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“You were tired enough when you tried to curl up in bed with Ines.” He crossed his arms over his chest, looking all too menacing as he hovered in front of the bedroom door. “Go get ready for bed, or I’ll put you back in bed like that. I can’t imagine those yoga pants are comfortable to sleep in, and I know you’re probably dying to get out of your sports bra.”
“Your understanding of female comfort is concerning,” I hissed, narrowing my eyes on him. “I need to shower. I didn’t get to shower after the studio today, since someone brought me here under the guise of a meeting and then held me hostage like a thug.”
“A thug?” he asked, his scarred eyebrow raising as he studied me.
“Yes, an over-muscled thug.”
“Sunshine, you have no clue who I am, but I am not a street thug.”
“Of course I have no idea who you are, you just inserted yourself into my life like a crazy person. This isn’t normal! What is wrong with you?”
He chuckled, hanging his head and looking at the floor before he raised it and those vibrant blue eyes met mine again. The shadows toyed with the scar that stretched over his eye with the way he angled his head, and he only looked more menacing for it. “Go shower if you’re going to. Otherwise, we’re going to bed.”
“I don’t want to sleep in the same room as you! I want to go to my home and my bed and sleep alone!” I knew my voice was bordering on hysterical, knew that the tears that burned the back of my throat wouldn’t be held off forever.
I’d woken up that morning a single widow who would do anything for her kids. I didn’t even know what I’d become when Ryker had suddenly appeared, but I knew that I would still do anything for my kids.
Even if it meant I had to stab Ryker in his sleep. The smile that crossed his face as he studied me didn’t bode well for me.
“I’d like to see you try it, Tesoro,” he murmured, stepping forward. I stood my ground, refusing to back off once we were in the privacy of his bedroom and away from my kids and the other people he could hurt.
“Try what?” I asked innocently.
“I’m trying to be patient with you, but if you try to knife me that will go out the window. Now this is the last time I’m going to tell you to go take your shower. If your sweet little ass doesn’t march into the bathroom in the next thirty seconds, I’ll strip you down and you can sleep naked.” I didn’t want to think about the fact that he knew so much about us and our lives, that he knew me well enough to know I’d considered killing him in that exact moment. His next words only confirmed just how well he knew the thoughts that circulated in my head. “You have no secrets that are safe from me.”
“I’ll shower in the morning,” I muttered, and he groaned before stepping up and taking my hand. He guided me into the bathroom as I tried not to struggle against his grip, but it felt natural when he reached in to turn on the shower. The space was massive, with dark grey tile walls and a huge, white deep soaking tub and vanity. Modern luxury, with little industrial touches in the skylights and natural wood beams that ran along the entire ceiling of the second floor.
“You’ll shower tonight. You don’t like to go to bed with yoga sweat on you,” he announced, and I glared back.
“I’m not taking off my clothes with you anywhere nearby, you giant meatball!” He chuckled at that, but grabbed me around the waist and pulled me into the shower spray with him. I shrieked, hot water drenching me like a drowned rat, and fled to the opposite corner of the shower.
Still chuckling, he tipped his head back and ran his fingers through his dark hair to brush the stray bits out of his face. Something about the look in his eyes and the way the water dripped off his head when he tipped his face down to look at the floor nearly broke my heart, seeing a man more broken than I’d ever thought could exist.
He ruined the sympathy that panged in my chest when he opened his mouth. “I heard cats didn’t like water.”
“Was that a pussy reference?” I asked with a scowl.
He roared out a laugh. For someone so intimidating, I never would have expected him to laugh as often as he did. “No, Sunshine. That was not a pussy reference,” he said, and when I didn’t bother to respond to that, he lifted his hands to the buttons of his shirt.
“What are you doing?” I asked with wide eyes as he undid one button at a time. The smooth expanse of his chest came into view bit by bit, filling my vision with the tantalizing lines of every muscle packed onto his body. Tugging the shirt out of his pants, he undid the last few buttons. Even as panic flooded my brain, I couldn’t look away.
I didn’t even know it was possible to have that many rippling abs, but it was official. There were eight of them. When he slid the shirt off his shoulders and tossed it to the corner of the massive standing shower, my eyes caught on the silver glint of barbells pierced through his nipples. The tribal wolf tattoo I’d seen on hi
s forearm continued up and onto his chest, curving over his collarbone before stopping above his nipple. When he spun to face away from me, I got a good look at the ink on his back and the angel that seemed to nestle between his shoulder blades and extend down to his hips. It struck me as odd that a man who was a self-professed criminal would have the tattoo of an angel, but when he shoved his slacks down his legs, I didn’t give the first shit.
He had a male bubble butt, but even with the boxer briefs covering it, I could see that it was just as corded with muscle as the rest of him. His thighs strained against the fabric, stretching them to the limit. “I think you need to size up, big boy,” I laughed nervously. “Please keep them on.”
“What’s wrong, Tesoro? You don’t want me to continue with the little strip tease you’re enjoying so much?”
I flushed with embarrassment, but I couldn’t be surprised he’d picked up on my viewing party. I hadn’t been remotely subtle. “Fuck you, meatball. I’m just hoping you stay over there.”
He turned around, staring at me from the other side of the shower before he closed the gap, trapping me against the wall with his hands extended so he leaned into me. He seemed so tall hovering over me, and I did everything I could to shrink into the wall.
“I’d love to fuck you, Calla,” he whispered. “But I want you to be good and ready the first time I get inside you.” His rough voice deepened, and I tried not to look down at the muscles of his chest in my face or the nipple piercings that I suddenly couldn’t stop thinking about.
“Please tell me that’s the only thing that’s pierced,” I blurted, my eyes widening in shock when I said the words.
He chuckled, but didn’t speak. My dread mounted, because I’d seen some pretty startling pictures of dicks that were more metal than skin. “Are you asking to see my cock?”
