Sunset Thunder

  Chapter Four

  RYDER FOUND THE groom-to-be in the elegant lounge, to the left of the lobby, separated by marble columns and extraordinary large cement urns filled with fresh flowers. Inside, grand sparkling crystal chandeliers hung above the sitting areas with lush, thick carpets under grandiose and stylish furniture.

  Joel sat cosily on a white sofa beside Missy, holding hands and laughing, deep in conversation with Missy’s five friends, who were seated across the wrought iron and glass table...the bridesmaids.

  Ryder cringed.

  This wasn’t the first time Ryder had gathered with the wedding party. However, the last few engagements had involved the groomsmen, who were great distractions to assist Ryder in avoiding the looks and offers of these on-the-prowl ladies. They were single...every last one of them and the way they latched onto Ryder, demonstrated that they were on the hunt for a man...only Ryder wasn’t looking.

  Today, he solely focused on the groom and bride-to-be, hoping that would deter the aggressive women.

  Today, Joel was dressed handsomely appropriate. His khaki-colored slacks and dark knitted sweater set off the black mixed in with his brown eyes, giving him a deceiving look, much like his watchful and private personality. Joel might talk a lot of talk, but Ryder often wondered if it was to keep people from asking about Joel’s work and his life.

  Joel had cornered himself into numerous financial situations, forcing him to impose his downfalls on Ryder’s father, pleading for Donald to bail him out. If it wasn’t for Ryder’s parents and their commitment to stand by Joel after his parent’s death, Ryder would have declined the offer to be Joel’s best man. Blood was thicker than his feelings toward Joel, so Ryder pressed forward and did what he knew his parents would want.

  Missy’s light pink summer dress accented her light porcelain skin and green eyes, soft like her persona. The complete opposite of hard-shelled, Violet Caliendo.

  Ryder cleared his throat, and the thought of Violet, as he entered the room. All heads turned to him and like rabid dogs, the bridesmaids sunk their vicious teeth into him, with the all too familiar looks screaming, I’m checking you out and, I want you to know it. And the regular lineup of, You can have all of me, just make a move, Carlex. Sure, he could bang every single one of these sexy and cute women, flashing their white smiles, and winking their seductive eyes his way, but that didn’t mean he wanted to. This time, Ryder wasn’t in the same dark, dreadful place in his life, so he wasn’t interested in quick flings or possibilities of a relationship. Besides, none of them could rock his hips the way Violet had.

  Did that really happen?

  Ryder was still shaking the image of Violet’s swaying hips crossing the room toward him in the lobby washroom from his mind. He recounted the way she knew exactly what she wanted and how powerless he had been to object.

  He had sex with Violet Caliendo...in the lobby washroom. Holy shit! How was he supposed to act remotely normal with Joel now? You better try damn hard.

  It was bizarre, seeing that Violet had done precisely what every woman did with Ryder: threw herself at him. Yet, their interaction felt nothing like what Ryder had ever experienced with any other woman and left him craving more. That was a jumble of confusion he didn’t have the energy to sort out right now.

  “Hey Ryder,” Missy greeted first.

  Ryder sent Missy a sincere smile. She was the only woman not ogling his body like it was a slab of meat, freshly cut from the butchers and ready to sizzle. Missy was cute, like the girl next door, with innocent eyes and a young smile. This woman had nothing on Violet Caliendo. 

  Hold up! Stop doing that. Don’t compare the two women...because Violet will outrank Missy every time. Really?

  Ryder couldn’t believe the thoughts going through his head. His mind hadn’t been this active, when not regarding work or his dad’s medical condition, in such a long time, he almost wasn’t used to thinking about anything else. He liked the distraction, he welcomed the distraction...he just wasn’t sure he liked that it was Violet that kept distracting him. She was a thunderstorm. Hot, steamy, sensually sucking his lips one moment then screw you cold, get-out-of-my-way ice queen the next.

  Thunderstorm.

  Damn windy, whirl whipping, pick everything up along the way and slam it down when she was finished.

  Or was that a hurricane? 

  Joel stood and came in for a hand grasping, shoulder patting, man hug. “Ryder,” he said. 

  “Sorry, I’m late man.”

  I am not going to tell you why, but it was the most thrilling thunderstorm I’ve ever been in. 

  Joel shrugged. “No biggie.”

  Joel stood a foot shorter than Ryder, and he’d never hit the gym which showed by his rounded belly protruding under his sweater. 

  “Violet’s not back either.” Joel lowered his voice to a whisper for only Ryder to hear. “Probably tightening her chastity belt,” he said, jabbing Ryder’s stomach with his elbow as he pulled away. 

  Joel always had a low stab for Violet, which made Ryder wonder again, what the hell they were all doing at the Caliendo Resort in the first place or why Joel had married her in the first place?

  This particular dig at Violet sent direct heat to Ryder’s manhood, knowing that he’d unlocked Violet’s chastity belt only minutes earlier, and that he would deeply consider traveling through storms and climbing mountains to find that key again.

  Distraction...distraction...distraction.

  Missy slid in for a hug too, with her small frame. “I’m so glad you could come. Are you still on for fishing next week? I know it’s all Joel has been talking about.” Missy slipped back into the nook of Joel’s side, and his arm automatically wrapped around her.

  “Up bright and early and home late, just like when we were kids,” Ryder said, remembering the times Joel’s parents would stay at the lake house and the boys would head out fishing with their dads.

  Both being only children, they’d bonded back then. A bond that had taken them through boarding school and into university, but since then their friendship had struggled and tapered, only seeing each other when Ryder visited Willow Valley. It was more in the last two years with Donald living at the lake house permanently, a truth he was yet to share with Joel, if he ever did. He just hoped Joel kept his financial life out of trouble, because Donald was now powerless to help and Ryder wasn’t putting his neck on the line. That would leave Joel on his own if it happened again.

  “Ryder, you really have to take me on your boat,” one of Missy’s friends said. He’d been introduced by name to each of them, but forgot as quickly as he was told. So he would call this one, who latched onto his arm and squeezed her painted red nails into his skin, Bottom Feeder.

  Missy laughed. “Marci, get off him. You’re going to have to excuse my friends. Apparently, handsome men make them forget their manners.” She was reaching for Marci to pull her away, but Marci wiggled back, pulling Ryder a step back with her.

  “And rich...” Joel added with a wink at the ladies and another elbow in Ryder’s side.

  Please, don’t bait them.

  Missy gave up.

  Joel chuckled, liking the show that had Ryder cringing.

  All the women swarmed around Ryder, like piranha’s closing in on their prey.

  He was trying to figure out a diversion to eliminate him from the grasp of Bottom Feeder, as he caught sight of Violet. Suddenly he didn’t feel the other woman’s touch.

  Violet stood between the marble columns, looking like a Goddess of Beauty and she played the part well. This woman indeed knew how to pull herself together after what he would call a helluva occurrence in the lobby washroom. Her shoulders were pulled back, straightly defined, lengthening her height. Not an untouched blonde hair was out of place, or a smudge of lipstick, not a blush of color grazed her cheeks. All of the details he’d enjoyed watching as she dressed, with her flustered reaction. Her hair had been askew, her lipstick half missing, which h
e’d wiped clean off his lips after she left, and her cheeks flushed from the intimate touching they’d shared. Instant images of her legs still parted, sitting on the counter and her underwear lying on the floor, found their way into his head.

  Back to the now.

  The calmness of her eyes told the people in this room that she’d been doing anything else except touching, kissing, and scorching Ryder.

  When Violet’s eyes found Ryder first, they were expressionless, like she didn’t care that Melanie...Maggie...whatever M-named woman, was leeched against Ryder, where Violet had been only minutes ago...and who Ryder would prefer to have touching him.

  Violet’s eyes didn’t miss a beat, departing from Ryder’s to travel around the room, sending everyone an equally quick smile.

  No special attention for Ryder. No ogling looks...and not a seductive wink, followed by another lobby washroom offer. That was exactly what Ryder wanted from every woman, to be left alone, not ogled, not touched and not be treated like their next hunting trophy. Why did disappointment wash through him when Violet did exactly that?

  Had he hoped she would share a shred of knowledge with him? A wink, a smile, a grin...anything?

  “I see we are all here, so why don’t we go look over the two ballrooms, discuss the amenities of each and decide on the one for your special day,” she said so professionally that an outsider would have no idea she’d been married to the groom.

  Why don’t we start with the men’s washroom...it’s way more appealing. 

  Missy clapped her hands and squealed, leading her group of Ryder-sucking leeches toward the ballroom, including Miss M, who let Ryder’s arm free.

  Missy knew her way around the resort after years of being employed as a maid. The possibility that Joel and Missy had been fooling around before his divorce to Violet had crossed Ryder’s mind. If that question taunted him...didn’t it taunt them all? Including Violet?

  Ryder couldn’t decide which was more awkward...him having sex with his friend’s ex-wife or the fact Violet was planning her ex-husband’s wedding. Either way, both were distracting and entertaining, keeping Ryder’s mind occupied.

  Heels dug firmly onto the floor and iPad held tightly against her chest, Violet stood at the entrance, nodding and smiling as each person passed. Ryder waited, casually with his hands in his pockets, until he was the last person in the lobby.

  He should have been grateful that Violet was acting like nothing had happened between them. Hell, nothing should have happened between them. But, here he was, baiting on her professionalism as she waited for him and did not scamper away, as his feet made it to the exit.

  Ryder stopped beside her. The designer perfume that had engaged his senses as he rose into bliss with this magnificent woman in the washroom now tantalized him...and he liked it. He knew he shouldn’t. He knew he should keep walking. He knew this woman was a thunderstorm, his friend’s ex-wife, and an ice queen, but Ryder didn’t listen to any of the warnings. They were mildly nagging the back of his mind, while front and center was the desire to ruffle the feathers of Violet Caliendo. If that meant he was falling down to the level of bottom feeder and her posse...Ryder was good with that.

  Ryder lowered his tone to a seductive whisper only for Violet. “I appreciated that skirt more, when it was hiked up around your waist.”

  Violet breathed deeper. She stared harder. That was all she gave him, but he damn well knew it was more then she wanted to give.