Page 17 of Ryder’s Storm

“Well, then we’re in agreement,” he said icily. “You’ll see as little as possible of me. All I need is your schedule of all your appointments that require you to leave this house. While you’re home, I’ll stay out of your way. Just pretend I’m not here.”

As if that was possible!

Ryder’s words were matter-of-fact. It further proved to Scarlet that the previous night had meant nothing to him. But she couldn’t pretend that his presence didn’t affect her. Even now, her body betrayed her. She felt her nipples transform into hard peaks and her pussy turn wet at the mere memory of the things Ryder had done, the way he’d touched her, how he’d made her feel. How hard he’d come inside her. She’d felt his cock spasming inside her, had enjoyed how his hot semen had filled her.

Her memories screeched to a halt. It had never even occurred to her until now, but all of a sudden, she remembered it very clearly. Ryder hadn’t used a condom. And she’d been so delirious with lust that she hadn’t insisted on it. That was the first time it had ever happened to her. She’d always been so careful.

Fuck! How could she have been so stupid? Not only had she slept with a stranger who turned out to be her new bodyguard, she’d put herself at risk for an STD, and even worse, a pregnancy.

“I need to go to a pharmacy.” She prayed that it wasn’t too late for the morning-after pill.

“Are you feeling sick?” he asked. “What do you need?”

“Not that you care, but I need the morning-after pill. And probably some antibiotics. She turned to the door. “Let’s go. Now.”

Ryder snatched her arm and made her turn back to him. “You won’t need any of that.”

She ripped her arm free and glared at him. “I wouldn’t if you had worn a condom, damn it!”

“You won’t get pregnant,” he said.

“What are you, a doctor now?”

“No, but I’m sterile. You won’t need the morning-after pill.”

“Oh.” That surprised her—if he spoke the truth. “Are you making this up?”

He simply shook his head. “I was born sterile. As for antibiotics, I assume you’re worried about STDs?”

She looked at him, trying to read his expression, but she couldn’t.

“I don’t have any STDs. We get tested regularly at Scanguards. I’m clean. And I don’t sleep around.”

She raised a doubting eyebrow.

“Last night was an exception,” he claimed. “Doesn’t matter if you believe it or not. I guess the evidence speaks against me on that.” He paused. “But I would never lie to anybody where their health or safety is concerned. I took an oath when I became a bodyguard. I’ve never broken it, and I’m not gonna start now.”

Scarlet surprised herself when she realized that she believed him, even though she had no reason to know whether he spoke the truth. But she saw something in his eyes, something that made her hear the truth in his words.

10

Ryder arrived at home shortly after sundown. He’d spent the entire afternoon in Scarlet’s home. Scarlet had studied in her room, working on her computer, while Ryder had tried to read in the living room, staying out of her way. But despite the suspenseful thriller he was reading, he couldn’t concentrate on it, and kept re-reading the same few pages.

He was fuming that Scarlet had dismissed their sexual encounter so easily. She’d called their perfect coupling a mistake. It had enraged him so much that he’d let himself be baited into saying that it was best to pretend it never happened. As if he could forget what had passed between them. For the first time in his life he’d felt true passion, true desire.

Knowing he needed to clear his head, he called Benjamin and asked him to stand guard while Ryder drove home. In his parents’ three-story mansion, he heard the sound of showers running, the opening and closing of closet doors, and the sound of hairdryers. Everybody was home.

Ryder entered his room and headed for the shower. Given that his parents and siblings were in the midst of getting ready for the evening, the water would be cold, or tepid at best, but he didn’t mind. Maybe a cold shower was just what he needed.

Ryder started undressing. He took his shoes and socks off, then unbuttoned his shirt and draped it over a rail. He glanced in the mirror and noticed that his pants looked tighter than usual. Had they shrunk in the last wash? He popped the button open and lowered the zipper, then freed himself of them. When he hooked his thumbs into the waistband of his boxer briefs, he felt something different from this morning. He pushed his underwear down, and stared at himself in shock.

His heart skipped a beat, then another one. His eyes went wide. No, that couldn’t be. It was impossible.

He stared at the evidence of his metamorphosis in the mirror. It had happened. The deformity above his cock had grown into a perfect second cock, one that was only marginally smaller than his original one.

The realization of what this meant hit him like a freight train. Scarlet had triggered his transformation. It was irrefutable evidence that she was his mate. There was no doubt about it. A storm of emotions hit him all at once. What the hell would he do now? Already, their relationship was complicated by the fact that he was now her bodyguard. A bodyguard she barely tolerated and avoided as much as she could. How was he going to fight against that kind of insurmountable obstacle? And even if she’d felt the same attraction and connection he’d felt the night before, he still had two more obstacles to overcome: tell her that he was part satyr and had two cocks, and that he was a vampire who wanted to drink her blood.

“Hey, Ryder, can you—”