Ryder (Resisting Love) (8 page)

“My first time organizing anything for you, how did I do?” he asks into my ear. He says it like there are going to be many more times to come. I love that.

“It was perfect, Ryder,” I say sincerely. I don’t even need all this, but the fact that everyone put in such an effort for me makes me feel really special. Loved. Ryder throws a devastating smile my way, obviously pleased with himself, as he should be. We all party the night away, dancing, laughing and just enjoying life. We make it home in the wee hours of the morning, Ryder and Sasha crashing at our apartment. Jet and Kade take a cab home.

Best. Birthday. Ever.

The next morning Ryder makes me breakfast in bed, and we celebrate all over again.

*****

Chapter 10

Four months later

Lexi

Ryder and I have been going strong for almost five months now, and it’s been amazing. We spend all the time we can together. Unfortunately, every Friday night when he's been performing I’ve been at my other job. By the time I get home it’s late. Ryder's been begging me to come and watch him, and the next time he plays at Steele is on a Saturday instead, so I can finally go. I can’t wait to see him in action.

We're sitting in the living room, playing band hero. I’m on the guitar, and he’s on the drums. It’s so funny watching him concentrating, when he's the front man of a popular band in real life.

“Lexi!” he calls out chuckling. Oops, I was staring at him and not playing.

“You’re letting the band down!” he mock growls. After we finish the tour we're doing, we turn it off, and head into the kitchen. Ryder cooked us dinner earlier and I’m starving.  I glance at my plate and my mouth waters; grilled fish, asparagus, and mashed potato. I take a huge bite enthusiastically.

“Someone needs to husband you right now,” I say, taking another bite. Ryder laughs, shaking his head.

“I’m serious! If the whole band thing doesn’t work out, you could become a chef,” I tell him.

“My mother taught me, and she knows her way around the kitchen,” he says softly, watching me eat.

“Stop watching me,” I hiss, my cheeks going pink.

“I like watching you,” he says simply.

“You’re making me nervous,” I counter. He grins and takes a bite of his own food.

“If I’m
not
watching you, that’s when you should be worried,” he teases.

“Is that right?” I say.

“You don’t mind my eyes on yours in the bedroom,” he adds with a chuckle.

My mouth opens in disbelief. “You can’t bring up things that happen in the bedroom at the dinner table!”

“Why not?” Ryder asks, giving me a full on belly laugh. He obviously finds this amusing.

“You just can’t! What happens in the bedroom, stays in the bedroom!” I say.

“I’m pretty sure I went down on you in the kitchen the other day,” he adds nonchalantly.

I can actually feel the flush riding up my neck, “Ryder!”

“Best meal I ever had,” he continues.

“Do you want another taste?” I ask coyly. I inwardly smile at Ryder’s reaction. His beautiful gray eyes smoulder and his nostrils flair slightly.

“Always,” is his husky reply.

“Good,” I say. I go back to eating.

“Lexi!” Ryder practically growls, his eyes narrowed to slits.

“What does that tattoo on your neck say?” I ask him, purposely changing the subject. I’ve been wondering from the first moment I laid my eyes on him. It’s in another language, a quote in beautiful script.

“It’s a secret. Nice change of subject by the way,” he says slyly.

“I’m just going to google it,” I announce before taking another bite of fish. Ryder stands up and pours me a glass of red wine, placing it down next to my plate.

“Thank you,” I tell him quietly.

“You’re welcome,” he says in a deep tone.  I run my gaze over the rest of his tattoos, admiring his two full sleeves of beautiful artwork from shoulder to wrist. Our eyes meet and his are now a dark gray, and intently on me.

“Like what you see?” he asks bluntly.

“You know I do, Ryder,” I say between sips of wine. Hell, what’s not to love? He shakes his head at me again and a chocolate brown lock falls over his forehead. I lean towards him and push it aside, Ryder taking my hand in his as I’m about to pull it away. He places a chaste kiss on the inside of my wrist, and gives me a full watt smile. We finish our meal in silence, the air in the room thick with sexual tension. Ryder gets up and clears my plate and I thank him. When he comes back into the room holding a plate with cheesecake, strawberries, and a bottle of whipped cream, I raise my eyebrow in question.

“Dessert is in the bedroom tonight,” he says huskily, motioning his head to the bedroom door. My breath hitches as I stand up slowly, and walk into the bedroom; an exaggerated swing in my hips. I hear Ryder growl as he walks closely behind me.

He doesn’t even bother closing the door.

*****

Chapter 11

Lexi

Laughing, Ryder and I walk hand in hand into the club.
Morning Alliance
are performing a gig at Chase’s club, and this is the first time I'll see him play with his band. I’m wearing a tight, fitted white dress, with a sweetheart neckline, and playful white platform heels. My hair is curled and let loose and wild, bouncing over my shoulders as I walk. My makeup is my usual mascara and bright red lips. Ryder’s eyes almost popping out of his head when he saw me was validation enough that I clean up pretty well.

Ryder stands behind me and nuzzles my neck, placing a few wet kisses there. Goosebumps rise on my arms, and my hair stands on end. Ryder is so affectionate and it’s still taking some getting used to. “Lexi girl,” he growls, “every pair of male eyes are on you right now.” I blush and give him a small grin, causing him to dig his fingers into my hips. “I’m both proud and frustrated as hell,” he whispers into my ear, nipping the bottom of my lobe with his teeth.

“Ryder!” I chastise, not used to PDAs. He chuckles deeply, and spins me around, giving me a deep kiss. We walk over to Tee, Layla, Chase, Kade and James.

“Look who finally made it!” Tee teases, giving me a sleazy grin. Ryder leads me over to the empty chair next to Tee. “I gotta go, my Queen of hearts,” he says to me, kissing me once more. “Look after my girl, Chase,” he says to Chase. Chase nods. Ryder, satisfied, leaves me to go prepare with his band.

“Can I get you a drink, Lexi?” Kade asks with an evil grin.

“No, thanks,” I say back, causing him to laugh. Ignoring him, I turn to James.

“So, James, how are you?” I ask him.

“I’m doing alright, how are you?” James counters. He looks delicious in a blue shirt that shows off his ripped biceps and gives a nice view of his chest. Which, for your information, is worthy of being on a calendar. I stare at his lip ring as he bites it with his teeth.

“Lexi?” he asks, not for the first time.             

“Huh, what?” I say stupidly.

James chuckles, shaking his head at me. What’s a girl to do?

*****

Twenty minutes later I’m standing at the bar, ordering myself a screwdriver from Payton when a man stands next to me. He motions to Payton with a nod, which she returns. I tilt my head to the side when I realize there's something familiar about him. I can only see his profile, spiked up brown hair, arms covered in tattoos, and an eyebrow ring. I don’t know anyone who looks like that, but I still can’t shake the feeling that I've met this man before. Payton hands me my drink, offering me a smile, and I pull a fifty dollar note out of my purse. The man next to me takes his own drink, thanking Payton.

When he speaks, I instantly stiffen because I know that voice. Oh, hell, do I ever know that voice. I put my head down, covering my face with my hair. How could I forget that posture? That delicious scent of his cologne? I slowly take a step back, turning around, and heading for our table.

“You forgot your drink, sweetheart,” he calls after me in his smooth voice. I realize there's no getting out of this. I’m going to have to face him. I turn around and look into the melted chocolate eyes of the boy who broke my heart.

“AJ?” he says, surprised, taking a step closer to me. “Fuck, AJ, you look so different. I've been trying to find you for years now.” His voice has turned hoarse, and his eyes are full of pain. Why he's feeling pain, I have no idea.

“Saxon,” I acknowledge him with a nod of my head. I don’t know what he wants from me, but he’s not going to get it. “I gotta go,” I say, stepping back once again.

“AJ, wait, baby, we need to talk. Fuck, I have so much I want to say to you. I’m not letting you leave again,” he says, deep emotion in his voice.

Wait, what? He grabs hold of my arm and pulls me into his arms. I put my hands against his chest and push myself away. “Saxon, let me go!” I say, struggling, but he only holds me tighter into his arms. 

“What the fuck are you doing, Sax?” I hear a growl from behind me.

I instantly stop my struggling when I hear his voice.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it, Ry,” Sax says nonchalantly.

“Why wouldn’t I worry that you have you hands all over my fucking girl?” Ryder yells, the vehemence in his voice causing me to gulp. Saxon finally lets go of my arm and I quickly turn around and run into Ryder’s arms. He wraps his arms tightly around me in a protective gesture.

“Your girl?” Sax repeats in disbelief. I glance over at him to see him close his eyes for a moment, his mouth twisting. When he opens his eyes and our gazes lock, the pain in them astounds me. He looks crestfallen.

“Yeah, this is Lexi. Wanna explain what’s going on here?” Ryder demands.

“She's my ex, AJ” Sax informs him.

Ryder looks down at me his brow furrowed. “AJ?”

“Alexis Joy,” I whisper.

“Fuck! This is your ex, the one you still...” Ryder doesn’t finish his sentence.

Saxon rubs the back of his neck, now staring at the floor. He looks so different. My Saxon didn’t have any tattoos or piercings or have his hair like that.

“Did you know?” Saxon asks me.

“Did I know what?” I respond, confused.

“That Ryder was in
Morning Alliance
with me? Is this some fucked up way for you to get back at me? By getting with a guy I consider family? Cos you win, AJ, this fucking hurts like hell!” Saxon spits out at me. I notice Ryder putting a little space between us and it pisses me off. He doesn’t believe Saxon, does he?

I gape. “You think this is all about you, Sax? What the hell?! I never wanted to see you ever again!” I’m yelling now. I turn around and look at Ryder who is now staring at Saxon, not looking at me. “You know what? Fuck you both!” I hiss, walking towards the club exit. I don’t deserve this shit. I hail a cab and jump in.

*****

Ryder

“She’s the girl? The one you never got over? The one you kept looking for?” I ask Sax, already knowing the answer. Fuck if this doesn’t hurt. My Lexi has been with Sax, and from the looks of things, they were serious. Serious enough that Sax never got over her. This whole thing is a cluster fuck of epic proportions. I don’t want Sax hurt, but Lexi…

Lexi is mine.

“Yeah, she's my girl, Ry,” Sax states, causing me to clench my fists.

“She’s not your girl anymore, Sax,” I say in a quiet, deadly tone.

“I don’t think you understand, Ry. We were together for years. High school sweethearts, we were each other’s firsts…in everything,” Sax says simply.

I see red. He was Lexi’s first? Fuck.

“I’m sorry, but you’re not getting her back, Sax. L, she’s with me,” I tell him frankly. I hear our name being called on stage. How the fuck am I going to perform now? Not to mention Lexi ran out by herself.

I make an instant decision and run off after her, but I’m too late. I see her jump in a cab and drive off. Running my fingers through my hair, I exhale deeply. Walking back into the club, I see the disapproval from the other band members. I put Lexi out of my mind, and jump on stage.

“How is everyone doing tonight?” I say into the microphone. We get some cheers and catcalls from the audience. I see Tee shooting me daggers, so I avoid looking at her. I concentrate on the task at hand, and put on a good show for the crowd.

As soon as we get off stage, the guys start in on me.

“What the hell, Ryder? Why were you with AJ?” Kidd asks, looking confused.

“She goes by Lexi, and she's mine,” I spit at him.

Jet walks over looking confused. “What’s going on?” he asks before taking a gulp of water.

“Nothing,” I say to him.

“Nothing? Stealing my girl is nothing to you?” Sax hisses at me.

“Steal? Don’t make shit up, Sax.
If
she was yours, I wouldn’t have gone near her. I’m not like that and you know it,” I tell him, affronted.

“Yeah, well, I’m not going to sit around and watch you with the woman I love,” he tells me, his face blank, and then he storms off, not giving us a backwards glance. He even slams the door for good measure.

“Fuck! This is going to mess up the band, Ryder. Look, I love AJ... I mean Lexi... She’s a good girl and I’ve known her for many years, but this is our chance, everything we’ve ever wanted for us is almost within reach. With you and Sax going at each other this isn’t going to happen! You need to sort this out.”

I stare at the ceiling. Fuck if he isn’t right. And I hate it. What’s that saying?
Get what you want, lose what
you have
. Which is it gonna be? My career, or the woman of my dreams? It seems fate is a bitch and won’t let me have both.

I know exactly how this is going to play out.

*****

Chapter 12

Lexi

I rush out of the bar and jump into the nearest taxi. I absently give the driver my home address, and then stare out of the window. My mind returns to the scene I just left, and then all the memories come flooding back.