“It did. Maybe later I’ll go find a bobby pin and try to free you. But for now, I kind of like this situation.”

He batted his lashes. “Feel free to take advantage of my vulnerability.”

He even had beautiful eyelashes.

God, losing you is not going to be easy.

“Don’t tempt me,” I said before leaning in and taking another kiss.

Ryder lay down, his hand still locked in. I curled into him. Lying in his arms—or arm—was heaven.

We talked for a long while and laughed as he told me stories about some of the actors who’d starred in his father’s movies. He spoke a little about his quirky friend, Benny, who sometimes repeats whatever the person he’s talking to is saying before he answers.

I told him more about my mom, how it was just the two of us for so many years until she met Javier, a young guy from Costa Rica who’d traveled here to study abroad. After he went back home, my mother found out she was pregnant. Ollie came along, and life was never the same.

I also opened up to him about the day my mother was killed. Mom was hit head-on one night on the way home from work. Up until now, I’d never really divulged any of the specific details.

The fact that we’d both lost our mothers was definitely something that bonded us. But Ryder had a father in the picture, whereas mine had never been around. My mother had been a super-talented musician, artistic and beautiful, but when it came to men, her judgment definitely left something to be desired.

“There’s something I don’t think I ever mentioned about my mother,” Ryder said. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it ever since I met Ollie.”

“Ollie? Why?”

“She died from ocular melanoma. It’s a tumor that forms in the pigment cells that give color to your eyes. It’s a very rare eye cancer. My mother actually went blind in one eye.”

I covered my mouth. “Oh my God.”

“Yeah. When I first met Ollie and found out he was blind, as you can imagine, I thought of my mother. And then I thought back to the song you were singing when we first met. That connection.”

“That’s eerie, Ryder. But beautiful at the same time.”

“I know. I’ve always felt like I was meant to meet you, Eden. But never more than now.” He stared into my eyes for a while. “Can I ask you to look for a bobby pin so I can free this hand? I really want to wrap both my arms around you.”

I smacked my forehead. “Yes! Of course.” I’d totally forgotten he was stuck to the bed.

After fifteen minutes of fiddling with the cuffs, I was finally able to get them off of him.

As I released him, I thought about the irony of letting him go; I really had to learn how not to get attached to this man.CHAPTER FOURTEEN* * *RYDERMy last night in Utah came faster than I was ready for.

I’d managed not to screw up and lose control with Eden thus far. But this was the last time we’d be together for a while. It would be a miracle if I could maintain my resistance.

I knew she needed to see whether this could work before taking the next step with me. I couldn’t blame her, nor could I guarantee her anything at this point. I didn’t know exactly how we were going to make this work. I only knew I wanted to try.

I’d ditched the hotel since the night I accidentally handcuffed myself to Eden’s bed. That next day, she decided to take the rest of the week off from camming until I left, which was a huge deal. I tried to convince her it was perfectly okay to continue working while I was here, but after we bonded in her bedroom that night, she vowed to focus on me until I had to go back to California. Even though I didn’t want her business to suffer, that meant a lot.

We spent the entire Saturday, my last full day, with Ollie, taking him to this sound exhibit at the Science Museum and watching—or rather listening—to a movie. Then Eden made the most amazing lasagna, and she, Ollie, and I sat around at the table for a while after dinner.

The mood had definitely been somber while we ate. The plan was for the three of us to hang out tomorrow at the house and have a lazy Sunday morning before I had to catch my flight back to California. The thought of leaving made my chest hurt.

Eden and I had just tucked Ollie in and were settled into her room for the night. I’d poured two glasses of wine, and she put on some soft music. It might have been romantic, aside from the fact that all I could think about was sticking my head between her legs and giving her the best orgasm of her life. It was all I wanted to do. I’d been on my best behavior this entire trip, but man, in the eleventh hour when I knew I was leaving tomorrow, all I could think about was burying my face in her pussy. I really didn’t want to be good anymore.