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EMILY TOOK A BITE OF her Lo Mein noodles, watching as Ryker polished off another eggroll. She’d barely touched her food, spread out across her coffee table in the living room, and he was almost done.
“I was starving,” he said with an easy shrug. “We had training this afternoon, and then I played some ball with the guys before driving up here.” He took another bite, and she tried to ignore the way his tee-shirt clung to his muscles. He was athletic and lean, kind of like a baseball player or something. She didn’t doubt he could easily take down anyone who tried to mess with him. Or her, she considered as an afterthought.
She would be safe with him, unnecessary as his protection was.
It felt a little strange to have him here as her bodyguard for the weekend, but she had to admit she didn’t mind the company. She hadn’t been alone in...well over a month. She had neighbors here, of course, but ultimately, she’d be alone in her condo with nothing but her thoughts to keep her company. It’s not like she was up for a night out quite yet.
He took a swig of his beer and glanced over at her. “You should eat,” he insisted.
“I am eating. I guess I just need to get my appetite back. It’s kind of weird to be able to eat whatever I want after weeks of being fed the same thing. And the hospital food wasn’t spectacular.”
Ryker chuckled. “And here I thought you’d go for Mexican on your first night home.”
She laughed, recalling their easy conversation on the plane. How on earth did he remember that? “Mexican takeout isn’t good,” she insisted. “You’ve got to order right there and have it fresh. Give me a few days, and I’ll be ready to head to my favorite little hole in the wall restaurant. Their margaritas are to die for.”
“We could’ve gone there,” Ryker said. “I know you’re probably exhausted though.”
“Yeah, I really need a few nights at home just to decompress. It’s crazy to be back in my condo. There were a few nights I thought I’d never see it again. Luckily my parents have a spare key, so they were able to keep up with the bills and stuff like that while I was...gone. My mom barely wanted to let me out of her sight when she found out I was being released from the hospital today.”
“Can you blame her?” Ryker asked.
She shook her head, watching his Adam’s apple bob as he took another pull of his beer. “Nope, not after everything that’s happened,” she admitted.
He took a bite of his spicy kung pao chicken, and she just watched him for a moment. He’d kept the close beard he’d been sporting on the flight back. It was sexy, which kind of surprised her—she’d always been attracted to clean shaven guys. Ryker was the opposite of her type of man in many ways—not that that was necessarily a bad thing.
And not that they were dating.
She was used to being around assertive guys at work. The other federal agents she dealt with certainly were used to taking charge—and it wasn’t just State. The officials she helped to guard sometimes had a Secret Service entourage with them. She’d certainly butted heads more than once with the men she worked with.
Ryker practically blew those guys out of the water though with his raw masculinity. Sure, maybe they could all handle a gun and hit their mark, but he was a freaking Navy SEAL who jumped out of airplanes and stormed into terrorist camps.
Planning out specialized ops and improvising on the fly was what those guys did best. They probably trained for every scenario, just like she did. She was certain that she didn’t even know the half of what he was capable of though.
“What do you do with the SEALs?” she asked. “I mean, do you each have a specialty or something like that?”
“I’m a sniper,” he said.
“Really?”
“Affirmative. We all have to pass the same training in BUD/S, of course, but we do each have a skill set. Hunter’s our team leader. Colton handles the explosives. I’m a sniper.”
“That makes sense. We train down at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Georgia. I assume you had to train out in Coronado?”
“That’s right. The other SEAL team with us when we rescued you is based out of there.”
“Raptor’s team.”
“Yep,” Ryker said with a chuckle. “They’re good guys.”
“Well, I’ll forever be indebted to all of you for saving me,” she said, taking another small bite of her food. Ryker was completely done, and she asked if he wanted another beer.
“Nah, I’m good. I assume your friend did your grocery shopping?”
“I ordered stuff from the hospital and had it delivered,” Emily admitted. “I usually do that anyway since I’m gone for long stints and then need a ton when I get back. It’s kind of a weird life sometimes.”
“I get that,” Ryker said, nodding. He stretched his long legs out, leaning back in the armchair. She tried not to let her eyes trail down his body, but damn, even his thighs looked muscular in the jeans he had on.
Ryker looked relaxed for the moment, but she didn’t doubt he could be up and ready to roll out in an instant.
“So what did the other guys think of you coming all the way up here?” she asked.
“My teammates?” He shrugged. “They got it. Each of them has a woman of their own. I’m single, but hell. I felt responsible for you.”
“That’s kind of crazy,” she said with a laugh.
He nailed her with a gaze. “I’m protective of people I care about. It goes with the job, I guess. But the idea of you alone here bothered me for reasons I can’t even begin to say.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
A beat passed, and she felt a strange electric current surging between them. Her eyes trailed over his chiseled jaw, the scruff of his short beard. She met his dark gaze again. If this was a date, they might be moving closer to one another right about now. They’d at least be sitting side by side on the sofa, not looking at one another from several feet away.
But it wasn’t a date. And he’d leave in a couple days, with her probably never seeing him again. The danger he was worried about would blow over. He’d move on to his next mission. And she’d get on with her life and put this entire situation behind her.
“Who knows,” Ryker finally said. “Maybe both. It doesn’t matter, because I’m not the same as my teammates.”
“You don’t like women?” she teased.
Ryker guffawed. “Hell, sweetheart, nothing like that. But they’re all running home to their serious girlfriends tonight. Some of them already live with their woman.”
“And Hunter’s engaged,” Emily said.
Ryker nodded. “Engaged and they’re expecting a baby. I’ve never met a woman where I thought it could end with forever. That’s just not my thing I guess.”
“Mine either,” Emily said vehemently.
“You don’t want to get married someday?” Ryker asked, looking at her in disbelief.
“Married? I don’t know. I definitely don’t want kids. I love my career, and I’ve worked hard to get here. But I travel a lot—you get it, I know. If anyone understands, it’s probably you. I go off on TDYs of various lengths. I literally put my life on the line sometimes to protect others. I can take a stint for a year or two in another country if it sounds interesting. There’s nothing tying me down or holding me back. But having children to worry about in that equation? I’m just not interested.”
“Hmmm,” he said, still looking like he didn’t quite believe her.
“Why does that surprise you?” she asked, cocking her head as she looked at him.
“You’re different than most women I meet. I mean, sure, plenty are up for a night together or a good time. They don’t necessarily want anything serious right now. But all of them want to settle down someday in the future. Maybe not with me, but certainly with another man. They all want kids and the white picket fence.”
“Maybe you’ve just been around the wrong women,” she said. “Do you see any picket fences here?”
“Maybe so,” he conceded with a low chuckle.
Emily rose from the sofa, and she didn’t miss the way Ryker’s eyes trailed over her. She had on a tee shirt and slim jogger sweatpants. Both were a little bit loose, truth be told, thanks to her month in captivity. She had a thong on beneath her joggers but hadn’t bothered with a bra. Why risk irritating her injured ribs?
She gathered up her leftover food and moved to the kitchen, stashing it in the fridge. A loud car alarm outside made her jump, but she knew she was being foolish. Georgetown was always busy, full of cars and traffic and people. She’d have to get used to life in the city again. It sure as hell beat the solitude of a lone room with nothing but a dingy bed.
Grabbing her cell phone off the counter, she quickly texted both her parents and Caroline back. All of them had wanted to check up on her.
Another number beeped with an incoming text, and she saw it was from an agent she knew from work.
Hope you’re doing okay, Swenson. See you back in the office soon.
She frowned, setting her phone back down. Well wishes were nice, she supposed, but it’s not like he’d offered to help her out if she needed anything.
“What’s wrong?” Ryker asked as he walked into the kitchen and caught the expression on her face.
“Nothing. It was just a text from a colleague of mine.”
“You look beat,” he said, setting his empty plate on the counter. “You should get some rest.”
“And what are you going to do?” she asked. She had a man staying with her for the entire weekend. She couldn’t just go to bed and let him hang out here alone...could she? Would she really just leave him to handle cleaning up while she called it a night?
“I’m doing exactly what I came to do—watching the place and looking into the few leads we have. I’ll be fine out here. This is your first night back at your place—you should get some rest. Don’t worry about me.”
She yawned despite herself, seemingly proving his point. “All right,” she said, grabbing her cell phone off the counter. “But come wake me up if you find out anything important.”
“Will do,” he assured her.
“Okay. Well, goodnight Ryker.”
“’Night Emily,” he said in a low voice, watching her with that dark gaze again. She turned, trying to ignore whatever attraction was beginning to brew between them. It was silly, really. He was here because he thought of her as a job, nothing more.
She padded down the hallway to her bedroom, briefly wondering what he would sleep in and if she should’ve grabbed him a pillow. The low hum of the TV drifted down the hallway, and she turned off her light, too tired to even brush her teeth before bed. She left her door cracked open so that she could hear him and then drifted off into an uneasy slumber.
