Page 25 of Ryder

I groan from exhaustion as Ryder pushes into me for the third time since we got home. “Ryder,” I whisper, trying to guide his mouth away from my nipple. “You promised we’d talk.”

“Anything you want, Siren,” he whispers, sliding deeper into me until I arch my back.

“I want to know about Sassy,” I say.

He sighs, climbing from me and lying beside me. I feel the loss immediately but he wraps his arm around me and pulls me into his side. “That’s a real mood changer,” he says with a laugh.

“Sorry.”

“What do you want to know exactly?”

“How you met, she doesn’t seem your type.”

He laughs again. “Believe it or not, she’s not the frosty bitch she makes out she is. I met her when we were both in our twenties. She was in some rich bitch bar and I was passing. She caught my eye and I walked right up to her and kissed her. She fell for my charm.”

I run my finger over his tattoos, tracing a dragon. “Why did you break up?”

“I cheated on her,” he admits and I glance up. “I’m not proud,” he adds.

“So you met her, swept her off her feet and then cheated?”

“What can I say, I’m a prick. Or at least I was back then.”

His fingers gently stroke my back and I feel my eyes growing heavy but I can’t sleep when he’s finally opening up. “How old are you?” I ask.

“Thirty-eight.”

“You’re eight years older than me,” I tell him. “How old were you when you met Sassy?”

“I was twenty-eight and she twenty-four.”

“Did you leave her for the other woman?”

“No. She caught me.”

“Wow, no wonder she hates you. Did she know her?”

“I’m gonna be completely honest now, Neve,” he says and his tone is suddenly serious. I sit up and turn to face him. He remains on his back, staring up at the ceiling. “I was cheating on Sassy with her sister.”

It’s not what I expected and my expression must show it because he also sits up and grabs my hand. “I want you to know I’m not the same man I was back then. I’d never do that to you.”

“I need you to tell me everything, Ryder, right now,” I demand.

He gives a nod. “There’s no excuse for what I did. Alice was a year younger than Sass and she was jealous of her. I’m not making excuses, you can ask Sassy and she’ll tell you it was always like that between them. Whatever Sassy had, Alice wanted. I was weak and a fucking idiot and when she came on to me, I encouraged it. We ended up having a cheap affair behind Sassy’s back. She walked in on us and shit got ugly. They fought and I had to drag Sassy out of there. Alice was upset, she saw it as me choosing Sassy over her. By the time I’d got back to Alice, she’d worked herself up into a temper. We argued, like this huge volcano erupting, and it spilt out into the street. She ran. It turns out she was seeing a guy, he wasn’t a good person and when he saw how upset she was over me, he got angry. I turned up there after he’d laid into her . . .” he pauses to compose himself. “She was clinging onto his arm, begging him . . .” he frowns, like he’s lost in that memory. “Don’t leave me. Don’t leave me.” He shudders. “And then he shoved her really hard and she stumbled back. Her head bounced of the kerb, Neve, I still hear that thud in my nightmares.”

“Shit, what happened to her?”

“She died,” he mutters and I gasp. “In my arms.”

“What happened to the man?”

He shrugs. “He ran. The police showed up and I was cradling her body apparently telling her over and over I was sorry. With the neighbours seeing our fight, it looked like I’d killed her.”

“Didn’t they find the other guy?”

“They didn’t care, Neve. I’m a fucking biker, they were just happy to put me away and they didn’t give a crap if I was innocent or not. They got your ex, a bent lawyer, to screw me over for assault.”

“Does Sassy know the truth?”

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