The Beginning—A Duet: Ryder & Two Worlds Colliding (6 page)

Chopper Malone was the father I’d never had. Tough, mean, but also fair. He treated me as if I was one of his own, bred from his loins. He never favored either Cobra or Razor above me—they respected that. At least that was how it appeared. He’d stepped down two years ago when he’d had a heart attack and major surgery, passing his patch on to Cobra.

It was the proudest moment of my life when Cobra chose me as his VP. Even Razor was OK with it, saying he always knew I’d be the one.

“Fuckers! You must’ve missed me,” I grinned.

“Nah, who’d miss an ugly prick like you?” Razor laughed, patting my back after giving me the routine greeting.

“Place has been heaven since you left. Peace and fucking quiet,” Ox piped up, hugging me tightly with his huge arms, nearly lifting me off the ground. His pure gold tooth glistened in the sunlight.

Ratbag’s lanky frame shook with laughter. “Get a fucking room, you two.”

“Time for a beer boys, let’s go to the clubroom. Ox, get all the hangers-on out of there. Only patched brothers.”

Ox nodded, running a hand over his shaved head. He loved getting rid of the people who hung around the bar. He worked as a bouncer for a few nightclubs when he was in the mood to be badass—which was always.

Bigger and taller than any of the boys, Ox was the meanest motherfucker I'd ever met—covered in tattoos from his toes to his neck. He didn’t suffer fools gladly and had killed as many men as had stood in his way, or had done the club an injustice. The man was ruthless—I was glad Ox was on my team.

Yet Ox fed and saved stray cats. It was people he couldn't stand. He always said that people weren’t to be trusted and that he slept with one eye open—his dagger under his pillow.

By the time I'd had a piss and walked into the club room, only brothers were at the bar. The new bar girl was pouring beer as fast as she could. Watching her for a minute or two, I had the strangest feeling that I'd met her before. Something about her was familiar. I nodded a thanks as she slid an ice cold beer across the bar to me.

“What’s your name, sweetheart?”

“It’s Lexi. I already know yours is Ryder.”

Lexi flashed me a smile, fluttering her eyelashes. She was a pretty girl with her pitch black hair and striking blue eyes. The full-sleeved, colored tattoo on her left arm depicted cartoons and I was tempted to take a step closer to read them.

Max and I had always read cartoons till late into the night, pretending we didn’t hear the noises Marianne was making with her man of the night.

A typical biker-slash-rocker chick, Lexi wore a multitude of chains, and a black mini skirt, exposing long muscled legs that looked as if they would be strong enough to ride a cock for hours in the reverse cowboy position.

But I wasn’t here to think about screwing the new bar chick. There was urgent business to discuss. And lately a blond woman’s face kept flashing in my mind—usually at the most inappropriate times—annoying the fuck out of me.

Cobra expected me to run the show in his absence, and I wanted to show him that his trust was well earned.

I rolled my eyes at Ox, indicating that he should get rid of the hot little bitch as soon as everyone had a beer. I didn't need any of the guys to be distracted while we chatted. He nodded his understanding, taking his role as bouncer very seriously.

Ox leaned over and whispered something in her ear. Her eyes widened for a second, then snapped to mine. She licked her lips slowly, seductively, and tilted her head, inviting me to visit her when the meeting was over.

My gaze raked her body, taking in the piercings and tattoos, and her perky tits that were unhampered by a bra. She leaned over, wiping the beer that had spilled on the counter. Either she was fucking good at her job, or she purposely wanted me to look down her top, to see her tits wobble as she wiped up the mess. Her brown nipples were hard. I bet she wasn’t wearing any panties and that her pussy was soaked.

Jesus. This bitch was begging me to fuck her, giving it to me on a silver platter. I'd deal with her later. Now it was time for club business.

I cleared my throat and Ox took her by the arm and led her to the door.

Lexi turned back to look at me. “Hope to see you soon,” she mouthed and blew me a kiss. Fuck, she was hot as hell. I stared at her, still perplexed by where I’d seen her before. Surely if I'd fucked that pussy, I'd remember her?

“Lexi has the hots for you, Ryder,” Ox said after he’d locked the door and came to stand beside me. “She’s primed and ready, waiting to be fucked hard.” He wiggled his eyebrows. I looked down to Ox’s crotch. Sure as hell, he had a boner. Ox really liked that piece of ass. I'd never seen him so taken with a girl before.

Razor slapped me on the back. “Better make this meeting quick. Bitch is waiting to get fucked, brother. Wouldn’t mind a piece of that ass myself. Let me know if you want help?”

Ox growled at Razor. He didn't like that Razor was interested. Maybe Ox wanted her for himself? Just a few weeks away from the club and already I wasn’t sure what the dynamics were between the boys.

“Brothers,” I said, taking a seat and a long sip of my beer—it hit just the right spot.

All eyes were on me as I informed them that I was going to visit Cobra soon, and explained that it would be a while before he was back at the helm; assuring them that the next time I visited, Cobra and I would’ve worked a plan to get out of the mess the club was currently in. I warned them to be vigilant and to cover one another’s backs. I closed by asking them to support Razor as the leader in our absence.

“Razor, you and I need to talk, then I need to get back to LA.”

M
y knuckles rapped on the door. Inspecting the outside surrounding the house with a quick scan, I sighed with relief that so far everything looked pretty normal two weeks in. It was early days yet, this was only the first inspection. A lot could happen in a year.

I flicked my hair out of my face and waited, tapping my foot impatiently. There were few things I hated as much as the heat, and right now the mid afternoon sun was pounding my delicate skin. Skin that turned red in five minutes flat if I didn’t smother it with sun protection. It went with the blond and blue eyed territory. I lusted for a tanned skin, but all I got was blisters and peeling skin if I wasn’t careful.

How long did it take to open a damn door? I heard scuffles in the background, so I knew someone was home. Startled when I heard a child’s voice, I wrinkled my nose. Ryder hadn’t said anything about kids... or pets. Why had I assumed he was single? Just because he didn’t say anything about a family clearly didn’t mean he didn’t have one.

And if there were pets, I was going to demand an even higher security deposit. We didn’t usually allow pets, they could ruin the garden and the carpets...

“Who’s there?” I recognized his gruff voice. He sounded pissed off. He didn’t even know it was me yet, and already he sounded agitated. I shuddered. Thank God he wasn’t my man. I liked my men well-mannered and pleasant. Not grumpy, inarticulate and with an eternal scowl on their face.

I counted slowly to three. “It’s Jade Summers, from Clarke and Sons Agency. I’m here for the property inspection,” I said brightly. I would remain friendly and professional. I wouldn’t let him rile me. I hugged the clipboard to my chest and blew out a breath. For some weird reason my heart was pounding in my chest. I’d done a number of these inspections before, so it wasn’t that which had my knees feeling shaky.

It wasn’t that I was afraid of him either. Yes, he looked fierce, and his goal was probably to intimidate everyone into doing as they were told. Only, he didn’t scare me. Maybe I was stupid.

Another minute passed and I heard multiple chains and deadbolts moving. Making a mental note to check on the security system, I pulled at the collar of my shirt.

The door swung open and my eyes met with the most beautiful chocolate brown puppy dog eyes I’d ever seen. Two dimples appeared and I was greeted with a wide smile. Without thinking, I spontaneously reached out and stroked the silky dark brown curls topping that gorgeous, welcoming face.

“It’s you,” Ryder growled, a deep frown marring his brow. As if he didn’t want me to touch the beautiful baby girl in his arms, he took a step backward, pulling her out of my reach. It was only then I noticed the little boy clinging to his leg. Same dark hair and thick dark lashes. But he didn’t look up at me. He scowled and hid his face between Ryder’s legs.

“Yip. It’s me. I made an appointment to inspect the house today, remember?”

Ryder’s scowl matched that of the boy. “Told you it wasn’t necessary. You’re wasting everyone’s time. Including your own.”

I stiffened. God, he couldn’t make it any clearer how unwanted I was. But screw him, I was here to do my job. And I wouldn’t leave until I’d done what I came to do.

“You didn’t mention you had kids?” My eyes widened as I watched him rub the baby girl’s back. She cooed in his arms. I couldn’t miss the huge tattoo on his muscled triceps of a black scorpion, ready to strike. I wasn’t a huge fan of tattoos, but it really suited Ryder. It accentuated his thick arms and bulging muscles. Kind of sexy in a caveman way, if you were into that kind of thing.

Of course I wasn’t.

Irritation build up inside me. Was it disappointment at the thought that he was married with kids? He didn’t look the daddy type, but what the hell did I know?

A voice called from the bedroom. “Who is it, honey?” She sounded sleepy, her voice thick but sweet.

“Mama’s awake, go to her room,” Ryder told the boy, gently pushing him toward the bedroom.

The boy nodded and scampered off quickly, as if he was afraid I would see him. Odd.

“Go back to sleep, babe. It’s just the rental woman. I’ve got it.”

“Thanks, honey,” she called back. God, all this lovey-dovey stuff was churning my stomach. Who would have thought a big scary looking guy like Ryder was a doting father and husband? He certainly had me fooled.

“Let’s do this, shall we?” I said in my most professional, take no nonsense tone of voice. I peered at my clipboard and went straight for the kitchen.

“I was just feeding the kids when you got here,” he said as he followed me into the kitchen. “You do what you need to, I’ll be here with Isabella.”

Hearing her name, Isabella giggled and looked up at him. She reached out a puffy little hand and stroked his cheek. He grinned at her and moved his head to kiss her palm. I swallowed hard at the lump in my throat. He clearly loved this little girl with all his heart, and she him too.

He placed her into a highchair and planted a kiss on her forehead. I couldn’t take my eyes off them. It was so loving and intimate. And in that fleeting moment I longed for a family of my own. Something I’d never given much thought to before, now had my heart twisting strangely.

Our eyes locked for a moment over Isabella’s head. His eyes softened and a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, as if he could read my thoughts. Damn. I turned away, my heels clacking down the hallway as I got away from Mr. Dark and Dangerous as quickly as I could.

After inspecting all of the rooms and finding no evidence of orgies or outlandish behavior, I hovered by the door of the main bedroom. His woman was in there with the little boy. I knew by what I’d seen of the rest of the house that it was unnecessary to see the master bedroom as well, yet curiosity had taken hold of me. I needed to know what kind of woman had stolen the heart of the most badass man I’d ever met.

What did it take to tame a man like Ryder Knox?

Images of him naked, making love to me, flashed through my mind as if he were another of my fictional book boyfriends. Heat rose to my cheeks and dampness settled between my legs. I imagined his strong arms—tattooed— on either side of my head, leaning over me and devouring me with his eyes.

What the hell was happening to me? I was turned on by images of Ryder, when I knew I’d never go for his type in a million years.

A friendly voice called from within the bedroom. “Come in, honey. Don’t be shy.”

Hesitantly, I pushed the half closed door ajar and drew in a breath. Lying against the pillows was a woman straight out of a romance novel. She was gorgeous. Voluptuous. Sexy. Her black hair fanned over the pillows, her olive skin smooth and perfect beneath a tight fitting camisole top that accentuated her large breasts. The little boy cuddled into her side, hiding his face, when I entered the room.

Big brown eyes stared at me curiously as she beckoned me in. It was obvious which parent both kids got their doe-like eyes from.

“So you’re
the one
?” She laughed as she looked me up and down. Even her voice sounded sexy as sin, with a slight foreign accent I couldn’t quite place. I could just imagine men falling over themselves to worship her. No wonder Ryder was secretive about his family. They were gorgeous and clearly he didn’t want to share them with anyone. “Not at all what I expected. You’re just a slip of a girl.”

Confused, I frowned. “What do you mean? I’m from Clarke and Sons Realty. Were you expecting someone else?”

“Oh, no. That’s not what I meant. Ryder described you...differently. I was expecting someone much older and meaner looking. Not someone who looks as if she just finished high school, dressed in a business suit.”

Was she making fun of me? I pulled my shoulders back and pushed up my chin. “What did Ryder say about me?”

The gravelly voice behind me dripped with sarcasm. “I told her what a hard time you gave me. How I had to pay down a lot higher deposit than I intended to, just to get this place.”

I swung around to see him leaning against the doorjamb, Isabella sitting on his forearm, a smirk on his face as he glared at me.

His eyes shifted to the woman and softened. “But Mia wanted this house because of the lovely garden for the kids. So I had to do what I had to do, to get it. Let’s just say, you didn’t make it easy.”

I folded my arms across my chest. “You’re the one who made it difficult. Not filling in the forms. I still don’t know much about you. All I have is your name and phone number. No history, no background check. I’d say it was your lucky day Uncle Eric was there.”