Page 121 of Face Off

“I can’t prepare for genetics.”

Ryan stopped abruptly and turned his back to me before crouching. “Get on.”

I stared at him. “Are you serious?”

“Do I look like I want to explain this twice?”

“You’re offering me a piggyback ride.”

“I’m offering to compensate for your defective stride. Get on, mami.”

Joy moved through me too quickly to hide. I climbed onto his back and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. Ryan caught me beneath my thighs, adjusting me higher until my chest pressed against him and my mouth rested beside his ear.

“This feels unnecessarily intimate,” I said.

“You spent last night pinned to your door with my dick holding you there. We passed intimate a while ago.”

“That was private.”

Ryan straightened and started running. “You’re the one who is proving something.”

My laughter broke across the lawn as he carried me toward the rose garden. People turned when we passed, and several of the Bennetts shouted accusations about illegal transportation. Ryan ignored all of them, his hands locked securely beneath my thighs while I held him in front of everyone.

I didn’t ask him to release me when the attention followed us and that mattered more than winning. I kissed the tattoo beneath his ear. Ryan’s stride faltered before his fingers tightened against my thighs.

“Keep doing that,” he warned, “and I’m dropping you in the first room with a lock.”

“That doesn’t sound like closure.”

“That’s because my dick isn’t emotionally intelligent.”

I laughed against his neck. “I missed you.”

The admission reached him. His shoulders tightened beneath my arms, but he didn’t put me down. “I know.”

It wasn’t the answer I wanted. It was still more than silence.

Ryan carried me around the eastern hedge toward an arched garden entrance carved with roses. Beneath it, an estate employee held a wooden heart and a stack of challenge cards.

He lowered me carefully but kept one hand beneath my thigh until both feet were secure beneath me.

“No other teams?” he asked.

“You’re the first.”

Ryan looked at me. “Say it.”

“Your interpretation was correct.”

“Louder.”

“I’d rather lose.”

The employee attempted to hide her smile as she handed Ryan the first wooden heart. An A had been burned into its center.

“You must complete the challenge before receiving your next clue,” she explained.

Ryan accepted the card. His mouth flattened as he read it.