Anarchy (Hive Trilogy Book 2)(17)

"Kiss me!" I whispered. His you're insane look quickly morphed in one of disgust.

I smooshed my body against his and pressed my lips to the corner of his mouth. The footsteps stomped closer and with a faked gasp I pulled back from Jayden, feigning a caught expression and covering my chest.

It was a bit of a relief to see that it wasn't a vampire, but Jose, the ash who had given me my first Hive tour. Another ash was close behind him. Jose looked at me, shocked. His eyes went from my shirt on the ground, to Jayden and then back to me.

"I  …  what … ?" Jose started. The other ash looked just as confused. "I thought you were … "

Jayden smirked. "Sometimes I like to bat for both teams. Plus, it's Charlie. Everyone wants a piece of unicorn ass once in their life."

Luckily no one mentioned the fact that we were roommates, and could have just made out in our living area if we wanted to. I think the shock had fried their brains. I grabbed my shirt, throwing it on, already making plans to beat on Jayden later for calling me a piece of ass.

Jose recovered first, and started flapping his hands in an agitated manner. "Get out of here, you're not supposed to be in here," he said. Jayden grabbed my hand and we booked it out of there. The second we were far enough away, we broke into laughter.

Jayden shook his head back and forth. "I'm totally telling Oliver I kissed a girl. He will get a kick out of that."

I chuckled, but then my face darkened at the memory of what we found. How deep did the Hive's control go? We had spent five minutes looking through those files. What would we have found if we had more time? Was there a file on me in there? Shit, I should have looked for that first.                       
       
           



       

Each new piece of knowledge only cemented my feelings that I needed to do something to change the Hive world, to shake up the evil little vampire leaders. Not yet, but very soon. For now I would bide my time and suppress all that shit I'd just read.

Jayden and I wordlessly went back to my apartment. I decided that next time we were up on the roof together I would tell the boys what we'd discovered. I wondered if it would surprise them how deep the corruption ran. Probably not. They were already suspicious by nature.



The next day passed slowly, and by the afternoon I still hadn't seen Ryder and was feeling bummed. We hadn't really hung out since our kind of intense and emotional conversation and I was feeling insecure.

After visiting Jayden at the feeding center, I made it back to my apartment with Oliver and Kyle at my side. As my door came into view I couldn't help the broad smile which broke across my face. Ryder was leaning against my door, one hand in his pocket, looking all kinds of sexy.

Ryder nodded to the boys. "I'll take over watch now."

The pair exchanged a glance, all smirks and raised eyebrows. Kyle gave me a wink as they walked away. I swallowed hard, and my belly heated at the thought of alone time with Ryder.

Dear God, please let this very hot ash badass finally take advantage of me. Love, Charlie.

After letting us inside, I realized there was no one else waiting for us. No other enforcers. Jayden wouldn't be back for hours. He was working the late shift at the feeding center. I wondered why Ryder had relaxed the two guards at all times rule. It was the first time in days we'd been alone in my apartment.

"Wanna watch a movie?" I set the keys on the counter and turned around to find Ryder a few inches from my face, silver-black eyes scanning my body.

"Not really," he said, his eyes falling to my lips.

Oh my gawd.

Ryder reached out and brushed my cheek. "Since becoming an ash I've barely slept more than a few hours straight. Until that night I slept next to you." He paused, his expression turning playful. "Could have been the drugs, but I know in my gut that it was you. You have bewitched me, and now I can't stay away from you."

I grinned. "I thought I snored."

He palmed the back of my neck. "You do, like a little kitten."

I laughed and met his gaze as something intense built between us. We stayed locked in that stare for what seemed like forever.

"Charlie … " He stepped closer, and my hands found their way to his hips and the tight muscles there.

"Yes?" I panted in anticipation.

His lips brushed close to me. "You drive me crazy. I've never wanted anyone as much as I want you."

He pulled back just in time for my lips to crash into his. He didn't hesitate, gripping under my butt and lifting me up so I could straddle him. Our kiss deepened as he walked us back to my bedroom. I wrenched myself from him long enough to peel off my shirt, exposing my red lace bra. His hooded stare, as his gaze devoured my body, nearly sent me over the edge. Thank God Jayden had picked out my clothes today. Yep, even my underwear.

Ryder carefully laid me down on the bed, before kneeling between my legs. Pulling his shirt over his head, the entire time I was mentally chanting slower, slower, slower. Okay, I actually couldn't wait to see him naked, but the show was so freaking good that I also wanted to draw it out. When he was finally naked from the waist up, I reached out a hand and dragged it across his hard abdomen. It was perfect again now, no marks or scarring from his surgery.

And holy lord of all things sexy, Ryder was a piece of work. Tan tight skin wrapped around rock hard muscle, swirling silvery eyes and twenty-four hours of stubble-he was so fine that my insides were constricting in pure need. Ryder seemed to be enjoying my perusal, but eventually our gravity grew too strong to ignore. Our lips met again, and the taste of him was like a shot of orgasm right to my girly parts. Somehow we got naked, magically, because I don't even remember that part happening, but I sure as hell was glad that it did.

Ryder's lips left mine as he started to kiss down my cheek and along the ridge of my jaw. My eyes rolled back in my head as he made his way along my neck. "You are insanely beautiful," he murmured between kisses.

Perfect. Of all the shitty relationships I'd had, and there were more than a few on that list, Ryder and I had started off the rockiest and ended up the most perfect. I never in a million years would have imagined that this scary, military, badass ash enforcer who had electrocuted me my first day at the Hive, would end up loving me like this, with just the right amount of tenderness and passion. You know what they say? Don't judge a book by its cover? Well, I had Ryder all figured out now; all bark and the hottest bite ever. He was mine and I was keeping him.                       
       
           



       

There was no stopping us now. I had been dreaming about touching him like this for so long. As he kissed his way to my stomach he lifted his head and our eyes met.

"You okay, Charlie?" There was lust in those eyes, but also concern.

I reached out and linked my hand through his. "You treat me right, Ryder, so don't worry. I'll let you know if I need more time."

A low, rumbly growl rocked his chest, and he shifted up so our faces were even again. His strong arms framed either side of my body as he lowered himself down to me. "I will never hurt you. My every need is to protect you from whatever storm is coming. Just know you are always safe with me."

I never realized love was strong enough to actually cripple an organ, but right then it felt as if my heart was going to explode. I laced my hands behind his neck and yanked hard enough to pull his weight onto me. Our kisses were frantic as we moved past any doubts or fears. Now was time for loving. Tomorrow we would worry about the storm.



The next morning, I rolled over to see Ryder asleep on his back, one arm behind his head, sheet pulled down to his waist. I took the second to stare, because he was yum. Holy yum. Last night had brought the relief we both needed, uh twice, and hopefully moved our relationship out of the hot and cold weird zone and into the solid steady zone. Something told me I was going to be using the B-word more frequently now.

I found myself grinning like a loved-up idiot, and despite that I wanted nothing more than to go for round three, I slipped out of the bed to brush my teeth and get ready.

When I came out of the bathroom, Ryder was standing next to my bed, wearing just his unbuttoned enforcer cargo pants, looking sleepy and sexy as hell.

Uh, round three please.

"If you're not in the bed, then I'm going to need coffee," he grumbled.

I laughed. "Aww, are you not a morning person?"

Some of the tired faded from his eyes, and I almost blushed as he took a slow leisurely inspection of my body. "I can be if you want me to be."

Well, hello man of my dreams. I grinned. "Go shower. I'll make coffee with a shot of blood."

He smiled, before prowling across to me. "Perfect," he said as he captured my mouth in a devastatingly sexy kiss on his way into the bathroom.

I needed a few moments after that to pull myself together. And to walk without my legs collapsing. Finally able to move, I strode out into the kitchen and saw Jayden was already at the table. He was wearing a big-ass grin, coffee mug in his hands. When I got near him, he squealed before dropping his cup and flapping his overly-excited hands.