Song for the chapter: Battlefield, by Jordin Sparks

When I woke up the next day, I felt a smile instantly creep it's way on my face. Ryker's words from last night replaying in my head.

How we went from intensely making out, to misunderstanding, to super tender in a span of a few minutes was beyond me. But the moment I heard about Olivia, I was livid. She just keeps popping up everywhere, and she was becoming a real problem.

She was the worst kind of person. Was it wrong of me to hate her? After all she did to Ryker, I just couldn't stand even the thought of her. She's literally the she-devil.

I shift my gaze over to Ryker, who I guess actually stayed last night. I fell asleep at some point, listening to him talk about what he'd want to work on, past poems, because it was like midnight and he was stroking my back super soothingly and I couldn't help it.

I bite my bottom lip as I try to crawl over him, but his eyes snapped open. They were half open as he looked at me, a grin working its way on his face.

"Well, good morning, Maddison."

"Morning." I shyly say, trying to get off the bed.

Ryker grabs my waist, though.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

His eyes are fully open and he has a very mischievous glint in his eyes.

"The bathroom." I wrinkle my nose.

"Without a good morning kiss?"

My eyes widen. "No way, Ryker. My breath reeks in the morning."

In one quick maneuver, Ryker pulled me over his lap and had me straddling him. I became highly aware of his morning hardness between my legs, making butterflies erupt in my stomach.

"I guess it's a good thing I don't care."

I didn't even have time to fight it—he crashed his lips against mine feverishly and quickly. I didn't stop it, either, because kissing Ryker was one of my favorite things to do.

"I had a dream about you." He murmurs as he kisses my jaw.

I swallow. "Yeah?"

He kisses just beside my ear. "Yeah."

"A-a good dream?"

He chuckles huskily. "A very fucking good dream."

I whimper at his words before he sucks at the skin on my neck. I angel my head so he can have more access, his lip ring pressing against my hot skin and driving me insane.

I run my hands through his hair and grip as he continues his gentle assault on my neck. Moments later, he pulls back, eyes wild with desire. It made that fiery feeling ignite in the pit of my stomach.

"I just need a taste," he says so low, it's almost like he's saying it to himself, before he licks his lips. "Can I?"

"Can you what?"

His hands slip under my shirt, reaching for my breasts. My jaw slacks as his thumbs gently graze the sensitive skin that wasn't covered by anything because I didn't expect anything like this to happen.

"Can I touch you?" His voice is rough, like he's stopping himself.

I nod, his hands not wasting a single moment before fully cupping my breasts and squeezing.

"Oh, f—" my head falls back as his thumb flicks my nipples and squeezes my full breasts at the same time.

"You're so beautiful," Ryker's voice makes my neck snap back up at him. "So, so soft."

I whimper as he leans forward and captures my lips with his. My head is spinning as he tugs my bottom lip between his teeth while still giving attention to my chest.

"Can..." Ryker pulls back. "Can I see you?"

I feel my eyes widen, freezing my movements. He'd seen me without a shirt...but without anything? That's different.

"Ryker, I..." I shake my head, looking away.

Ryker's hands moved, his hands cupping my cheeks and gently coaxing me to look at him. His eyes were kind, patient. I felt tears stinging my eyes for whatever reason.

"I love you, Maddison."

My stomach dropped.

"What did you just say?"

He smiles the most breathtaking smile at me. "I love you. I think I've always loved you, and that my heart has always been yours. I just didn't know it until the moment we touched." He shook his head. "I talked to my uncle and Yolanda about it because I wasn't sure, scared it was too fast. But," he smiles. "I fucking love you, Maddison. All of you. You don't have to be afraid to show me any of you."

I let the tears fall because there's no way this can be true. He loves me?

"Since your uncle came?"

He nods. "Even before then. I was just scared to tell you because I didn't want you to freak out on me and break up with me or so—"

I laugh in disbelief. "Oh my gosh, Ryker. I love you, too. I just didn't know if I was being stupid for falling in love with you so fast."

His eyes widened, like he didn't expect me to say that.

"You-you love me?"

I nod like a madwoman, pressing my forehead against his.

"I'm so in love with you, Ryker."

The next few seconds happened so fast, I didn't even register it until it already happened. Ryker kissed me, passionately, and then suddenly flipped me over on the bed and hovered over me, kissing me with no remorse. Then he stopped and looked at me.

"Say it again."

I smile. "I love you, Ryker."

"Fucking hell," he smiles. "I love you so much, Maddison."

I press my lips against his, needing to feel his lips against mine. Now that we know how we feel for one another...everything feels heightened; each kiss is deeper, each touch feels more intimate and right now, it was just us. Ryker and Maddison, like it always has been.

Ryker's tongue dances with my own before he pulls back and kisses my cheek. I bite my lip, the thoughts going through my mind insane, but thrilling.

"What's wrong?"

I look up at him through my lashes, seeing his Adam's apple bob.

"I want you to..." I blush in embarrassment.

"What, baby?" Ryker asks, patience lacing his tone.

The last time Ryker did anything past a hot make out with me was on the couch that night. And right now, I really want it.

I feel my nerves eating me alive, but I twist my lips anyway.

"Touch me, Ryker."

His eyes widens slightly as the words leave my mouth. His eyes scan mine for a few moments before he swallows again.

"Are you—"

"Please don't make me repeat it." I say in an embarrassed voice.

Ryker's lips attacked mine as he propped himself up with his right arm, the other trailing down my body and pausing at the hem of my shorts. He pushed his hand past the fabric, swallowing my gasps. His long finger ran up and down my slit, making me shudder. Ryker pulled back enough to look at me before he pushed his fingers in me, making me throw my head back against the pillows.

His movements were slow, going out and then back in at a torturous pace. I could feel that burning desire in the pit of my stomach growing as he continued teasing.

"Faster, Ryker," I pant. "Please."

Ryker's head bows to my neck, kissing my skin before his pace quickens, going rougher and faster against my body, inside of me. My toes begin to curl as the knot that's formed in my stomach seems unbearable with each thrust of his fingers, each flick of his thumb.

Ryker kisses my lips swiftly before he suddenly pulls back and looks at my eyes with a newfound hunger.

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do."

He grins before he kisses me again, then kisses down my neck, kisses over the fabric of my shirt and looks up at me when he reaches the hem of my shorts. I can barely breath as he pulls his fingers out and places a kiss on my bare thigh.

I shiver as he looks up at me, hands on my shorts. He pulls them down my legs, nerves swirling around my stomach like a tornado. I'm almost hyperventilating when he kisses my inner thigh, his head directly in between my parted legs.

"Is this okay?"

I'm dumbfounded; how is he so calm about this? I feel like I'm about to have a heart attack.

I finally nod, swallowing hard. His hands are gripping each side of my hips, still holding my gaze.

"I love you, Maddison."

The words make my heart flutter—which only last a moment before his fingers curl around the fabric of my panties and tug them down. I gasp at the very exposed feeling I felt right now before I felt Ryker's hot breath on the most private part of my body.

"Oh my..." I pant.

"It's okay, baby," Ryker's words vibrated against my whole body. "Let me please you, show you how much I fucking want you."

I whimper at his words before I feel him press his lips down there, making me clench my thighs around his head. His lips were replaced with his tongue, doing the same thing his fingers were doing just moments ago, flicking my clit rapidly.

"Oh," I suppressed the profanity. "Ryker!" I cry out.

His tongue was still working my clit when I felt his fingers push inside me again, making me scream in pleasure. My back arched, legs trembled as the knot became tighter and tighter.

Ryker's teeth nibbled at my clit, first gently, then more and more aggressive as his fingers moved more harshly inside me.

"Oh. My. Gosh." I moan.

"That's it, baby," Ryker mutters against my skin, making goosebumps spread like wildfire. "Only I get to eat you for breakfast."

I whimper, biting my lip so I don't cry out at his dirty mouth. His teeth nibble my clit again before he kisses my skin.

"Come for me, Maddison."

My hips buck up as I feel myself release, on command, at his words. Blurred vision, slightly sweaty, and feeling at complete bliss, I never felt this relaxed before.

Ryker climbs up the bed and lies beside me. "I love you."

Trying to control my breathing, I smile. "I," I inhale. "I love you."

Which is true. Ryker owns my heart, and a part of me that nobody else gets to have.

*

Ryker said he had to take care of something over at Ben's, so he left a couple hours ago. It was now nine or so, and I was waiting for Ryker to come home.

After our little...experience this morning, he'd seemed very happy. He kept kissing me and coming up behind me, wrapping his arms around me. It's like, now knowing how we really felt about each other, it's opened us up to a whole new world of opportunities.

My phone started ringing and I half-ran, expecting it to be Ryker. But it wasn't.

"Hey, Kar." I sigh.

"Maddi, you home?"

I furrow my brows. "Well, yeah, why?"

"I'm on my way. Get ready."

And then she hung up. I felt a sudden slight panic in my chest. She was never like this, and her voice was never that panicked. I slipped my feet into my shoes, not even bothering to change from Ryker's hoodie and my shorts. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail as I slipped my phone in my pocket and walked outside. I walked across the street and crossed my arms, waiting until I saw headlights coming down the driveway.

I see Ben in the passenger seat of Karmiah's car through her rolled down window.

"Get in, Maddi." She instructs.

I jump in her backseat, Kar not wasting any time before she starts heading back off in the same way she came.

"Ben," I shake my head. "I thought Ryker was with you?"

Ben looks at me with an apologetic look. "No, Maddi. I'm sorry. I just tried to talk him out of this and he didn't listen. We figured the only one who can is you."

"Talk him out of what?"

"Ryker's about to get his ass whooped," Karmiah says, speeding down the empty roads.

"What?" I shake my head.

"Ryker's about to fight someone called the Devourer. I looked him up, and he's unstoppable, Maddi. Ryker thinks he's got some kind of chance, but I highly doubt it."

I narrow my eyes. "Is this a joke? Ryker quit fighting."

Ben looks at Kar, who quickly glances at him, then back to the road.

"Right?" I ask.

"I don't know, Maddi," Kar says. "I just know that tonight? He's asking to die. And you're the only one who can stop—fucking hell!" She slaps the steering wheel when we come across traffic.

I feel my heart beating fast. "How far away are we?"

"About ten minutes." Ben answers.

I grab my phone and call Ryker, but he doesn't answer. I feel anxiety, pushing my hand through my hair. This isn't happening...

Karmiah honks the horn, trying to get through, but it doesn't work.

"Why would he do this?" I ask frantically.

"I don't know," Ben sighs. "He just told me that he needed the money. But he wouldn't tell me for what."

Ryker, you freaking idiot.

Due to a slight accident, I'm guessing from a drunk, we can't pass through for about fifteen minutes. When we do, Karmiah carefully drives until we reach the sketchier side of town. She drives up to an abandoned shop that had shut down a few years back. I can't remember what it was, but I looked around.

"Why are we here?"

Karmiah looks at me through the mirror. "The best place to do something illegal is somewhere abandoned, isn't it?"

Right. I climb out of the car and follow behind them. Ben walks in, first, the building dark. But I could hear it—the faint cheering. It's already happening.

Ben leads us down the empty lobby and opens the door to a stairwell. We follow him down the stairs and the noises get louder and louder. We see lights as we reach the bottom, some huge dude appearing out of nowhere.

"I got it," Ben says, pulling out his wallet. Kar grabs my wrist and leads us down the hall. When we walk around the wall, my jaw drops; the crowd here was surprisingly huge. People cheering and clapping and yelling towards the middle of the floor, roped off with some kind of bungee rope or whatever.

I could hear grunting, but couldn't see anything. Going into a frantic state of mind, I slipped free of Karmiah's grasp and pushed my way through as many people as I could, or slipping underneath whoever I couldn't.

When I stood up, my eyes widened in horror. Ryker was blocking punches from some giant, and I don't use that lightly. Ryker was a big, buff dude. But this guy? He was bigger, buffer. He could easily squish him like a bug. I watched as this giant threw a punch, which Ryker dodged and then tried to upper cut, but missed and earned a blow to the gut.

I felt tears in my eyes as this giant delivered a devastating blow to the right side of his face, knocking him to his hands and knees.

But what scared me most was the wicked smile Ryker got when he wiped the side of his mouth and looked up at him.

In one swift motion, Ryker used his feet to knock the dude on his back and scrambled on top of him. Ryker had no remorse as he started pummeling the guy, punch after punch, not letting up.

The giant dude on the floor eventually dropped his hands and the referee blew the whistle, Ryker's eyes snapping up and grinning at the crowd. The ref held his arm up, circling the crowd at they went wild for their unexpected champion.

Everyone except for me.

Ryker's mouth was dripping blood, his face already bruising. And like he sensed me there, his eyes found mine, and the smile he had fell.

I was angry, beyond livid.

I turned on my heel and pushed my way past the cheering crowd.

"He's right behind you," Kar looks behind me as I pass by her.

"That's too bad," I mutter as I turn the corner and run back up the stairs.

I make it through the lobby and push the doors open when I hear his footsteps behind me.

"Maddison, wait."

Feeling his hand on me made it so much worse. I whipped around and shoved him off me. His eyes were full of hurt, but I didn't care.

"You're a liar." I hiss, letting the anger take over. "Everything has been a lie."

"No, Maddison. It hasn't."

"That wasn't the man I know in there." I scoff. "So, yeah, it was."

Ryker's jaw was clenched.

"You're a pathological liar," I continue with a humorless chuckle. "'Oh Maddison, you get me. You make me wanna be better. I love you'. Such bullshit!" I yell.

His eyes were on fire. "No, it wasn't."

"How convenient for you to throw the I love you card just because I was doubting going further with you," I say bitterly. "And you got exactly what you wanted! Because I got swept up in the moment. Blinded by your lies!"

"Fuck! Damnit, Maddison, it wasn't a lie!" Ryker shouts back at me, making me flinch.

His eyes widened as he saw my reaction. "W-what? You're scared of me now?"

I felt hot tears threatening to fall. "I'm scared of that monster I saw in there, living off the thrill of people cheering for beating someone close to death, yeah."

That brought Ryker to tears. One streamed down his cheek and he quickly wiped it away.

"You really think that of me?"

I shrug. "What am I supposed to believe? I saw it with my own eyes."

Another tear streamed down his cheek, which he quickly wiped away.

"Fine, Maddison. Fine." He nods. "I'm tired of this shit. I don't know what else to do to prove to you that I fucking love you. I love you so fucking much," his voice cracks. "And you still don't believe me. You still doubt me. You see me in one moment and you don't give me a chance to even fucking explain."

My brows are furrowed, my heart aching with each word he says.

"I don't know how else to explain to you that everything I do, I fucking do for you. You're all that matters to me, now. But I'm lying, right?" He chuckles bitterly as he wiped his face.

He turns on his heel and reaches for the door, but pauses.

"I wish you'd fight for me as hard as I fight for you."

And just like that, he pulls the door open and walks back inside. I finally let go of the sob I was holding, sliding down against Karmiah's car.

Just when I finally got Ryker, I lost him...I lost him.

A/N

Ah, don't kill me! I swear it's all for a reason 🥺

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