Aria's POV
I fell silent. Images from the previous night resurfaced: me attacking him, throwing open the suite door, leaving him standing naked in front of an entire hallway. Heat crept into my face.
"I may have... handled our first meeting badly."
Noah raised an eyebrow. "You met him already? What exactly happened?"
"Nothing worth discussing," I said quickly.
Lydia burst into laughter. Nothing? We nearly strangled him before humiliating him in front of dozens of people.
You are not helping.
Noah could tell I was hiding something. He sighed. "I've never seen you look guilty."
"I'm not guilty. Just... slightly regretful."
Maybe Ryder hadn't deserved quite everything I'd done to him. Maybe. But if getting close to him was the only way to uncover the man protecting Claudia, then I ha
