Rock Hard Daddy: A Single Dad & A Virgin Romance

by Rye Hart

  That coil finally snapped inside of me and I cried out Ryder’s name as stars exploded behind my eyes and my vision became a tiny pin prick of light. Everything was lost to me except the perfection of my orgasm.

  He collapsed on top of me and I held him close, remaining silent. Neither of us said anything, afraid to break the spell.

  Chapter Eleven

  When my eyes fluttered open, I found myself laying in an unfamiliar bed, though I was surrounded with a familiar warmth and scent. I sighed happily and turned over to watch Ryder sleep. He looked so beautiful like that, sleeping so soundly.

  I reached out and ran my hand over his rough, stubbly cheek. He groaned and when his eyes opened, he gazed at me with a semi-confused look on his face. At first I was afraid that he was regretting our night, and that he was going to kick me out of his bed and out of his life. His eyes focused and look of realization came across his face, and with it came a smile.

  He reached out and wrapped his arms around me, kissing my temple and then my cheek. “Good morning beautiful.”

  I was almost surprised by the sudden affection. None of my previous mornings after had been like this, but I accepted it with ease and smiled at him. “Good morning.”

  “You seem a little out of it,” he said.

  “Ah. Yeah,” I murmured. “Sorry. This is all a little surreal.”

  “Why is it surreal?” he asked, his eyebrows knitted together.

  “Because you’re still here,” I whispered.

  “Of course. Did you expect me to leave?”

  “I don’t know what I expected.” I admitted, blushing brightly.

  He leaned in close, pressing his lips to mine in a way that made me melt. “Well, I’m not going anywhere, so you better get used to me,” he whispered, pressing our foreheads together.

  A blush came to my cheeks and I tried my best to not seem flustered, but he already had the best of me.

  “I’ll take that as a challenge,” I teased.

  “You’re going to have to work pretty damn hard to get rid of me,” he said with a wink.

  I just grinned, unable to hold it back anymore as I straddled him on the bed, staring into his eyes. God, I got lost in those eyes. I smiled and pressed my lips to his, silencing him with a kiss. As I pulled back he groaned.

  “Well, you sure know how to shut me up,” he said with a smile.

  I just laughed and kissed him again, pulling the blankets over our heads so that we could laugh and hold each other. It felt good to have his arms around me and a part of me knew that as long as he was by my side, everything was going to be okay. Well, maybe not everything. I tried to shake the thought out of my head, determined that I wasn’t going to ruin the first true happiness I’d ever had.

  We went home that night and instead of staying at the safe house, I stayed with Ryder. It felt so amazing to be so close. I wanted to stay with him forever, but I knew my time was running out. There was something very real that I was going to have to face soon enough.

  Fang was still calling me and pressing me for information. I gave him mixed information, some real and some fake. Any of the real information I gave him was inconsequential. I’d made a decision in my mind, but I had to figure out how I was going to reconcile it.

  I couldn’t sell this club out. They’d become my friends and treated me better than anyone else, including my own flesh and blood had. They were kind to me and loving. They offered me things I’d only dreamed of, but soon my world was going to come crashing down. I couldn’t keep this charade up for much longer.

  The fact that Ryder and I were getting closer by the day didn’t really help matters either. I’d all but moved in with him and as the days turned to weeks I found myself falling in love with him. It was a strange feeling, considering I had never really believed in love. People talked about it all the time, but I’d never seen it first-hand. The only kind of affection I’d ever seen was brought on by obligation. If it wasn’t obligation, then it was a means to an end. Fang had taken care of me all these years so I’d keep fucking him, not because he actually cared about me.

  I was at the dinner table one evening as Ryder set down a plate of steak and eggs. I’d quickly learned that he was the type of man who preferred breakfast for dinner. I jumped a little and cursed under my breath; I’d been lost in my own little world. I took a breath and ran my hand through my hair, sighing softly.

  He raised a brow in my direction and hummed, spooning food into his mouth. “You okay over there?”

  “Yeah. Just thinking,” I murmured.

  He paused and set his fork down, looking over at me and cocking his head to the side. “Listen, I know you aren’t much of a talker, but if you have something on your mind, you can tell me.”

  I closed my eyes and dropped my head. “The thing is, I’m afraid that if I tell you, you won’t ever look at me the same again,” I admitted quietly.

  He paused and reached out, taking my hand and squeezing it, offering a show of support. “If we’re admitting things, I suppose I could go first,” he said softly. “Nothing is going to change the way I feel about you, Brittney. I love you.”

  I stared at him, my heart beating a million miles a minute. I was breathing hard and there were tears in my eyes. “What?” I asked, sure that I hadn’t heard him correctly.

  “I love you. I know it’s kind of soon and you don’t have to say it back, but just want you to know,” he said, nodding firmly.

  I swallowed the thick swell of emotion that was working its way up my throat and closed my eyes, shaking my head back and forth. “You can’t say that!” I whispered, covering my mouth.

  He frowned and stared at me a moment. “You don’t have to get upset. I don’t expect you to say it back.”

  “That’s not it!” I choked, closing my eyes. “That’s not it at all.”

  “Then what is it?”

  “I love you too, Ryder. More than I ever thought I could love anyone. But I’m working for Chaos Theory!” I spat out, unable to keep myself under control.

  I watched his face fall and in that moment, I knew that whatever we had wasn’t going to survive this.

  Chapter Twelve

  My heart was in my throat and the pain that gripped my chest was something I couldn’t describe. I felt hopeless and unsure of what to do next. I’d just given away the secret I’d been terrified of admitting and Ryder was sitting there, staring at me silently.

  I felt tears come to my eyes. “I’m sorry. God, Ryder I’m so sorry.”

  “Sorry?” he whispered, his jaw clenching in anger “You’ve played us and put my entire family in danger and all you can say is you’re sorry?” he whispered.

  “They aren’t in danger! Not yet. I’ve been holding them off. I’ve been lying until I could figure out the right time to tell you,” I practically begged him to believe me.

  “The right time was weeks ago when you first came here!” he snapped, slamming his hand down on the table.

  “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry!” I whispered, tears in my eyes, staring at him as my lips trembled.

  “Sorry doesn’t fix this!” he growled, putting his head in his hands. “I need to talk to Damien,” he said, standing quickly. He glanced back at me and snapped his fingers and pointed right at me. “Up. You’re coming too.”

  My blood ran cold, but I did as he said, standing and keeping my head down as tears coursed down my cheeks. I’d never been so full of remorse before in my life. We went straight to Damien’s home and when we were welcomed inside Damien was seated with Chloe. The baby was down for a nap and seeing my best friend sitting there made me shake. She’d been so kind to me and she was about to find out that I’d betrayed her and everything she loved.

  “Brittney?” she whispered.

  Ryder pointed to a chair. “Sit there!” he growled.

  I winced but did as I was told. Chloe stood up, frowning deeply. “Why are you being so cruel to her?”

  “No Chloe, I deserve it. All of it,” I
whispered weakly.

  The confusion on her face broke my heart and Damien glanced at me and then Ryder. “What in the world is going on, Ryder?” he asked.

  “Tell them!” Ryder snapped, looking me in the eyes. “Tell them what you told me!”

  My throat felt as if it was closing and I was honestly scared that I might be unable to speak. I closed my eyes and dropped my head, rocking back and forth, trying to find my voice. It took me a few moments, but soon enough I managed to pull myself together enough to speak. The words came out in a trembling cascade and with every confession I saw Chloe and Damien’s eyes widen in horror. I told them everything. I told them the plan and how many there would be. I told them about the weapons stock and anything else I could think of.

  “I’m sorry,” I finally whispered. “I know it doesn’t change anything and I know it doesn’t make it better, but I’m sorry and I’m willing to do whatever I have to in order to show you I mean it and that I’m ready to make this right,” I said, my bottom lip quivering.

  Damien was rubbing his temple slowly, his mind going a million miles a minute. He finally opened his eyes and looked at me, sitting up. Chloe was looking away, her eyes full of betrayal and disappointment. I hated myself for hurting them so much.

  “I’m so-”

  “Don’t say it again,” Chloe whispered, her voice shaking as she looked up at me. “We welcomed you here. We cared for you and made sure you were safe, but you were never in any real danger at all.”

  “I was terrified!” I whimpered my eyes wide. “The only life I’ve ever known was in that gang! I had to fight for everything and I didn’t know, I didn’t know I could be happy like this! I know I messed up, but I’m willing to do anything to show you that I’m ready to redeem myself! I’ll do anything, anything at all,” I said quickly, my eyes wide.

  Damien held a hand out, motioning for Chloe to stay quiet for now. “You have a lot to make up for,” he said, his eyes narrowed and trained on me.

  I nodded slowly and looked down. I hated the way I felt. I hated myself for doing this. I hated that I had betrayed the only people in this world who’d looked after me and cared for me. I felt like the worst piece of scum, worse even than those that sent me here. I took a shuddering breath and looked at him with tears in my eyes.

  “I know it’s hard to believe me. I know that, but you have to try and understand that I was backed against a wall,” I told him. “My mother abandoned me and the only way for me to survive was to get into bed with one of those animals. They threatened to kill me on a daily basis and the only thing I had going for me was the fact that the leader wanted to sleep with me. If I thought I had a choice, I would have left a long time ago. I hate what I’ve done, I hate it so much and I want to be here! This feels like family and I want to be a part of that.”

  As he listened, Damien’s gaze softened and he sighed, running his hand through his hair. “Alright,” his eyes flicked up to mine and hope welled in my chest.

  “But you have a lot to prove, kid.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  We needed to act fast. Things could go very wrong very quickly, and just like Damien said, I had a lot to prove. I waited nervously in the room, feeling jittery and bouncing on the balls of my feet as my teeth chattered. The entire gang was gathered outside, drinking and chatting as if they were having a party. I would have expected more nervous energy, but everyone other than me seemed calm. I wondered how they could sit there so easily but I understood that if they showed any other emotion than that, the entire plan would implode.

  I’d called Fang earlier in the day and while Damien and Ryder listened in on my call, I told him Damien’s club was having a party tonight. Since there would be drinks no one would be armed. I informed him of a back route to the camp that I hadn’t even known about until now. On paper it seemed like a good way to get in and out of the camp, but since it was the only way through the woods and hills, it was going to present a problem for Chaos Theory.

  Damien planned on having his men sneak back around after Chaos Theory entered the camp and block-off the exit. It was going to be one hell of a trap. Once they realized that Damien’s gang was in fact armed, they would try to leave and get pinched in between the two groups. Chaos Theory would be outnumbered and they’d go down.

  Damien made it clear to me that if I had any alliances or friends in this gang, I was going to have to accept that they were going to die. This wasn’t a situation in which Damien was willing to take prisoners. They had trouble with Chaos Theory before. They’d let them be for a while since they didn’t encroach onto their territory, but now that Damien knew the plan had been to take him out, he wasn’t going to leave any survivors.

  My mother had wandered off weeks ago and I knew Fang wouldn’t risk bringing junkies to a fight; they were more of a liability than help. I understood that everyone from Chaos theory was going to be dead by sundown and part of me felt guilty. The guilt, however, didn’t come from a place of regret; it was borne from the knowledge that I wasn’t going to miss a single one of those assholes. I briefly wondered how awful of a person that made me.

  I turned my Coke around in my hands, taking a sip of my beer as I glanced around the party. It was so strange how they could remain so damn calm. Ryder was leaning in a nearby chair, watching me with heavy eyes. I started to walk over toward him, but he got up and left before I could reach him. Even if I managed to win back Damien’s trust, I knew that the life I’d hoped to have with Ryder was gone. I’d ruined my only chance at happiness.

  As the “party” wore on, I glanced at my watch and started to wander from the rest of the group. Fang wanted me to meet them just inside the woods so that I’d be out of the way. As I broke the tree line I could already see the faint shimmer of bikes in the light. They weren’t hidden well and that meant they weren’t thinking clearly. It was a very real possibility that they’d decided to do this raid high.

  I jogged over to the bright chrome bike and Fang sucked a long puff off the end of a crack pipe. When I came into view he tossed me a grin and reached out, grabbing my arm and yanking me close.

  “Well, well. If it isn’t our very own Trojan horse,” he hummed, leaning in to press a long, wet, sloppy kiss to my lips.

  I winced and tried to turn away, but he had a tight hold on me and snorted when I tried to pull free. “What, Princess?” he whispered, his voice full of blatant disrespect. “Didn’t you miss me?”

  “Of course,” I snorted, rolling my eyes. I couldn’t act too eager or he might get suspicious. “Let me down.”

  “Whatever you want,” he said, a strange gleam in his eye.

  I swallowed and started to take a step back, but didn’t make it far before he wrapped his hand in my hair and yanked me back towards him. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  I yelped and tried to hold as still as possible. “I can’t be in this fight!”

  “You too good to fight now?” he snarled, throwing me over the bike.

  I was forced to wrap my arms around him as the bike roared to life and broke the tree line, heading straight for the camp. My throat was dry and fear was making my chest feel tight. I knew that Damien, Ryder, and the rest could hold their own, but I still feared for them. I didn’t want to see any of them hurt. A lot could happen in a gun fight and just because they knew it was coming, didn’t mean they were going to get out without any casualties.

  As we got closer to camp Damien and his men drew their guns and I could see Fang’s eyes widen and his body tense. He turned to look at me, his lips pulled back into a snarl.

  “You little traitor bitch!” he snapped, jerking his elbow back and catching my nose.

  I heard a loud pop and crunch as my nose broke and stars exploded in my vision from the pain. As I tumbled off the back of the back I caught Ryder’s gaze and I was surprised at the emotion that I saw in his eyes.

  He was genuinely scared for me.

  Chapter Fourteen

  I hit the ground so hard m
y ears were ringing, and when I managed to sit back up, they were already shooting at one another. While I felt guilty about this whole thing, I didn’t feel guilty enough to get caught in the cross fire. I had to survive long enough to ensure that Ryder was safe. Even if he hated me, I loved him and I had to know that he was okay.

  I managed to dive behind the partial foundation of a house that was being built. A few bullets ricocheted off the concrete before the shooter turned their attention to Damien’s men. I took a deep breath, my eyes narrowed and my mind focused. I needed a weapon I could defend myself with.

  Across the foundation there were rebar spikes that were used to reinforce concrete slabs. I army crawled across the ground, my arms and elbows scraping against the pavement as I moved, my eyes wide and focused on the rebar.

  I could still hear bullets flying through the air behind me, but the sounds were fewer and farther between. Damien had probably taken out most of Fang’s men by now; they were better armed and had clearer heads.

  My fingers finally wrapped around the rebar and I jumped up. I was about to rush forward when someone grabbed me and yanked me back around the one wall of the house that had been stabilized. I tried to scream but whoever had me, slapped over my mouth to keep me silent.

  I tried to kick and scream until the man leaned down and whispered in my ear. “It’s me.”

  Tears filled my eyes as I looked up at Ryder, hardly believing he was there. “Why are you here?” I held up the rebar, my hands still shaking.

  He cupped my cheeks and shook his head. “You think a piece of rebar is going to protect you from bullets?” he asked, staring down at me.

  I was covered in scrapes and cuts from being thrown off the bike and blood was still dripping steadily from my nose. I know I must have looked a mess.