My face was smooth; the line of my jaw was sharp after shaving. My hair was styled to perfection. I looked like an ass when I saw myself in the mirror. My suit fit me well, considering I never wore it. The man in the mirror looked like he was part of the mob, which was the type of look I was going for. But playing the part was what needed to be done.
My phone rang just as I was looking at the time. I answered with a question.
“Is it done?” My voice was stern, hoping I hadn’t been let down.
“Yeah, you got a meeting tonight at seven. Dragon’s Lair.”
Garrett had gotten me a meeting with Gavin. I was going to position myself in this case as a potential buyer. If all went according to plan, Gavin would sell me weapons, and maybe some drugs to sweeten the deal. And I would bust his ass, ending this before something happened with Andi. Being close to Gavin would also keep me close to Andi. I just needed to give her a heads up before I walked into the club tonight and she was blindsided.
I finished getting ready and went to The Sweet Life to see a certain redhead.
Andi was covered in flour when I saw her after I snuck in the back door and walked up to the display.
“Hey!” She beamed as soon as she saw me, and then she looked up and took in my new appearance.
“Wow, Ryder. Um, you look hot.”
My lips turned up into a smirk. Good to know she thought I was hot. But then she opened that cute little mouth again, making me smile harder.
“I like your normal look better though. This is nice, but I like the rugged Ryder more.” Perfect, she was too perfect.
“I’m liking your look right now. I’m liking it so much I want to run my tongue all over your body, lick that flour and sugar right off of you.” I leaned in to whisper that last part. She pulled in her bottom lip, thinking about what I had said.
“Geez, you guys need to get a room, seriously. The sexual tension in here is so hot it’s melting the chocolate.” Dallas fanned the air in front of her as she walked past us. I liked her; she was a riot.
“I do need to speak to you, in private.”
She smacked her hands together to shake off the flour stuck to her, and walked toward the office. I leaned against the desk as she washed her hands in the bathroom. Then she entered the office, looking fine as hell. But that was normal for her in my eyes.
“What’s up?” she asked casually as she walked toward me. My arms automatically opened for her, flour and all. She just wrapped her arms around me and waited for me to speak.
“I’m entering the case.”
She gave me a look of confusion, so I went on.
“I’m going undercover as a potential buyer for weapons and drugs. This needs to end, and you can only hold off being celibate for so long. And the hell am I going to let you sleep with him as part of a job that isn’t even your job. You are distracting him, so he won’t have his guard up as high. It’s the chance we haven’t been able to get in three years. I just need you to act like you don’t know me.”
She held my eyes, trying to take in everything I said. A few moments passed before she spoke.
“So you are going to be an undercover bad guy? And I need to not know you?”
I nodded to her questions. It was a big deal, but I wanted to keep things a little light between us. She didn’t need to worry; this was what I did. I could handle everything.
“Yeah, I know it’s going to be hard for you to stand in my presence without trying to jump my bones. But you’re just gonna have to contain yourself.” I smiled widely at her; she shook her head and lightly slapped me.
“I’ll try to contain myself.” Her voice was sarcastic, which made me laugh. Her fingers grazed over my jaw, her eyes intense.
“I like your laugh,” she confessed again.
The softness in her voice drew me in like gravity. I pressed my lips to hers, trying to convey what she meant to me. She pulled back and placed her head against my chest. We just sat there holding each other in silence. She had been through a lot. I was still waiting for her to say, “Screw this, I’m leaving,” but I knew she wouldn’t. Her body was tense; it was only last night that she saw a man tortured and had to spend time in the arms of a man she didn’t want. I needed to make her better.
My singing voice was shit, but I brought my lips down to her hair and murmured our song. Her body relaxed, while her arms squeezed me tighter.
“It’ll be alright.” I whispered. She nodded against me. I wanted to stay with her in my arms for the rest of the day, but I had to get myself in character to meet with Gavin in a few hours.
“I know you are going out again with Gavin tonight—that meeting is to meet me. Anything I do, you have to understand, isn’t the real me. Just remember us, and our song. I’ve gotta go, but I’ll see you later, okay?” I hoped she understood what I meant. Tonight, and in the future, I might have to do stuff to prove to Gavin that I was who I said I was.
“I get you. I’ll try to watch myself around you tonight.” She winked and started walking back out to the front.
“Want a carrot cake cupcake before you go?”
“Was that a real question?” She should know I would always take whatever sweets she made. I scoffed as I walked past her toward the counter. She laughed it off and went to get a cupcake for me and put it in a little to-go bag.
“I put one in there for Rex too; I figured he was probably around here somewhere.”
“He’ll like that. I’ll see you later, okay, cupcake?” She smiled at my nickname for her. She was cute as a fucking cupcake, and oh so sweet.
“See ya, sexy beast.” She obviously threw that in there to surprise me.
“I’ll be a beast the next time your sweet ass is beneath me in bed. Fucking you so hard you’d think I was an animal. Growling into that hot mouth of yours while you scream in ecstasy.” It was a promise. Her body was an addiction, and I hadn’t had my fix recently. My body craved hers too much to go slow the next time we were alone. My feet swiftly moved toward the back door as I left her with that.
CHAPTER 33
Andi
Nervousness ran through me as I waited next to Gavin for Ryder to show up. Once again I was dressed up for Gavin. Being with him was tiring; I just wanted to hang out in my yoga pants and t-shirt, not a skin-tight dress and loads of makeup. It was nice every once in a while, but Gavin suggested I wear stuff like this all the time.
Gavin had his arm around me as we sat in the same VIP room where he’d tortured the man just last night. Thankfully, before I could conjure those images, the door opened and Ryder walked in with another man I didn’t recognize. It was hard to stop my body’s reaction to him. Everything in me was dying to go to him. He was safe and good in this room of bad people.
His eyes briefly looked at me before landing on Gavin, who spoke first.
“Travis Christensen, we finally meet. I’ve heard good things. Welcome to my club.” Gavin got up and shook hands with Ryder. I bet Ryder just loved that.
“Gavin Skeller, you fit your reputation.” Ryder’s stern voice filled the room. Their hands separated, and Gavin went back to wrap his arms around me.
“So what can I do for you?” Gavin leaned down and kissed me quickly after his question. He was loving the PDA right now.
“I’m expanding my dealings. Right now I deal in arms and small opiates, but I’m in need of a little more. I like money, Gavin. I’m here because your business in drugs is the largest in Florida. But if we can come to some mutual understanding, New York and Florida combined, that’s a lot of money.” Ryder spoke with complete confidence, as if he were really the bad guy he was pretending to be.
“Well, Garrett speaks highly of you.” Gavin gestured to the man standing next to Ryder.
“Max, check him will ya? I hope you don’t mind. We need to check you.”
I tried not to laugh. The way Gavin spoke sounded like he was giving Ryder a chance to refuse, but he really wasn’t.
“Of course, your rules.” Ryde
r stepped forward and put his hand on a little box on the small table. Max typed away on the computer as we all sat in silence.
“Travis Christensen, age twenty-six. Fingerprints show he was charged with laundering money, but the charges never stuck. Owns one home in New York city, one in Aspen, and one in Miami.” Max listed off all that came up from the prints. None of it sounded like Ryder; he must have changed things before going undercover.
“I love Aspen,” Gavin stated, then looked at me with a glint in his eyes. “We should visit there sometime.”
Ew. I threw up a little in my mouth. Thankfully Ryder spoke before Gavin tried to make out with me in front of everyone. He totally would have done that too.
“I would be happy to host you both at my cabin on the slopes. It’s the best skiing around.” Ryder’s confidence was really amazing. He sounded like he truly was offering to have us over.
“Wonderful! Travis, I would like you to meet my woman, Andi.” Gavin pulled back and twirled me around as if he were showing me off. I did not like that one bit.
Once Gavin was done, my gaze met with Ryder’s. His lips were in a hard line but he nodded respectfully.
“Andi.”
“Now let’s enjoy the rest of the night. Meeting adjourned. Travis, I’d like to speak with you alone before we join the group. Andi, why don’t you go warm up a spot on the dance floor. I’ll meet you out there in a minute, babes.”
I wanted to smack Gavin for speaking to me like that. But I just leaned up and gave him a quick kiss and left. I tried not to look at Ryder as I left, but my eyes found him anyway. His jaw was locked hard. Hands clenched at his sides. I hoped he didn’t hurt Gavin when I was gone.
As soon as I walked out, I ran to the bathroom to rinse my mouth out. Kissing Gavin was like kissing a dog. He was all tongue, invading my mouth with sloppy, wet kisses. It was gross. I tried to keep to sweet pecks with him, but he wasn’t having that.
I looked at myself in the mirror; my eyes were tired looking. I was going to start getting gray hair from this. Taking one last look, I sighed and left for the dance floor, where I’d been told to go.
I closed my eyes once I got in the middle of the floor. I didn’t know anyone; there was no friend for me to gab or dance with. I was on my own. But I loved to dance, and I needed to keep being a distraction for Ryder. If Gavin kept his sights on me, he would mess up, and Ryder would get him.
Hands touched my waist; my eyes flew open and looked behind me only to see Gavin’s hazel eyes filled with lust for me. Turning my head back around, I gave myself to the music. I let my body move for me, because my head just didn’t want to be here with him. I wanted piercing green eyes and perfect lips. Ryder’s lips.
My body started to feel warm and tingly. It was the feeling I got when Ryder was with me. My eyes flew open and locked with his. He was dancing with some blonde supermodel, but facing me. Gavin’s head was in my neck, his lips lightly kissing the curve. But those green eyes held me captive. I didn’t look at the woman he was grinding with, and he didn’t look at Gavin’s lips on me. As long as we held each other’s gaze, it was just he and I.
“It’s too bad you can’t come over tonight.” Gavin’s murmur in my neck caused me to cease staring at Ryder.
“I have to finish making some candy butterflies for a wedding cake tomorrow. I’m sorry.” I did have to do that. Realistically, I could do them tomorrow morning, but there was no way I was going to stay over at Gavin’s again.
“I know. I want it to be special when I finally have you. I want to take my time with your body. No rushing.”
Shivers broke out over my body, but not the good kind. The kind of fear. I couldn’t have him take his time with me. I didn’t want it. I needed this to end soon. It had to.
We danced for maybe another hour. Ryder danced with more beautiful partners than I could count. But he stayed close to where we were, and always had his eyes on me. I tried not to look at him with the other women, but it was hard. All I saw was his hands on them and their hands touching him and their fingers running along his jaw.
“I’m getting tired. I think I’m gonna go home,” I turned and told Gavin.
His face showed compassion. “I’ll walk you out. Let me just go tell Max. I’ll be back.” He walked off toward the bar.
“I’ll meet you at your house, sweetness. I’m gonna ease your pain. You are mine.” Ryder’s whispered voice caressed the places Gavin’s lips had touched. The right kind of shivers broke out over my skin.
I turned to see him. He was gone, but Gavin was striding over to me. He lifted my hand into his, and we left toward my car.
When we stopped at my car, Gavin’s body caged me in with my back to my sedan. His soft hands ran along the little curves of my waist and down to the bottom of my dress. His hands came back up, under my dress, to my hips and around to my bare ass. His hard member was pressed against me. I wanted to laugh. He wasn’t petite, but he was nothing like Ryder. His lips were once again at my neck; then his hips started grinding against me, while his hands kneaded my ass into him. I couldn’t help the groan coming from my lips; sadly, Gavin took it as a good groan. I was worried he would try to do more here in the parking lot, when suddenly a car honked long and loud and woke Gavin up from trying to have sex with me against my car. A silent thank you was screaming in my head for whoever saved me.
“You are so sexy. It’s hard not having you, now that you are mine.” His voice was raspy; he was clearly turned on almost to the point of losing control. I couldn’t have that; I lightly pushed him back and climbed into the safety of my car.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?” I asked.
“Sadly, no. I’ve got to go to Miami for the weekend. I’ll let you know when I’m back. I want you to be safe tonight. I need my men tonight, but they’ll be back on duty tomorrow.” He leaned in and gave me a kiss. As soon as it was over, he left and went back into the club.
With much haste I sped out of the parking lot and headed home. The tears I had been fighting back since Gavin left broke free. As calmly as I could, I pulled my car onto the side of the road and let it all go. Cars flew by me, unaware of my major breakdown.
My door suddenly flew open, and Ryder was there unbuckling me, scooping me out of the front seat, and sitting with me in his lap in the backseat. My fingers grasped onto him like a lifeline. He was quiet as he held me while I ugly cried. His arms were warm, strong, everything I’d ever needed. I wanted to spend the rest of my life in those arms.
“I’m here, sweetness,” he whispered softly to me. My tears came harder with his words. He was here with me; I wasn’t alone. Time stood still while we were wrapped in each other.
Once my cries had calmed, Ryder spoke.
“I thought I was going to kill him in there.” His voice was low, a true confession. I just stayed quiet, waiting to see if there was more. There was.
“He treated you like a piece of property, his to command and to do with whatever he pleased. Every time he put his lips on you, I envisioned pulling out a tooth of his with pliers for every contact between you.”
He became silent, but I knew there was more. He buried his head into the crook of my neck.
“I saw him.”
I was almost afraid of his next words. I prayed to the sky he hadn’t seen Gavin mauling me on my car.
“I can’t let him touch you again. I can’t, Andi. His hands…” He sounded like he was having trouble getting out the rest of that sentence. I hated that he’d seen what happened.
“You’re everything to me, Andi. You’re my future, my whole existence.” He lifted his head and tilted my chin up so our eyes met.
“You are everything to me. I am madly in love with you.”
More tears burst from my eyes, but these were happy tears. My lips latched on to his in seconds.
CHAPTER 34
Ryder
“I love you too,” she said in between kisses.
Heaven. Andi’s lips melding with mine, her body in
my arms, and having her love, for me, is what I would imagine heaven being like. Pure bliss.
Although she tried to heat things up more, I wouldn’t take her in a car after all she’d been through today. She deserved more. Deciding to slow things down, I confessed one more thing to her.
I said, “I know. You told me the other night.”
Her body tensed.
“I did?”
I laughed at her confusion.
“Yeah, after I made love to you, you snuggled into me and murmured those sweet words in your sleep. You haven’t really talked in your sleep since that first night, until those words.” Even in the faint lights of the cars passing by us, I could see her cheeks turn red.
“I, uh…”
“It was one of the best nights of my life.” My lips softly brushed against hers. “Let’s go to your place. I know the boys are missing their time with you.”
She nodded and crawled out of the back of the car. Once she was settled in the driver’s seat, I told her I’d follow behind her and meet her at her door. I had to park down the street and run over to her house, just in case anyone was watching, but I didn’t mind. I’d do anything for her.
I hopped over her tall fence, she opened her back door, and the sound of her dogs running around welcomed me into her home. She stood back and smiled, as the boys greeted me and waited to be petted.
“Alright, boys, your momma needs some loving now. Here.” I kept treats in my truck for when I came over here. I couldn’t show up empty-handed.
They took their toys, and I lightly scooped Andi up. Her arms wrapped around my neck, while her lips were in an ear-to-ear grin. I loved her smile.
Her flaming red hair was loose and fanned around her pillow when I laid her down. My hand caressed her softly along her hairline and down to her chin. She arched her back as my hand moved down her neck and into the valley between her breasts. My one hand gripped the material, and the other joined it as I pressed my thumbs into the fabric and ripped the dress. I expected Andi to yell at me for ruining her dress, but instead she shocked me and moaned.
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