Authors: Chantal Fernando

Ryder (Resisting Love) (4 page)

“Okay, lovelies, it’s been great but we're gonna head off. I’ll be back to see my favourite nephew,” Tee announces.

“He’s your only nephew,” Layla says, pointing out the obvious.

“For now. You’ll probably be knocked up again soon, and who could blame you?” Tee tells Layla as she eyes Chase once more. My body shakes with silent laughter. I grab Tee and push her towards the door. We say our goodbyes and head back to Ryder’s.

*****

I set the food out on the dining table. Thick juicy steaks, a greek salad, corn, garlic bread, and mashed potatoes with gravy. Ryder walks in and groans in appreciation as I’m putting the dessert in the oven.

“Smells so good,” he says.

“Everything is ready if you’re hungry.”

“Are you going to eat with me?” he asks as he pulls out three plates.

“Yeah, just waiting on Tee,” I say.

“I can’t believe you cooked,” he says, grinning.

“Why?” I ask, confused.

“I dunno. You’re best friends with Tee…” he trails off.

“Hey, Tee can cook, she just chooses not to. Probably rebelling against her mother,” I tease.

Ryder bursts out laughing. “Yeah, that’s probably what it is.”

“What’s so funny?” Tee asks as she walks out wearing shorts and a cami.

“Nothing, let’s eat. I’m starving,” Ryder says as he hands us each a plate.

“I’ll cook tomorrow,” Ryder offers.

“You can cook?” I ask, impressed.

“Of course I can cook. My mother taught me,” he says, looking slightly offended that I would think otherwise.

We enjoy the meal together, making small talk and joking around.

“So, what are you doing tomorrow night?” Ryder asks me. Tee is washing the dishes while Ryder wipes down the table. I love the ‘cook never cleans’ rule.

“No plans. More house hunting tomorrow. And I need to go hand in some
résumé
s."

“What kind of work are you looking for?” he asks, his brows furrowed.

“Tee and I usually just do bar work, but since we're considering staying for a while I guess I’ll look for a receptionist job or something,” I tell him. I do have a few different qualifications. Nothing fancy, but I can work as a dental assistant, and I have a diploma in business. I can also usually find work giving private guitar lessons.

“Well, you can always get a job at Steele. Layla will see to that,” Ryder says with a low chuckle.

The sound gives me goose bumps.

He continues, unaware of my reaction. “Anyway, about tomorrow night, I was wondering if I could take you out. On a date,” he asks, his eyes searching mine.

“Oh, umm… well… Umm...” I'm usually pretty articulate, I swear. “Don’t you have a girlfriend?” I blurt out.

Ryder frowns and shakes his head. “No, I don’t. Why would you think that?”

“That girl, remember?” I say, blushing profusely.

“Oh. Right. No, I am definitely single,” he says awkwardly.

“I’ll need to check with Tee if it’s okay,” I think out loud.

“What? Why?”

“You’re her cousin, if she has an issue with it I'd have to say no,” I tell him frankly.

“I’ll talk to Tee, okay. How about that?”

“Well, then if she is okay with it, I would love to go on a date with you, Ryder,” I say with a smile.

“Good. You had me sweating there for a moment,” he says with a wry smile. “So, around seven? And look, how convenient, I don’t even have to pick you up,” he teases.

I giggle. “No, I guess you don’t.”

“Lexi!” Tee says, calling me to go into our room. She wants to watch some show about Vikings on her laptop with me. I roll my eyes at Ryder.

“So, tomorrow then,” I whisper.

“I can’t wait,” Ryder says, his eyes zooming in on my lips.

“Me neither.”

“Queen of fucking hearts,” he says under his breath. I'm dying to know why he calls me that. Wasn’t the queen of hearts evil? I’m about to ask him when Tee says my name again, this time louder.

“ LEXI!”

“I better go before she wakes up the neighbours,” I say in between giggles.

“I guess you better. Goodnight, Lexi.”

“Night, Ryder.”

*****

Chapter 6

Lexi

“Where are you going?” Tee asks me as she paints her nails a lime green.

“Out,” I evade.

“Out, where?” she asks, her brown eyes narrowing slightly.

“Ryder asked me out to dinner.” I watch as she puts her nail polish bottle down and stares at me thoughtfully for a while.

“Oh, yeah, he asked me for my permission, wasn’t that cute? You know he’s a bit of a man whore, right?” Tee finally responds.

“He can’t be that bad,” I say defensively.

“No, you’re right. He’s not that bad at all. It’s just that my cousin has never been interested in relationships. So, if you’re looking for that with him, I wouldn’t even bother. But Ryder is an amazing man, in fact, I doubt you'll ever find a better one. Just be careful, alright, Lexi?” she says seriously, her eyes locked with mine.

“It’s just dinner. It'll be fine. You sure you’re okay with this, though?” I ask her.

“Yeah, you’re both adults. I’ll leave that to the both of you. Besides, no one can ever say I’m a cock block,” she adds with a cheeky grin.

I roll my eyes and glance at myself in the mirror. I’m wearing a tight black dress with a sweetheart neckline, tightened in the middle with a thin red belt. Studded black pumps adorn my feet, and my hair is curly and wild, my fringe pinned to the side with a diamond skull clip; black cat eyeliner with a white shimmer in the inner corners of my eye, and bright fire engine red lips. I pick up my black skull bag and I’m ready to go.

“Where is he taking you?” Tee cuts into my musings.

“No idea. He just said dinner,” I say, shrugging. I’m nervous as hell. This is my first date in such a long time, it’s not even funny. I reapply my lipstick, and take a deep breath. I hope I’m not overdressed. A knock on the door startles me, but I recover quickly and pull it open, coming face to face with a gorgeous Ryder. He’s wearing a black shirt, folded up to his wrists, displaying his colorful tattoos. He’s also wearing dark, snug jeans, which are riding low on his hips. I gulp. His stormy gray eyes are sparkling as he takes in my reaction. My eyebrows rise when I see he is holding out a single red rose for me. I smile, taking it.

“There are no words for how stunning you look, Lexi, and I write songs,” he whispers, his gaze raking over me.

“I knew you had game, Ryder!” Tee calls out, laughing. Oh shit, I forgot she was here. Ryder cringes at her voice. Mood killer much?

“Let’s get out of here,” he says, taking me by the hand. I stop him for a moment to put my rose in water, and then we head out, calling out goodbye to Tee. He opens the door of his truck for me, and I hop in, mumbling a thank you. When Ryder stops the truck in front of a lake, I blink in confusion. Ryder takes in my expression and chuckles.

“Don’t move a muscle,” he says, giving me a wink. He walks around the car and opens my door, lifting me out of the truck. I can’t help but bury my face into his neck, inhaling his scent, a hint of spicy cologne, and he smells so good that I can’t help the small sigh that escapes my mouth. He puts me down, and pulls out a blanket and some bags filled with food and drink. I smile and shake my head, the man really has thought of everything. I take the blanket from him so he can carry the rest of the stuff and he leads me down a path to a spot just in front of the lake. The view is stunning, the lake lit up by the moon, and we get a perfect sighting of the stars. Ryder lays the warm blanket on the ground, laughing when I kick off my heels.

“I guess I was a little over dressed,” I say with a shy smile.

“No, you look perfect.”

I swallow hard. He is so charming. Ryder sets up all of the food, which turns out to be Chinese from one of my favourite restaurants.

“How did you know I love the food there?” I ask with a small frown.

“I did my research,” he says with a smug look. He pulls out a flask filled with coffee, and two bottles of water. We eat our food while talking, getting to know each other. Ryder tells me about his childhood, his family and about his band. I tell him all about my mother, and my own childhood. I almost moan when Ryder pulls out my favourite dessert in the whole world, a chocolate lava-cake from a posh restaurant called ‘Revere’ and I haven’t had one in three years, since I left Perth. My mouth waters, and Ryder gives me a full on belly laugh.

“How did you…” I stop and remember that I told Tee about this dessert one night in Ireland when I had a huge craving for it.

“I can’t believe she remembered that! I can’t believe you went all the way to Revere just to get it for me! That’s really sweet, Ryder,” I say softly. I lean forward, and gently touch my lips to his. He lets out a deep sigh, before wrapping his arm around my neck and pulling me closer, his lips capturing mine in a deeper kiss. I pull back and exhale deeply, before giving him a lopsided smile. Then I grab my dessert and dig in. I moan loudly.

“This is the best dessert ever. It’s like an orgasm in your mouth!” I say in between bites. Ryder makes a choking sound, putting down his own dessert.

“It’s pretty amazing, but I just tasted your lips, and I have to say they beat this chocolate thing hands down,” Ryder says, his eyes locked on my lips. My tongue peeps out and licks my full bottom lip, and I hear Ryder suck in a breath.

“Lexi?” he says in a strained tone.

“Yeah?” I say, taking the last bite of my dessert.

“Kiss me,” he demands. I oblige, all but jumping on him, fusing my lips to his. My dress rides up my thighs as Ryder runs his hands up and down the back of one. Ryder finally pulls away, panting. I can feel his arousal through his jeans, the outline of his thickness evident. I gulp at his large size. I glance up at him to see him staring at me quizzically, his breathing slowly evening out.

“We just made out for a long ass time, and your lipstick is still perfect,” he says randomly.

“Really? That’s what you’re thinking about right now?” I laugh. He gives me a sheepish smile and shrugs.

“It’s a superpower,” I say with a wink. It’s really just a stain lipstick; it has an insane staying power.

“I was staring at your heart shaped lips and couldn’t help but notice,” Ryder says.

“Is that why you call me the queen of hearts? Because of my lips?” I ask, one eyebrow raised.

Ryder grins, all teeth. “Your heart shaped lips, yes. But it’s also your heart shaped face, but most of all…” he says as he moves closer, gripping my hips with his hands and laying me on the blanket on my stomach. “Most of all it’s this heart shaped ass. It's perfection,” he groans and he palms my backside. I giggle as he bends over me and bites the left cheek.

“Ouch!”

Ryder rubs the spot he bit and chuckles, pulling me into his lap. He buries his face in the crook of my neck and shoulder, taking a deep breath and nuzzling me.

“You smell like strawberries and cream,” he whispers, kissing a wet trail up from my shoulder to my ear lobe. I shudder. Ryder reluctantly pulls away, and smiles at me.

“We better head back before it gets too late,” he says.

“I had a really nice time with you, Lexi. I feel like I've known you forever,” he says, his grey eyes staring into mine. I almost stop breathing when he pushes a curl of hair behind my ear.

“The feeling is mutual.”

I squeal when he stands with me in his arms, tickling me a little before putting me down. We pack everything up and head back to his truck. We drive home quietly; our hands intertwined the whole way. He opens the door for me and kisses me softly on the temple as I get out.

“That’s going to be a hard first date to beat,” I whisper. Ryder pulls back, his eyes searching mine.

“If all goes well, hopefully that will be your last first date,” he says simply. I gulp. Ryder’s lip twitches.

“Come on, let’s go home.”

We walk to the front door hand in hand.

*****

Tee is standing in the kitchen, arms crossed.

“What were you guys doing out so late?” she asks, her eyes narrowed to slits. I almost laugh at this picture. Tee is wearing a pink striped robe, her hair in a towel. Her fluffy superman slippers tap the floor impatiently.

“On our date?” I say innocently. Tee stares at her watch and huffs. Ryder walks over to her and playfully pinches her cheeks.

“Go to bed, mother hen, she's home safe and sound,” he says, shaking his head.

“It’s not that, I’ve been stuck here alone
all night
and I'm so damn bored!”she says.

“What about your new
friend
?” Ryder asks. Tee rolls her eyes but doesn’t answer.

“Lexi, why do you have grass in your hair?” she asks with a laugh. “Rolling in the hay, huh? First date, Lexi! At least you ended that dry spell,” she teases, and then yawns.

“Good night, you two,” she says, heading to our bedroom.

“Just how long of a dry spell are we talking?” Ryder asks, his eyebrows raised.

“I don’t think this is first date material!” I say, a blush rising up my neck.

“Good thing the date is over, then,” he counters.

“I don’t think it’s any of your business, Ryder Crawford,” I huff.

“Oh, really?” he says with a chuckle.

“This is an awkward conversation,” I muse.

“There is no such thing an as awkward conversation between us, Lexi,” he says with a head shake.

“Really? Cos I could think of some that would be extremely awkward,” I say.

“Lexi...”

“About a year,” I say. A slow, devastating grin appears on Ryder’s face.

“What are you grinning about?” I huff. He walks over to me and reigns gentle kisses on my cheek.