Free Road to Destiny (Scorpio Stinger MC Book 5) by Jani Kay Page B

out with you.”
    Ryder’s deep voice spoke up behind me. “Hey surfer boy, you better not be coming on to my woman if you value your balls.” Ryder’s voice was jovial but from the way he lifted an eyebrow and smirked, I knew he wasn’t exactly joking. Warmth radiated from my heart. Ryder was as possessive as ever, staking his claim to me clearly, and that made me feel good.
    I turned and swatted Ryder’s arm. “Actually, Maxwell once told me that you guys used to go surfing all the time. I bet if you didn’t become a biker you’d probably be a surfer boy, too.”
    Ryder threw back his head and laughed. He placed his good arm around me protectively and pulled me to him. “So, baby, would that turn you on? Me out riding the waves?”
    I closed my eyes for a few brief seconds and imagined Ryder in a different life. With a body like his he could do anything he liked. I could just picture him, hair tied back in the ponytail he loved to sport, but instead of his leather cut with the Scorpio Stinger MC emblem, he’d be wearing a tight-fitting wetsuit that was unzipped in the front to display his magnificent muscled torso, and a surfboard tucked under his arm.
    I could so go for that version of Ryder.
    A familiar warmth flooded my core. “You bet,” I said in my most flirty voice, batting my eyelashes at him. “I’d be your groupie.”
    “Get a room, you two.” Logan laughed. Ryder and I looked at one another and smiled. Ratbag used to say the exact same thing to us.
    “Now that you mention a room . . . I have something to show you, baby. Come with me.”
    “See ya later,” Logan said with a chuckle.
    Ryder’s hand slipped down to the small of my back, and he guided me back inside. But instead of turning left down the hallway to his room— our room—he steered me toward the right.
    “Where are you taking me?” I’d never been in this part of the building. It was off-limits, and even though I’d asked Ryder about it in the past, he’d been tightlipped so I’d never bothered to ask again.
    I’d heard from some of the women that this was the area where Mrs. Malone had stayed and that Chopper Malone had closed it up when she left and gave strict orders that nobody was to go there.
    “Always so impatient.” Ryder smiled. “I have a surprise for you, and if I tell you now it won’t be a special, will it?”
    Thrilled because I didn’t know what to expect, I sucked in a deep breath, waiting for the moment when all would be revealed. Ryder’s surprises weren’t like anyone else’s so I never knew what was coming. All that I did know was that he usually blew my mind. Not that I had any idea how he would be able to do that in this godforsaken place.
    We stopped in front of a door, and Ryder pulled me to his chest. His free arm enveloped me and with a quickening breath, I met his gaze.
    “I want you to be happy, Princess. This is my attempt at making you feel at home. I hope you like it,” he said with a sheepish grin.
    I reached up on tiptoes and brushed my lips over his. “I just want to be with you.”
    Ryder sucked in a breath. “You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that. I needed that from you, Jade.”
    “Well, it’s true.”
    Ryder rested his forehead against mine and we stood there in stillness for a few moments just savoring our togetherness. In his arms I felt safe, nurtured, and protected. His arms were my home.
    “Ready to see what’s behind this door?”
    “Hell yeah,” I said with a nervous giggle.
    Ryder unlocked the door and pushed it open. “Step inside your new temporary home. I hope you like it.”
    The first thing that hit me was the sweet aroma of flowers. Ryder pulled me inside the room, as excited as a child to open his gifts on Christmas morning.
    “Oh, Ryder!” I swallowed the lump in my throat. The room was filled with flowers on every possible surface, and in the middle stood a large bed with rose petals strewn all over the covers. By the window was