Challenging Ryker (Kringle Security #2)

Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

Like the creeper he was starting to think he was, Ryker had spent the night wide awake watching Amelia sleep. He wished he could say she slept peacefully but a few times she had whimpered and it wasn't until he wrapped her tight in his arms and whispered soothing words into her ear that she settled.

Sleeping in the same bed as a woman wasn't something he normally did. Or ever did, for that matter. It was too personal, and yet the thought of slipping out and sleeping anywhere else gave him hives. He wanted to know what it would be like to wake up with Amelia, but that would have to wait for another time.

Ryker eased out of his bed and pulled the covers back up so they were tucked tightly around Amelia's body. He realized pretty quickly she was a blanket hog. There wasn't a moment throughout the night that his comforter wasn't bunched up under her chin. He needed to remember to ask her if he kept his house too cold, or if that was how she normally slept.

Not wanting Amelia to wake up and find him hovering over her, he moved silently across the hardwood floor and opened the door. The house was older and one of the first things he had done when he bought it was grease all the hinges. He was never so grateful for the forethought than he was at that moment. Ryker managed to get out without a single stir from the gorgeous woman taking up a small part of his king-sized bed.

Downstairs in the kitchen, he rummaged through the fridge and tried to find something edible to make Amelia for breakfast. Unfortunately, there weren't many options. His house might not represent a bachelor pad but his eating habits certainly did. Condiments, take-out containers, soft drinks, and beer were staples. Actual food, not so much. This was what he got for eating a majority of his meals at the office.

Breakfast consisted of grabbing something on the way to work.

Lunch was eaten with his friends or at Monica's office.

And dinner depended on the day of the week and who stopped over. Hence the multiple take-out containers. He could probably count on one hand the number of times he had used his stovetop.

Actually, now that he thought about it, that was pushing it. Damn, he needed a life outside of work.

"Is there a reason you're scowling at your refrigerator like it's a personal enemy?"

"Shit!" He spun around as the word slipped quietly from his lips.

Ryker hadn't heard Amelia moving around. It surprised him considering he knew for a fact there were two different spots on his stairs that had squeaky boards.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I woke up and you weren't in bed but the spot was still warm. I figured you hadn't been out of bed long."

Amelia had thrown on one of his shirts. The hem fell about mid-thigh and he itched to find out if she had pulled on shorts or if she had just panties on beneath. Seeing her in his clothes was wreaking havoc on his senses and he had to force himself to think of anything else.

Literally, ANYTHING. ELSE.

"I don't have anything to make for breakfast," he blurted without preamble.

"Ah." Amelia saddled up to the island and hopped up onto one of the tall stools. He couldn't see for sure but he assumed her feet were dangling considering how short she was. "That explains the scowl. The refrigerator really is your enemy at the moment."

"I can order us something or run out to grab something." In this day and age, a person could get almost anything delivered. He would know. The number of times he did it far outweighed the amount he cooked.

By dozens.

Amelia lifted her shoulder and gave him a shy smile. "I'm not really picky, so I'll eat whatever."

He pulled out his phone and brought up the food delivery app. Thankfully his favorite breakfast spot delivered. It took him less than three minutes to order a shit ton of his favorites and hopefully a few things Amelia would like. She said she wasn't picky but he had a feeling that was an answer said more out of necessity rather than how she truly felt.

"Food will be here in twenty-five minutes."

The two of them just stared at each other, and for the first time since meeting Amelia, there was an awkward silence between them. Ryker wasn't sure how to proceed. Amelia had swiftly fallen asleep after their time together last night, so he missed the opportunity to check in with her, to make sure she was okay with what he had done to her.

It was Amelia who finally broke the silence. "Is this about to be our new normal?"

He didn't hide the confusion her question brought him.

"Awkward silence. Is that going to be our new normal? Because I thought we were making progress."

They had been making progress. The first time he met Amelia, she could barely look him in the eye. She was still shy, but at least she got to the point where she would respond to his teasing.

"I guess I'm just a little unsure what your expectations are of me this morning."

She raised her one eyebrow and then tossed her head back to let out the most beautiful laugh he had ever heard. It was carefree and airy. He wanted to hear more of it.

It was several moments of him just soaking in the beauty. It wasn't just the sound but how her entire face transformed that sucked him in. He vowed at that moment that he would spend every day of his life trying to get her to laugh like that.

Wait, what?

He couldn't make that vow. It went against the other one he made twenty years ago. The one that meant more to him than anything else. It had to. He didn't deserve happiness, not when he was the reason his sister would never have her own.

His doorbell ringing pulled him from his disastrous thoughts.

"That should be our food."

Ryker rushed out of the kitchen and down the hall to the front door. He made the fatal error of opening the door without looking to see who was on the other side. It would have saved him the trouble of dealing with his teammate.

"Expecting guests?" Austin held the two large bags of food in the air. "Or indecisive about what you wanted today?"

"I didn't realize you moonlighted as a food delivery guy."

"Har har." Austin rolled his eyes. "Are you going to let me in or is this food now mine? The delivery guy did hand it to me, after all."

There was no getting rid of his friend now. He waved Austin in and waited for the onslaught of questions to start. His friend didn't disappoint when he walked into the kitchen with the bags of food.

"Oh, I didn't realize you had company." Austin turned with wide eyes. "The amount of food now makes sense." His friend dropped the bags on the island just inches from where Amelia was seated. Her own set of wide eyes was bouncing between the two of them. "I don't want to interrupt,” Austin said. “I'll just leave these here and show myself out."

"No, it's okay." Amelia regained her composure before Ryker could. "I couldn't go back to my apartment last night, so Ryker was kind enough to let me stay here."

Ryker could see the questions forming in his friend's brain. He gave him a small shake of his head and thankfully Austin got the message and dropped whatever question he was about to ask. Ryker recognized the hard glint in his friend's eyes; Austin had immediately gone into work mode. They would be discussing Amelia's apartment situation, but not yet.

"Oh, wow." Amelia started pulling containers from the large bags. "Ryker got enough food to feed ten people. Might as well stay and join us."

Austin glanced his way and asked silently for permission. Ryker gave it, even though he desperately wanted alone time with Amelia to figure out where her head was at. She wasn't acting at all like he expected and maybe that was the problem. He wasn't sure what the proper way to act would be after what he did to her last night.

His normal go-to was to sneak out and never see the person again. One-night stands were all he ever knew, and the women knew that going into it. He made sure before ever getting into bed with a woman that they understood he wouldn't be around when they woke up.

What he shared with Amelia was different. And not just because she wasn't some random hookup. She was a friend first, someone he saw on the regular.

Ryker wanted to slap himself upside the head for not thinking of that before he went down on her. It wasn't just the morning after he needed to worry about. It was the days and weeks that followed. He would be seeing Amelia every day, there was no avoiding it. And it wasn't like he could tell Monica he refused to protect her. How would that look?

"Earth to Ryker." Austin snapped his fingers in front of his face to get his attention. "You okay, man? You spaced out there for a few minutes."

He looked around his kitchen. Sure enough, he had been lost in his head long enough that both Austin and Amelia had filled up their plates with food. He was the idiot standing there with an empty plate in front of him. He couldn't even be sure which of them had gotten plates out.

"Yeah, sorry." He shook the thoughts away.

"Thinking about anything good?" Austin asked.

He had to stop himself from scowling at his friend. There was no way he was about to admit to the mini freak-out he just had. Austin would for sure have something to say about it, and Amelia would feel bad. Neither was something he wanted to deal with.

Gone was the calm he had woken up with, and panic was out in full force.

"Just a lot on my mind the last few days." He looked pointedly at Austin.

That shut his friend up. Austin knew exactly what yesterday was and how he normally handled the day. The fact that he had gotten better over the years and didn't let his anger and sadness consume him so badly that his house looked like a disaster was a godsend. That would've been hard to explain when he brought Amelia back here.

"Right." Austin cleared his throat. "I'm just going to head to the office. I'll let Luke know to send someone else to be with Monica today. She's been begging him to stop the protection detail anyway. Maybe today he will actually listen to her."

His teammate scooped his plate up and was headed down the hall before the last word left his mouth. His team knew he wasn't the most sociable person for the few days leading up to, and the few days after, the anniversary. Most years they gave him a wide berth. This year had been different because he had been alone at Monica's office, so his mood change wasn't nearly as noticeable.

Ryker closed his eyes and took a big, deep breath. He knew as soon as he opened them and saw Amelia's expression that he wasn't going to like what she had to say next.

"Well, this has been fun and all, but I think I've overstayed my welcome."