Stealing Ryder (3 page)

“Excuse me,” I
said politely, looking directly at the poor frustrated salesman, “do you have any of those hybrid roses which are crossed with white and pink? They usually make a very light dusted pink color that I think my friend here wants.”

“Ah. Yes. I can get those to you no problem. I wasn’t understanding how she wanted us to make the pink, but the hybrid roses I can do
,” he said, finally understanding what sort of color and flower Skye wanted.

“See, it was that simple.” I pointed to her and laughed because I knew the stress she was feeling was finally getting to her
; and truthfully, she needed my moral support now more than ever.

“It’s not my fault they don’t understand.” She huffed and gave the guy the rest of her order before we walked out of the shop.

“Now, that took all of thirty seconds; so you dragged me out of spending the day at the ocean to tell you something I could have very well fixed over the phone?”

“But, I needed you
,” she whined, but we very well knew she really could have fixed all of this if she had just called me.

“Jayson at work again?” I asked.

“Yeah, he had to fly up to San Francisco for some last minute client meeting, but I really needed him here. I just don’t know what to do with this wedding,” she murmured, clearly stressed out about everything.

“How about we go for coffee or something
, and not talk about the infamous wedding that isn’t even happening until May?” I asked, pointing to one of those on-every-corner coffee shops across the street.

“Yes
, please. I am in definite need of a little pick-me-up,” Skye enthused, clicking her heels on the cement pavement beneath her.

Once we sat down and ordered our two vanilla lattes, Skye pulled out her
blinged cellphone and texted something to who I could only assume would be Jayson.

“Anything important?” I asked curiously when she didn’t look up from her phone.

“Oh, sorry. I am just telling Jay about the floral arrangements. He has some big meeting or something. I don’t know, but he isn’t answering and I am getting worried,” she confessed to me, while running the tips of her manicured hands through her long curled blonde hair.

“Are you worried he is about to bug out on you with this whole wedding?” I asked
, knowing that her fears were valid. Her dad left her without a father, and her mother was on her—God only knows which number—, marriage.

“It’s just…what if he doesn’t want me anymore
, in like, ten years. I am not always going to look like this, you know; looks do fade, and I really have nothing else going for me.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it. Don’t talk crap like that
, Skye. I am serious. Jayson loves you for who you are, not because you look like you walked off the hottest runway…”

“I do?!” Her ears perked up when I complimented her.

“Shut up. You know what I mean,” I said.

“No, I know. I get it. I
’m just scared, terrified almost, about what’s going to happen. Maybe I really am too young, like you said earlier. Maybe I am rushing into all of this too fast.”

“Bullshit
,” I muffled, irritated she would even begin to think like that.

“You know
, when Ryder and I got together, everyone around us kept telling us we were moving too fast into some deep, unknown waters; but they had no right to tell us what they didn’t know either. I’ve never been happier, and couldn’t imagine where my life would be right now if it wasn’t for him. He is my family, so is Evelyn. I embrace his flaws, his weaknesses, and his life. He is my mind, body, and soul, and I love him more than I could even begin to tell you.”

I looked up at Skye
, who was shocked at what I said. Ever since I had been with Ryder, I had been trying to open up to people more. Even though it scared the living crap out of me, I wanted Skye to get to know the inner me, and not just the person she brushed on the surface. Together, we had begun exploring our friendship on a deeper level than just what it was externally.

“I know. T
hat’s how I feel about Jayson. Like, sure everything was sort of fast, but it just clicked with him. My mom keeps putting these thoughts in my head that he will leave me, or that when he is on his business trips he is cheating on me, so I worry.”

“Your mom
wouldn’t know how to keep a marriage if it depended on her life. What is it now, her fourth? Fifth?”

“Her fourth. I guess you
’re right…” Skye said, digging into her purse for something. When she pulled out the small black jewelry box, I was immediately alert.

“What’s that?”

“It’s for you. You don’t think I’d be stupid enough to call you down here just because I needed help with the flowers, did you?” She laughed because she knew that’s something she totally would do.

“What’s this for
, though; I don’t get it?”

“It’s your maid of honor present. I never formally asked you to be my maid of honor, so I am doing it now. Open it up.”
She said excitedly, pointing to the black box that was now sitting on the table.

I grabbed it from her and pulled the bow she had tied
around it. When I opened it, the breath escaped from my mouth. There was a small, delicate necklace, and a charm of my initial with a couple of diamonds on the side.. Under that necklace, there was the exact replica, but instead of an H, it donned an S.

“I know its cheesy and all that stupid shit, but
it’s my version of friendship bracelets. We both have matching ones,” she said, plucking hers from the box.

“I love it.
Seriously, Skye, this is too much; but of course, that means it came from you.” I got out of my seat and gave her a big bear hug, irritating her because I was messing up her perfect curls.

“Stop it
; you’re going to make me cry!” She said, as she slipped the necklace around her neck, and I followed her actions with mine. I cannot believe that just a few short months ago, I wanted to run away and leave her behind. She is the sister I never had.

“I
’ll catch you later,” she said, as we both chatted briefly before walking out the door. We turned to part ways towards our separate cars, but not before I heard her perky voice over the loud cars passing through the street.

“Hey, Harper?” She called out as I turned around to face her. “Thank you for always being there for me, no matter what happens.” She waved and walked away.

I think I am going to like this new Skye, and this new and improved friendship.

Chapter 3

Ryder

I couldn’t get her out of my head the entire day. Fuck. When she left this morning, I could feel her
soft tits press up against my chest, and instantly, my dick responded. I tried to cover it up as fast as possible, but I couldn’t help that her body demanded to be touched in every which way possible.

I had to shake it off before I faced
my daughter; and after she left, I spent the entire day playing on the beach with Evelyn. I almost forgot how fucking amazing Harper looked this morning, when I saw her pulling into the driveway around six.

The thin fabric that separated
my eyes from her skin was soaked with sweat. She must have gone to the gym after she saw Skye. She told me that when she saw Kylee kissing me, she started taking up running again to get the frustration out. I understood; it was the reason I surfed.

I don’t know i
f that has been the cure to her nightmares, but she hasn’t had one in a really long time. I honestly thought it would be a harder time being with her and watching her wake up and harm herself, but with the running seeming to help, it’s been good. But even if she were in the middle of the worst nightmare, I would be her rock.

“Hey
, beautiful,” I said in the thickest Texan accent I could muster. She said it was “panty-dropping”, or some girly shit like that, when I talked with my accent. I didn’t hear it, but she even said Evelyn talked with a slight southern accent from being around Kylee and me.

“Don’t touch me. I’m all gross.” She wrinkled her nose and
pretended liked she was smelling her armpits.

“I think you smell amazing. It reminds me of the time…” I said with a hushed tone
so Evelyn, who was sitting in the television room, wouldn’t hear.

“Stop it.” She playfully slapped me and started bringing her gym bag upstairs.

“I am going to grab my stuff and bring it to my place. I have some laundry I have to do, and you’re here with Evelyn,” she said, before she headed upstairs with me following quickly at her foot.

“What are you talking about?” I asked her with force
, frustrated she was just going to run away again. She frequently did this, and it annoyed the crap out of me. Why couldn’t she just tell me how she was really feeling? Instead of hitting the nail on the head, she always played this damn game of tag?

“Nothing, just spend time with her
,” she said, as she started to throw a few sets of her clothes in a bag.

“
Damnit, just tell me. What’s wrong? You have been here so many times when she is here, so I don’t get what’s different now?” I asked her, when I finally noticed the diamond necklace draped over her collarbones. “Who is that from?”

“Chill. It’s my maid of honor gift from Skye. I don’t want to feel like I’m suffocating you
,” she confessed.

“What are you talking about
, woman? We’ve already talked about this. You aren’t a bother to Evelyn or me, so take your clothes back out of the bag. You are staying. Evelyn has to go to bed anyways, and I left you some food from dinner; we went to Max’s.” Max’s was a local grill not too far from me. I never cooked…ever. The few times I have tried have been an epic failure. Poor Evelyn would be raised on chicken nuggets and French fries if it wasn’t for her mom.

I walked over to Harper
, who was unpacking her clothes from her bag, and kissed her on her head, pulling her tight against my chest.

“Don’t ever think you’re a burden, okay?” I persisted again.

“Okay,” she muffled into my chest.

I walked back downstairs and grabbed Evelyn
, who was already falling asleep on the couch. After going through her bedtime routine, the same routine we had been using since she was a newborn, I walked back into the master bedroom, where Harper was typing the start of her novel on the laptop.

I set the monit
or on one of the drawers and walked towards her. Her tanned legs were propped in a perfect L-shape on the bed, and all I could think about was ripping them open and tasting the sweetness of her. When I got to the foot of the bed, I crawled up against her.

I rubbed my hands down the upper part of her legs
, touching her smooth skin.

“Stop it
,” she whined jokingly.

“Oh, you want me to stop?” I
asked, taking this as a challenge and pushing her computer aside, wrapping her against me, feeling her chest move with each breath.

She started playing with her
mouth, biting her lip, and pressing them together, which sent me into another world of needing to feel her. I threaded my hands around the back of her head and pulled her towards my lips. I pushed my mouth, almost violently, into hers, needing to feel her with desperation.

I pulled her shirt up and yanked off her bra to ex
pose her perfectly round tits, and dove onto her nipples to tease her ever so slightly with the flick of my tongue. The escalating moans escaping her mouth turned me hard as a damn rock. My dick was pressed against her, with only the fabric to separate us.

“Fuck
,” she murmured through groans, and I obliged her by ripping off her shorts and exposing her shaven pussy. Throwing her legs apart, I started kissing her from her tits, down to her navel, trailing my tongue along her skin in between wet kisses as I slowly made my way down.

She arched her back and groaned
, demanding more from me; but I just laughed silently, knowing she was building up pressure just to explode at the right time.

When I got down to her soaking wet pussy
, all I could think of is putting my rock solid dick inside her and making her cum for hours; but I played this game and ran my tongue around her swollen lips, tasting her sweetness. I licked her thoroughly, flicking my tongue in different directions while placing a finger inside her. Her groans were steady as she let go to the pleasure I was giving her.

“Baby, please
,” she whimpered.

I moved away from her
; she grabbed my pants and took them down, my boxers following.

“Tell me what you want
,” I demanded, looking at her enormous brown eyes, which were shadowed with seduction. She could just bat her fucking eyelashes to get me to put my dick inside her, but I wasn’t about to give up any of my secrets just yet.

“I want you
,” she barely spoke out, as I moved my lips around hers, teasing her by not pressing them onto hers.

“Tell me what you want
,” I commanded again, this time a little more forcefully. It was sexy when she dominated.

“I want you…inside of me. Now
,” she growled, her lips turning into a seductive pout.

At this point
, I was so hard it hurt, so I grabbed her hips and slid inside of her, watching her lips form a perfect O as I pushed deeper inside. I grabbed her hips and forced her to ride me on top, throwing her above me, letting her sink onto me as she cried out.

Her hands were on my
shoulders as she slammed down on me in a grinding motion, making the pressure inside of me rise, knowing I needed her mouth to taste me, to suck me off. I pulled her off of me, a puzzled look growing on her face. I stood up and stared at her.

“Down.” I stared at her
. Her mouth gasped, but she obliged willingly, almost excitedly, as she slinked towards my swollen head. She got down on her knees and grabbed me with her fist, shoving me inside of her mouth.

My head
tilted back and I succumbed to the pleasure her tongue was giving me.

“Fuck. Yes
,” I growled at her, letting a few groans escape from my mouth. The repetitive in and out motion of her mouth quickened; with every surmounting push inside, I felt the pressure building deep inside, and immediately knew I needed to release it.

Oh
God…yes. I couldn’t stand it anymore; her tongue was flicking around, touching the head so lightly, but with just enough pressure. I immediately grabbed her shoulders, desperately wanting to release together, and threw her on the bed. She bounced, but opened her swollen, pink pussy for me.

I shoved inside of her, slamming against her walls repeatedly. Over and over again
, she cried out as I pressed firmly against her stomach to push even deeper. I needed to…

“Please
, baby,” she huffed through panting breaths.

“Say it
,” I demanded, wanting to hear it from her again.

“I…am…going…to…cum
,” she managed to squeal out.

I pressed my lips tightly against hers
, and kissed her face gently before I released her, and slammed the building pressure of my cock inside of her.

I heard her cries and let go immediately, releasing the pent up
frustration, letting the warm fluid sink inside. After one breath of relief, I pulled out, letting the rest of my fluid fall on top of her, before moving to clean myself up. I always loved seeing it; it was my way of marking her as mine.

I grabbed a couple tissues on the nightstand and handed them to her, her face still flushed red with pleasure. I was exhausted and relieved. All I could think about doing now was
lying next to her and falling asleep.

When I looked over at the bed, I saw her slight frame curled up in the
sheets. I slid into the side I usually slept on and grabbed her by the stomach with one hand. I pulled her against me and started singing a slow lullaby into her hair.

I used to do it with Evelyn
, and it would make her fall asleep quicker. It had been working for Harper to make her feel better after her nightmares.

“I love you
, Ryder,” she said through sleepy yawns.

“I love you so much
, Harper. I don’t know where I would be without you.”

“I’m scared
,” she whispered faintly.

“I know
, baby, I know. But everything will work out.” I knew she was referring to our earlier conversation about Kylee wanting to move to Houston. We both knew our fate sat in the hands of Kylee, in the hands of someone who wasn’t on our side.

***

Before I knew it, I had to bring Evelyn back to Kylee. Harper had gone to work at Rita’s for a little bit, so I decided to meet Kylee at Balboa Park with Evelyn in one of those collapsible strollers.

I saw her immediately
, walking towards us down by the long lap-pool. Evelyn and I were playing by the water, looking at the ducks that were hanging out in the small pond structure. I was surprised to see Kylee all done up like she was. She looked like she was goin’ out for a night of clubbing. With her thick make up, she looked plain trashy. It’s a pet-peeve of mine, huge turn-off.

“Hey
, you,” she flirted, walking towards me after she gave Evelyn a kiss on the forehead. She looked like a whore trying to swing her hips around to entice me. I applauded her efforts, but all I could think about was the woman I’d have at home, who’d be waiting for me when she got off work.

“Kylee.” I was direct in my speech, not faltering even once.
She pressed onwards, moving her long fingers around my arms, circling them around my bicep.

“Stop
,” I demanded.

She huffed and sat down while we watched Evelyn playing
fearlessly with the ducks and birds in the park.

“Did you get the invitation from Kayden?”
she asked after a few moments of silence.

“What invitation?” I asked.

“Typical. You never change, Ry. Check your mail once in a while, why don’t ya?” she drawled. I realized the invitation she’s probably talking about was the one Harper had mentioned earlier.

“Are you goin’ to tell me what it was about?” I asked.

“Yeah, we are both invited to go to his wedding to Savannah Livingston. He wants us to be in the wedding. Savannah asked if I could be in her bridal party, and I guess Kayden wants to have you as a groomsman.”

“Oh, yea
. Damn, I miss Kayden.”

Kayden Knox and I grew up together in
Texas. We both played football together at University of Texas; but when I left for the NFL, Kayden took my place. We both loved to go out and party, always hanging out at his clubs and picking up chicks, but I left Texas before I got to meet Savannah. From what I hear, he is completely pussy-whipped.

Savannah knew Kylee from some function they attended
at their country club and they were friends. I guess they want us to come to Texas to their wedding. I would be all over hanging out with the old bros, I haven’t been back to Houston, or Texas for that matter, since I left; I just didn’t want to deal with family crap.

“Are you going?” she asked.

“I’ll have to see if I can get off work. I don’t know. I haven’t been back since I left.”

She looked down before she spoke, “I know, but I was thinking maybe I could just see if I like it there. If maybe we
’d like it there…together?”