Page 53 of Deserving Ryleigh
He’d have to go slow. For both their sakes. Prove to her that his assholery of the past was just that—in the past. That she could trust him with no reservations. More importantly, prove that he trustedherthe same way.
With that thought, Tiny closed his eyes, a lightness he hadn’t felt in years settling over him. He’d seen therapists, talked about his trust issues, about the things he’d seen and done as a SEAL, and yet, he’d never felt any different afterward. He’d remained the same messed-up guy he’d been before therapy. But now he felt a shift inside himself. As if he’d finally let go of the bitterness, the anger he’d held on to for so long.
Sleep came fast, for once. And it was a deep, healing sleep. Ryleigh in his arms, against his heart, was what he’d needed for years. Now that he had her, he wasn’t letting anyone, including her asshole father, take what he’d waited for his entire life.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Ry was shocked when she’d woken up in Tiny’s arms that morning. Knowing what his ex had done, and the fact he hadn’t shared sleeping quarters with a woman since, she’d thought he would’ve woken her up and made her go to her room.
Instead, he’d stayed on the couch and held her all night long. And it felt incredible. Better than anything she could’ve imagined. Since she’d never slept with a man—or woman, for that matter—she’d expected it to be uncomfortable. But she hadn’t woken up once during the night, like she usually did.
And when he’d finally opened his eyes, she’d expectedhimto be upset that they’d slept in each other’s arms, but he’d simply kissed her forehead, mumbled something about his awful morning breath, and shifted out from under her, heading to his room.
She’d done the same, and when they’d met in the kitchen after showering, things had been better than normal between them. Ry wasn’t sure what happened lastnight, but Tiny seemed even more different than he’d been lately—and that was saying something. All morning, he was way more affectionate. Touched her frequently…running a hand along her arm, touching her back, sitting closer at the table as they ate breakfast. And she couldn’t say she hated it.
Tiny was going up to the lodge for his weekly owners meeting, and she was going to do her usual scan of the dark web, looking for more of her father’s shenanigans. They planned to meet later for lunch up at the lodge.
They’d put their breakfast dishes away, and Ry was just about to sit at the table again and get to work when Tiny stopped her. He pulled her into his arms, and she looked up at him in surprise. Her hands rested on his chest, and she had to force herself not to caress him. The more she was around this man, the more curious she got about sex. It was a surprising feeling, because she’d never been concerned about it before. Hadn’t really allowed herself to think about it. But now that Tiny wasn’t glaring at her suspiciously anymore, and after that amazing kiss they’d shared, she couldn’t seem to think about anything else.
“Is it okay if I talk to the guys about your father? About what happened yesterday, with the money you pilfered from his account and him reaching out?”
She nodded immediately. “Yes.”
“You don’t feel weird about taking his money?”
“Well, yeah. It’s stealing, even if he took it from someone else in the first place. I don’t want anyone to think I’d ever do anything like that to them. Take their money, that is.”
“They don’t think that,” he told her.
Ry wasn’t so sure, but Tiny knew the others better thanshe did. Besides, hadn’t she decided she was done hiding who she was? She’d done what she’d thought was necessary because her dad was ignoring her messages—and because he’d messed with Cora and Pipe. Screwing with Tonka’s insurance was bad enough. Yesterday, he’d made things much more personal than they already were. And after learning about Jasna’s grades, she felt evenlessguilty about taking the money.
“Okay,” she said belatedly.
“He’s escalating,” Tiny said.
It wasn’t anything Ry hadn’t already thought. “Yeah.”
“We need to step things up. See if we can track him down. Turn him in. Can I talk to Tex?”
“I already have,” Ry admitted with a slight wince.
“You have?”
“Yeah. He’s really good, and I thought maybe he might’ve thought of some way to find him that I haven’t.”
“And has he?” he asked.
“No.”
For some reason, Tiny chuckled.
“What? Is that funny?”
“Kind of.”
“Why?” she demanded.
“Because you thought Tex might know something you don’t. Honey, you’re way out of his league. He even said as much.”
