by K. M. Scott
“Wait here. I’ll be right back,” he announced before leaving as I continued to look around in awe.
Seconds later, he came back with two females and ordered them into his office. Neither one looked like him, but something about the way they acted told me they weren’t servants or people he’d just basically bought, like me.
They stopped dead at the sight of me standing there in my old gym pants and black t-shirt and the one I figured was older spun around to look at him in disgust.
“Who is this?”
“Girls, this is Ryder. He’s going to be living here, so treat him like family.”
Robert’s proclamation infuriated her, and she shook her head angrily. “What, like a brother? You go out one night and get us a brother? Is that how it goes, Dad?”
He ignored her outburst and turned his two daughters to face me. “Ryder, the one who can’t stop talking is Janelle. The other one is Serena.”
“Hi,” I mumbled, unsure if I should say anything.
They both stood staring at me like I was some foreign thing that needed to be removed and fast. The one named Janelle had short dark brown hair, and although I couldn’t be sure since her eyes were flashing so much hatred, I thought they were brown too. Thin, she wore jeans and a tight blue shirt and heels that gave her at least three inches on her normal height.
The other one, Serena, had lighter brown hair that fell to below her shoulders in soft waves that reminded me of what mermaids looked like. Dressed in jean shorts and a white t-shirt that both showed off her tan and toned body, she stood barefoot next to her father and stared at me with big brown eyes that didn’t have hatred but something else in them.
Disappointment?
As Janelle returned to complaining about my very existence, I heard Serena say in a pained voice, “You said you knew where she was. You promised you’d find her this time. Where is she?”
I imagined that’s what that guy with the pleading eyes would have sounded like if he begged me not to beat the shit out of him. The way she said those words made my chest hurt, and I didn’t even know who she was talking about.
But Robert was unmoved by her pleading. Waving off her questions, he said, “Maybe next time, honey. For now, I want you two to welcome Ryder to our home.”
He put his arms around both of them, but Janelle slipped out of his hold and stormed off without another word. I didn’t have to guess how she felt about me. Serena said nothing more about what was obviously so important to her and simply looked at me with that pleading in her eyes that hadn’t worked on her father.
With a nudge from him, she finally said, “Welcome to our home. I hope you like it here.”
And with that, she quietly left without another word to her father about whoever she wanted him to find.
Robert walked behind his desk and sat down in his chair as I watched her walk away, her sagging shoulders signaling how defeated she felt. Clearly, it didn’t affect her father at all.
“They’ll get used to you. Janelle is a little temperamental, but I guess that’s to be expected from a girl, even one her age. She’s a lot like me, though, so at least she has that going for her. Serena is the polar opposite. She’s like her mother. Don’t worry about her. She’ll take to you like every stray she brings home.”
Not that I didn’t know I looked like some stray dog compared to them, but the way he said it brought the reality home for sure. In a hurry to get out of there and to wherever he kept the strays he brought home, I said, “Well, if you can just point me in the direction of where you want me to go, I’ll get out of your hair.”
He shook his head as that crocodile smile spread across his face again. “Not yet. First, I want you to know what I expect of you. So sit down and relax.”
Dropping my duffel bag, I sat down in a chair in front of his desk as he’d ordered and listened to hear just what this whole arrangement would involve.
He steepled his fingers in front of him and began. “You’ll continue to fight as you did tonight. As I said before, I expect you to continue to win. When you do, you’ll get paid, despite the fact that you won’t need money as long as you live here.”
“I won’t need money?” I asked, confused what kind of world this guy lived in that didn’t require cash.
Lifting his chin, he shook his head. “No, you won’t. Your room and board, along with all the food you want and clothes you need, will be provided. I have a state of the art workout center you’re to use to make sure you’re in the best shape possible. So you see, you won’t need money.”
I didn’t know if I should question this whole situation that sounded too good to be true, but I asked, “And if I don’t win a fight?”
His face grew dark. “Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, I have very few rules, other than you performing in fights like I’ve seen. No drugs and no romantic attachments. I don’t care who you fuck, but don’t get involved. I remember being your age, so I don’t expect you to live like a monk, but no relationships.”
I wasn’t a fan of having so much of my life dictated, but assuming I got a room even as big as a broom closet on his estate, maybe it wouldn’t be too much of a tradeoff. I wasn’t exactly looking for a relationship anyway and I didn’t do drugs. Hoping he wasn’t about to announce that I had to double as a stable boy or something like that, I smiled.
“Okay. I can live with those.”
“And you aren’t to tell anyone here what you do. Is that clear?”
“Sure. But if I’m not here as a fighter, what am I supposed to say if someone asks?”
“They won’t,” he said with a confidence I guessed came from being the boss.
“Got it.”
“Good. I’ll have my housekeeper take you to your room. For now, you’ll have the spare bedroom on this floor.”
A short, dark haired woman he called Josephine appeared a few seconds later, so I stood from my chair and grabbed my duffel bag to go with her. I felt like there were a lot more questions I should ask Robert, but he didn’t seem interested in talking anymore and picked up the phone to call someone, so I smiled again and moved to leave.
Just before I reached the door, he said, “Oh, Ryder, one more thing.”
There it was. The one thing that would make this whole situation unbearable. I slowly turned around and waited for the other shoe to drop.
“Don’t even think of doing anything with either of the girls. In that respect, I do care who you fuck.”
I thought back to how much Janelle hated me already and easily put the idea of fucking her out of my mind. And Serena? I wasn’t sure if she was even legal, and I didn’t need that dogging me. An angry father was one thing, but prison was an entirely different story.
She was beautiful, though. There was something about her I could definitely like, if things were different. But no matter how beautiful she was, I wasn’t touching that.
“No problem,” I answered with confidence, hoping that was the worst thing about living at Erickson’s house.
If it was, this would be the best thing to ever happen to me, even if it meant I had to keep fighting. Maybe freedom wasn’t all it was cracked up to be anyway.
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About the Author
K.M. Scott writes contemporary romance stories of sexy, intense, and unforgettable love. A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, she’s been in love with romance since reading her first romance novel in junior high (she was a very curious girl!). Under her Gabrielle Bisset name, she writes erotic paranormal and historical romance. She lives in Pennsylvania with a herd of animals and when she’s not writing can be found reading or feeding her TV addiction.
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Books by K.M. Scott:
Hard Work
If I Dream (Corrupted Love #1)
If You Fight (Corrupted Love #2)
If We Fall (Corrupted Love #3)
Crash Into Me (Heart of Stone #1)
Fall Into Me (Heart of Stone #2)
Give In To Me (Heart of Stone #3)
Heart of Stone Volume One Box Set
Ever After (Heart of Stone #4)
A Heart of Stone Christmas (Heart of Stone #5)
Return To Me (Heart of Stone #6)
Forever With Me (Heart of Stone #7)
Heart of Stone Volume Two Box Set
Temptation (Club X #1)
Surrender (Club X #2)
Possession (Club X #3)
Satisfaction (Club X #4)
Acceptance (Club X #5)
The Complete Club X Series Box Set
Crave (Addicted To You #1)
Adore (Addicted To You #2)
Shatter (Addicted To You #3)
Claim (Addicted To You #4)
K.M.’S BOOKS ARE IN AUDIOBOOK TOO!
Books by Gabrielle Bisset:
Vampire Dreams Revamped (A Sons of Navarus Prequel)
Blood Avenged (Sons of Navarus #1)
Blood Betrayed (Sons of Navarus #2)
Longing (A Sons of Navarus Short Story)
Blood Spirit (Sons of Navarus #3)
The Deepest Cut (A Sons of Navarus Short Story)
Blood Prophecy (Sons of Navarus #4)
Blood Craving (Sons of Navarus #5)
Blood Eclipse (Sons of Navarus #6)
The Sons of Navarus Box Set #1
The Sons of Navarus Box Set #2
Stolen Destiny (Destined Ones Duology #1)
Destiny Redeemed (Destined Ones Duology #2)
Love’s Master
Masquerade
The Victorian Erotic Romance Trilogy