Ryder's Redemption (Badboy Rockers #2) (7 page)

Kenzie is watching me, too.

This is too awkward. “Good night, Cole,” I say as I start toward the room.

“Wait, I’m getting a glass of water first.” Kenzie walks into the kitchen.

“You sure you don’t want to watch a movie with me?” Cole asks, and I know the question is directed at me.

“You can stay up,” Kenzie says while filling a glass with water.

“No, I’m completely burned out. I’ll be asleep before my head hits the pillow.” I was such a liar. I’d probably toss and turn all night wondering what Cole was doing or thinking.

I feel so strange. Where is the elation I should be experiencing right now? Why do I instead feel trepidation all of the sudden? Is it just because I’m all too aware of my inexperience and never really figured I would be in this position with the man I desired? Or is it because a certain dark-haired, blue-eyed rocker made me feel sensations when he’d been doing something as simple as braiding my hair that had me thinking that maybe I wasn’t quite sure what, or who, I wanted?

NINE

Ryder

I slide the pills into my pocket and hand the guy fifty bucks before I start back up the street toward
Branded
.

I had told Deklan I was leaving to pick up some lunch for us, so I make sure I stop by a sandwich joint and grab a couple of subs before heading back to the shop.

It’s only been twenty-four hours since I had taken the Vicodin, and I’m excited as I slip an Oxy into my mouth. I had slept like a rock last night and savored the full night’s sleep—something that hadn’t happened since I’d stopped using.

I wouldn’t get carried away. I just needed a few days to catch up on sleep, I told myself, wondering if I should slip into the grocery store and pick up a razor blade to cut up the remaining pills. Snorting is so much more effective than swallowing. I decide against it. I can’t run the risk of Deklan finding a razor blade among my things, and knowing him, he’d find it.

I suck on the pill for a minute and then crush it with my back teeth, using my tongue to dislodge the rest.

Hopefully Deklan would continue to be preoccupied with his woman issues. Last night when he’d returned from taking Kenzie and Ange home, he’d gone straight to his room. I could hear him on the phone and could tell by the tone of his voice that the conversation had been intense. Well, at least for a while. Soon his mood changed from dark and brooding to laughing at everything she said.

Even if things weren’t going well in paradise, I still needed to be careful and watch myself. I couldn’t afford to get sloppy.

The boy watched everything, and he was watching me closely last night. I’d had to use a distraction and braid Ange’s hair. Trust me, I’d rather pull that hair than braid it, but I couldn’t resist after her smartass mouth. That girl could give as good as she gave.

I wonder, and not for the first time, what she’d be like between the sheets.

Speak of the devil
, I think at the sight of Kenzie’s car parked in front of the shop.

I walk into
Branded
and Ange is sitting on the Victorian fainting couch leafing through one of the many magazines that Phyllis has bought. She’s wearing a bikini top beneath a razorback black and white striped tank and surprisingly short black cotton shorts. It’s normally not Ange’s style to show off too much, but I like that she’s revealing more of those killer legs. Her body is tight and toned.

“You getting a tattoo?” I ask.

She looks up in surprise and shakes her head. “Not today.”

Wow, no smartass quip?

A hint of a smile tugs at her lips. It’s like the girl can read my mind.

No Kenzie or Deklan in sight, which means they must have escaped to the break room, or what we called Uncle Steve’s office.

“So what are you up to today?” I ask. She wore absolutely no makeup and I thought she looked amazing.

“We’re headed to the lake.”

“Merwin?” I ask. I wish we were going to the lake. I was locked into working on a sunny Sunday afternoon while Deklan inked a grandma who was celebrating her sixty-third birthday with a new tattoo.

“Who else is going?”

“Brooke, Curtis…Cole.”

I was surprised that Curtis hadn’t mentioned it when we ate breakfast this morning, but then again, he isn’t exactly the chatty type. “So jock boy is going, huh? You must be elated.”

I regret the words the second I say them because she drops her gaze back to the magazine.

She clears her throat and looks at me. “Are you going?”

“That depends.”

“On what?”

“Is Deklan going?”

“I imagine.”

“Then that would be a yes.”

“You two are joined at the hip.” She’s teasing and I really like this new Ange. That, or the drugs are just really starting to set in. Probably both.

“Not by my choice, trust me.”

I wait for a flippant comment but she surprises me when she remains quiet. The attitude of late has been less hate and more tolerant.

Obviously she realizes that I’m on hostage status until Deklan relinquishes his hold.

The door opens and an older woman with an Elvis tattoo on her bicep enters.

“You must be Mrs. Easton, “ I ask the lady, who is grinning from ear to ear.

“Why, yes, young man, I am. Are you Deklan?”

“No, I’m Ryder. Have a seat next to this beautiful young lady and I’ll get your artist for you.”

Ange flashes Mrs. Easton a welcoming smile.

I walk through the spider-web gates that lead from the waiting area into the shop and down the hallway toward Steve’s office. I don’t bother knocking on the door before I enter.

Kenzie has her pert little ass on the desk, and Deklan is between her spread thighs. He has a hand down the front of her skimpy bottoms and it’s clear what he’s doing. Kenzie’s hand is also moving in a certain motion and I freeze.

I don’t blame him for banging his chick in the office. She’s smoking hot in her barely there bikini, and from the second she walked into the store with a see-through cover-up, Deklan must have had a hard on.

I go to the bathroom and decide to drop back by the office later to inform him his client is ready.

Kenzie’s soft whimpers mock me through the thin walls. An image of what I’d just seen burns in my mind and I can’t help but think of Ange in her short shorts.

I unbuckle my pants and slide my hand around my cock.

My head falls back on my shoulders and I imagine what Ange looks like without her clothes on. Long seconds drag into minutes. The drugs are apparently starting to work because I can’t get my dick hard to save my life. I give it another minute, but it’s no use.

Disgusted, I avoid my reflection in the gothic mirror above the sink and wash my hands before I walk back to the office.

I knock on the door with a few obnoxiously loud raps and count silently to ten before pushing the door open.

They haven’t moved, though Deklan’s hands are nowhere near her crotch. In fact, Kenzie moves back and presses her legs together.

I clear my throat and Deklan looks up at me, irritation clear in his eyes.

I set the bag on the desk and remove my sandwich. “Your client is here.”

A nerve in his jaw tics. “Cool. I’ll be right there.”

Kenzie slides off the desk. Her cheeks are flushed and her golden tanned body is smoking hot in the nearly transparent material of the cover-up.

My friend is the luckiest motherfucker on the planet.

And I am the stupidest son of a bitch, I remind myself. I had that…and I let it slip right through my fingers.

“Headed to the lake today, huh?” I say, probably staring a little longer at her firm body than I should.

“Yeah, I’m meeting my brother there,” she says, her fingers weaving through Deklan’s. “Brooke and Curtis said they might join us later. Are you guys coming by?”

“We’ll definitely be there,” Deklan says, his gaze skipping over her body. I know my friend. He has the world’s best poker face, but he’s worried. He doesn’t like to share and he doesn’t like guys looking at his woman.

Looks like he’s shit out of luck today, because there’s not a guy alive who won’t be staring at her.

“By the way, Dek, I just booked you another appointment after this one.”

Deklan scowls at me. “I hope you got a number, because you’ll have to cancel.”

I crack a smile. “I’m just fuckin’ with you. I can tell you don’t want to be here. In fact, you’re already at the lake with your smokin’ hot girlfriend.”

“Dude, you’re not helping,” Deklan says, pulling Kenzie close and giving her a long kiss that makes her sigh.

I’ve heard those throaty moans of hers coming from Deklan’s room at night. That’s another reason I’m looking forward to the apartment. There is a bathroom and a utility room between my room and his, which means I don’t need to hear the nightly sex rounds of sighs and moans.

“I’d better get going. I told Cole I’d be there by now.” Kenzie is walking toward the door, and Deklan’s eyes are glued to her high, tight ass.

I know the gleam in her eye. She’s enjoying the power she has over my friend. I get it. Chicks know the power of the vagina. They use it at will.

I fall in step behind Kenzie, and Deklan shoves me out of the way and gives me a warning glare.

“You’re so screwed,” I say under my breath.

Ange

I won’t lie. I’m relieved that I’m getting a few hours of quality time with Kenzie before the boys arrive at the lake. I have my best friend all to myself…at least until later this afternoon before Brooke and her boyfriend show up.

I love the band. I do. I enjoy their practices, but seriously I am so ready to do something other than have my social life revolve around
The Frozen’s
band practice and concerts.

“What are you thinking?”

I glance up at Kenzie. Her blonde hair is in a sloppy bun and she has on the cutest hot pink two-piece and sheer cover-up. She’s always been a natural beauty—and I think she was gorgeous just the way she was now—with just a little mascara and lip gloss. She’s adorable, and I had loved the way that Deklan was freaking out. His mouth had dropped open when we walked in. Kenzie had surprised me when she’d taken him by the hand and led him to the backroom to tell him something. No doubt to make sure they were fine after last night’s blowout. They’d walked out of the office with cheeks flushed and smiles on their faces, so I didn’t have to wonder what exactly they had talked about. “I’m thinking about how much fun I’m having here.”

She grins. “I’m glad you’re here, Ange. I don’t want you to go back to California.”

I was glad, too. I wasn’t at all homesick for my family. I loved my sisters, but being stuck with them in the Hawaiian timeshare wasn’t my idea of paradise. My parents were a bit on the conservative side, although my mom was a realist—hence the sexual education talk just days after getting my period.

My mom and I had always been close. Lately, she had been getting on my nerves though with her constant yammering about me attending Pepperdine. Pepperdine was Mom’s alma mater, so in her mind I basically had no choice.

Although my father tells me differently.

Mom wins all the battles though.

Always had, always will.

Kenzie pulls onto a paved driveway that weaves through the trees.

I put the visor down, apply some lip gloss, and tie the strings of my bikini a little tighter, hiking the girls a bit higher. I had gone for a solid black bikini.

I hope Cole liked it.

Ryder sure seemed to…damn it. Why was I thinking about him again? This morning when I had seen him at the shop, I had been reminded of him braiding my hair and how he’d come to mind when Cole had kissed me.

Liking Ryder would be a huge mistake. He’s the kind of guy who could get me in hot water right away. The saying ‘
hit it and quit it’
came to mind, and yet how was I so sure that Cole wouldn’t be the same way?

Well…because he was my Cole. But that Cole had tried to do more than kiss me, so maybe I didn’t know him so well after all.

Kenzie chatters away. I can’t focus on anything. The lake is packed with people. With a blanket tucked under one arm and a small cooler full of bottled water and snacks in the other, I scan the sandy beach that is littered with families for Cole. There are a good number of trees just beyond the sand. All the shade is taken. “I’ll text Cole.”

Seconds later, her phone rings that she has a text message. Kenzie glances over her shoulder to the left.

Cole is already walking our way. Beside him is a stocky guy-next-door blond and a gorgeous girl with stick straight brown hair and the longest legs I’ve ever seen. Her hipbones are razor sharp.

Girlfriend needs to eat a cheeseburger, stat.

My stomach drops to my toes. And here I had been feeling kind of confident.

I wonder if she’s with the cute blond but lose hope when the girl with the endless legs gives Cole a little love pat on the ass.

I nearly drop the cooler.

Kenzie glances at me, obviously to check and see if I’d noticed.

I’d noticed all right. My stomach is already in a knot.

What about the kiss we had shared just last night? Had that meant nothing?

Was he pissed that I’d stopped him from going further? That, or he’d gotten a little too close to little sis’s friend and now he was backpedaling…

Cole doesn’t even glance back at her though. He smiles and reaches out to me. I realize almost too late that he wants the cooler.

I want to hurl it at him.

He knows it too, I think, because he avoids eye contact.

I’m glad I have my sunglasses on. I don’t want him to see that I’m hurt in any way.

Or maybe I’m just reading too much into that little slap-happy tap on the ass.

Introductions are made. Leggy is Nadia and she has a very faint Ukranian accent.

Nadia reaches for Cole’s hand. She’s grinning from ear-to-ear at Kenzie. Apparently she knows Kenzie and Cole are related. She manages a quick glance at me and a polite head-nod before returning her full attention to Kenzie.

I walk behind the others and hate that I have to take one-and-a-half steps for every single step that Nadia takes.

There’s an open field with lush green grass littered with a dozen oak trees where older couples and families with small children sit on chairs and lay on blankets.

We pick a spot with no shade in sight and drop our blankets.

Cole immediately joins a volleyball game in progress, while Nadia plops her skinny butt beside a group of girls who are cheering on the guys playing. Typical guys—they’re checking us out pretty hard, but I can tell that Cole reminds them that we’re family because they laugh and focus on the game.

Kenzie takes off her cover-up and I remove my shorts and tank top. I take my time putting on sunblock, soaking in the beautiful lake and the surrounding area where picnic tables are sitting amongst evergreen trees.

I can see why Washington has grown on Kenzie. It might rain a lot, but the greenery was unlike anything I had ever seen.

“Will you put some of that on my back?” Kenzie rolls onto her stomach.

I squirt lotion into my hand. I can feel eyes on us and decide to slow my movements, taking my time working the lotion into Kenzie’s legs and lower back. When I ease my fingers under her bikini string, one of the guys hits another.

I press my lips together to keep from smiling. Men. They are so predictable.

Kenzie grins but says nothing. She knows me better than I know myself sometimes.

Cole’s team scores, and when he looks our way, he barks at one of the guys.

Obviously big brother isn’t enjoying the show as much as his buddies are.

Kenzie snorts under her breath.

I set the lotion aside and lie on my back and close my eyes.

“You want me to put lotion on you?” Kenzie asks and laughs wickedly.

“I’m sure the boys would love that.” I grin. “Maybe when I flip over. I’ve got my front covered.”

I watch the game under lowered lids as the sun’s rays tan my skin.

Kenzie’s phone signals she has a text.

She glances at it and smiles.

“Your man?”

“Yes.” She eases up on to her elbows. “He’s checking to make sure we arrived.”

Yeah, right. He wanted to make sure she was being good and not forgetting that she had a hotter than sin boyfriend. “Be sure to tell him that we’re hanging out with your brother and eight of his closest ultra-ripped friends, watching them play volleyball.”

“I’m not watching the guys though,” she says, as though she’s trying to convince me.

“Yeah, but they’re watching you.”

I take a picture of Kenzie and post it on my social networking site. Ryder is my friend. I know Deklan doesn’t have a page or like social networking, but Ryder does. I smile to myself, and I know that part of the reason I posted the picture is because I know Deklan will hurry his ass here, which means Ryder will be with him.

I’d like to prove to Cole that he’s not the only one who can attract the opposite sex. Maybe he’s just trying to prove to me that there are other girls who will obviously go further with him than just kissing.

I watch the game, and more notably, Cole, who is tanned a golden brown. He’s completely into the competition of the game. His gaze doesn’t waver from the ball. The boy is focused. I could be naked on the sidelines and he probably wouldn’t look.

“Game point,” he yells as he serves the ball and runs up toward the net.

“Hey you,” Brooke says, dropping her bag beside us.

Curtis is following a few steps behind with a couple of air mattresses tucked under one arm and a small cooler in the other. His blond dreadlocks are held up in a high pony. He has a nice face and amazing eyes under all that hair.

Brooke notices my gaze linger on her man and she frowns at me. “Hands off the goods, Ange.”

I hold my hands, palms out. “Will do.”

For the first time, she gives me a soft smile and I wonder if she’s warming up to me after all.