Chapter 6
Chapter Six
F uck. Fuck . She tasted better than anything.
Ryder opened his mouth and took the kiss deeper. There was so much simmering inside him, but it all went quiet, leaving just his desire for this woman.
He slid a hand into her hair, hauling that delicious mouth closer. He made a hungry sound.
She bit his bottom lip hard enough to sting. Yeah, that was his tough, hot, warrior goddess. She came with a delicious edge.
Her breasts pressed against his chest. Ryder wanted her naked. He wanted his hands all over that smooth skin. He wanted to hear the sounds she made when she came.
Then she pulled back, panting.
“Come home with me.” His voice was gritty with need.
She let out a breath. “No.”
“Siv—”
“You’re angry and upset.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that I want you.” He poured another shot.
“I get wanting some oblivion, but I’m not some pill to take to forget the shit for a few hours.”
He knocked back the tequila and savored it. “You know it’s more than that.”
She crossed her arms. “Well, I value both of us more. If the situations were reversed…”
Fuck . He wouldn’t want their first time to be when she was sick with grief and angry for justice.
He growled and poured another shot.
She touched his wrist. “Go easy, yeah?”
“I don’t want easy.” He shrugged her hand off. “You don’t have to stay.”
“Ryder…” She blew out a breath and stared. “You’re actually growing on me, despite my ban on men. I’m attracted to you.”
Heat coiled in his gut.
“But I was burned by an asshole recently. I’m going slowly this time. Now, I’m visiting the ladies room. If you want to get smashed, go ahead. I’ll make sure you get home.”
He watched her cross the bar, long legs and fine ass encased in those sleek, gray pants.
“I wouldn’t turn you down.”
He turned his head. The pretty brunette bartender with all the curves leaned on the bar. She made sure he got an excellent eyeful of her cleavage.
God, she was probably early twenties. Too young for him.
Hell, every woman seemed too young now, compared to a tough-as-nails, ex-Norwegian special forces soldier.
“Thanks, sweetheart.”
She pulled a pen out of her pocket and grabbed his arm. She scrawled some numbers on his skin. “I’d be happy to help you fuck your troubles away.”
Just a few weeks ago, he would’ve considered the offer.
Now, he’d let her down easy. He touched her hair. “That’s a mighty tempting offer, but no thanks.”
The woman leaned closer, her lips a whisper from his. “I bet I taste sweeter than her and could bounce on your cock better.”
Ryder felt a flush of heat. He wasn’t dead. He smiled. “Thanks again, sweetheart, I—”
He sensed a presence behind him and looked over his shoulder.
Siv’s gaze dropped to where he touched the woman’s hair, then the phone number on his arm, then back to his eyes.
He watched her face shut down, like a layer of slow-moving ice coating her.
“Looks like you’ve made plans.” Her voice was like a blade. “You can find your own way home.”
“Siv—” Ryder rose. His senses were already a little dulled from the tequila.
She held out a hand. “You’re your own man, Ryder. You can fuck whoever you want, it just won’t be me.” She flicked her gaze past him. “I’ve no interest in joining your harem.”
He growled, lunged, and caught her hand. “I don’t have a damn harem.”
“You’re a player,” she hissed. “All men are.”
“I’m not your fucking ex.”
She stepped in, then wrenched his arm up behind his back.
“ Fuck .” Pain shot through his shoulder.
She shoved him forward, and when he caught himself, she was striding out the door.
Dammit . Ryder jogged after her. “Siv!”
“Just go back inside, Ryder. Drink the tequila, fuck the bartender.”
With a growl, he caught an arm around her waist. He narrowly avoided an elbow to his cheek.
“Let me go!”
“No.” He lifted her off her feet. “You’re going to listen to me.”
She was strong, but he held her. Then he spun and pinned her to the wall of the bar.
He saw the flash of surprise on her face.
“I’m trained, too, Siv. And I’m stronger than you.” Their faces were inches apart. “I’m not some player. I’m not your ex. Am I a single guy who enjoys mutual, no-strings-attached sex occasionally? Yeah.”
“I don’t care!”
“Fuck, you’re stubborn.”
She tried to get free. They scuffled, but he kept her pinned.
She sagged against him with a huff, then let loose with a string of Norwegian he was sure he didn’t want translated.
“Siv—”
“ Faen .” She leaned up and kissed him.
His brain short-circuited. All he could do, all he wanted to do, was feel. Their tongues dueled. It was an angry kiss, with tongues and teeth. She got a hand loose, and he half expected a punch.
Instead, she slid a hand into his hair. She ground that long, lean body against his.
God, his desire was hotter than fire and it had claws.
Suddenly, she shoved him back.
She stood there, licking her lips. He knew she was trying to piece her armor back together.
“Siv—”
“No.” She held up a hand. “Just don’t.”
Frustration boiled over inside him. “Stop being so damn independent and stubborn. You softened when my mouth was on yours.”
Frost hit her eyes. “Johan used to say something similar. I was only soft in bed.”
Dammit . “I’m not him.”
“Go back inside, Ryder.” She broke free and stalked off.
For a second, Ryder thought about going after her, but he knew they’d fight. She needed time to cool down.
He watched her stiff back as she disappeared and pressed a hand to the back of his neck. He closed his eyes. He’d messed that up. Siv Pedersen was tough, but she had a soft underbelly she tried to hide.
He looked at the neon bar sign and thought of Robbie—dead and gone.
Screw it. Ryder had a bottle of tequila at home.
He’d pay for their shots, then go home and get drunk in peace.
* * *
At first, Ryder thought the thumping was in his head.
With a groan, he opened his eyes.
He was sprawled diagonally on his bed, naked, with a tequila-induced headache. It was pounding happily behind his eyes.
“Shit.” He rolled and heard the thudding again.
Someone was pounding on his front door. He sat up.
The room whirled a little, and he heard a hiss. His cat, Crank, lifted his head and glared at Ryder with one yellow eye. Crank was a stray that Ryder had befriended near the clinic, and finally adopted. He had a long, rangy body, gray fur, and the temperament of a rabid pack of wolves.
The asshole had scratched Ryder up a few times, and believed that Ryder’s apartment was his own domain. Ryder just existed to open cans of food.
“Screw you, Crank. I’m not the one banging on the door.” Ryder grabbed his boxer shorts off the floor, yanked them on, and strode out. He checked the peephole and saw Cam’s face.
Shit . He was supposed to meet his brother for breakfast. He pulled the door open. “Sorry. I slept in.”
Camden stepped inside. He was ready for work at Norcross, in a tailored, blue suit. The sleek clothes contrasted with his short hair and scarred face.
Cam did a visual sweep of Ryder’s apartment—the living area and kitchen weren’t huge, but they were perfect for Ryder.
A huge TV was attached to the wall with a state-of-the-art sound system, a large bay window let in lots of light, and the honey-colored wooden floors were nice.
There wasn’t much decoration except for a gray rug and slightly wilted plant that his mother had bought him.
Crank loved to scratch up the rug and occasionally puke on it.
Ryder’s brother still had that battle readiness and situational awareness from active combat. Ryder knew Hunt was worried about Cam, but Ryder trusted that Cam would relax in time. He’d adjust.
Unlike Robbie.
“You mean you went on a bender,” Cam said.
Ryder closed the door. “Siv snitched.”
“She was worried about you. Said you were in some bar, doing shots and flirting with the bartender.”
“The bartender was flirting with me. And I came home, very alone, and did my shots here.” He waved to the coffee table and a half empty bottle of tequila on it. “I have a headache to prove it.” He sighed. “My friend Robbie is dead.”
“The former combat medic. Siv mentioned. I’m sorry, Ryder.”
Ryder ran a hand over his hair. “Yeah. Looks like someone killed him.”
“Siv seems highly competent. She’ll work out what happened.”
“Oh, she is that and more.” Ryder eyed Cam. “And she’s mine.” With two brothers, he knew it paid to stake your claim early.
That got him a half smile from Cam. “Does she know that?”
“Yes.”
Cam’s green eyes narrowed. “Is Siv on board with that?”
“It’s a work in progress.” Ryder smelled bacon and his gaze dropped to the brown paper bag in his brother’s hand. “Tell me you brought breakfast.”
“Yeah. I figure the first priority was ensuring you were alive, then feed you.”
“I fucking love you, bro.” Ryder reached for the bag.
Crank sauntered out of the bedroom, tail swishing. The cat hated everyone, but for some reason, loved Cam. He rubbed against Cam’s legs.
“That is still the ugliest cat I’ve ever seen,” Cam grunted.
Ryder pulled out a bacon and egg sandwich and tore into it.
“He doesn’t care if he’s ugly. We all have a few dings.” Ryder pointed to the jagged scar on his bare chest.
Cam frowned and touched the scar on his cheek. A bomb had exploded very close to Cam and his team. Cam had lost some guys and had been injured. “Yeah, a few of us more than others.” He took the second sandwich out of the bag.
Ryder dropped onto his navy-blue couch and bit into the bacony goodness. Mmm . Just what he needed.
“Siv didn’t seem happy with you, bro, even if she was worried about you.” Cam sat beside him.
“I’m growing on her.”
Cam grunted and bit into his sandwich.
“I did mess up with her. She’s skittish because of an asshole ex who was a player. She saw that woman flirting with me and wasn’t happy.”
“And you do like to flirt.”
“I’m open and friendly, not a blank-faced, grouchy asshole. You should try it sometime.” Ryder eyed Cam. “How are you doing?”
“Don’t start. Hunt’s always prodding. Mom’s always turning up at my place with home-cooked meals because she was ‘in the neighborhood.’”
Ryder frowned. “She never drops food off to me.”
“Because she’s not mother-henning you.”
“She’s a mom. It’s in her DNA to worry. You just got home, so she’s making sure you’re really okay.” Ryder paused. “Are you okay?”
Cam growled. “I’m fine.”
“Have you gotten laid yet?”
Another growl “Butt out, asshole.”
“I’ll take that as a no. You’d be more mellow if you had.”
Cam took another bite of his sandwich, then passed a bit of bacon off to Crank. The cat ate it, then stared balefully at Ryder.
Clearly, everyone was pissed at him today.
“So, I need to work with Siv today on this case,” Ryder said.
“I am sorry about your friend Robbie, Ryder.”
“Yeah.” Sorrow was a punch to Ryder’s chest. “I want to get her something. A little apology.”
“To worm your way back into her good books?”
“Exactly. So, what have you noticed that she likes?”
Cam tilted his head. “Putting a bullet between a bad guy’s eyes?”
Ryder rolled his eyes. “Um, something else, maybe.”
Cam nodded. “We sometimes get a delivery from this bakery—”
“You do? I’ve never seen this.”
“The goods go fast. They have some awesome stuff. There’s this Nutella-stuffed cookie thing…” Cam moaned.
“What does this have to do with Siv?”
“She’s fast. As soon as the delivery comes, she always grabs one of the buns. It has blueberries, and some sort of cream cheese frosting.”
“Hmm. What bakery?”
“Flour and Branch.”
Ryder ate the last of his bacon and egg sandwich. Excellent . He had a plan now. “Thanks, Cam.”
“It’s your turn to buy breakfast next time.”
“Deal. And Cam, if you ever want to blow off steam, have a few too many drinks, or grab a movie, let me know.”
Cam looked at him for a beat. “Yeah. Thanks, Ryder.”
Ryder rose. “Now, I need to shower and head out to meet my Norwegian flower.”
His brother raised a brow. “You call her that to her face?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re still breathing? A miracle.”
“She punched me once.”
Cam laughed. “Fuck, it sounds like you liked it.”
“I like her.” Ryder shrugged a shoulder. “She’s tough. She’s real. And she hides it, but she cares.”
“She knows what you’ve been through. She gets it. Unlike the pretty things you flirt with.”
Ryder rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah.”
“Well, good luck, Ryder. I’d expect a few more punches, if I were you.”
Ryder saw his brother out, then grabbed his phone.
He dashed off a text to Siv to meet him in the Tenderloin to track down Scratch.
Right . Shower, dress, then a quick visit to the bakery.