Ryder
I had to move fast. I told her it was for her safety. I’m a lying bastard. One word from me and she would have been safe as houses. My men wouldn’t disobey a direct order, it’s not how we roll. No, I painted the sorry tale to get her to be my bride and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I didn’t want to give her room to change her mind.
As soon as I saw Ashton something switched on inside me. I have always been a loner. Cool, detached and unemotional. I have never loved a woman or ever wanted to. They serve a physical need for me and nothing else.
But when Ashton walked into the club, something stirred inside me. She was so small, so vulnerable and so damned perfect. A vision of innocence and yet the hottest girl I have ever seen. She is mine. I knew it then and I know it now. She is what I’ve been waiting for all my life and I knew I had to act fast. She’s damaged and broken and I will wait as long as it takes to build her up again and make her whole. I’ve already waited a lifetime, what're a few more weeks, months, even years against a lifetime with my woman.
When she walked beside her brother to become my wife everything slotted into place. My world was complete. She was home where she belongs.
Judge wraps it up quickly and then says the words I’ve been waiting to hear.
“I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”
I turn to face my new wife and see the nerves in her eyes. She looks scared to death but there’s something else. I see in her eyes what I saw when she looked at me for the first time - a matching hunger to mine. The room is silent as I reach for her. This needs to count.
She kisses me back with the passion I know she holds back. Feeling her tongue entwined with mine feels so right. She tastes of sweetness and innocence and my cock hardens unbearably. What I wouldn’t give to sweep her up run to the hills. But not now, not tonight. She needs to beg for it first—and she will.
I release her unwillingly and note with satisfaction the flush in her cheeks and the brightness in her eyes. The guys crowd around and pay their respects. Tyler does not. He hangs back and looks as if his world has ended.
I see Kitty wailing in the background. She’s not the only one and I don’t care. I never promised them anything other than my cock when it suited me. They know the score and give it up freely to anyone who asks in exchange for a protective home and everything they need. These girls aren’t old lady material. They just think they are. However, I need to keep Kitty on side. I need her for another reason now and I’m sure she’s gonna like it—a lot.
In less than an hour, it’s time to wrap things up. I leave Ashton in Bonnie’s capable hands and nod to Tyler. “Follow me.”
We walk to my office and once we’re inside, I close the door firmly.
He scowls at me and I laugh.
“Relax, Tyler. I’m no monster. You did the best thing for your sister. Now, we’re gonna make things right for that girl, between us.”
He looks startled.
“What do you mean, how can we? The men that hurt her are the most powerful in the land. The men that want to hurt her are her family. How can we sort this?”
I grin wickedly. “You forget who you’re dealing with. I’m gonna tell you everything I know about your predicament and how to deal with it. Then you must head home and carry it out to the letter. In return, I only want five things from you.”
He looks confused. “What can I give you?”
I stare at him with a cold, hard, expression.
“I want their names.”
He pales and shakes his head.
“I can’t, it’s impossible.”
I fix him with my deadly gaze.
“You will tell me, Tyler, or this gets uglier.”
He looks nervous.
“If they ever found out I told on them I’m dead.”
Shaking my head, I laugh softly.
“I don’t intend on having a conversation with them. I just want their names that’s all. I’m not saying I’ll do anything, today, tomorrow or even next week. What I’m saying is they’re now on my list. When someone gets on the Reaper’s list there is only one outcome. It will come to them eventually and will be the sweetest of them all. Tell me their names and it will set you and your sister free.”
He looks down and I know I’ve got him. He then tells me five names that I write down and commit to memory. Five bastards who are about to pay for their sins. Five men who danced with the devil that night and are heading straight to Hell and five problems that I’m itching to solve.
Then I tell him what he needs to know. It’s up to him what he does with it. It’s no longer up to me. When Tyler returns, he will return a free man.