It Started with a Bang by Piper James

Chapter Thirteen

Anabelle

Icouldn’t stop thinking about that kiss. I’d been up half the night analyzing every second of it. I knew, rationally, that it had started as a ploy to fool the photographers. Published pictures of Ryder with his tongue in my mouth would go a long way to convince everyone we really were a couple. The problem was, I was almost certain that simple kiss had evolved into something more.

I could still feel his hands on my ass. Squeezing. Kneading. Angling my body so I could feel how hard he was. For me.

“Fuck,” I murmured, throwing the blankets off and swinging my legs over the edge of the mattress.

I needed to stop thinking about it. I didn’t even like him.

I took a deep breath and let it out on a sigh. I could lie to everyone else, but I couldn’t keep lying to myself—Ryder was growing on me. Over the last couple of days, I’d learned a lot about him, and I found myself actually admiring him…a little.

He was a family man, devoted to his brothers and the company they’d built together. He adored his nephew, Daniel, and tried to be a good role model for him—unlike Noah, who loved to get under everyone’s skin by teaching the boy dirty jokes and curse words.

Despite being built like a brick shithouse, Ryder really wasn’t as cocky about his appearance as I assumed he’d be. Sure, he sent me that picture of himself in the speedo, but I was sure that had been a joke. And I’d also lost count of how many times I’d looked at it in the last twenty or so hours.

He’d displayed unexpected kindnesses, and I could tell they were done without thought. An automatic response to whichever situation we found ourselves. He was a nice person…on the inside, anyway. He still put up that front of the cocky asshole when he knew I was paying attention. It was the times he didn’t know I was watching that his true nature came out.

And I didn’t hate it.

So, after a long afternoon of playing Scrabble three times—he won first and I won second, so we’d played a tiebreaker in which he’d barely scraped by with the victory—we had a quiet dinner and went to our separate rooms.

I’d lain in bed for hours, staring at the ceiling as that kiss played over and over in my head. I’d found myself aching with need, torn between finding Ryder and attacking him and forcing myself to just go to sleep. In the end, I’d taken care of the ache myself while imagining it was him who was touching me.

I wandered into the bathroom to take care of my needs and brush my teeth. Throwing my tangled hair up into a messy bun, I padded out into the kitchen to make some coffee. I found a freshly brewed pot waiting for me, and I sighed with pleasure as I reached into the cabinet for a mug.

“Good morning.”

A squeak burst through my lips as I whirled around, a hand plastered to my chest. Ryder was leaning against the opposite counter, shirtless, with a steaming mug in one hand and a tablet in the other.

“Morning,” I breathed. “I didn’t see you there.”

“One-track mind,” he said, smiling as he nodded toward the coffee maker behind me.

“Yeah,” I agreed, spinning back around to fill my mug.

“So, our little show yesterday seemed to have worked,” he said.

I could feel him moving toward me, my nerve endings sparking as his breath hit the skin where my tank top left my shoulder bare. My heart was pounding, and I fought to keep my breathing even as I turned to face him.

He handed me the tablet, saying, “We’re famous.”

“Princess Belle Frolics in the Sea with Mystery Man,” I read aloud, frowning. “Fuck, I hate that name.”

I carried the tablet to the breakfast table and slid into a chair as I read the article silently. The reporter had no clue who Ryder was, but didn’t hesitate to suggest he was some gold-digging player after my billions. As if there was no way he could possibly enjoy my company.

I ran a search on my name and found several other articles, most of them referring to me as a spoiled heiress with nothing else to offer but money and power. Knowing better, but doing it anyway, I scrolled down to the comments section of the article I was reading. My eyes widened, burning with the need to blink as I read the hateful words spewed by trolls and keyboard warriors.

KuntryGirl238: Good thing she’s loaded. With an ass that big, she probably has to pay for it.

Spaz6969: I’d hit that. She wouldn’t even have to pay me. Much.

TexasTea357: The ice queen has a little heat, after all. Wonder if Daddy arranged this hookup like he did with her job in his company. Bet the rich bitch never had to work for anything.

“What’s wrong?” Ryder asked, snatching the tablet from my fingers before I could stop him.

His eyes scanned the screen as he slid into the chair across from me. His lips pinched together, and deep grooves formed in his forehead as he read the awful comments. Finally, his dark eyes raised to meet mine.

“You shouldn’t read this shit,” he said. “It’s a bunch of assholes spreading hate because they’re depressed with their own miserable lives.”

“I know,” I said, my gaze dropping as I took a small sip of my coffee. “It’s just frustrating that people assume I’ve been handed everything on a silver platter. I work twice as hard as anyone in that company, and Dad barely acknowledges my contribution. It doesn’t matter what I do or how much I accomplish. All he sees when he looks at me is a useless woman.”

I spat the last word like it was a curse. All the bitterness I’d been suppressing flowed out of me, and I squeezed my eyes shut to staunch the tears threatening to escape. Ryder remained silent until I inhaled deeply and met his gaze once more.

“People will always make assumptions,” he said, a deeper meaning behind the words that I didn’t have much trouble deciphering.

He, himself, had made those same assumptions about me the moment we met. Of course, I hadn’t helped matters by acting like the ice princess that he—and everyone else—thought I was. I waved a hand, dismissing whatever regret he might’ve been feeling.

“It’s okay. I’m used to it. The people I care about, who care about me, know the truth, and that’s all that matters. It was just jarring, reading it like that.”

“It’s a shame your dad can’t see it. I’m really sorry, Belle,” he murmured, and my body pinged at the sound of my nickname on his lips for the first time. He must’ve noticed my reaction, because he asked, “Is that okay? If I call you that?”

“Yes, of course,” I said quickly. “That’s what my friends call me, so it makes sense that my…fiancé would. My brothers call me that, too.”

“Okay,” he said, one corner of his mouth lifting, “Belle.”

I returned his half-smile for moment before it dropped. Mentioning my brothers reminded me of the contract I’d tucked into my duffle bag. Excusing myself, I told Ryder not to move and shuffled into my room to retrieve it.

I needed to get that bit of business out of the way, especially now that our “relationship” was fodder for the public gossip mills. When I got back, I slid the paperwork in front of him and reclaimed my seat across the table.

Ryder’s eyes widened as he began to read, and he lifted his gaze to meet mine. I took another sip of my coffee to hide my nervousness and shrugged.

“I figured we should get this out of the way, now that we’ve officially gone public.”

With a single nod, he lowered his eyes back to the contract and began to read.