Rydin' the Storm Out (14 page)

Joci spoke up first. “It’s not definitive, but I would bet my life on it by looking at you two. I didn’t know anyone else that Tori was seeing back then. She certainly could have been pregnant with Molly when I delivered Gunnar. She always told me when she was seeing someone. Except for Keith, of course.”

Molly looked around the table and saw that everyone had the information they were looking for and, really, there was no need to stay any longer. Tori didn’t really know Molly. She lived in the past most the time and Molly didn’t exist in the past.

Molly turned and looked at the nurse. “Thank you. We’ll take off then.”

Gunnar started to stand up, but Tori grabbed his hand and held on. She started crying. “Please don’t leave me, Keith. I didn’t tell her, I promise, I didn’t.”

Well, now it was just uncomfortable. Gunnar crouched down in front of Tori and took both of her hands in his. “Tori, I have to go to work, but I’ll come back as soon as I can, okay?”

“Okay.” Tori smiled a crooked smile and the nurse stepped in and wiped her nose and eyes. Without a word, the nurse unlocked the wheels on Tori’s wheelchair and quickly ushered her away. Molly took a deep breath and watched her mother glide away.

Turning to the others, she said, “They get her out quickly without a lot of preamble; it’s easier when they take her back to her room. When I first started coming to visit, it was gut wrenching leaving her; I used to cry and so would she. But they told me it upset my mom so much that she wouldn’t eat for days, and had a hard time with her temper. So now when I come to visit, we say a few words and the nurses quickly pull her away and get her to her room. She’s probably already forgotten she had visitors.”

“Has she always lived in the past like this?” Joci was more than a little curious about Tori’s life. She felt so sad for her, for the ‘life’ she was living, and the fact that she clearly had a difficult time coping.

“Yes. She drank a lot after she and my stepfather divorced. She was trying to forget…things. Anyway, she had a stroke and has been like this since that day. The stroke shoved her into the past and she doesn’t seem to want to remember anything else.”

Ryder looked at Molly. His stomach was in knots just watching Molly and seeing the sadness on her face. At least he had his dad, his grandma, and now Joci. “Molly, who does your mom think you are?”

Molly shook her head. “I don’t know. She used to call me Nancy. Now, she doesn’t address me with a name or seem to think I’m anyone.”

“Keith’s mom’s name is Nancy.” Joci thought out loud. The kids all looked at her. Joci looked at Molly and smiled. “She had the dark hair and blue eyes.”

When Joci stood up, the others followed suit. It was clearly time to go.

On the ride home, Ryder looked over at Molly. “Why is your last name Bates and your mom’s last name is Elson?”

Molly closed her eyes. She was going to have to explain…things she didn’t want to explain.

“Hey. You with me?”

Molly swallowed. “Yes. I’m with you.”

When Molly didn’t say anything, Ryder lifted an eyebrow at her and cocked his head to the side.

Molly took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. “I changed my name when I was thirteen.”

“Why would you do that?”

A single tear slid down Molly’s face. “I didn’t want to be known as Molly Elson anymore. Lancaster Elson was my stepfather, and I didn’t want his last name. I didn’t know who my biological father was, so I chose Bates.”

“Why didn’t you want to keep Elson?”

“I couldn’t. He wasn’t my father.”

That’s all Molly could say on the subject. Luckily, Ryder let it go at that; for now anyway. He looked at her skeptically. He reached over to hold her hand and gave it a squeeze. He would eventually find out what she was hiding from him.

November fifteenth was Ryder and JT’s grandparents, Thomas and Emily Sheppard’s fiftieth wedding anniversary. Since the fifteenth was on Wednesday, they waited until the weekend to celebrate. They would be meeting tonight at a banquet hall near Green Bay called The Marq. With Emily’s guidance, the daughters-in-law had done most of the planning. Not only would all the kids and grandkids be there, but Emily and Thomas’s siblings and friends would be there as well. Molly was about to meet the whole Sheppard family. Of course, the faces would look familiar to her because they were at Jeremiah and Joci’s wedding. But, meeting them as Ryder’s girlfriend—as well as Gunnar’s sister—was a whole different matter. She was nervous as a cat. She had always feared being judged for things that had happened in the past, especially those things she’d had no control over. Would they think less of her?

“You’re a beautiful woman, Molly Bates,” Ryder said as he walked over and tucked his notebook in the top drawer of the dresser. Molly watched him turn and walk toward her.

Molly smiled and looked up at Ryder in the mirror in front of her. She had a new dress on and she was trying to decide if it was too tight to wear. She didn’t want his family to think she was a hoochie mamma or something. It was a fitted fuchsia, sleeveless dress with black lace over the top and a skinny black belt around the waist. It came to her knees, but it made her look sleek and sexy. Her black strappy, high-heeled shoes finished her outfit.

“You’re beautiful yourself, Ryder Sheppard. You clean up nice.” Molly had purchased black dress pants, a black dress shirt with tiny fuchsia pin stripes in it, and a fuchsia tie for Ryder.

Ryder smiled at Molly, and all she could do was stare at him. She meant it; he was beautiful—so very beautiful—inside and out. This past week they had learned so many things about each other—mostly revelations about Molly and her past, but she learned things about Ryder, too. He was patient, kind, and he didn’t judge her or her mom. He was loyal to those he loved. He was thoughtful, always making sure Molly was taken care of. She couldn’t love anyone more.

“When are you going to tell me what you keep writing in that notebook?”

Ryder turned her around to face him. He placed his hands on her shoulders but stepped back to look her up and down. Damn, she was fine—so fine. Every time he looked at her, he was again struck by how lucky he’d been to have found her. He had found out a lot about this woman these past months. She had a mother who didn’t even know who she was. She had friends who loved her and cared for her. She was talented, beautiful, and loving, in spite of the hand life had dealt her. He loved her more than he had ever dreamed he could love anyone.

“Nice dress, babe. I’m going to have to fight the men off tonight for sure.”

Molly laughed. “You’re so dramatic. And, considering most of the men will be in their seventies, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. But, thank you. You don’t think it’s too…sexy or tight, do you?”

She kissed him, softly, swiping her tongue across his lips twice, making him groan and pull her in tight to his body. He held her head in his hands and continued kissing her until he needed air. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, breathing in her scent and enjoying the feel of her against his body.

Molly reached down between them and rubbed his already growing erection a few times. “I love the way you feel when you’re hard for me, Ryder. It’s so damn sexy.”

“I’m always hard for you, Molly. Tell me what you have on under that sexy damn dress so I can think about it all night. Do you have that sweet little black lacy thong on?”

Molly giggled. “I do have a lacy black thong on, but it’s a new one. I couldn’t find my other one.”

“Mmm, a new one. Sweet. I’ll be hard all night thinking about taking it off of you.”

Ryder kissed Molly again and swatted her on the butt. “We have to get going, babe.”

“So, you’re going to just avoid talking about the notebook?”

Ryder smiled. “For now.”

He walked out toward the living room to wait for Molly to finish getting ready. If he stayed in the bedroom with her any longer, they would soon be undressed. Just thinking about her little black thong made his cock swell and his heart beat faster. He couldn’t wait to get home, undress her, and sink balls deep into her tight little pussy. Damn, he was addicted to her.

They arrived at The Marq around six-thirty, just as his cousins, Mark and Mike, Thomas and Erin’s boys, were walking in. They greeted each other with handshakes and hugs and Ryder re-introduced them to Molly. They went in to get drinks from the bar and joined the family members who were already there.

Ryder introduced Molly to each family member as they were greeted. She was amazed that everyone was so sweet and kind to her. She wasn’t sure what she expected, but she didn’t expect everyone to be so friendly to her. She couldn’t be more stunned or pleased with how this amazing family was so accepting of her.

Following dinner, Thomas and Emily gave speeches as the band was softly playing dance music in the background. Ryder surprised Molly by dancing with her a few times. She loved being held close to his body as they swayed back and forth to the music. At first she had been embarrassed that his whole family was watching them be affectionate with each other, but Ryder told her he didn’t care. When he told her they wouldn’t mind seeing him happy, she relaxed in his embrace.

“Wow, Ryder, you’re a great dancer. How’d you learn?”

Ryder chuckled. “Growing up, I had a friend, Matt. Matt loved acting in the school plays. He talked me into trying out for a couple of parts with him. They were always musicals, and the school had a dance coach come in and show us some steps for the plays. He said we would be happy we learned the basics throughout our lives. I guess he was right.”

Ryder bent his head so the sides of their faces were touching as they continued to sway to the music. Molly was definitely under a spell, swaying to the soft music in Ryder’s arms. She hoped the spell of his family’s acceptance would never be broken.

Around eleven-thirty, Ryder and Molly walked into her house. Molly leaned down to pull her shoes off and groaned a little when her feet flatly hit the floor.

“I don’t understand how women wear those shoes. But…your legs look amazing in them, so I’m not complaining.”

Molly chuckled. ”Sometimes I don’t know why I wear them, either.”

“Well, I don’t understand how a man can walk around with a hard rod between his legs for an entire evening. It must get painful.”

“Fuck yeah, but, now you can ease my pain and make it all worthwhile.”

Ryder scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the bedroom. He set her down so her feet were on the floor, kissed her softly, then took a step back.

“We’re going to play a game tonight. Are you in?”

“What kind of game?” she asked apprehensively.

“Nope. You don’t get to ask before you agree. You’re either in with me or not. What’ll it be?”

Molly looked at the desire on Ryder’s face. It could only be good. And, she had been serious before, he’d had a hard-on all night long. She felt it pushing into her belly as they were dancing. This little game could only end in both of them being pleasured.

“Okay. I’m in.”

Ryder smiled, the sight robbing Molly of breath. He held up his index finger, silently telling Molly to wait a minute. He turned on the little lamp on the dresser and turned off the overhead light. He lit two candles on either side of the bed and walked over to stand in front of Molly once again.

“Here’s how it goes. We’ll take turns. First me, then you. I get to undress you, kiss you, touch you, do anything I want to you and you have to stand there and let me. You are not allowed to touch me in return until it’s your turn. Understand?”

“Yes.”

Ryder smirked. He lifted his hand and ran the backs of his fingers down her cheek. He flipped his hand, lightly grazing her skin, along her jaw, down to her neck and around to the nape of her neck. He never took his eyes from hers. He leaned his head down and kissed her lips—softly at first. As his kiss became more insistent and greedy, she opened for him and let his tongue slide in and taste her. Molly moaned as the breath escaped her lungs, and Ryder hummed as he caught it in his mouth.

Molly reached her arms up to hold on to his head, but Ryder pulled away.

“If you touch me, I’ll stop. That means I’ll stop pleasuring you and then it will be your turn to pleasure me.”

Since Molly wasn’t ready to give up her pleasure, she brought her arms down to her sides. She would exact her revenge on him when it was her turn.

Ryder smirked and began kissing and licking down her neck, alternating between his lips and tongue. He kissed up her neck to her ear, licking the shell of her ear. Molly closed her eyes, reveling in the feel of him giving her pleasure.

Close to her ear, Ryder whispered, “I love you, Molly.”

Molly smiled. She decided to play his game and not say anything until it was her turn to pleasure him.

Ryder slowly slid his hands behind her and unzipped her dress. He pulled the back open and pulled the dress forward and off of her shoulders. Peeling the front down, he hissed out a breath as her full breasts came into view. They were still covered by a little lacey black bra, but, good lord they were magnificent. Ryder looked down at Molly’s breasts and gently ran his fingers along the swell and dipped a finger in the valley between them.

“Perfect. You’re perfect.”

Molly looked up into his eyes, watching him admire her body. His gaze was so intense, he didn’t even seem to notice her watching him. His nostrils flared and his breathing became shallow as his fingers slipped over her breasts again and then floated to her back, unhooking her bra, allowing her breasts to spill forward into his hands. He let her bra fall off her shoulders and drop to the floor.

Ryder kissed and licked his way down to her breasts. He sucked in a hard nipple and heard Molly exhale as he did. He smiled, amazed she had this much control. He had been whispering sweet words in her ears all night while they were dancing. He told her how he was going to lick her wet pussy until she came. He told her he was going to pinch her nipples until the pain gave way to eroticism. He whispered how his hard cock was going to slide into her pussy while she was still having her orgasm from his demanding mouth, only to make her come again.

Sometimes she would mewl, sometimes her breath caught in her throat, and twice she begged him to take her home right then and sweetly torture her. He knew she was ready to come, but still she allowed him to play his game.

Ryder dropped to his knees in front of Molly and slowly peeled the dress down her hips. He kissed her belly, ringing her navel with his tongue and dipping it inside. Molly raised her hands, hesitated and let them fall to her sides again. Ryder chuckled, knowing she was waging a war in her head, between wanting more and wanting to touch him. It thrilled him beyond belief, thinking she needed to feel him.

When the dress fell to the floor, Ryder reached up and took Molly’s hand. “I’ll let you touch me, only to assist you in stepping out of your dress.”

Molly grabbed his hand to steady herself and stepped out of her dress. God, this was torture. She so badly wanted to touch him—touch his chest, with his tight rippling muscles and that dragon tattoo seemed to always call to her. She wanted to feel his stomach and watch it quiver from her touch. She wanted his cock in her hands, feeling the velvety skin stretched tight over the hardness under it. To feel the little bead of dew as it appeared at her touch and smear it around the head and listen to his intake of breath. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold out, except that his mouth was so close to her pussy, she didn’t want to stop him now. She wanted his mouth on her. He had teased her mercilessly while they were dancing, telling her how he would pleasure her with his fingers and his mouth. She wanted that; she’d been thinking about it all frigging night.

Ryder licked and kissed his way down from her navel to the top of her panties. He sat back on his heels and admired her from this angle. He looked up at her, viewing her full breasts from this angle was hot. He leaned up and licked the underside of one of her breasts and heard Molly groan. He smiled. He had been so close to her pussy; no doubt she wanted his mouth there. But, this sweet, slow pleasuring was just too enjoyable to rush through.