Page 75 of Ryder

Well, soon to be three. I had yet to tell Stone my little secret.

Kaden

Fifteen years later

“Come on, Riley,” I groaned, chasing after her while she ran toward the back of the clubhouse. “I didn’t kiss her. I swear.”Damn, she’s fast.Increasing my stride, I caught her by the wrist, spinning her around before she could fight me. A gust of wind kicked up, strands of her blonde hair shielding her angry gray eyes from me. Until she swiped them away, glaring at me in the process.

“Let go, Kaden,” she whisper-shouted, trying to tug free from my hold. But I wasn’t gonna let her go until she heard me out. I wanted to shout that I didn’t do anything wrong, that I’d been the one who was caught off guard when Tracy Flemming planted one on me after school the day before, but I had to make sure to keep my voice low enough so no one heard me.

We were at our fathers’ club. Everyone had gathered earlier for a barbecue, and the last thing I needed was for Riley’s dad to catch us. The man was seriously scary when he wanted to be. I overheard him telling her that he’d shoot any boy who dared to put his hands on her.

I was too young to die.

I’d been able to convince my dad’s best friend that I’d watch out for his daughter, that I would make sure no guys came near her. Little did he know I had an ulterior motive for promising such things, that I was the guy staking a claim on his daughter, albeit privately for the time being.

“Not until you let me explain. It wasn’t what it looked like.” The fire in her eyes turned me on, my almost seventeen-year-old hormones wreaking havoc inside my body. I risked a step closer, which only pushed her to retreat until her back was flush with the concrete wall behind her.

“I know what I saw.” She threw her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes. Riley Crosswell was so damn spirited . . . and I loved it.

I loved her, and it was time I reminded her of my feelings.

I moved swiftly, slamming my mouth over hers before my tongue begged for entrance. Moments later, she groaned into the kiss, and I knew I had my opportunity to make her see the truth for what it was.

I only had eyes for her.

My heart belonged to her. Always had, ever since we were kids.

Unexpectedly, she tore her mouth from me and shoved me backward, her hands in front of her in case I tried to come too close again. “Did you sleep with her?”

“No!” I lowered my voice before I drew any unnecessary attention. “I wouldneverdo that. She kissedme, baby. I didn’t kiss her back. I swear.”

“Well, obviously she thought she could. Seeing as how no one even knows we’re together.”

“You know how your dad will react,” I reminded her, feeling the anger start to bubble inside me, pissed I couldn’t openly claim Riley for my own.

“I know,” she conceded, looking away from me before chewing on her bottom lip, something she did right before she was about to cry.

“Don’t be upset. We’ll figure something out,” I promised, lifting her face to mine before I kissed her once more.

Riley

Life wasn’t fair. Kaden Marek was the boy I’d loved my entire life, yet I couldn’t tell anyone. My dad would seriously freak if he found out we’d been secretly seeing each other, and he was so damn stubborn—something my mom often complained about—that there would be no convincing him to allow the relationship.

Not only did I have my dad to contend with, but every other man in the club. I swore they made it their personal mission to make sure I grew old alone. The only exception was Kaden’s dad, the president of the Knights Corruption. He smiled whenever he saw Kaden and me together. Sometimes I wondered if he suspected something, although he never said anything if he did.

“I love you,” Kaden whispered into the kiss. Pulling back, he stared into my eyes, his the most expressive blues I’d ever seen. So much so I was surprised we hadn’t been found out yet. Whenever we were around our families, like that day, he would stare after me, and when I’d catch him, he’d give me a sexy smirk before looking away.

“I love you more.”

“Not possible,” he argued, his hands going from my waist to underneath my ass, lifting me until I wrapped my legs around his waist. He used the wall behind me as an anchor.

His biceps flexed as he held me, the corded muscles of his chest surely contracting beneath his blue T-shirt. I’d seen Kaden naked a handful of times, his body like a work of art, but it was only last month that we’d decided to finally have sex. At first it’d been a little painful, but the six times we’d been together since then were nothing short of electrifying.

Lost to teasing touches, heavy breaths and soul-scorching kisses, neither of us heard him approach.

“Whoa!” he shouted. “What the hell is goin’ on here?”

I broke the kiss, unhooking my legs and planting my feet on the ground before pushing Kaden back so I could turn and face the intruder.

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