“What kind of favor are we talking about?” I say, pausing what I’m doing.
“Now, now, lovely,” Louise says. “Don’t you go spoiling my fun. I may be old but I’m not dead yet. When else am I going to get an opportunity to drool over hot, young men? My darling Garrett understands, so he sent me a dick pic, but I accidentally deleted it when I was trying to enlarge it, and now, I have nothing to get my rocks off to.”
Micah spits his coffee all over the island unit while I stand staring at Gar in shock, and Ryder is doubled over, laughing and clutching his stomach like he’s in pain.
“You sent her a dick pic?” I screech, rounding the unit. “Are you fucking insane? You’ll give her a coronary!” I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Chill out. I’m just doing my civic duty.” He waggles his brows, smothering a smile. “Helping the elderly is a noble use of my time.”
I shake my head repeatedly. “Donotsend her another one. Next time she’s trying to enlarge it, she’ll probably accidentally post it online.”
“I can hear you, and I’m not a child,” Louise pipes up, but we all ignore her.
“The public at large is well accustomed to my dick,” Gar says with a gloating smile. He turns to Ryder. “Remember that video the bunny boiler posted? There were closeups of both our cocks on full display in that one, and I have it on good authority that our cocks have their own Twitter and IG accounts.” He puffs out his chest as if it’s something to be proud of.
“Thanks. That’s something I really needed to know,” I deadpan, placing the burnt bits of bacon I was going to throw out on Gar’s plate and giving his original serving to Micah instead.
I hand out plates as Ryder thumps Gar in the arm while he’s promising Louise to send her a replacement pic. We say goodbye, and tension is thick in the air as we eat. Ryder rubs my thigh under the table, but I shove his hand away. I know I’m being irrational, but I hate the thought of intimate pictures and videos of my boyfriend doing the rounds. I know it’s in the past, and it means nothing, but I can’t help how I feel, and right now, I’m jealous and angry, and I just want to slink away and lick my wounds.
Leaving the guys to clean up after breakfast, I take a long, hot shower, trying to de-stress and let it go. When I emerge from the bathroom, dressed in only a towel, Ryder is sitting on the bed waiting for me. He’s in his workout clothes, his ink on full display in the muscle top
“C’mere, sexy.” He pats his lap, and I shake my head.
“I need to get dressed, Ryder, and I’d like some privacy.” I don’t want to be all pissy with him, but I can’t help it.
He sighs, clawing a hand through his hair and walking toward me. “Baby, if I could erase my past, you know I would. If I could get those videos removed, I would, but it’s impossible once they go viral. We spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal fees when the first few videos came out, and we might as well have flushed the money down the toilet. It’s impossible to catch these people and hold them accountable, but if you want me to get my attorney on the case again, I will.”
I lean my head on his chest and his arms automatically go around me. “No, you don’t need to do that.” I gulp over the messy ball of emotion in my throat. “Just tell me about the bunny boiler.”
“She’s no one, baby.”
“Ryder.” My tone is caustic, and it brokers no argument.
He sighs. “After that happened to Luc, I completely fell off the rails. Was either high, stoned, drunk, or a combination, pretty much twenty-four seven. Ashley had recently joined the label, and she made her interest clear. We fucked a few times, and Gar joined us one time. Then I ended up in rehab, and when I came out, she started pressuring me to put a label on our relationship. I told her we’d never been more than fuck buddies and I wasn’t interested. She didn’t handle it well. Got clingy as fuck and started showing up at my place uninvited. I warned her I’d report her to the label if she didn’t back off. She threatened to leak video footage of our threesome to the media. I thought she was bluffing. Thought the threat of losing her job would be enough, but it wasn’t. She sold the video, made a ton of money, and didn’t care she was fired. I haven’t spoken to her since. The end.”
“What a bitch.”
“Yep. And I hate that she’s still trying to fuck with my life.” He holds my face in his hands. “Please don’t get upset. Honestly, she’s not worth it.”
I nod. “I’ll try, but it’s hard hearing constant reminders of your past. I’m just extra emotional ’cause my period is due soon. Don’t mind me. It’ll pass.”
He holds me tighter, and I close my eyes, leaning against his chest again, enjoying how cherished I feel bundled up in his arms. “Don’t apologize for how you feel, and I always want to know what’s going through your mind even if it makes me feel like the biggest shithead.”
I slide my hand up his chest. “I knew what I was signing up for when I agreed to be together. And I can handle it, most of the time.”
“I completely understand if you don’t. The thought of there being shit like that about you in the public domain makes me so jealous I could scream. I know I wouldn’t handle it well, and I try not to think about those guys you’ve been with.”
I peek up at him. “I’ve never made a sex tape, so you can dispel that fear.”
He kisses me softly. “Let me make it up to you?” His eyes darken, and I feel him hardening against my stomach. He kneads the corded muscles in my shoulders. “You’re tense. Let me help you relax.”
Butterflies scatter in my chest, and my core floods with heat. “What did you have in mind, Rock Star?” I murmur in my most seductive voice, looking at him through hooded eyes.
“Lose the towel, get on the bed, and let me show you.”
30
Ryder
