Endless

Danger | Aleria

Ryan took my hand as we rode the taxi home, sitting close between bags overflowing with "necessities" he'd bought me. I liked the feel of his touch. Soft and gentle, but strong for all that. I smiled, avoiding his eyes by keeping my attention on the faint scar on his hand. I lightly traced my finger over the crescent.

"Thank you," I said, finally gathering the nerve I needed to meet his gaze. "I had a wonderful time."

His beautiful mouth quirked up, and his eyes shone. "So did I. I've never laughed so much in my life."

"Oh, I doubt that," I said. "Old creature you are."

He chuckled. "Yeah, well. My years on earth haven't really been a comedy." He sobered, pulling back, but I didn't want him to. Before I really thought about it, I reached my free hand up to his chin, turning toward him more. He stiffened, but closed his eyes with a soft sigh as if soaking in the feel of my touch.

Ryan tilted his head and peeked at me through his long, dark lashes. "Nothing to be sympathetic about," he said. "You've had a challenging life too."

Not like I knew anything about that. I offered him a vague shrug, trying to ignore the twinge in my heart. "Tell me more about yours."

"Not much to tell. My dad expected me to keep doing work I no longer liked. My life grew empty until I met that girl I mentioned. She taught me I was more than what I thought I was, so I left and never looked back."

I would have asked more questions, but he turned his head and kissed the inside of my wrist as if he'd done it a million times before.

A tiny but intense thrill shot through me. My breath hitched and he lifted an inquiring eyebrow. I caressed my fingers over his jaw, coarse from afternoon stubble. We met each other's gaze, trapped each other. His eyes darkened to the gray-green of a stormy sea and, for a breathless moment, I thought he wanted to kiss me. I wanted him to.

The taxi came to a halt, breaking the spell. I glanced out to see we had arrived at Ryan's place.

Ryan released my hand and got out. He summoned the porter while I collected some of my shopping bags. I did my best to deal with my disappointment. Try as I might to rationalize away the moment we'd had, I knew it was there. I also knew it was as significant to Ryan as it was to me. He ducked in and paid the cabbie, keeping his gaze averted. What was he hiding? I frowned and got out after him.

Ryan, the porter, and I trooped into the building, lugging the shopping with us.

"There's an FBI agent waiting to see you, sir," the porter said.

Ryan tensed. "Agent Parker?"

"Yes, sir."

"I expected him to return," he said, but the hard edge to his voice belied his words. "You can bring up the bags later."

"Very good, sir."

Ryan dropped his bags right there and went to the lift, leaving me standing in the lobby. After all the little touches and laughter, this felt like an ice cube to the back of my neck. Was he angry at me because Nick was here? No, that would be stupid. This had to be about the old rivalry going on between them. The one they thought I didn't notice.

I set down my bags and followed Ryan, arriving just as the lift opened. We got in and he punched his finger into the top floor's button. He looked over at me when the doors closed.

"Have you remembered him?"

His coldness stung. Maybe it was me he was angry at. I edged away from him. Standing close to him didn't feel right anymore. "Nick?"