“Did you not hear what I said? He will send someone after you, Ryder. He will kill you, all of you, just like he did my family.”
Ryder chuckled, nuzzling her cheek with his and placing a soft kiss at her temple. “If you think the Caldwells will bow down to a man like that, then you don’t know us very well. We protect our family at all costs, Rayna, as well as those we care about.”
She heard the underlying threat in his voice, and the claim in his words. He was telling her that he cared for her, and would protect her. For the first time in a long time, Rayna allowed herself to wonder what it would feel like to be loved by a man like Ryder Caldwell. He was the type of man who lived for his family, and would die for them if he had to. Lord help her, but she wanted a man like that in her life. Not just any man. She wanted Ryder.
Ryder stepped back from her as the song came to an end, catching her hand and threading his fingers with hers. They walked over to the table where the Caldwell family sat, his hand never leaving hers. Just when they reached it, someone began to announce the band that was playing that night. “I have to go play for a bit,” Ryder said, smiling down at her, “but you are not leaving. When I’m done, we will figure out a way to fix the situation, instead of running from it.” The last was said quietly, but with purpose. Raising their hands to his lips, he gently kissed the back of hers, before dropping it and walking to the stage.
Rayna watched him go, her emotions waging a war inside of her. She wanted to stay, but if she stayed, she could get them all killed. Ryder turned and looked at her, one foot on the step leading up to the side of the stage. Their eyes locked, and a slow, crooked grin crossed his mouth, making her heart skip a beat. Could she really leave this man without knowing what the future held? There was a time when she would have done anything to be with him.
“Have a seat, Rayna.” Katy’s voice broke through her thoughts, bringing her back to the present. “If you stare at my brother like that much longer, his ego will get much bigger than it already is, and none of us want that.”
Her cheeks a fiery red, Rayna walked around to the other side of the table, dropping down into a chair in between Katy and Sloane. She noticed both Katy and Creed sat with their backs to the wall, where they could keep an eye on what was happening in the bar, and no one could sneak up on them. It was a habit of most police officers, and one Rayna followed herself. “Thanks,” she said, her attention going back to the stage when the band started to play.
They were good, very good, and Rayna found it hard to tear her gaze away from Ryder to scan the room periodically for danger. Every so often, she would respond to a question asked by someone in his family, but for the most part, her eyes never left Ryder. Several questions played tug-a-war in her mind, the main one being, should she stay or should she go.
She was so enthralled with Ryder and his voice, that it took Rayna longer than normal to feel the eyes on her, watching her from across the room. A prickly feeling started at the base of her skull, slowly spreading out, and she froze, smiling at something Katy said as she began to scan the room. She relaxed somewhat when she found Nathan leaning against a wall talking to a pretty redhead. He looked over at her before glancing toward the bathrooms, then back at her. He wanted to talk.
Rising, Rayna told Katy that she would be right back. Making her way around the dance floor, she glanced at Ryder one last time before turning down the long hall that led to the restrooms. A small squeak left her when a hand clasped around her upper arm and she was yanked into a dark room, and the door shut quickly behind her. The punch she automatically threw out was blocked, and two arms wrapped around her tightly, holding her arms to her sides. “Stop it, Rayna,” a gruff voice ordered, “it’s just me.”
“Nathan, what the hell? I could have hurt you!”
“You weren’t doing a very good job of it yet,” Nate scoffed, letting her go and stepping back.
Choosing to ignore the small jab, Rayna glared at him in the darkness. “What are we doing in here?”
“I was told you wanted a meeting, and we can’t do that out there in front of a hundred people. Not without blowing my cover.”
Rayna shoved her hands in her back pockets, indecision beating at her. “I was thinking about calling this whole thing off,” she finally admitted. “I’m placing people I care about in danger. It just isn’t sitting well with me.”
“Well, you should have thought about that before we set the plan in motion,” Nathan said, his voice low and rough. “It’s too late now.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, Diego took the bait. My sources tell me that he not only knows who you are, but he also knows that you are here, in Serenity Springs.” She felt Nathan move past her, then a small sliver of light appeared when he cracked the door to the room open slightly. “You aren’t going anywhere, sweetheart. Not until we catch this son of a bitch.”
He was gone before she could respond. Following him into the empty hallway, Rayna used the restroom quickly before going back to the table. She looked at the family who meant so much to Ryder, horror filling her at what she was subjecting them to. What had she done?
“This next song is one I wrote when I was just a teenager.” Still standing rooted to the spot by the table, Rayna turned to look at Ryder. “I wrote it for someone very special to me.”
Ryder’s eyes met hers, as his fingers began to slowly strum the guitar strings. Her heart clenched when his voice rang out over the room, strong and clear, singing a song from so long ago.
Eyes the color of the sweetest chocolate,
Light brown hair as soft as midnight rain,
A smile to match the clouds above,
A touch of her lips, is like a taste of heaven.
“I haven’t heard him sing this song since before the accident,” Cara said, her voice full of shock. Reaching over, she took hold of Rayna’s hand. “I assumed it was about Olivia, and it hurt him too much to think about it.”
Rayna’s dark brown eyes sparkled with unshed tears, as she glanced over at Ryder’s family. “I was there when Ryder wrote the song,” she told them, “but it isn’t about Olivia.” Biting her lip to try and hold back the tears, she looked back at Ryder. His head was now bowed, his voice low as he sang. Slipping her fingers from Cara, she wiped at some tears that slipped free. “My sister had green eyes, like my mother’s.”
“Oh,” she heard Sloane gasp loudly, “it was your song.”
Rayna smiled at her through her tears. “Yes.” Knowing she had to get out of there, Rayna told them goodbye quickly. After one last look at the man on stage who had captured her heart once before, and was on his way to wrangling it once again, she turned and ran.
Ryder finished the last set, spoke with the band, and packed up his guitar, before making his way down to where his family waited. He’d seen Rayna leave earlier, and even though it bothered him that she walked out in the middle of their song, he understood. It had hit him just as hard singing it, as he was sure it hit her hearing it.
When he reached his family, he handed his guitar to Caiden. “Can you take this back home for me? I have somewhere I need to be.”
“Son,” his mom said, placing a hand on his arm, “try and go slow with Rayna. She is going through so much right now. I don’t think you understand.”
“I do, Mom” he said quietly, covering her hand with his.
“No,” Cara shook her head, squeezing his arm gently, “I’m not talking about the reason she’s here, son. I’m talking about her feelings for you.”
Ryder leaned down and placed a soft kiss on his mom’s cheek. “If it’s anything like what I’m feeling for her, then we should be just fine.”
“I hope so, but I get the feeling that she thinks she will always be living in her sister’s shadow around you, Ryder. You need to show her that what she fears, just isn’t true. I see the way you look at Rayna, and it has absolutely nothing to do with Olivia.”
Ryder hugged his mom close, thanking her, before saying goodbye to eve
ryone and leaving The Cavern. His mother was wise beyond her years, and if she thought that was how Rayna felt, then he was sure it was true. Now he just needed to figure out how to change it.
Lost in his own thoughts, Ryder did not see the man watching him from the bar. The dark eyes were trained not only on Ryder, but on all of the people with him, and they gleamed with satisfaction.
Chapter 20
Rayna turned off the road, driving slowly down her driveway towards the house. When she left the bar earlier, she was too upset to come home. She needed time to think, so she took the highway south out of town and drove for almost fifty miles, her thoughts filled with Ryder and memories of her family. Two hours later, she had finally come to the conclusion that she was tired of living in the past. No one knew what the future held, but the present was here and now. And right now, what she wanted was to be with Ryder. She had no idea where it would lead, but she felt like she deserved the chance to find out. She could not change what was happening right now with Cortez. It would happen whether she was with Ryder or not. All she could do was do everything in her power to protect the people she cared about from whatever Diego sent their way.
Getting out of her car in front of the barn, Rayna ran and slid the large barn doors open, flipping on the lights. There was a storm coming, and she wanted her car out of it in case it hailed. She just barely got her vehicle inside the barn before the rain started. It beat down heavily on the old tin roof, and angry winds rattled the front doors. Rayna closed them most of the way, but kept them slightly ajar so that she could watch the storm. Several minutes later, she climbed the stairs on the side of the barn to the hayloft, and stood gazing around at the bales of hay that filled up half of the loft. The large floor was also covered in it, and one of the loft doors was open.
The people Rayna bought the farm from had horses, and when they moved, they left the hay because they did not want to transport it all of the way to Denver from Texas. The loft looked just like it did when she was a child. She remembered playing hide-and-seek with Matty in the barn. Laughing loudly, chasing each other around the loft, jumping over bales of hay. Where was that laughter when she needed it now? Where was that joy, the love from her family?
Rayna stiffened when she heard the distinct sound of the barn doors below opening, and then slamming shut. Was it Diego’s men? She knew he would be coming for her. She had no idea how long it would take, but now that he had found her, he would be coming.
She heard footsteps on the stairs heading up to the loft. They were coming towards her. Removing her 9mm from its holster, she raised it, leveling it at the top of the stairs, before quickly lowering it again when Ryder’s face came into view. His gaze on her, he crossed the floor, stopping in front of her.
Thunder rumbled across the sky, and lightening flashed as they stared at each other. “You left,” he accused her quietly, his hands clenched tightly into fists at his sides. “You left.”
He was mad because she left the bar? She’d had to leave. She had to get out of there. He was singing their song. The memories had torn through her, ravaging her heart. Stiffening her spine, she placed her hands on her hips and asked, “Ryder, where exactly do you see this going?” Ryder took another step toward her, but kept silent. She wanted to move forward with him, but she had to make sure she was the one he really wanted first. She refused to be the one he settled for because her sister was gone. Taking a deep breath, Rayna said, “I am not Olivia, Ryder.”
“I know you’re not,” he growled, as he slowly reached out and caressed her cheek. “Olivia is gone, Rayna. She’s dead. I know that.”
“And I could be soon.”
Ryder’s eyes flashed in anger. “Don’t you ever say that again!” he ordered. Sliding his hands into her hair, he held her firmly as his lips collided with hers. Rayna moaned as he thrust his tongue past her lips, finding hers. His hands tightened in her hair, holding her in place when she would have pulled back.
Rayna brought her hands up, clutching tightly to his shirt, swamped with emotions. Heat was rising inside of her, the need to touch him almost unbearable. Stepping closer, she returned Ryder’s kiss desperately. He felt so good against her.
Slowly unclenching her hands, she reached down and tugged his shirt from his jeans. What she was about to do might be wrong, but she needed this man, more than she needed anything else right now. Giving up after unbuttoning the two buttons at the bottom of his shirt, she grabbed hold of it and ripped it open, buttons flying across the loft. She had to touch him, had to feel his skin against hers.
“Rayna,” he groaned against her lips, pressing his lower body against hers. “Fuck,” he moaned at the feel of her full breasts against him.
Tearing her mouth from his, she licked and sucked her way down his neck, and then over his chest tracing one of his tattoos with her tongue. His hands still clenched tightly in her hair, he groaned her name again as he guided her lower, over his stomach, and lower still.
Quickly undoing his belt buckle, Rayna unbuttoned his jeans and slid the zipper down. She glanced up at him, theirs eyes meeting as she slid her hands inside the waistband of his jeans, pulling them down over his hips, his boxer briefs quickly following. Dragging her eyes from Ryder’s dark blue, hungry gaze, she lowered them to watch his cock as it sprang free. Grasping it in one hand, she leaned forward and licked the tip, before slowly enclosing as much of the thickness into her mouth as she could. Both of Ryder’s hands were threaded through her hair in a firm grip, holding her still as he pulled back, and then pushed forward into her mouth. “That feels so fucking good, Rayna,” he groaned, doing it again, and again.
Rayna opened wider, allowing more of him inside her. Sliding her hands up and around to cup his bare ass, she dug her nails into the hot flesh as she allowed him to control the pace. Soon, Ryder pulled back, slipping from her mouth. When she would have protested, Ryder shook his head. “No. We have played around long enough, Rayna. I need to be inside of you. I want to feel you surround me. I need more than just your mouth. I need all of you.”
Slowly standing, Rayna nodded, taking his hand. “No,” Ryder protested. “I want you here. Right here.” Sliding his hands down her sides, he gently pulled up her dress, slipping it over her head. Sliding out of his jeans, he walked over to a bed of hay and laid the dress out on top of it, along with his shirt. Slipping the belt out of the loops in his jeans, he placed them on the hay too. Looking back at her, he held out a hand.
Her eyes never leaving his, Rayna went to kick off her boots. “Leave them on,” he growled, “they are sexy as hell.”
Her heart pounding, Rayna undid the front clasp of her bra. Flipping it off over her shoulders, she let it fall to the ground, soon followed by the lavender panties she wore. She looked over to where Ryder waited, his hand still held out to her. Making her way toward him, she let her gaze wander over his hard, muscular body. A body that was kept that way from days of hard work on his ranch. Slipping her hand into his, she reached out with her other hand, trailing it over his bare chest and then down his abs. She had never met a man more breathtaking to her, and she could not stop touching him. He let her play for a minute, before pulling her close, capturing her mouth with his. He slipped his tongue into her mouth, claiming her once again as he slowly lowered her to the clothes. “You are so beautiful, Rayna,” he whispered, leaning back to look into her eyes, “so beautiful.”
Cupping her breast in his large hand, Ryder leaned down and playfully nipped at her nipple before circling it with his tongue and sucking it into his mouth. Rayna cried out when he tugged on it with his teeth, and then sucked again. “Ryder, please,” she gasped, clutching his shoulders, trying to pull him up her body, “I need you.”
Ryder moved over her, bracing his arms on the floor beside her head. Their eyes met, and Rayna dug her nails into his skin, as she raised her hips to him. Sinking his fingers into her hair, he covered her mouth with his as he pushed deep inside of her. Rayna cried out, bucking her hips into his
, again and again, trying to get him to move.
Tearing his mouth from hers, Ryder rasped, “Slow down, sweetheart. I want to take my time and enjoy this.”
“I can’t,” she gasped, as he slowly pulled out, then pushed back in. “Ryder!”
She felt one of his hands move down her side, and then slip under her leg, lifting it slightly as he drew back and then pushed deep inside her again. “You feel so good,” he groaned, lifting her leg higher, and pushing in deeper. “So fucking good.”
Rayna couldn’t stay still. Need was rising inside of her, and soon had her begging and pleading with him to move faster, harder. Tightening her hold on his ass, she pushed up, meeting him thrust for thrust. Pleasure swamped her, and soon she could not hold back the scream that left her throat as an orgasm ripped through her. Ryder quickly followed, groaning her name as he came.
Rayna gasped for breath, as Ryder slowly pulled out of her and lay down, holding her close. Trailing his hand down over her rib cage, then back up to cup her breast in the palm of his hand, he muttered, “I don’t think I can move, baby.”
Snuggling close, Rayna murmured, “Me neither.” She wanted to close her eyes, and fall asleep. She was so tired, and she felt safe next to Ryder, even if she was out in the middle of a barn, with no locks on the doors. “I should go inside,” she said sleepily.
“Don’t you mean we should?”
Shaking her head groggily, Rayna said, “No, we can’t. I might hurt you.”
“Rayna,” he lowered his head to kiss her gently on the lips, “do you trust me?”
“Of course.” There was no hesitation in her response. She trusted the man with her life. There was no question about it.
“Then let me spend the night.” Rayna started to protest, but Ryder gently laid a finger over her mouth. “You need sleep. You said yourself you never rest more than a couple of hours at a time. Trust me. Let me watch over you while you sleep.”
Opening her eyes to look at him, Rayna fought with herself before finally nodding. “Okay,” she agreed.
Saving His Soul (Serenity Springs Series, #3) Page 10
