Ryder’s arms swoop down and he lifts me up and starts walking towards the house. I see him wince as soon as he does it. “Ryder, put me down. You’re still hurting, baby,” I demand.
“I gotta carry you over the threshold, my beautiful wife. Just let me do that and then I’ll put you down,” he says.
I’m about to say okay, when his lips are pressed against mine again, giving me soft gentle butterfly kisses. He pulls away again. “God, I’ll never get tired of kissin’ you,” he sighs. Me neither.
When we make it to the house, Ryder instantly sets me down. I can see in his eyes that he’s still hurting, but he won’t admit it. He’s still got a long time to go before he’s completely recovered from his gunshot wound. Ryder thinks it’s a weakness. I disagree with him. I think it shows a lot of strength.
The rest of the group joins us, as we continue the celebration well into the night. When everyone has had too much to drink and eaten themselves into a coma, they all slowly start to leave.
****
Finally, Ryder and I are alone in the house. I can hardly believe it. We are husband and wife and I’ve never wanted anyone more. The only thing that can make our lives more perfect is the day we will welcome our babies into this world.
Bringing me into our room Ryder turns on the familiar song that was playing the first time we made love “You and Me” by Lifehouse. Taking my hand he guides us to the side of the bed. Ryder stands behind me with his chest to my back. He very gently takes the straps of the dress and moves them down my arms in a caressing manner. My dress falls to the floor, pooling around my feet.
I can feel his hot breath blow against the skin on my back, making me shiver. He moves his hand to my neck and brushes the hair to the side, leaning in and places delicate kisses to my neck.
“You are the most beautiful woman on this earth. I love you, Ella. Forever,” he whispers into my ear.
“Promise,” I say, moving my hand behind me to his neck and curling them in his hair.
“Forever,” he declares. Turning around to face him, I move my hands down to his dress shirt and work the buttons off sliding it down his shoulders. My hands caress his chest, taking extra time on the scar just to the left of his heart and then I place a soft kiss on it.
Ryder bends down and put his hands behind my knees, lifting me up and laying me down on the bed. Carefully climbing on top of me to make sure he doesn’t put all of his weight on my belly, he takes my mouth in a passionate kiss. I move my hands further down and work his pants open and off. Ryder releases a hiss when I take him in my hand and stroke his gift from God.
“I want you Ryder,” I beg.
“Oh, you’re gonna have me, baby,” he groans into my mouth.
He moves me so that I’m lying on my side and his chest is once again pressing against my back. His hand grips my leg and hitches it over his thigh, opening me to him as he enters me from behind in one slow torturous thrust. Both of his arms wrap around my middle and his hands rub my swollen belly.
I lean my body back against his chest, close my eyes and smile when I feel the thrumming of his heart on my back. I take comfort when I feel the rhythm quicken with each delicious movement he makes with his hips.
“Ryder,” I moan.
“Enjoy it babe. This is where it all begins,” he says.
I turn my head to the side and his mouth instantly seeks out mine. Ryder swallows the sounds of my moans as he continues to take me slow and gentle until we both reach our sexual release together.
After we both have finished climaxing, he tucks me into his side and whispers in my ear, “Go to sleep, baby.”
“Okay. Love you, Mr. Wilde.” I love the sound of that.
“Love you, Mrs. Wilde.” I love the sound of that even more.
Then we both fall asleep.
Epilogue
Ryder
Five years later………
It’s a beautiful sunny day and we’ve decided to take Harley and Hendrix on our bikes to the coast for a few nights at the cottage before school starts. I watch intently as Ella is gettin’ our daughter Harley ready by puttin’ on her helmet and placin’ her on the seat of her very own custom-made dark purple Harley Davidson motorcycle. I got it for her on our five-year wedding anniversary. She totally freaked the fuck out, jumpin’ up and down like a little girl. I fuckin’ loved it! I know how much she loves to ride on mine, so I got her some lessons and she got her motorcycle licence.
Now, here we are takin’ the kids with us for the first long ride on our bikes together. She walks over to our son Hendrix and lovingly places a helmet over the mess of brown curls on top of his head and then brings him over to my bike. I pick him up and place him on the seat in front of me. I lean into Ella and give her a kiss.
I rub my hand down her leather clad arm and grab her hand, tuggin’ it up to my mouth. I kiss the inside of her wrist as I inhale her familiar scent. To this day, I can’t smell candy apples without gettin’ a hard-on. I drop her hand to my thigh, flippin’ it so it’s palm up. My fingers trace the tattoo on her wrist that is identical to the one on mine. In simple black script is the word ‘Forever’, with our wedding date and the birth date of our kids below.
She looks down at our hands with a wicked sexy grin. Then she leans her smokin’ hot body into mine and whispers, “As awesome as our kids are, I really miss having a baby in the house.”
“What are you sayin’, babe?” I ask, hoping she is thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’.
“I want to have another baby, Ryder,” she says with that drop dead gorgeous smile on her face. Just the thought of her belly, round with my child again, makes me instantly hard as a rock.
“Really?” I ask, hopefully.
“Yeah Ryder, really.”
I carefully hop off the bike as to not knock Hendrix off and put my shoulder to her stomach, liftin’ her up and over my shoulder. Yeah, I know kinda caveman, but she brings that out in me.
“Trips cancelled,” I say to the kids, running with Ella towards the house. The kids start giggling as they watch me carry their mother away.
“Ryder, put me down. We promised the kids,” she says, laughing so hard she snorts. Christ, I love this woman.
“I can’t wait, babe. You have me so hard right now I could use my dick as a fuckin’ hammer,” I tell her.
“Ryder we have all night, handsome. Wait until we get to the cottage and I will make it worth your while,” she promises me in her sexy voice, which is not helpin’ to make me any less hard. I reluctantly stop and set her feet back on solid ground.
She is still the most beautiful fuckin’ woman I have ever laid eyes on, and trust me I’ve seen my fair share of women. Even after all this time, I crave her like my lungs crave oxygen, every single second of every single day. I’ve had lots of steady lays and one night stands in my lifetime, but I’ve never done the whole love thing. Until the day when Ella walked into my bar, then I was a goner. All other women ceased to exist for me. I fell hard for her. Hell, if I’m being honest with myself, I fell in love with her the very moment I laid eyes on her.
How funny is it, that when I saw this chick run into a light pole and fall on the ground that I would be lucky enough to get to spend the rest of my life with her. A guy couldn’t get any luckier. She’s the love of my life, the mother of my children and a fuckin’ wildcat in the sack with a G.I. Jane alter ego. Who could ask for more?
So much has happened since we’ve met and I wasn’t sure we would survive it all, but here we are.
The days following the news of Ella’s pregnancy, I struggled with what to do. God, how I wanted to be the man she deserved and the father my kid deserved, but I wasn’t that man. I was a fuckin’ coward and made the decision to leave them.
I was only gone for a couple of days and I was suffering, bad. I realized I couldn’t do it. I wasn’t the better man after all. I was selfish. I had to be with them; no I needed to be with them. The both of us had gotten used to being on our own without our
families, but here was our chance to finally be a family together. I just hoped that I hadn’t fucked it all up and that Ella hadn’t already left town with Payton and Karen.
Before heading back to Del Mar, I stopped into a Tiffany’s jewellery store and picked a simple, but gorgeous platinum solitaire engagement ring. I imagined her sayin’ yes and puttin’ it on her small, delicate finger. It sounded like fuckin’ heaven to me. Nothing would make me happier than spendin’ the rest of my life with that incredible woman.
I finally got back into town after being gone for five days and I immediately went to our house lookin’ for her. She wasn’t there, but her things still were, so I headed to the hotel that I knew Karen and Payton were stayin’ at. She wasn’t there either and they didn’t know where she was.
Payton told me she had gone to the hospital for a doctor’s appointment, but never showed up for it. She tried callin’ her on her cell, but she wasn’t pickin’ up. It went straight to voice mail. They had contacted the police and were told that there was nothing they could do until she had been missin’ for more than forty eight hours. The hairs on the back my neck stood up. I knew that there was something seriously fuckin’ wrong.
I searched everywhere I could think, but she was gone. I was in the office of Wilde Ride the next morning, tryin’ to come up with a plan, when my phone rang. Lookin’ at the display, it said ‘Unknown Caller’. I answered with, “Talk to me.”
A voice answered with, “I know where Ella is.” They told me her location, and then you know the rest of what happened that fateful day. It pretty well sucked ass takin’ a bullet to the chest, but I’d do it again in a fuckin’ heartbeat, if it meant savin’ someone I love.
I can remember wakin’ up in the hospital and not being able to talk because of the fuckin’ breathing tube down my goddamn throat. I looked up in a panic and the first pair of eyes I made contact with was Ella’s gorgeous brown ones. They were filled with tears as she looked at me and I felt her fingers as they stroked the back of my hand.
My eyes looked down and I saw my ring on her finger. When I looked back up and our eyes connected again, she nodded and simply said, “Yes.” That one little word made me relax long enough so that they could pull the damn tube from my throat. It hurt like a son of a bitch, but I took it like a man. The first scratchy words out of my mouth were, “Kiss me.” And what a fuckin’ kiss it was.
Four months later when she told me “I Do” was one of the best days of my life. I never thought it could get any better, remembering her walkin’ down the aisle in that sexy as sin white dress, I thought I was gonna burst. My chest was so tight. I was waitin’ for somethin’ to ruin it, like everything else in my life. Now that she is mine, I will never let anything happen to her again.
Then she gave birth to my babies. Now that was the best day of my life. I got the call while I was at the Wilde Ride, tying up some loose ends before I left to spend quality time with Ella. I had someone set up to run the bar because she was put on bed rest, tryin’ to keep the twins inside of her as long as possible. I was never so scared in my entire life when I got that call. She was 36 weeks along in her pregnancy, so it wasn’t too early, but it was still early and it was the first time I had left her side since she was put on bed rest. I hated every second of it.
I raced home to see her crouched over in pain. Payton and Karen were there givin’ her support. Payton was rubbin’ her back and Karen was countin’ with her and goin’ through some breathing exercises to try and make it easier. I ran over to Ella, pickin’ her up and carryin’ her to my truck. Once we were all situated, we headed to the hospital.
When we got there, Ella’s OBGYN, Dr. Chaulk, rushed us into the delivery room. Apparently Ella was in labour for quite a while and didn’t want to bother anyone in case it was a false alarm. The doctor said if we had waited any longer, she would have delivered them at home.
I changed into green scrubs and had to take a few deep breaths before goin’ into the delivery room. I’m not gonna lie. I was totally shitbaked. I, Ryder Wilde, was going to be a father and it scared me fuckin’ senseless, but I still couldn’t wait to get that first glimpse of our babies. I pulled my shit together and walked in, ready to give Ella all the support she needed.
On May 9th, 2012 at 12:01 am and 12:15 am, my gorgeous wife gave birth to our two beautiful babies. They were and still are the most amazing little things I have ever seen. The nurse handed them over to me, situating one in each of my arms and I held them next to Ella and said,
“Hi Mommy,” I croaked, my throat tight with emotion. I leaned over and placed a soft kiss on her lips.
“Hi Daddy,” she replied, with tears spilling down her cheeks. You could hear the joy and exhaustion in her voice. She pushed herself up on her elbows placing soft kisses on our babies’ heads. Goddamn, I love my family somethin’ fierce.
Two of the nurses helped to clean up Ella and the babies and get them settled in the room. Picking my little miracles up, I placed Harley and Hendrix in their mother’s arms while I went and got Payton and Karen.
When they came in, I leaned into Ella and took Hendrix while she was holding Harley and got our first family picture taken. I have a copy of that picture everywhere. Hung up at the bar, in my truck and tucked in my wallet. I waited a long time to get my family and I couldn’t be happier to add to it. I love my wife. She keeps giving me the best gift possible, a happy life.
As for the pricks that tried keepin’ me and my family apart, let’s just say they got what they had comin’ to them.
The day I got shot rescuing Ella, the Del Mar Police Department did a raid of the premises and of another property. Obviously they found some girls that had been abducted and held against their will and they found a shit load of cocaine and heroin.
Most of the members of Mayhem and The Devil’s Disciples ended up in the joint after being sentenced to fifteen years. At first, I couldn’t stomach the thought of keepin’ in contact with the guys that planned on sellin’ my woman for sex and killin’ my babies, but Gunner contacted me through a letter and wanted me to visit so he could explain their actions.
During my visit he told me that Axel and the members of The Devil’s Disciples had threatened to torture and kill them and their families, if they didn’t go along with the plans. They did what they had to, to protect their families. I can’t be pissed at Axel anymore for the role he played in what happened to Ella because he’s gotten his punishment, death.
Matt got sentenced to five years with the possibility of parole after three, for his attempted rape on Ella. Not fuckin’ long enough in my books. If it was up to me, the asshole would’ve gotten life. He was incarcerated at the same prison as my brothers.
About two years ago, Ella got a call notifying her that Matt was up for parole and gave her the option to attend the hearing and give a victim’s impact statement. Around that time Ella became very edgy and started having night terrors causing her to scream, wakin’ the whole house up. We all fuckin’ suffered, watching her relive the trauma of Matt’s attack.
A couple of days after receivin’ that phone call, I went to visit Gunner and set the hit in motion. Three days before the hearing, we received the call from the prison informin’ us Matt had been shanked in his cell. Fucker bled out on the floor before anyone found him, couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. Ella’s slept like a baby ever since. She has yet to question me on it, but I’m sure she knows the part I played in his death. If she does ask in the future, the answer is simple. I did what I had to do to protect what’s mine, my family.
As for Brent, apparently the message I sent was received. He quit his job and moved back with his mommy and daddy. I do feel a little bit bad for beatin’ the shit out of the guy for somethin’ Matt did, but he was still movin’ in on my territory. I couldn’t have that, could I?
I look down adoringly at my wife and interlace our fingers. “Let’s hit the road, babe. The sooner we leave means the quicker we arrive at the cottage and I can g
et your fine ass in bed and start makin’ us some more babies.”
“Okay, baby. I love you,” she says.
“I love you too,” I return, lifting her hand and kissing the tattoo on her wrist.
“Forever,” we both say together. It’s kinda our thing we say to each other now.
We walk over and hop on our bikes, shifting our children over so that they are sittin’ on the seats between us and the gas tank. I lean down and speak into Hendrix’s ear, “You ready, bud?” He nods his little helmeted head.
I glance over at my wife and daughter. Ella is saying something into Harley’s ear. Harley looks over at me and gives me a, two thumbs up gesture. Ella and I smile at each other as we rev our engines and pull out for our journey. Yup, life fuckin’ is good.
All in all it was a wild ride, but it was our ride.
The End!
The Ride Series will continue with the story of Payton and Jack.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - Graduation
Chapter 2 - First Sighting
Chapter 3 - The Wilde Ride
Chapter 4 - Ryder’s Place
Chapter 5 - A Long Day
Chapter 6 - A Longer Night
Chapter 7 - Plan B
Chapter 8 - Oatmeal
Chapter 9 - Break and Enter
Chapter 10 - Brent the Creep
Chapter 11 - Party Hard
Chapter 12 - Confessions
Chapter 13 - Flowers
Chapter 14 - Issues
Chapter 15 - Going for a Run
Chapter 16 - Teacher’s Pet
Chapter 17 - Double Ds and Text Messages
Wilde Ride Page 20