Capturing a Renegade's Heart

by Nicola Jane

  ***

  Ryder was tired, since getting home yesterday he’d been on the go and he was regretting it and now his brothers had decided to throw a welcome home party for him. He popped a couple of pro plus tablets to wake him up and drank a can of red bull. After five years inside he had a lot of partying to do and a lot of debts to settle, he couldn’t do that if he was sleeping.

  He showered quickly and pulled on a fresh white shirt and some clean jeans. He was grateful that Griff had sent one of the old ladies to get him some new clothes. When he’d first gone inside, he didn’t bother with weights but being in there changed him, he sorted out his diet because prison food was limited, and he spent a lot of time in the gym building up muscle. Five years on, he looked more like the hulk and he was proud of his hard work and what he had to show for it.

  He headed straight for the bar, the one thing he’d missed more than anything was a good whisky. The guys inside had stuff brought in, but it wasn’t the same as his expensive favourite. Bear was working the bar and he handed a glass and the bottle of amber liquid straight to his President. Ryder headed outside to where Griff had set up inflatables for the kids and seating areas for the adults. Smokey was on the grill cooking steaks and laughing with Griffin. As Ryder approached, Griff grinned, “Brother, we were just talking about Mya,” he smirked. The short haired beauty that had been hanging around his brother all night and trying her best to get in his bed. It wasn’t Mya that Ryder had on his mind, it was a gorgeous friend. The brunette with the long hair and bright smile. Her green eyes and her perfect figure had his blood racing.

  “Oh yeah, what about her?” asked Ryder sipping his whisky.

  “I invited her tonight, but Bear reckons she won’t turn up,” said Griff.

  “Why’d you invite her?” asked Ryder wondering if she’d be bringing her friend. His question was left unanswered when Bear and Griff looked over his shoulder in confusion. Ryder turned to see what had caught their attention and he came face to face with the hot girl he’d dreamt about since being inside of her less than twelve hours ago. His heart beat faster and he watched as her raging face met his.

  “Did you use me last night?” she demanded, placing her hand on her hip.

  “No,” he said firmly, “Well depends what you mean,” he added. He could hear his brother’s behind him sniggering, it wasn’t often a girl approached their club president and called him out on his bullshit.

  “I mean, did you fucking use me to get back at Finn?” she shouted. Ryder only knew one Finn and he struggled to understand how she would know the same one. “Because Griff said you wanted pay back, was I the payback?”

  “Are we talking about Finnegan Lawrence?” asked Ryder.

  “Yes,” she snapped impatiently, “Did you fuck me to get at my husband?”

  Ryders world tilted for a second, her words hitting him hard. He’d unknowingly fucked Finnegan’s wife. A smile formed on his lips and before he could explain anything, the woman slapped him hard across the face. All kinds of emotions ran through him as the pain burned his cheek. It had been a while since he’d been hit in the face, he’d forgotten what it felt like, and an even longer while since he’d killed someone for disrespecting him, mainly because people didn’t disrespect him out of fear. Griff came between them. “Fuck Siren, what the hell was that?” he snapped.

  Ryder moved Griff out of the way and stepped forwards making the girl move backwards until she hit the wall. He looked scary with his nostrils flaring in anger and his shoulders hunched forwards. “Do you know what I’d normally do to people that disrespect me in front of my brothers?” he growled close to her ear.

  She shook her head fear in her eyes. He felt the sudden urge to fuck her here against the wall and be damned if everyone could see, but a little voice caught his attention.

  “Mommy are you okay?” Ryder looked down at the small girl with long brown hair, a slight curl in the ends, her green eyes looking between him and Neve.

  Ryder stepped back and Neve swooped the little girl up into her arms and carried her away without a backwards glance at him. Griff approached him smirking, “Jesus what was that?” he asked, “You fucked her last night?”

  “She had something to prove, I helped her,” muttered Ryder, “She thinks you’re an ass by the way,” he added.

  “Well I am, you’re the bigger ass though, but she’ll find that out herself,” smiled Griff, patting his brother on the back.

  ***

  Ryder sat on a large boulder looking into the fire pit. Hearing Finnegan’s name again had stirred up anger inside of him. The fact that he was married to Neve bothered Ryder. Why was someone as sweet as her married to the devil himself, it made no sense. Her sexy laugh rang out and he watched her throw her head back in amusement at something Griff was saying to her and Mya at the opposite side of the fire pit. The cute little girl was asleep in Mya’s arms and she rocked her gently from side to side.

  Ryder stood and made his way over to the group. Griff bumped fists with him. “Things good brother?” he asked, and Ryder nodded once before staring down at Neve.

  “Follow me,” he said firmly, and she scowled.

  “Really, does that work on girls?” she snapped, and he stared at her blankly, “You just order women around and they do it because your what...” she paused, “The boss around here?”

  “No, they do it because I’ve killed for less. Now move it.” He was tired of her sassy mouth and not used to people questioning him.

  She leant back slightly and folded her arms over her chest, a defiant look in her eyes. “No,” she said simply.

  “What do you mean no, move it,” he repeated, his eyes widening in shock.

  “I said no, respect my right to say no to you, you are not the boss of me, and I’m not scared of you,” she said with a smirk. Ryder saw the shock on Griff’s face and the way he winced as she spoke each defiant word.

  “Jesus I am not used to insolent women,” he grumbled out loud and then he swooped down and threw Neve over his shoulder, ignoring her screams of protests and anger. Her friend went to object, but Griff wisely held her arm and pulled her to sit back down, whispering words in her ear.

  Ryder marched through the club house and into his office at the back of the large open plan room. Once inside he locked the door and placed her feet back on the ground.

  “How the hell dare you…” she began, her face full of rage. Ryder gripped her chin in his hand and placed his mouth over hers, cutting off her words and thrusting his tongue into her stubborn mouth. At first, she fought against him but as he pushed her back against the edge of the desk she relaxed into the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck. He released himself from the denim jeans that practically choked his erection. Still kissing her, he fiddled with the condom wrapper and sheathed himself before inching up the flowing cotton skirt she wore, moving her panties to one side. He lined himself up and pushed into her wet pussy without pausing. She gripped his biceps, holding on tight as he thrust over and over groaning as each push brought him closer to the quick release he so desperately needed. Realising that she hadn’t orgasmed, he stilled, taking a few deep breaths before pulling out and flipping her over. If he was going to last longer, he needed to change positions.

  “Why did you marry that dick head?” he grated out, pushing himself back into her.

  “You want to discuss my bad choices right now?” she panted looking back at him over her shoulder.

  “Fuck you look hot like that, keep looking at me,” he moaned, reaching around and pressing his finger against her clit. “Are you still together?”

  “No,” she screeched, “I’m not a cheat,” she added sounding insulted.

  Ryder could feel himself getting closer, he pinched the little bud between his fingers hard and she yelped. It was the push she needed to begin her descent to pleasure and as she climaxed over his cock, he released into the condom, growling with each spurt.

  Ryder pulled from her and wrapped the used co
ndom in some tissue before chucking it in the waste bin. He fixed his clothes, “So,” he sighed, taking a seat and eyeing her suspiciously, “Tell me about you and Finn.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  “There’s nothing to tell. We married and then we split up,” muttered Neve. Finn was the last person that she wanted to discuss right now.

  “You ain’t leaving here until we’ve talked Neve so drop the attitude.” Honestly, she felt like she was in trouble with her father.

  “I married him, he was an ass, I had his child and then he disposed of me, preferring to fuck about than deal with me.” She noticed the way Ryder lifted his brow like he could understand why Finn had done that, “I’m a nice person I just don’t like being bossed around. If you want to talk to me you just have to ask,” she snapped defensively.

  “Noted,” he sighed, rubbing at his forehead, a sure sign that he was stressed.

  “You really should get some sleep Ryder, you look tired and stressed. What did you go to prison for?” she didn’t mean to blurt out the last bit, but it was playing on her mind. He stood, his face returning to that same blank stare. He wasn’t going to tell her which made her worry that it was really bad. She couldn’t keep having sex with this man, she didn’t know him, he had connections with her ex, and he was probably a murderer.

  “Get out,” he sighed, sitting at his desk and avoiding all eye contact.

  “Wow, nice manners, A little courtesy wouldn’t hurt after we just hooked up again,” she snapped.

  “If you keep disrespecting me like you do, we’re gonna have a real problem,” he said coldly.

  Neve laughed, “Oh really,” she said, “I was always taught that to get respect you had to show respect and seeing as so far, you haven’t shown me an ounce, then you can expect the same!” She stomped out of the office, slamming the door as she went.

  Mya stood up as she approached. “Are you ready to go now?” she asked. Neve nodded, taking her sleeping daughter from Mya and heading for the car without a word.

  The clubhouse was a ten-minute drive. Neve took Harlee straight to bed and tucked her in tight. Mya had decided to sleep over at Neve’s which she often did because her roommate always brought home one-night stands and it pissed Mya off.

  Neve got in to bed and video called Finn. He answered straight away, and Neve caught sight of the blonde-haired girl moving from the shot as the call connected.

  “Home alone,” she sighed moving her phone around for Finn to see her room.

  “Good,” he said but before he could disconnect the call, she blurted out the question she’d never asked him before.

  “Are you?” Finn paused, his brow furrowing. He wasn’t so used to Neve questioning him, but she was sick of him holding all the cards. She didn’t give a crap if he was home alone or fucking twenty women at once, she just wanted to be difficult for once.

  “I don’t have my daughter here, so it doesn’t matter,” he said.

  “So, at the weekend I can have a man here because Harlee will be with you?” she asked.

  “No, you’re the mother of my child and so you should behave accordingly, with respect,” he sighed.

  “I’ve heard that word a lot tonight,” she mused thoughtfully, “How do you know Ryder?” she added.

  Finns face changed from confused to angry, “How do you know that name?” he growled.

  “You saw that his brother moved in next door right, he mentioned that you knew them both.”

  “Well ignore him and stay away, they are bad news. The last woman Ryder fucked ended up dead.”

  Finn disconnected the call leaving Neve staring at the blank screen. Why did she have such bad taste in men? Snuggling down into her bed she vowed to stay away from men in general, that way she’d never make a bad choice again.

  ***

  “I don’t want to go out, I want to watch a movie and enjoy a quiet glass of wine,” moaned Neve. The weekend had rolled around quickly, and Mya was insistent that they should go out with their group of friends tonight. The problem being that Neve knew the trouble it would cause for her when she didn’t answer Finns call later.

  “Stop letting him control you. He did that when you were together and now, he’s doing it still. He’s moved on and he expects you to stay home. Where is that girl that stood up to the big bad biker boss last weekend?” asked Mya.

  “Ryder can’t use my daughter as a pawn in his games, Finn can, and he does.”

  “Only if you let him. Come on Neve, please, let your hair down and have some fun. It’s one night.”

  Neve reluctantly agreed, much to Mya’s delight. An hour later they were in a wine bar waiting for their other friends to join them. Neve fiddled with her skirt uncomfortably. Mya had insisted on Neve borrowing a short skirt and a spaghetti strapped top which was far more revealing than Neve normally liked. By the time the other three girls arrived, Mya had pushed Neve to down three shots of Sambuca to relax her.

  “Neve it’s so great to see you out for once,” smiled Liss as she kissed her on the cheek in greeting. Liss had gone to school with Mya and Neve. They’d never gotten on back then, Liss had stolen not one but two of Neve’s boyfriends. Mya had reintroduced Liss to their group when she started working at the same company as her.

  “Mya made me come,” she said with a shrug.

  “That’s great Neve, so you didn’t actually want to come then?” huffed Charleigh. She was the moodier of the friends. Also, a single mother like Neve, only her ex left them high and dry the second he’d discovered Charleigh was pregnant. He doesn’t bother to have contact with either of them now.

  “Don’t start Charleigh, she does want to be here,” said Mollie turning to Neve, “Don’t you Neve,” she said with a smile. Mollie, the peace keeper of the group. Quiet and sweet, a thinker and someone that you can call upon if you need sensible advice.

  “No actually I don’t, I wanted to enjoy a night home in my pyjamas and watch reruns of Sons of Anarchy,” said Neve, “But, now I’m here with my girls, I’m glad,” she added with a smile.

  “Why watch Sons when you could have the real thing?” asked Mya with a raised eyebrow. All the girls turned to Neve with quizzical expressions. It was unheard of that Neve showed interest in any man since Finn. Mainly because it would cause her problems but also because Finn was enough to put her off ever dating a man again.

  “Thanks for that unhelpful comment Mya, shall we get more drinks?” asked Neve waving to get the bar tenders attention.

  “Erm, no we should not. What is she talking about?” demanded Charleigh.

  “Nothing, we met some bikers, nothing to talk about,” shrugged Neve, placing an order for two bottles of wine.

  “Oh please, that smug smile screams fuckery,” laughed Mya taking one of the bottles and three glasses and making her way to the nearest table. Neve paid the bartender and then took the other bottle and glasses to where the girls were settling into chairs.

  “So, continue,” urged Liss eagerly leaning forward while Mya poured the wine.

  “She had sex with the head of the gang, I think they call him the president or something like that but basically he just got out of prison and he’s all mean and moody,” gossiped Mya.

  “What!” screeched Mollie horrified, “He’s in a gang?”

  “Not that sort of gang Molls, calm down,” sighed Neve; patting Mollies hand, “Mya is over selling it. A guy next door to me is in a motorcycle club. Most of the guys are ex-army and they have a place where they all get together so that they can still be part of a brotherhood.”

  “Well you seem to know a lot about them even though you say there is nothing to tell,” smirked Liss.

  “I googled it,” grinned Neve sipping her drink.

  “What was he in prison for?” asked Charleigh, “Is he safe to be around Harlee?”

  “Jesus, I slept with the guy, we aren’t getting married or anything. I have no idea why he was in prison, but I do know that I won’t be seeing him again so you all just n
eed to calm down and stop getting over excited. Besides, Mya didn’t you spend the night at Griff’s last weekend?”

  Mya shrugged trying to hide the blush on her perfect skin, “Yeah but he’s a total gent, nothing happened despite my efforts.”

  “Wow he resisted your charms?” joked Liss with a laugh. Mya usually got any man that she wanted, even the married ones.

  Neve relaxed after finishing the second glass of wine, enough to get up and dance with the girls. She was glad she’d decided to come out because it was good to be with the group of friends she’d known for so long, she couldn’t remember the last time they’d done this, especially with her and Charleigh both having child care issues; it made plans more difficult to arrange. Neve hadn’t spoken to her parents since she’d told them she was marrying Finn, they hadn’t liked him and made it perfectly clear that they didn’t approve of her choices. They lived less than a twenty-minute walk away from her, but she never bumped into them which was a blessing really. As time had passed Neve became stubborn and still hadn’t held out the olive branch to make up with them.

  Neve felt her cell phone vibrate, she pulled it out and groaned when she saw Finns name on the caller ID. She waved her phone at Mya to indicate she needed to take the call and then headed outside. “Hello, is Harlee okay?” she asked brightly.

  “Where are you?” he asked. Neve took a few more steps away from the bar entrance to move away from the noise.

  “Is Harlee still up? It’s very late,” she continued, ignoring his question because Mya was right, she needed to stand up to him more often, plus the alcohol helped her to feel braver.

  “No, she isn’t still up, where the hell are you?”

  “Well then you didn’t need to call me Finn, you only need to call me if Harlee wants to speak to me,” she said firmly.

  “Are you actually being serious right now?” he growled angrily.

  “If you don’t need anything for Harlee I’m going to hang up, good night Finn,” she said disconnecting the call. Neve did a little happy dance, she knew she’d probably regret it tomorrow but for now she felt a little piece of joy at her strength.