Episode 526: You Want Me To

He rose up on his feet, slammed the door, and turned to her, emotion taking his voice all over the map. "I can’t kiss you, but I can sleep with you. What the hell is that?"

He brought his mouth closer to hers; hoping to tempt her, convince her she was wrong. "You really think that little of yourself? All because of your parents. You honestly believe you don’t deserve to be kissed. You’re only worth a cheap night. Hell. Maybe I am to blame too." He was baiting her. Mostly. "I set the precedent for this. That’s all your first time was."

"No," Adria said, looking and sounding horrified, more importantly reaching out, touching him. "You’re not like that. Don’t say such terrible things. You are the best man I know. It wasn’t like that. Even when you didn’t know my name, you loved me, you made me feel loved."

"Exactly! So let me-"

She backed away from him. He caught her hand. Held it tight.

"Why are we talking about this?" She demanded. "I didn’t open the door for this. I shouldn’t have opened the door. You need to go home, Ryley."

"Not without my wife."

She slammed her eyes shut. "You need to stop calling me that. Thinking of me as that."

"Never." He’d never loved anyone as much as he loved her, and he never would. "You need me to call you my wife. You need me to tell you that you’re worth so much more than you’re giving yourself credit for. That I was a lucky man the night I met you."

Adria’s head bowed. "I need you to either leave, or sleep in here where I don’t have to worry about you."

Okay. It wasn’t an invitation to naked, but he had both feet in the door now, one step closer to taking her home.

Episode 527: Bed Of Roses