As she broke away from me and was walking toward the door, I laughed at her. “You really think it’s that easy to get your way with me, Everleigh?”
She turned and flashed a bright smile at me. “I know it is.”
I shook my head and followed her to the door. While her back was turned, I pulled the money back out of my pocket and folded it into my hand so she couldn’t see. “Whatever you say. Call me tomorrow?”
Everleigh nodded. “As soon as I am off work.”
“Can I get a hug before you go?”
Grinning, she said, “Sure.” I held my arms out to her and she came willingly into them. I took advantage of having her close and I leaned in and smelled her hair. It smelled like vanilla and some kind of flower. It was intoxicatingly sexy. My hands roamed down her back and rested on her bottom. I quickly slid the money into her back pocket as my other hand caressed her bottom. “Hey!” she said, pulling back.
I flashed her a sexy smile. “Hey, I know you want to slow things down, but I have to get my fun somehow, right? Do I get a kiss too?”
She shook her head. “Not now, you’ve been a bad boy.”
I groaned. “Aw, come on. Just one because you think I’m hot.”
She bit her lip to keep from smiling and said, “Fine.” She stood on her tip toes and lightly pecked my cheek. “There.”
I grinned. “I guess that will have to do. I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” I said, and I lightly touched the tip of her nose with my finger.
“Tomorrow. Good night, Ryder,” she said, and she and Danni walked out of the room with John and the security team. As soon as they disappeared in the elevators, I walked back into my room and closed the door. I turned around and Jude had a knowing smile on his face.
“What is it? Just spit it out dickhead,” I said, picking up an empty pizza box.
“You are in town one damn day and that chick went from hating you to staring at you with goo goo eyes all night. You lay it on her already, man?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No, and I’m not going to push it.”
Jude barked out a laugh. “What the hell, man? You haven’t gone completely fucking soft, have you?”
“Screw you, man. I just like her and I don’t want to fuck it up already. She’s pretty insecure but she’s giving me a chance and I’m going to take it. If that means I have to start acting like a giant pussy then that’s what I’ll do.”
“Well, I’m happy for you, bro. We haven’t seen you smile like this since before Alan died,” Kris said. Thankfully, he didn’t linger on my father’s death any longer and said, “Who knows? Maybe you and Everleigh will be as happy as Jessie and I are.”
“One can hope, brother,” I said, giving him a nudge as I walked past him to the trash can. After the guys (with the exception of Jude, the lazy bastard) helped me clean up the hotel room, they all left to go to their rooms and get some rest. After I’d been alone in my room for about ten minutes, John called me to let me know that Everleigh and Danni had made it home okay. I sent Everleigh a text message wishing her goodnight before I shut out the lights. I fell into a deep sleep, dreaming again of Everleigh writhing in pleasure beneath me in my bed.
Chapter 6
Everleigh
“Good night John, and thanks for the lift,” I said, unlocking the front door.
“It was my pleasure, Everleigh. My guys Kip and Nate will be here all night watching the house. If you need anything you let one of them know.”
I nodded. “I will. Thanks again,” I said, and with a wave Danni and I entered the house.
As soon as I shut the door and locked it, I heard a weak voice call out, “Evie girl, is that you?”
Danni gave my hand a gentle squeeze and said, “I’ll be in your room when you’re done.” She walked down the hall and went into my bedroom as I followed my dad’s voice into his room. When I got there, I choked back a sob and swallowed a lump in my throat at the sight of him. He just looked so weary lying in his bed.
“Hey, Daddy. I’m home,” I said, and I walked over and crawled up beside him on his bed. I planted a kiss on his cheek and he smiled.
“You were out for a while tonight, weren’t you? Did you go on a date finally?” he asked, smiling.
I shook my head. “No, I didn’t. Well, not really.”
“Not really? What does that mean? Either you did or you didn’t,” he said.
“It wasn’t a date, but I did hang out with a guy tonight,” I admitted.
He chuckled. “You mean that rocker boy all of the news outlets are talking about?”
My heart dropped. “You know about that already? Oh damn it, I wanted to tell you first!” I said.
“Why do you seem worried? Evie, this is good. I have been worried about you finding a man to make you happy and you not only find one, but he’s a musician at that,” Dad said, his eyes twinkling.
“That’s just it, Daddy, he’s not my man. Danni and I met him when we went back stage at that concert in Cincinnati a few months ago, and I never heard from him again until he showed up in town today. He’s just my friend right now.”
“Well, he looked like more than a friend in that picture I saw of you two kissing at Deuce’s,” he said, and embarrassment flowed through me.
I sighed. “That was a misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstanding? How does a misunderstanding lead to a public kiss with a rock star?” he asked, smiling.
“There were some fans of his that were being rude to me when I asked them to take their seats and leave him alone. He jumped up and defended me. He told them I was his girlfriend and when they didn’t believe him he kissed me to try and prove it. We are not a couple at all. He just wanted them to leave me alone.”
Dad smiled weakly. “Well, he sounds like good people to me, Evie. How did you end up seeing him again tonight anyway?” I sighed and told him about the large tip he left me and that I was just taking it back to him. “Well, Evie, I know why you didn’t want to keep it, but it’s nice that he wanted to help you out. You work too hard taking care of everyone else that you should do something nice for yourself.” Before I could say anything more, he changed the subject and said, “You should bring Mr. Rocker over here before he leaves town.”
I smiled at him. “Funny you should mention that because he is actually coming over tomorrow.”
My dad’s face lit up. “He is?”
“Yeah. He asked me to show him around town but that would be kind of hard to do with the cameras waiting to catch us out so he asked if he could come over here. He’s a huge fan of eighties movies, so you and he should get along well.”
Dad grinned. “Sounds like my kind of man. So, what’s his name again? I forget.”
“It’s Ryder Matthews,” I said, and I couldn’t hide the smile that escaped my lips. I looked at Dad and he was smiling at me. “What is it?”
“Nothing. I already knew his name but I just wanted to see the look on your face when you said it. You really like him, don’t you?”
I playfully nudged him. “He seems nice but I don’t know him well enough yet. Don’t forget he’s a celebrity and he has probably been around the block more than a few times.”
“Well, you never know unless you take a chance, Evie girl.”
I cocked an eyebrow at him. “So, you have no problem if your daughter dates a man that has probably slept with hundreds of women around the world? How do you know he won’t dump me once he gets what he wants?” I asked, voicing my fears.
Dad placed a weak hand on mind and said softly, “He’s not Scott, Evie. Give him a chance to prove the man he is and then make your choice.”
I frowned and leaned in and kissed him on his thin cheek. “I’ll try, Dad. I’m going to let you get some sleep, okay?”
“All right, sweetheart. I love you,” he said. “Think about what I said.”
“I will, I promise. I love you too, Daddy.” I kissed his cheek once more before I lifted off the bed and left his room. I went down the h
all to my bedroom and Danni was already on my bed in her pink pajamas and was holding a bowl full of popcorn. “Get in your pj’s girl because we have some talking to do,” she said, smiling.
I kicked off my shoes and opened my pajama drawer. As I looked for a pair of bottoms, I said, “Yes we do, like how you have been Facebook friends with Beau Cavanaugh for nearly three months and didn’t tell me.”
She sighed and pulled her long blonde hair up and tied it with a hair tie. “I’m sorry, Ev, but I just didn’t want to get too excited about it yet. Please don’t hate me.”
I pulled out a pair of pink shorts with black skull and crossbones on them and a black camisole. “I don’t hate you but I wish you could have told me about it. Why didn’t you?” I asked, walking into my adjoining bathroom and slipping out of my hoodie.
“Well, I didn’t think anything was going to come of it. We’ve just been chatting back and forth for a few months and it was all just innocent flirting until a few days ago. He said he wanted to see me again,” she said.
“Well then I guess its lucky Ryder came to town, huh? Beau was sure to follow at some point,” I said. “So, what’s up now? Are you two, like, dating or something?” I slipped quickly into my pajamas and threw my dirty clothes into the hamper.
I walked back out of the bathroom and she was shaking her head. “No. I am trying to be realistic about this and just have fun. If something becomes of it, then that’s great but if it doesn’t, I’m not going to stress out. Okay,” she said, shaking her head, “enough about me. I want to talk all about you and Ryder and the fact that he came to town for you! This is so exciting, tell me everything!” she said, excitedly. I climbed onto my bed next to her and we spent the rest of the evening going over my whole crazy day with Ryder Matthews.
My bedroom door burst open and I sat up completely startled. I looked over and searched for Danni but she was gone. Where could she have gone to? I squinted my eyes to see who was standing at my door but I already knew who it was…I could smell his musk from across the room. “Ryder?” I asked.
He closed the distance between us in two long steps and he knelt down at my side. “I couldn’t sleep. I can’t spend one more night without feeling your bare skin on mine Everleigh. I have to have you,” he said. Before I could even draw a breath his lips were crushing onto mine. I whimpered at the taste of him. My body couldn’t stop the intense want I felt and I didn’t protest when Ryder threw my blankets back and found the waist of my shorts, stripping them off and taking my panties with them. He gently grabbed my wrist, pulling me up off the pillows so he could pull my camisole over my head. As quickly as he’d undressed me, his shirt was pulled over his head and tossed to the floor. His pants and boxers soon joined the growing pile of clothes on the floor and before I could register what was happening he climbed on top of me. I shivered from the feel of our skin pressed together and instinctively parted my legs and he growled as he ground his bulging erection into me. My body was on fire from his touch and his kiss that I was already on the verge of losing control.
“God I can’t wait to be inside you,” he said, and our eyes locked for a split second before his hand moved down to his length and I felt him sliding into me. I gasped loudly and bit down on his shoulder to stifle my cries…I didn’t want to wake anyone. He moved so fast and his sexual torture was so relentless that he had my body in tatters in a matter of minutes. Before I could catch my breath, I heard him groan loudly and he stilled inside me. After pausing to catch his breath, he abruptly pulled out and climbed off of me without so much as a word.
I sat up, confused. “Ryder?” I asked.
He quickly got dressed and after he finished buckling his belt, he turned and winked at me. “If I can’t have you, I’ll make sure no one will ever want you, baby,” he said, and turned and left. I sat there in my bed, shocked. If he couldn’t have me? He called me ‘baby’? Sitting alone in my bed having just been taken by Ryder and left out in the cold again, a wave of anxiety crushed me and I felt like I would break…
“Hey, Ev, wake up! Your phone is buzzing like crazy,” Danni said, giving me a nudge. I opened my eyes and took a few deep breaths…my heart was pounding out of my chest. I realized my body was covered in a cold sweat. I looked around my room for Ryder and after a few moments I realized that it had been a dream. I let out a long breath and shivered. My dream had pierced deep down into my soul. Ryder came into my bedroom and took what he wanted from me and then threatened me like Scott had done…the thought made my stomach turn. I know it wasn’t real but I felt like my subconscious was trying to warn me that Ryder was just like I thought he’d be. I was even more shaken by the fact that I had been seriously turned on…I could feel the effects of what my mind dreamed he could do to me and my heart. I was on the verge of a full blown panic attack when Danni nudged me again. “Seriously, are you going to answer your phone?”
“Y-yeah, sorry,” I mumbled and I picked up my phone from the bedside table. No one had called but I did have several text messages. The last one was from Ryder sent five seconds ago. I groaned…what time was it? My eyes flicked to the clock on the wall and it said six thirty seven. Why the hell wasn’t he sleeping like a normal person at this hour? Still shaken from my dream, I read his message:
Ryder: Good morning, gorgeous.
I sat up and ran a shaking hand through my hair. I was debating on whether or not to text him back when Danni said, “Who was that?”
“Who do you think?” I said.
“Really? He’s texting you already? You must have been on his mind all night,” she said, smiling.
I rolled my eyes and shivered. Oh, he was on my mind too…I didn’t tell her that. I needed to work this dream out for myself before I talked to anyone about it. I leaned against my headboard and typed back:
E: Morning. Shouldn’t you be sleeping? I was, haha
I was about to put my phone back down when I heard my phone ping. Danni squealed and I couldn’t hide my excitement as I opened another message from Ryder.
R: didn’t mean to wake u, : ) I was already up…you’ve been on my mind all night
I involuntarily shivered. I childishly wanted to be mad at him for the dream (even though it wasn’t his fault), but I couldn’t help but smile like a teenager.
E: well, I hope I kept your mind entertained
R: my mind, my hands, my “gun”, ;)
E: ur “gun”? wow…
R: well, I am a man, Everleigh
E: believe me, I noticed that yesterday when ur “gun” was pressed up against me
R: didn’t hear u complain
E: no u didn’t, ;)
R: so we still on for today or did u already talk yourself out of it
E: we’re still on. my dad actually wants to meet u
R: really? Introducing me to ur dad already…love it
E: don’t get ur hopes up. Remember I’m still his little girl
R: I’m not worried. Can’t wait to meet him
E: u sound pretty sure of urself, rock star
R: u don’t know the half of it. Hope u will soon, ;)
E: ;) okay well I have to get ready for work
R: have a good day gorgeous. Call me when u r off
E: I will, promise. I’m off at two
R: c u then, ;)
E: yes u will
After waiting for a few minutes for him to message me back, there was no reply so I took that as my sign to get up and get ready for my day. I still had another hour before I had to get up, but after the dream and Ryder’s playful and flirty messages there was no way I was going to be able to sleep now.
“So, what did he say?” Danni asked, yawning.
“Nothing much, just flirty stuff,” I said. “He said he’d been thinking about me all night long.”
Danni squealed like a little girl. “Of course he did, how could he not? You are a total babe, Ev.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, okay, sure I am.” I grabbed my work uniform and headed toward the bat
hroom. “Listen, I’m going to jump in the shower so just get some rest until I get out, okay? I have a feeling we are going to be slammed at Deuce’s today.”
She sighed and mumbled to herself as she lay her head back down on the pillow. I walked into my bathroom and turned on the hot water. As soon as it was ready, I climbed into the shower and let the warm water soothe me. I could still feel Ryder’s hands on me, his lips as they captured and consumed mine, the heat of his skin on mine from the dream. Of course this caused my mind to start wandering I really hadn’t had a free minute to myself to think over everything that had happened in the past twenty four hours and it was all crashing down on me like a ton of bricks.
Ryder Matthews showed up in town…for me. He came here and risked being humiliated because he wanted to see me. It couldn’t be all about sex with him because he could have that any time he wanted with women that are ten times more beautiful than I am. Instead he abstained from having sex ever since we met and had driven all the way to Muncie just to have a chance at something with me. Even though I had some serious trust issues, for a man to do all of this for someone like me had to mean he was different, right? Ryder had asked me last night for just one chance to prove himself, so despite my fears I decided then to give it to him.
After Danni and I were both dressed and ready for work, I gathered up my dirty clothes from my hamper and took them to the laundry room. As I was putting the clothes into the washing machine, I noticed something fall out of the back pocket of my jeans I had worn yesterday. I looked down and cursed out loud when I saw the money that I thought I had given back to Ryder yesterday. I groaned and picked it up, placing it in my pocket. What did I have to do to get this man to understand I didn’t want his money?
I put the rest of the clothes in the washer and started the load. Once I was finished, I kissed my dad on the cheek and told him goodbye for the day. Danni and I walked to the door and I yelled goodbye to Trish as we walked outside. Immediately I had to shield my eyes because reporters were furiously taking pictures with their cameras from about fifteen feet away. The flash on their cameras was almost blinding. I registered in my haste to get to my car that I was being led to a black SUV by John. He must have stayed here all night, and I immediately felt terrible for not inviting him inside. I thought he might have gone back to the hotel but I guess he didn’t.
Rebel (Bad Blooded Rebel Series) Page 7
