This book is for my son, Neil, a real Scorpio.
I LOVE YOU.
Unconditionally. Forever.
Be the best you can be.
To ALL my loved ones – family and friends,
who deeply touch my heart and my soul.
I love you.
More than you will ever know.
Thank you for your support and believing in me.
It means the world to me.
And yes, something of you is probably in this book.
*******
Thank YOU!
Thank you for purchasing and reading my books.
Without You, the reader, writers wouldn’t have
an audience for their stories.
Oscar style ‘Thank You’s’ at end of the book.
*******
Novels By Jani Kay:
Open Your Eyes (Standalone Novel)
Firebird Series: Lost in France (Book 1)
Scorpion Stinger MC Series: Ryder (Prequel)
Scorpion Stinger MC Series: Two Worlds Colliding (Book 1)
Chapter 1 ~ Jade
My ideal man was nothing like the man standing in front of me.
Broad shoulders. Dark. Square jaw. Yes, the stranger definitely ticked those boxes. But that’s where it ended.
I liked my men cultured. Sophisticated. Perfectly groomed. And definitely well educated.
This man was rugged, rough around the edges and plain rude. Broody even. Long hair in a ponytail with piercings didn’t do it for me. Neither did bulky rings and leather armbands. And chains—ugh.
I was still undecided about tattoos—I could go either way. Sighing, I pushed the forms back toward him, trying not to roll my eyes. It’s going to be another one of those days.
“I’m not filling out any shitty forms. And that’s final.” He grunted like a Neanderthal.
I drew in a long breath and counted to three. “Well, then I’m afraid we can’t help you. We need the personal information of our clients before we rent a house to them. That’s not negotiable.”
He slung his backpack off his shoulder and onto the counter. “Sweetheart, I don’t think you understand. I’m willing to pay three times the security deposit you’re asking, plus one full year’s rental in advance. In hard cash. You don’t need personal information.”
I hated when a stranger called me sweetheart. It was so...condescending. I shook my head. “You’re wrong. The owners need information about you before they will rent the property to you. Those are the rules and there are reasons for those rules.”
“I don’t give a flying fuck about your rules. You said the house was available immediately, yeah? It’s fully furnished, it’s in the right neighborhood and it fills my needs. That’s all I need to know.” He balled his fists on the counter, his dark eyebrows knitted together. A small vein ticked in his jaw. “It’s simple: I need a house to rent. You have a house to lease. I don’t see the fucking problem here.”
My patience was running thin. I had a crap-load of other paperwork to get through and he was just wasting my time with his stupid arguments. Thank the Lord this was just a vacation job and I only had another month to go. If I had to deal with customers like this every day, I’d slit my freaking wrists. The customer is not always right. In fact, more often than not, they assumed rights which weren’t theirs in the first place. Like this idiot.
“Mr.—?” I drawled, my eyebrow raised. The scar across his cheek, which also slashed into his eyebrow, told a story I didn’t want to know. I shuddered.
“Ryder. Call me Ryder.” Steel blue eyes challenged mine.
“Ryder. Los Angeles has plenty of real estate agents. There may be someone else that will help you. I can’t.” I held up my hands and shrugged, hoping to God he’d get the message and just go away. Like right now. I turned toward the pile of papers screaming for my attention. I had urgent work to do, I wasn’t in the mood for unco-operative people eating into my precious time.
He didn’t move. He stood there glaring at me. “Well aren’t you just a little ray of fucking sunshine?”
“Wh...what?” Nobody had ever spoken to me like that before. Asshole.
“Your customer service stinks.” He grabbed hold of the backpack and unzipped it. “See if this will change your mind.”
“Well, I may be biased toward someone who can actually read and write,” I snapped, “and listen.” Any moment now I was going to lose this cool, professional tone—I could give as good as I got, and then some. Sarcasm was my second language. It came with being smart and quick witted.
His jaw worked overtime—he clenched and released several times. He actually growled. I swallowed hard. Way to go, Jade, pissing off a mean and scary looking gangster dude. More balls than brains today, girl.
He turned the backpack upside down and shook it hard. Wads of green notes tumbled onto the counter. My eyes widened for a fraction of a second. Clever move. Almost impressive.
Alesha had just returned from her lunchbreak and walked into the reception area. “Holey moley,” she said as her jaw dropped open. She smiled up at the man and licked her lips. “I think I really like you. Hot biker, stacks of cash. I got back just in time.”
What the hell was that? I turned to her, disgusted that she would encourage this stranger with her flippant comment. Where was backup when I needed it?
“Put the money back into the bag. Please. It’s stupid displaying it like that. Anyone can see through the damn window,” I hissed.
This dumbass biker—if Alesha was right—was really starting to piss me off, big time.
The corner of his mouth twitched. He winked at Alesha. Damn cheek. He was enjoying this debacle. He shrugged. “It’s the only way I could get your attention.”
The door pushed open and Uncle Eric sauntered in, a wide smile plastered on his shiny face. He’d just been to a business lunch and I could see from the way his eyes glazed over, that he’d had a few too many glasses of wine. Both his eyebrows shot into his receding hairline when he saw the pile of notes.
“Jade? What’s going on?”
I pointed to Ryder, gritting my teeth. “This... gentleman... wants to rent the house in Beverley Hills. He refuses to fill out the forms. He thinks he can get away with paying cash. I explained that’s not how we do things around this agency.” There. Now Uncle Eric could help me get rid of him. And I could get on with my day.
“Any smart business man knows cash is king,” Ryder said, his gaze traveling from Alesha to Uncle Eric to me. His arms were folded across his chest, his biceps bulging under his tight black shirt. Yes, he was enjoying the commotion he was causing, completely ignoring my request to remove the money stacked on the counter. He clearly knew the power it had over mere mortals; what seeing that amount of money lying there in a heap did to them.
I watched as he started rolling up his sleeves, slowly and deliberately exposing the tattoos on his forearms. Alesha giggled flirtatiously, taking a step closer to him. Traitor.
His nails were well manicured. Not what I expected from a biker. The tail of a cobra snaked it’s way around his left arm and disappeared under the shirtsleeves. Damn, I’d always been attracted to a man’s forearms. To me they conveyed subtle signs of a man’s virility. And Ryder’s were exceptionally fine—in spite of the tattoos. I swallowed hard.
I caught his eye as the corners of his mouth twisted into a smile. I drew in a sharp breath. Ryder knew exactly what he was doing—he was trying to break down all resistance and he damn well knew it.
Uncle Eric rubbed his hands together. “Bring the gentleman to my office, Jade.”
Chapter 2 ~ Ryder
Thank fuck the old man understood business. His beady eyes glistened as he mentally counted the greenbacks on the counter. Fuck, he was practically salivating. Greed. The ultimate decider.
“Uncle Eric,” she whined, her striking blue eyes wide, “You can't be serious. That house is part owned by Daddy and he won't like it if you don’t go through the right pro
cedures. How many times has he said he doesn’t have time for dirty business? There’s more than enough good business around for everyone to make an honest living.”
“Why, girlie. My money ain’t good enough? Last time I checked a dollar was worth something.” I sneered. This was becoming tedious and I just wanted to get the keys to the house and get out of here. I hated spoiled brats who thought they were daddy’s little fucking princess. Self-righteous bitches, like her, annoyed the shit out of me and this one was getting first prize for her efforts.
She wrinkled her pretty little nose as if she smelled shit. “It's how you earn the money. Yours is most likely dirty money. Blood money. Daddy would never agree to that.”
“So, daddy’s little princess. What the hell do you, or your daddy, know about where this money comes from? You always judge someone without knowing the full story? This cash is legit. Take my word for it.”
“Your word? I don’t know the first thing about you. How can I take your word?”
Smart. She had a point. But screw that—I wasn’t filling in those fucking forms.
“Because I said so. Innocent till proven guilty. Even the law gives me more credit than you do.”
“Yeah, I'm beginning to think you can't read or write, that’s why you refuse to fill in the forms. If the money is legitimate, you shouldn’t have a problem with a bit of paperwork.”
That stung. But she couldn’t even begin to understand why I had such a strong aversion to paperwork. She would never understand my world.
Uncle Eric had picked up a wad of cash and was running it through his fingers. The expression on his face was close to that of someone about to come in his pants. He grinned like an idiot. “Well, I own the other half, Jade. And I'm saying yes. Cash is king.”
I lifted a brow and smirked. “Listen to Uncle Eric.”
She didn’t. My head was hurting from her whining.
“How do you know if the money isn’t counterfeit or laundered? Nobody walks around with that amount of cash in a backpack. Uncle Eric, don’t let him blind you with money.”
The old man pondered her words for a moment and nodded. “OK. Point taken. Subject to checking out that the money is real—and I have counted every one of these Franklins—we have a deal. Step into my office so we can do that.”
With a wide sweep, I shoved the money back into the bag and turned to follow the old man.
Jade rolled her eyes and pouted her full lips. “God, men are stupid. No wonder the world is in such a damn mess.” She followed us into her uncle’s office. “Uncle Eric, if you insist on doing this crazy deal, then I am going to insist on bi-weekly inspections. To protect daddy’s interests. Who knows what the hell is going to happen in that house? It will probably be trashed by wild parties and—”
“There you go shooting off that pretty mouth of yours again. Judging me. I told you that you don’t know the story.” She was acting like a spoiled brat. There was only one remedy for that—I was itching to pull her over my knee and spank the shit out of her.
My eyes narrowed as I studied her. Her arms folded across her tits. Did she realise she was squeezing them together and that her cleavage was making my cock jerk? Was she doing it on fucking purpose? I bet she was.
She cocked her head. “Well, enlighten me then. Tell me it's not going to be a nest for crack whores and orgies. For drugs, drinking and . . . other unsavory pastimes.”
Uncle Eric was so busy counting the cash, he hardly took notice of our standoff.
“None of the above.” I sneered. “Quit jumping to incorrect conclusions. You have the fucking cash. Triple the normal security deposit. What’s it to you what happens at the house?”
She poked a well-manicured finger into my chest, prodding a few times. “Well just so you understand—I will be the one making those inspections. If there is any damage to the property, I will kick your sorry ass out of there so fast, it will make your head spin.”
I held my hands up in mock surrender. “Jesus, Princess. The looks of an angel and the tongue of the devil.” I glanced at her ring finger and saw it was without a ring. “No wonder no man wants you. You would probably bite his head off before he—”
She slapped me. Hard. I grabbed her wrist and glared into those big fucking eyes. My cheek stung, but it was nothing like the anger burning in my chest. No bitch had ever slapped me and gotten away with it.
“Who’s judging now?” She spat out. “You know nothing about my life.”
Uncle Eric butted in. “Hey kids, play nice.” His grin was splitting his face. “I think we have a deal here, Mr.—” He held out a sweaty hand, which I ignored.
“Ryder. Ryder Knox. Tell your niece to fucking back off . . . or the deal is off. I can find another house where I'm not policed by an uptight bitch.” I was lying, but they didn’t need to know just how fucking desperate I was for this particular house. If they did, I wouldn’t have any leverage at all.
“Big bad man is scared of little ole me.” She laughed in my face. My head jerked up and I drew in a breath when I looked into her eyes. She was turned on. Only she probably didn’t even know it. I saw the challenge in her eyes.
An inner battle raged inside me. Right now I didn’t have time for this shit. I had more pressing matters to take care of.
Life and death matters.
But I was distracted. Jade smelled good and her skin was soft and smooth. I’d love to make her squirm under me. Make her swallow her words—and my cum. Spank the living shit out of her to teach her a lesson.
I shook my head. What the fuck was wrong with me? I was here to do business. Not think of screwing the blond with the big tits and even bigger mouth and attitude. Not good.
Focus. Think with the big head.
Chapter 3 ~ Jade
The rumble of the Harley sounded completely out of place in the quiet neighborhood. I stood in front of the door, tapping my foot, my impatience at getting this over with, making me on edge.
Renting this house to a biker was a mistake. I knew Uncle Eric would admit to it later, and regret his decision, when the lovely garden was destroyed and the house trashed. Yet, I was only an employee, doing my job to the best of my ability.
Unease settled in my gut as I watched Ryder take the helmet off his head and hang it over the handlebars, running his fingers through his thick, dark hair. I took the moment to stare at him openly. Biceps bulged under his T-shirt and he appeared more relaxed than the day before.
I had to admit, reluctantly and against my better judgement, that he cut a fine figure sitting on his bike, as if he melded into it, completely in tune with the metal beast.
Man and machine were hot as hell.
But . . . definitely not my style. Still, I was mature enough to admit when something was beautiful, even if not to my tastes. Each to their own.
Yet I kept staring, my mind a whirl. I moved in all the right social circles, met plenty of new people—and men—all the time. It was just a matter of time till I met Mr. Right. The man who ticked all my boxes and would provide my happily ever after. I narrowed my eyes against the sharp afternoon sun, a faint unfamiliar flutter in my stomach. There was something about this man that challenged all my senses. But why? Why him? I just couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
His raw edginess was sensual on a level I wasn’t accustomed to. He definitely had the whole bad boy thing going on. He was gruff and stern, his stubbled jaw permanently clenched, his dark brows knitted ominously into a frown. Sexual power rolled off him in waves, causing my mouth to go dry as I sensed his primal animal magnetism.
No doubt women flocked to him, some even believing they’d be the one to finally tame the badass biker and make him their man. Luckily I had no intentions of ever going there. I’d leave him to the rest of the female population to tame. Good luck to them. This one wasn’t going to be easy.
He looked up, his unfathomable eyes locking on mine. A lazy smile spread across his face and he slowly and very deliberately raked his gaze up an
d down my body. I tugged at my skirt, then rested my arms across my chest in a protective fashion against those eyes that were practically undressing me.
He swung a long, muscled leg over the bike and made his way up the path, his eyes trained on mine, apparently oblivious to the roses lining the path and the freshly mowed lawn. I fidgeted with the clipboard that I clasped tightly to my chest, distressed that my heart was beating so furiously at the sight of him striding toward me, with a cocky grin plastered on his face.
Yes, Ryder Knox was sex on legs.
“Hello, Princess,” he drawled, his eyes piercing mine, “we meet again.”
“Ugh,” I replied. Very eloquent, considering I’d just written my final exams and was practically a qualified lawyer; I’d soon be making my living out of my gift to articulate at daddy’s firm. Go figure.
Pull yourself together Jade, don’t let him get to you.
I pushed the door open and stepped inside.
“Listen, Ryder. Since you won’t fill out any forms, I’m going through every room with you, one by one. We’ll agree on the condition of everything on my checklist, which I’ll require you to sign. That way we have an undisputable record in case anything goes wrong. That along with photographs I’ve already taken, so that there’s no arguing or any bullshit afterwards. Your deposit will be used to fix any damages to the property and the appliances and fixtures. Understood?” My voice was curt and what I hoped he would perceive as don’t-mess-with-me.
His nostrils flared and his brow knitted. Good. He understood my message. I flashed him my tight lipped professional smile.
His lips curled into a snarl. “Stop being so uptight. I’m not going to trash the goddamn place. Just so we are clear, I want every cent of my deposit back when I leave.”
“Hmmpf,” I snorted, quite unladylike. “That will be a miracle.”
His eyebrow raised in warning. “You don’t know me. Are you always so fucking quick to judge other people?”
“I’m a pretty good judge of character. I haven’t been wrong before,” I smirked, my heels clacking on the polished hardwood floors as I made my way to the newly installed chef’s kitchen. I stood by the stainless steel oven and turned to him.
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