Ryker scoffs and sits back on his heels. “Of course he does.”
Quickly, I roll out from under him and get to my feet. I’m panting like a horse. Try as I might, I can barely even catch my breath.
Ryker, on the other hand, simply grabs a bottle of water, takes a sip, and walks off, leaving me alone in the gym.
My whole body is tingling like I’m being poked with pins and needles. I want to shout something at him or race up behind him and grab him by the throat and pull him back.
But I’m Sable Noir. I don’t behave like that.
So I simply watch him go. And once he’s gone, I let myself raise a hand to my cheek, which still stings from his slap.
I’m tense as I make my way from the gym back to my room. I strip down and get in the shower, replaying every move from our fight in my mind.
But was it really a fight? He slapped me again, but he didn’thurtme.
My inner thighs tingle as I recall the look on his face as he gazed down at me, his fingers threaded through my hair. But I quickly push the thoughts away.
“No entanglements.”
That’s the rule of this house.
And that’s fine. I don’t want Ryker anyway. He’s a Vale, and he’s also my step-brother now.
I shut off the water and grab another towel.
I’m in control, and I’m not going to break.
4
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.
