"Please, Rowan," he said again, in the most sincere tone I'd ever heard him use.
The way he saidpleasewas like a prayer. He begged, setting aside his pride, and actually begged. Had I ever heard any ofthem beg me before?
Despite Ryker being single-handedly to blame for my current situation, he had always been the one who made things easier. He could make me laugh when I wanted to cry, tease me until I forgot why I was angry, and somehow turn the tension in my chest into something lighter. Around him, everything felt a little less heavy and easier to bear.
Even though he was annoying, insufferable, crude, and downright obnoxious, I couldn't help the affection l felt for him.
His steady humor and easy nature, the warmth of his open affection, and the teasing levity he brought into every tense moment gave me something only he could. He fulfilled something in me, just as the others did in their own ways. Ryker had been the first one to make my heart skip a beat, even if he was the last I was going to give myself to.
I looked up at him, meeting his pleading eyes. “Okay, Ryker. I’ll do it,” I said tentatively, nerves and anticipation fluttering in my chest.
The smile that spread across his face was nothing like his usual smirk. It was bright, full of genuine joy, and then it melted into something hotter, something much more Ryker.
“…If,” I added.
He groaned. “Here we go again with the 'if.' Alright. What’s your condition?”
“I have two.”
“Of course you do. Fine. Shoot.”
“First, you apologize,sincerely,for killing my plants, you murderer.”
"Done!"
He immediately dropped to his knees, forehead to thefloor in full dramatic grovel mode.
“I am sorry, Kitten, that I murdered all your plants. I’ll buy you new ones. Hell, I’ll dig them out of the forest myself if that’s what you want. You can name them. I’ll water them and sing to them. Whatever fixes this broken part of your soul.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Better.”
“What’s the second condition?”
“I’m not telling you yet. Agree to it when the time comes.”
An image of Talon's tongue spearing Ryker's lips came to mind, and Talon raised his eyebrow, shooting me a look that told me he had heard my thoughts.
“What? That’s not fair! How can I agree to something if I don’t even know what it is?”
“No ass—”
“Fine! I agree!” he snapped before I could finish the threat.
I held out my hand. “Deal.”
He took it, sealing our pact, and immediately wiggled his eyebrows at me. In less than a second, he scooped me into his arms and threw me over his shoulder, swatting my ass.
“Well, all of you assholes have already had your turn! Kitten’s mine now, and I’m going to take my time enjoying her in my room!” his giddy voice called out to Cade and Talon before he carried me down the hall, into his bedroom, and dropped me onto his bed.
As he locked the door and turned back to me, he changed. His eyes darkened with lust, his muscles tensed, and the familiar glint of mischief turned sharp and dangerous. Gone was the Ryker who put my nerves at ease. Standing in front of me was a man every bit as predatory as the rest. His pretty-boy looks and easy smile sometimes made me underestimate just howdangerous he could be.
My nerves churned, the air thick with anticipation, but instead of shrinking back, I reached for him.
Chapter 7: Ryker
There was an angel in my bed. A nude, feisty angel. Well, maybe more like a nymph or a siren, because the way she was looking at me was anything but angelic. Still, I prayed to her, drinking in every ounce of her perfection with a devotion I hadn’t known I could give to any one woman.
She had me feeling possessive in a way that was very unlike me. For once, I didn’t want to share, not even with Talon. I had been patient, and all those countless, painful nights of jerking off to the scent of her arousal were about to be worth it.
