Ryder
“Man, that was hell.” Snake’s words echo my own thoughts. Going after a drug lord was never gonna be easy and the shootout that followed is still ringing in my ears. Job done, though. One very dead fucked up criminal along with twenty of his men. The clean-up crew ain’t gonna thank us for this one.
Looking around at my men I’m relieved to see just the usual minor injuries that a job this size involves. Nothing that a night of alcohol to deaden the pain, followed by the soft embrace of a woman won’t fix.
Wearily, I shake my head and nod towards the barn.
“Come on, we’ve earned a shot or two. The women will be home soon with the kids and normal life will kick in.”
Snake nods. “Sure, I could use a shot or two. Bonnie’s at College ‘til 6 and the house will close in on me if I head back there.”
Brewer grins. “Well, my old lady will be warm and waiting. No kids for an hour or so frees her up to look after me for a change. Enjoy your drinks guys, I’ve got a much better proposition waiting.”
Laughing, I follow Snake inside. Most of the guys head that way, others head home no doubt to mirror what Brewer is up to. As I think of Ashton my cock strains at the leash. It’s good to have something so sexy to look forward to. Deep inside her, I will drive the hard images of the day away.
Snake, Flash, Rock and I hit the pool table and try to unwind. We need this time to sort our heads out before family life kicks in. Flash is the only one of the four of us who has a whore in his sight tonight. Like I was, he’s free with his favors and shares his dick around generously. I’ve even known him have more than one in his bed at a time and ‘man whore’ doesn’t come close to describing him. He’s always been a favorite with the ladies, given his good looks and cocky choice of words. The joker of the pack and after me the hardest to pin down. One day it’ll hit him as hard as it hit me. Until then he’s free to play the field and if there was a league of ‘players’ he would top it every time.
Two hours in and I feel human enough to head off and find my family. Cassie will be back from school and I can’t wait to hold her on my lap and kiss her soft cheeks. She’s everything to me and now we have Ashton, my world is complete.
As soon as I head inside, Cassie runs up shouting, “Daddy, daddy, swing me high.”
She jumps into my arms like a gazelle and I swing around like an airplane until she can’t breathe for laughing.
Ashton stands in front of us with an odd look in her eyes. My heart twists inside me, something’s wrong. She’s smiling but I see the pain in her eyes and the blood rushes through my body like fire.
I put Cassie down and follow them into the kitchen, looking at Ashton with questions in my eyes. She looks serious.
“Cassie, darling, come and sit down. We need to talk about something that happened at school.”
My heart starts pounding as I join them and we sit either side of Cassie. Ashton takes her hand and looks at her with a smile.
“Now, it’s ok but Principal Armstrong told me that something happened yesterday at recess. Do you want to tell us what happened?”
Cassie’s eyes widen and her lower lip trembles. Instantly, my back is up and I narrow my eyes. Ashton looks at me reassuringly and I relax—a little. Cassie says quietly.
“Samuel Buckland pulled Imogen’s hair and stole her candy. I didn’t think it was very nice, so I chased him.”
I say gently. “Then what happened?”
She turns to look at me with her big adorable brown eyes and says loudly.
“I did what you showed me, daddy. I got him in a headlock and punched him in the face.”
The look on Ashton’s face almost makes me lose it. It takes all of my self-control not to laugh out loud and heap praise on my daughter. Ashton, however, is not amused and shakes her head.
“Honey, you do know that was the wrong thing to do, don’t you?”
Cassie looks surprised.
“But daddy always told me if anyone hurt me or anyone I loved then I was to stand up to them. That’s right, isn’t it daddy?”
I actually don’t know what to say. She’s right, I’ve always said that but from the look on Ashton’s face, that isn’t gonna cut it. So, I smile and pull her onto my lap. The love that I feel for my girl has no limits. She can do no wrong in my eyes and the pride at how she dealt with that situation is threatening to overwhelm me.
Instead, I kiss her gently and say softly. “You were right, little princess. The trouble is, when you’re at school they have different rules. The right thing to do in this case was to tell a teacher. When there’s someone in authority around, you tell them and let them deal with it in the right way. Now you’re the one in the wrong because you’ve made this boy a victim, not the bully. You’ll be punished because he did wrong in the first place. It’s why we have laws and police to act on our behalf. You only fight your way out of a situation if there’s nobody to help you or act on your behalf. Do you understand baby girl?”
Her nose wrinkles up as she thinks it through.
Ashton looks at me and I note the worry in her eyes. There is something else in them that pierces my heart like a dagger. There’s a pain that’s sucking the air from my lungs. This isn’t about Cassie fighting, something else has happened.
Then she shakes herself and smiles softly.
“You will need to say sorry to the boy tomorrow. His parents are upset and it would be the right thing to do.”
Cassie looks confused.
“But he’s my best friend now. He asked me to his party and asked me to show him my moves. Imogen’s invited too.”
I grin at Ashton, who shakes her head. “Even so, it may help make his parents happier. Come on, I’ll help you write it.”
I watch them move over to the table and settle back in my seat. Something’s up. I could tell as soon as I saw Ashton.
She works away with Cassie and I flick on the set. The news is on and I watch for any signs of what happened today. It reminds me of the bulletin I saw when Ashton’s daddy pleaded for her return. Grinning to myself, I wonder if he knows I had the segment pulled from every local news channel spanning every State bordering ours. It’s good to be a Reaper sometimes. The boss of the network owes us a huge favor and was only too happy to oblige.
No, it can’t be anything to do with that putting a shadow in her eyes. I’ll just be patient and discover what it is later.
Once Cassie’s in bed, I get my chance. Ashton walks in and sits down heavily on the couch beside me. She sinks into my side and brings her knees up to my chest. Just for a moment, she snuggles into me and I kiss the top of her head lightly. As I stroke her arm, I feel her relax against me and I say softly, “You had a hard day, darlin’?”
She sighs softly. “No, it’s fine. Just the trouble at school and Cassie’s friend’s mom is going through some stuff at the moment. Then when I got back your sister was here waiting.”
I tense up, Cara, I should have known. I say in a hard voice, “What did she want?”
Pulling back, Ashton smiles. “She was just checking on Cassie. We had a good chat actually and I like her, Ryder. Once you get past that hard shell she’s not so bad, really.”
Laughing, I kiss her soft, sexy lips and growl, “Family trait.”
Ashton smiles sexily and I run my hand behind her head and fist her hair. Then I punish those lips with the desperation of a man seeking to forget. This is what I need. My woman to set me back on the right path.
She groans against my mouth and I smile inside. She is one hot and sexy woman and I don’t need reminding twice. I push her down onto the couch and stare deeply into her eyes. “Did you miss me, darlin’?”
She smiles and licks her lips. “You know I did.”
I smile wickedly. “Then prove it.”
She pushes me back and straddles my lap. Then she reaches for her dress and removes it in one swift move. I go to touch my prize but she holds my hands down and wiggles her ass on my lap. “Now, now! Patience is a virtue you know.”
I stare deep into her eyes and see the lust mirroring my own. She continues to tease me with her mouth while grinding her body onto mine. My cock is as hard as a poker and is begging to be set free. As if she senses it, she winks suggestively and then moves lower until her lips are level with it. Then she releases it and takes it in her mouth in one hot, sexy move. As I thrust into her, her tongue wraps around my shaft and sucks and licks until I groan with longing. Impatiently, I pull her up until she is above me and then lower her onto my dick, slowly and carefully. Her breasts move within a tantalizing taste of my lips and I latch on like a man possessed. She rides me like the most experienced cowgirl and I’m like a pony in my own rodeo. This woman is soft, sweet and angelic for most of the day but when she has me in her sights, she changes into the most fuckable woman on the planet. Everything she does comes so naturally that it’s as if she followed the blueprint to my desires. There is nothing she does that doesn’t send me over the edge and keep me coming back for more like an addict in need of a fix.
As she nears her orgasm, I watch in wonder as her eyes close and her lip quivers. It’s a beautiful sight and I want to watch every second of my angel’s climax. I love the fact she is mine and nobody else’s, or ever will be. I’ve never felt love for anyone other than Cassie before but I know at this moment that I fucking love this woman coming apart on my dick with every part of me.
The realization hits home and as I release into her, I grind her lips to mine and devour them with everything I’ve got. I need to taste her, feel her, consume her. There is no beginning and no end to us and it feels fucking amazing.