Sheltered(40)

“So, Jackie is Ryker’s stepdad?” I ask.

“No, Jackie is his father. He may not have been there the night he was made, but Ryker has been his baby boy from day one.”

“I get it,” I say, feeling my heart grow and grow for not only Jackie but for Ryker, too.

“So, when I say I understand how you may be feeling about being thrown into all this, know that it doesn’t matter what anyone else says about you. It matters how he makes you feel. And my Jackie made me feel like a queen from day one.”

I nod and think about how Ryker has done everything to make me happy. How he’s gone above and beyond to do things to please me. Is it really so different than what happened to his parents?

When I was with Fritz I was also trying to be something I wasn’t. With Ryker I can just be me and nothing more. I’m not trying to fit what I think I should be, nor is Ryker trying to push me to fit either, and here I am happier than I’ve ever been in my life. It makes me question so many of the choices I’ve made since I got on the bus and left the trailer park behind. I should have been focusing on doing what would make me happiest and not what I thought was the respectable thing to be doing.

Just then I hear hooffalls behind us and I turn to see Jackie and Ryker riding up on their horses.

“You having fun, Cricket?” Ryker asks, coming up beside me and reaching out his hand for mine.

I take his and we ride side by side for a little way, just holding hands while Jackie tells us about the damage from the storm. It must not be too bad, because Ryker doesn’t say anything, just rides along beside me rubbing his thumb along my knuckles. I should probably be paying attention to what Jackie and Kathleen are saying, but I’m too busy thinking about how much I just want to curl up in Ryker’s arms and let him kiss me.

We ride for a few hours, taking trails and going around the property before we head back to the barn. We stable the horses and talk to Johnny before we take the Gator back to the house and Ryker’s parents say they have to go.

“We’ve got tickets to Spoleto tonight,” Jackie says.

“I tried to get him to take me to something fun. But every now and then I’ve got an obligation to dress up and let him show me off.” She winks at me before coming closer and wrapping me up in a hug. “I know he’s gone about it a little different, but he has the best intentions.”

“I know,” I say, looking over to Ryker. I don’t care how he went about it anymore. I’m just glad he was here for me. In fact, the more I think about it, he saved me that night. I could have gone home and wholloed about what Fritz had done to me. Likely question so many things about myself that I shouldn’t have. Instead he took me home with him, showed me how special I am to him and that I’m perfect being just me and nothing more.

“I’m here if you need anything.” She gives my arm a squeeze before Jackie comes over and hugs me goodbye, too.

We watch them go and close the door behind them. When the lock clicks, I turn around and face Ryker. Slowly he steps towards me until my back is pressed against the front door.

“You’ve been giving me that look all day,” he says, placing his hands on either side of my head.

“What look?” I ask, looking up at his big strong body. His bulk is shadowing everything behind him, so I can see only him.

“Like you want me to take you to bed and give you a good fuck.” He licks his lips and I wonder if he’s thinking about how I taste.

“Maybe I do,” I counter, leaning forward and pressing my chest to his. I want him so badly. Maybe his obsession is rubbing off on me.

I don’t have time to think about what he’s going to say back to me, before I’m being wrapped in his arms and having the breath kissed out of me.

I may have laid down this challenge, but I forgot who I was talking to. When it comes to Ryker, all I have to do is say the word.





Chapter 19





Ryker





I grip her body tight as I walk towards the stairs. I don’t know if I can make it to the bedroom. The way she’s been touching me all day, reaching for my hand and leaning into my body has been driving me crazy. At one point when we were standing in the barn, she was the one to wrap her arm around my waist and cuddle close as the sun began to set and the air turned cool.

“Do you wanna know why I took you?” I growl as I kiss her with all the passion inside me.

I pull her against me as I begin to climb the stairs, but I have to stop and steady myself because I can’t wait to have her.

“Why?” She gasps for air as my mouth moves to her neck, and I push my thigh between her legs.

I lay her down at the top of the stairs and move on top of her. I rub my thigh against her pussy, and her hips grind on it. She’s looking for some kind of relief, and I don’t know how long I can last. I need her to get off so when I get inside her, I don’t have to hold back.

“Because I fucking could,” I say, as I rip open her shirt. The sound of the buttons falling to the ground is a prelude to what I’m going to do to her. “Because I saw you long ago, and I saw you were with a man who didn’t deserve you. Because you weren’t being worshiped like a goddamn goddess.”

“Ryker!” she cries out when I yank down her bra and suck a nipple into my mouth.