Ryder - Caveman Insticts Book Three(21)

Ryder stood by the stove in just dark blue sweat pants hung low, the perfect muscled v showed when he turned and flashed a heart stopping smile my way. His smile sent my heart a flutter. My gaze raked his body but I couldn’t stop staring at his muscular chest. His bold tattoos had me itching to go to him and trace them, feeling his strength beneath my fingers.

“You done looking your fill or do you want me to put the food in the oven and we can move somewhere more comfortable?” He wiggled his eyebrows up and down and I couldn’t stop my giggle slipping free.

“Put a shirt on.” I sat on a stool where a plate with a knife and fork rested on the bench. Picking them up I banged the end on the marble counter. “Give me my breakfast. I’m hungry.”

He turned back to the stove and when he turned again he had an oven tray pilled full of bacon, eggs and hash browns. “I thought you wanted me to put a shirt on. I can’t feed you and go get my shirt at the same time. I’m talented, just not that much.” He winked and I knew my grin was big. I hated to admit it but I did love his cockiness and I enjoyed our banter.

“Well I suppose if you feed me I’ll forgive your near nakedness.” Ryder stacked food onto my plate. “You don’t think I’m going to eat all this?” The plate was stacked high with four eggs, three hash browns and ten slices of crispy bacon. “I don’t think I’ll even eat half.” He did a plate for himself with double what I had and sat on the stool next to me. He reached across and grabbed some of my bacon but I slapped his hand away. “Eat your own.”

“You’re feisty. I like it.”

“I’m glad you do. It comes in handy for times like this when bossy men try to take over.” Now was my time to talk. I glanced at the gorgeous ring. This was the first thing. “You put this ring on my finger and although I said, under duress I might add, that I was yours, that doesn’t mean I agreed to marry you. Not that you even asked. I mean a girl might wanna have a proper proposal. You know, romance and all that.” Shooting a glare at him I shoveled some eggs and hash brown in my mouth and slowly chewed, savoring the perfectly cooked food. “I came here yesterday to talk, but I hate to admit this, you have this strange effect on me.” Heat crept up my neck and settled on my cheeks as I remembered just what effect he had on me all night long.

“So you believe you’re my soul mate now?” I hated the smugness in his voice.

“No. I didn’t say that. I said you have an effect on me. Look, we can argue back and forth, but what I’m getting at is you can’t just charge at me and take over my life.”

“I didn’t charge at you. I’ve given you time and then you came to me.”

Argh! I hated that he was right. Well, in a way. “I gave you an inch and you took way more than a mile.” I continued to eat and was surprised when I looked over to see that Ryder had eaten everything on his plate and now sat turned, listening to me. “How the hell do you eat all that and look like you do? Do you always eat like this?” I shook my head. Of course he didn’t. Surely?

He shrugged his big shoulders. “Not all the time. I’m a growing boy though and need energy.”

“Ha, I think you’re fully grown.” I looked down at my own plate shocked to find I’d almost eaten everything. “What do you want from me?” Groaning at how whiny I sounded, I eased of the stool and paced back and forth.

“Love.”

Whoa. I was not expecting him to say that. I stopped pacing and studied the man sitting on the stool. He gazed at me like I was the most precious jewel in the world. I’d never had anyone look at me with such hope and, dare I say, already growing love. My brother loved me and so did my father, in his own way, but other than my mother I’d not had anyone else love me or ask for my love like Ryder had. Could I fall for Ryder? He hadn’t done anything that would make me think I couldn’t. He was strange and I had thought he was crazy, but I, myself, hadn’t been acting so sane. He made me feel so many different emotions, anger, hate, love and frustration, which was something I hated to admit to, but I hadn’t felt much in a while. I’d been going through the motions. Moving to Brisbane had helped, but I still felt stuck. Ryder, from the moment I’d met him, had brought me out of my comfort zone. He’d got me changing my rules. The ones I had in place to keep me safe. To protect my heart.

Could I love Ryder? Yes. I just had to learn to how.





I could see the inner battle in Divinity as she decided whether she was going to let herself love me or not. I knew it would take time. Love was something that needed to grow. I knew I was starting to love Divinity. It was easy, with her loyalty to her family and the way she looked after her brother. The backbone she had against what she wanted and what she believed in was phenomenal. I loved that she wasn’t afraid of me or that she didn’t care about my family name.