering my question."

  "Answer mine." His gaze drops to my mouth. "Do you like me?"

  "You're a pretty good boss," I half-tease, trying to break the palpa
ble tension between us. "I'd rate you a six on a scale of one-to-ten of good bosses. Ten being the best and one being the worst."

  He doesn't crack even the smallest smile. "I'll rephrase for clarity. Do you like me enough to want to fuck me, Lark?"

  "You're a ten on that scale."

  The corners of his mouth curve up. "I kept the pictures because I want to fuck you. I kept them because I'd look at them and imagine what was underneath your lace panties. I kept those pictures because they were the closest thing I had to this."

  There's no time for anything, not a single breath, not a rational thought before he crashes his lips into mine and kisses me the way he did last Christmas.

  ***

  My coat is on the floor within seconds after I shut my apartment door. He claws at me like a wild animal that has finally caught the prey it's been stalking for a lifetime. I reach to help shove his jacket from his shoulders.

  "You've seen me nude." He throws his coat onto a chair. "You know what's underneath my clothes. I want to see you."

  "It's a chore to get out of this." I wave my hands at my sides. "I had to get my neighbor to zip this up."

  "Lucky neighbor." He chuckles as his shirt hits the floor. "I'll unzip it for you. You want this, right? I'm not misreading what's happening here, am I?"

  How could he be? We kissed, without stopping once, in the taxi on the way over. I was practically in his lap by the time the driver slowed to a stop next to the curb in front of my building. I fumbled with my keys like an idiot before Ryker took them from my hand and unlocked the door to my apartment.

  "Do you have condoms?" I ask in reply to his question. "I don't have any."

  "I do," he shoots back with a wide grin. "I have two in my wallet. I'll need to put one on soon. I'm fucking dying here, Lark."

  My eyes drop to his hands. He reaches into his wallet, tugging out a foil packet he offers to me. I take it without a word as I watch his hands move to the front of his pants.

  He unzips them, pushing them down as he toes out of his shoes. His socks follow and suddenly he's standing before me in nothing more than black boxer briefs.

  "I wish this was the first time you were seeing me like this." He hooks his thumbs in the briefs before he pushes them down.

  I scan his entire body without any reservation. I don't care that the first time I saw it like this was in a picture on my phone while he stood next to a woman who looked just as flawless as he does nude.

  I'm not perfect. I have a small roll around my tummy and my ass isn't as firm as I want, but my body is mine and judging by how hard his cock is, he wants me just as I am.

  Chapter 13

  Ryker

  I slide that fucking ugly dress off her beautiful body before I feather kisses all over her shoulders. I leave her bra and panties on for now because I'm on the brink of coming already. There's a bead of pre-ejaculate on the tip of my cock that I want her to taste, but I don't push. I won't take from her tonight. I'll give if I can last long enough to savor the sweet torture that is her body.

  I scoop her up when I kiss her, locking her legs around my waist. I cup her ass in my hand, the barrier of the lace of her black panties taunting me. Her pussy is on fire. I can feel how wet she is through the fabric. I can sense her need because it mirrors my own. It's there in her rapid breaths and the flush of the skin on her neck.

  I kiss her as I carry her down the hallway. There's light streaming into the corridor from one of the rooms, so I take my chances and turn there. I see a bed and immediately stalk toward it.

  She clings tightly to the condom package I handed her after I took it out of my pocket. She covets it like it's a gift.

  She's the fucking gift. This woman's desire for me is the best present I've ever received.

  I rest her gently on her back. "If I fuck this up by going too fast, forgive me, Lark. I feel like this is my first time. I want you so much I can't stand it."

  She murmurs something under her breath before she reaches to the front of her bra. I push her hands away. I twist the clip and her bra pops open, her plump breasts just inches from my face. I can't resist. I lean down and graze my lips over one tight pale nipple. She squirms with the touch, so I take it between my teeth. I bite just hard enough to bow her back. I lick it then, the gentle lash of my tongue is enough to make her reach up and wind her fingers in my hair.

  I've planned this out in my mind a million times. I'd lick her breasts, giving each the attention it deserves before I'd bury my mouth in her pussy. I wanted to taste her and feel her come against my lips before I felt her wrapped around my cock.

  I can't wait. The pressure to fuck is too much, so I pull back and kiss her lips again. I have things I want to say, words I need to tell her but it's all buried so deep below my body's own need that I don't say a thing.

  I yank the condom package from her and sheath myself quickly. I run my hand over the length of my shaft as her eyes follow my every move.

  I grab the edge of her panties. My eyes glued to her body, to the swell of her breasts as her breathing increases both in depth and speed. She tries to help me pull them down, but I shake my head slightly. This is mine. I want this moment to belong to me. I've waited a fucking year for this.

  I tug on them and she raises her ass. I slide them down her legs, stopping to kneel to kiss her calf before I toss the panties on the bed.

  "Tell me if it feels good, Lark," I coax.

  "I like it. I like everything you're doing."

  I kiss the top of her pussy. One lick of my tongue over her cleft before I nudge her legs apart. "Don't hold back with me. Tell me how I make you feel. Let yourself go."

  She's quiet; a lover so silent that I can only read the subtle nuances in her body's movements to know if I'm giving her what she needs.

  She nods. "I will."

  I slide my finger over her folds, the sensation pulling a deep groan from the back of my throat. "If I hurt you, you stop me. You'll tell me to stop."

  Her back braces against the bed as I graze the tip of my cock over her clit. I could come like this without ever being inside her. The smell of her skin and the fact that she's wet as fuck is enough to send me over the edge. I might die from pure pleasure when I'm inside her. I feel it. She'll grip me so tight I'll feel her pussy wrapped around me for days.

  I gasp as I slide the tip in. She whimpers so softly it's barely noticeable. "Let it go, Lark. Let your body feel."

  I bury myself completely inside her. My selfish need to consume her is worth the pain that's etched on her beautiful face.

  Her hands fist the blanket underneath us, her bottom lip trembles and when I start the fucks at a slow and steady pace, her eyes roll back, her nipples furl into tight points and she finally, finally lets out a barely audible, sweet-as-all-hell moan.

  Chapter 14

  Lark

  "By the way, Christine is fired," I say as I watch him dress. "Crew fired her tonight."

  "Why?" he asks without looking at me. "What happened?"

  I realize post sex is not the best time to talk business, but I want to have this conversation before someone else texts him to tell him, or he reads about it online on someone's social media account. Christine works for him. I think he values her contributions to the marketing team, but I have no scope of how her termination will impact him or the work he has lined up for us next year.

  "She called me a whore." I open with that because in my books worst first is never a bad approach.

  "Christine called you a whore?" He finally looks at me. "You're the farthest thing from a whore. What the fuck is wrong with her?"

  "She started talking about your dick pics when we were at the party." I sigh. "I told her to stop and she said she saw us kissing last year and that I was your whore on the side. She said when you weren't fucking Gem you were fucking me."

  "Jesus Christ." He wraps his arms around me, tugging me closer to him. "You had to listen to that? I'm sorry, Lark. I'm sorry I wasn't there."

  "I
was handling it," I say as I lean my cheek against his chest. "Then Crew stepped in and dropped the gauntlet. He was furious. He heard everything she said."

  "He heard it all?" He pushes me back so he can look down at my face. "He must be pissed."

  "He's mad at Christine." I roll my eyes. "She wasn't quiet when she was on her rant. Every person in the room heard it."

  "They heard her say that she saw us kissing?"

  "Yes." I suck in a deep breath.

  "Crew knows that we kissed?" He winces as if he's being punched in the gut. "Do I still have a job to go back to?"

  I pat him playfully on his chest. "Crew has his reservations about us, but your job isn't in jeopardy. He trusts me to do what I want and to handle things if this doesn’t work out."

  Confusion etches his brow. "You and Crew discussed the two of us before you came to Cremza tonight?"

  I don't want to lie to Ryker about what brought me to Cremza, but I owe Crew for pointing me in his direction. "We talked about you and the kiss we shared last year. I left the office after that and came to Cremza to get an ice cream."

  "He's okay with the fact that we kissed last year?"

  "He is." I smile. "I'm not going to fill him in on what we did tonight. Some things are better kept behind closed doors."

  "I agree." He slips his coat back on. "I asked him not to mention to anyone that my family owns Cremza and that I've been helping out there. Gem's fans have been relentless with their attacks on me. I wanted to keep Cremza out of it, so I thought the fewer people who know the better but I'm glad he told you where to find me."

  "Me too."

  "I need to run, Lark. I have some work at Matiz I have to finish up before the break. I didn't have a chance to get to it this week so I have to clear it off my desk tonight."

  I'd offer to tag along and help, but it's an offer he could have made if he wanted to. He didn't so I'm staying put inside my warm apartment. "I understand."