It Started with a Bang by Piper James

Chapter Fourteen

Ryder

The whole document was very cut and dry. There were no apparent loopholes or hidden agendas that I could find. Anabelle and I would get married, live as husband and wife for one year, then we’d quietly file for a divorce. She would pay me five-hundred-thousand up front and another half-million after the divorce. The document also protected her assets, its wording guaranteeing I couldn’t sue her for more money in the form of alimony, and that I had no claim to anything, including bank accounts, properties, stocks and bonds, that she possessed before or acquired during the marriage. There was also verbiage that protected my own assets, which I was sure her lawyer put in there to assuage my pride, since neither of them knew I actually had assets to consider other than my company.

The contract was perfect, actually, but that wasn’t what had me suddenly on edge. Signing this thing would make this whole thing very real. Instead of just playing along and having a little fun, I’d be committing the next year of my life to a farce. Could I really do that? Could I pretend to be in love with this woman, fooling everyone around us for twelve whole months? Did I even want to?

I opened my mouth to tell her I needed more time to really think this through, but before I could utter a single word, the sound of a fist pounding against the front door startled us both. Annabelle leapt to her feet, muttering a curse as she looked out the window I’d opened to let in a breeze this morning.

My eyes followed her line of sight to a dark sedan parked in the driveway. She seemed to recognize it, if the look of horror on her face was any indication. The pounding sound echoed around us again, this time accompanied by a harsh command.

“Annabelle, I know you’re in there. Open this door, immediately!”

“He’s here,” she muttered, heaving a sigh before shuffling forward to unlock the deadbolt.

She stumbled backward as the door flew open, and I found myself rushing forward to steady her. She shot me a grateful look before turning her attention to the man stepping inside, his shoulders heaving with rage—Jaxson Parker, himself.

“Give me a second with him, will you?” she asked softly.

I wanted to argue. I wanted to push her behind me and tell this fucking asshole where he could shove his anger and righteous indignation. And his misogynistic beliefs.

But I didn’t do any of that. I simply nodded, giving her a look that told her all she had to do was say the word, and I’d fucking get rid of him. She swallowed thickly, and on impulse alone, I pressed my mouth to hers in a quick kiss. Then, for good measure, I kissed her forehead before shooting a glare at the old man and sauntering out of the room, making sure to flex my bare back muscles so he’d see exactly what he should be afraid of.

Grabbing the contract from the table where I’d left it, I quickly shoved it into a kitchen drawer before leaning my hips against the counter to eavesdrop on their conversation. Not because I was nosy—well, not only because I was nosy—but because I wanted to know if Belle needed me. At the first indication she needed backup, I’d be there.

My mind wanted to process this whole new protective instinct I had where she was concerned, but I decided to put that off until later. I needed to focus on the threat at hand, and every instinct in my body told me Jaxson Parker was a threat. A real one.

“What in the hell is going on here, Annabelle?” he shouted, not bothering to lower his voice.

And that pissed me off even more. He had so little respect for his own daughter that he’d berate her in front of a stranger? Someone he hadn’t even met? What a fucking douche canoe.

“What are you doing here, Dad?” she replied, her voice calm and almost resigned.

“What am I doing here? What am I doing here? You’re the laughingstock of East Texas, sashaying around in that shameful bathing suit with a strange man for everyone to see. Don’t you know how embarrassing that is for the company? For me?”

Shameful bathing suit? What did he mean, shameful? Her suit, while a two piece, had been extremely modest as far as modern bikinis went.

“My suit was perfectly respectable, and he’s not a strange man. He’s my…boyfriend.”

I heard the tiny pause in her speech before she uttered the word “boyfriend,” but thankfully, Jaxson didn’t seem to notice. Or if he did, he didn’t care as much about me as he did her damn bathing suit.

“Your ass was hanging out like some trollop and everyone could see your stomach. Maybe if you lost a few pounds, you could wear something like that and look decent. But Parker Industries has a reputation to uphold, and—”

His words cut off as I charged back into the room, riding high on anger and indignation. Latching onto Belle’s wrist, I pulled her behind me as I faced the man who was supposed to be her father.

“Oh, ho,” he chortled with heavy sarcasm, “is the white knight here to protect his princess?”

“Don’t call her that,” I gritted out, conveniently forgetting that I’d called her that myself and even had her number programmed into my phone under the moniker.

It didn’t matter. He would not disrespect her like that in front of me. Not if I had anything to say about it.

“Oh, he’s really gone all-in, hasn’t he?” Jaxson sneered, his eyes darting around me to try to catch sight of his daughter. “You know he’s only after your money, don’t you? All men want is money, power, and sex. And we both know it isn’t the sex he’s after.”

His eyes met mine with that last bit, his insinuation clear—he didn’t believe I could be attracted to Belle. At all. He was convinced that whatever this was, I was faking it to get my hands on her money.

Wasn’t I, though? Sure, she’d offered the money to me and had even drawn up the contract, but did that make me any better than what this asshole was accusing me of?

I shook my head to clear it. I could analyze my motives later. Right now, I needed to set this dickwad straight and send him on his way before I lost my shit and pulverized him with my fists.

“With all due respect,” I slurred, my tone implying that I didn’t think he deserved any at all, “your daughter is a kind, sensitive, brilliant woman. She is beautiful inside and out, and I happen to find her sexy as hell.”

I heard a quiet intake of breath from behind me as her palms pressed against my back. I was honestly surprised she’d remained behind me. She was the type of woman to fight her own battles, but then again, maybe she’d always had to. Maybe there’d never been anyone to protect her from the evils of the world, including her own father. She’d been alone with him since her brothers left home, and she’d been dealing with this bullshit on her own ever since.

Well, no more.

“Please,” Jaxson said, waving a dismissive hand. “You and I both know it’s her bank account, not her flabby body that you want.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I growled. “Who talks about their own daughter like this?”

“I’m just speaking the truth, hard as it is to hear. Isn’t that right, Annabelle?” he called out.

“You always do, Dad,” she replied, finally stepping around from behind me.

I wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her tightly against my side. She fell against me like it was the most natural thing in the world, and her body just felt right, tucked against mine.

“That may be your truth,” I said, “but anyone with two eyes can see that Belle is everything a man could want in a woman—mentally, emotionally, and physically. That’s why I couldn’t help but fall in love with her.”

The words tumbled out of their own accord, and I wasn’t sure who was more shocked—Jaxson, Belle, or me. Ignoring the alarm rippling through me at my use of the “L” word, I tilted my head and pressed my lips to Belle’s temple. Her palm flattened against my stomach at the gesture, searing my skin with its heat and making me wish we were alone…and that it had landed a little bit lower.

“Bullshit,” Jaxson growled, his eyes moving to his daughter. “You couldn’t possibly believe this man loves you, could you? After one weekend together?”

“Belle and I have been dating for six months,” I said, my words firm.

“Bullshit,” he repeated like he didn’t know any other words.

“Ryder is from California,” Belle said, finding her voice again. “We’ve been meeting up privately every month when I travel there for meetings. He came to Red River to work on a ranch home with his brothers.”

“And to spend as much time as possible with my girl,” I added, pulling her tighter against me.

“Ryder, hmm? What’s your last name, boy?” Jaxson demanded, and I saw no reason not to give it to him. “Perry. I own Perry Brothers Construction with my three brothers, Chase, Ethan, and Noah.”

Belle tightened her grip on me as if warning me I’d said enough. She was right. I didn’t want this man thinking I was trying to impress him, or anything. No, I just wanted him to leave. As quickly as possible.

“I’ll be home in a few hours, Dad,” Belle said as if she’d read my mind. “We can talk more then, if you’d like.”

“I’m not done,” he blustered, and I puffed out my chest a bit.

“I think that means she’s asking you to leave,” I said as politely as possible, given the circumstances. “We need to pack up so we don’t miss our ride.”

“On my helicopter,” Jaxson murmured.

“You have more than one,” Belle sighed. “Please, Dad, can we discuss this later? We really need to clean up and get our things packed.”

“We will be discussing this,” he said in a warning tone.

Then, without so much as a goodbye, he turned and stalked out of the house. The tension drained out of Belle, and she pulled away from me to sag onto the couch. I walked over to close and lock the door before moving to stand in front of her.

“Well, he’s as delightful as I imagined,” I deadpanned.

“Thank you,” she said, her eyes wide with relief. “Thank you for having my back and sticking up for me like that when you didn’t have to.”

“I do have your back,” I swore. “And I hope you don’t believe any of that bile he was spewing.”

She shook her head, but it wasn’t really clear if she was agreeing or disagreeing with me. I moved forward and squatted down in front of her, my heart pounding as the words slipped out of me without my permission.

“Belle, I know you felt how hard I was for you yesterday. That’s not something I could fake if I tried.” Her blue eyes darted up to meet mine, and I licked my lips to moisten the suddenly dry skin. “I find you incredibly attractive, physically.”

I didn’t know why I threw the word “physically” in there. Maybe it was because I was refuting her father’s insults, and he’d only really insulted her appearance. Maybe it was to protect myself, because if I was being totally truthful, I found her attractive in every way, not just physically. But I wasn’t ready to be that honest. Not with her. Not with myself.

“You do?” she asked, her voice disbelieving even though I knew she’d felt the proof as I’d ground her against me in the water.

“I do,” I said, and the irony of those words wasn’t lost on me. “You’re perfect. Don’t ever let anyone tell you any different.”