Page 50 of Ryder’s Storm

Scarlet looked over her shoulder and smiled. “I’m glad. I’ve never felt anything so… so satisfying.”

He pressed a kiss on her lips. “Neither have I.” He smiled at her. “You’re beautiful in every way. Looking at you, watching my cocks thrust into you, I’ve never seen a more erotic sight. I wish you could have seen what I saw.”

“Maybe you should take me in front of a mirror next time,” she suggested. “That is, if you want to do it again.”

“I’m floored,” Ryder admitted. “I fucked you so hard that you’ll probably be sore for days, and you’re wondering if I want to do it again?” He took her chin between thumb and forefinger. “If it were up to me, we wouldn’t be talking right now, but making love again. But it’s not up to me. It’s up to you.”

A slow smile spread on her lips. “I noticed a large mirror on your closet door when we came in.”

Ryder felt his heartbeat kick up. Was she serious?

“Maybe you want to bend me over that armchair over there so we can both see our reflection in the mirror? Unless you weren’t serious when you said that it’s up to me…”

“Oh, I was serious…” He kissed her hard and deep, before releasing her. “Now get that sweet ass of yours over there to the armchair, and bend over for me.”

24

The sun was already low on the horizon when Scarlet opened her eyes. A look at the clock next to the bed confirmed that it was late afternoon. She’d dozed off after she and Ryder had made love a second time, and by the looks of it, Ryder was spent too. He lay on his stomach, his eyes closed, his face looking peaceful.

She felt better than she ever had. Making love to Ryder had given her a deep sense of belonging and satisfaction. Ryder was an amazing lover, wild, passionate, and skilled. And she had surprised herself by how uninhibited she’d been, spurring him on to take her without holding back. It had been liberating. She felt every cell of her body now as if she’d woken up from a long sleep like Sleeping Beauty.

And Sleeping Beauty was thirsty. Scarlet sat up and swung her legs out of bed. She didn’t want to wake Ryder. Upon entering his room, she’d seen a small refrigerator next to the sofa. Maybe he kept water in there. She walked over to it and bent down. When she opened the mini-fridge, the door made a sound. She looked inside, but instead of bottles of water she only saw two bottles with red liquid. Tomato juice? Yuck. She caught a glimpse of the label. AB+ provided by Scanguards it said. She shook her head. Scanguards bottled tomato juice? Odd for a security company.

She had no choice but to go downstairs to the kitchen to get herself something to drink. Scarlet saw a bathrobe hanging over a chair and slipped into it. It was way too big, but it would do. When she opened the door and listened, she didn’t hear anything. It appeared that Ryder’s parents weren’t home yet. Nobody would see her.

Barefoot, she walked downstairs, the old wooden staircase creaking under her feet. She went into the kitchen. It was modern, bright, and made for a large family. She could imagine how Ryder, his siblings, and his parents sat around the huge kitchen island, enjoying dinner together, talking and laughing, and sharing stories. She envied Ryder for his family. Her own family had never been like that. Even before her death, her mother had often been absent, not physically, but emotionally and mentally. Scarlet finally understood why. Her mother had suffered from depression. Why else had she committed suicide?

Not wanting to take away from the happiness she felt with Ryder, she pushed the thoughts about her mother away. Instead, she walked to the large stainless-steel refrigerator, and opened it—apparently with a little too much force, because a bottle of white wine clanged against a shelf and fell toward her. Luckily, she caught it just before it could fall to the floor.

“Whoa!” she said under her breath.

That was lucky! Making a mess in her boyfriend’s parents’ house on her first visit wasn’t the way to make a good impression. Boyfriend? She smiled to herself. Yes, this was not just casual sex. Not anymore. Particularly not after the things he’d said to her, words he’d asked her to repeat: that she was his, that he wouldn’t allow any other man to touch her ever again. It was possessive, and didn’t really match with her determination of being an independent woman, but she couldn’t help it: when Ryder had said it, she’d felt a pleasant shiver race through her body. His possessiveness had aroused her. Nobody had ever desired her like this. She felt the same possessiveness in response. She didn’t want Ryder to ever touch another woman.

Scarlet sighed contentedly and stared back into the refrigerator. In the door, she saw several small bottles of water. She snatched one, unscrewed the lid and led the bottle to her lips, while she closed the refrigerator door.

Scarlet choked on the water, and it spewed out of her mouth and onto the man who suddenly stood only a few feet away from her. He was a little taller and broader than Ryder, his shoulder-length dark-brown hair loose. She estimated his age somewhere in the mid-thirties. He wore only a pair of jeans, and was bare-chested. Water was currently dripping from said chest, water she’d spewed at him because he’d startled her. But she wasn’t staring at his chest for long, because the scar on the left side of his face drew her attention to it. It reached from his eye down to his chin, and it looked as if it pulsed angrily.

Her heart was racing. Who was this man, and what was he doing here?

He let his eyes roam over her robe, then looked straight at her face. “I didn’t realize Ryder brought a guest.”

“Sorry, yes, Ryder invited me. I’m—”

“Scarlet King, I recognize you.”

She raised her eyebrows.

“From your file at Scanguards. I should introduce myself. I’m Ryder’s father, Gabriel Giles.” He offered his hand. A smile suddenly lightened up his face and made him look more approachable.

She shook his hand, stunned. He looked at least fifteen years too young to have a son Ryder’s age. “Mr. Giles, nice to meet you.”

“Gabriel, please. I have the feeling we’ll see you here quite frequently.” His gaze drifted to the robe she wore.

It wasn’t difficult to see what Ryder’s father was thinking. He knew she’d just had sex with his son. His son who had two cocks. She felt heat rise into her cheeks. Embarrassment flooded her. Gabriel Giles might as well have walked in on Scarlet and Ryder having sex. She desperately searched for something to say, but her mind went blank.

“I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable. That wasn’t my intention. I only meant to say that—”

“What my husband is trying to say is,” a woman said, appearing from the hallway, “that Ryder is a lucky man to have found you.”