Page 13 of Ryder
“Sorry. I’d had a couple of drinks with my friends, I wasn’t thinking.”
“When are you going to realise that that gaggle of witches are not friends. You were so much better when you cut them from your life.”
“I didn’t cut them Finn, you stopped me seeing them,” she mutters.
“And you were a much nicer person for it. I thought you’d want to know your daughter was a bitch tonight.” Neve sits up straighter. “What do you mean?”
“She threw a tantrum for an hour straight at bedtime because she wanted you, have you poisoned my daughter against me?” he asks.
“No of course not. Is she okay? Why didn’t you call me so I could speak to her?”
“Well you were too busy for calls weren’t you, Neve,” he tells her. “I gave her a good, slapped arse, like my father used to give me. She soon stopped playing up. You should try it, you’re way too soft on her.”
I bristle at his words. He’s not a small guy and Harlee looks tiny. I squeeze my hands into fists, the urge to go find this piece of shit and hurt him is overwhelming.
“Jesus, Finn, you hit her?” Neve cries. “She’s five years old.”
“We’re too soft on kids these days. We all had a slap or two when we were kids, it never hurt us.”
“Times have changed. You should have called me, Finn. I can’t believe you hit her. I think I should come and get her,” says Neve, throwing her legs over the edge of the bed.
“Don’t even think about it, Neve. You turn up here making a fuss and you’ll get the same treatment. I seem to remember it working well on you.” He disconnects the call and Neve throws the phone into the middle of the bed and buries her face in her hands.
This is a sign for me to walk away. Neve’s obviously got issues and her ties to this wanker are going to cause me a headache I don’t need, I have my own plans to mess with Finn Lawerence and she’s not a part of that, but seeing her sobbing into her hands, does something to me inside and I find myself moving closer to her and wrapping her in my arms.
I wait for her to calm before turning her in my arms and forcing her to look at me. I place a finger under her chin, tipping her head back slightly. “What the fuck was that?” I ask, gently.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so embarrassed. I don’t usually break down on hook ups,” she sniffles.
Her words feel like a slap in the face and for some reason, they bother me way more than they should. “Hook up?” I repeat, “This is the third time we’ve ended up ‘hooking up’” I say, using air quotes. “Don’t you think it’s a little more than that now?”
She eyes me warily, and then shrugs her shoulders. “I thought we were having fun.”
I scoff, “Fun? I’m in your bedroom, Neve. I’m looking to stay the night, that’s a huge deal for me.”
Her expression softens and she rises onto her knees and places her arms loosely around my neck. “This doesn’t feel fun at all right now, does it?” she whispers, trailing wet kisses over my neck. I tilt my head slightly, liking the feel of her against me again. “I need you, Ryder,” she adds, bringing her lips to mine.
I allow it for a few seconds, my cock instantly hardens, but before she can distract me with her skilful mouth, I pull away and she falls back onto her arse. “Don’t do that,” I say, firmly. “Don’t try and distract me. I want to know what the fuck that was.”
Neve sighs heavily and crosses her legs. “You heard what that was, what do you want me to say?”
“I want you to tell me why the hell you even do any of that shit for him when you’re not together.” It crosses my mind that maybe there’s more to them so I add, “Unless you and he are still fucking?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she snaps and I’m shocked at how relieved I feel to hear her say those words. “Look, I have a child with him and whether I like it or not, I have to keep the peace between us for her sake.”
“And what about you, Neve? How often does he call to make you check in?”
She stares down at her hands and shame washes over her features. “Most nights . . . every night.”
My fists ball at my sides in anger. “That can’t go on. How the fuck will you ever move on?”
She looks me in the eye, “That’s the whole point, isn’t it. I can’t.”
I lay awake beside Neve’s sleeping form. She’s curled up in a tight ball with her back to me and I itch to wake her. She’d refused to talk about Finn anymore and instead turned on her distraction technique which led to her riding me until we both came hard. So I let her sleep, she needs the rest.
I go over my plan again, hating myself the more I think about it. When Griff first told me about her connection to Finn, I knew right away she was my key to ruining him. I want him to know how it feels to lose everything. And now that I know he’s still hooked on her, it makes things all the sweeter. It would be so easy to go ahead. I have the recording of us fucking in my office, which I could easily send Finn’s way . . . I groan, rubbing my hands over my tired face. How can I make her life worse? She’s already living in hell because of Finn Matthews. The last thing she needs is me making shit worse. And besides, I like her. Way more than I ever meant to.
Neve stirs beside me, a small moan escaping her lips. She flinches and I wonder if she’s dreaming about Finn. I turn, pressing myself against her and wrapping my arm around her. She settles, and I place a kiss into her neck. My erection strains against her backside, itching for another taste of her. I groan, wondering if I’ll ever get enough of her as I inhale the scent of her shampoo. I ease into her, nuzzling into her neck and cupping her breast. A sleepy moan escapes her and she reaches her arm back, raking her fingers over my head.