Broken Protector

Chapter 16; Tell me

It's been two weeks since I almost confessed to Ryder that I loved him, one week since my period ended and two days since I've left Ryder's side or had a nightmare. My life was finally looking up and I knew that it was because of Ryder.

We were currently seated in the living room, me in his lap as usual while we watched TV with everyone else. Ryder was tracing random shapes on my back as I straddled his lap with my head nestled in his neck. His chin rested on the top of my head and neither one of us were speaking.

It was peaceful and relaxing. Being in Ryder's arms was my favorite place in the world. It made me feel safe and secure. "You know it's our three month anniversary next week," he suddenly murmurs into my ear. I close my eyes and sigh, "What do you wanna do?" I whisper.

"I would like to take you out to dinner," he tells me. I smiled, "I would love that." Ryder inhales, his nose brushing my hair, "Than it's settled,princess. Come next week, I'm taking you out to a moonlight picnic," he whispers making me giggle. "Straying from traditional romantic dinners, are we?" I teased.

"You aren't that kind, baby," Ryder smiles down at me when I pulled my head from his chest, his dimple showing as he does. "You are a hopeless romantic who prefers moonlight picnics over candlelight dinners." I blushed as he kisses the tip of my nose teasingly.

He leans his forehead against mine as we gaze into each other eyes. I had a shy smile tugging at my lips as the rest of the world faded away.

"It's nauseating how cute and sweet they get. Makes me wanna puke sometimes," Xavier mutters making Ayato sniggered. Blake just up and left while Ryder tears his eyes from mine to glare at them, "No one said you had to watch or listen," he growls.

"You need to admit your undying love for each other already," Blake comments as he reentered the room. I blush again as his words hit home. Ryder doesn't even tense, he just chuckles and sends a mysterious look at me. "I know," he says, his eyes not leaving mine when he does making my heart speed up when I realized the double meaning behind his words. "That it irritates you guys a lot but get over it," he finishes, smirking down at me.

I advert my eyes and lay my head back on Ryder's chest. He knew. He had figured it out. He knew I was in love with him.

I'm suddenly lifted into the air an I let out a loud yelp, thrashing against the unfamiliar arms. "Keevie, calm down!" Ayato scolds. I relaxed than yelp again when I crash to the floor painfully. "Don't touch her!" Ryder warns from on top of Ayato. Yeah that's right, he tackled Ayato when he had picked me up.

Ayato just lays there with his arms spread out dramatically, "He's got me! Everyone run for your lives!" When I giggled, he turns his new towards me, "Keevie, run! He'll be after you first!" He says in a stage whisper.

Everyone was staring at him, amusedly while Ryder just rolls his eyes. I snort making his golden eyes snap to me. I froze when I see the familiar mischievous look in his eyes. "Damnit, Ayato! Now you put ideas in his head!" I yelled as I scramble to my feet.

When Ryder was in a playful mood, I became the prey and he became the hunter. "Sorry, Keeva," Ayato teases. Ryder gets off him, slowly stalking towards me with a mysterious smirk.

Oh shit, I thought as I slowly back up. "Ryder King, I am warning you, do not come a inch closer," I warn carefully. I quickly glance at everyone else, "Any help here?!" Everyone just grins at me, clearly enjoying the show. Even Carlisle relaxes back and smiles at me, "Nah, this is pretty interesting," he tells me.

I swallow as my attention went back to Ryder in front of me, slowly closing in. I was close to the door and I could maybe make it if I ran. With that thought in mind, I spud and raced out the door, climbing up the stairs to my room.

I could head Ryder's footsteps behind me, growing closer. Entering my room, I didn't have time to close the door before I go flying back onto my bed.

When I had turned to close the door, I got a flash of brown and black before Ryder slammed into me and took us both crashing backwards on my bed. Out of breath, I laid gasping underneath a smirking Ryder. "Got 'ya," He whispers huskily. My already big and round doe eyes go wide as he lowers his lips to my neck.

I shudder as he kisses up to my sweet spot. "Ryder..," I moaned softly when he starts sucking. He didn't stop for several minutes and when he finally did, I was flushed and gasping even harder.

"Your innocence is astounding," he comments when he pulls back, smirking. I attempted to glare but failed and settled with closing my eyes and inhaling large takes of breath, "There's a mark, isn't there?" I asked breathlessly. Ryder pecks my cheek, "Sure is, princess."

I groaned in annoyance, "Remind me to kill Ayato later." My eyes open and immediately clash with his hooded, golden eyes. He teasingly presses a kiss to the corner of my mouth, "Why?" I scowled up at my arrogant bastard, "Because he had to go and put ideas in your head."

I get a cheeky grin in response. When Ryder nips at place where he left the mark at, i push him as, sputtering frustratingly, "Ryder King! Stop it this fucking instant! You are the most arrogant, cocky, annoying as hell, infuriating, fu-" I get cut off my rant by Ryder pressing his lips against mine.

Helplessly, I respond to this kiss, squeezing my eyes shut, I poured every amount of anger, desire and love and any other damn emotion I could feel in me into the kiss. I feel Ryder's confidence waver for just a second before he responded with the same amount of urgency I had.

My heart and soul practically called out to him and I wanted more than to blurt it out. To blurt out that I love him. The need was so strong I almost started crying. When Ryder started pulling away, I clench my fists around his t-shirt and pressed myself against him. "No.." I whisper as his hands get more firm as he continues gently pushing me away.

"Ryder.. please.." I beg quietly, pulling back just a little with my eyes still closed. Ryder takes advantage of my small pause and quickly gets off the bed to stand a few feet away. At the guarded expression upon his face, my heart shatters. I roll over so my back faced him and curl into a ball as I started crying.

"Keeva, what's going on?" He asks, his voice wasn't hard or cold, just weakly guarded. I bury my head in my pillow to sniffle my sob, "Just go," I whimper, not wanting to endure his rejection right now.

"Princess, why are you crying?" Ryder whispers, longing and confusion-as well as concern and worry-were clear in his voice. "You know why. Just get out!" I cry, sobbing harder. The bed suddenly dips on the other side of me and I feel Ryder pulling me into him.

What is he doing? Doesn't he realized that he's just hurting me more?

"Tell me what's wrong," he pleads. I start struggling against him, "Let me go! Just get out!" His grip just tightens as I start punching his chest, "Not until you tell me!" Ryder growls, his voice finally turning hard as it does when he's angry.

"No! You're hurting me enough as it is!" I whisper, my fists still pounding against his chest. "Why won't you tell me?!" He snarls. I cry out again and collapse against his chest, sobbing hysterically, "Because I don't want to face your rejection!" I confessed finally.

Ryder was frozen, "Rejection?" He finally sputters, "Why would I reject you?" I squeeze my eyes shut, "Why wouldn't you?!" I spat. I didn't have time to even blink before he has me up against the wall. I stare, wide-eyed and frozen at the seething Ryder in front of me.

"I would never reject you, Keeva Rose!" He snarls. His golden eyes flash with fury as I glared at him through tear-blurred eyes, "Any why not?!" I snarled back at him. Ryder's hands raised to grip the back of my head as they've done thousands of times as he gazes so intensely into my blue eyes.

His next six words make me burst into a fresh round of tears and hysterical sobbing while putting back together the pieces of my shattered heart.

"Because I'm in love with you."