18. Ryder
18
RYDER
I easily got used to small town life. It was good to be in a place where everyone knew your name. And not because they'd seen my photograph on a billboard or because I contributed to the soundtrack of their latest heartache. No, the teachers at the elementary school waved at me because I was Ethan’s dad. The ladies behind the counter at Minty’s knew my order because they saw me every day. I was someone’s dad. Someone’s friend. What I wasn’t was someone’s boyfriend. But that would come. Hopefully sometime soon.
Since I originally had access to the Salinger Security gym when I stayed at the B&B, they continued to grant me access after I moved to my house, and Nick Salinger even allowed me to hook up my cardio program to one of their treadmills. Basically, the treadmill pace changed with the music I listened to. It was how I trained for concerts. Making sure I knew the lyrics. Since I sang through the workout as well, I ensured I could sing and dance on stage without needing to lip sync.
Personally, I found nothing wrong if an artist did choose to go that route. Singing and dancing at the same time was not an easy task, and most times the performances were better if they did lip sync. I knew my voice dragged when I needed to do high impact dancing on stage. Which was why the training was necessary.
I pressed play on my phone and the backing track to the opening number to my set started. It's a ballad to which I could walk at a leisurely stroll, which is what I would normally do on stage anyway. Nick told me he had warned his staff, which was mostly his family, that if they wanted quiet, they needed noise cancelling headphones or to use the bigger gym. Other people listening to me didn’t bother me, obviously, but it bothered others and was the reason I preferred having a home gym.
Since I had my own headphones on, I could only hear the music in my ears. But listening to myself was not the goal. I could sound like a cat gearing up for a fight and it wouldn’t bother me. Though, if I was honest, I probably sounded pretty good. The downside of course was that I heard nothing else. That was the reason I didn’t hear Nick approach until he was right in front of me.
He dangled a set of keys in front of me. “Can you please lock up when you leave. The entire team is off on a mission.”
That couldn’t be good. I’d heard whispers around town and when Shi spoke to her friends, it appeared that friends of theirs might need rescuing. I’d also heard that the Salinger teams rarely went out into the field any longer unless it was a loved one. And if all of them were leaving, I had to guess it was someone very important.
“Is everyone going?”
Nick shook his head. “Tiffany’s still at the front desk. She’ll probably be down to work out before she goes home. Lilly and Shiloh are out interviewing witnesses. They should be back soon.”
“Shiloh?” As far as I knew she was back at work. I didn’t know how Lilly fitted in to that.
“Yeah.” Nick placed the keys on the little shelf fitted in front of the treadmill monitor. “The station reassigned her to Lilly while her partner is recovering. Personally, if all goes well, I want to poach her, but Lilly said it needs to be her choice.”
“She loves being a cop.”
“With me she has more scope for growth. A similar case load.” Nick frowned as if working for him was obviously the better option. “Besides, the pay is much better.”
“Yeah, but right now, you’re all about to go off to god knows where.”
“She has no idea who we’re about to rescue.” At the shake of my head, he continued. “Shiloh’s sister, Caterina, is one of the people who needs an extraction. She would give anything to go with us.”
I narrowed my eyes. “But…?”
“She's a cop and we’re entering…” He smiled and tilted his head. “Another country. We may bend rules. A lot. But I will not compromise Shiloh’s career. No matter how much I want her to work for me.”
With that he turned on his heel and left. I placed my headphones back on and continued the ballad I was singing. I had two more songs that were a little more up-tempo before another ballad. Then I started one that me and the backup dancers had been rehearsing for months. I couldn’t do the full choreography on the treadmill but the tempo of the machine was designed for the choreography. I’d been working out like that for months and there were still days when I couldn’t hit all the notes and move at the right tempo at the same time. Fortunately for me, today was not that day. As I got through the higher notes while hopping on the treadmill, I couldn’t help but smile. I punched the air and whooped. As the song faded out and disappeared from the headphones, I could hear the ambient noise around the gym.
The clapping and whooping drew my attention and I turned around on the treadmill, walking backwards as the next ballad started. I was still breathing hard as I took off my headphones and smiled at the two women looking at me. I stepped off, still breathing hard.
Tiffany was the one clapping and whooping. Her hoodie was once again untied and she had a plush towel hanging over her shoulders. “Wow, that was quite a sight to behold.”
“Thanks.” I tilted my head to the side. “I think.”
She continued chatting but my eyes drifted to the woman next to her.
Shiloh’s eyes were fixed on my naked chest as she spoke. “Nick mentioned you were here. Said you wouldn’t mind if we worked out as well.”
“As long as you can put up with my singing, I don’t have a problem.”
Still, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Long legs topped with a pair of black booty shorts and a silver-grey sports bra that squeezed those tits together in a way that all I could imagine was covering them in lube and shoving my cock between them. The nibble at her lower lip indicated she had similar thoughts running through her head. But the thing that really had my attention was what she wore on her head. A black baseball cap with The Poets printed on the front. The letters were in pink. Those were limited edition at the time, only thrown to the crowd, once per show while we were opening for Evie. Her sister, Maggie, had caught it all those years ago, and she still had it. The idea of her holding onto it made me smile.
“Nice hat.” I smiled and held her gaze.
She shrugged, hunching up one shoulder, as she smirked at me. “Maggie’s nostalgic that way.”
Tiffany let out a sigh as her eyes darted between the two of us. “I can tell where I’m not wanted. Or more specifically, where I don’t want to be. You two have fun. I’ll drop the latch so no one can get in from the outside.”
It never even occurred to me to do that. I was in such a daze. Mesmerized by Shi’s perfect body and all that skin she had on display. I could tell she preferred her short-sleeved uniform based on the tan line. I could also tell she spent a fair amount of the summer in her bikini. Those tan lines were really faded, and I imagined it had been months since she’d been in a swimsuit.
Once the snick of the latch echoed through the room, I stared at Shi. “So, what were you planning on doing?”
“Weight bar.” She smiled. “But my spotter just abandoned me.”
“Come, I can spot you.” I walked toward her. “I’m going to be watching you anyway.”
“I don’t want to interrupt your workout.”
“Yeah, you do.” I dropped my hand to her lower back and led her to the bar. “Trust me.”
It took her a few minutes to arrange the weights on each end of the bar. While the bar was lighter than what I used, it was still heavier than I’d expected. I knew Shi was fit and strong, she needed to be to do her job. Yet, it still surprised me to see her in action.
She stood in front of me at the bar. I was close enough to grab the ponytail peeking through the back of her baseball cap if I wanted to. And, fuck, did I want to.
Slowly, she lifted the bar and held it at the correct height. I moved a step forward, as she squatted down slightly, pushing that magnificent ass toward me. I couldn’t resist, I took another step toward her. We were close enough she could feel my breath at her neck. She did another squat with the bar and I moved even closer. As she squatted down, her ass brushed up against the front of my hips. My erection was not something she could ignore.
“Ryder. I need to concentrate.”
At the strain in her voice, my hands shot up to the bar in case she needed it. “I’ve got you, babe.”
But I never stepped back. Over and over, I allowed her to brush up against me. And the harder I got, the more motivated she got. When she finished her set, my lips dropped to the soft patch of skin below her ear.
Her low whimper spurred me on as her back melted into my chest. My hands stroked her skin, making its way up her ribs until I could force up her sports bra. My lips moved from the back of her ear to her shoulder. I pinched her pebbled nipples between my thumb and forefinger and was rewarded with a whimper. “Fuck, Ryder.”
“In a moment, babe.” I had no doubt what she wanted, what both of us needed but I was not rushing anything. “Last time you took what you needed. This time, I’m the one in control.”
I removed one hand from her breast so I could angle her face toward me. My lips meshed with hers and our tongues tangled. Kissing Shiloh was still the most addicting thing I’d known. And I was a musician, I knew about vices.
My hand moved down her neck and back over her ribs, then a hip. I pushed down into those impossibly tight shorts. My dick twitched and my lips paused. “You’re not wearing panties.”
“How observant.”
She spun around and dropped to her knees. I knew what she wanted, but I was not about to let her have all the fun.
“Nah-ah, babe.” I joined her on the floor mat. “If you have your mouth on me then I want my mouth on you. Take off those shorts.”
That small smile and the narrowing of her eyes turned me on even more.
I loved that she took my commands so easily. In a matter of moments we were both naked and ready. My cock was like a beacon in front of me. I pulled one of the yoga mats from the stack and was on my back before I crooked my finger at her. “Sit on my face, while you suck my cock.”
Yeah, my girl could be compliant when there was an impending orgasm involved. Although, if I played my cards right, she would have several.
With my hands full of ass cheek, I licked her from hole to clit, savoring the noises she made as her lips closed over my cock. I couldn’t help my growl as my tongue toyed with that little bundle of nerves. When I pushed a finger into her, twisting around until I found just the right spot, I was rewarded with the most erotic vibrations from her throat. At first, I thought of repositioning us and fucking her until we were both boneless. But then thought better of it. We were exactly where we needed to be. I doubled my efforts and moved my fingers and tongue in unison.
Shiloh lifted her mouth off me and screamed out her orgasm, and the only thing I regretted was not being able to see her face as she came.
That was quickly fixed. As soon as she came down from that high, I flipped us over, spun around and pushed my cock into her. I quickly found my rhythm as I pushed in and out of her. The scent of sweat and sex permeated the air and the sound of our bodies slapping together spurred me on. Faster and faster I moved, hitting deep inside her.
“Feel that, babe.” I hardly recognized my own voice. “Feel what you do to me.”
“Yes.” Her voice was barely a whisper. Her hands gripped my arms, nails digging into me. “Fuck, Ry, yes. I’m coming again.”
Her pussy clenched, and her back arched, the image burnt into my mind forever. She had me in such a vise grip, I had no choice. The ecstasy of being surrounded by her, all of her, my body went rigid as I let out a loud growl and followed her over the edge.
It was only once we had both collapsed onto the mat, panting, that I spoke. “I think I’m falling for you.”