The Rider List: An Erotic Romance Read Online Free

sometimes.”
    I look down, not wanting to show how badly I wish I could leave, even for a few days.
    “What would you be getting away from?” he asks.
    “Another long story. What about you?”
    “Work.”
    “What do you do?” I ask him.
    His answer comes quickly, no hesitation: “Nothing right now. And that’s exactly what I want to be doing. I’m taking a little break.” He’s unpacking one of the bags, placing some of the fruit that doesn’t need rinsing in a bowl, some in the refrigerator.
    I’m standing here with my hands on the counter, not sure what to do with them, so I keep running them along the smooth countertop like I’m nervous or something, which I’m not. It’s the first time I’ve noticed the decoration hanging on the wall next to this counter. It’s seashells, glued together to make a sea turtle. Like a child, I reach up to touch it, and feel how delicate it is.
    “I’d rather not talk about work,” he’s saying, and I snap out of my distraction.
    “Sorry.”
    “No, I brought it up.” And just as quickly, he changes the subject. “Anything I shouldn’t miss while I’m here?”
    I rattle off a few things: historical sites, theaters downtown, museums. But he stops me.
    “Those are in the brochure,” he says, looking at me now. “I mean, what do you recommend? What do you like to do?”
    I move around to the other side of the counter, out of the kitchen, on the den side. He hasn’t exactly made me uncomfortable, but the move is reflexive, like I’m placing a barrier between us as he asks me about my private life.
    “I, uh…well, honestly, I don’t have much of a social life these days.”
    He stops what he’s doing and looks directly at me. “Why’s that?”
    Jesus. I don’t really want to get into this, but I also don’t want to be rude to a guest. “When I’m not working, I watch my younger sister. My mom’s a nurse and works the night shift.” That should be enough to satisfy his question.
    “You don’t have any free time? That’s not good.”
    “I have some. Two nights, but that’s all, really.”
    I reach into my pocket for my phone. I haven’t heard any alerts, but I need something else to focus on for a moment.
    There’s something in the way he looks at me that makes me feel something I’ve never felt before. It’s the same as it was earlier today—he’s not shy about blatantly looking at my body—but now it’s like I can feel his eyes on me. It’s like his stare is something physical making contact with me.
    Adam walks across the huge kitchen toward me, the counter between us. “Something to drink?”
    “No, thanks.” I look back down at my phone, but watch him out of the corner of my eye as he starts opening cabinets. He finds glasses behind the second door, goes to the refrigerator and takes out the bottle of blueberry-pomegranate juice.
    He’s filling the glass when he asks, “Do you date?”
    Too personal. “I’m sorry?” I look up from my phone.
    He walks back over to the counter. “Do you date? Boyfriend?”
    God, he’s direct. Comfortably and coolly blunt, like he has a right to hear the answer. Is this really happening? He’s either coming on to me, or he’s really lonely and bored. Maybe both. Whatever the case, I’m starting to feel like I should leave.
    I’m not overreacting; I’m not about to say he’s being inappropriate; it’s just that I like to keep my private life to myself, for one thing, and in addition to that, I don’t want to get too cozy with a guest. Especially this one—an attractive, wealthy man staying here by himself…I can only imagine how easily I could find myself entangled in what appears to be something inappropriate.
    Thankfully, my phone rings. I look at the screen and see that it’s Jim.
    “Sorry,” I say to him, as I make my way to the front door. “It’s the office. I have to run.”
     
    . . . . .
     
    Just before I leave work for the day, Jeanine arrives and I tell her about meeting