Chapter 5

I excused myself casually from the group when I saw Ryker sit down in my peripheral vision. I could feel the group’s curious eyes on me.

“I will call Emily,” I told them. “Be right back.”

As I walked away, I released my breath slowly. I thought I’d worn my confidence on full display, but his mere presence knocked that off in a second. And it was strange how his presence still had the power to stir up a whirlwind of emotions within me.

“Come on, Emily. Where on earth are you?” I muttered under my breath, my impatience growing with each passing second.

I impatiently tapped my foot as the phone rang on the other end. I glanced over my shoulder and looked around me. I went behind a big tree. Hugging myself tightly, I wrapped the long coat around me as if it were a protective shield against the emotions that threatened to overwhelm me.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm the racing of my heart as I leaned against the tree’s rough bark. The call directed me to a voicemail.

I sighed, muttering under my breath, “I will kill you Em if you won’t show up tonight. I will make sure—” My breath caught up in my throat, my gasp silenced by the hand that suddenly covered my mouth.

“Sssh,” a voice whispered softly before two piercing blue eyes stared back at me.

My heart leaped into my throat, and all the hair on my skin stood on end as a shiver crawled its way up my spine. Ryker...I realized I was trapped behind this tree with him, alone and vulnerable.

“You don’t have to scream.” He murmured softly, his voice calm as a millpond. “Unless you want their attention here.”

My breaths were shallow, and my chest tightened as I struggled to find my voice. Slowly, I nodded, not daring to make a sound.

Ryker’s hand slowly retreated from my mouth, but he remained close, his presence looming over me. I knew that whatever had brought him here, it wasn’t a mere coincidence.

“What do you want?” I wanted to clap for myself when my voice came out defiant as I glared at him.

Ryker’s eyes lingered on me. “You cut your hair. I liked it long.”

His words felt like a slap to the face, catching me off guard. With all the things I had imagined him saying or asking, it was my hair that he chose to comment on.

A scoff escaped me.

“Don’t tie your hair,” he grabbed the yellow ribbon that tied my hair in a bun harshly, “you looked like a duck with a bun on top of its head.” Then walked away with it, leaving me a painful scalp and a broken confidence.

That incident four years ago chose to fill the gap in my memories. It was a cruel and unnecessary act, and his comment about my hair just now reopened old wounds that left me feeling vulnerable.

“I thought you had changed, Blackthorn, but it seems to me that old habits die hard,” I said monotonously, my eyes fixed on his chest. I didn’t care if he thought I was still scared of him because I couldn’t meet his eyes. I just couldn’t care.

But I felt his eyes boring on me, and for a moment, it felt like we were back in college, locked in a battle of wills.

I heard him sigh. “Of course, you won’t believe it. I’ve been a jerk.”

A scornful laugh slipped off my lips, edged with bitterness. His admission didn’t erase the years of pain he had caused me, and it certainly didn’t make everything okay. His presence had reopened old wounds, and it was going to take more than words to heal them.

“A jerk? That’s putting it mildly. Do you really think commenting on my hair and admitting you’re a jerk is going to fix that?” I said, finally meeting his eyes...

Which was a very wrong move.

I found myself staring into deep, piercing blue eyes, just like I had in the past. Those eyes held a depth that I couldn’t quite understand. It always drew me into a whirlpool of emotions that I constantly bury every time. I hated myself for being this way.

“I know it won’t change the past, Harper,” he said, his voice softening. “But I’m trying to be better, to make amends.” He took a step closer, and instinctively, I took a step back, but the trunk of the tree covered my escape. “I’m not asking you to forgive me,” his voice was barely above a whisper.

I held my breath as his hand reached out and touched my hair, his touch surprisingly gentle.

“But I’m asking you to see me for who I really am,” he said, his voice filled with a vulnerability that I had never seen in him before.

I felt a rush of conflicting emotions wash over me. His hand cupped my cheek, making me gasp. His palm felt so hot. My breath hitched as his intense blue eyes lingered on my lips, which instantly opened as I let go of my breath. Desire and lust crossed his eyes and I felt like I was struck with heady emotions as I watched him look at me with those eyes.

My eyes were drawn to his Adam’s apple, moving up and down as he continued to watch my lips with a hunger that was impossible to ignore. The tension in my stomach grew thicker, and when his face descended, green lights sparked in the back of my head.

“Try and I will kill—”

My words were abruptly silenced when he pulled me into a kiss. It was a sudden, passionate kiss, and all the words I had intended to say vanished in an instant. I pushed against his chest as his tongue sought entrance, but it was like pushing against a solid wall.

His kiss was intense as if it was filled with a longing that had been buried for years. And when his tongue danced over my lips and sucked them, I couldn’t help but gasp, giving him the invitation he sought.

His tongue delved in, deepening the kiss, finding a rhythm that was overwhelming and I found myself responding. The kiss carried a whirlwind of emotions, desires, and memories that threatened to consume me.

We both moaned simultaneously, and the sound sent a jolt of awareness through me. It was as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown over my desire-fueled haze. I pushed him away, breaking the kiss.

He looked dazed, his eyes glazed over from the intensity of the kiss.

“This is so wrong,” I breathed and ran away.