That girl was the first one I’d ever seen slap my best friend. Not that her anger lasted long. Ten minutes was all it took for him to convince her that parting ways was the best thing. She left our house with a smile on her face.
“This one’s different.” Ryker tipped his head and folded his arms over his chest. “I’m gonna marry her.”
My brows knit.
Did he just say marry? In all the years I’d known him, I’d never seen him stick around for the next morning, let alone talk about commitment.
I watched the girl’s pink lips part as she raised a red solo cup to her mouth. Fuck, I wanted to dive into that mouth and lose myself in the way she tasted. My mouth was watering just thinking about it.
But…
My gaze slid over to my friend. I’d never seen his eyes glitter like that. Ryker was just as taken with her as I was. Should I still go for it? There was nothing wrong with letting her choose between us. We were both good looking men with an abundance of charm. We stood an equal chance. And competition was healthy for the soul.
Ryker let out a sigh. “Could you imagine what our kids would look like?”
Kids?
He really was serious about this one. I couldn’t take that from him. Could I?
I looked back over at her. When I was thrust into a position I was nowhere near ready for, it was Ryker that held my hand.He was only a year older than me and went up against the other kings. He stood behind me when I needed him most. Was one girl worth putting that bond at risk? Women were a dime a dozen, but the brotherhood I had with him…
Sighing, I leaned back and took a sip of my scotch. “You should go talk to her.”
“Yeah,” Ryker nodded, downed the rest of his drink, and straightened his shoulders. “That’s a good idea.”
Seeing him make his way over there was interesting. Ryker didn’t get nervous, especially when it came to women, yet I could see his sweaty palms from here. There was no doubt in my mind that he could get her. Men like us were rarely denied and when we were we took it anyways. Who was going to stop us?
This time, for some reason, it appeared as if Ryker wanted permission.
Interesting.
Perhaps she was better off with him? Whoever she was. I wouldn’t care if she gave consent or not. I’d have her either way. Then again, Ryker wasn’t exactly the tender and gentle type either. Our fathers had to clean up after him more than anyone else. Precisely why I should do what I could to keep him happy. Since clean-up was now my job.
I put the temptress out of my head and refilled my drink. When I spun back around, the girl’s hand was swinging through the air to strike my friend’s cheek.
That wasn’t what had me cocking a brow though. I expected Ryker to hit her back, or haul her off to some dark corner. He did neither.
Instead, he waltzed back over to me with a smile on his face. As if she amused him.
“I like this one.” Ryker chuckled while cracking open a beer. “She’s fun.”
“Fun?”More like stubborn.
He stared across the room and shot her a wink. “It’s gonna be good when I break her.”
Since when did he like breaking girls? I got the appeal. To me there was nothing sweeter than bringing a strong woman to heel, but Ryker… he was more interested in getting his dick wet.
“Did you at least get her name?”
“Apparently I don’t deserve that knowledge.” Ryker licked his lips and swallowed back a mouthful of beer. “Which she said in cutest southern accent.”
A sweet southern belle prime for the plucking. That only made her hotter. I’d like to see her slap me.
“Do you have a plan?”
Ryker’s lips curled in a smirk. “I always have a plan.”
I had to admit, I was curious how Ryker was going to go about this? It wasn’t his typical way of doing things. At this point I wasn’t sure what I was more excited about jerking off to her innocent face, or watching my friend try to maintain control? Either way, I doubted that the southern belle across the room was ready for the determination of Ryker Hudson.
