by Jessie Cooke
“Damn. I would have been okay with Motel 6.”
Ryder grinned. “Me too, but this place is two blocks from the hospital and besides the fact I thought you would want to be close, I was too tired to drive around looking for anything else.”
She nodded. Tired, she understood. She was exhausted. She walked over to the bathroom and pushed open the door. Another whistle escaped almost without her notice. “Shit. Look at this.” Ryder looked over her shoulder. Again, everything was white—marble, if she wasn’t wrong. The large mirror was framed in gold and the faucets all matched. There was a glassed-in shower too...but the tub, that took the cake. The tub was almost as big as the bed and it looked like it had jets in it. “Have you ever seen a tub that size?”
Ryder chuckled. “Not indoors.”
She turned and looked up at him. “You don’t stay in places like this often?”
He laughed again and said, “I know I look like the champagne and caviar type, but you’d be surprised at some of the places I’ve stayed in my life. I can guarantee you that none of them looked like this.”
“I wish you’d let me give you some money for the room.”
He put his hand on her shoulder and said, “I was in the army for seven years. I still get a check from them every month. My medical and dental are all free. Dax pays me a good salary for work I do on the ranch and I live there, so I don’t have many expenses. I don’t spend money on things like this normally, but I can afford it, okay? Let me do this much for you.”
“You’ve done so much.”
“I know you said that you didn’t want to be taken care of and I respect that. But I’m being honest with you when I say this: I’ve never wanted to take care of anyone before...besides myself. I don’t want to take away any of your independence, Storm, I just want to help you through a hard time.”
She smiled and pressed her head into his chest. “Thank you.”
He slipped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. “You’re welcome. Now how about a hot bath before we get some sleep?”
She pulled her head up and looked at him with a wicked grin. “Together?”
“Hell yeah, baby. I’ll fix us a drink, you run the bath?”
She smiled again. “Deal.”
Ryder gave her a quick hug and turned to head for the mini-bar and Storm went into the bathroom. She closed the door halfway and after she started the water, pulled the plug, and adjusted the temperature, she began stripping off her clothes. She caught sight of herself in the big mirror and she had to wonder why Ryder seemed to want her so badly. She was a mess, and other than the times he’d seen her at work, she’d pretty much been a mess each time they were together. She finished undressing and wrapped herself up in one of the big, fluffy white towels. She bent over and fluffed out her hair, not that it did any good from her perspective, but she felt better having tried.
A knock on the door alerted her to Ryder’s arrival. He pushed it open and for a second he just stood there with a drink in each hand and let his eyes take her in from head to toe. Once again all she saw on his face was lust and approval. Maybe he didn’t see well...but she was okay with that. He handed her one of the drinks and she started to put it to her lips. “Hang on,” he said, holding up his glass. She held hers up too and he said, “To your mother’s speedy recovery.” She felt her heart swell every time he said anything like that. How such a big, gruff-talking, masculine-looking man could be so sweet was beyond her. They both drank what was in their glasses in a shot and then Ryder took them and set them aside on the counter before bending down and kissing her full on the lips. Just that one kiss, a slow, sexy, lingering kiss...that was all it took to melt away all the stress. Not that she forgot about her mother, but for the moment, she was comfortable and content. She found herself wishing that the kiss, the moment, and most especially the feelings would never end.
She put her hands under the front of his vest and slipped it back off his broad shoulders and then, sliding her hands down to the hem of his t-shirt, she worked them up underneath it, taking it with her as she did. Ryder held up his beefy arms and let her slip off the shirt. It fell to the floor to join the leather vest. She stopped there to turn around and shut off the water and then she pushed the button and the jets came on in the tub, causing bubbles to quickly rise to the surface of the warm, clear water. When she turned back toward Ryder, he had finished undressing. He reached for her, this time, loosening the towel and letting it fall down to pool around her feet. Then he pulled her into him and they were skin to skin and she shivered...not from cold, but from the anticipation of what she knew was to come.
He kissed her again, but this time with their warm skin pressed together and his erection pressed tightly into her, it was like a full-body kiss and it was hot enough to make her feel like her core was on fire. He slid his mouth down from her lips to her neck and kissed her there, softly. He kept moving, placing butterfly kisses all the way across her sensitive skin and then down to her collarbones. She moaned and arched her back so that her head fell back and he had better access to what he wanted, and what she needed.
His kisses lingered on her skin once again until he finally pulled back and moved over to place one of his long legs over the side of the tub. He held her hand and she stepped into the tub with him. Ryder sat first, pulling her gently down into his lap so that she was facing away from him. The warm water bubbled and lapped up over them both and for a while they were both just content to sit there with his hands around her waist and her head on his chest. After some time, however, Ryder’s hands began to move. He slid them up and down her sides, along her outer thighs, and then back up to the sides of her breasts. He used his palms and slowly and softly rubbed them in circles over her rock-hard nipples. It was such a light touch that if not for the shock it sent racing through her system, she might have thought she imagined it.
The longer he rubbed them, the more turned on she got. Her pussy began to throb, and she squirmed back into him harder, feeling his throbbing cock slide against her lower back. He began to massage her breasts and nipples with a harder touch, pulling and pinching them lightly. She was pressing her butt back into him, rubbing it up against his erection and dying to just raise it up and let him slide up inside of her. But she didn’t want to rush it either, and she was glad she didn’t when he slid those magical hands down from her breasts to the eye of the storm between her legs.
She let out a long moan while he used both hands, all ten fingers, to play with and stimulate her pussy. Even if she hadn’t been submerged in water, she would be dripping wet. When his fingers landed on her clit, she whimpered and when he began to press on it and move his fingers in circles, she let out a long groan. Her clit was engorged with desire and she already felt like she was on the verge of a massive orgasm. She whispered his name and then cried out when she felt one of his fingers begin to make its way up inside of her. When the second finger followed it, she gasped, and his name came out in an almost urgent, pleading voice.
He began to move his fingers in and out of her and that, coupled with the added stimulation of the rushing jets, made her body and her head swim in ecstasy. She bucked her hips up and down and Ryder increased his pace, thrusting his fingers up into her as far as they would go and pulling them out quickly while he sucked on her neck and rubbed one of her breasts with his other hand. “Oh, Jesus fuck!” she cried out when the first wave hit her. It was only the first in a series of many, and Ryder kept moving his hand and his fingers while she rode it out. When her body finally began to relax and quiver he pulled his hand out but continued to hold onto her tightly. “Oh. My. God,” she whispered, letting her head fall back into his shoulder. She knew from her time with him so far that orgasm was only the tip of the iceberg...and exhausted or not, she was ready to gear up for another wild ride.
19
Ryder had always fancied himself a pretty good lover. He guessed that most men did. It was an ego thing, and he partially got off on making the woman
he was with scream out in ecstasy. But with Storm, it was different. He definitely got off on making her come. It was incredible to watch her and feel her, hear her. But what he got off on most was the way she was ready to go again, the second that she came down from the high of her first orgasm. She immediately got up on her knees and turned to face him. With a sexy smile she patted the side of the tub and said, “Sit up here for me…please.” She didn’t have to say please. He was already using his arms to lift himself up out of the water. The side of the tub was wide, almost a foot wide, so it was a comfortable seat, if not a little bit cold.
She turned so she was facing him, still on her knees, and using both hands she pushed his knees apart. She smiled up at him again and then leaned forward and, starting at the base of his cock, she licked him all the way up to the tip and swirled her tongue around the head. Ryder had to clutch the side of the tub to keep from falling backwards. His entire body shuddered as she opened her lips and engulfed the head of his cock. He was watching her as she pleasured him, and the sight of her with his cock in her mouth only added to the thrill of what she was doing...almost tenfold. She was so fucking sexy. He wondered if she had any idea just how sexy. He wondered if she had any idea just how much she’d changed his ideas about what he wanted in life in the short time that he’d known her.
He reached down and took her nipples between his fingers. She slipped her lips all the way down on the shaft of his cock until the head of it was hitting the back of her throat. That caused him to react and pinch her nipples, hard. That made her react and let his cock slide out and then slam her mouth back down on it, hard. She began to suck him hard and fast, bobbing her head up and down. He had to let go of her nipples so that he could wrap his hands up in her dark head. He helped guide her up and down and she brought one hand up and wrapped it around the base, squeezing lightly while she sucked. He could feel his orgasm approaching rapidly and it only brought him closer when she brought up her other hand and took one of his heavy balls in her grasp. She massaged it gently, stroking it with her fingers. He pulled at her hair, almost hard enough to pull it out at the roots, and it seemed to only excite her more. She sucked and licked, making sexy slurping sounds and occasionally gasping for breath. Ryder was chanting her name and “Oh damn, oh fuck, oh baby,” over and over. He wanted to come in her mouth. He wanted to come all over her pretty face. Fuck! He needed to be inside of her. With a hard yank he pulled her hair again, this time pulling her off him and letting his cock fall out of her mouth with a loud pop.
She looked up at him and smiled. He let go of her hair and slid both of his hands underneath her arms and lifted her up. She bent down and kissed him and said, “I’d love to climb up on that hard cock right now, with you sitting right there, but just my luck we’d both fall and break our necks.”
Ryder smiled against her lips and nodded. “I was thinking the same thing,” he said.
She looked up behind him at the vanity against the wall and with another smile she said, “I really like it when you fuck me from behind.” She stepped out of the tub and Ryder followed her. With her back to him, dripping water all over the marble floor as she stepped on the discarded towel, she gripped the cool marble counter and arched her back, pointing her gorgeous round ass in his direction. Ryder grabbed her by the hips and held onto her tightly as he drove up into her. There was no hesitation. She was soaking wet, and not from the tub. His cock filled her up and he let out a loud grunt before he began moving his hips and pumping himself in and out of her. She had her face down so that all he could see in the mirror was her hair. He wanted to see her face.
“Look up at me, baby. Watch me fuck you.”
She pulled her head up, tossing her hair back over her shoulder and looking him in the eyes in the mirror while he fucked her. Her eyes were filled with lust, desire, ecstasy...she bit down on her bottom lip and her breaths were ragged while sweat began to pop out across her brow. Ryder was sweating already too...burning up from the inside out. He had to get in deeper, pump her harder. He reached up and put one of his hands on her shoulder; the other one was still on her hip. He pushed and pulled down with each thrust and they were both gasping and she was whimpering, and he was almost growling as he said:
“I’m coming, baby. I’m going to fucking explode.”
She nodded her head, gasping out some kind of reply that he didn’t understand. It didn’t matter. He could feel her heat flooding his cock and he let go. Coming inside of her was unlike anything he’d ever experienced. He loved fucking her skin to skin. He loved filling her up with his seed. She told him she was using birth control and he was content in his trust and belief in her...and sex with her was all fucking good. It was better than good, it was great...and he knew he could do it forever.
After making love Ryder and Storm slept—for hours. It was nighttime again by the time they woke up. Storm called to check on her mother and was told that she was still stable, and still in the induced sleep. She was talking about going to the hospital again and sitting there until her mother was brought out of the coma, but he was able to talk her out of it. He talked her into getting dressed and letting him take her out in Times Square for a night of just relaxing and having fun; she needed something to give her mind a rest, and sitting between the sterile walls of the hospital was not going to do it.
Although it was difficult for him, Ryder left his vest, and therefore his colors, behind at the hotel. He didn’t want anything to spoil Storm’s evening, even if it was only some stupid drunk that thought challenging an active 1%er to a bar fight would be a good idea. He wore a long-sleeved black t-shirt, jeans, and his boots; and Storm’s outfit almost matched his except that her t-shirt was blue and sporting a Metallica logo. They took the bike and stopped first at a casual little burger place. Storm actually ate more than he’d seen her eat so far, and he found it almost amusing how happy he was about that. He wondered if he was turning into his Aunt Lena, a woman that never married or had kids of her own, but delighted in cooking copious amounts of incredible food and watching the family, kids in particular, put it away.
Once they had their stomach’s full they decided to go get a drink. Leaving the bike parked in the garage close to the restaurant, Ryder took Storm’s hand and they took a walk down Broadway. They stopped and browsed through a few of the tourist shops and when they came to 44th Avenue they found a little bar called “Jimmy’s” on the corner.
“Jimmy Glen,” Ryder said, looking up at the sign and logo on the outside of the bar.
“Boxer?” Storm asked.
“Yeah, you know boxing?”
She laughed and said, “No, but the boxing gloves kind of killed the mystery.”
Ryder smiled and shook his head at her sarcasm as they went inside. The place was an intriguing shrine to boxing. The walls surrounding them were filled with posters of Jimmy’s fights, boxing gloves, pictures of him with the likes of Muhammad Ali and other famous boxers, and photos of him in his gym where he trained some of the best throughout his career as a trainer. Ryder loved boxing. Dax’s brother Gunner was a fighter and occasionally he’d take part in one tournament or the other, and Ryder loved going along to watch. He’d always imagined giving it a shot himself, but so far the opportunity hadn’t presented itself. Being in the bar got him to thinking about it again, especially when they saw that Jimmy was there himself, telling stories and serving shots behind the bar.
There was a jukebox in the corner playing loud metal music and Ryder and Storm found a table away from it. The waitress came over to take their order and when she found out they had never been there before, she suggested they try the signature drink, “Jimmy’s Hurricane.” She said it was a blend of spiced rum, juices, and amaretto. Storm laughed and said, “Thanks, but I prefer to stick to drinks with no more than two ingredients.” She ordered a rum and Coke, and Ryder got a Jack Daniel’s neat. Their drinks had just been served when Ryder’s phone rang, and he saw that it was Hunter calling.
“I’m going to
step into the bathroom where I can hear and take this,” he told Storm. As soon as he was out of range of the loud jukebox he put the phone to his ear. “Hey, Hunter, what’s up?”
“So, Dax got several calls this afternoon when people showed up at 92 Proof and it was locked up tight. The waitress and the bartender couldn’t get in and they couldn’t find Carolyn.”
“Shit. They took off?”
“The new motor home is gone and the trailer they were renting was pretty much cleaned out, so yeah, they took off. While I was busy investigating the boy, it looks like Carolyn was making plans to bail. I’m still shocked that she left the boy to take the fall for all of this.”
“She knows Dax too well. She knew he wouldn’t do anything to Robby without proof. She probably just looked at this as an opportunity to finalize whatever plans she and Tyler made. Damn! Do we have any idea where they might have gone?”
“No. But she was at the bar the night before until closing time, so we do know they only have a 12-hour jump on us. We’ll find them.”
“Carolyn told Storm that they planned on going to California.”
“When did she talk to Storm?”
“This was right after she gave Dax her two weeks’ notice; she went to visit Storm at her new job and told her the climate in California would be better for Tyler’s medical issues, so that was where they planned on going. You know, she won’t go long without contacting Robby.”
“Yeah, I’m on it already. My cousin is working on getting ears on his phone.”