Never Tied Down (The Never Duet #2)(19)

His hair was still dark, styled a little differently, shorter on the sides but longer on top. He wore a black fitted t-shirt, tight in all the right places, all of which my eyes found. He had on faded jeans with a police badge clipped to the belt. Obviously, he was in costume.

“Hi,” I said when my eyes were finally done taking him in. I couldn’t move, couldn’t find the way to make my brain communicate with my body, which was probably good. I wanted to run to him, run my hands over him, press myself into him, and take everything from him I’d been missing for so long.

“Hey,” he said with a lopsided grin. “You get my note?”

“Yeah,” I said, a smile finally sprouting, taking root, lighting me up.

“Good.”

I startled when I heard, “Riot Bentley, Leah McCann, call to set B, three minutes.”

“Shit,” he murmured, but then he moved and was right in front of me, hands on either side of my neck. “I’ve got to go. I’m filming a scene. Can you wait? It might be a while.”

I looked at the clock above the door and determined I had nowhere to be. I was technically done for the day and didn’t need to be in the studio. I had my laptop and I could work in his dressing room.

“I can wait.” His eyes lit up at my words and then they drifted down to my lips. My breath caught and his hands tightened just slightly, making my eyelids flutter. He couldn’t kiss me right now; it was too soon. But knowing he was thinking about it, well, that was amazing. “Can I work here? Do you mind?”

“No,” he said, giving me one last gentle squeeze then moving away. “Make yourself at home. Do you need anything?”

I needed so much. But I managed a simple, “No, I’m good.”

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“I’ll be here.”

He gave me one last smile and then turned and left.

“Holy crap,” I mumbled to myself, willing my heart to stop beating so quickly. I rubbed my hands together, realizing they were clammy. He made me nervous. God, he looked good. Even better than I remembered, and I had a damn good memory. I turned and sat on the couch, hardly stopping my body from flopping down, my bag falling next to me. My head leaned back and I was looking at the ceiling, wondering if I’d made the right decision. My heart really wanted to see Riot—it had quite nearly leapt right out of my chest at just the sight of him. But my mind, now that the image of him was gone from right in front of me, was warring with my heart.

I took out my phone and sent a text to Ella.

**I’m in Riot’s dressing room. **

I bit my bottom lip, running it through my teeth, waiting for her reply. Just as I knew it would, her reply came in just seconds.

**What?! What happened? Are you horizontal?**

**No, I’m not horizontal. I just worked up enough nerve to see him, so I went and found him. But he’s working, so I’m waiting in his dressing room. **

**And then what? **

**I don’t know. I’m hoping you can convince me to stay. The longer I sit here by myself, the stronger the urge to run gets. **

**Don’t you dare run, Kalli. No more running. Give him a chance. You both deserve it. **

I sighed because I knew she was right. I also grinned because I knew I could count on her to help alleviate some of the uncertainty. So, instead of stewing and worrying about what might come when he walked through that door again, I pulled out my laptop and started working. I needed something really specific for a scene we would be shooting in a few weeks, and I hadn’t managed to find it yet, so I was on the hunt.

Forty-five minutes later, I looked up from my screen when I heard footsteps enter.

There he was. Just as beautiful as he’d been earlier that day, still smiling.

“I was worried you’d leave.”

“I almost did,” I admitted, smiling. “Ella talked me down, told me to stay.”

“I always liked her,” he said softly.

“I think the feeling is mutual.”

“Have you had dinner yet? Can I take you?”

I felt relief at his words. I needed to get out of this small confined space. A public dinner was a good idea.

“That sounds great.”

He came farther into the room and closed the door behind him, then walked to his armoire and before I realized what was happening, he’d pulled his t-shirt up and over his head and I was left looking at the incredibly muscled back I could so vividly remember running my hands over. My mouth gaped and my eyes worked quickly to take him all in before the sight was taken from me. Just as quickly as he’d removed his shirt, he pulled another one on, and I made a silent plea to the ex-boyfriend gods that he’d leave his pants on. Thankfully, he bent and slipped off his shoes, exchanging them for the Converse I’d seen on the floor earlier, then removed his fake badge and left it on the counter of his vanity. Then he turned to me.

“Ready?”

“Sure,” I said, closing the lid to my laptop and shoving it in my bag. I stood and followed him out of the building, walking straight to his truck. He opened the door for me and I smiled at him as I slid in, letting him close the door behind me. I took a deep breath as he rounded the bed, trying to calm my nerves.

Once it was started and we were on the move, I was able to relax a little.

“So, you got my note.” He said it like a statement, only the tone of his voice indicating he wanted me to elaborate.