Page 122 of Ryker
He spanks my ass. “Nice try.” Lifting me over his shoulders, we cross the room, and he drops me back on the bed. “But I said food first.”
“Does that mean after I eat you’ll give me your dick again?”
“We’ll see.” He retrieves the tray and uncovers the first dish. It’s two grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Ryker shakes his head, chuckling. “This guy.”
Pulling one of the melty sandwiches apart, I hand half to Ryker. “You talking about Dmitri?”
“Yeah.” He chomps down on his half, and I swear even the way he chews is sexy. “This is my ultimate comfort food.”
And Dmitri knew he needed it tonight. “You have an amazing best friend.”
Ryker nods and takes another bite. Wiping his mouth with one of the two napkins rolled up on the tray, he says, “Cheap bread, cheap cheese, and butter. It doesn’t get much better than this.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.” Slipping out of my sundress, I rip off little pieces of my sandwich and place them along my belly. “This might make it taste better.”
He arches his brow. With a little smirk, he pushes the tray of food aside and eats each piece, bite after buttery bite, off my body. “Fucking delicious.”
I’m half tempted to pour the hot soup on me just to watch him lick it off.
“Don’t even think about it, Tara.” He shakes his head slowly. “That soup will scald you and I’ll be a mess about it.”
“It might feel nice,” I push. “A little burn never hurt nobody.”
“I think if you got a paper cut, I’d go apeshit.” Sliding the tray over, he taps the last covered item. “Any guesses what this might be?”
Well, if these are Ryker’s ultimate comfort foods, I’m going to guess, “Cookies.”
He grins. “Try again.”
“Hot fudge sundae?”
He laughs. “Nope.”
“I give up. What is it?”
Ryker lifts the lid, revealing two chocolate pudding cups.
“You’re kidding.” I snag one and rip the lid off. “I haven’t had one of these in forever.” Licking the lid brings me back to my childhood…
“Dinner’s ready!” I set the glass bowl down on the kitchen table.
Mom comes in, her freshly dyed hair still wet from the rinse. “Ohhh nice.” She snags two spoons from the drying rack and hands one to me. We clink our utensils and dig into the vat of chocolate pudding I’ve had chilling in the fridge since noon.
“Chocolate pudding is top tier deliciousness.” I lick the back of my spoon before scooping another mound and shoving it in my face.
Mom giggles. “You’re going to turn into pudding one day.”
“I’m sure it’s already running through my veins.” I shove another spoonful into my mouth. “Want to watch another movie tonight?” We’ve been on an action movie binge for the past month. It’s been perfect. Just the two of us eating our weight in junk food, wrapped up in a million blankets on the couch until midnight. “We can start the Avengers.”
“Not tonight, honey. I have plans.” She doesn’t look at me when she says this.
Which means I know what her plans are.
Mom’s on the prowl again. Jesus, why does she always have to go looking for a rich guy? It never works out. My mom’s been married twice already, and both ended in divorces that left us with exactly what we started with. Each other and nothing else.
I wish she’d be happy with only me in her life. But she wants more. She’s not looking for love, she’s looking for gold. Sometimes I wonder if my mom knows how to love anyone but herself.
“Who is he?” The pudding tastes sour in my mouth now.