The man was lit in a backdrop of vibrant pinks and purples and blues.
He was midnight in the middle of it.
Black hair that shone like silvered onyx, shaved all the way around on the sides before it faded into the longer, wavy pieces that angled forward in the front.
He wore black jeans, a worn leather jacket, and boots, even though it had to be close to a thousand degrees outside.
Shoulders wide and his chest hard and packed, the rest of him sinewy and lean, so tall he cast a shadow wherever he went.
The man was chiseled strength and constrained danger.
Hotter than any sin I’d ever dream of committing.
He had to go and do it all with a sly smirk on his gorgeous face, so cool and casual you’d think he didn’t have a care in the world.
I wondered if I was the only one who noticed the disorder that writhed beneath his blasé exterior.
If they felt the current of goodness laced with corruption.
If I was the fool who always looked too close, wanting to sink inside and disappear when he was the last guy on the face of the earth I should want.
I’d been in love with Ryder Nash since I was nineteen, probably earlier than that if I was being honest with myself.
I was working on getting over that, though.
Moving on.
Because I cherished the friendship we had. This closeness that I didn’t share with anyone else.
I couldn’t imagine there would ever be a day that a part of me wouldn’t hang onto the fantasies of him looking at me the way I looked at him. The part that would get tripped up when he got close to me, the way he just had.
When the air seemed to shimmer with light and the edges of my consciousness got pulled toward his darkness.
When I got stuck in something that felt like the swelling of need.
A blaze of something that could scorch me to the bone.
The part of me that couldn’t help but wonder if he felt it, too.
But there was a bigger part of me that had accepted him as my friend. The guy who was always there, riding in like a dark knight. The part of me that didn’t want to hurt anymore when I looked at him.
The part that was ready to love and to find the one who would love me back.
Still, I couldn’t look away as he turned and slung a leg over his bike and straddled the metal.
Tatted hands curled around the handlebars. Waves of black hair billowing in the breeze.
But it was the gunmetal eyes staring at me through the fading light that sent chills scattering down my spine.
The man midnight at the helm.
He kicked over his old bike and it grumbled to life.
He just sat there, waiting on me.
Right.
I was supposed to be getting in my car.
I shook myself out of the haze he’d cast and forced myself into action. I checked both directions before I rushed to the driver’s door and climbed in.
I started my car, checked the lane beside me again, then eased onto the road, keeping my speed far less than I normally would travel.
With the look on Ryder’s face when he’d received that text, I’d figured he’d blaze around me and burn a path back into Time River.
Someone was waiting on him.
I knew it.
The thing was, there was always someone waiting on Ryder. His phone pinging off with the slew of women he seemed to have at his beck and call.
I didn’t let it bother me anymore.
But he didn’t fly around me the way I’d expected.
No.
He followed.
Followed me to the end of the highway and through the small town that I loved.
Time River, Colorado was hidden at the base of a gorgeous ridge of mountains with a river running through.
Cozy cottages and two-story buildings with colorful awnings ran along Manchester, the main street that cut through the middle of town. The sidewalks were decorated with planters that overflowed with flowers, and old-style lamps had flickered on with the setting of the sun and now burned a yellowed glow.
I drove by shops, restaurants, and boutiques.
A couple hair salons and a new day spa, plus an old-timey hardware store and a renovated hotel.
The whole time I traveled, I could feel the weight of the single headlight of Ryder’s bike covering me in some kind of shield.
Satisfaction hummed in my being as I passed by Time River Market & Café, my restaurant and country store. There were some days I still couldn’t believe that I’d built it into what it was today.
A focal point of our community where locals and tourists alike flocked to meet. I was thankful I’d found people I could trust to help me run it, and tonight, the parking lot was packed to overflowing with our dinner guests.
None of it would have been possible without Ryder, and sometimes I still didn’t understand it. Couldn’t comprehend why he would offer me something so great and expect nothing in return.