I let my eyes roam down his arms which were heavily tattooed and for the first time, I really saw them. They were beautiful and bright. Most of them were tribute tattoos for his parents. I saw one that caught my eye…they were words in beautiful black script. They read,
My Champion, My Protector, My Friend
In Memory of Alan Matthews
I felt a lump in my throat as I read the words. Ryder obviously loved his father very much and I hurt for him that he had lost him at such a young age. If anyone would know what I was going through, it was him. Instinctively I leaned my lips in and kissed the words and when I did he jolted awake. I turned my face back him and his blue eyes were staring into mine. “Good morning,” I said.
“Good morning, gorgeous,” he answered and leaned in and kissed me. “How did you sleep?”
“Like a baby. What about you? What’s it like to wake up a bed that doesn’t cost a fortune?” I asked.
He smiled a crooked smile at me. “I’d sleep in a field if it meant waking up to your face in the morning,” he said, and I smiled back at him. “So, do you have to be at work this morning?”
I shook my head. “Deuce closes the diner on Sundays.”
“So I have you all to myself today?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Almost. You are going to have to share me with Daddy.”
“Well, he’s the one guy I don’t mind sharing you with. He’s a cool guy.”
“He seems to like you too,” I said.
He snickered. “Yeah. I wonder if he will still like me when he finds out I spent the night with his only daughter.”
“Well, we didn’t really do anything bad,” I said.
“No, we didn’t. What we did was very good,” he said, winking at me. I felt tingles shoot through me straight to my belly.
“Yes it was,” I admitted.
“Care to repeat it?” he asked, his eyes burning into mine.
“I don’t know, Ryder. My dad and Trish are probably already up. They might hear us,” I said.
“Well I can be quiet if you can,” he said, grinning. He leaned in and started kissing my neck and it was taking everything in me to keep my wits in check.
“Ryder, wait, I don’t know,” I breathed, muscles in my belly clenching with need.
The arm I wasn’t laying on roamed down to the waist band of my pajamas and his fingers started to slide inside my bottoms. “Tell me you want me to stop and I will, Everleigh.”
“I don’t want you to stop,” I breathed. “I’m just afraid we will get caught.”
“That’s half the fun, sweetheart. Is your door locked?” he asked, still kissing my neck.
I racked my brain for a second and then remembered that I had locked the door the night before. I nodded my head and whispered, “Yes.”
“Then we won’t get caught. Do you want me to touch you again, Everleigh?” he said, tracing my collarbone with his tongue.
“God, yes,” I said, and his hand slipped further into my bottoms and inside my panties. I sucked in a harsh breath and bit my lip when his fingers found my slick folds and just as I wanted him too, he slid two fingers inside me. “God, Ryder,” I moaned, and he silenced me by crushing his mouth to mine. His tongue parted my lips and I whimpered as our tongues tangled together. If he could make me crazy with just two fingers and a kiss I could only imagine what he could do with his other appendages.
I reached out a shaking hand and touched his hard dick and he growled into my mouth. Once I ran my hands along his length he rocked his hand into me more and I almost screamed as an orgasm suddenly hit me hard. This man not only gave me the best orgasm of my life last night, but he just gave me another one that rivaled the first and it took all of five minutes to do it. I shivered and tried to get my pounding heart back to normal as he removed his hand. “Wow,” I breathed.
“I take that as a good wow,” Ryder said, grinning.
“That was a great wow. That was a nice way to wake up,” I said, and he laughed.
“Well, I’d be happy to wake you up like that any time,” Ryder said.
“So, is it my turn now?” I asked, licking my lips. Before he could answer, there was a knock at my door. I quickly scrambled to sit up and Ryder smiled at me, readjusting himself under the blankets. “Who is it?”
“It’s Trish, honey. Listen, Ryder’s bodyguard is here and he says he has an important phone call.”
I sighed and Ryder rolled his eyes. “Can it wait a minute?” I called.
“No, he says it’s pretty urgent.”
“All right, he’ll be right there,” I said, throwing off my blankets.
Ryder groaned as he pulled on his jeans. “Sorry Everleigh. I don’t know what could be so important this early in the morning on a fucking Sunday.”
“I don’t know either but you’d better find out,” I said. He pulled on his tee shirt and quickly slid into his black motorcycle boots.
When he was dressed, he walked over to me and pulled me into his arms. “Can I call you later?”
“Of course you can,” I said, and he leaned in and kissed me.
“Thanks for a great day, night, and morning, Everleigh,” he said.
“You’re welcome, rock star.”
“Tell your dad goodbye for me, okay?”
“I will, I promise. You’d better get going,” I said, and he nodded. I walked to my door and unlocked it, and he followed me out into the house. I walked him to the door and when he stepped outside, he turned to face me.
“Sorry about this. It’s probably the label freaking out. I’ll call when I know what’s going on,” he said.
“It’s okay. Go take care of business. I’ll still be here when you get back.”
He smiled at me. “Promise? You’re not going to freak on me and try to convince yourself this is a bad idea, are you?”
I grinned and shook my head. “No way, not after last night and this morning.”
“Damn right,” he said, winking at me. “See you later, gorgeous.” He leaned down to me and pressed his lips to mine, stealing my breath.
“Later,” I breathed, and he walked to the SUV with John in tow. As soon as he was gone, I walked back in the house and into the kitchen. I could feel Trish’s eyes on me as I made myself a bowl of cereal. “So, how is your morning?” I asked her, sitting down at the table with my food. “Did you meet John?”
“I did. He’s a nice guy.”
“He didn’t sleep out in his SUV all night again, did he?” I asked, suddenly feeling guilty that I had forgotten about him again.
“No, he crashed on the couch. He tried to go out to the car but he mentioned you might be upset if he did,” she said.
“He’s right, I would have. So, how is Daddy? Is he up yet?”
“No, he’s still asleep. It’s a wonder he is,” she said, smiling.
“Why is that?” I asked.
“Well, I know I had a hard time sleeping through all the moaning and panting coming from your room last night,” she said, winking at me.
My face felt instantly hot and I almost choked on my cereal. “Y-you heard that?”
“Uh huh,” she said, laughing.
I put my spoon down and put my hands over my face. “Oh God, I’m so embarrassed!”
She was still laughing as she took a seat at the table next to me. “Everleigh, look at me,” she said, pulling at my arms. I reluctantly moved my hands and I looked at her, feeling more mortified than I had in a long time. “Sweetie, you’re twenty four years old. It’s okay if you bring a man home with you once in a while. Or like the first time ever.”
“Gee, thanks for reminding me I have had no life,” I said, and she chuckled.
“Well, you’ve been busy caring for Max. You haven’t had time to have a social life. You don’t need to be embarrassed about Ryder staying here. What you two do in your room is your business.”
I sighed. “That’s just it, I wasn’t meaning for us to do anything up until last night. I’d had a grea
t day with him here, but when Dad had fallen asleep on the recliner, I was going to find you and have you help me take him to bed but Ryder just jumped up and carried him like it was nothing. He carried Dad to bed like it was just a normal thing to do,” I said, my voice breaking. “After that, something changed for me. I just…lost control of myself.”
“It’s not a bad thing to lose control once in a while, Everleigh. He really seems to like you, you know, judging from the noises you two were making,” she said, laughing.
“We didn’t have sex, if that’s what you are implying, Trish. We just did…other stuff,” I said, and she giggled. I looked down at my bowl of cereal, which was already getting soggy.
“You didn’t have sex? It sure as hell sounded like it. Why didn’t you?”
“Well, after what he did for Dad, I would have if he’d let it get that far, but he didn’t. He said he knew that I wasn’t ready to take that step with him yet and he didn’t want me to regret it in the morning.”
Trish stared at me for a moment before answering. “Wow, Everleigh…he seems like the real deal, honey.”
“He does, doesn’t he?” I asked, my eyebrows furrowed.
“Well, of course he does. He met you, what, a couple of months ago and you guys talked for like an hour, and now here he is in Muncie freaking Indiana for you.”
I sighed. “I know. God, is it crazy of me to think this might actually be real? That I didn’t dream this? That a gorgeous man actually followed me to my hometown because he wants to be with me for real?”
She smiled warmly at me. “Everleigh, that’s not crazy. You deserve a guy that will sweep you off your feet and treat you like a princess because that’s what you are. Everyone knows it but you,” she said.
I shook my head and looked down. “I’m hardly a princess, but thank you for saying it.”
“Well, I think Ryder seems like the perfect guy for you.”
“I’ve only technically known him two days but I already feel at ease with him. I just hope I’m not making a mistake.”
“Well, only time will tell, sweetie. You just have to take a leap of faith.”
“I know. Thanks, Trish,” I said, picking up my spoon and taking a bite of my half soggy cereal.
“Any time, Everleigh. I’m going to check on Max,” she said, and stood up and walked down the hall.
I ate my breakfast in silence, still in amazement over how drastically my life had changed in the past forty eight hours. I went from being a nobody with the weight of the world on her shoulders to a rock star’s love interest with my face probably on the front page of gossip magazines. I honestly didn’t know what to think or how to feel about all of it yet, but one thing I did know was that Ryder had definitely made his way through the walls I had built up and it scared me.
About an hour later, I had cleaned up my breakfast dishes and was heading to fold the laundry when my cell phone pinged. Hoping it was Ryder messaging me, I rushed to check it but it wasn’t him. It was Danni. I clicked on the message.
D: hey girl, u busy?
E: not really, just cleaning. What’s up?
D: did you hear from Ryder this morning?
E: not since he left an hour ago, John came and got him saying he had an important phone call.
D: he stayed there last night? :D
E: yes, but it’s not what you think…he just slept over.
D: uh huh. Anyway, I was just wondering what this important phone call was about. Beau got dragged out of his room this morning too.
E: and how do you know that, may I ask? ;)
D: because I stayed with him last night and it IS what you think, ;)
E: Danni…
D: we can chat later…LOTS to tell u, girl, xoxo, if u hear from Ryder before I talk to Beau let me know, okay?
E: I will. Ttyl
I put my phone back in my pocket and picked up the laundry basket. Ryder had to rush off this morning, and now Beau? I hoped nothing was wrong…or that I was the cause of it.
After another hour of cleaning, I was about to sit down for a minute and watch some TV when my cell phone rang. I pulled my phone out of my pocket…it was Ryder. I swiped the screen and answered it. “Hello?”
“Hey Everleigh,” he said, sounding frustrated.
“Uh oh, what’s wrong?”
“I have to go back to Cincinnati tonight.”
Disappointment shot through me. “You do? What happened?”
He sighed. “Our manager called this morning freaking out. Apparently the label is pissed that I just up and left in the middle of recording our new album-”
“You what?” I asked.
“It’s fine, Everleigh. We already have seven tracks finished and we have the other songs written, arranged, and ready to record. Anyway, he’s in a panic so the label is demanding that we come back and finish the album so they can start promoting it. It’s not even fucking finished yet and they already want to promote the damn thing. Hell, we still have two months before the deadline!”
“This is because of me, isn’t it? You guys are getting all this publicity now because you came here for me and now they want to monopolize on it, don’t they?”
“I wish I could disagree with you but I think you are right. They will do or say anything to make fucking money. It doesn’t matter to them if the album is complete shit just as long as they get their take from it,” he said angrily.
“It will be okay, Ryder. You need to do what you have to for your band. Don’t let me get in the way of that, please,” I said.
“I just don’t want to leave yet. I have a feeling you will change your mind about this thing with us before I can come back,” he said.
“Ryder, I won’t. I told you I would give this a real chance and I will. No one has made me feel the way you have in the past two days. I know it’s like, crazy fast, but…”
“It’s not been crazy fast for me, Everleigh. I have dreamed of you for three months.”
“I know,” I said, breaking off into a whisper. “Hey, it’s not like it’s forever, right? I mean, we can text and talk on the phone and-”
“Send naked pictures back and forth?” he laughed.
I giggled. “Come on now, you really think that’s smart considering you are famous and all?”
“Well, we can Skype then,” he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.
“So you seriously think I’m going to have Skype sex with you?” I asked, grinning.
“I think if I put my mind to it I could. I got you to give me a chance in the past two days, now didn’t I?”
“Yes you did, Ryder.” I heard male voices in the background and then he said, “Listen, we’re packing shit up, so I’ve got to jump off here. Can I call u once I’m on the road?”
“Sure you can,” I said. “I wish I could see you before you go.”
“Funny you should wish that…” he said, and at that moment I heard a knock on the door.
I felt myself smiling as I half ran to the door and threw it open. Ryder was there standing on my doorstep wearing faded jeans, a Social Distortion tee shirt, his leather jacket, and his black motorcycle boots. He was beautiful. “Hey,” I said, putting my phone back in my pocket.
He took a step toward me and wrapped his arm around my waist. “Hey yourself, gorgeous.” His lips were on mine in a flash and I opened my mouth for him. Our tongues touched and it caused my blood to start racing through my veins.
Once we broke apart, I leaned against his tall frame. “I’m glad you stopped by,” I said. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the tip he gave me, minus the money I spent buying breakfast the day before. “For you.”
He grinned at me. “What the hell is this?”
“Oh, you didn’t think I forgot about this, did you? Sneaky slipping it into my pocket while grabbing my ass, by the way,” I said.
Ryder laughed. “Oh, I knew you wouldn’t. Keep it, seriously.”
“I can’t keep this Ryder, you know that.”
&nbs
p; He sighed. “Well, how about you give it to me when I see you again?
I smiled. “Deal. I am really glad you came by before you left.”
“I wasn’t going to leave without seeing you, Everleigh,” he said, and kissed my lips quickly again. “This sucks so bad.”
“It does, but I’ll be fine here. You need to go do your thing. Don’t worry, I’ll be here if you decide to come back,” I said, the lump in my throat getting bigger. God, why was I on the verge of tears over someone that’s not technically my boyfriend?
“Come with me,” he whispered.
“W-what?” I asked.
“Come away with me, Everleigh.”
I swallowed hard. “I…I can’t, Ryder. My dad…I can’t.”
His jaw squared. “I know, I understand. I just don’t want to leave you alone in this. You’re going to need someone with you.”
“I won’t be alone. You’ll be with me even from far away,” I said, tears welling in my eyes.
“If anything, and I mean anything, happens to Max at all while I’m gone, you call me and I’m here. Just like that,” he said, running his thumb along my bottom lip. “Okay?”
I sniffed. “Okay.”
“I have to go if I’m going to make it to Cincinnati by sundown,” he said. He pulled me closer and kissed me again. He was a phenomenal kisser, but something about this kiss was almost…sad. It was like he was saying goodbye and unsure of when we would have this again. “Don’t forget me,” he said.
“Don’t you forget me, rock star,” I said, and with a final quick kiss, he turned and walked to his Escalade. I held my tears in as long as I could and as I watched him drive away, I finally let the tears flow down my face. Just as I was about to head back into the house, I saw Danni’s car pull into the driveway and she jumped out, looking as miserable as I felt. She had the best timing in the world, because right now it was clear to see we’d both fallen hard for rockers and needed each other.
A few hours later, it had gotten dark outside. I had spent some time with Daddy before he drifted off to sleep for the night, and now Danni and I were sitting in our pajamas on my bed surrounded by junk food. We’d been commiserating over our respective love lives, including the details of Danni’s night with Beau and my night with Ryder. “God girl, he was amazing,” she gushed. “I swear to God I’ve never had an orgasm that intense before. Or should I say ‘orgasms’.”
Rebel (Bad Blooded Rebel Series) Page 10
