Resisting Ryder(35)

She chuckled on the inside as she remembered what Brooklyn had said about him. He really was obsessed with her. In all their years together, she had always been the one chasing after him. He’d never really chased after her. It was nice for a change.

“I’ve been thinking about you a lot,” he said. He seemed nervous, and there was an obvious longing in his voice.

Stormy walked into the living room and sat down on the couch as Hayden trailed behind her. He took a seat right next to her leaving very little space between them.

“That’s nice,” she said. She sort of liked being a bitch to him. He deserved it.

“Have you given anymore thought to what we talked about a few weeks ago?” he asked. His eyes twitched nervously as he waited for her response. She could tell he’d been thinking about this nonstop.

“Somewhat,” she replied. “I’ve just had a lot going on lately. Nothing’s really changed since three weeks ago. I don’t feel any differently.”

“Oh,” he said. He was crushed and his face said it all. “I hope we can still be a part of each other’s lives. I want to make it up to you. The way I treated you. I want to make it right. Can we start as friends and go from there?”

There was something different behind Hayden’s sapphire blue eyes. He was being earnest for the first time in his life, and his face was pained. He had never opened up like this before, and Stormy had to give him credit for that.

“I’d love for you to make it up to me,” Stormy snipped. “You were so shitty to me, Hayden.”

He hung his head in his hands and hid his face. He said nothing, but his sniffling gave it all away. He was desperate. Something about seeing Hayden so vulnerable and in emotional pain tugged at Stormy’s heart strings. She couldn’t continue being a bitch to him. It just wasn’t in her nature.

She reached her arm behind him and rubbed his back as she said nothing.

“I messed up so bad,” he sobbed and sniffled into his hands. “I had you, and I lost you. And now you’re gone forever.”

“Don’t say that,” Stormy soothed him. She didn’t want to get his hopes up, but at this point the future was one giant question mark. She was ruling out nothing.

He lifted his head up and turned towards her, tears streaming down his face. There was something so touching about seeing perfect, grown man Hayden lose his composure and break down in front of her. They locked eyes for a moment, and Stormy instinctually leaned in to kiss him. She didn’t give it much thought. She just did it. With Hayden it just felt like second nature no matter how many ups and downs they’d had over the years.

Their lips touched and his hands moved to her face and then down her sides. He kissed her with a fervor she’d never experienced before from anyone. His kisses were passionate and hungry, and he positioned himself over her as she leaned back against the couch pillows. He laid on top of her as he kissed her like he’d never kissed her before as his hands traveled the length of her body.

Stormy blocked out all the warnings that flew through her mind and just tried to enjoy the moment. She blocked out the fact that she was making out with her jerk ex on the couch her dead husband bought her, in the home her dead husband bought her. She blocked out the warnings that told her Hayden was bad news and would never change. She blocked out any and all thoughts of Ryder that instantly came to her mind the moment her lips touched Hayden’s.

Hayden was in a vulnerable, lonely place and so was Stormy. She was sure she’d be sorry in the morning, but she didn’t care. She wanted to be touched. She wanted to be longed for. She wanted to feel loved again, and Hayden felt like the safe choice in that moment.

Hayden’s hands glided under her shirt as he caressed her soft breasts. Stormy knew where things were headed yet she had no desire to stop any of it. She wanted to feel something, anything. She wanted to feel human again. She wanted to feel hot, bothered, angry, guilty, happy, and sad. She wanted to feel everything. She was tired of feeling numb. With the wine still coursing through her veins and clouding her judgment, she closed her eyes and let Hayden call all the shots. As far as she was concerned, he could have her. All of her. Just that once.

His lips pressed against her neck and his breath blew hot on her skin. He tore of her clothes like some kind of hungry animal and soon they were both naked on the couch. He picked her up, lips pressed against her collarbone, and carried her back to the bedroom where he threw her down on top of the rumpled bed.

He climbed over her and positioned himself between her thighs. Within seconds, he had pressed himself inside of her. She closed her eyes as he made feverish, passionate love to her. For one night, she would give him her body but nothing else.