Chapter 33: Nikki

"Why are you doing this?"

He stopped working and wiped his hands on a dish towel. His brown eyes searched my face in confusion. "You said you were hungry."

"No, not dinner. This thing...with me. Why are you doing it?"

Ryker popped a chunk of raw broccoli into his mouth and chewed before he answered. He was the only person I'd ever seen who could make food sexy. "I told you-"

"No bullshit. The real reason."

He swallowed, and his Adam's apple danced down his neck and back up. The tattoos expanded and then constricted; it was art in and of itself. The browns of his eyes swirled with golds and hints of green as his pupils pulsed and then dilated.

I expected some in-depth or detailed explanation for whatever had caused him to go protective alpha over a woman he didn't know.

He shrugged. "Not a clue."

I arched my brows, not believing his response.

Ryker stopped what he was doing and turned the burner down on the simmering sauce. It smelled divine. "The night of Chase's b