Wilde Ride (7 page)

“Breakfast is ready,” he informs me.

“Okay, just give me five minutes.”

Five minutes later, I enter the kitchen to see Ryder sitting at the table eating something out of a bowl. “What the hell is that?” I ask.

“Oatmeal,” he replies. I screw up my nose. Yuck, I’ve always hated oatmeal!

“What kind of badass, biker eats oatmeal for breakfast?” I ask, taking a seat at the table.

“Well apparently this badass biker does,” he replies, pushing my bowl towards me. “Eat it. It’s good for you.”

That’s kind of sweet. I’m so not going to enjoy this. I take a spoonful and put it in my mouth. It’s pretty tasty.

“Yum, it tastes better than I remember.”

I go to the refrigerator to get a glass of orange juice. When I open the door, I see that it’s fully stocked. “You actually have food in your fridge,” I state, looking over at Ryder.

“Well, since you’re gonna be stayin’ with me for a while, I figured I’d have to keep that smokin’ body of yours fed. You’re gonna need all the energy you can get around me, babe,” he says, winking at me. I blush as I walk back to the table with my juice and sit back down.

After our surprisingly yummy breakfast, Ryder follows me to work again. As we pull into the parking lot and park, I see Brent getting out of his truck. When I look over at Ryder, I see that he’s noticed Brent too. Uh-oh, this so isn’t going to end well.

Ryder storms over to him and shoves him in the chest. He hisses, “If you so much as fuckin’ look at Ella the wrong way, you’ll have me to answer to. Back the fuck off, she’s not yours. She’s mine. Am I making myself clear?”

“Nobody owns her. She’s into me and I’m into her. There’s nothing you can do about it,” he sneers.

Excuse me. Did he just say I’m into him? Can you say delusional?

“Wanna make a bet on that? Just do something, anything, so I can enjoy breakin’ that pretty boy face of yours.”

“Yeah, I do actually. I’ll have her in my bed before the end of the week. How do you think you’ll do?” he asks, challenging Ryder.

“You seriously wanna play it this fuckin’ way. I’ve already had her in my bed, asshole!” Ryder hisses and his teeth clench. I can see his hands ball up into fists at his sides.

Brent looks at me with a disappointed look and then turns his attention back on Ryder. He opens his mouth to say something, but before things can escalate and get more heated, I stand between the two men and try to push them apart.

“Okay, guys. Stop it. Are you going to start peeing on me to mark your territory?”

“If I fuckin’ have to,” Ryder answers, grinning at me.

“Seriously?” I ask, snapping my head back towards him. Hearing movement, I turn back around and notice Brent escaping towards the school. I sigh in relief. That was super awkward and a bit creepy.

“Babe, there’s somethin’ about that guy. If he does anything to you, let me know. I don’t trust him. If I gotta pull some macho, alpha male shit to scare him away from you, then that’s what I’m gonna do. I care about you and nobody is gonna mess with you,” he says, while stroking my cheek with the back of his hand.

He cares about me. I care about him. Actually, I’m pretty sure I’m falling in love with him. It’s kind of scary considering I only really met him two days ago. How can that be? There’s just some kind of pull he has on me, even from that first meeting last year.

“Gotta go babe,” he says, tucking some loose hairs behind my ear and kissing me softly on the mouth. “See ya.”

“Later, Ryder,” I sigh. Once again, I watch his fine ass hop on his motorcycle and pull out of the parking lot.

****

A few hours later, I’m in the cafeteria at lunch hour, just about to sit down and eat my sandwich when my cell phone starts playing a ringtone I’ve never heard before. The song “Born to be Wild” by Hinder blares from my purse. What the hell? Hauling it out, I look at the display and laugh when I see, ‘Ryder Calling’. When did he program his number and ringtone into my phone?

I pick up and say, “Hey, handsome.”

“Hey yourself, gorgeous.”

“Ryder, how is your number programmed into my phone?” I ask.

“I programmed it the first night you stayed at the house. I did it while you were sleepin’.” He’s such a sneaky bastard, but he’s a hot, sneaky bastard.

“So now you have my number, if you ever need to call,” he points out. So that’s why he was holding back a smile when I said I didn’t have his number.

“Thanks. Oh, I like your ringtone,” I say, half giggling.

“Thought you would,” he says, laughing in return.

“Why are you calling, Ryder?”

“Something’s come up with Mayhem that I’ve got to deal with. I won’t be able to see you until tonight. I put a key for my house on your key-chain the other night, so you can let yourself in. There won’t be anyone tailin’ you from the club after work because they’re all going to be occupied. Keep an eye on your surroundings and be safe. If you see anything, and I mean anything you call me and then you call the cops. Understand?”

I nod. “Ella, understand?” Oh yeah, he can’t see that. Duh!

“Yes, I understand. Can I go to my apartment and pick up a few things that I forgot the other night?”

“Sure, but like I said, keep an eye out and if anything looks off call me.”

“Call you, will do.”

“Bye babe. See ya later tonight.”

“Okay bye, see you later.” I disconnect.

What’s going on with Mayhem, I wonder? Would he even tell me if I asked? God, it’s going to be a long day if I have to wait until this evening to see Ryder again. I just finish eating my sandwich, when the bell rings to signal the end of lunch. I head back towards my classroom to teach my final three classes of the day.

Chapter 9

Break and Enter

Finally, after a long day of teaching I drive to my apartment to pick up a few things to bring back to Ryder’s house that I missed the other night. I am falling in love with him! He is amazing, sweet, caring and passionate. God is he ever passionate. I wish we could have gone farther sexually, than what we did last night.

I stroll up the walkway and enter my apartment. I walk in and I have this feeling like something is different. I don’t know how to explain it, but something feels off. I do a little walk through and water my plants. I’ve never really been good at keeping them, but when I moved here I needed something to make me feel more at home. What better way than plants?

I enter the bedroom and grab one of my overnight bags out of the closet. I go over towards my dresser and notice something odd. Why is the top drawer hanging open with my underwear all over the place?

I’m pretty sure that I didn’t mess that up the other night when I came to get my things. I must have and can’t remember because Ryder had me so mesmerized. No one else could have been here. I put some things in my bag that I need and grab something a little sexier for Ryder tonight.

Crossing my fingers, I hope things will go a little further than what they did last night. Fuck, what he does to me. It has never been like this with any other man before.

I go into the bathroom to grab a few things and notice that things are everywhere. Looks like someone ransacked the place. “What the hell?” I say to myself. Now, I know I never touched anything in here.

I reach for my silk robe that I usually hang up on the back of the door, but it’s missing. “That’s weird, where’s my robe?” I check the closet and the hamper, but it’s not there either. I’m going to call Ryder to see if he had one of the guys come over and grab a few things. I take out my phone and let it ring.

“Hey Ryder,” I greet him.

“Hey Babe, what’s happenin’? Everything okay?” he asks.

“I told you that I was going to my apartment to pick up a few things. I have to ask you, did you have one of the guys come here and get anything?”

“No, why?”

“Well it must be just me, but when I went to the dresser to get some underwear, the drawer was open and some were hanging out. Then I went into the bathroom and it was all messed up and I can’t find my robe.” I tell him.

“Ella, get outta the apartment right now, go to your car and lock yourself in. I will be there as soon as I can.”

“Do you think it could have been the bikers from the bar?”

“That’s not usually their MO. If Hunter was going to mess with you, you’d know. Get out now, Ella!” he barks.

“Okay,” I say, running out of the apartment to my car. Is someone still in here? It must have been a break and enter, but nothing was gone besides my robe. I mean, who would break in just to steal my robe? Super creepy. There could be more missing, I don’t really know.

I sit in my car with the doors locked, waiting for Ryder. It seems like forever, when I hear the pipes of his Harley. I climb out and run over to his bike.

“What is going on?” I ask, shaking.

“It’s ok, babe,” he says.

“Do you think someone is still in there?”

“I am going to take a look,” he says, starting towards the apartment.

“I am coming with you,” I say

“No you wait in the car,” he tells me.

“Like fuck, I’m coming with you,” G.I. Jane says.

We enter the apartment and I tell him everything was fine out in the living room and kitchen. I lead him towards my bedroom. Boy, do I wish this was under different circumstances.

“It was this drawer that was open and had stuff hanging out.”

He moves toward the drawer and heat flashes through my body at knowing what is in there.

“I’m going to take a look to make sure nothing is missing,” he says. You can see the devilish grin spread across his face.

“Of course you will,” I say. Shit, I hope he doesn’t notice the vibrator that Payton gave me as a gag graduation present hidden in the back of the drawer.

“Ella, you didn’t tell me you have a friend named BOB,” he laughs.

“Payton gave it to me as a prank for graduation. I have never used it. It’s still in the box as you can see!” I say, blushing from head to toe.

“My naughty school teacher,” he whispers.

Okay, enough of the underwear drawer. I close it and grab his hand, taking him to the bathroom. I show him where everything was supposed to be and where it is all now.

“Are you sure you never touched anything?” he asks.

“No I never. I have a little bit of OCD and I like things a certain way,” I say.

“Okay well, let’s get your shit and get out of here. I will get this place on radar and the guys will keep an eye on it,” he says.

As we walk through the living room to leave, I notice something out of place. Something I didn’t notice during my walk through. I let go of Ryder’s hand and walk over to one of the end tables near the couch.

“What is it, babe?” Ryder asks.

I’m looking at a photo of me, my brother and my parents. My hands are shaking. “This was on the other end table. Somebody moved it.”

That’s why something felt off when I first walked into my apartment. It is such a subtle difference that I didn’t notice it right away.

“Are you sure?” he asks.

“OCD, remember,” I reply. “Why would someone break into my apartment to look at a family photo and steal my robe? That is so freaking creepy.”

“I don’t know. Where’s your superintendent live?” he asks.

“Down-stairs at apartment 4A, why?”

“Wanna ask him if he saw anything suspicious?”

He grabs my hand and the next thing I know, we are standing in front of the door that says 4A. Ryder knocks. The superintendent opens the door and Ryder asks, “You see anything strange last night or today?”

“What’s it to you?” he asks, curiously.

“My woman lives here. She’s been away for a couple of days and dropped by to pick up some of her shit and she noticed someone had been in her apartment. So I’m gonna ask again, you see anything?”

“I didn’t see anything today, but last night I saw someone breaking into one of the apartments on the lower level, so I called the cops. After the cops arrived they discovered that there were several break-ins reported over the last two days.”

“Good to know that other people were targeted. Now I can rest easy knowing that someone isn’t coming after my woman. It was just a random B & E.” Without saying ‘Bye’ or ‘Kiss my ass’ or anything, Ryder grabs my hand and tugs me towards my car.

“Get in. I will meet you at my place.”

“Okay.” He bends over, giving me a kiss before closing the door and gets on his Harley. We head back to his place.

Once inside Ryder’s house, I head towards the bedroom. Ryder follows me and asks, “You okay, babe?”

“Yeah, just feel kind of spooked,” I reply.

“Listen, it obviously wasn’t a personal thing. Maybe he got into your place and couldn’t find anything worth stealin’ and just poked around.”

“Yeah, but why steal my robe? Don’t you think that’s weird?”

“Good point. Maybe the guy has a woman and he took it for her.” I don’t say it out loud, but that is a really lame excuse.