Ryder (10 page)

My hand flew to my mouth. Stunned into silence for a few seconds while I processed the sight in front of me, I took it all in with a gasp.

On the desk, legs spread wide open, her dress around her waist, was Zelda, the receptionist who’d started at the firm a couple of weeks ago. And pounding in to her was Marcus, protégé extraordinaire, grunting how much he loved fucking her pussy.

I hated office
parties, and this one was fast turning into a nightmare. I’d come with Marcus —our third date as a couple in the public eye—to celebrate the new client the firm had snagged this week. We’d been dating for a few weeks now and I was officially his girlfriend. At least, that’s what I was lead to believe.

Both blond heads turned toward me, two sets of eyes wide and confused.

“You’re a…you’re a cock sucking… motherfucking bastard!!” I screeched.

Sweet Lord, did that just come from
my
mouth?
Must be the influence of one foul mouthed biker.

It felt good to swear.
I was on a roll. “What the fucking fuck is going on here, Mr. Marry-me-soon-and-I-will-give-you-the-world, lying asshole?”

Freaking hell. I
’d just finished reading a book about a guy who’d used his boss’s daughter to get to the top while he was screwing the entire office’s female co-workers, and laughing at her naivety behind her back. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect fiction to morph into reality.

Anger seethed through my body
; I needed retribution for my book heroine and for myself.

“Fuck you
, Marcus. You’re lower than shark shit. And that’s low,” I hissed, my hands on my hips.

His brows knit
ted, panic on his face. He pulled his dick from Zelda and stood there gaping at me. “Jade. I can explain.”

“
Save it, lover boy.” My blood pressure was rising to dangerous levels.
The asshole
.

He indicated between him and the blond between his legs. “
This…this means nothing, darling. I’m just emptying my balls, till I get the chance to be with you. You’re so full of shit with all that romance crap. A man has needs—”

“Yeah, that much is obvious
—
your
needs, balls deep in
her
pussy. But you are a false, pretentious sack of shit, Marcus Masterton. I’m never going to let you empty your balls inside me.
Not going to happen
.”

Marcus
winced. “Jade, please. Let’s talk about this.” His dick went flaccid. Considering I’d never seen him naked, bile rose in my stomach. I wanted to gag. This was not how I pictured seeing my future husband’s cock for the first time.

“
You want to talk with your pants around your ankles, Mr. Lawyer? With her sprawled wide open on your desk? I don’t think so.”

He pulled
his pants up, condom still in place, not bothering to fasten his zipper. He slapped Zelda on her ass, dismissing her. She pulled up the cups of her bra to cover her breasts, her cheeks flushed.

“
Marcus,” Zelda whispered, “what’s going on?”

He turned to her impatiently. “Not now, sweetheart. Get out. I need to talk to Jade.”

Zelda got up from the desk and pulled her dress down, avoiding my eyes. She had the good grace to whisper “Sorry” as she slipped past me and left the room.

“
Just don’t tell your father. We can work something out.”

“What in the hell
did you just say? So this is what it is. You’re more worried about Daddy’s reaction than mine. Nice, Marcus, very fucking nice. Way to go.”

“Jesus, Jade. Don’t overreact. We’re not married yet
.”

“
Thank fuck for that. There is a God looking out for me after all. So, tell me Marcus, how many girls have you fucked since you started dating me exclusively?”

He stared at me, mouth gaping. Then he closed his eyes and turned his head away.

Hmmm…I thought as much. Everyone in th
e entire office except me. Now wasn’t that fucking ironic.

I turned on my heels and slammed the door behind me so that the glass rattled in the frame. For a small girl, I had the power of Thor in me when I was mad.

Fuck Mr. Perfect. He was everything but perfect. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I ran down the stairwell, not wanting to see anyone on my way out. My throat burned and my chest squeezed.
I’m not going to fucking cry. He isn’t worth my tears.

Three flights down, I heard the door open and
Marcus call after me. “Jade, wait. Please.”

I didn’t. Instead, I kicked off my shoes and ran faster, skipping stairs so I could get out of the building and
as far away from him as fast as possible.

Home
. I just wanted to go home.

I ran onto the sidewalk, stabbi
ng at my phone to call a taxi. Sobs raked through my body. I’d never been this humiliated in my life. I bet everyone in the office knew. Everyone except me and Daddy.

Shoving the phone back into my purse, I walked to the corner where I told the taxi to pick me up, shoes in hand. Ig
noring the stares of the people around me, I slipped the shoes back onto my feet and waited to cross the intersection.

Why was the damn taxi taking s
o long? It was futile to try to flag the passing ones. They were all on a mission between destinations.

Just as I was about to cross the intersection, a hand gripped my arm and pulled me back. I swung around, eyes wide, as I fell back against
Marcus’s chest. Asshole with the athletic body had caught up to me.

“Jade. Calm the fuck down.”

Oh, so Mr. Perfect had the F word in his vocabulary after all. Seems the veneer was rather thin.

“
Let me go, Marcus.”

“No. Listen to me. Your father will wonder where you are. He will be asking me
.”

“
Fuck you. That’s all you care about. Appearances. Let me go!”

His grip on my arm tightened, his biceps flexing as he held me in an iron cage.

Self-defence 101. I stepped back onto his foot, stomping down with my heel as hard as I could. Even though I was plastered against his chest, I swung my arm at the same time and smacked him in the balls with my fist. God, those lessons came in handy after all.

Marcus
howled in my ear and loosened his grip, cursing under his breath. “You fucking little bitch.”

He lunged forward and reached for me again. I stepped back, trying to get away, my heart nearly c
limbing out of my chest.

An arm
struck out between us. A taut muscled arm, with a tattoo of a cobra.

Could it be?

“You fucking heard her, asshole. Step away from her if you know what’s good for you,” he growled.

What’
s Ryder doing here
? Of all the people in the entire world, he’s the one to show up now and witness my embarrassment?

Life
sure sucked.

Marcus’s eyes widened. “Who the fuck are you? Get away from my girlfriend.”

“
Your girl
? I don’t think so, motherfucker. Step away from Jade before I fucking break that pretty boy face of yours.”

Marcus turned to me, confusion on his face. “
Jade? You know him? This…this
mongrel
?”

Ryder stood in front of me, facing
Marcus. He looked even bigger than I remembered. Taller. Wider. Angrier. I peered from behind Ryder at Marcus. At first he puffed up his chest like a peacock, but the scary biker’s face must’ve gotten to him. I couldn’t see Ryder’s face, but I could just imagine the expression on it after being called a mongrel.

What I did see, scared even me. Veins were popping on Ryder’s arms and neck, his fists balled by his sides as if he was ready to strike at any moment.

“Jesus, Jade, answer me!” Terror rose in Marcus’s voice as his eyes grew larger. “I don’t want us getting killed tonight.”

“
No, motherfucker, I wouldn’t kill you. Just break that pretty jaw of yours. And your perfect fucking nose while I’m at it. Maybe a leg and arm too for good measure.”

“
R…Ryder.” I stuttered. “It’s OK. He’s not worth hitting.”

He turned his head for a second to look me up and down, concern in his eyes. “
Princess,” he growled, “did the fucker
hurt
you?”

“
Physically? No.” I shook my head and dropped my gaze. I folded my arms across my chest and hugged myself.

“
What’s going on then? Tell me.” His voice was menacing.

I nodded toward Marcus. “
Turns out he’s a scumbag whoremonger. Did I mention he wants to marry me to get to my daddy’s firm?”

Ryder’s eyes lit up. He was finally face to face with my
kinda
boyfriend.

“That so
? Be glad you didn’t hurt a fucking hair on her head. Otherwise I’d rip you the fuck up. As for the other shit, you come near her with your prick again, I will kill you. Slowly. Got that?”

Marcus spat at
Ryder, suddenly brave now that he realized the biker wasn’t a random stranger. “It’s none of your fucking business, muscle man. I’ll slap a law suit on you so quickly, it’ll make your dumb head spin. I’m not afraid of a stupid fuck like you. All brawn and no brains. Scum of the earth.” The venom in his threat was unmistakeable.

“
Marcus. Stop! You don’t know anything about him.” Anger seethed through my bloodstream. 

“
Well, I sure as hell hope you don’t either. And by the way, while you’ve been crying wolf here, should I be worried that this beast has been fucking my girlfriend?”

Ryder took an ominous
step toward Marcus. “I told you she ain’t your fucking girl,” he growled.

“
The moron can’t even speak proper English. Tsk, tsk, Jade, what happened to your standards. Slumming it now, babe?”

My hands fisted by my sides. If I were a man, I’d deck him.

I moved in front of Ryder. “Don’t you dare speak of another person with such disrespect. You’ve humiliated me, isn’t that enough for one night? And by the way, you can explain to my daddy why I’m no longer at the party or going on dates with you.
Or marrying you.
Better use that brain of yours Ace, cause daddy
ain’t
going to buy your bullshit.”

“
Jade, be reasonable. I’m sorry. What happened…it won’t happen again. When I get stressed I need sex, baby. And since you wouldn’t put out, I had to—”

“
You’re right on that score. It won’t happen again. Because I’m not interested in you any longer.” I turned toward my rescuer. “Ryder, is your bike close by? Take me home.
Please
.”

“
You can’t be fucking serious. Let me at least get you a taxi. You can’t go with him. Your old man will kill me.” The fear on Marcus’s face was genuine. He was scared shitless. And so he should be. My father was formidable when he was crossed. He’d have Marcus’s head on a chopping block. And his dick too, when I told him the whole story. Poor Marcus, I actually felt sorry for him—he’d blown his whole future because he couldn’t keep it in his pants.

“
You should’ve thought about dating etiquette before you screwed that girl, Marcus. Too late now, buddy.
As of tonight, you’re my ex-boyfriend
. I’m leaving. With Ryder.”

It was Ryder’s turn to gape at me. “Princess. Jade. You sure you
wanna do this?”

He looked at me as if I was crazy.

I nodded. “Yep. I’ve never been surer of anything in my damn life.”

Shit. My bravado of a moment ago left me the instant I saw the H
arley. What was I thinking? Maybe I should just wait for that taxi after all.

Ryder had a perplexed look on his face, a deep frown marring
the face I was liking more and more every time I saw it.

“
What
?” I challenged, sounding a hell of a lot braver than I actually felt.

He shook his head. “Nothing.”

“Don’t lie to me, Ryder. Not now.”

He shrugged.
“Just ain’t never had a woman on the back of my bike.”

“R…really
?” I choked out.

I didn’t know how this shit worked and I was losing my nerve. Fast.

He smiled, a beautiful genuine smile that lit up his face for a moment—one I’d never seen before. Ryder was breathtaking when he smiled. My heart did a little three sixty degree flip.

“Guess there’
s always a first time. Guess this is an emergency.”

“
Hmmm. Ryder?”

“
What now, woman?”

“
I…I think I’d better take a taxi after all. I’m not dressed for this.”

He looked me up and down, a lascivious
grin on his face and lust in his eyes.
I can do that to him, just standing here?
Wow.

“
If you think I’m letting you go after all that, you’re mistaken. I don’t play the knight in shining armour to just any woman.”

What does he mean?

He straddled the beast and nodded. “Get on.”

I shook my head.

“Fuck, bitch, don’t test me. I said, get on. Now.” He growled.

My mouth went dry.
He called me
bitch
. What the hell had I gotten myself into?

I
heard Marcus’s voice. The idiot had followed us. Tenacious prick. “Jade. Get back here. Don’t you fucking dare get on that motorcycle with that dickhead!”

That was it. I pulled my dress right up my thighs till the lacy tops of my stockings were exposed. Ryder’s eyes widened and his jaw tightened. He cocked his head, waiting for me. I grabbed hold of his arm and swung a leg over the seat.

I felt like a tramp. I felt rebellious. But most of all,
I felt free
.

The bike roared to life beneath my ass, the rumble sending shockwaves through my body
—from my barely covered pussy, to every cell in my body.

So this is what it’s
like to feel alive.

This was what I’d
been missing.

Adventure. Freedom. Living.

Really living
. Fuck yeah.

Ryder pulled my arms around his waist and squeezed my hands. It sent a ripple straight to my core. Sweet Jesus, wa
s I going to have an orgasm on his bike? I squeezed my thighs together, which only made me grip Ryder’s hips tighter.

“
Princess—” His gravelly voice rumbled from his chest.

Marcus
stood in front of us. “Get off the bike, Jade. I’m not telling you again. You look like a whore. I’m not having
my future wife
behave in such an atrocious manner. You’ve made your point. Now get off.”

“You don’t get it do you
, Marcus? I’m not marrying you. Ever. You’re a douche-bag. Who knows where else that cock has been since I became your girlfriend?”

Ryder
turned his head and glared at Marcus. I squeezed my thighs again, gripping his hips even tighter. Then I leaned my cheek against his back and hugged his torso. Tightly.

“
Hold on,” he shouted.

T
he bike roared as we pulled away from the curb, into the traffic.

I looked back at
Marcus. His shirt was still untucked. My
ex-boyfriend
raked his hand through his hair, scowling. As juvenile as my actions may have seemed, I couldn’t resist it—I smiled and flipped him the finger.

I could get used to this.
Being badass
. It rocked!

I let go.

Of everything.

The wind whipped my neatly styled hair
around my face. My dress rode up my thighs till my naked ass was sticking to the leather of the seat. So much for thongs. The vibration of the beast made my body tremble with anticipation. Every thought left my mind as I just absorbed the sensation: my cheek to leather, and the warmth of Ryder’s hard body.

It felt so…
right
. Like I belonged.

I wanted to live, be wild, even if just
for tonight.

“
Where to?” Ryder bellowed above the rumble of the bike and the traffic noise.

“
Anywhere. Just take me away from here.
Just for tonight.
Please.”

“
Yeah,” he groaned, his voice raw.