Chapter 2 Ryker
RYKER
I’m still buzzing from the fight as I pull my Lambo up at the house and hop out. My knuckles are swollen, my nose is tender, and my abs still ache from where Sable drove her heel into me.
What a woman. Her bratty smile and long legs, and the way her lips wrapped around that cherry—it’s all burned into my brain like a hot brand.
Dad’s gonna be pissed when he hears about Rocky’s and will no doubt call a family meeting. I should be focused on that and how we’re going to deal with Sable Noir moving in on our turf, but all I see are those fiery eyes of hers.
The way she glared back at me defiantly, like she couldn’t care less. The way she fought like a killer—I’ve put down men twice her size without a single scratch. Yet one eighteen-year-old girl left marks all over me.
That’s how women like her rise to power—by breaking arrogant men who think they’re untouchable.
Wiping the blood from my nose, I take the door to the east wing of the house. My wing. Stripping out of my shirt, I toss it aside and admire the red and purple mark on my stomach. Just the shape of her heel.
“You bitch,” I chuckle as I step into the bathroom.
Just as I’m cleaning my face, my cell rings in my pocket. It’s Dad, calling from the main house. “Yeah?”
“Family meeting,” he says. Gee, didn’t see that coming…
“On my way.”
I hang up, go to my room and grab a sweatshirt, then make my way to the central wing of the manor. Dad likes to keep it in what he calls “classical style,” meaning it looks and feels like a Renaissance museum.
Massive paintings, sculptures, vases—I can’t even imagine what our family’s art collection might be worth. Personally, I prefer a more minimalist, modern touch.
Dad’s sitting at his desk in his office like a cartoon image of a mafia boss, flanked by Kane and two of his personal bodyguards. He’s puffing a Cuban and sipping scotch as I enter. Seeing my nose, he raises his chin.
“What happened to you?”
“Nothing,” I reply, waving my hand. “Just a little scuffle.”
He stands, strides over, grabs me by the chin, and examines me. “Uh huh.” He’s not buying it.
Does he already know about the fight? I glance at Kane, but he shakes his head, almost imperceptibly. Nah, he wouldn’t snitch. Word just travels fast in this town.
It’s been ten years since I grew taller than my dad, but he’s still the leader of the family, and the look in his eyes has me worried.
He’s either pissed at me for getting into a fight or pissed that someone put hands on his son. Probably both. But he’s stiff and doesn’t have his normal jazz music playing in the background.
“Where’s the tunes?” I ask in an attempt to alleviate some of the tension as I move to the record player.
“Sit down,” he says firmly. I lick my top teeth before turning. My dad is the only person in the world who I’d let speak to me that way.
I glance at him, pour myself a scotch, then take a seat. He doesn’t even smile—he just motions to one of his men on the other side of the room.
The man opens the door to the west wing, and my stomach turns.
Valeria Noir enters, flanked by men in dark suits. Beside her, cheeks still red from tonight’s encounter, is her daughter Sable.
My chest tightens, and I reach for my gun, but my father stops me with a single lift of his hand.
The Noir family marches in like they own the place. I’m instantly on my feet, beads of sweat forming on my chest, ready for anything.
“What the hell is this?” I bark.
“Everyone relax,” Dad says. “This is Valeria Noir and her daughter, Sable. They are here on my invitation.”
My jaw almost falls off as he walks over to Valeria, takes her hand, and gently kisses it like we’re back in medieval times.
From behind her mom, Sable arrogantly flashes her teeth at me. She stands tall, all curves, unrepentant, dripping with wealth and oozing sex appeal. Her elegant black dress and gold earrings make her look like she belongs here…
…like she owns the place.
Our eyes lock. Another mind-fuck kick to the gut. I remember our fight—the way she faced off with me—it was almost like a dance. A dance that has blood rushing to my cock as I replay it in my mind.
Every woman in Chicago knows who I am and wants something from me. Sable looks at me like I’m furniture.
In fact, she pulls her phone from her purse and starts scrolling, looking like she’d rather be anywhere but here.
I want to grab her by the hair and force her eyes to mine. Tear the neckline of her dress and get a look at those plump tits hidden underneath.
My cock aches painfully as it swells beneath my pants. Christ, of all the women in town, why did it have to be her?
“Everyone,” my father says, leading Valeria to the front of the room, “we have an announcement to make.”
“That we do.” Valeria smiles. I glance at Kane, but he clearly has no idea what’s going on.
Lifting a bottle of champagne into the air, my father looks at Valeria in a way I haven’t seen from him since my mother died five years ago. My chest gets even tighter, and my pulse pounds hard like a drum in my ears.
“Valeria Noir and I have been married!” He pops the cork and sprays suds everywhere. “It’s time to dissolve the tension between our two families and unite in an alliance that will strengthen us both.”
Every muscle in my body goes stiff, but I barely hear anything Dad says as he continues on. My eyes are just focused on Sable, watching her reaction.
Which is really nothing. She’s not shocked or surprised. In fact, she looks prepared, like she was expecting this all along.
Am I the only one who’s been left out of this monumental family decision?
“We will now be one family,” my father says, cutting through the fog of my mind. “Living in one household.”
“Wait, what?” I snap, finally finding the ability to speak. “One household? What does that mean?”
No…
Sable smirks at me like I’m somehow amusing, causing a surge of rage to hit me like a toxin running through my veins.
“Valeria and Sable will be moving in with us,” my father says slowly, his eyes narrowing as though he’s subtly sending me a message.
My brain stalls.
This is my house. My space. And now I’m going to be sharing it with her? The girl who just faced off with me like she was going to kill me?
But that’s not even the worst part… The worst part is this girl that has my cock rock hard is now going to be my step-sister.
Well, I guess the universe has a sick sense of humor.
“We’re going to have some rules for the house,” my father says.
“Like no fighting.” Valeria nods.
“And no personal entanglements.”
Entanglements…Is he seriously suggesting that I would try and hook up with Sable?
Well…I would, but that doesn’t stop me from being a little offended by the way he’s still looking at me. Like I’m just his son and not the future leader of this family.
I’ve lived under the rules of this country for a long time and ignored them all. Why would he think I’d listen to this ultimatum now when a goddess like Sable is involved?
“Why don’t I show you around the house?” I suggest, quickly walking up to her and taking her by the hand. She’s put makeup on her cheek, but I can still make out the outline of my fingers from where I slapped her. “Your cheeks look nice red. Like cherries.”
She smirks sarcastically back at me as I lead her from the room. “How’s your stomach feel?”
Spunk. So much spunk.
“You’ll need to do a lot more than that to take me down,” I tell her as she steps in front of me and examines the house.
My eyes drink in her curves as she walks over to one of our Ming vases. I’ve never seen such feminine hips in my life. And to think they also carry enough strength to kick the wind out of me.
Dangerously sexy.
She circles the table, then slowly extends a middle finger and traces the lines of the vase like it belongs to her.
My hands ball into fists as I watch her bend over to examine it. She arches her back and angles her hips up, actively flaunting her youth and beauty at me.
“Be careful of that,” I warn her. “This house is mine.”
She turns, showing so much cleavage my mouth starts to water. “You think I don’t know that?”
“Just a reminder,” I reply, shifting my stance to make room for my hard-on.
“A reminder?” She giggles. “Like the mark I left on your stomach?”
She’s goading me. Trying to get a reaction out of me. But I keep my face straight and walk right up to her.
There it is again—that intoxicating scent of her designer perfume. A heavenly haze that assaults my rational mind.
She just stands there looking at me like she’s ready to go again. But I hold back. I’m tense and my heart is pounding, but this is hardly the place to start a fight. And if she’s going to be living here from now on, I guess I’m going to have to get used to it…somehow…
“I’m gonna go,” I say simply, turning my back on her as I head to my room. I wanted to put my hands on her—see if she’d fight me again. But all I can do for now is retreat, respect my father’s wishes for this new alliance.
Why would he warn me away from her? It’s not like I’d ever get involved with a Noir woman, no matter how nice her body is.
I’m not some horny teenage boy whose hormones dictate his behavior.
And if Sable thinks she can goad me into trouble, she’s got another think coming.
I’m the heir to the Vale crime family, and this is my home.
And I don’t lose control.
That’s what I tell myself.