“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 againunless 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…
5
SABLE
Lying in bed,I stare up at the ceiling—slightly more familiar now but still foreign.
I can’tbelievewhat he did to me.
I woke up countless times through the night, hot, sweaty, and tingling as images of him holding me down ran through my mind.
My neck is red from where he sucked me, and the hot sensation between my thighs hasn’t gone anywhere. In fact, it’s tugging at me…like a taunt he left me with.
He teased me. Deliberately. Brought me right up to the edge of release and then yanked me back, purposely denying me.
“Son of a bitch…” I mutter.
I was going to march straight down to Dominic’s office and spill the beans—tell him and my mother—but I decided not to.
What am I? A young girl who can’t fight her own battles?
No, I’ve already let him feel my fists and my heels. And there’s plenty more where that came from.
I slide out of bed and into new black Dior dress with matching Louboutin heels. It’s cute but not overly sexy. I don’t need Ryker thinking I’m trying to seduce him or something.
It takes me a good five minutes to cover up the mark he left on me too. Don’t want Mom asking any questions. She and Dominic would lose their minds if they found out what happened yesterday.
When I get downstairs, I find the family already in the dining room eating. Dominic sits at the head of the table, with my mom by his side and Ryker across from her.
“Oh, there you are, honey.” Mom smiles as I take my seat by her. “We started without you.”
“No problem,” I reply, my eyes on Ryker. I can see him searching my neck for his mark.
Sorry, pal. Not there.
His lips twist in frustration, and I watch the muscles of his forearms flex as he takes his fork and knife and cuts a slice of Canadian bacon.
Unlike me, Ryker is dressed informally today in a pair of gray sweat pants and a white tank-top that hugs his muscles like a second skin.
The hot sensation between my thighs blooms, and I quickly avert my eyes.
One of the house staff emerges from a door and sets a plate in front of me: scrambled eggs, Canadian bacon, and avocado toast.
“Thank you,” I tell him. He merely bows and leaves the way he came.
