RYDER (Slater Brothers 4) (23 page)

“That’s a good idea,” Dominic said rapidly. “Why don’t you go on up to bed and we can have tea later?”

I hesitated. “Bronagh told me you went to help Kane and Alec find Ryder. Why are you here and not out with them?”

“They know where he is,” Damien said. “They just have to wait for him to be done with something.”

I stared at Damien when he finished speaking. “You’re being vague,
really
? A few hours ago you were in me shoes, you didn’t know a fuckin’ thing, but now you do and you aren’t tellin’ me?”

He swallowed. “This is something that has to come from Ryder, Bran.”

I couldn’t look at him.

“You’re all keepin’ things from me, and it’s hurtin’ me so much.” I turned away as I spoke. “I’m goin’ to bed, Aideen will be here soon with Jax and Kane.”

“Branna—”

“Good night,” I cut Damien off and walked out of the kitchen, closing the door behind me.

I walked down the hallway, and just as I was about to turn for the stairs, I heard a jiggle of keys in the lock of the hall door. For some unknown reason, I ran through the open door and into the gym room where I hovered next to the doorway.

I knew it was Ryder, I could sense him, but he confirmed it when he spoke in hushed whispers.

“No, I can’t… because I just got fucking home and need to fix shit with my girl, you
know
that… for fuck’s sake, why? I’m done with this bullshit after tonight. Damn it,
fine
. I’ll be right fucking there.”

I heard a bit of movement then a soft click. I peeked out of the gym room and found the hallway empty and the front door shut. I heard the ignition of a car starting up a few moments later and my heart jumped to my throat.

Ryder was leaving again, and in a split second I made a decision with that knowledge.

He asked me to trust him, to give him forty-eight hours before he could tell me everything that he was hiding from me, but I couldn’t. In that moment, I simply couldn’t. I waited over a year to find out what he was up to, and I couldn’t wait another minute longer. Before I realised what I was doing, I grabbed Dominic’s car keys from the table in the hall, quietly exited my house, jumped in his car, and began to follow Ryder at a safe distance. I was doing what I should have done a long time ago, I was going to find out for myself what he was up to, and I only prayed it wasn’t as bad as what I imagined it to be.

Please, God
, I silently begged.
Don’t let this break me
.

Three years ago…

“I’m going to grow old with you.”

My lips twitched, but I kept my eyes shut.

“You
do
realise it’s incredibly weird when you stare at me while I’m sleepin’, and say things like that to me unconscious form, right?”

I felt the heat of Ryder’s palm press against my bare stomach as he moved closer to me.

“You say weird,” he murmured, and I could hear the smile in his tone, “others would say romantic.”

I giggled. “Sorry, it was weirdly romantic. How’s that?”

“It’s an improvement.”

I blinked my eyes open, squinting until they adjusted to the light of our bedroom. I lifted my arms above my head and stretched. When I made sounds that resembled a baby dinosaur, Ryder laughed and poked at my sides causing me to squirm.

“You always sound like you really enjoy your morning stretch.”

“I do,” I nodded. “It wakes me up and feels good.”

I looked at Ryder when he turned on his side and leaned his head down to mine, brushing his lips against my cheek. He parted his lips and gently flicked his tongue over my skin, causing goosebumps to break out over my flesh.

“Do you know what else feels good in the morning?” he murmured, trailing gentle kisses down my neck then to my sweet spot below my earlobe.

I licked my lips. “A foot massage?”

“How about a clit massage?” Ryder asked, his hot breath fanning my face before he brought his talented lips back to mine.

I burst into a fit of giggles when he pulled his mouth away and rubbed his nose against mine.

“We can’t,” I stressed, trying to sound firm. “I heard you shuttin’ me alarm off. I have to get showered and dressed for work.”

“I’ll get you to work on time,” he said softly. “I promise.”

Well, maybe, if we were quick and—no! Don’t be weak, Branna. You can’t be late for work.

I groaned. “Don’t make this harder than it needs to be. You rocked me world twice yesterday, can you not wait until I’m home lat—”

“No,” Ryder cut me off. “I need to be inside of you. Now.”

I knew talking to him was going to get me nowhere, so I needed to physically move away from him. I pushed the bed sheets from my body and shivered when a cool draft spread out over my naked body. I made an attempt to sit up, but as soon as my body was exposed, Ryder pounced on me like a teenager with a raging hard on; only he was a
grown man
with a raging hard on.

“You can’t say no and then expose this masterpiece to me. No. Not fair. You aren’t allowed to do that.”

I laughed as he wrapped his arms around my body, rolled over, and pulled me on top of him. I adjusted myself until I was straddling his stomach. I looked down at him and shook my head when I found his eyes were locked on my breasts.

“You’re
such
a man.”

Ryder didn’t bat an eyelid. “Thank you.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m goin’ to be late for work.”

“You won’t,” my sex crazed fiancé assured me. “Your alarm doesn’t go off for another hour and a half, the alarm you heard me shut off was mine. I’m going for a run with Dominic in twenty-five minutes.”

I let what Ryder said sink in for a few moments, and then I flat out glared down at him.

“It’s half five in the mornin’?”

Ryder nodded,
still
not looking away from my breasts. I glanced away from him, and looked over at the window where sunshine streamed in through the opened curtains. Summer time in Ireland meant sunlight was shining bright at unholy hours of the night. I considered five a.m. night-time. I gritted my teeth and looked back down at Ryder, annoyed at finding him licking his lips as his eyes feasted on me.

I reached down and pinched his nipple, gaining his attention.

“
Ow
.”

“Don’t ‘ow’ me,” I quipped. “What the hell did you speak to me for if I didn’t have to get up yet?”

He grinned. “Scoot your ass down a little and you’ll feel why.”

I growled. “Sleep wins over sex
every
time, I thought I told you that already!”

His lips quirked. “Huh, mustn’t have been listening to you when you said that.”

Shocker.

I climbed off Ryder, and fell onto my side of the bed, facing away from him.

“I’m goin’ back to sleep, keep your dick and hands away from me.”

He was silent for a few moments and I thought that he accepted what I said as law, but that was until I felt something press against my hip.

“What did I just say?” I asked, trying my best to keep my voice even.

“You said,” Ryder murmured, “to keep my dick and hands away from you, you said nothing about my tongue.”

Said tongue slid over the curve of my hip and up the side of my body causing me to suck in a sharp breath.

Be strong, woman.

“Ryder Slater,” I managed to say. “Back away.”

He did almost instantly, but I practically felt his frown.

“Damn,” he murmured. “You really aren’t in the mood?”

I shook my head. “I’m tired. We have sex every single day, most days more than once. I’m only a woman, not a machine.”

“Are you
complaining
?”

“No.” I laughed because he sounded so disgusted. “I’m definitely not, but I need time to rest or I’m never goin’ to be able to keep up with you.”

I thought we were straying away from the topic of sex until Ryder opened his mouth and caused my eyes to roll towards the heavens.

“Can we swap you stroking my ego for stroking my cock instead?” he asked, and then laughed when I blindly kicked back at him.

“Goodnight, Ryder.”

I felt lips press against my shoulder.

“Goodnight, baby.”

I smiled when he settled behind me and hooked his arm around my body then covered our naked bodies with our bed cover. I snuggled into my pillow and sighed when my body started to relax once more. I blinked my eyes open a few minutes later when my mind refused to follow suit. I turned to face Ryder, glaring at him when I found he was looking at me with his shining grey eyes.

“I can’t go back asleep now, you bastard.”

He smiled. “So talk to me since we’ve got nothing else to do.”

“What about your run?” I questioned.

Ryder shrugged. “It takes me two seconds to get dressed, which gives
you
twenty minutes to do what you keep yapping on about.”

I grunted. “What do I keep yappin’ on about?”

“You always say we don’t talk enough, so let’s talk.”

I glared at him. “You’re puttin’ me on the spot.”

“So?”

“So I don’t have a topic in mind.”

“I do.”

“Shoot.”

“When can we get married?”

I felt my mouth drop open, and it made Ryder laugh.

“What?” he asked. “You look like you didn’t know that we’d eventually move on from being engaged to actually
getting
hitched.”

My mouth went very dry, so I licked my lips.

“No, I know that,
obviously
, I just didn’t think
you
would be thinkin’ of that.”

Ryder’s lips quirked. “I knew what I was doing when I asked you to marry me outside of the hospital that night two years ago, Branna. I imagined my life without you and I couldn’t, but more than that, I didn’t want to. I love you, baby.”

Without thinking, I got to my hands and knees then straddled his body with mine. I leaned my face down to his and said, “I love you too, and we can get married whenever you want to. I’m
so
ready.”

Ryder smiled. “We’ll figure it out.”

“We always do… and since we’re figurin’ that out, I’m gonna figure your problem out.”

“What do you—
oh
!”

I suppressed a giggled.

“Yeah,” Ryder breathed when I shimmied down his body, and took him by surprise by taking his hardened length in my mouth. “I’m
definitely
going to grow old with you.”

Present day…

“Where are you goin’, Ry?” I mumbled aloud to myself when a couple hundred metres ahead of me Ryder took a right turn that would lead into a secluded part of the mountain side where there were no street lights, no houses, no people.

Hell, there was barely a road to drive on.

I had been following him for only ten minutes, but I sensed we were near his destination. For the tenth time, I ignored the vibration of my phone from my pocket because I knew it was the twins who were calling me.

I switched my headlights off and took the same turn behind him but made sure to drive extra slow so I didn’t wreck Dominic’s car and also so he wouldn’t see me. I didn’t worry about losing Ryder because his car was the only car on the trail, and his taillights still shone brightly like a beacon.

I jumped when I drove over a pothole that caused the car to lurch. I gripped the steering wheel tightly and blew out a nervous breath. I was wired and couldn’t control much of my body because I had a sudden case of the shakes. My entire body trembled with fear and anticipation of what was going to be the outcome of my mission.

I didn’t have to wait long to find out as Ryder stopped his car up ahead and parked it in front of a white Range Rover. I could see the colour and make of the car because when Ryder got out of his car, he left his keys in the ignition and his headlights switched on. I stopped driving, put Dominic’s car in park and switched off the ignition. I exited the car, closed the door quietly and thanked God for the dark of the night as cover.

I said a little prayer, and on unsteady legs, I made my move.

I ducked down and crept forward until I was not too far away from where Ryder stood. I hunkered down behind a hedge only a mere twenty meters or so from him and the white Ranger Rover. I was close but not close enough because I couldn’t hear what was being said. I could only hear the tone of Ryder’s voice and that of another voice.