Chapter 25

I dreamt of him. Of his dreamy face and eyes that could reach into anyone.

His soft hands, hair, and perfectly soft looking lips that I oh so wanted to kiss.

I dreamt of him...

•••

My eyes flashed open. There was no fluttering or slow awakening. Just a sudden wake that startled me.

I was on a bed, a large bed with comfy covers and plush pillows.

The ceiling was a golden color with a nice, chandelier hanging from it.

Ryder.

I suddenly sat up in bed but yelped in pain. My side was aching and stabbing me like knives from the inside.

"Ruby?" I heard his voice. The voice I dreamt about. His sweet, smooth voice that had me wondering in a thousand ways.

"Ryder?" I said softly, looking at the doorway to the bathroom. He was shirtless, and I suddenly didn't know how to breathe. Ryder's hair was damp from his shower.

"Hey," he said softly and tenderly as if speaking to a child, "how do you feel?"

I pointed to my side. "It hurts, like shit."

He chuckled. "It's because you were stabbed there, Ruby. We got it all stitched up."

I stared down at my shirt and lifted it up slowly. There was a patch there with a little bit of blood. "Can I see it?" I said.

"Yeah," he slowly peeled off the gauze patch and revealed several stiches lining a bloody cut.

"We should probably get that cleaned." He said and went to get something. Ryder came back with a wet towel and a new gauze.

He gently placed it on my wound and wiped away the little amount of blood around the stitches. He set down the towel and got the gauze with some medical tape. Slowly and gently, Ryder placed it over the stitches and taped it up. When his fingers brushed my abdomen, I sucked in a sharp breath. His fingers remained there for a moment before he pulled away.

"There, all good to go." He said and looked up at me. His intense gaze made my heart feel things.

I looked down at his shoulder. "What happened?" I gasped and looked at the bloody graze.

"Bullet wound. Just a graze. I'll be fine."

"Uh huh, sure. Where's the first aid kit?"

"Ruby, I don't nee-"

"Where's the kit, Ryder?" I demanded.

He sighed and went back to the bathroom, this time bringing along a red box with him.

He handed me the box and sat down across from me, our legs touching.

Finding some new gauzes, anti-bacterial cream, and alcohol, I expertly began to clean up his wound.

"This is gonna hurt." I began and nodded towards the alcohol bottle.

"I think I'll be okay." He smirked.

"Whatever you say big boy..." and I poured a little bit of alcohol on the wound.

"Shit!" he cursed and jerked away, clutching his arm like his life depended on it.

I laughed. "Not so tough now, huh?"

He growled at me and I giggled softly. "One last step." And I rubbed some anti-bacterial ointment on the gauze bandage and put it over his wound. "All done." I said and clapped my hands together.

"One more, baby," he said and pointed to his hip, "another bullet graze." He said like it was nothing.

"Hi, I'm Ryder Daniels and I always get shot by guns so it's okay." I mimicked.

When I finished placing the bandage on and watching Ryder cringe in pain again from the rubbing alcohol, which I laughed at, I put all the stuff back and set it on the night stand.

Ryder was still sitting across from me, watching me.

"How did you find me?" I asked.

He held up his phone and waved it around. "Tracker." And then winked.

I laughed curtly and smiled down at my hands which were playing with the soft fabric of the covers.

"Thank you." I said, and my voice came out all teary and shaky. I guess Ryder heard too because next thing you know, I was enveloped in his strong protective arms.

"You're welcome ," he said and my heart smiled, "and I'm sorry for not telling you about anything. It was a mistake and I-"

"Ryder," I shut him up, "stop apologizing. It was my fault too. I shouldn't have lashed out like that and blamed you. I also shouldn't have said those things. I was mad and caught up in adrenaline of being angry. Now let's stop talking about it." I finished, and nodded.

I looked at the time and it read 5:38 p.m., Monday, December 23rd.

"Shit! Ryder, you have you competition in like, an hour!" I realized and broke out of his arms.

"I'm not going." He stated and I almost hit him in the face to knock some sense into him.

"You're shitting me right now, right?" I asked, shocked.

He shook his head. "Nope. I have to stay here and watch you."

"Ryder, I'm fine, see?" I stood up and a pang of pain shot straight to me side but I covered it up. "Totally healthy and alive."

"I really shouldn't..."

"Ryder, look at me." I held his face in between my hands and looked him dead in the eye. "You're going to fight. You deserve to win. All the training you do can't be wasted on nothing. This is your shot to win big, Ryder. Don't make me stand in your way."

He stared straight into my eyes and blinked. "I would if you would get out of my way..." he said.

I got up and hit his arm playfully, scowling at him while he laughed while running to get ready.

A couple minutes later, we were in the stadium of the Cox Convention Center. There were thousands upon thousands of people in the seats, and a crowd of people standing at the floor near the ring.

We headed straight to the back rooms and I looked over to Ryder. He seemed confident, which was good.

"Do you think you can still fight even with your shoulder and hip?" I asked while he pulled off his shirt to leave me flushed and hot.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Hand me my robe, will you?" he asked and I tossed over the blue and black robe.

He stretched and warmed up while I watched his great body gracefully bend.

It sent a feel of pleasure straight to, you know, down there.

"Ready?" I asked when he got up.

He winked. "I was born ready, babe."

We made it out to the ring with many reporters flashing cameras at us and asking questions about the fight.

I saw Ryder shake his arms and move his neck to get calmed but pumped. Before he stepped out onto the ring, I held his arm back and made him look at me.

"Look, I know you know you're going to win this, and I know you will, but I just wanted to tell you that you're amazing and you can do this. I believe in you with all my heart, Ryder." Then I stood on my tiptoes and planted a long kiss on his cheek. I came back down and looked at his flushed face.

"Go get 'em tiger."