Ryder

by Ali Parker

  “So, sir, I’d love to find out a little more about the new infrastructure budget that was recently rolled out. Can you tell me more about that?” Cayden read the question from the list he had scribbled at the top of the page of his notebook. Softballs to start off with, soften him up before he went in for the killers.

  “Of course,” Clarke said smoothly, all the while smiling and waving out at the people, “Our new budget addresses several shortfalls that have risen over the past year. We’ve gotten complaints about several specific sights, and we’re set on listening to the people and giving them what they want. That’s was this representative is all about.”

  Cayden nearly rolled his eyes at the evasive answer but dutifully wrote down the words nonetheless. As he was scribbling he glanced over at Blair who was in the middle of taking photos of Clarke and the surrounding constituents. She was the lead photographer and now that he was senior writer they would be spending a lot more time together.

  He wondered idly if she’d be willing to give him any more insight into Sophie. They were best friends. Surely, she would know. What made Sophie tick. Her likes and dislikes. Her favorite restaurant.

  Why do you even care, Cayden? He asked himself with brutal honestly, it’s over between you two now. Time to move on. Find the next girl of the moment. But it wasn’t as easy to forget her as it had been in the past. Something about Sophie stuck with him, like a needle poking him in the back of the neck, impossible to ignore.

  He knew he should try and put Sophie behind him, but it wouldn’t hurt to just ask a few questions, would it? No harm in that. He turned back to catch sight of Blair. She’d let her camera drop to the strap around her neck and had her phone up to her ear. By the look of her furrowed brows and the angry flush in her checks, whatever she was listening to wasn’t good.

  “Did you have any more questions for me? My people are waiting for me.”

  Cayden jerked back to the man’s greasy smile and quickly rattled off the last few questions on his list. A few minutes later he had what he needed to write a great front page article for the paper, but for some reason he couldn’t get excited about it. Normally the thrill of getting to the truth brought him a fierce joy but his mind kept going back to Sophie. Over and over again she rose up in his thought, repeating like a broken record.

  “I need to talk to you. Now.” Blair’s angry voice interrupted the tail end of his interview and Cayden waved an apology at the man before letting the red-faced photographer pull him aside.

  “Blair, what’s going on? I’m in the middle of a job,” Cayden started to question her but she pushed a sharp finger against his chest, cutting him off.

  “No, you need to listen to me right now,” Blair bit off, and Cayden could see true anger shining in her eyes. She was actually a little frightening when she was pissed off which would have been impressive considering Cayden towered over her by at least a foot if he wasn’t so worried she would try and do him physical harm.

  “Blair, what the hell?”

  “Don’t what the hell me!” Blair hissed with a quick look around them to make sure that no one else was within ear shot. “I can’t believe even you could sink so low.”

  Cayden’s brows furrowed in irritation at Blair’s words. He knew as a friend she would probably be a little pissed off on Sophie’s behalf but at the end of the day it was just business. He did what he had to do to get the promotion and he told her just that.

  “Hey, I didn’t do anything Sophie wouldn’t have done.” Cayden said, interrupting Blair’s next tirade before she could get started. “I know that it was maybe a little under the table turning in the article to Harry without letting her know what I was doing. But that’s a big maybe–.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Blair cut in, staring at him like he’d suddenly sprouted an extra eyeball or something. “You think this is about the promotion? Listen, it was shitty lying to her and going behind her back but to…to take advantage of her, after everything that had happened. When she was in a vulnerable state of mind. And then to come back and brag to about it to everyone like she was some sort of conquest. That’s despicable, even for you.”

  His mind whirled as Blair’s words sank in but even still it took another long minute for him to make sense of them.

  “Wait a minute, are you talking about me and Sophie sleeping together? How did you even know about that?” Cayden asked out loud, his mind trying to muddle through what Blair was saying, and to figure out why she was so pissed. “It doesn’t matter. Sophie is an adult who made her own decision. She was right there with me every step of the way and I’m not really sure how it’s any business of yours.”

  Blair’s eyes grew wider and wider with every word but she wasn’t the only one who was getting angrier. “You’re right,” She spat out the words. “It’s none of my business. It’s no one’s business except you and Sophie, but she’s sure as hell not the one who’s bragging about ‘conquering’ the ‘stone princess’ all over the office.”

  “What are you talking about?” Cayden demanded, his stomach sinking as a sneaking suspicious filled him.

  “Sophie just called me and left a message on my phone telling me what happened. The entire paper is gossiping about her and it’s only a matter of time before Harry finds out. She handed in her resignation today, Cayden. I hope you’re proud of yourself.” As the last word fell from Blair’s mouth like a bomb exploding inside him she turned and stomped away leaving him standing there on the sidewalk by himself.

  As the shock of Blair’s revelation wore off, fury slowly took its place and he knew exactly who to direct it at. The only other person in the world he’d told about him and Sophie and what really happened between them on their trip to D.C.

  Cayden was shaking with anger as he pulled out his phone and jabbed his finger at the screen to dial Brad’s number. It rang twice before the other end picked up but Cayden didn’t waste any time.

  “Hel–.”

  “Brad, what the hell, man? What’s wrong with you?” Cayden shouted, trying not to completely loose it as the crowd started to disperse around him, “For fuck’s sake, why would tell everyone about what happened with me and Sophie?”

  “C–Cayden? What’s wrong with me? You’re the one calling and yelling like a maniac. You’re never shy about the girls you screw. In fact, it’s usually you doing the telling. It was just too good this time, I couldn’t wait.”

  Cayden swallowed down another round of curses. Because the truth was, Brad was right. He usually was the one bragging about the latest woman he’d charmed into his bed.

  “Listen, just, stop it, okay? Sophie is…different.”

  “Different?” Brad snorted, “Why the fuck are you so upset about this, dude?”

  Cayden was silent as his mind turned over his friend’s question but he couldn’t come up with a reply. He didn’t have an answer.

  Chapter 17

  Sophie

  Sophie let the cardboard box slide from suddenly numb fingers, letting it stay where it had fallen in the middle of her apartment floor. It was everything that she’d had, all of the personal things she had collected in her office at the paper over the last few years. And now, it might as well be garbage.

  She had turned in her letter of resignation, despite Harry’s vehement disapproval. She just couldn’t do it. She couldn’t face that day after day after day. The stares. The gossip. The knowledge. It was humiliating enough to know that Cayden had lied to her on the way to getting the promotion for himself but this…It was just pouring salt in an already gaping wound. It was too much.

  With a huff of irritation Sophie willed herself into the tiny apartment kitchen and sent up a silent prayer when she found the half bottle of red wine left tucked away on top of the refrigerator. After the day she’d had, she could definitely use a drink. Or more than one. Sophie glanced at the wine before shrugging. Hell, she was officially unemployed. She’d take the whole bottle.

  Fury and embarrassment s
till warred inside her over what had happened with Cayden but she tried to push the emotions aside as she grabbed her laptop, sat down and started the search for a new job. She’d been hoping to work for World News for years but that wasn’t going to happen now. She still had to pay her bills and New York wasn’t exactly a cheap city to live in.

  Sophie was about to give up looking through the classifieds when a knock at her door had her jolting in surprise from her seat on the couch. It was late, she knew that much. After she’d downed the half a bottle of wine she’d found, a god knows how old fifth of vodka tucked into the far reaches of her freezer, and had spent the last few hours getting steadily drunk by herself. It was the least she deserved after the day she’d had.

  The knock sounded again, insistent and far too loud at her front door.

  “Alright, alright,” Sophie huffed as she unfolded her legs and pushed herself to her feet, “I’m coming. Just hold your horses.”

  Sophie didn’t bother to look through the peephole but instantly regretted it as she opened the door to find Cayden’s mysterious, deep blue eyes staring down at her.

  “You!” She growled, all the anger from earlier rushing back. Sophie moved to slam the door in his smug, arrogant, back stabbing face but Cayden caught the door with his foot before she could get it closed.

  “Get out of here! You…you terrible human being!” Sophie shouted, trying ineffectually to get the door shut but Cayden wasn’t budging and the alcohol in her system wasn’t helping things.

  “Please, Sophie,” He begged from the hallway, “I just need to talk to you. I need to apologize.”

  “Apologize?!” Sophie exclaimed, throwing the door wide open once more. She crossed her arms over the skimpy tank top and shot him her deadliest glare. “Apologize for what? For lying to me? For going behind my back to give Harry the article after you told me you weren’t going to write one? For telling every single one of my co-workers that we slept together–.”

  “I never did that, I swear!” Cayden said, stepping forward until he was close to her. Too close. So close that it was suddenly hard to breath as anger and the chemistry that was always between them ignited. “It was Brad. He’s the one who spread the gossip.”

  “But you told Brad! Unless he’s psychic or something? Did Brad the psychic copy editor somehow just sense that we’d slept together?” Sophie said in a rush trying desperately not to inhale as Cayden’s delicious spicy scent invaded her lungs. It wasn’t fair. Despite everything, she still craved him.

  Fighting and losing against the wave of desire Sophie tried to bolster the anger, closing the last inch of distance between them as she jabbed a pointed finger into his chest.

  “You lied to me.” With every sentence, she punctuated it with another stab of her finger. “You betrayed me.”

  “Ow! Stop that–.”

  “You double-crossed me.”

  “Ouch. Jesus, Sophie, that hurts–.”

  “And then on top of it all you had to go and tell everyone about us! I had to turn in my resignation! I couldn’t take it!” Another three more stabs of her finger.

  “Sophie, stop it right now–.”

  “I–,” Stab, “Will,” Stab. “Not!” Stab. It was on the final jab of her finger that Cayden reached forward, wrapping her in his strong arms and pulling her so tight against his body she could feel every single familiar inch of him.

  “Listen to me, Soph.” Cayden pleaded with her, his ocean blue eyes liquid with emotion as he stared down at her. “I never wanted you to resign. I never, ever meant to hurt you.”

  Before the last word had even fallen from his lips he was lowering his head, their mouths drawn together as if by a force beyond themselves. They crashed together, clinging to each other and the kiss went instantly molten. All the anger and fury that had built up inside her melted into a lust more intense than she’d ever experienced before in her life. She needed him. Now. Right now. And if she didn’t get him she wasn’t sure what would happen but she knew it wouldn’t be good.

  They tore at each other’s clothes like animals, both driven by the same instinctual need as they stumbled to the couch. Cayden was dragging off the cotton shorts she’d been wearing and everything was a blur of need as he slipped on a condom, not even bothering with the rest as lined their bodies up and slid home.

  It was perfect. Somehow, just like every other time with Cayden, it was perfect as if they were made for each other. They thrust in time to a frantic beat, hitching and writhing against the other as wild desire overwhelmed them both.

  It was quick and hard and furious as Cayden pounded deep inside her, giving her everything that she’d never known she needed. Sophie wasn’t even aware that she was screaming out his name as she came. Her whole body convulsed as wave after wave of ecstasy pulled her under so deep she couldn’t breathe.

  It wasn’t until Cayden collapsed on top of her just as breathless and panting as she was that Sophie finally floated back down to herself.

  “Why do I keep doing this to myself?” The question fell out of her mouth before Sophie even realized she’d said it out loud. Cayden reached out, tucking a tousled strand of hair behind her ear.

  “Because you want me,” He whispered softly against her sweat dampened forehead, “And I want you. Honestly, I’ve always wanted you but I knew you were out of my league. You were real.”

  “Oh yeah? And those other women were what, all plastic?” Sophie snorted, still lying boneless and satisfied beneath him.

  “No. They were just hookups. Just for the sex. The momentary thrill. You’re the type of girl that you bring home to meet your parents. The type that scares the hell out of me.”

  Sophie met his gaze, gray against blue, and she was shocked at the sincerity she saw there. Gone was the arrogant distance that he wore like a mask and for the first time Sophie felt like she was truly seeing Cayden Ray. And she liked what was there.

  “I really am sorry, Sophie. If I had known that Brad was going to open his fat mouth and tell everyone about us I never would have said anything.” Cayden shook his head, his blue eyes clouding over with honest emotion. “I know I can never make it up to you in words but maybe actions will prove it to you.”

  “What are you talking about, Cayden?” Sophie asked, her voice hoarse from the screaming or the tenderness tightening her chest she wasn’t sure.

  “I told Harry that I’m not taking the senior writer position. It just doesn’t feel right.”

  “You can’t do that! You earned that job.”

  “No, I didn’t. Not really. I took advantage of the situation and used it to get what I wanted.”

  Sophie met his gaze for a long moment. “So, what are we going to do?”

  Cayden shot her a quick-fire grin that had her heart fluttering like a hummingbird inside her, “Well, for starters, I think I owe you a proper date.”

  “A real date with Cayden Ray?” Sophie whispered, a soft smile curling the corners of her lips. “I think I’d like that.”

  Chapter 18

  Sophie

  Sophie smiled as she held up the loose, cotton dress, staring at it for a moment before packing it into the suitcase that lay propped open on top of the bare mattress. It was the same dress she’d worn the night after she’d gotten out of the hospital. After she’d been hit in the head with a large rock and knocked unconscious. After Cayden had rushed in and saved her. Turned out he was more of a knight in shining armor than either of them had given him credit for.

  It had been months since that fateful weekend and she was in the middle of packing her suitcase to visit her parents. It amazed her sometimes, to think about how just a few months could change so much.

  After resigning from the World News Sophie had started on as a freelance for a popular magazine based out of New York City and she had already been promoted. She loved what she was doing, and even though she still had moments where she missed Harry Brewer and working with Blair, she knew it had all happened for a reason. She was now ex
actly where she belonged.

  In her work, and in her love life. She and Cayden had been dating steadily and he’d surprised her more than once with a kinder, romantic side that she’d never even known he’d possessed.

  He’d also been true to his word, stepping down from the senior writing position and working damned hard over the past few months to earn it the right way. And she knew he was doing it all for her. To prove to her that he’d meant what he’d told her that he truly was sorry for how things had gone down.

  Looking back, she’d been devastated when everything had been happening but now, there was nothing she regretted. Not if it meant she fell asleep in Cayden’s arms every night.

  “Are you packing or are you just staring into space thinking about me?” Cayden’s voice startled her. He must have let himself in while she was lost in her thoughts. Sophie turned to him with a cheeky smile.

  “Thinking about you, of course.”

  “Of course.” Cayden said, leaning down to kiss her before moving to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her as they both looked around the now nearly empty apartment. “Everything just about packed?”

  “Yep. Everything’s ready for the movers.” Sophie glanced over the neat pile of boxes in one corner. All she owned in the world. She felt Cayden tighten his embrace. Well, maybe not all.

  It still seemed like a dream to her. They were visiting her parents over the weekend but when they got back they’d move in together. They’d gotten a little townhouse on the outskirts of the city and all that was left was to clear out the last of her apartment. It seemed surreal that they had come so far.

  Through everything that had happened, the past five years of working at the paper, her relationship with Cayden, and how they had both grown so much. Not just as people, but grown together. She couldn’t imagine her life without him and those moments that she let herself think about what would have happened if she’d actually married that asshole Peter made her shudder.