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“Who are you?” I ask him as everyone rushes to do Ripley’s bidding.
“I’m the owner.”
I look around at the fiery red walls and the flame-like metal sculptures that hang like dripping lava.
“What don’t you own?”
“Your heart—yet.”
His eyes hold nothing but honesty. His words snake through my insides and wrap around my heart. It’s a powerful feeling to have someone tell you they want you to love them. Potent when that man is Ripley Stark.
I get out my phone and pull up the bevy of beauties that he spends time with. “You want my heart?”
“Yes, Maddy, I do.” He pours us both a glass of wine and nods to the waiter who brings us a starter salad. “I hope you don’t mind that I ordered.”
“No, I don’t mind, you’re the expert.” I scroll through to the skinny bikini model and press my screen in front of his face. “What about her? Do you want her heart too?” My words are playful, but my heart is in my throat. I like this man too much, and I’m scared that when the end of class—and our liaison—comes, I’ll be broken. However, never having been with him would be a far worse fate. He’s the bar I’ll measure all others by.
The waiter sets a plate in front of us. There are several small piles of greens on each.
He takes my phone and turns it back toward me. "This is my sister Juliette. I have her heart. She’s married, and so her last name is Hammond. She’s beautiful, right?” He scrolls through the others and spouts off reasons he was with them until he comes across a woman named Tess Becket. “This woman was different, or so I thought.”
“So you wanted her heart?” I stare at her picture. She is everything I’m not. She’s tall, blonde, and mostly thin except for a Jessica Rabbit ass.
A pained look flashes across his face. “Yes, I thought I did.”
Without thought, I lay down my phone and cover his hand with mine. “I’m sorry. What happened?”
He turns my hand over and rubs my palm with his thumb. It makes my insides twirl with need. One touch and this man manages to melt me.
“She wasn’t interested in my heart. She only wanted my money.”
That’s the problem with people like Ripley and me. We’re wanted for many reasons, but it’s generally not for the right reasons.
“I understand what that feels like. People think having money is a blessing, but it can also be a curse.”
“At least you grew up knowing how to handle it.”
“That’s true. I never thought of it that way.” I sigh, thinking of how tough a road he’s had. I take a bite of seaweed salad and rush for the water. “Oh holy hellions.”
“Hate it or love it?” He takes a bite of the same and doesn’t flinch.
I swallow two gulps of water. “Love it.”
“I knew you would. We are alike in many ways.” He scoops a bite of something that resembles quinoa and offers it too me. “Move clockwise. Twelve o’clock will heat you up, and two o’clock will cool you down. Five o’clock is back to fire, and seven o’clock will cool the jets. Ten o’clock is neutral.”
I travel around my plate like he says and let all the flavors tickle my palette. “Amazing.”
He smiles like I’ve just knighted him. Little does he know, he got that title the minute he gave me my first orgasm. I stare across the table at him, overcome by the need to know everything about him. “Tell me about your family.”
“Not much to tell. My mother left when I was eight, and Juliette was six. We came home from school to an empty house. She packed up everything and left. We sat together on the front step and cried until our Dad got home from work. That was the day I decided that I’d never be left with nothing again.”
He pauses for a second, then gives me an odd smile that is filled with hurt. “Would you believe she even took our last loaf of bread and the peanut butter?” Ripley stares down at the wine in his glass before he drains it, and I can almost feel his pain in my own body. Then he goes on, finding his strength. “My dad was a mechanic, we didn’t have much, but he was an amazing father and I wanted to do whatever I could to make things easier for him. Juliette was too young to help much, so I learned to cook, and as it turned out, I was pretty good at it. So you see? Even the darkest clouds have their silver lining.”
Without thought, I crawl into his lap. “You are amazing, and I have to confess that I’m terrified right now because there’s a real risk of me losing my heart. Please don’t hurt me Ripley.”
“Never, sweetheart.” A waiter walks in, looks at us and walks out.
“Did you see his face? I think he thought you were going to do me right here on the table.”
