“How can you marry another when you are promised to Marshall? You knew what was at stake. You have always known, and this is how you repay me. Well let me tell you young lady, I’m having none of it - you hear? You’re coming back with me and we are getting this marriage annulled. Marshall need never hear of it and you will have to act convincingly on your wedding night, otherwise we’ll end up with nothing.”
He stands and starts pacing, shouting as he does so. “Nothing, I tell you. All these years we had an arrangement, and you only had to do one thing. Marry Marshall and become his wife. You had to keep yourself for him and him alone but you had to become the whore you really are and lower your standards to give it up to this biker scum. You’re a disgrace and you are coming with me if I have to drag you home by your hair.”
I start to tremble as his anger hits me like a huge slap in the face.
Then Ryder brings his fist down on the desk and roars, “Enough!”
The whole room goes silent as Ryder glowers at him and says in a steely voice. “Sit down and shut up before we make you.”
My father sits down in total shock and if looks could kill, we would all be dead on the spot. Ryder takes my hand and looks at me with such love I almost can’t breathe. He says softly. “You ok, darlin’?”
I nod and he pushes me down to his seat and stands with his hand on my shoulder. Then he speaks in a calm, deadly, voice.
“Ashton is going nowhere unless she chooses to. She is over 21 and has every legal right to marry whoever she wants to without your consent. Secondly, any deal you made with your associate is your debt to pay, not hers. Maybe I should let you explain what brought you to make the deal in the first place. Maybe she would understand your need a lot more and who knows take pity on you.”
I watch my father turn ashen and he looks at me nervously. The sweat breaks out on his forehead and he stutters. “I don’t know what you mean?”
Ryder laughs softly. “Come on, daddy, we both know you have quite some tale to tell your daughter. Maybe you would like me to refresh your memory.”
I watch in fascination as my father shakes his head and looks as nervous as hell.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. There’s nothing to tell.”
He looks at me and his expression softens. “I’m sorry, Ashton. I’ve scared you. Please come home with me, baby girl. I’ve been frantic with worry and looked for you everywhere. I hired a private investigator who led me here to you. I love you. You are everything to me. I can’t lose you as well as your brother.”
Instantly, the alarm bells ring and I feel the blood rushing to my head. I whisper, “What do you mean; what’s happened to Tyler?”
He shakes his head and looks devastated. “I tried to save him, sugar. I did everything in my power but he wouldn’t listen.”
I feel the scream starting in my soul as I say wildly, “What happened, where is he?”
He fixes me with a blank look and says in a broken voice.
“He’s dead.”
34
Ashton
The light blinds me and I hear gentle whispers all around. I’m lying on something soft and somebody is stroking my hair away from my face. It feels comforting and sweet. Tyler! I knew he would come for me. Then it all comes back, and the pain hits me like a truck. The tears fall from my closed lids and a sound unlike any I have ever heard before wrenches from my soul.
Suddenly, I am pulled to a hard chest and strong arms fold around me as the deep husky voice of my husband soothes me with his words.
“It’s ok, Ashton. It’s Ryder. Your daddy’s gone and isn’t coming back.”
I say in a broken voice, “Tyler, Oh my god, Tyler!”
He whispers. “Tyler’s fine, Angel. Your daddy was wrong. Tyler isn’t dead.”
Just for a moment, his words don’t register and I blink and pull back. I say huskily, “What do you mean? He told me, Tyler is… dead.”
I struggle with the last word but Ryder kisses my tears away and whispers, “Tyler wants your father to think he is. I can’t say any more than that because he isn’t ready yet. He’s working on setting you both free, Angel. Just stay strong and everything will be ok.”
I sink back into his arms and just let my mind catch up. What just happened?
Later that night Ryder fills me in when I’m stronger.
As soon as I fainted Ryder sprang into action. Snake was ordered to remove my father and persuade him never to return. Bonnie followed Ryder who carried me home, and they waited until I came round.
I shiver as I remember the look in my father’s eye as he told me what had happened to Tyler. Ryder sits beside me and presses a brandy into my hand. “Drink up, darlin’ and I’ll tell you a story.”
He holds me close as he tells me the story I was never meant to hear.
“Years ago, before you were born your daddy had worked his way up in the oil company he worked for. He worked for Marshall Emmerson’s father and he soon drew the attention of the big man himself. Unlike his own son, your father had a knack for the business and was soon promoted over Marshall. This didn’t go down well and there was lots of trouble. Then one-day Marshall turned up with his new girlfriend. She was a real beauty and turned many heads, your fathers included. Marshall was a bit of a playboy and liked to play the field. Because of this, his father wanted him to settle down and provide the next generation. They were married in the biggest wedding Texas had ever seen. However, it didn’t take long for Marshall to revert back to his old ways and his wife left him. The trouble was, she left him for the man he hated the most—your father. Despite still being married to Marshall she soon became pregnant with your father’s baby. Tyler. The scandal hit the headlines and your father was sacked on the spot for bringing the company into disrepute. Alice stayed with him though and soon became pregnant with you. Your father had no contacts who would touch him for fear of the powerful Emmerson family and had to take what work he could. They were hard times, and it was only when Emmerson Senior died that things changed.”
I look at Ryder with an intensity I have never experienced before. This is powerful stuff. He has my past, present, and future in his hand and I almost stop breathing as the anticipation grows. He smiles reassuringly and carries on.
“Your daddy had begun to drink and grew depressed. It was hard on them as a family, to have so much and then nothing. Then one-day Marshall Emmerson came to visit. Tyler must have been 4 years old by then and you were just under 2. Marshall made a deal with your father. He would reinstate him at the oil company and set him up with his own division. To everyone else it would be your father’s company and he would reap the rewards as such. Marshall wasn’t the businessman your father was and recognized that if he carried on the way he was going, he would be left with nothing. Your father was desperate and had only one thing Marshall wanted in return—you.”
I catch my breath and feel the tears welling in my eyes. Ryder kisses my lips softly and squeezes me hard. “It’s ok, darlin’, it’s hard to hear but you need to know.”
He carries on in a low voice.
“You were to be kept for Marshall until you were 21 and then offered to him as his wife. You had to be a virgin, and it was only if both criteria were in place, Marshall would sign the contract making your father an equal partner with him. If not, he would be fired and left with nothing and nowhere to go. Nobody would touch him and he would be destroyed.”
I begin to shake and have to ask the question burning in my heart. “What happened to my mother?”
He shakes his head. “She wouldn’t agree to the deal. She wanted no part in it and threatened to take you far away where nobody knew you. She became a problem that needed solving and nothing was going to stand in the way of the two men’s dreams.”
I choke. “What happened to her?”
Ryder looks down. “They planted drugs on her and informed the authorities. They didn’t stop there. They discredited her among her friends and spread vicious rumo
rs about her sanity. Gradually, she was fed drugs into her food and she became addicted. Your father wasted no time in becoming the poor struggling husband and father who had tried everything. He had your mother committed to a sanitarium where she died of an overdose two years later.”
From nowhere the tears come. This is too much, too raw and too painful. I can’t remember my mother and yet it’s as if I have just lost her.
The sobs wrack my body as I cry for the woman who didn’t deserve what life dealt her. I am crying for the lost childhood and the two men who determined my fate while I was still in diapers. But most of all, I cry for the part of me that died today. The part that carried hope in her heart of finding my mother one day. The dream has been ripped from my future with the harsh brutality of knowledge.
It’s all gone.
The person I was and the person I aspired to be.
I am crying for the death of who I am and I need to mourn the past before I can build a better future with the man holding me so tenderly in his arms.
35
Ryder
Man, this had been the day from hell. Who knew it would all blow up so hard in our faces at the same time?
Ashton is sleeping and I’m taking comfort in the whiskey bottle—again. Cara came and took Cassie for a few days to give Ashton time to grieve for her mother.
I flick on the set and stare at a movie playing. I watch but don’t see. I should feel happy that everything worked out so well. But the moment I saw the pain in my Angel’s eyes it ate at my heart. Yes, I have everything I wanted but Ashton still has many questions to ask and answers to seek. I just hope that Tyler manages to set them both free because there’s still the threat of their father looming in the background.
The door opens and I look up in surprise. Ashton stands in the doorway looking like an Angel. Her hair is roughed up from sleep and her eyes tired and sleepy. She runs her fingers through her hair and her satin nightdress rises up and shows me what draws me to her like a magnet. Instantly, my cock hardens as it senses the prize in sight and I shift slightly.
Smiling, I pat the seat next to me.
“Come and sit with me, Angel.”
She shakes her head and I look at her with surprise. Then I watch the wicked spark ignite in her eyes and feel the anticipation growing. She holds my gaze and walks towards me slowly and carefully. She reaches down and pulls her clothes from her body and I suck in my breath. She is beautiful, sexy and all mine.
I lean back and drink in the heavenly sight before me. Her hips sway from side to side and she is drunk on desire.
She bites her lip, and it makes me lose my mind. Fuck me, she is perfect in every way.
As she reaches me she drops to her knees and fixes me with a sexy look and whispers softly. “Fuck me, Ryder. Like you’ve never fucked me before. I want it hot, dirty and hard.”
The blood rushes to every part of me at her words. Reaching out, I grasp her hair roughly and pull her face to mine. Then I punish those lips for daring to be so bold and I love every minute. I bite her bottom lip and suck it roughly, tasting and biting every part of that sexy little mouth. Then I pull back and say with a hard voice, “Stand up. Turn around and face the wall.”
I note the excitement in her eyes as she does as she’s told. Quickly, I shed my clothing and move behind her. I see her quivering in anticipation as I pull my belt from my jeans. I wrap it around my hand until the flat leather hangs a little way down.
I growl. “You want to feel the bite of my belt?”
I see her shaking with excitement as she whispers breathlessly, “Yes please.”
I gently kiss her shoulder and move down her body, licking and biting as I go. She groans as I hold her hands above her head with one of mine as I hold the belt in the other. Then I whisper, “Are you sure about this my Angel?”
She starts to pant. “I need it, Ryder. I need to drive the pain away with pleasure.”
I stand back and say softly. “You will feel the pain followed by pleasure. I’ll give it to you three times and if at any time you need me to stop, shout ‘red’.”
She nods and I run my fingers through her sex. She is dripping wet with need and I smile to myself. Who knew my little Angel was a perfect submissive just waiting to get out.
Well, who am I to deny her anything?
I slap the belt gently against her ass and she groans. “Harder.”
I flick it slightly harder and I hear the rush of air prior to the contact. She shakes and moans louder. My cock is rock hard as I rub her ass softly. She says in desperation. “Harder, please. I need it hard.”
I flick the belt again and this time the smack electrifies the air. She screams as the pain hits and I see the red mark appear on her white cheeks. Once again, I lower my head and kiss the pain away. Then I dip my finger inside and taste the desire for myself. Fuck this is so hot.
I growl, “Do you want me to take this fine ass of yours, Angel?”
She nods, her knees shaking. “Fuck me hard, Ryder. Fuck my ass until I can’t see straight.”
I run my cock through her sex coating it with her arousal. Then I prepare to do what I’ve dreamed of doing to her fine ass since it waved at me across the yard. I whisper, “You sure, darlin’?”
She screams. “Please, Ryder! Please, I need to feel you take the one part of me left to give.”
Then I savor the moment as I thrust inside her tight ass and suck my breath in, sharply. I groan, “Fuck me, that feels so good. You’re so tight, Angel.”
She groans and her gasp of pain is followed by the evidence of her arousal. I play with her clit as I thrust inside her from behind. Hard and fast against the wall in the den with my wife spread out before me like the finest feast. We move together like a well-oiled machine. She groans with ecstasy as I fill her completely.
I see nothing but her.
I feel nothing but her.
I want nothing but her.
Ashton is my world and I would kill to put a smile on her face. Tonight, is the start of something bigger than both of us. It’s the start of our future and whatever it brings we will deal with it together—as a family.
36
Three Months later
Ryder
Snake passes me a beer and we watch our women chatting near the bar. Their laughter wafts across the room towards us and I grin. Snake shakes his head. “You’re a changed man, Boss.”
I shrug. “Not really. I’ve always been like this, it just needed the love of a good woman to bring it out.”
Brewer grins. “It happens to us all.”
Rock laughs. “It’s funny, but until you have it you don’t realize what you’ve been missing out on. Take Flash over there. Still sticking it in every whore going and thinking nothing could ever be so good.”
I look over and see Flash pushed up against one of the whores in the corner. He doesn’t care who watches either. She won’t be his first tonight, that’s a given.
Then I look at Ashton and my heart soars. She’s sitting chatting to the other old ladies and her eyes are shining with excitement. She catches my eye and I watch those eyes change to something else. The lust in them calls to me and I shift off my seat and am drawn to her like a lackey. The guys laugh as I push past them to claim my prize.
Lou laughs as she sees the purpose in my eyes. “Oh, not again you two. This is becoming old.”
Ashton grins as I reach for her. I pull her from her seat and push her hard against the bar. Then I kiss that mouth like it’s been begging me to all night. She runs her fingers through my hair and gives back as good as she gets. Fuck this, we thought we may make at least an hour here tonight, but as I take her hand I know we have made just twenty minutes.
The others laugh as we make to leave but the sound of the doorbell shatters the moment. Someone’s here and they’re not expected.
Pulling back, I see the guys spring to life. Snake moves with purpose towards the door and everyone takes their positions. The girls sit back down and l
ook with interest as Snake leads a familiar face back into the room.
Ashton springs forward with a welcoming smile on her face which drops as she sees the face of her friend, Jennifer.
“What’s happened?”
Jennifer is not alone. She’s holding her daughter tightly as the tears flow down her face.
“I’m sorry. I had nowhere else to go. Greyson came back and threatened to take Imogen. He told me he was coming with a court order tomorrow to take her back with him to France. I can’t let him take my baby girl, Ashton. I just can’t.”
She starts to cry and Ashton looks at me with alarm. I nod at her and say softly.
“It’s ok, darlin’, you did the right thing. Ashton and Bonnie will show you to a set of rooms you can stay in. We’ll sort it all out, don’t you worry.”
Ashton smiles at me gratefully and I watch as they pull Jennifer and Imogen from the room. Snake comes and stands beside me.
“Another broken Angel to re-build.”
I nod. “So, it would seem. I wonder if her husband knows what he’s about to take on.”
Snake laughs. “They never do.”
We walk back towards the bar and grab a couple of stools. Lou hands us both a beer and Snake looks thoughtful. “Whatever happened to Kitty? Have you heard anything?”
I nod. “Only today as it happens. Let’s just say mission accomplished. The shit will be hitting the fan around lunchtime tomorrow.”
Snake grins. “And what about Kitty? Is she expected back?”
Shaking my head, I smile softly. “No Kitty has found a much better proposition. Let’s just say, this was her parting gift to the Reapers. She didn’t want to return here under her old terms. She’s realized that she wants more than we could give her and is spreading her wings with no hard feelings.”
Snake looks thoughtful.
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