The Barrier Between (Collector Series # 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

the
room quickly. My heart thumped as the handle of the door twisted.
It was locked, but if someone wanted in, they would find a way.
    My eyes landed on my choice of weapon. I ripped the
cord from the wall, plucking off the lampshade. It was heavy and
made of a cheap metal. It wasn’t the best, but it would have to
do.
    Thud.
    I tiptoed toward the door, the lamp in one hand.
Rising up on my toes, I peered through the peephole. An eyeball
stared back into mine. A garbled cry broke from my mouth, and I
scrambled away from the door, tripping over myself.
    “Leeett mee inn,” a voice slurred out. “Soey... lettt
mmmee inn.” A knock rattled the door, then the sound of fabric
sliding against the wood frame.
    “Ryker?” I inched back toward the door.
    “Swoey?” A childlike chuckle followed my distorted
name.
    My hand went to my chest, feeling the panic ebb from
my muscles. “Fuck, Ryker.” I plopped the lamp on the table and went
over and unlocked the door. “You scared me.”
    As the door swung open, half of Ryker’s body fell
into the room. He lay on the floor, giggling. I gaped at him.
Normally, I would never put giggling and Ryker in the same
sentence.
    “Wow. You are drunk.”
    A huge smile engulfed his face, making him appear
younger. “I. Am.”
    I couldn’t stop the amused smile tugging at my own
lips. Red nosed and cheeked, chuckling like a schoolboy, he was
adorable. And he made it impossible to be mad at him. I wanted to
crawl on him and curl up on his chest like a kitten.
    “Come on, let’s get you to bed.” I squatted, grabbing
his arms.
    “Will you be there?” he slurred.
    “Since it’s where I sleep, I’m going to go with
yes.”
    “Then we should have sex,” Ryker mumbled as I helped
him sit up.
    “What?”
    He blinked. “What?”
    “What did you say?”
    “Huh?” His attention already on something else. I
sighed and pulled on his arms, trying to get him to his feet.
    “Come on.” I draped his arm over my shoulder.
    He stopped and turned to me, grabbing my arms. “I was
mad, b-but you were right.” He licked his lips, focusing on staying
vertical. “I tell you something...” He stumbled over to the table,
holding himself up.
    “What?” I encouraged.
    “It hit me...” But his attention fluttered away, his
thought drifting off.
    “What?” I was going to strangle him.
    “I need sleep.” Ryker moved past me and crashed onto
the bed fully clothed. It was only a moment before his snores
matched Sprig’s.
    Awesome.
    His face turned toward me, his cheeks ruddy with
drink. His large muscular arms grabbed for a pillow, tucking it
under his head. The fabric strained against the bulging masses. His
tall body stretched on the comforter, his feet slightly hanging
over the end of the bed. His pert ass, which taunted me from day
one, curved so shapely under his pants it was hard not to pet
it.
    Damn you, Wanderer, and your perky behind.
    Shaking my head, I walked to the end of the bed,
unlacing his boots. After several times trying to remove them, I
finally straddled his leg and yanked. The first boot slipped off,
and I braced for the smell of stinky feet, but only a sweet, woodsy
smell wafted up my nose.
    “Seriously?” I stuck the boot to my face. “You fae
don’t even have the decency to have smelly feet? Come on, there’s
got to be something wrong with you.” This was bordering on insult.
I knew after a month of running, sweating, and continual wear, my
boots reeked. But not Ryker; his smelled like Keebler cookies.
    I stepped over his other leg. This boot took more
effort, but finally it began to slide off. My finger fumbled with
the weight of the shoe, and it fell to the floor. A muted thud
reverberated off the rug. The boot was a lot heavier than the
other.
    “What the hell?” I bent, my knees hitting the small
rug. I picked up the boot, feeling its mass.
    The boot looked like an ordinary biker boot, but
something niggled at my intuition, suggesting there might be more
to