Ryder (Player Card Series Book 3)

by Ellie Danes

  “You’re the person I fear the most and the one I love the most, but still, I have given you my heart,” I whispered. “I’m hoping you’ll keep it safe.”

  He stood from his position with me in his arms and carried me to the sofa, covering me with his body.

  “I want to take care of you and your heart. Never doubt that.” He leaned down and ran his nose over mine. “We both have to remember that we’re the only ones in this relationship.”

  He pressed his lips firmly against mine. His kiss wasn’t soft this time—it was convincing. He owned my body, and he knew it. But my body was the easy thing. He knew exactly what to do and how to work me.

  He took control, and within a matter of minutes, I was calling out with pleasure as he pushed into me. With slow, measured movements, he eased in and out. As his rhythm increased, I gasped his name.

  He slowed and smiled down at me. “I love hearing you say my name,” he uttered then pushed hard into me once more, eliciting a loud moan from me. I could feel him start to swell inside of me and I knew his orgasm was getting close. I didn't want it to be over, so I pushed at his chest, forcing him from inside of me and maneuvering until he rolled over onto his back and I was on top. I pressed my lips to his chest.

  “My turn to be in control,” I said, reaching for his hard cock and positioning myself until I was able to slide him inside of me. I didn't move up and down, I simply rotated my hips. It was a movement that was new to me. He groaned as I rolled my hips in waves. I could feel the burn as the length of him stretched me as far as I could take. I rolled again and felt his hands cover my breasts. He squeezed and pinched my nipples until a deep breath released from my throat. I hadn't realized that I had been holding it until it came out.

  I had known the full movement of sex before but never known I could get such a feeling with little to no movement. I rotated my hips against his and felt the burning sensation build stronger. I wasn’t about to stop. I wanted the release now more than ever, and with each grunt and push from Ryder, that want grew. He was trying to push deeper inside of me, and I was pushing down to keep him from accomplishing that. The orgasm that was coming was different—the feeling was different. It wasn't coming from my belly, it was coming from my vaginal walls, an entirely new sensation. I wasn't sure why or how it was coming, but I wanted to feel it.

  I leaned forward and put my hands on his chest and pushed even harder onto his erection. I moved my hips in a circular motion and chased the feeling. He leaned up and took one of my breasts into his mouth and bit down lightly. It was enough to push me over the edge. Something erupted inside of me and the scream that left my body sounded like it came from someone else. Ryder pushed up, and I felt him release inside of me. My whole body shook as I collapsed onto him. Every change in his position caused another wave of pleasure to crash through me. I wanted every movement and didn't at the same time. My body was on the edge, and it felt amazing but skirted the brink of pain.

  When Ryder reached to touch me, his fingers left a trail of shivers that felt like fire. My body was confused, and so was my brain. I had never felt like this before.

  “Fuck,” Ryder rasped. “Damn. What are you doing to me?”

  I giggled. I felt him tense as I tightened around him with the contraction of my abdominal muscles.

  “Oh god,” he groaned and pushed at me.

  “Sorry,” I said and went to move off of the couch.

  “No, don’t go.” He grabbed me and pulled me to his side. “I am so sensitive that I needed to be out of you, but I don't want you away from me.”

  I snuggled up to him and relaxed my brain. We would be all right, I just had to stop worrying about all the stuff I couldn't control. I had to trust him and let him do his thing unless he gave me a reason not to trust him. He adjusted a few minutes later and pulled a towel that was still damp from my shower over us and kissed the top of my head.

  I didn't remember him moving us to the bed during the night, but at some point, he must have. When I shifted in place, his arms tightened around me and the warmth of his bare skin burned against me.

  “Morning,” I mumbled into the pillow.

  His response was a half-grunt, half-moan. He reached over and pulled me closer. I was greeted by his erection pressing into my bare back, and it hit me that this would be the last time we’d get a chance to be together for a while. I had to get back to New York, and he had to train, which meant the separation would be for at least a month.

  I wiggled my ass against him, and in turn, he ran a hand down my stomach and between my legs. I arched into his touch as his fingers opened me up. I moved in rhythm with the movement of his hand until I felt his member slide between my legs from behind. He pushed inside of me and mumbled something in my ear I couldn't understand, but when I felt his cock pushing into me, I relaxed and enjoyed the feeling of him filling me. I wanted an orgasm like he’d given me the night before, but I wanted to be close to him even more than I wanted an orgasm. His body molded to mine as he moved slowly within me.

  The way he made love to me seemed as though he wanted me to feel his words from last night, and not just hear them. It worked. I heard and felt his words, loud and clear. When his movements became a little more erratic, he reached to rub at my clit, but I moved his hand away, wanting the sensation of him to be all that I felt. Despite my effort extend the moment, he continued to ignite my body in a way I couldn’t ignore until he managed to bring me to orgasm anyway.

  There was more to it than fucking. It was a connection— a connection that ended with him tugging my hair back and forcing me to look into his eyes as he released into me. For the first time in my life, I felt it—that feeling you get when you realize everything will be right in the world. His eyes burned for me and without words he gave me more than his body. He gave me his heart.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Ryder

  Saying goodbye to Zoey after the last morning we’d had was the hardest thing I could’ve imagined doing. Watching her walking away and knowing I wouldn't see her for weeks nearly broke me, but it strengthened me at the same time. My goal was to win a title, but my other goal was to win her trust. I had to make that happen while protecting us from everything that threatened to tear us apart.

  After arriving back at my home gym, I immediately started training for the big fight. Staying focused was easier knowing Zoey was working hard on the training apparel line and keeping busy, too. I had Amy to thank for that. According to our last conversation, they were going to have the line ready for a runway show before the title fight.

  Zoey and I texted throughout the day every day, but my favorite interaction was the video chat when we were both in bed and I could see her face. Most days she seemed as exhausted as I felt. And even though it wasn't over dinner, we talked about our days and I always let her talk first. It was winding down time for both of us. She would start yawning around ten and pretend she was fine for another thirty minutes while I talked about fighting. A few times she dozed off on me. It was pretty cute how hard she tried to stay awake. I knew she was trying to be supportive, so I began to cut the conversation short a little earlier each night. A month before the fight, we were both making it to bed by nine and making fun of ourselves for becoming that couple.

  One morning, I was running on the treadmill when I looked down at my ringing phone and saw her name. She never called me—I always called her. I reached for the phone, worried something was wrong. I hit the stop button on the machine and tried to catch my breath as the phone rang again.

  “Hello?” I answered as my breaths were rushing in and out.

  “Hey,” she said.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I don't know, am I?” She laughed.

  “You scared me. I thought something was wrong. You never call me in the morning.”

  “Well, I needed to talk to you, so I called Amy to make sure I wouldn’t be interrupting anything. She got your schedule from Tristan and, well…”

 
“Well, what? What’s going on?” I asked. She didn't sound quite right, and I wasn't sure why.

  “There is nothing wrong. I just missed you.” For a moment, it sounded like she was in the room with me. I knew I was crazy, but when I turned around, my eyes met hers. My body stiffened for a second before I was instinctively moving towards her.

  “Surprise!” she shouted as I covered her face in kisses.

  “God, I needed this,” I said, hugging her close and breathing in her scent. “I’ve been threatening everybody that I was going to run away to New York for a few days.”

  “No need for all of that, here I am.” She kissed my nose when I pulled back to look at her again.

  The gym was empty since I had it for private training from five a.m. until ten a.m. every day. I looked down at my watch. I had a little over an hour before the doors opened and other people would start trickling in. I lifted her and smiled when my hands came to rest on the panties covering her ass. She wrapped her legs around my waist. I moved across the room, pressing her body into the first wall I came to, kissing her hard.

  “Mmmm,” she moaned as our tongues intertwined. She pushed at my shorts, and I pulled back to find her staring back at me with a wicked gleam in her eyes. She released her legs from my waist, and I eased her down. Next thing I knew, my dick was out of my shorts and in her hand. If I was being honest, sex wasn’t the first thing on my mind when I saw Zoey, but the moment she wrapped her legs around me, it was.

  I held her still for a moment and just felt her. Sex with her was everything, but the look in her eyes was even more. She knew I needed this, needed her. She knew all the training, clean eating, and stress surrounding the upcoming fight had been building up.

  “I want you,” she moaned. She pushed her panties down her legs and tossed them aside.

  There was no way in hell I could deny her. I immediately crowded her against the wall again, my cock nudging against her mound.

  “Yes. Fuck me,” she urged as she pulled at my ass, trying to gain more leverage. I shoved into her, and my name slipped from her lips. I pushed in and out as hard as I could for as long as I could until I was out of breath and couldn’t hold back any longer. A satisfied smile spread over her face as I released her legs and placed her gently back on the floor.

  “You have no idea how badly I needed that,” I said and kissed her softly and pulled my shorts back into place.

  “Probably as much as I did.” She smiled up at me and adjusted her skirt.

  God, I’d missed her. I pulled her away from the wall just as the bell over the door rang out. I looked over my shoulder and saw my father entering.

  “Good Morning, Zoey, when did you get in?” Dad called toward us as he started in our direction.

  I barely had time to scoop her panties from the floor and shove them into my shorts.

  “I actually just got here,” Zoey said. “I thought a break from life would do us both a bit of good. I'm only here for two days, so it won't be a long visit.”

  My father looked us both over. “Must have been some workout.”

  Zoey turned beet red.

  “Dad, seriously?” I gave him a stern look and stepped closer to Zoey, creating a barrier between her and Dad.

  “Look I get it, but this is your workplace, and you should treat it as such.”

  “What I chose to do is my business and—”

  My father held up his hand and waved me off. “Look, I really don't care, but you have a fight in a month. And you have to stay focused on the prize.”

  “I'm sorry, Chuck, I shouldn't have come,” Zoey squeaked.

  “No, you absolutely should have come.” He smiled at her. “This meathead needs you more than he’ll admit, and we need him focused. Something he’s been struggling with the last week. Maybe a few days with you will cure some of that. I swear he never leaves the house other than to come to the gym, and he needs some time doing something besides training.” Dad turned his attention to me. “I'll take Zoey over to your place and get her settled. Finish your workout and the two sparring matches you have scheduled, and then you’re free for two days. I expect you to still hit the gym like usual, but take two days off of heavy training, okay?”

  I kissed Zoey softly before releasing her to him, and then watched until she was gone.

  I’d never rushed a workout or a sparring match more in my life. I usually made them last a bit longer to toy with the guys, but today I was all business. I had Clay on his back in a matter of minutes. I gave Curtis a black eye and didn't even apologize.

  “Fuck, man,” Curtis complained as he rubbed at his eye in the mirror while I dressed. “What was up with you today?” he complained.

  “Got somewhere to be and no time for messin’ around,” I said as I pulled my shirt over my head.

  “Is Zoey here?” he asked.

  I wasn't sure how he knew, since she’d left before anyone arrived at the gym. “Yeah, how’d you know?”

  “That stupid I’m a goner grin and the I'm about to get some for days smirk you've been sporting for the last few hours kinda gives it away,” he said with a laugh.

  I glared at him.

  “Dude, don't get mad at me. I just call ‘em as I see ‘em.” He threw his hands up in front of himself in a defensive gesture.

  I jabbed him in the arm instead before I turned and walked back toward my bag. “You're just jealous,” I smiled as I walked away.

  “Everybody is man, everybody is.”

  I pushed through the door, eager to get home to Zoey. I spotted my Jeep and made a bee-line for it.

  “Ryder.”

  I heard the familiar purr of a woman’s voice before I saw the woman it belonged to.

  “Red,” I responded coolly when I saw her. Her chest was barely covered, and I looked her over purely out of instinct. Every thought in my brain was how she differed from Zoey.

  “You were supposed to call me,” she said as she ran a finger over my chest. I reached for it and pushed it back toward her.

  “I've been busy,” I said as I tried to sidestep her.

  “Too busy for even me?” She smiled and stepped closer.

  I had been avoiding this because I had a feeling this could go badly pretty quick. “I'm seeing someone, so yeah.”

  Her eyebrows shot up and she looked around like Zoey was going to walk out of the gym at any minute.

  “You?” She covered her throat with her hand and her head tilted like she’d heard me wrong. “You are with somebody? The man who doesn't date?”

  She laughed like a witch cackling and it hit every nerve in my body. I wanted away from her. I suddenly didn’t know what I ever saw in her aside from having a nice body and a willingness to spread her legs on demand. But I wanted more than that now. I wanted Zoey, and Red was keeping me from getting what I wanted at the moment.

  “Yes, and she’s waiting on me. I really need to get going.”

  She smiled, but genuine shock filled her eyes. It only took a second for her to recover, though. “Well, good luck with that. If you ever want to add a third person, you know where to find me. I'll miss that cock for sure.” She looked me over once more before she walked away.

  I was glad she hadn't lost it like others had in the past. I knew what she’d said all along—that she was only in it for the sex—but not all women meant what they said. Many of my flings had turned out to be a bit on the stalker side, and that had been an issue. It's why I had stuck with Red. The sex had been good, but nothing compared to being with Zoey. Hell, it wasn't even in the same zip code.

  I climbed into my Jeep and made my way home. The drive was short, but felt twice as long as usual. No sooner had I put the Jeep in park and I was running up the driveway wanting nothing more than to see my girl and hold her. The quick fuck this afternoon had been hormones, plain and simple. My body wanted her, and there was nothing my brain could have done to stop it once she got me going. I hadn't heard her complain, but I knew she had been a little embarrassed about what m
y dad had said even though he wasn’t blatant about it. He was right, though, and I knew it.

  “Zoey!” I called as I walked in the door. I found her in the kitchen dancing with her earbuds in and completely unaware I was home. I watched as her hips swayed to whatever she was listening to. She was cooking something, and it smelled amazing. I leaned on the doorframe and watched her for a few minutes. When she caught sight of me, she jumped and threw her hands over her chest.

  “Holy hell, you scared me. How long have you been standing there?” she asked as her hands dropped and landed on her hips. She smiled at me and then started to walk over.

  “No, please, continue dancing.” I laughed.

  She turned away from me and gave her butt a little shake. “You like what you see?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.” I walked over to her and looked into the pan to see what she was cooking. There were several peppers cut up in chunks with squash and zucchini. The other pan held grilled chicken breast and brown rice. Garlic wafted out of the pan with the vegetables and I smiled. She had cooked me a clean meal, and I hadn't even asked.

  “This looks amazing,” I said as I reached in and carefully grabbed a green pepper out of the pan. The flavor was amazing.

  “Stop. It's almost done!” She swatted at my hand and I in turn swatted her on the ass as I backed away. “Go get a shower or something while I finish.”

  “What? I showered at the gym,” I declared.

  “What did you use? Dirty gym towels?” she joked.

  “Okay, fine. I might have been in a bit of a hurry to get home,” I admitted. “I’ll be right back. And I’ll expect dancing when I return.”

  I ran and jumped in the shower. Finally clean and dressed in clean clothes, I came back to set the small pub table that adorned my dining area. I didn't need anything big as it has always been just Dad and me. I walked over to grab a dish but she shooed me away.