“Wow, polite to the staff,” Ryker remarks. I hear the sarcasm in his voice and ignore him, reaching for the orange juice.
“You have a lovely home, Dominic,” I say to his father as I take a bite of my eggs. “And apparently a wonderful chef.”
Dominic actually looks pleased and nods happily. “Former Michelin Star chef. Expensive.”
Ryker’s gaze burns into my skin, but I refuse to even give him a glance—not even out of the corner of my eye.
A single soft growl from his direction almost causes me to smile.
But I hold back.
“You going to a cocktail party or something?” Ryker asks. “Quite a fancy dress to wear around the house.”
“I’ll decide what I wear, thank you very much,” I reply, still not looking at him.
My mom glances at Dominic like,“What the hell is going on?”but he just shrugs, clearly not interested in our drama.
Despite the breakfast, I can smell Ryker from here. His scent rides the air straight into my nostrils, causing a flare inside of me, sparking feelings from when he had me pinned beneath him on his bed.
I’m blushing so hard it hurts as I quickly stand up and walk away from the table.
“Where are you going, honey?” Mom asks. “You haven’t finished your breakfast.”
“Yeah, Sable,” Ryker laughs. “Come finish your food.”
I ignore them both and step out into the hall where I find Ryker’s buddy, Kane, sitting on a bench by the front door.
“No offense, but you don’t look happy.”
“You calling me ugly?” I snap. His eyes narrow as he tries to decipher if I’m fucking with him or not.
“Whoa, I would never call you ugly—”
“Hey!” Ryker’s voice from behind me nearly causes me to jump. I hear his footsteps but refuse to turn. He strides right past me and leans down to get in Kane’s face. “What’d I tell you? Huh?”
Kane raises his hands like Ryker has a gun on him. “Relax, man. I was just trying to be friendly…”
Pulling a cigar from his pocket, Ryker snips the tip and lights it.
He looks back at me, but I turn away. I’m absolutely boiling inside. I’ve already got his mark on my neck that he’s forced me to cover, and now he’s marking his territory to other men?
Who does he think he is?
Moving quickly, Ryker strides past me toward the east wing. Kane raises his eyebrows at me as I follow, my heels echoing across the marble floor.
“Hey,” I call after him, but he doesn’t stop moving. “Hey!”
Without hesitation, I slam my body into him and drive him up against the wall, just like he did to me.
His lips twist into a cruel smile around his cigar, which I slap from his mouth.
“That was expensive, you know—”
“What you did to me,” I hiss, getting right up in his face, “was unacceptable and willneverhappen again!”
Ryker nods, a look of amusement on his face, almost the way a father looks at his young daughter when she’s acting out. He shrugs. “Sure. Whatever you say.”
His words streak through me like a poison, causing the already flaming hot anger in me to swell like a typhoon.
