Page 131 of Ryker
When we’re both too exhausted to move anymore, she collapses on my chest. Our hearts smash against one another as we catch our breath. “Holy shit, that was amazing, Ry.”
Butterflies flutter, landing all around us. I kiss her forehead and run my hands up and down her back. “I think I could stay like this forever.”
“Me too.”
Eventually, we manage to peel apart and get dressed. For the next hour and a half, we circle the conservatory, and I tell her about every butterfly in the building. She probably thinks I’m a fucking geek.
She’d be right.
“Thank you for bringing me here,” Tara says, once we close things up and get back on my bike.
I wrap her arms around my waist and start the engine. “Where to next, Butterfly?”
Chapter 44
Tara
Relaxing in bed, I stuff a grape in my mouth, and wait for Ryker to get out of the shower. It takes a lot of control to not join him in there, but I need a break. My pussy aches and I don’t think I can go another round just yet.
My man’s an animal.
I can’t wait until everyone knows he’s mine.
When he asked where I wanted to go, I told him back to the club because I couldn’t wait to get naked with him again.
A familiar sound chimes from under the bed. I have no clue how my cell got under there, but I’m tempted to let it keep ringing. Only I know exactly who it is. I swear my phone sounds more annoying when my mother is calling.
Digging it out from under the bed, I answer with an eye roll. “Hi, Mom.”
“Tara Marie Reed. How could you?”
Guilt tries to take hold of my mouth and make me apologize. I stomp it down and tear it to pieces. I have nothing to be sorry about. “What did I do this time?”
“Don’t play stupid.” I forgot how she likes to call me that when she’s extra mad. “You’ve broken your father’s heart.”
My laugh comes out in a cackle. “You’re so delusional, Mom.”
“I raised you better than this, Tara.” She huffs into the phone, and I inwardly cringe when she adds, “You’re such a disappointment.”
Ryker comes out of the shower, still drying his hair. He approaches me cautiously, seeing I’m on the phone. I can’t look at him when I’m on this call. It’ll mess me up. I’m already fighting my inner demons here and I don’t want to have to be braver just to impress Ryker. I want to be braver for myself and only myself.
“You know what, Mom? You’re the disappointment.” I can’t believe I just said that. “If William’s heartbroken, it’s because he finally realizes what a gold-digging, lying, cheating, greedy woman you are.”
She doesn’t make a sound.
Fine. Because I’ve got plenty more to say. “Do you understand that I’ve spent my whole life thinking I’m the hinge on your relationships? I’ve carried the guilt that every time you broke up with your fool ass men, it was somehow my fault.”
“It was!”
“Bullshit.” I yell, shoving my finger at the floor. “It’s been your fault every time. I was just a kid, mom. A kid who did what she was told. I didn’t get an opinion. I didn’t get anything but the privilege of following your orders so you could land a rich man and have a cushy life. I swear, you loved your wardrobe more than you ever loved me.”
Her silence doesn’t last long. “How can you say such hateful things to me? I sacrificed everything to have you.”
“I know.” God, I’m so sick of having this conversation with her. “You never miss an opportunity to remind me.”
“And yet you’re still so ungrateful.”
I hate her. “I took up golf in high school because you wanted me to make a good impression when William took me and Garret out on Sundays for two whole years.”