Ryder Read online

  "I'd love for you to change your mind." She pulled her hand from mine and stepped back, clearing her throat. "We could be sisters."

  "We're best friends." I stood up as my phone buzzed again. "Ugh. Fucking Darek." I pulled my phone back out and checked to make sure it was him. "I've gotta get this."

  "Tell me that you'll go with me this weekend. Don't make me go by myself."

  I sighed. "All right, but we're getting you a new outfit, and I get to choose it."

  "What's wrong with this one?" She brushed her hand down the cream-colored button down that rested at the base of her throat.

  "You look like you're trying to hide something in all those clothes." I tugged at the front of her shirt, knowing good and damn well that she had on a G-string and lace bra that showed most of her perfect breasts through the translucent fabric. She was built to bring men to their knees, and yet her conservativeness would never let that shine through.

  "The right guy will get a chance to see everything when I find him."

  "Let's hope you're still young and perky when that happens."

  "He won't care about things like that." She shrugged. The smug look on her face was too cute.

  "When you find prince charming, do me a favor." I picked up my bag and pulled the strap over my shoulder.

  "Anything for you."

  "Ask if he has a brother?" I snorted and walked toward the door. I'd gotten in a couple of hours of bliss without someone ruining it. It was almost a record. Unfortunately, having to call Darek back meant it was over.

  "So you're coming with me this weekend?" She whispered loudly and got requests to hush.

  "If you let me dress you." I turned and walked backward, smiling like the bad girl I wasn't.

  "Jenna. Jeez." Grace's cheeks colored pink, and I couldn't help but enjoy myself as I turned and walked out of the library. She would find the right guy eventually, but I was going to have to play a part in the hunt. It's not like anyone in their right mind would be after her, no matter how pretty her face was. She resembled George Washington's wife with her clothing choices. That had to change.

  I dialed my brother's number and found a stone bench to drop down onto. He picked up on the second ring, sounding particularly pissy.

  "Jenna?"

  "Nope. It's Mother Nature. When is the last time you watered your grass, asshat?" I squinted as the noonday sun sat high in the sky. It was beautiful that time of year in New York and yet it was hard to enjoy with my brother's voice in my ear. I couldn't remember a time from my childhood where we actually got along, where we liked each other.

  "Why do I have to call you ten times to get you to pick up the damn phone? Are you so busy that-"

  "Did you need something, Darek? I'm about to walk into work, so if you could make this quick, that would be awesome." I pressed my hand to my forehead and tried to breathe through my nose in long, deep breaths.

  Silence. He was pissed. Nothing new.

  "We're having dinner at Mom’s tonight to celebrate Denise's birthday. I expect you to be there. With a gift."

  I shouldn't have chuckled, but I did. "You expect me to be there? With a bag of gifts? Who died and made you king?"

  "Non-negotiable."

  "I don't like your newest toy, Darek. Have Kayla dress up as me and play the part." I ran my fingers down my face as my mood sunk further down. My twin sister, Kayla, was lost to the desire for wealth, much like my brother. I was the only one with a head on my shoulders and any amount of class.

  "I really don't care what you like or don't like, and this woman has been my wife for over a year, Jenna. She's not a toy. I'd rather you keep your vulgarities to yourself and have some respect."

  "Nope. No can do, sir." I stood up and stretched my free hand toward the sky. "Anything else?"

  "Be there or I'll be more than happy to pull the plug on your stupid-ass job at the coffee shop."

  "You wouldn't do that." I shook my head as white-hot anger raced through me. The job at De Luca's was my first step in gaining my freedom from my oppressive family. Wealth could suffocate my brother and sister, but not me. Never me. I would be my own woman and make my own money if it killed me to do it.

  "Yes, I would. Be at Mom and Dad's tonight by six. Period."

  "Fuck you."

  "We're siblings. That's just gross, and watch your mouth." He scoffed. "See you tonight and don't forget Denise's present. She likes diamonds."

  He hung up before I could respond. "Bastard."

  I tucked my phone into my bag and jogged across the street to the coffee shop. It was a haven, a home away from home, mine. It was mine. And it wasn't because someone in my family got me the job or opened the company so I could play barista. I did it all on my own.

  Diamonds? Are you fucking kidding me?

  The whore my brother had married didn't care a thing about him. She was after his money or, rather, my mother's money. Probably both.

  Being the heiress to a large cosmetic conglomerate in Europe, my mother was the fourth richest person in the world. Her wealth thereby made us all wealthy, or so my siblings believed.

  "Jenna. You're early." Sam turned from the pastry counter and wiped his hands on his white apron. "You okay?" His brow drew in tight.

  "Yeah, just dealing with family." I gave him what I hoped was a cute smirk. As the manager of De Luca, he set our schedules and seemed to have them memorized.

  "Oh man. That can be the pits at times. I got one brother I love to death, and another I wish I could feed to a meat grinder." He chuckled.

  "Ouch. That's a little much, but in all honesty, I'm wishing both of mine would take a long walk off a short pier." I walked around the counter and stored my purse. "I'll clock in at my regular time. I just wanted to be here. That okay?"

  "Of course it is, kiddo, but go ahead and clock in now." He squeezed my shoulder as he walked toward the back. "I'm going to work on a few special orders now that you're here. Hold down the fort for us?"

  "You know it." I pulled my apron on and tightened it around my waist. I had the rest of the afternoon to enjoy being around complete strangers and a few co-workers that I loved. Then I would head off to a night of pretending to care for the people I should have loved most.

  "Jenna Webb?" The woman in front of me wasn't familiar at all.

  I glanced down at my name tag like a moron and back up at her. Just my first name was on the badge. "Yes. What can I get started for you today?"

  "No, like, the Jenna Webb?"

  I smirked. "I'm sure there are more than one of us in a city this big, ma'am. Would you like to try our new toffee mocha latte? It's great for the holidays."

  "No." She smiled, her cheeks turning pink. "I interviewed Daniella Webb the other day for the New York Times."

  "Oh, the cosmetic heiress?" I pressed my hands to the counter in front of me. "She's a distant relative, but nothing more."

  "Really? You look almost exactly like-"

  "Her daughter, Kayla? Distant cousins." I picked up a cup and smiled. "What kind of coffee are you up for today?"

  She waved and shook her head, dismissing something. I prayed it was the conversation. My sister was a fraternal twin. We looked enough alike to know we were family, but not identical. Thank God. The less resemblance, the better.

  "I'll try the new mocha-whatever. Sorry about being invasive. Reporter." She shrugged and dug into her purse as I started to work on the coffee.

  Dig all you like. You're not going to find anything. And if you did... I would deny it to my grave.

  Chapter 3

  Nate

  "No. I'm not sleeping with you. Asshole." Ashley threw a pillow at me as I walked into the bedroom.

  I swatted it away and closed the door behind me. "I didn't ask you, Ash. Strip. Now."

  "No. Fuck you." She wrapped her arms around her thick chest and shook her head. The beautiful creamy curve of her big tits pushed through the top of her V-neck shirt. She was hot as sin but so broken and corrupt on the inside that no
manner of makeup would ever convince me that she was anything but wicked.

  "I'll say it one last time." I reached down and undid my belt before pulling it off.

  "I'm not scared of you."

  "Are you wet?" I licked my lips as she pressed her back to the wall beside her.

  "Of course I am. You're here, you bastard."

  "Such a naughty mouth. Does your sugar daddy allow you to talk like that?" I pulled the belt off and moved to sit on the bed. "Come here and do what I told you to do."

  "No. I'm not getting undressed for you. I heard you in the kitchen, Nate."

  "And it's nothing you didn't already know." I glanced over my shoulder. "You have three seconds and I'm going to walk out of this room and you can fuck yourself for all I care. I know what you want, what you need. Come get it and stop being a brat."

  She huffed and walked around the bed to stand in front of me. "Why don't you love me? We've been together forever."

  "One."

  "Nate. You're my best friend. We planned this life together. Why would you-"

  "Two." I popped the belt and her breathing got off. She could play with someone else. I'd known her too long.

  "Fuck you." She tugged her shirt over her head and worked her bra off with efficiency.

  "Put your back to me and take off the skirt. Tease me, if you remember how to." I jerked my wrist and popped the side of her thigh with the belt. She moaned loudly before putting her back to me and sliding her skirt over her narrow hips.

  "Touch me," she whispered seductively as she bent over, leaving her ass in the air with nothing but a little red silk string running between her cheeks. The dark wet stain on her panties at the junction of her thighs excited me, though it shouldn't have. I'd been balls deep in this girl a million times, and where it was good, it wasn't good enough anymore. She'd fucked a zillion men before me, and would fuck a million more long after our scheme was up and she was on her way. Our parting was coming... soon. I'd make sure of it.

  "Hush." I popped her again with the belt, and she twitched. Another sexy moan. "Take off your panties, Ash."

  "Make me."

  Pop.

  "Now."

  She slid them down her taut thighs, leaving a small slit of her pussy on display for me.

  I reached up and ran my index finger through her folds, parting her and coating my digit in sticky wetness. How fucking bad I wanted to eat her out, to press my tongue to her and lap at her come when she exploded, but it was too intimate. In my world, it means something far more than 'fuck me tonight and get out’.

  "Taste me?" she whimpered softly, the sound so sweet. So feminine.

  I could have loved her in another life. Not this one. She was the epitome of everything I hated about myself.

  Poor. Angry. Emotionally broken. Vile. Dark. Dirty.

  "Not a chance in hell." I set the belt down on the bed beside me, pulled a condom from my pocket and tugged my jeans down. "Come work yourself off on my dick. I'll give twenty minutes, tops."

  She stood up and turned to face me. "Why are you doing this?"

  "Letting you fuck me?" I glanced up and gave her a cocky grin as I stretched the rubber around the base of my shaft. "Cause I know you like it. Biggest dick you're going to see these days with all those rich bitches you're having to sleep with."

  Silence.

  I propped myself up on one elbow and gripped my cock, forcing it to stand to full attention for the girl. "Get on now, if you're coming. Last offer, Ash."

  She growled angrily and moved up on the bed, facing me. "I hate you."

  "You've said that a lot today. Turn around. I wanna see your ass jiggle while you get off." I sucked my bottom lip into my mouth as she obeyed. She was nothing less than magnificent. I had no doubt that a hundred rich assholes would take her up on the offer for one more drink... and another... and just one more. Then? Bed. Dates. Wedding.

  She married them. I killed them. At least that was the plan.

  The groan that left her as she pressed herself back on my cock should have brought me from my reverie, but it didn't. She was loose, her body used up by too many fucks in too short of a time. It was a shame, but what did I care? I was just another toy.

  Her ass wasn't nearly big enough, but it was pretty nevertheless. I dropped down on my back and reached toward the top of the bed to grab a pillow to prop myself up with as she rode me reverse cowgirl. Her shit was completely shaved, and her tight little asshole winked at me every time she pressed down.

  "You let this new guy take you in the ass yet?" I reached up and gripped her cheek as I pressed my thumb deep into the tight hole.

  She cried out and undulated her hips, working herself faster. "Never."

  "Pity. It's so tight. I love it." I rolled my thumb and reached up to grab her side. "He not the type?"

  "Shut the fuck up, Nate." She dug her nails into my thighs, and I grunted loudly.

  "Bitch." I smacked her ass hard and pulled her off of me, repositioning her so I could enjoy the better parts of her body.

  "I wasn't-"

  "Hush." I moved quickly, flipping her over and pressing her to the bed with my hand splayed across her upper back near her neck. "You need to learn a little respect, Ash. Seems the high life hasn't been so good for you."

  I grabbed my cock, the rubber slippery from her juices, and pressed down into her ass. My body lit on fire. There. Much better.

  She cried out and gripped the sheets with her free hand. The other one was lost between her thighs no doubt.

  "Why can't you love me? Why can't we be together?" She sounded so innocent. I almost wanted to fall for her shit.

  Viper.

  "Cause we're toxic together, baby doll." I drove in her ass harder, enjoying myself as she rolled her hips and massaged the full length of my cock with her body. "Besides... you have a finer taste for the high life after living it. I don't, and I never will."

  "So you're just good for a fuck?"

  "At least today I am." I smiled and moved my hand up to the back of her head, pressing hard. "Lucky you."

  ***

  Mikey was gone by the time I walked out of the back bedroom, which was a good thing. I didn't need to hear his holier-than-thou shit about leaving my youth behind and becoming the man he knew I could be.

  Fuck that.

  I was the man I wanted to be.

  "Lies," I grumbled to myself as I grabbed my coat and pulled it over my shoulders. I snatched the keys off the table and heading out of the apartment. Ashley would sleep for a few hours and leave when she was ready. Her husband wouldn't be any wiser to her visit to the wrong side of town unless he was more perceptive than I was giving him credit for.

  The cool fall air greeted me as I jogged down the stairs toward my bike. It would be a nice day for a drive outside of the city, but I wanted to see Jenna. She'd be working at the coffee shop I'd been haunting for the last year. Little did she know, she was the reason I showed up regularly. I fucking hated coffee.

  Where Ash represented everything I wanted to run from, Jenna represented everything I wanted to run to. Sweet and kind, beautiful and bright. She didn't seem to have a lot going on outside of the coffee shop, or maybe I had convinced myself of that to feel better. Less jealous about who she might be going home to.

  No ring on her finger.

  I strapped my helmet on and got on the bike to head down toward the NYU campus. Where I figured I would stand out like a sore thumb, I didn't at all. Plenty of cocky bad boy types ran amuck on campus. I just looked like another tatted dick amongst them. It worked. It gave me a safe place to hide out and watch my girl.

  Your girl? I snorted at the thought. Jenna would never be mine. I wouldn't allow it. She deserved all the pretty things in life. Things that I had no clue about.

  Maybe Ashley was the best it was ever going to get. Maybe I should settle down and be thankful that someone was willing to take me into their arms after all the shit I'd done. Drug dealer. Pimp. Murderer.

  T
he last one stuck out more than the rest.

  Poverty did strange things to people. Luckily enough, it wasn't my problem anymore. My dirty deeds had finally started to pay off, and where I'd most likely traded in sleep and sainthood, both were highly overrated.

  I drove in mental silence for the next twenty minutes, just letting my thoughts fade away as the beauty of autumn rose up around me. The leaves on the trees had finally started to change colors, and the streets beside the park near campus were littered with burnt orange and crimson leaves.

  After parking the bike, I pulled off my helmet, locked it up and checked both ways down the busy street that ran in front of De Luca's Coffee Shop.

  I lifted my hand and jogged across, giving the nice old people who chose to slow down and not plow my ass over a friendly wave. They smiled back and the older woman blew me a kiss.

  I chuckled as I walked into the coffee shop and breathed in deeply. The smell of peace. Not the coffee, but what it brought with it. Jenna.

  She glanced up from the register and gave me a cute smile. "Hi. What can I get started for you?"

  How about a slow dance? Naked? Under the stars?

  "Cup of coffee. Black." I pulled my wallet out of my back pocket and swallowed my desire for something good and clean. Making love to a woman sounded like a waste. Carnality? Fucking? Yes. Making love? Hell no.

  But for some reason, it's all I could picture between me and the pretty brunette ringing up my drink order.

  "Anything to eat?" Her warm brown eyes moved around my face, causing my heart to flutter.

  Stop it. Fucking pussy. Get over yourself.

  "Yeah. You." I smiled and walked down to the other side of the counter.

  The older woman with bright red hair glanced up and gave me a flirty smile. "We were thinking the cops finally got you. You haven't been in lately." She winked and worked on my coffee. Cynthia. She’d started about two months after Jenna. I liked her. She was a riot and didn’t seem to give a shit what people thought about her.

  "Nope. Can't lock someone up just for looking dangerous." I glanced over toward Jenna to find her watching us. I winked and turned back toward Cynthia.