Ollie put his plastic fork down. “Then, yeah, let’s go!”

This time, Ryder and I held hands as we jumped across from Ollie, giving him some space.

As I bounced hand in hand with this beautiful man next to me, I felt on top of the world.***After I put Ollie to sleep that night, I invited Ryder into my room. It was the first time he’d been inside the place where I worked.

He looked around. “So this is the infamous Montana Lane set.”

“Yup.” I sighed, kind of nervous for him to see everything. “This is it.”

“It’s smaller than it looks from afar.”

I turned on the white Christmas lights. “Yeah…”

“It feels strange being in here, but in a good way,” he said. “This room has been like a dream to me for so long.”

He continued scoping out the space. His eyes landed on a bottle of lube sitting on my bureau. I knew what he was thinking, and I hated that it bothered him. I also couldn’t help but notice the sizable bulge in his pants. He was very turned on right now.

This was the first time we’d ever been alone together while Ollie was asleep. I wanted Ryder so badly my body hurt. I wanted to feel his lips everywhere, wanted to feel his cock moving in and out of me. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that if he tried to have sex with me tonight, I would give in. Resisting that would be impossible—not only because I hadn’t had sex with anything other than a dildo in two years, but because I’d never wanted a man like I wanted him. Given that I couldn’t resist him, a part of me hoped he didn’t try. That would be best for me in the long run—especially if he got back to Los Angeles and came to his senses.

He then spotted my box of condoms.

Shit.

Would he think I was lying about my dry spell? The truth about those rubbers was almost too ridiculous to believe.

Ryder lifted the strip and raised his brow. “Just in case?”

“Actually, I have a client who…likes to watch me roll them onto bananas.”

“Are you fucking serious?”

“Dead serious. And that’s far from the weirdest thing people have asked me to do.”

“What the fuck is wrong with people? A banana?” He wrapped his hands around me and pulled me into a hug. “At least go for an eggplant.”

I laughed into his neck, relieved he was making light of it.

“My beautiful cam girl.” He pulled back to look at me before enveloping my mouth in his.

My legs felt weak as I whispered over his lips, “I’m real.”

“You’re realer than I ever could have imagined.”

My heart pounded through my chest.

He suddenly moved back and placed his palm between my breasts. “God, Eden. Your heart is beating so fast. Are you nervous?”

I decided to be honest with him. “A little.”

“You think I’m gonna try to have sex with you right now? Is that what it is? Because we should really talk about that. I’m not gonna pressure you into anything. You’re not ready. I know that.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to—just the opposite. I’m just really scared to take that step…with you leaving.”

“I get it. I think we’ll both know when the time is right. So, take a deep breath and know that I just want to spend time with you. You don’t have to worry about us doing something we may not be ready for tonight. I just want to be with you.”

A mix of relief and disappointment ran through me as I took it upon myself to steal another kiss. There was no other feeling like his warm, supple lips on mine along with the prickle from the scruff on his chin.

Ryder wandered the room again and began picking up some of my props. We got a good laugh when he placed the feather boa around his neck. He flashed me a wicked grin, and I wanted to jump him.

The mood lightened significantly over the course of the next half hour.

He picked up my violin and handed it to me. I played for him as he sat with his eyes closed and took in every note of “Fanfare Minuet.”

At one point, he found a pair of handcuffs I had laying around—another prop. Before I could stop him, he opened them and locked one of his hands to the bedpost.

“No!” I shouted, but it was too late.

“I’m just kidding around.” He laughed.

“But I don’t have the keys!”

His smile faded. “What?”

“I have no idea what I did with them.”

“Are you serious?”

We laughed so hard we were crying.

“Well, I guess I’m stuck here for the night, then.”

I lay down next to him. “Actually, I didn’t want you to leave anyway.”

“Is that right?” His tone was suggestive.

“I was hoping you’d stay the night.”

“So this all worked out, my being tied to the bed. Is that what you’re saying?”