The Scars of Us(Scars Series)

After finally fixing things with Kaiya, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders, and I was the happiest I’d been in weeks. It kind of f*cked with my head how much she got to me, but she made me feel things I hadn’t felt in a long time. The thought of being with her didn’t give me the urge to run like it had with every other chick since that stupid bitch.

After working on the bags at Sunday’s class, I decided to have the students work on techniques for what to do if they fell down during an attack.

“Today, we’re going to work on ground defense. You can easily fall during an attack, whether it’s because you were knocked down or because you tripped. What you don’t want is for your attacker to get on top of you if that happens. The moves we are going to show you will prevent the attack from escalating, and can also disable your attacker if executed correctly.”

Kaiya and I found a spot on the mat as everyone broke into their pairs. She smiled at me shyly when we locked eyes, and her face started to flush.

“Still nervous around me, baby?”

“No, things are just different now that we… that we’re you know,” she softly stammered.

“Having sex?” I blurted.

Her eyes looked around then glared at me. “Yes! We probably shouldn’t be hooking up since I’m your student.”

“It’s frowned upon, but it’s not forbidden. Don’t worry about it, okay?”

“What if the other students find out?”

“Who cares?” I shrugged. “It’s none of their business.”

Her lips twitched as she fought a smile, but it broke through after a few seconds. “So, what’s the first technique?” she asked, changing the subject.

I laid down on the mat. “If you ever get knocked down, the first thing that you need to do is turn on your side and pick your leg up to defend yourself. Most attackers will try to pin you from here.” I shifted my body demonstrating what I was doing. “Your only concern is to avoid him from climbing on top of you and getting knocked out.” I made sure to keep my eyes on hers. “Come toward me.”

I stopped her when she got about a foot away from my legs. A few strands from her ponytail fell across her face and she quickly tucked them behind her ear. “Once your attacker is this close, you can kick them in the stomach or the groin. Hook your bottom foot here.” I moved my foot to the back of her ankle. “Use all your force to kick them in the knee with your top leg.”

We continued the technique until she got it. I’d go over it again and again just to make sure that nobody would ever hurt her again. Now that we were together or dating or whatever it was we were doing, I felt more protective over her. I didn’t even want to think about the possibility of her being attacked, and just the thought of it laced my veins with rage. I wished she’d known how to defend herself when she was a little girl. What kind of sick motherf*cker would hurt her? I shook away those thoughts and focused on her face.

Once class was finished, I closed up the gym and walked Kaiya to her car. “You wanna come back to my place?” I asked as I framed her against the driver’s side door.

“I wish I could,” she answered, her voice full of disappointment. “Mondays are hell for me. I have to wake up earlier.” She placed her hands on my chest and traced over the tattoos showing with her fingertips. “If I go home with you, I won’t get any sleep.”

“Are you sure?” I leaned closer before trailing soft kisses along her jaw line.

She lightly moaned but still resisted. “I can’t, baby. I’ve been slacking at work the past few weeks, and I really need to catch up.”

“Okay.” I nuzzled my face in her neck, getting as close to her as I could as I slid my hands in hers. Pulling back, I said, “Hey, don’t make any plans for Friday night. I have a surprise for you.”

“Oh, yeah? Will I like it?” she smiled coyly at me.

I pressed a kiss to her lips, then another to each side of her neck. “I don’t know. I hope so.”

When I pulled away, her eyes were closed as she wore a look of contentment. They slowly fluttered open as she smiled at me. “I can’t wait.”

Me neither. If everything went according to plan, I’d be breaking one of Kaiya’s rules that night, getting closer to her in the process. “See you tomorrow?”

“Yes. Do you want to meet for dinner after I get off of work? I’ll tell Kam that he’s on his own.”

“Sure, baby. I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” I replied as I opened the door for her.

As she drove away, my mind was racing in preparation for Friday. Everything needs to be perfect.





I picked up the earlier shift at work on Friday so I could get off with enough time to get everything ready for my date with Kaiya. As I was leaving, one of the receptionists stopped me. “Hey, Ryker, someone left a message for you.”


No one usually calls me at work. “Who was it?”

“Um, I’m not sure.” She rifled through some papers at the desk. “Some guy—he said something about it being important and for you to call him as soon as possible.” She snatched a small paper from the mess and read the name aloud, “Ethan Campbell.”

All my muscles tensed as anger gripped every limb, just the sound of that name infuriating me. I clenched my fists as I gritted, “If he calls back, tell him to never contact me again.”

Storming out of the entrance, I didn’t wait to hear a response from her. Why the f*ck would Ethan be calling me? He knows that I want nothing to do with him.

Brushing the thoughts away, I focused on getting everything ready for my night with Kaiya. I sent her a text telling her to be at my place at seven. Just seeing her reply put a smile on face and wiped away most of the anger that lingered from hearing about Ethan.

I found out from Nori that Kaiya loved gnocchi from a little Italian bistro two towns over. She didn’t get to go very often because it was out of the way and never had time to make the trip. So I made arrangements to pick it up for our date.

My palms were sweaty as I set up everything, which was strange for me—women never made me nervous. But Kaiya had me feeling like I was some high school kid about to take the hottest girl to prom.

When the doorbell rang, my heart rate kicked up as my stomach tightened in anxiety. Chill out, it’s just Kaiya. Walking over to the door, I opened it and took Kaiya in. She was wearing a light blue strapless dress, almost the same shade as her eyes, and her hair was loosely curled.

“Hi,” she smiled, her cheeks flushing as her gaze settled on mine. I didn’t need words for her to know what was going through my mind at that moment, my eyes said it all.

“Hey,” was about all I could manage before I had to clear my throat. Smooth. How does she do this to me? “You look beautiful.” I leaned down to kiss her cheek before I brought her inside and closed the door.

Her eyes widened and an astonished smile spread over her face as she looked around my apartment. Candles and rose petals were scattered along every surface, including the table, which I had set with my best dinnerware, but that wasn’t really saying much. Bachelors didn’t have fine china.

Kaiya looked up at me, her eyes lighting up her whole face. “Ryker, you didn’t have to do all this for me.”

Leading her to the table, I pulled out her chair. “I wanted to.”

I picked up her plate before taking it to the kitchen and serving the gnocchi on it. I returned and gently placed the plate before her. “It’s not homemade or anything, but Nori said that this was your favorite.”

She stared at it for several seconds, then darted her gaze to mine. “Is this from Luciano’s?”

Grinning, I answered, “Yeah. I picked it up before you came.”

Another wide smile spread over those beautiful lips. “Thank you.”

I bent down to kiss her. “You’re welcome.”

I’d also bought a bottle of her favorite wine, the house Moscato from the restaurant. I poured us both a glass and sat down to eat.

Throughout dinner we talked about everything, from favorite movies to hobbies. Kaiya loved to read, and I, of course, was a workout junkie. I found out that she hated scary movies, loved the water and animals, except snakes, which she was deathly afraid of, and her favorite color was pink.

After we finished dinner, I cleared the table while Kaiya finished her third glass of wine. I could tell she was already a little tipsy by the flush on her face and her glassy eyes, which she had locked on mine as I walked toward her on the couch.

Setting her glass on the coffee table, she pulled me down next to her before leaning in and kissing my lips. “Thank you for dinner. Everything was amazing.”

“No problem, baby. I rented some movies for us—which one do you want to watch first,” I asked as I held them out for her to see.

Her lips bunched to one side as she looked over the DVDs. She decided on an action flick, which surprised me, but she surprised me on a regular basis. I never knew what to expect with her, and I loved that.

Kaiya cuddled into my side after I started the movie. About ten minutes in, she started trailing her fingers under my shirt, lightly tracing the ridges of my abs. Just that small touch was causing my dick to harden. She ventured lower, making my breathing slightly erratic as her delicate fingers played under the waist of my jeans.

“What are you doing, baby?” My hand skimmed under the hem of her dress, rubbing the delicate skin of her inner thigh.

“Nothing,” she replied sweetly as she peered up at me, giving me a flirty smile.

“Oh, yeah?” Shifting her on to my lap, I rubbed my hands along the curves of her hips to her ass, squeezing the soft flesh lightly as I pressed her against me.

Her breath caught right before our lips met. Wrapping my arms around her, I pulled her tighter against me as I parted her lips with my tongue, letting her sweetness flood my mouth. I doubted I could ever get enough of her taste. She really was my addiction, making me want more and more.

Rising off the couch, I took us to my bedroom. My plan was in full swing as I set Kaiya on the bed. This wasn’t just about breaking her rules—this was about getting her to open up to me, to connect with her on a deeper level. I wanted her to trust me with her body, let me show her how it was meant to be touched.

I pulled down her dress as she simultaneously tugged my shirt over my head. Laying her back on the bed, I trailed light kisses down her body, hoping to ease her into letting go, into losing herself in pleasure. I wanted to erase the memories constantly tormenting her, to replace her pain with happiness.

She squirmed under my lips as I ventured down, hooking my thumbs under her lacy thong as I pressed more kisses on her lower abdomen. Looking up at her, locking our eyes, I slid her panties off as I traced her skin with my tongue.

Once she was completely naked in front of me, I admired her bare form. F*ck, she’s gorgeous. She had no idea how beautiful she was, how she caused an eruption of desire within me that was unmatched by anyone else. I wanted to show her exactly how she made me feel.

“Can I taste you, baby?” I pressed a soft kiss to her inner thigh.

Holding her gaze, I placed another kiss on the inside of her other thigh. She looked uncertain, unsure about giving me trust over her body. I wanted to shatter that doubt, reassure her that I only wanted to cherish her, not hurt her. “I won’t hurt you, baby.”

Using my lips to caress her skin, I traveled back up until I reached her mouth. Hovering over her, snug between her thighs, I darted my tongue out to trace her soft, lush lips before slipping my tongue inside.

A moan escaped her, vibrating the inside of my mouth as our tongues laced together. I pressed my erection against her bare, wet p-ssy, eliciting another sound of pleasure from her as she arched against me. I had to resist the urge to unbutton my jeans and sink into her right then, but I was on a mission, one that would hopefully bring us closer together.

Breaking the kiss to nibble her bottom lip, I gruffly spoke, “F*ck, you taste so good. I bet your p-ssy tastes even better. Lemme taste you, baby.”

Whimpering, she writhed beneath me, shaking her head ‘no’ as I dragged my tongue along her jawline before sucking her earlobe into my mouth.

Shifting down, I moved my lips over her collarbone, pressing soft kisses as I continued lower. Reaching her breasts, I sucked one of her nipples into my mouth and played with it with my barbell. She jerked underneath me, fisting the sheets as I sucked her tits.


I moved to the other nipple before teasing it with my tongue. More moans escaped her as I repeated, “Let me taste you, Warrior. Let me show you how good I can make you feel.”

After a few seconds, she finally groaned, “Yes, yes, yes.”

Yes. I trailed my mouth back down, back between her thighs. I wanted to take things slow, wanted to savor Kaiya while crushing her fears and doubts.

Slowly, I traced my tongue along the outside of her delicate center before flicking her * with it. Sucking the sensitive skin into my mouth, I slowly sank two of my fingers inside her tight opening. Her hands tugged my hair as she arched against my fingers, pulling them deeper within her.

After several seconds, I swapped my fingers for my tongue, thrusting it inside her snug entrance.

Her hands tightened in my hair as she pushed at me, crying softly, “Stop. Please, stop.”

The pain in her voice immediately halted my actions. I sat up on my knees to look at her, and saw that tears were trickling down her face. I felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on me. F*ck, I didn’t want this to happen. “Baby, what’s wrong?” I asked as I moved from between her legs to by her side.

Sitting up, she brought her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms tightly around them. “I’m sorry,” she sobbed as she buried her face in her knees.

I rubbed her back in gentle circles. “Ky, look at me. Talk to me, baby.”

Peeking at me, she inhaled deeply before saying, “He… he used to do that to me. I… I can’t.”

Running a hand through my hair, I blew out a breath. I didn’t want her to think about him, about what he did to her. All I wanted was to take away her memories of him, replace them with better ones, make it so she never hurt again.

“Ky, I know this is hard for you. I know that he hurt you, that he mistreated your body. I don’t want to do that, baby. I want to erase what he did by showing you that your body was made to be cherished, not abused.”

She propped her head on her arms as she stared at me, sniffling before she replied, “Some scars can never be erased.”

“Lemme try, Warrior,” I urged.

Exhaling, she replied, “I don’t know, Ryker. I-”

“We’ll take it slow—if you feel overwhelmed at any point, just tell me, and I’ll stop. I stopped when you asked me a few minutes ago, right?”

“You promise?” she softly asked, locking our eyes again. I knew this was huge for her, to be able to trust someone not to hurt her. I wanted to kill that f*cking bastard for doing whatever he did to her, making my warrior afraid of being intimate with someone.

I looked into those beautiful, blue eyes. “I promise, Ky.”

Leaning in, I gently pressed my lips to hers as I cradled her face in my hands. Laying her down on the bed, I separated our mouths to feather kisses over her face and neck, leaving no area untouched by the soft touch of my lips.

Using the tips of my fingers, I lightly caressed her skin as my mouth followed. I ventured down over her tits and stomach before kissing her hips and thighs, avoiding her p-ssy.

Descending down her body, I enjoyed the taste and feel of her supple flesh. I stopped to massage her legs as I placed kisses on the inside of her ankle before switching to the other. Retreating back up, I ran my hands along her skin, causing her to writhe under my touch.

I spread more kisses along the sensitive area of her inner thighs, eliciting moans of pleasure from Kaiya. Nearing closer to her p-ssy, I dragged my tongue along the tender skin before stopping at the juncture between her thighs. “Do you want me to stop, baby?” I murmured huskily. I sure as hell didn’t want to, but I didn’t want her to feel forced. I’d never force a woman to do anything she didn’t want to.

She only moaned incomprehensibly, lost in passion. I softly kissed her * a couple of times before repeating my question. “Do you want me to stop?”

“No,” she cried out, her voice thick with desire.

Yes.

My lips curved as my tongue darted out to taste her again. Her body jerked slightly as her hands found my head and brought me into her p-ssy. Kneading her thighs, I began to slowly devour her, my tongue dancing inside her.

My fingers found her *, deftly massaging the bundle of nerves as my tongue played with it and sucked it in my mouth. A high-pitched moan escaped Kaiya as her body jolted in pleasure again. Her hands tightened in my hair as she pushed me closer against her, her body squirming as she neared climax.

My hands moved around to her ass, gripping the voluptuous flesh and bringing her closer to me as I delved back inside her. The more I had of her, the more I wanted, the taste of her sweet p-ssy feeding my addiction, intensifying my desire for her.

Her thighs tensed and trembled along with the rest of her body as she moaned in orgasm. I eagerly consumed her sweetness as it flooded my mouth, savoring the evidence of the pleasure I gave her.

Trailing kisses back up her slender torso, my hands caressed the curves of her body before I finally stilled, hovering over her. Lidded with desire, her eyes met mine as she seductively smiled, raking her hands down my abs before stopping at my jeans.

I held her gaze as I ground my erection against her. “Did you like that, baby?

Her hands began to fumble with my jeans as she bit her lip and nodded. Voice throaty with arousal, she answered, “Yes. I want you inside me, now.”

I wanted to plunge my dick deep inside her, fill her until she repeatedly cried out my name, but I loved teasing her, loved unraveling her until she was overcome with desire.

“Oh yeah, baby? How bad do you want me?” I asked before grazing her nipple with my teeth.

Her hand slipped inside my jeans before grabbing my cock. “So bad,” she moaned.

“You want me to f*ck you, baby?” I murmured against her tit before sucking it into my mouth. F*ck, she tastes so good.

“Yes,” she moaned, arching against me. I nipped at her breasts as she pulled my dick out and slid my pants down with her feet.

Guiding me with her hand, she pressed my cock against her slick opening.

“You’re so wet for me,” I growled as I rocked against her.

When she wrapped her legs around me, pulling me to her, urging me to enter her, I couldn’t contain myself anymore. Gripping her hips, I thrust inside her, sinking my cock deep within her p-ssy as I captured her mouth with mine.

Kaiya’s nails dug into my back as I pounded in and out of her. Moving my hands to her ass, I lifted her upwards. Her p-ssy clenched tighter around my dick from the slight movement. Her moans increased with each of my strokes. Finding orgasm, her body shuddered as she cried out my name, waves of pleasure finally overtaking her.

As she throbbed around me, I could feel my release approaching. I moved my hands around to spread her thighs, burying myself further inside her.

Pulling out, I shot my cum on Kaiya’s breasts and stomach, loving how it looked on her flawless skin. I rolled off next to her before catching my breath and getting up to grab a towel for her.

As I stood at the edge of the bed, her gaze had traveled to my dick, and the lustful look in her eyes caused me to get hard again. “You want more, baby?”

She bit her bottom lip as she nodded. I was on her within seconds, and I spent the rest of the night showing her how her body was meant to be worshiped.





I left Ryker’s at around three in the morning. He wanted me to stay, but I’d already broken one of my rules for him, and that was enough for me for one night. It scared me how easy it was for me to break them for him, but I was happy for once in my life, and I wanted to focus on that and all the other wonderful things Ryker made me feel.


My whole body felt amazing, like I had a full body massage that released all the stress and tension plaguing me. Ryker was definitely gifted, and he spent so many hours showing me exactly how talented he was. The way his rough hands were able to caress me so softly, how he used that delicious mouth to please me so expertly, and how every movement was used to show me how my body should’ve been treated all along blew my mind.

I slept late Saturday, exhausted from my amazing night with Ryker. When I checked my phone, I had several text messages from both Ryker and Bryce. I opened up Ryker’s first, a smile involuntarily spreading over my face as I thought about him.



Ryker: Good morning beautiful



Me: Good morning



About a minute passed before he replied:



Ryker: You free today?



My fingers started typing my reply automatically:



Me: Yes :)



Ryker: Pick you up in an hour?



Me: Ok :)



Before I got out of bed, I looked at Bryce’s message:



Bryce: Haven’t heard from you in a while everything ok?



Me: Yeah I’m good



Bryce: When can I see you again?



Shit. I needed to tell him that I couldn’t hook up with him anymore, but I felt terrible about it. He’d been there for me when I needed him, understanding when most guys would’ve blown me off. I hesitantly typed the text, but my thumb hovered over the send button. After several seconds, I finally pressed it.



Me: I can’t see you like that anymore but I still want to be friends



My phone started ringing as Bryce’s number popped up on my screen. I swiped the reject key and left my phone on the bed to get ready before Ryker arrived. I heard the phone ringing again as I hopped in the shower, but I ignored it. Hopefully, he’ll understand.

Once I finished getting ready, I put on a pair of jeans and an off-the-shoulder tee before putting on some light make-up. I’d always been okay with using a small compact mirror because I didn’t see every feature at once, so I didn’t see him. Otherwise, who knew what I would go outside looking like.

As I went downstairs to meet Ryker, I looked at my phone and noticed that I had more missed calls and text messages from Bryce. I’d have to figure out how to deal with that later before it blew up in my face, but I was too excited about going out with Ryker that I pushed my worries aside.

He was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs again, wearing a snug, white Henley shirt that looked ridiculously amazing on him, but he looked good in everything. Ryker would look hot even in a garbage bag.

Once I reached him, he picked me up in a hug. Slowly, he let me slide down his body before kissing me deeply. I was beginning to understand what Ryker meant about addiction, because he was becoming my own personal drug, especially when he kissed me like that, to where I felt it all the way in my toes.

“Ready to go?” he asked after he pulled away from me.

“Yes. Where are we going?”

“I thought we’d get some lunch in Boston before my surprise.”

“Another surprise?” I questioned as a smile curved over my lips. A girl could get used to this.

He smiled as he helped me into his truck before wordlessly closing the door. When he got in on his side, he was still grinning from ear to ear. What is he up to?

“What are we doing?” I asked.

“I can’t tell you, or it’d ruin the surprise. But, trust me, you’ll like it.”

He started the truck and started driving toward Boston. We grabbed a quick lunch at a local eatery before we drove toward the Boston Wharf. Excitement started to fill me as we neared—I loved the water, envied how it was so fluid and free, something that had always been an unattainable feeling for me.

When we headed toward the Central Wharf, I had a good idea of where we were going. “Are you taking me to the New England Aquarium?” I practically squealed in delight.

He didn’t answer, but his smile told me my answer. I clapped happily and actually squealed in glee that time. Ryker began to laugh as the aquarium came into view and I couldn’t wait to get there. I’d visited a couple of times when I was little, but I’d never been back.

Once we parked in the garage directly across from the aquarium, I basically jumped out of the truck and bounced up and down in excitement as I waited for Ryker. I had told him last night how much I loved the water and animals, especially ocean animals—he was definitely gaining some serious points with me.

After we got out of the elevator, he linked our hands together as we walked toward the entrance. My chest and stomach tightened happily from the gesture, and I felt all tingly inside. Ryker caused me to feel so many things that I’d never felt before, and I briefly contemplated whether any of the new feelings could be love.

The idea should’ve scared me, would’ve scared me before I met Ryker. Love was dangerous because it meant trust, and trust meant vulnerability. Vulnerability meant that I would be opening myself up to be hurt, and I couldn’t afford to be hurt by anyone else; I’d never survive it. I always avoided commitment and attachment for that reason, but Ryker was starting to change my mind. He was showing me that trust could be earned, and that love might not be such a bad thing after all. It might be just what I needed to heal.

After Ryker bought our tickets, we started with the first area on the floor level, which housed harbor seals, penguins, and the Shark and Ray Touch Tank exhibits. The seals were outside, so we started there and worked our way in, spending extra time playing with the sharks and rays.

We made our way towards the back, going through the penguin and tropical fish exhibits. While we were looking at the fish, I noticed Ryker was texting on his phone. A smile tipped his lips as he typed, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he was texting another girl. My happiness began to fade, and I hated the ugly twisting in my gut.

I almost pulled away when he grabbed my hand, but I didn’t want to overreact and jump to any conclusions. I knew the gnawing feeling I had would eventually eat at me until I said something, but I wanted to try and hold it in until we got back to his truck.

Ryker guided me to the back of the first level, which housed more seals and sea lions. “We already saw seals,” I said, irritated, my mood beginning to sour.

We stopped right outside the doors that led outside to the exhibit. His phone chimed with a new text message and he took it out to look at it, causing irrational anger to take over me.

“I’m right here, you know. You could at least wait until I go to the bathroom or something to text one of your other girls,” I spat before storming off.

His hand lightly gripped my arm and pulled me back to him. “What are you talking about, Ky?”

I snatched my arm from his grasp and accused, “You know what I’m talking about. I saw how you looked when you were texting—you were talking to some other girl.”

“No, I wasn’t—I told you there are no other girls, baby.”

I scoffed. “Then, who were you texting?”

Just then, a guy in a diver’s suit walked inside from a side door. He saw Ryker and greeted, “Hey, ready?”

I looked between them, perplexed about how they knew each other and what the man was referring to. Ryker then spoke, “Kaiya, this is Mike, a client of mine from the gym. He’s arranged for us to have a personal encounter with the seals. That’s who I was texting.”

“Oh,” I replied, my face heating from embarrassment. Way to overreact.

I was about to apologize when Mike interrupted, “Let’s go—we’re not even supposed to be doing this right now, so we have to do it quick.”


Mike turned around and sped back through the door he came in, which had an “Employees Only” sign on it. I looked up at Ryker. “I’m sorry,” I meekly apologized.

“It’s okay. I kinda like that you were jealous,” he teased with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes and followed after Mike. Ryker came up next to me before holding the door open and ushering me in. Mike waved us over to a desk before saying, “I’ve lost almost a hundred pounds thanks to Ryker. I would’ve never been able to do it without his training, so I owe him big time. This was the least I could do.”

“I really appreciate this, Mike. Thanks,” Ryker replied.

“No, thank you. I wouldn’t have reached my goal without your help.”

Ryker smiled proudly as Mike led us into an adjoining room. “Put these on and meet me back in the waiting area when you’re finished.”

He handed Ryker and me a pair of the pants that fisherman wear over their clothes when they walk in shallow areas of water to fish. They reminded me of rubber overalls as I slipped into them. Excitement began to fill me again, and I felt terrible for accusing Ryker of something he didn’t do when he was planning something special for me. I locked eyes with him as I apologized again, “I’m really sorry. Thank you for this.”

He wrapped me in a hug, “Don’t worry about it, Warrior. Let’s have some fun.”

Draping an arm over my shoulder, he led me back into the waiting area. Mike then took us through the doors outside to the pool where the seals were.

There were five seals swimming in the water, along with another employee in a scuba suit. Mike got in before us, then Ryker followed and helped me in. Mike then introduced us to the other trainer, Sarah, before giving us more information about what we were going to be doing.

“During your interaction, you can feed and touch the seals. You’ll probably get wet, but this is definitely an experience you’ll never forget so have some fun with it.”

Some of the seals had started swimming around us in circles, while the others jumped in and out of the water a short distance away. Reaching out to the one that was closest to me, I placed my hand on it as it glided by. I laughed as it turned around and stuck its flipper out of the water and waved as it came back toward me.

“It wants to shake your hand,” Sarah commented.

I looked at Ryker, who nodded. Focusing back on the seal, I tentatively stretched my hand toward its flipper and grasped it. It wiggled in my hold as I shook it and giggled. When I pulled away, it sat up in the water and swam to me before kissing me on the cheek and diving back under the water.

“Did you see that?” I exclaimed with a huge smile as I turned toward Ryker.

He laughed, “Yeah. I think he likes you. Should I be jealous?”

“I don’t know, he was pretty cute,” I joked.

“Maybe I need to show him that you’re my girl,” he replied before moving toward me and kissing me deeply. “Think he gets the picture?”

“I don’t know, I think you need to show him again,” I teased before smiling up at him.

Ryker pressed his lips against mine again as he pulled me into him, framing my face in his hands. As usual, his kiss left me slightly breathless when we broke apart, and I hoped that never changed.

We spent another twenty minutes playing with the seals before we fed them and exited the tank. Before we left, Mike stopped us and said, “We took some pictures of your interaction. Would you like to see them?”

“Sure,” I replied enthusiastically. I definitely wanted some mementos to remind me of our experience, even though I knew that I’d never forget it.

Mike led us to a computer before pulling up our photos on the screen. I wasn’t great with photos, but I was able to deal with them better than mirrors. There were some great candid shots, but the one that caught my eye was of when Ryker kissed me.

The shot was of right before our lips met. Ryker’s hands cupped my face and my arms were wrapped around his waist. Both of our eyes were closed as we anticipated the kiss, and the look on our faces… well, it reminded me of two people in love. I was no expert, but I’d seen couples in love before. They had that stupid, enamored look that I’d always envied because I thought I’d never have it. And there I was, on that screen, with it plastered all over my face. And so was Ryker.

There was a sign on the wall behind the desk where the computer was that listed the prices of the photos. I pulled my wallet out of my purse as I told Mike, “I want to buy some, please.”

“I’ll get them, baby,” Ryker offered.

“It’s okay, I can pay for them—you’ve spent enough today.”

Ryker scoffed and firmly stated, “You’re not paying.”

As I was about to argue more, Mike interrupted, “Write down the numbers of the ones you want and I’ll get them processed while you two figure out the payment.”

“I’m paying,” Ryker repeated as I started to write down the numbers of the ones I wanted. I wanted them all, but it would’ve cost way too much, so I chose the five that I liked best before sliding the paper to Ryker. He wrote down only three, including the one of us right before we kissed.

He handed the sheet to Mike, who began typing on the keyboard. Once he finished, he stood and said, “I’ll be right back with your pictures.”

When he returned, he held two photo envelopes and a disc. “These are on the house.”

“No, Mike, you’ve done enough today. I—”

Mike interrupted Ryker’s statement, “I insist. It’s the least I can do after everything.”

“I was just doing my job—you really don’t have to do this.”

Mike looked at me. “Is he always this persistent?”

“You mean stubborn?” I replied, laughing.

Ryker glared at me as Mike insisted, “Seriously, man, it’s on me.”

“Thank you,” Ryker conceded, shaking Mike’s hand. “I’ll give you some free training sessions for all this.”

“I can’t say no to that. I’ll text you to set them up, okay? I have to get back to work.”

We said our goodbyes and thanked Mike again, then went back into the main aquarium. We toured the rest of the floors before heading back to Ryker’s truck.

When we got in, my phone started ringing. The screen showed that Bryce was calling me again. I declined it and stuffed the phone back in my purse.

“Who was that?” Ryker asked as he started the truck.

“Bryce.”

“Bryce? You still talk to him?” Ryker questioned defensively, his tone becoming harsh as his face hardened slightly.

“I’ve been ignoring him, but I finally told him that I couldn’t see him anymore, but that I still wanted to be friends. He’s called me a few times after I sent the message, but I haven’t answered.”

His features relaxed some, but I could tell he was still pissed off. “Maybe he needs to be talked to personally.”

I shook my head. “I don’t think seeing him will help—he’ll probably try to convince me to change my mind.”

“I meant me,” he replied gruffly.

That wouldn’t end well. “You don’t have to do that—I’m sure he’ll get the picture.”

“He better,” he grumbled.

His irrational jealousy caused a smile to take over my lips. I tried to hide it, but it was almost impossible when he looked so adorable scowling over the whole thing when he had nothing to be worried about. “There’s no reason for you to be mad, baby.”


“I’m not mad at you. I’m just pissed that he wants what’s mine, and doesn’t seem to be taking the hint.”

“I didn’t know I had become property all of a sudden,” I replied, slightly offended, even though Ryker referring to me as his caused a little spark of pride within me. Not to mention lust.

“You know what I mean, Ky.”

“No, I don’t. I don’t even know what to call this,” I gestured back and forth between us.

“It doesn’t matter what this,” he mimicked my movement, “is called—together, dating, whatever. All that matters is that you’re mine, and I’m yours.”

We had locked eyes during the exchange, and his softened once he finished speaking. “I just don’t want him to think he has any chance with you when he doesn’t. He doesn’t, right?”

In that moment, Ryker looked… vulnerable. I’d never seen him look that way—he was always so confident and cocky. “No, he doesn’t,” I smiled reassuringly.

The left corner of Ryker’s lip curved into his trademark grin that I loved so much. “Ready to go home?”

“Yours or mine?”

His smile morphed to a devious, lustful smirk. “Mine.”





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