13. Chapter Thirteen
13
Ryker
Throughout dinner all I can feel is the daggers being pointed my way from Wren’s dad and brother, while Melanie tries her best to steer the conversation in a good direction. I’d thought when Walter started asking me questions that we were getting somewhere, but clearly, I was wrong, considering the death stare he is giving me from across the table.
Wren clears her throat and reaches over to give the hand at my side a gentle squeeze. “How about a game night before Ryker and I head out?”
Elias smiles wickedly and chuckles. “What, desperate to lose, sis?”
She rolls her eyes at him, then looks at me with a hopeful expression. “Stay for another hour?”
I shrug. “Don’t see why not. What do game nights entail exactly?”
Melanie snorts next to me and shakes her head. “I’m not sure you want to find out.” She rises from the table and smiles. “Especially when I wipe the floor with all of you by the end of the night.” Her giggle as she hurries into their large living room surprises me. The rest of the table starts rising right along with her, and I hesitantly follow their lead.
Wren leans into me as we head into the room, a bright smile on her face. “Don’t worry, when it comes to game nights, all animosity is out the window. Dad and Elias will barely look at you.”
Is that why she suggested we play games?
When we get into the living room, Melanie’s already got a plethora of games held in her arms that she drops onto the coffee and she looks directly at me with a wicked grin. “It’s only fair that our guest picks the first game for the night.”
I’ve never sat down and played games like this before. I’m not even sure which one to go with. Do Walter and Elias have a favorite? This is clearly something they do as a family often, and I’m willing to bet each person in this room has a game they favor over the rest. I glance at Wren, who’s watching me patiently with a smile on her face and study her for a moment.
I follow her gaze as she looks at the games, notice how it immediately lands in the middle of the pile, and I point to it. “I’ll go with that one.”
Everyone groans, except Wren – who jumps up and down excitedly – and Melanie places the other games on the floor to make room for the one I picked. She winks at me. “Looks like we’re going with Clue.”
Elias scoffs. “I’m not surprised.”
Walter slaps his son on the back and chuckles. “Don’t worry, son, we’ll get them with the next game.” While they all gather around the table and pick their players, I stand in the middle of the living room and study them for a moment.
Elias playfully glares at Wren as she takes her seat. Melanie shoves her husband lightly with a smile, and I realize this moment is something I never got to experience with my own parents. They were always too busy to do things as mundane as sit around a table and play board games. This is what I’ve been missing, a connection with the people who gave me life, and I wonder briefly how I can change that.
“Well, Rockstar, you gonna join us or just watch?” Wren asks from the floor.
I clear my throat and sink onto the floor, right next to Wren, then grab the first piece I see. Since I’ve never played this game, Wren has to lean over and help me figure it out every so often – which does nothing to put a kink in my desire for her because all I can smell is the coconut scent wafting away from her. If I close my eyes, I could almost picture being on a tropical island.
Wren claps beside me as Walter makes a guess, then he groans when Elias shows him a card, and the dice get handed over to Wren. She takes them happily, rolls, and chooses to stay in the room she’s in. Her eyes dart around, amusement shining in her eyes, as she says, “I’m going to guess what’s in the envelope.”
“Dammit, I was so close!”
“You always are, big bro,” Wren says with a wink before she clears her throat. “It was Professor Plum, in the Billiard Room, with the Wrench.” I’d love nothing more than to quickly tell her that’s wrong, that I’ve got the Wrench, but I’ve got a feeling that would be frowned upon for the game. She leans forward, grabs the envelope from the center of the board, and takes out all three cards with a victorious smile.
Within seconds, it slips, and she scrunches her eyebrows together in confusion. “What? That’s not possible.”
Elias chuckles beside me and rubs his hands together. “Now, this is a wonderful surprise. What’s wrong, Wren, lose this time?”
She glares at him and slams the cards face down onto the table, then points a finger accusingly at him. “You cheated!”
“Can you prove it?”
Wren’s cheeks turn a bright shade of red, and she clenches her fists under the table. “I’m going to prove how easily I can give you a black eye if you don’t shut up,” she grinds out. I reach over, thread her fingers through mine, and give her hand a gentle squeeze that seems to calm her down enough for her to smile at the table. “Well, you guys gonna to keep going or what?”
Someone doesn’t like losing .
Well, neither do I, and Wren is a part of this game. I can’t seem to stop playing.
***
Elias walks up to me as we head to the door and slaps my back, harder than necessary, while saying, “I can’t believe you had the wrench that entire time without anyone knowing.” He shakes his head, the smile slipping from his face as he grows serious, and he shrugs. “That doesn’t change the way I feel about you, though. Stay the hell away from my sister.”
Wren gasps from across the room and glares at her brother. “Are you serious? He’s my client , Eli, and even if he wasn’t, you’d still have no right to say that to him.” She shakes her head, waves a quick goodbye to her mother, and barely spares Elias a glance as she pulls me out onto the front porch.
Elias doesn’t say anything, only watches us closely as we make our way down the driveway and over to Wren’s car. She looks exhausted, so I place a hand on her shoulder and hold my hand out to her. “Let me drive.” There’s no ounce of fight in her when she drops them into my hand, only a slump of her shoulders as she slides into the passenger seat.
When I get into the car, she’s staring out the window with her gaze pointed at Elias standing in the open doorway, and I nudge her shoulder playfully. “That was fun, we should try doing it again sometime.”
All I get is a hum in response, so I slowly ease the car from the driveway and pause at the end of it to glance at her. She’s still got her focus on the window with what looks like sadness in her gaze and I frown at the sight of it.
What could be wrong? Was it me?
Instead of worrying about it, since I shouldn’t be, I take the turn and coast down a back road. After ten minutes of neither of us saying anything, or the radio being on, I finally have enough and pull off on the side of the road with the hazard lights on. “Okay,” I say softly. “What’s going on?”
Finally, Wren pulls her attention away from the window and looks at me with a softened gaze. “What do you mean? I’m just tired,” she says.
“Bullshit.” Her mouth parts in surprise, and I sigh. “I’ve been watching you, and I can tell when you’re upset. Spill it, Teach.”
“Fine,” she spits, then waves an arm behind us the way we came. “I’m sick of them acting like everything they read about you is nothing but the truth.”
Now it’s my turn to be surprised. “Sure, you’ve got your issues – but who doesn’t? Elias has a hard time committing and my dad refuses to acknowledge when he’s wrong, which causes quite a few fights with him and my mother. Why do they get to judge you?”
I want to say something, but no words are coming from my mouth.
Wren takes this as a sign to keep going, so she takes a deep breath. “There’s more to you than the anger,” she says softly.
“You’ve got a kind heart, care about the people around you – even if at times you’ve got a funny way of showing it – and you’re an all-around great person. Anger doesn’t define you, so why are they making it that way?”
I’ve never had anyone say these things about me before. Women have tried to cozy up to me and pay compliments that were otherwise untrue just to get in my bed, but Wren doesn’t have a reason to say them. Before I can think about what I’m doing, I lean forward fast as lightning and slam my lips against hers.
She gasps against my mouth but doesn't try pulling away. Instead, she runs her fingers along the back of my head and tugs me closer to her. I deepen the kiss, then reach around and lift her over the center console so that she’s straddling my lap. It’s a tight fit, but the way she shifts her hips against me leaves me with no room to care.
Thankfully, most of the drive is on a back road, so there’s no sign of another car for miles. Which means I can drive with her just like this, her lips skating across my jaw and down my neck. This part of the drive goes much faster, since I’m craving to feel the smooth skin beneath her clothes, and I come to a screeching stop outside my house.
I give Wren a few moments to think about what’s happening and tell her we shouldn’t be doing this, but she doesn’t say anything. Her breath hitches when I place my hands along the curves of her ass, then climb out of the car with her legs wrapped tightly around my waist. Even as I make my way up the front steps, she’s still peppering kisses along my skin and leaving a hot trail in their wake.
Wren does things to me that no other woman has ever been able to do. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that as soon as I get her completely naked in front of me, that’s going to be it. I’ll never be the same again. “You’re supposed to despise me as much as everyone else does,” I grind out against her lips.
She shakes her head. “Not possible, Rockstar.”
My heart grows warm with emotions, but I push them back as I fumble to unlock the front door with Wren’s back pressed against it and her hips rocking into me. I narrow my eyes on her, which she responds to with a knowing smirk, and growl, “Stop, or I’ll have you all to myself out here on the porch. Is that what you want?”
She arches a brow and flutters her thick lashes at me. “And if it is?”
She’s going to be the death of me.
Once I finally have the front door open, I take long strides inside and kick the door shut without bothering to turn around. As soon as I’m in my room, I gently toss her onto the bed with a smile. “There’s no turning back, Teach. If this isn’t what you want, feel free to leave.”
My heart hammers wildly in my chest as I wait for her answer – please choose to stay.