Along for the Ride Read Online Free Page A

cookie. ‘It is here to be eaten.’ He shoved the rest of it in his mouth, still laughing.
    ‘I’ll remember that,’ Ryan warned, though in truth he wasn’t hungry for anything too sugary.
    ‘So sue me.’ Diederick shrugged. ‘My parents can well afford to pay you.’
    ‘Don’t play poor little, pretty rich-boy with me,’ Ryan said. ‘I know you have your own money.’
    ‘You like this?’ Diederick held out his arms to the side, showing off his tight black crewneck sweater as he swayed one way and then the other. ‘I am pretty, aren’t I? You like that, don’t you? Come on, it’s OK. I won’t tell Margie you’re having sinful thoughts about me.’
    ‘Oh, yeah,’ Ryan replied very sarcastically. ‘If I was a chick, I’d do you.’
    ‘Sorry, buddy,’ the man said, dismissing him. ‘I love the chatz .’
    ‘I’m sure you do,’ Ryan drawled, pushing open his door then stepping inside.
    ‘It means ladies,’ Diederick yelled.
    ‘Whatever you need to tell yourself.’ Ryan shut the door, chuckling.
    Even though his apartment was empty, it was comforting knowing that the others were in his building. Still, there was a nagging ache as he walked across the wooden slats of his floor. Faint, yet always there, it wound through him from his chest, a dull constant reminder of the life he didn’t have. It started the day his parents died and remained with him. He wanted the feeling of family back. He wanted noise in the house.
    Seeing Megan’s picture on his worn coffee table, lying in a stack of artistic photos he’d left there, he frowned. Automatically, he looked towards his bedroom door where another one would be on his nightstand. Maybe it was obsession. But Kat assured him he wasn’t overstepping any bounds and, in fact, she wanted him to do more, to be bolder, to risk it all.
    ‘Are you worth it?’ he asked, walking towards the bedroom. As he pushed open the door, his eyes glanced over his small plaid-covered bed towards the photo he’d spent many nights fantasising over. ‘Or am I just crazy for trying?’
    Ryan moved through to the bathroom adjoining his room. Though it was small, he kept the place clean. Well, he did on most days. He gave a small laugh as he kicked a dirty T-shirt across the black and white tiled floor, out of his way.
    Turning a couple of knobs, he started the shower. It would take a few minutes for it to heat up. The clawfoot tub was deep and set high off the floor. Though it looked old, it wasn’t, having been crafted out of acrylic instead of cast iron. Three shower curtains hung from the ceiling along an oval ring. They overlapped, but still allowed threads of cold air in when he showered.
    Exhausted, he stripped off his clothes, leaving them bunched on the floor. Lukewarm water hit his flesh and he jerked the curtain shut. He grabbed the shampoo and squirted it directly on his head, lathering with one hand as he blindly set the bottle down. He missed the shelf and the bottle fell by his feet.
    The water heated, hitting hard against his chest and stomach. Ryan turned and a few remaining trails of shampoo suds slid over his flesh. The light caress of them tickled, drawing his mind down towards his heavy erection. After lathering the liquid soap between his hands, he ran them instantly to his cock, soaping the length and massaging it. He’d not been on a date since snapping that first picture of Megan and it didn’t take much to romance his body to full arousal.
    The feel of his fist left him wanting. There was something to be said for the soft flesh of a woman against his, the contact, the sound of her voice. Megan’s voice.
    ‘Megan,’ he whispered, taking himself in both hands, weaving his fingers over the hard length as he longed for her to do. He twisted and pumped in a fast steady rhythm with the image of dark lovely eyes in his head.
    Her full lips would be so commanding, just like her personality. She’d be the kind of woman to take charge and Ryan longed