Chapter Three

 

“Sky? We’re here,” Ryker said, parking his car opposite his apartment building.

He cut the engine and looked over, smiling at the sight of Sky, leaning against the windows, snoring softly. His jacket looked oversized on her, but seeing her wearing his clothes summoned possessive feelings inside of him. Mine, he thought fondly.

Sky opened her hazel brown eyes, looking groggy, half-asleep. “Here?”

“Yeah, come on. Let’s head upstairs and I’ll tuck you in bed.”

“My bed?” she asked as he got out of the car to open her door.

“I’ve kept your room exactly as you left it.”

She stumbled out, but he easily caught her. Sky let out a breath as his body crushed her soft curves. His gaze slid from her face to the swell of her breasts under that thin tee. How many nights had he slept alone in his bed, thinking of having her underneath him? Would she be pliant, eager?

Fuck, but he was a dirty bastard for harboring those kinds of thoughts. He gripped her wrist, fingering the old scars underneath the long-sleeve shirt she wore. Old anger resurfaced. The scars had faded to white, thin lines, but he’d never been able to wipe the image of that night out of his mind.

Ryker harbored little guilt for ending River and those two lowlifes. He pushed her sleeves further down and cursed when he saw the fading bruises there. Ryker should have put a bullet hole in that fucker Rodney’s skull after all. She batted his hand away, and he released her.

“Let’s head up, and that’s sweet of you, to keep my old stuff I mean.”

“Of course. I wanted you to have a place you can always return to, in case things didn’t work out.”

Ryker grabbed her bag from the back and offered his hand. She smiled almost hesitantly, shyly at him, and took it. He led her inside the building and into the lift.

“Are you disappointed in me?” she asked in a small voice.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I lost my job. I never mentioned that on the phone, and that’s what set Rodney off.”

“Rodney’s a sorry excuse of a human being. If you changed your mind about him, tell me. I can make him scream for a very long time.”

Most women would turn jittery, queasy, when he talked like that, but Sky met his gaze evenly and squeezed his hand. On the outside, she looked so tiny compared to him—petite and short, but underneath, she had steel in her spine. His woman was perfect.

Mine. That word resonated inside of him with absolute certainty. Ryker had killed to protect her once, and he’d do it all over again just to see her smile.

Need surged through him like a flood. His dick twitched in his jeans, but he needed to calm down. He waited years for her, and nearly thought she was a lost cause. Half of Ryker hoped she’d find a life outside of the Familia, that she’d be happy, but the other half of him wanted her here with him, to stand by his side.

The rest of the world might see him as a monster, a killer in a suit, but she’d always been different, able to see past his flaws and accept him as he was.

“Forget about him,” she said. “I already did.”

“Did you love him?” he had to ask as they exited the elevator and walked to their unit.

Theirs. He’d always seen the place belonging to the two of them. After killing River and his friends, he’d moved out of that crappy apartment and into this place, knowing Sky needed a fresh start. Neither of them had any fond memories of home to begin with. Sky lived on her own after her parents left, while River and he had moved from one roach-infested shithole to the next.

Although he could afford a better, swankier place uptown, he kept this place because it always reminded him of good memories. He opened the door, turned on the switch, and waited for her answer.

She shut the door behind her, locking it. “I thought I did, but I think I only settled for him because—can we talk about this tomorrow? A lot happened tonight. I’ll tell you everything tomorrow. Will you do the same?”

Ryker nodded, realizing he came off as a kind of interrogator but fuck. Thinking about her living with a scumbag like Rodney easily set him off. What did she see in that asshole?

Giovanni told him he had Gino do a check on the bastard. No dangerous red flags came up, and they’d step in if Rodney did cross the line but still. He didn’t realize he’d gone silent until she touched his arm, a concerned expression on her face.

“Ryker?”

“Yeah?” he asked, voice harsh. Shock reverberated through him when she suddenly hugged him fiercely.

The smell of her floral shampoo and soap washed over him. He banded his arms around her waist, breathing in her scent. He’d missed the perfect fit of her body against his.

She raised her face to his, smiling. “Thank you for dropping everything and picking me up. I really appreciate it.”

Ryker didn’t know what made him raise her chin with his hand. He traced the swell of her tempting bottom lip with one callused finger, waiting for her to push him away. Instead, her cheeks turned an endearing shade of pink. Sky leaned forward and sucked on his finger, so slowly that it was hard to mistake the gesture for anything but erotic.

His dick dug painfully against the zipper of his jeans.

She pulled her mouth away, flickering her long eyelashes. “I couldn’t stop thinking of you, even when I was with him.” Sky let out a little, almost nervous laugh. “That really makes me sound like a bad person.”

“No. It doesn’t. You have no idea how much that admission pleases me.”

She startled, eyes wide as he leaned in close and finally took what he wanted. Ryker kissed her like he meant it, like this moment might be his only chance. He plundered her mouth, taking her hungrily, roughly. She didn’t resist, simply melting against his mouth, and fuck. She tasted better than he ever imagined, like heaven.

He moved his hand lower, to cup one ass cheek through the denim of her jeans and gave it a squeeze. Ryker wanted to shove her up against the wall, to do away with her clothes. He wanted her bare for him, to own every inch of the creamy goodness of her skin. To see marks of his possession all over her body.

She parted her lips so sweetly for him, and he thrust his tongue down her throat. She rubbed her body against him, and Ryker could have taken her right here and then. No more. After seeing the rat bastard she put up with, he knew he couldn’t allow any other men near her.

Sky was his, had always been his from the moment she closed those broken fingers over his ankle all those years ago. In that moment, he’d been floored, shocked anyone in that state could summon the strength to live. Any other person would have surrendered to their fate but not his Sky.

Ryker had been the fool. He’d let her go once, but he wouldn’t let it happen again, not after seeing how unhappy she’d been. He pulled away first, knowing that if this continued any longer, he’d end up taking her right here and now. No, she deserved better, and Sky said so herself. Too many things had happened tonight.

She was still probably still reeling from leaving her old life behind and Rodney—he wanted her to think of only him the first time they had sex.

Sky panted, staring at him. “Why did you stop?”

“When it comes to you, I don’t trust myself.” He took a step back, giving her space. “Rest tonight. We’ll continue this tomorrow.”

She let out a huff and stalked past him. Shit. He grabbed her arm, not wanting her to misunderstand.

“I’m sorry I acted like a bastard two years ago, but I’m going to make up for that mistake starting now,” he said.

Sky bit on her bottom lip, as if she didn’t quite believe his words.

“You’re it for me, Sky. You’ve always been the one. I’ve held myself back but not anymore,” Ryker added.

She glared at him. “Do you think it’s that easy? You really have no idea what kind of state you put me in when you told me you only saw me as a sister. I never recovered from that rejection.”

“Believe me, sweetheart. It’s been hard for me, too. Even Giovanni agreed you deserved so much more than the only life I can offer you.”

“What about what I want? Ever thought of that? Only you saw the real me, Ryker. Guys like Rodney, they’d only see me as this broken—”

He stopped her right there. Ryker couldn’t believe after all these years, she couldn’t see what a strong, beautiful, kind soul she was. Ryker stole another kiss, this one quick, but equally full of need.

“Stop doing that. When you kiss me, I forget why I’m mad at you in the first place. It’s unfair.” Sky sounded grumpy.

“You’re not broken. Rodney’s an ass. He doesn’t see how strong you are, or how he’s so far beneath you. It takes a real man to appreciate you.”

“And that’s you?” she asked with a raise of her eyebrow. “Show me.”

“Oh, I plan to. Have a good night sleep, sweetheart, because tomorrow, I’m not about to let you rest.”

She opened her mouth, closed it, then walked up to her room and slammed it shut. Ryker returned to his own room, grinning.