Ryder walks towards me and pulls me into an embrace. I feel so safe in his strong arms. Why can’t we stay like this forever? I smile at the thought.
“Whatcha thinkin’ about, babe?” he asks me.
“Just thinking how safe I feel, here in your arms.”
With that I can feel his arms around me pull tighter. God, this feels amazing. The heat radiating off of his body onto mine is so soothing. I close my eyes and snuggle my soft body closer to his hard body.
Pulling away from me, I lose all of that awesome body heat. Ryder says, “Change into something comfy, while I go and get dinner ready.”
“Okay.” He kisses me softly on the lips and walks out of the room.
Once inside the bedroom, I decide to grab a nice hot shower. After getting out of the shower, I blow dry my hair and put it up in a ponytail. I decide to throw on my favourite pair of yoga pants and my comfy Northeastern University Huskies hoodie. I walk towards the living room and notice the patio door open. I instantly walk towards it and go outside. Walking out on the deck, I notice Ryder standing by the grill flipping some steaks.
“Looking good,” I say.
Ryder turns around; looking at me from head to toe, he says, “Right back atcha, babe.”
Oh, I’m so sure.
“As if, I’m sure I look really hot. Nothing sexier than yoga pants and a hoodie,” I say, rolling my eyes.
“Babe, you gotta know. You look fuckin’ sexy as hell no matter what you wear.”
When he says this I instantly want to be wearing nothing. Why can’t we both be naked and in his bedroom? I want him so badly, it hurts. I shouldn’t be like this. I’m an inexperienced virgin, how can I feel like I just want to rip off his clothes and have my wicked way with him. I’ve never even had these thoughts when I was dating Matt. There’s got to be something seriously wrong with me.
“Steaks are done. Let’s eat,” he says, interrupting my thoughts.
We eat dinner, which consists of the steaks, salad and baked potato. For being such a badass, Ryder sure can cook. I practically groan, while taking my first bite of my perfectly grilled and seasoned steak.
“Mmmmm, Ryder everything tastes so good. You can definitely cook, that’s for sure,” I say, stuffing my face with another forkful of food.
“I got mad skills,” he says, grinning.
After we’ve finished our meal, we clean up the dishes and kitchen.
Ryder then grabs my arms and leads me to the bedroom. Closing the door, he turns towards me and hauls my yoga pants to the floor. I kick them off when they hit my ankles. Hell yes! It’s naked time. He picks me up and lays me on the bed, covering me with the comforter.
“I’m gonna get a shower. Be back in a minute, babe,” he says, walking into the bathroom taking his t-shirt off and closing the door. The last thing I remember is the sound of the water turning on, before I fall into a sound sleep.
Brent the Creep
The following morning, I enter the teacher’s lounge to grab a cup of coffee. I look around, hoping that Brent is nowhere to be found. He isn’t. I make my coffee and sit down on the sofa, slowly sipping the hot brew, my thoughts drifting back to last night.
I’m so upset with myself for falling asleep. I’m positive that if I hadn’t, Ryder and I most definitely would have had sex. My stomach flutters at the thought of me and Ryder in bed together naked. I think about his hard body rubbing against mine as he prepares to enter me.
I’m so consumed with my thoughts of Ryder that I barely pay attention to what some of the other teachers are discussing. I manage to pick out something about an assembly sometime next week, a certain troublemaking student to keep an eye out for and the new substitute teacher.
Focus Ella, there are other things to think about other than Ryder, oh and sex with Ryder.
I finish my coffee and head out of the teacher’s lounge to go to my classroom. As I am opening the door to leave, my face collides with a hard chest. Looking up, I notice Brent wearing a shit-eating grin. Fuck! I really don’t need this today.
“Hey Ella, how’s it going? How about you and I have that drink at my place tonight?”
“So not going to happen, Brent,” I reply.
“Don’t be like that,” he says, grabbing my arm and hauling me out into the hallway.
“Get your hands off of me!” I shout, hoping someone will hear me in the teacher’s lounge
“Ella, calm the fuck down. What is your goddamn problem?”
“My problem is that I’m with Ryder now. I’ve told you this and Ryder has told you, but you keep after me. We are so not going to happen. You need to accept that Brent.”
“You want me Ella. And I want you. This is going to happen, whether you like it or not,” he says, in a menacing voice. He grips my arm so hard that I’m pretty sure it’s going to leave bruises.
“You are so dead. Didn’t Ryder tell you not to mess with me?”
“What’s your precious bartender going to do about it? He might look the part of some badass biker, but it’s all a front. He’s a pussy and I can kick his ass anytime.”
I smile as I wrench my arm out of his grasp. “You keep on believing that, Brent,” I say, heading back to my classroom.
I can’t help but think that he is so going to get his ass kicked. Brent may be hot as hell, but he sure is a stupid asshole.
When I get to my classroom, I turn on the lights and notice something written on the whiteboard. I walk up to the board, gasping when I read the message; YOU’RE FUCKING MINE, NOT HIS!
Pulling out my phone, I snap a photo of the message left for me, before erasing it. It’s pretty clear who wrote it. If he wasn’t going to get his ass kicked before, he definitely will now.
I am suddenly afraid and sick to my stomach. I’m not sure if Brent is going to become a serious problem or not. I make my way to the office and inform Susan, the secretary that I’m ill and need to leave for the day. She tells me to go home and get some rest. The new substitute teacher is actually in the office with the principal and she will get him to cover my classes for the day. Thank God for substitutes!
Driving back to Ryder’s, I notice a familiar SUV following close behind. It looks like my security detail is back in place. I pull into his driveway and shut off the car. Reaching into my purse, I pull out my cell and immediately text Ryder.
Hey handsome, wasn’t feeling well. I’m going to take the rest of the day off. At your place now, see you when I see you. :(
Immediately I get a response.
Babe, take it easy. B there soon.
Ryder is so awesome. I love how he’ll drop whatever he’s doing to take care of me.
Lying down on the bed, I can’t help but think about Brent. The guy has some serious issues and I’m not sure what he’s capable of. Rolling up the sleeves of my blouse, I notice some bruises starting to form on my skin. Shit! Ryder is going to lose it when he sees that Brent left marks on me.
Approximately a half an hour later, I hear the familiar rumble of Ryder’s motorcycle. My stomach instantly settles, knowing that Ryder will soon be with me. I hear the door open and close and his booted footsteps walking down the hallway towards me.
The door opens and Ryder stands there looking at me with a concerned look on his face. “Hey,” I murmur, holding my arms out to him.
Ryder walks towards me and lies down next to me, taking me in his arms. “What’s goin’ on? How are you sick?” he asks, clearly worried.
I tell him everything that happened between me and Brent. As I show Ryder my arms and the photo of the message left for me, I can feel his body tense against mine. I look up at him and see the darkest expression fall across his face.
“That motherfucker is going to pay. After I’m through with him, he won’t be botherin’ you anymore. Trust me,” he says, through clenched teeth.
Oh, I trust him. He would never let anything happen to me. I cuddle into his warm body and nuzzle my face into his neck, as he rubs soothing patterns down my back. I fall asleep that way in Ryder’s arms.
I wake up and look at the alarm clock display. It reads 2:20 pm. Holy crap! I slept most of the day. I notice that I’m the only one in the bed. I stretch and then get out of the bed and head out into the hallway. Walking towards the living room, I can hear Ryder’s angry voice. He sounds totally pissed. I walk quietly into the room and stand behind the sofa and eavesdrop on his conversation.
“I gotta teach that fucker a lesson. He doesn’t fuck with Ella and not have to deal with the consequences. Find out where he lives. I’m gonna pay him a visit.” There’s a small pause in the conversation as Ryder listens to whoever is on the other line. “You got ten minutes. Call me with the address.” He disconnects the call.
“I know you’re there, babe,” he says.
“Ryder, what are you going to do? You’re not going to kill him are you?” I say, sounding worried. I really don’t want to have to visit him in jail. We’ll definitely never have sex if that happens.
“Babe, I’m not gonna kill the asshole. I’m just gonna fuck him up. He can’t say that I didn’t warn him. Bastard has it comin’,” he sneers.
“Won’t you get in trouble with the police?” I ask.
“Listen babe, he laid his hands on you and left marks. He scared you and is trying to claim you as his. NOT. FUCKIN’. COOL. So a couple of the guys and I are gonna pay him a visit with a message. I can guarantee you that when we’re done with him, he will not be after you anymore or goin’ to the cops.”
“Okay, I just don’t want to be visiting you in a penitentiary, when you’re finished sending your message,” I say, sitting down next to him on the sofa. He lets out a deep belly laugh and hauls me towards him and embraces me in his arms.
“So what do you wanna do for the rest of the day?” I guess we’re finished talking about the whole Brent situation.
“Don’t you have to work?” I ask. He shakes his head.
“What do you wanna do?” he repeats.
I shrug and say, “I don’t know. How about we watch a movie and cuddle on the sofa.”
“Sounds like a plan.” He gets up to get a movie from his huge collection. I find out he doesn’t like chick flicks or horror movies. What does surprise me is that he loves animated movies.
As he’s looking through the DVDs, his cell rings. Answering it, he asks, “You got it?” Then he disconnects. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that whoever was on the phone gave him Brent’s address. If he wasn’t such a crazy asshole, I’d probably feel sorry for the guy.
Finally picking out a movie that he says is the shit, he pops it in the player. The movie he picks is about a little clown fish that gets separated from his father. I have to agree with him, it was the fucking shit!
We spend the rest of the evening watching more animated movies, only taking a break when the pizza he orders arrives. On the fourth movie, I fall asleep in Ryder’s arms.
****
The next day, I’m in the teacher’s lounge at lunch time and hear some of the teachers talking about Brent. Apparently, the word going around is that he was out for a jog this morning before school and got mugged. They beat him up pretty badly, so he is going to be off at least for the next week, until his bruises fade. I can’t help but feel a little guilty knowing the real reason why Brent is off of work, but I do feel relieved.
I smile and think to myself,
T.G.I.F!
Party Hard
A week later……
It’s a gorgeous Friday afternoon. The sun is shining and the temperature is nice and warm. I haven’t seen Brent either, as he’s still not back to work after his “
mugging
” last week.
The last little bit of time with Ryder has been amazing. We have spent every night together, curling up on the couch either watching movies or making out like a bunch of horny teenagers, but still no sex. What is wrong with me? I thought he really liked me. I know it has only been a little while, but he is a guy. What guy doesn’t want sex? I am a willing and needy woman. I need to do this with him. I know he is
the
one
. I have never felt this way with Matt or Jason, so what’s the problem?
I know Ryder is getting bored, so I told him last night that we should do something this weekend besides watching movies and snuggling. I mean I love it, but we need to do more than that. I wonder if he has made any plans yet. I pull my cell phone out of my pocket and call him.
“Hey my sexy school teacher,” he answers. Well, that doesn’t sound like he’s not interested.
“Hey Ryder.”
“What’s goin’ on?”
“What do you want to do tonight?”
“We’re gonna have a party with Mayhem and their women.”
“Oh….okay, what do you need me to get at the store?” I ask.
“They will bring their own booze. Just get whatever you need and you can get me some Coors. Oh, and we need chips and shit like that.”