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The silence, the obedience, the inability to look at anyone, the way she was physically folding into him like she couldn’t function without him telling her what to do…

The Ryder Sutton these men had known now having a little sex plaything would be completely understandable. Thinking he would want to control her. Hurt her. Dominate her.

It was something these men would more than understand. They would respect it.

“Obviously not super well-trained, given she showed up here without permission.” He shook his head like that was something he’d have to deal with later. “We have an arrangement. She does what I tell her. She doesn’t look at other men without permission. She doesn’t speak to them. That’s how it works between us.”

Arlo’s eyebrows went up. “Interesting.”

“Yeah. Not something I usually advertise. I don’t like other people in my business.”

“No, I imagine not.” Arlo was studying Cassandra with new interest. The curiosity on his face made Ryder’s skin crawl, but it was exactly the reaction he needed.

Curiosity was better than suspicion. Curiosity meant they were buying it.

Heath hadn’t said anything. Ryder checked his face and found nothing he could read. Arlo was easy. Arlo’s reactions were visible, trackable, useful. Heath gave him nothing. The man’s expression was the same flat mask he wore for everything, and Ryder had no idea if he was buying the arrangement or quietly deciding how to dispose of two bodies.

Heath was the one who mattered. Arlo could be charmed. The crew could be entertained. Heath had to be convinced, and convinced meant shown, not told.

He looked at the crew. One had a grin he wasn’t bothering to hide. The others were watching Cassandra with an expression Ryder recognized from a lifetime of being around men who saw women as something to acquire. But not Heath. He still looked bored.

Ryder needed one more thing to really sell it. Something visual that put the dynamic on display in a way nobody in this kitchen could question. And pray it would be enough.

His stomach turned.

“Cass. Look at my eyes.” Steady. Low. “Now kneel.”

Please God. If she fought him now, it would be all over.

She looked at him. The fear in her gaze shifted into something more personal. She understood what he was asking even if she didn’t understand why.

She didn’t move.

“You’re already in trouble for this stunt tonight.” He made his voice harder than he’d ever spoken to her. “Don’t make it worse.”

The kitchen held its breath. Every man in the room was watching Cassandra, waiting to see what she would do.

She lowered herself to her knees.

Slowly. Eyes on his face the entire way down. She knelt on the kitchen floor, and Ryder’s chest caved in even as his expression showed nothing.

The room shifted. He felt it like a change in air pressure. The skepticism dissolving, replaced by something uglier and simpler. Men who understood what they were seeing and had no problem with it.

He tucked a strand of her red hair behind her ear. “Partially well-trained. Lovely when she does what she’s told.”

Arlo let out a low breath. “All right, then.”

“She’s something,” one of the crew said. “You planning to share?”

Ryder pinned him with his gaze. The man met his eyes for about half a second and then looked away.

“No. Don’t make me have to explain that with more clarity.” The deadliness in his voice didn’t require any acting. “You won’t like the result.”

Nobody asked again.

“I’ll get her out of here,” Ryder said. “Right now. She won’t come back.”

“Why?” Arlo pushed off the counter, looking genuinely puzzled. “Your girl drove all the way from Dallas to see you. That’s dedication. Let her stay.”