“So why didn’t you guys continue with your plans to have Sy befriend me?”
“Because I wanted you for myself, though I didn’t verbalize it at the time. I only knew that you were a beautiful woman with a tender heart, and I didn’t want Sy laying a hand on you. We initially came up with a plan for Sy to start watching you in the morning, looking for ways to legitimately meet you.
“On the day he was supposed to start, he was caught on something that he couldn’t put down, and I decided to watch you instead. You stepped out looking amazingly beautiful with your hair all up, showing this soft, elegant neck.” He feathered his fingers over my skin near my collarbone and ear, giving me goose bumps. “And you were wearing this sort of ’40s-style dress that wrapped around you, and somehow tied in a bow at your side.”
“I know the one. It’s red with a V-neck.” I smiled, unable to stop the joy from spilling out onto my face. He’d remembered a dress I’d worn months ago.
“I remembered it because I wanted to untie the bow and strip it from you. That dress has starred in a few different fantasies I’ve had about you.”
“I’ll have to wear it for you,” I murmured huskily. I was rewarded by a squeeze.
“I would love that.” He ran his hand down my back and over my ass, his fingers nearing my sex, which made my breathing alter. His touch was ambrosia.
“So why didn’t you ever come up to me?” I asked, somewhat breathlessly.
“You were forever busy. You worked all the time, and I didn’t want to just be one of the guys at the bar that you suffered. At the gym, Rico was prowling. Many times I wanted to beat him to a bloody pulp for touching you.”
“Touching me? When did he touch me?” I frowned, trying to think of a time Rico had ever put his hands on me.
“He’d show you a proper stance, squaring your hips the right way for you, or fixing the angle of your leg when you kicked or your glove when you punched.”
“Sheesh, Ryder.” I giggled. “You’re a tough customer.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t say I was proud.” He gave me a chagrined look. “Anyway, there was never a time that I could legitimately meet you, so when the apartment next to yours went vacant, I took advantage.”
“So seeing me in my dress is what did it?” I rested my cheek on his biceps, loving that I had the freedom to be close to him and touch him.
“No. Seeing you in that dress just meant that I was like any other guy who sees you and wants to bend you over anything handy and fuck you until you see stars. What made me stop and look closer was when Mrs. Myrtle came out.”
“My neighbor?”
“You took such care to make sure she got safely to work. You weren’t doing it to make points with anyone. No one was watching you. You just did it because you cared. And you were pissed that her own family was being careless with her.”
“Well, she’s darn near eighty years old and so frail looking.”
“I didn’t want Sy near you after that. All your thoughts and emotions were right on your sleeve, which let me see what a beautiful, strong person you were.”
“All my thoughts and feelings?”
“Also your fears and...fantasies.”