Chapter 4 Ryker
RYKER
It’s been two days, and I still can’t get our fight out of my mind.
I’ve been keeping busy, but every time I close my eyes or have a second to breathe, I see her—facing off with me, eyes blazing without fear. Charging at me like a wild cat, pinned beneath me with her plump breasts about to spill out of her sports bra.
I’m like a soaring rocket, and I can’t come down as I pace my office, squeezing my grip trainer to try and occupy myself. My hand is already sore, but I just keep going.
Memories of her soft skin against mine and her warm body flood through me. She’s the one woman I’m not allowed to want, yet I can’t stop thinking of how her hair felt between my fingers…
“Goddamn it,” I curse, slamming my fist down on my desk, driving a long crack through the top.
I glance at the bruises she left on my body and smile. What spirit. She’s so fucking feisty—maybe even trying to bait me.
But that’s not going to work. I’ve got plenty of other women to distract me. No way she’s going to play me.
My stomach growls. It’s time for lunch. Rather than just having something brought to me, I head for the kitchen to make myself a sandwich.
But just as I step out of my room into the hallway, I see something that causes my stomach to drop.
Sable is standing there in the tiniest shorts and a lace top that barely covers anything—and she’s chatting it up with Kane. No, not chatting, swooning.
Her behavior couldn’t even be classified as flirting. She’s practically throwing herself at him, twisting her hair around a finger while she twists her hips and smiles like a schoolgirl.
“The fuck are you two doing?” I grunt, walking right up to them, my right hand balled into a fist.
“Oh, hey, Ryker,” Kane replies, looking guilty as hell. “I was just coming to see you, and I ran into Sable here…”
If only my eyes shot lasers.
“Right,” I reply. Sable glances over at me, her eyes sparkling with delight. She’s trying to get a reaction out of me, but I just step between them, shouldering Kane into the wall as I pass.
Every muscle in my body is tight as I step into the kitchen. I flex my fingers and drag several slow, unsteady breaths, trying to calm the fire inside me.
I go to the pantry for some bread, then grab some cold cuts from the fridge, and when I turn around, I see Sable standing at the door.
She’s not wearing a bra, and the lace of her shirt perfectly clings to the flawless lines of her breasts. I bite my lip as my cock grows hard.
“Someone’s in a bad mood.” She smirks, needling me with her tone.
“Someone needs to put some clothes on,” I reply, averting my gaze. I grab a knife from the drawer and start spreading mustard on my bread.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see her stalking toward me, moving like a model on a runway.
“You don’t scare me.”
“Then you’re not very smart,” I reply, driving the knife into the counter. I let my eyes fall on her and see her looking back at me with something like amusement.
Sable Noir, the girl who shows no fear.
She may have been built to start wars, but I was built to finish them. And as she moves closer, the tension in my body builds. My heart rate quickens as the scent of her perfume reaches my nose.
“You really need to stop provoking me,” I growl, adding lettuce to my sandwich. Pressure coils inside me, blooming where I don’t want it right now.
“Why don’t you make me?”
A smile tries to break through, but I crush it into a scowl. Her beauty is staggering, especially up close. Lips that are just begging to be kissed…
…or wrapped around something I have that would split her in two.
Her shorts barely cover anything. I can see all of her thighs—sculpted and smooth—with barely just a tiny triangle of fabric hiding her pussy from me.
More blood pulses through my shaft, causing me to wince in pain.
“Get out of here, Sable,” I say, turning my back on her. To my surprise, she slips in front of me with the grace of a ballerina.
“Or what?” she asks. “You’ll run to Daddy and tell on me?”
That’s it. I’m done holding back.
I whirl, grab her arms with both hands, and slam her up against the wall. Her eyes flare, and she lashes out with her knee.
But I see it coming. I twist to the side and deflect the blow, then press my body against hers, pinning her in place.
Christ, her tits are so soft but firm and plump at the same time.
She bucks back against me, and my bulge slides between her thighs, causing her pupils to dilate.
Shit, there’s no hiding it now.
“You don’t challenge me in my house,” I snarl, so close I can feel the warmth from her body. I can smell her own unique scent beneath her perfume. The scent hits me like a drug.
She almost laughs, cocking her chin in defiance. “I’ll challenge you whenever the hell I want!”
My fingers curl, and my grip tightens. I swallow hard as I press my body against hers, feeling every inch with my own.
I’m about to do something I should not do, and when Sable shifts her hips and I feel the warm nook between her legs, I lose control.
“You want to push me? Fine.” Without hesitation, I grab her by the waist and toss her over my shoulder.
She thrashes against me as I carry her out of the kitchen and down the hall to my room, but it’s hopeless. I’m simply too strong for her.
Heart pounding, I carry her to my room, kick the door shut behind me, and toss her down onto the bed.
Instantly, she leaps up and tries to race past me, but I grab her again and pin her to the mattress.
Her chest heaves against mine. Her hard nipples press through the thin fabric of her shirt. She’s bursting with heat, and she’s looking at me like she’s dying of thirst.
“You can fight harder than that,” I say, my voice low.
“Fuck you!” she snaps in reply.
My breath strains as I lean in to kiss her. But she twists her head to the side, revealing the tender flesh of her long neck.
Like a fiending addict, I move closer and drag my teeth across her skin, then purse my lips just below her ear and start sucking.
“You son of a bitch…” she whispers as I make my mark on her. Everyone who looks at her now will know who did this—everyone including Kane.
“You’re mine in this house.” I pull her back and stare into her eyes. “Mine. Period.”
“And you think you deserve me?” she quips back, her cheeks burning red.
“I know I do, princess. I know exactly what you want. Probably better than you do.”
Her eyes narrow. “Oh? And what’s that?”
Without answering, I take both of her wrists in one hand and pin them above her head. Then, slowly, I trace the lines of her body with my other hand, moving down her breasts to her belly, then all the way to the waistline of her shorts.
My middle finger slides down her shorts and is greeted with the smooth skin of her freshly waxed pussy mound.
Her breath stutters and her lips part as I move lower, finding her tender clit. She’s already dripping with arousal.
“Ryker—” she starts to say, but just a tiny bit of pressure causes her voice to break and her back to arch off the bed.
“You’re a bastard,” she whispers, drawing a smile from my lips.
Smiling, I circle her button with my finger. She’s so slippery. I’m dying to tear off my pants and slide inside her, but that would be giving her what she wants.
And she doesn’t get that.
Not yet.
“Fuck off,” she snaps. Her words say one thing, but her body says something else completely.
“You’re close,” I whisper, giving her the cold, hard truth that we both know.
But just as she’s about to come, I pull my hand from her shorts, denying her the release she’s expecting.
She gasps, and I sit back, releasing my grip on her wrists. Then, to my surprise, she slaps me hard, knocking me back onto my heels.
Panting, with a shiny glow to her face, Sable gets up from bed and walks toward the door. “You think that’s cute, huh? I’ll ruin you…”
She’s going to run to my father.
That can’t happen.
I leap up from bed and reach out to grab her, but before I can, she dodges out of the way and grabs my .38 off my nightstand. Her speed is blinding, and the next thing I know, I’m staring down the barrel of my own gun.
“Take it easy,” I tell her.
“Shut up!” she snaps, cocking the hammer. I can see her fast, heavy heartbeats through the skin of her chest. “You don’t touch me like that again unless I say so! Understand?”
Her fiery passion has me smiling. “Put the gun down, princess. We both know you’ll be back for more.”
A storm of emotions flares across her face, like she’s trying to decide between two courses of action. Then slowly, she de-cocks the hammer and tosses the gun to the floor.
She turns, yanks the door open, and storms out. I let her walk away—eyes glued to her hips as they sway.
I stop thinking about how I shouldn’t want her, and start thinking about how I’m going to keep her. So what if it goes beyond all the rules laid out by my father.
I could burn it all down. This could be the end of our families’ alliance.
But I regret nothing.
In fact, I want more. And I will have it. Nothing will stand in my way…