Ryker's Guide (Spicy)

Stormy Dreams

Meri awoke the next night after a full day of festivities with the three men only to find herself and the cowboy alone in bed. For a moment, she just relaxed into his arms and smiled. If she'd told herself back when she was fretting about suggesting they try this foursome thing that she'd be this happy, then she wouldn't have believed it. But, now, feeling Daryl at her back, purring and nuzzling her, she knew she'd made the right call. Grinning, she kissed his forearm and was about to try and go back to sleep, but nature called. So, she reluctantly freed herself from Daryl's warm embrace by lacing her fingers with his and pulling his arm from around her.

Once she was free, she grabbed a shirt belonging to one of the guys and slipped that on before she padded quietly to the bathroom so as not to wake the cowboy. After finishing, she washed her hands and yawned while staring at her disheveled reflection in the mirror.

She looked, for lack of a better term, exhausted, but it was in the best way possible. Nothing they had done had felt awkward or gross like she'd worried it would. Instead, it had all been...good and felt right somehow.

Still, though, she found herself curious about where the other two were, and when the thunder rumbled in the distance, she frowned. This was the second storm to hit over the past couple of days, and why weren't all the boys in bed with her?

Ignoring the soreness of her muscles, she cast one more glance at the peacefully sleeping cowboy and crept out of the bedroom, her frown deepening when she was greeted only by a darkened apartment, though she nearly jumped when she walked into the living room to find Ryker sitting in one of the big chairs wearing only his boxers and staring out the window at the approaching storm. He held a whiskey in his hand, and no doubt knowing she was there before she had even sensed him, he turned his head and offered her a wan smile that looked sinister in the dark.

Ignoring the thoughts of Ryke seeming sinister, she rubbed her eyes sleepily as she asked, "Where's Car?"

For whatever reason, his smile widened but seemed to soften, a change she could still make out even in the minimal light coming from the window. "King Vampire thought he'd be back before you woke up. Had to step out for work. Left me in charge."

Meri snorted. "He totally wouldn't leave you in charge. We'd end up coated in stripper glitter or something."

When thunder clapped again, louder this time, she jumped a little and scowled, forgetting her teasing as she stared out the window. "It's going to storm."

Ryker laughed softly. "Scared, Princess?"

"No. Just don't like storms is all." As she spoke, she inexplicably found herself walking toward Ryker until she was standing next to him. He looked at her curiously until she pointed at his lap. "Can I sit there?"

He smirked, setting his whiskey down on a side table before saying, "Be my guest."

Yawning again, she scrambled into his lap, and he put his arms around her, squeezing her close. Wordlessly, he grabbed a blanket from the back of the chair and slung it around them.

She scowled. Why was he being so nice to her? He'd never been this nice to her before. Sure, they were fucking, but it was just...unsettlingly out of character. "I don't need a blanket."

"You're tiny and you're cold."

"I'm not that tiny."

He chuckled, and for some reason, the sound made her smile as she buried her face in his neck. Eventually, he spoke, "You're absolutely pocket-sized. Do you know how hard it is to hold my tall, dark, and handsome cowboy in my lap?"

As she listened to him speak, Meri breathed in the smell of Ryker which mingled with the scents of the rest of them that still clung to his skin. "You're such an ass."

"Yeah, but I'm a delectable ass."

"No, you have a delectable ass. Totally different."

He snorted and surprised her by sweetly kissing her head then rubbing slow circles on her back under her t-shirt. "You can devour my ass anytime, Princess."

She yawned again, ignoring the sound of the storm and relaxing into him as she closed her eyes. "You're so weird. And thanks again."

"For?"

She shrugged. "For not thinking it's weird? For giving it a try?"

He snorted. "Oh, it's totally fucking weird, but...I think it was a good idea. But if you keep thanking me, deal's off. We did this because we wanted to. We care about you guys and thought this was something worth trying."

Meri laughed as she felt herself drifting off. "You already love us. It's my magnetic personality, I know. Just remember that you better not steal Car from me. Cause he's my mate. And Tiamat and I would smite you or something."

The last words she heard were "I wouldn't dream of it, Princess" before he pressed his lips into her hair once more and she fell back into unconsciousness, blissfully unaware of the storm that was bearing down on them.