Anarchy (Hive Trilogy, #2)(29)

The next morning, I rolled over to see Ryder asleep on his back, one arm behind his head, sheet pulled down to his waist. I took the second to stare, because he was yum. Holy yum. Last night had brought the relief we both needed, uh twice, and hopefully moved our relationship out of the hot and cold weird zone and into the solid steady zone. Something told me I was going to be using the B-word more frequently now.

I found myself grinning like a loved-up idiot, and despite that I wanted nothing more than to go for round three, I slipped out of the bed to brush my teeth and get ready.

When I came out of the bathroom, Ryder was standing next to my bed, wearing just his unbuttoned enforcer cargo pants, looking sleepy and sexy as hell.

Uh, round three please.

“If you’re not in the bed, then I’m going to need coffee,” he grumbled.

I laughed. “Aww, are you not a morning person?”

Some of the tired faded from his eyes, and I almost blushed as he took a slow leisurely inspection of my body. “I can be if you want me to be.”

Well, hello man of my dreams. I grinned. “Go shower. I’ll make coffee with a shot of blood.”

He smiled, before prowling across to me. “Perfect,” he said as he captured my mouth in a devastatingly sexy kiss on his way into the bathroom.

I needed a few moments after that to pull myself together. And to walk without my legs collapsing. Finally able to move, I strode out into the kitchen and saw Jayden was already at the table. He was wearing a big-ass grin, coffee mug in his hands. When I got near him, he squealed before dropping his cup and flapping his overly-excited hands.

“Shh, Ryder is in the shower,” I said, snorting out my laughter at his manic expression.

Jayden leaned forward, eyes wide. “Oh my God, tell me everything.”

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t kiss and tell.”

Jayden’s face quickly turned deadly. His pointer finger came up in my face. “Bitch, I have been waiting months for this to happen. Like a soap opera, I’ve hung on every drama. You need to give me something.”

I chuckled again. He grabbed my hand and pulled me close, whispering, “Did you, ya know?”

I humored him. “Yes.”

Jayden’s mouth dropped open. “And? Is he like a dominatrix in the sack? I picture him tying you up and giving orders.”

“Oh my God, no. He’s a weirdly perfect mix of strong and sweet.”

Jayden looked disgusted. He let go of me. “Sweet? How boring.”

I shook my head. “Remind me never to ask about you and Oliver. I don’t even want to know what goes on behind those closed doors.”

Jayden batted his long eyelashes at me. “It’s anything but sweet, I’ll tell you that.”

Before I could retort, Ryder flung open my bedroom door looking pissed. The swirls of silver in his eyes were practically glowing. Unfortunately he was already dressed, wearing his clothes from last night. They looked slightly wet, like he had thrown them on without drying.

Shit.

I was on my feet, coffee forgotten. “What’s wrong?” My heart was racing. My hand went to my hip where I should have been wearing my walkie-talkie. I’d left it in the bedroom. Double shit!

“We got a call.” His voice was clipped as he ran through my kitchen, “A vampire infected a little girl … on purpose.”

“Oh hell no,” I breathed, and took off after him.

The more shit I heard about the vampires, the more I was sure I hated them.



Kyle and the boys were waiting for us at the Humvee. Thankfully one of them had the foresight to bring coffee and a few bottles of blood. Oliver looked as smug as Jayden when he scanned Ryder’s outfit and saw it was the one from the night before. He gave me the same knowing smartass smile as his boyfriend. Nosy ash.

The second we jumped into the car, Kyle gunned it.

“Give me a report,” Ryder ordered while chugging the coffee in one go.

Kyle’s face looked thunderous, his eyes black as night, and I was pretty sure he was flashing fang. “A f*cking vampire infected a twelve year old girl. He attacked her.”

“God damn vampires!” Sam was the surprising owner of the angry voice. “They should all be eliminated.” There was that darkness which simmered under the surface of our normally silent enforcer.

“Where is the girl?” My heart was hammering. This was so not okay.

Kyle gritted his teeth. “That’s the really messed up part. She’s in the medical wing, recovering with the permission of the Quorum. They’re acting like this isn’t a big deal.”

Ryder’s face took on a stone cold deadly look. “What? Then where are we going?”

Kyle pointed to the road. “The humans found out and there’s a riot outside the gates. Our orders are to disperse the crowd.”

As we neared the gate to exit the Hive, I saw a bunch of picketers wearing masks. They had signs with Don’t touch our children! and Monsters! written on them.

“Stop the car!” Ryder ordered, and Kyle screeched the Humvee to a halt.

Ryder turned to all of us, staring each in the eyes. “We no longer take orders from the Quorum. I’m not doing this kind of dirty work any longer. If the vampires want this crowd gone, they can do it themselves.”

“That’s the sexiest thing you’ve ever said,” I told him, and he graced me with a rare grin.