48. Ryder
RYDER
Ireturned to the apartment several hours later, telling myself Rosalie needed this time with Enzo.
The guys told me she was trying to work it out with the horsemen, and she’d told me too.
I thought it was a terrible idea, but I wasn’t going to tell her no.
Some lessons were hard to learn. Maybe this would be her lesson.
And if it wasn’t, then I would be happy for that because the last thing I wanted was to see her hurting again.
I’d lived through that and never wanted to see tears on her face.
I expected to find Enzo gone and Rosalie in bed. Instead, I walked into the bedroom to find her lying in his arms.
I wasn’t sure how I’d feel seeing her in another man’s arms that wasn’t one of us, but I didn’t expect the calmness. It was almost a relief.
They weren’t naked. In fact, they were both fully clothed. She was in her pajamas, and he was wearing a black button-down designer shirt and his pants. She was sleeping on his chest, and his arms were holding her tightly.
I stepped into the room and quietly undressed before putting on my pajama bottoms and sliding into bed next to her.
She mumbled my name and rolled over. Immediately, I took her into my arms and held her. Enzo moved with her, spooning her, clearly deeply asleep.
I sighed. I had one of the richest and most powerful men asleep in my bed. A mafia don. A man who was worth millions dead.
My life was weird.
I kissed Rosalie’s forehead and closed my eyes.
“I love you, Red,” I murmured into the quiet room.
I awoke to Enzo trying to roll out of bed without waking Rosalie.
“Going somewhere, beautiful?” I muttered at him.
He paused and looked at me.
“I was never here.”
I snorted softly. “You definitely were, though.”
He got up and smoothed down his messy bedhead, his eyes fixed on Rosalie.
“She wants this to be kept quiet, so please, don’t tell my guys. I don’t want to disappoint them if this doesn’t work out.”
I raised my brows at him and slid out from Rosalie, who snuggled deeper into the blankets. I followed Enzo out of the bedroom, closing the door behind me.
“What does that mean? You don’t know if you’re sticking around?” I demanded.
“It means I don’t know if I can. I want to, but I’m required to leave my life. It’s been my experience that the only way you leave this life is through a body bag.”
I eyed him as he tried to smooth the wrinkles in his shirt.
“So why are you even fucking with her if you don’t know if you can leave?” I asked.
“You know why,” he replied.
I scoffed. “Enlighten me.”
“I love her. She was mine. I want her back. It’s really that simple.”
“It’s not that simple, though.” My irritation rose. I’d always been fiercely defensive of Rosalie. If you fucked with her, you fucked with me. Plain and simple. I wasn’t about to let anyone fuck with her.
“You don’t even know how bad she was, do you?
” I asked. “When you guys left her? She thought Fox was dead. She was a shell of who she used to be. And just because you were with her for a few years, you think that entitles you to come crawling back?” I shook my head at him.
“Understand this, De Luca. I love that girl. I have for far longer than you have. I have been with her through your fuck-ups, through her successes, her tears, her anxiety, her loss, her gains, and a baby. If you think for one moment you’re going to come back here, whisper a few sweet words to her, then bounce again, you won’t have to worry about finding your way out of the life you lead. I’ll fucking kill you myself.”
He stared me down and stepped into my space.
“Do not fucking threaten me, Romano. In this very moment, she is mine as much as she’s yours.
If this is going to work with all of us, you better really fucking learn to love me if you love her.
That goes for Cole and E, too. You may have been at her side for the last five years, but I assure you, I have been in her dreams, fucking haunting her.
I’d like to think my ghost still means something to her. ”
“You and your damn ghost are what nearly drove her to kill herself,” I said. “Or do you not care what your fucking ghost did to her?”
His Adam’s apple bobbed as we stared one another down.
“I know I fucked up, but I did it with the best intentions. I was trying to save shit I fucked up. I am not that guy anymore. I want her. I need her. And I will do everything within my power to have her.”
“And yet you stand before me telling me you don’t know if it’ll work out.” I shook my head at him. “You’re still a joke, De Luca. Maybe just run off and fuck your assistant and leave Rosalie alone before you do more damage.”
He tightened his hands into fists.
“I don’t want to fight you, Ryder, but if you speak to me like that again, we’re going to have issues,” he snarled at me.
“Go fuck yourself,” I said to him. “Give me all your issues, De Luca. I’ll be a lifetime fucking subscriber if it means I keep Rosalie safe.
Your mafia status doesn’t mean shit to me.
I grew up on these streets and had a father who would make you fucking weep.
Your darkness and violence don’t mean fuck-all to me.
I was fucking born and raised in shit that was pitch black.
Your threats are just a shit brown shade to me. ”
He glared at me for a moment before he spoke again.
“You’re new to her,” he said, his voice soft and dangerous.
“But I’m not. I know her in ways you could only dream of.
I helped carve out that pussy you love so much.
So instead of trying to fight me on her and things related to her, how about you thank me?
Without the horsemen and me, she’d have lived a life with one man, not as many as she could love. That gift came from us.”
I scoffed. “Whatever. My words stand. Go fuck yourself. If you’re not going to figure out how to become a permanent fixture, then you can go back to your little assistant and fuck her busted pussy.
Rosalie is my girl now, so I get a say in the shit that happens.
I’ll be fucking damned if I let you break her heart again. ”
“I’m not going to,” he said fiercely. “I want her. I love her. I just need time.”
I shook my head. “Then take it, but don’t be surprised when you approach the line that’s been drawn. Once you get there, you’re fucked.”
He stared me down before nodding. “Fine. I guess that’s something I’ll have to deal with, but I promise you, I want her, and I will have her.”
“And you know the rules for that. Follow them because I’m the fucking man who will end your dreams for you. I’m not a nice guy when it comes to my girl, and Rosalie… is mine.”
Enzo’s throat bobbed as he stared at me. “Understood.”
“Good. And the next time you’re in her bed, don’t fucking sneak off. That’s fucked up, and she deserves better than that.”
He backed away from me without saying another word and left. I shook my head at the closed door, only to turn to find myself face-to-face with Rosalie.
“Hey,” I said softly, swallowing hard. I thought she was still asleep.
She approached me and rested her hands on my chest.
“Ry?”
“Yeah?” I whispered.
“I appreciate you,” she murmured.
I breathed out and cradled her face. “I’m sorry if I overstepped, but I don’t want him to hurt you.
It fucking killed me to watch you ache, Red.
I don’t want that for you. I would have suffered in your place then, and I will die to protect you now.
I don’t care who Enzo is. I am here for you always.
You’re my girl now, and with that, you get all of me, even the parts that aren’t afraid to die for you. ”
“I don’t want you to ever die for me.” She went up on her tiptoes and brushed her lips lightly against mine. I closed my eyes, my heart pounding.
“I would, Red. I fucking would. I will protect you with my last breath.”
“I know. I would protect you too. I just don’t want you fighting with the horsemen.”
I opened my eyes and lifted her into my arms. She wrapped her legs around my waist. I crushed my lips to hers, kissing her deeply.
“I want you,” I said between fierce, deep kisses. “Don’t be upset with me. I’m only doing what I think is right. I fucking love you, Red.”
“I love you, too,” she replied.
Fuck, those words did something to me.
I hauled her sexy ass right back to the bedroom and laid her on the bed before peeling off what clothes I had on and removing hers next.
“He didn’t touch you last night, did he?” I asked between kisses.
“No. We only talked. No sex.”
“Good.” I kissed her neck, desperate to mark her, but I knew she didn’t want Cole to know, so I backed off.
I made my way down her body, pausing to kiss her stomach where Anson’s baby was nestled. I knew there was a chance it was Cole’s, but it honestly didn’t matter in the big scheme of things. Ellis was Cole’s, and I loved that little girl as if she were my own.
I moved between her legs and licked up her pussy. Her breath caught as she stared at me.
“I love the way you taste,” I murmured.
She let out a soft whimper as I placed a kiss on her pussy.
She reached for me, and I twined my fingers with hers for a moment before I dove in, eating her.
She wiggled, her hips thrusting up to meet my mouth, her breathing heavy.
“Ry… Oh god. Please.”
I ate faster, quickly learning her tells.
She came, her body tensing, my name on her lips.
Fuck, it sounded so good.
I finished her off, smiling proudly as I kissed my way back up her body.
It took me all of a moment to push deep inside her, claiming her hot, wet pussy as mine.
“Fuck, Red,” I groaned, resting my forehead against hers. “How did I get so lucky?”
“I’m lucky,” she whispered before she kissed me. “To have you. The guys. Everything.”
I groaned again, pulling out and pushing back into her. She tangled her fingers in my hair, jutting her hips up to meet my slow thrusts. Each time I bottomed out inside her, she let out a contented sigh. I loved it.
She kissed me harder, and I let her take the lead.