Taming Ryder

Chapter 3

"This is k********g, you know."

He looks over at me and smirks. "No, no. k********g is taking someone by force. I didn't force you to get into the car with me."

I look at him in disbelief, but he's still smirking at me. "You basically did."

He rolls his bottom lips between his teeth and I notice that his lip is pierced. I quickly look away from him, getting flustered by just the sight of it.

He shakes his head knowingly and turns his attention back to the road. "So where do you live, kitten?"

I cross my arms over my chest. "Like I'll ever tell you, stalker."

"Come on, it's below freezing out and you're way too cute to be walking alone. Your boyfriend is a jackass for-"

"I don't have a boyfriend," I say quickly, cutting him off. My brain catches up with my mouth two seconds later and I realize he only said that to find out whether or not I have a boyfriend.

Smooth.

He glances over at me, but I keep my eyes straight ahead. "Geez, I can't imagine why."

I take note of the sarcasm, but I don't respond. My life is too much of a mess to worry with a relationship right now and even if I could, I wouldn't. Every guy I've invested myself into turned out to be a waste of time. Still, that's none of his business.

"Are you going to tell me where you live or am I going to have to take you home with me?" He asks, wiggling his eyebrows.

"I live at the Havana Apartments. Just drop me off there," I growl. I've been in the car with this guy for no more than seven minutes tops, but I don't think I can stand him another second. His arrogance is unreal.

"That's funny, I've never seen you at Havana before."

"You are really annoying, you know that?"

"So I've been told," he chuckles, pulling into the parking lot of the Havana apartment complex. "So how far away do you actually live? Because I know you don't live here."

"Oh yeah? Have you been following me home too, stalker?"

"Don't flatter yourself, kitten. I told you, I'm not following you or stalking you, but I do live here," he says with a sly grin.

My mouth drops. Well, I feel stupid now. I'm not the kind of girl that thinks every guy is interested in me, but I have to admit, I really thought this guy was. Turns out, he just happens to live on the same street the office is on and is probably just in the neighborhood a lot.

"You're speechless, that's a first."

I restrain myself from punching him on the arm and instead lean back in my seat and sigh. "Okay, fine. I live in the Empire Apartments just down the street."

He smirks at me and rolls his bottom lip between his teeth again. Damn, that's hot.

"Was that so hard?"he asks.

"What's your deal anyway?" I ask as we drive away again. "Why are you being nice to me when you don't even know me?"

He hesitates before answering. "I've done a lot of shitty things in my life and I thought, why not do something nice for a change? I guess it's a waste of time with you though."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I scoff.

"You're clearly ungrateful."

"Ungrateful? I never asked you for your help. You just always seem to be around. I could've gotten home just fine on my own." I sound like a b***h to my own ears, but I don't know how else to put it. I'm not gonna gravel at this guy's feet just because he wanted to do something nice to make up for God knows what.

"So, what? I should've left you to walk all the way to Empire in the cold, alone? What kind of man would I be if I did that?" he asks.

"The kind that minds his own damn business."

Despite my hostile attitude, he only chuckles. He obviously likes getting me worked up. "I don't get you. You don't seem afraid of me like most people do. You seem more....I don't know. Annoyed?"

"Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!"

He laughs at my lameness. I don't blame him. "Most girls would give their right arm to get a ride home from me," he says arrogantly.

"I guess hoes these days are left handed," I bite back.

That gets a good laugh out of him. I look over at him and smile, even though he's not looking at me. His laugh doesn't seem to fit his bad boy demeanor and those adorable dimples make him seem less intimidating. He looks over at me and catches me staring at him and smiling like an i***t. His laughter dies down and his eyes turn more serious. Suddenly, it feels like he's staring right into my soul. The funny thing is, I hate it and love it at the same time.

He's insanely good looking and he's throwing off a vibe that most girls are into; that forbidden, dangerous, sexy kind. Part of me wants to keep him at a safe distance while the other part of me...the other part of me is wondering what being with a guy like him would be like.

He pulls into my apartment complex and parks his car in one of the available parking spaces. The air suddenly feels charged around us and I'm starting to feel a mixture of nerves and something I can't quite put my finger on.

"I know what you probably think of me, what everyone probably thinks of me. I'm no good. And you know what? That's true. I'm definitely no good." He looks down and sighs before looking back up at me with sincere eyes. "But I want to be."

I'm at a loss for words. I feel like I should say something, but I don't have any idea what I'm supposed to say to something like that. I barely know him, and while I'm all for people making positive changes in their lives, I'm kind of wondering why he's telling me of all people his plans for a spiritual awakening. Before things get too awkward, I give him a small smile and start gathering my things together.

"I know what it's like," he says as I'm getting out of the car, causing me to pause and turn around to face him. "When life continuously f***s you over you can't seem to ever catch a break. I've been there. f**k, I'm still there. That's why I helped you."

I let out a halfhearted chuckle and bite my lip. I feel like a complete b***h now. All this time I've been accusing this guy of everything from being a stalker to an axe murderer. Turns out, he's just a guy having some bad luck that decided to help a stranger who was also having some bad luck.

I owe him more than a thank you, but the tension building between us right now is causing my brain to malfunction. "Thanks for the ride..." I trail off, realizing I don't even know this guy's name.

"Ryder."

There's something about the way his name rolls off my tongue when I repeat it that makes me the slightest bit turned on. I have to get out of here before I do something stupid.

"Thanks, Ryder...for everything."

"Anytime," he replies, watching me get out of the car.

I don't look back as I make a bee line for my first floor apartment. When I make it to the door, I hear the roar of his engine and see his taillights just as he's driving away. As soon as he's gone, I walk three doors down to what's actually my door.

As soon as I step inside, I feel a presence in the room with me. I reach over and turn on the light switch to reveal my ex boyfriend, Nick, sitting on my couch like breaking and entering is no big deal.

"Nick?" I ask, approaching him cautiously. "What are you doing here?"

He leans back and crosses his arms over his toned chest. His blue eyes narrow into an angry glare. "Who dropped you off, Courtney?"

I scoff at his question and the fact that he's in my apartment, unannounced, after not so much as a single text from him in months. He found someone else, broke my heart and ended our nearly two year relationship to be with her. "How did you get in here?"

"Don't change the subject."

I laugh humorlessly. "It's none of your business. Now tell me; how did you get in here? I changed the-"

"You changed the lock. I noticed. Are you really going to avoid my question?" He stands up and starts towards me slowly. The closer he gets, the stronger the stench of alcohol becomes.

"You're drunk."

"Have you moved on? Are you over me?" He roughly takes my face into his hands, squeezing my cheeks together and making my lips pucker out like a fish. "Who is he?"

At first, I'm truly afraid that he may hurt me, but then I notice the pain in his eyes. I hate myself for it, but I start to lose my resolve.

"Nick, you cheated on me. You ripped my heart out and stomped all over it. You ended us, so don't think you're going to make me feel guilty."

"I know that and trust me, it's been eating me up inside every single day." His hands cup my face gently and his pleading eyes stare into mine."Courtney, I love you. I need you. I want you back. I miss you so much."

His eyes flicker to my lips and even though my mind is screaming at me to push him away, my heart and all those memories that are locked away let him move closer until his lips brush mine. Just when I'm about to let my walls come crashing down, there's a knock at the door.

I quickly back away from him and regain my composure. I can't start believing his lies when I've come so far getting over him. "I need to get that."

I breathe a sigh of relief as I make my way to the door, silently thanking whoever it is that stopped me from making the biggest mistake of my life.

I open the door and scowl at the person standing in front of me. "I thought you said you weren't stalking me," I say flatly.

He smirks, but it quickly fades when he looks over my shoulder. I turn around to see Nick staring daggers through Ryder.

"I'm not," Ryder says, never taking his eyes off of Nick. "You left this in my car."

He hands me my laptop bag and I take it from him, pulling the strap over my shoulder. "Oh, thanks."

I'm wondering how he knew which apartment was mine since I was careful to not give that away when he dropped me off. "How did you-"

"So this is the guy, huh?" Nick slurs, stalking towards Ryder and pushing me out of the way. "This is the one you didn't want to talk about."

"Listen buddy, I'm not trying-"

Nick grabs Ryder by the collar of his shirt and slams him up against the door. "Courtney is mine."

Ryder doesn't look phased, only amused. "You better get your hands off me before I make you."

Nick barks out a laugh and slams Ryder into the door again. I grab Nick by the shoulder, pulling him back. "Stop it!"

He pushes me to the floor, causing me to hit my head against the wall.

Before I have time to regroup, Ryder punches Nick in the face, knocking him to the floor. He's on top of him in a split second and continues punching him over and over again, shouting and cursing as he turns Nick into a mangled mess.

At first, I'm tempted to sit back and let Ryder beat his ass, but I'm afraid he may kill him if I don't do something. I slowly stand to my feet, but I fall back down and cover my mouth with my hands. Nick is unconscious and could possibly even be dead.

This guy really is a monster.

"Ryder stop!"

He stops at the sound of my voice, but when he looks up at me, it's almost as if his whole demeanor changes. The darkness in his eyes goes away and he looks around as if he's confused.

He stands up and gives me one last look before walking out the door, leaving me with a bloody mess too clean up.