She walked by Winter before the girl could make a response. Andrew was twenty-fucking-eight. Way to old for a sixteen year old. It was one thing to fantasize and another thing to actively try and get in his pants. Winter was going to get someone arrested one day. Riley would normally have no sympathy for guys who fall for girls like her but Andrew seemed weirded out by it every time Winter spoke to him. That told Riley that he wasn’t really down Winter’s behavior. Thank fuck. It was only day two and Winter was nearly throwing herself on their boss’ cock and he was freaking out.
She gave Winter a month tops before she was fired.
With her shift over, Riley was moving as fast she could to get out. Winter also was getting off and Riley was out of patience for her. As she left, she saw them.
Troy’s black SUV had rolled up and Riley stumbled to a stop. Troy jumped out from the driver’s seat and didn’t see her at the front door of the diner. He was looking the vehicle. Then two more gorgeous men stepped out.
One was incredibly tall with paler skin like Troy but hair black as midnight and punk as shit, wild and everywhere. He saw her and pinned her with ice blue eyes, colder then the snowstorm. She could see tattoos peaking out from his shirt but couldn’t make out what they were. He was probably six and half feet tall, towering over Troy and the other guy. He had a hard jawline and it looked like his teeth were clenched. He was also the most well defined man she had ever seen. This guy worked the fuck out. He held a leather jacket, had combat boots and wore leather pants as well. He was a bad bad boy, she thought to herself. She liked and didn’t like a bad boy. Scratch that. She loved a real bad boy. Just not for anything real past the bedroom door.
The second guy also had black hair that fell over his eyes a little. His emerald green eyes twinkled and he was the exact same height as Troy. He had a really dark tan that looked natural. She noticed he and Troy were nearly the exact same except coloring. Same bone structure, stance, and everything else. This one had to be Gabe Walker, Troy’s actual brother, she realized. He was casual, a t-shit and jeans with tennis shoes. He was a nice guy like Andrew, she thought until she saw him start scrapping with Troy. Nope. Also trouble.
After a moment they were all looking at her and she felt her face heat up, beginning to walk away. Shit, four hot guy in their town now. Four very hot guys. Not okay. Those guys were Andrew’s friends. Troy and Andrew were friends, she remembered. Wasn’t there a fifth one in that little group? She hoped at least he was ugly. Maybe he was like, deformed or something.
“Riley, come back!” Troy called out to her. “Come on!”
“No, thank you! Really want to get home. Been a long work day!” She turned and waved at him, walking backwards. “You have a fine time at the diner!” She turned back away, ignoring Troy’s pleas for her to hang out.
She didn’t have the energy for that. She was sweaty and tired and she wasn’t going to hang out in her uniform.
She wasn’t going to hang out with Troy at all. Ever. He was trouble and since that little pack was close, she was going avoid them all. Except Andrew, she couldn’t avoid her boss. Even the two with Troy looked like trouble.
She made it home without any trouble and sighed. She needed Friday night. In less then a week, she had been overloaded with new hot meat in town and she wasn’t going to even try to sleep with any of them. She didn’t sleep with anyone who lived in town because then she would have to see them again. Plus, they were all friends with her new boss. Talk about possibly awkward.
She sat in her empty apartment and held her sketchbook. She opened it to the last few days. A few sketches of both Troy and Andrew now filled some of the pages. And she knew she was going to add these two new guys to the mix. They were just too hot to miss the chance to sketch them.
As she watched TV and sketched, she considered her little lonely existence. The pay increase would be a Godsend. She even thought about finally get a cat like she always wanted. She volunteered at animal shelter in Montana but he would never let her take one home. He never really let her do much of anything except work. Maybe Friday morning she could hit up Wild Junction’s animal shelter and see what they had. It would be up to date on all it’s vet needs and also be fixed, so it would be perfect for her. Plus, she would be giving a cat a decent home. The apartment complex didn’t have strict pet rules except not letting them roam free. That was fine, she was too paranoid to have an outdoor cat.
At that, her mind was made up. She would pick up her check Friday morning, hit the bank and then go to the animal shelter. Maybe Andrew would drive her? She could ask him tomorrow about it. He seemed nice enough to give her a ride. He did offer to give her rides to work… and he was hot and she couldn’t resist seeing him again. Maybe they could be friends.
She got a decent amount of sleep that, resisting the urge to text anyone. Haley was working all night and didn’t need to bothered by her. Haley was kind enough to know Riley needed to sleep for her morning shifts. Phoebe was probably out with her most recent boy toy and that was something Riley wasn’t interested in. Riley and Haley didn’t keep up with Phoebe’s toys until they were introduced. If the introduction never happened, then the guy or girl wasn’t important enough for Riley’s limited fucks to give.
The next day, all she did was laundry and finally sent Andrew a text.
Riley: Can I get a ride tomorrow? I’ve got a lot of places I need/want to go and no car. You don’t have to, I can walk if I need too. Its really no big deal.
She waited a little impatiently. It was already noon and she really wanted to adopt that cat tomorrow.
Andrew: Sure! Where do you want to go? I can spend all day driving you around if you need it. :)
She bit her lip. Well, wasn’t he just.. .helpful.
Riley: I need to pick up my check and hit the bank. After that, I want to hit up the animal shelter… I want to adopt a cat. I need a pet in my life. If anyone asks, you never heard this. >:(
She hit send and prayed he didn’t give her a hard time. She hoped he would remain helpful. She really wanted a pet in her life, to help her from going mad. She grew up with a cat but he (Mr. Cuddles) passed away when she was twelve and she never got another one. Her dad had suddenly become anti-pet. Well, he had become anti-everything in those last few years. It was a weird time. Now she was twenty-three, so fuck that guy who was once her father.
Andrew: Seriously? Yeah I’ll drive you for that! I promise, your secret is safe with me. ;) Pick you up at seven?
She snorted at that and sent a quick confirmation and thank you. He was a smilie user. She wasn’t sure whether to find that cute or childish. She went with cute. He owned a business and was her boss, so childish wasn’t applicable. But he was cute. Actually no, he wasn’t cute, he was gorgeous.
She texted Haley that and she only laughed at her, telling Riley to stop texting their boss. And that Andrew was one of the Kingson Estate boys and therefore, look but don’t touch. The same warning as Tuesday. Riley sighed at it. Haley was right, of course. She wasn’t looking to sleep with Andrew or anything(not like she would turn the opportunity if he wasn’t her boss), she just needed a ride. Haley and Riley’s schedules never really meshed well other then the Friday night meet up.
She decided to paint for the rest of the day, looking at all the sketches she had. Finally, she landed on a landscape she had seen two years ago on her way past Wild Junction. He car had broken down and she had taken a moment to grab a picture of the world in front of her. She then sketched it several times but never got around to painting it.
By midnight, she was only half way done. She needed to stop using oils. They were expensive and took so long to dry, but she loved how they landed on the canvas. She could only afford one canvas a month and she laughed thinking of what her new pay would be like. She would be able to paint more. She did a few excited fist pumps at the idea and fell into bed to try and get some sleep. She needed to be ready by seven for Andrew to pick her up.
ANDREW
Sh
e invited him out. Andrew stared at the phone, grinning as he and the guys watched a movie Thursday night.
“Guys, I’m going to get some sleep early tonight,” Andrew stood up, stretching as they all looked at her. “Got plans tomorrow.”
“Seriously?” Troy grinned up at him. “What’s going on?”
“I’m going to help Riley run errands in the morning,” Andrew was still grinning. She was feisty and fire and sass and he had spent two days with it, falling a little for it.
“Oh, seriously?” Gabe sat up, laughing. “What’s going on?”
“She needs to pick up her check and go to the bank. As for the rest, I’ve promised secrecy but it’s nothing dangerous,” Andrew patted Gabe on the shoulder. “But this is a good sign. She trusts me enough to ask so I’m going to take it.”
“Good,” Brenton waved a hand at him. “Now go, so I can watch this movie.”
“You would like her, Brenton.” Andrew stared at his Alpha for a minute.
“Sure,” Brenton turned and stared evenly at Andrew.
Welp, Andrew walked out before that became more then just a stare. Brenton didn’t trust women. They all tried to use him and get the money of the Kingson Inc CEO who was worth over a billion dollars.
He ran up the stairs and heard big footsteps following him.
“Andrew,” Zachary was there, at the bottom. “I’m going with you.”
“Didn’t Brenton tell you to stay away from her?” Andrew crossed his arms and Zachary growled.
“I need to make sure she’s not a threat to you,” he glared at Andrew who shrugged.
“Fine, you get in trouble.” Andrew wanted to curse. He’d been looking forward to a morning alone with her to see what she was like. Now Zachary was going to scare the shit out her. Actually…
“We’re going to see animals,” Andrew called to Zachary who’s eyes went wide. “That’s all I can say.”
Thank God, Zachary liked animals. Maybe that would keep him in a decent mood for this.
RILEY
Riley was up bright and early Friday, excited and anxious for the day. She couldn’t wait to finally get the cat she had wanted for years. She would need to ask Andrew about one more stop at the small pet store for supplies as well. She was pumped. She would get a car in February, she told herself, if the cat was affordable enough. One thing at a time. She didn’t really need that car, she liked walking. She ran to get exercise anyways and loved it so walking was fine.
She looked over her outfit one last time. It had to be casual, this was just her boss giving her a helping hand since he was a nice guy. That’s all, she couldn’t dress up, it was not a date. A Halestorm tee (her favorite band), black skinny jeans, black steel toed boots and a thick black coat. Maybe she needed to dress in more color or he would think she had some problems. No, she shook her head, why would she care what he thought about her casual clothing? She did well at work and that was all he needed from her.
But he was very sexy.
She watched the sun blaze down on the snow, none of it having melted since the storm. It was just too cold and that was Colorado every winter. It was just like Montana and she still wasn’t used to it. She grew up in Washington near the coast. Snow there lasted two days on the ground maximum and one was lucky to get six inches of it. She snort at the thought. Lucky to get six inches, awful. She bet Andrew had more then six inches… She was a pervert and she knew it.
Andrew: Almost there :)
Was he really texting and driving? She looked down at her phone, frowning as he drove up. She had been thinking of replying but then he was suddenly in front of her. He was texting and driving. Fool. Even she knew that was a bad idea.
“Hey, need a ride baby?” A male voice rang out. Harsh and cold like the snowstorm just earlier in the week. It was deep and rugged too with an accent that sounded city-based. Her head snapped up.
It was the blue-eyed guy with the black wild punk hair and the leather. She stared at him in the passenger’s side of the SUV(not Andrew’s truck) and swallowed visibly. She slowly looked around him, to a sheepish looking Andrew.
“Who’s this and what happened to keeping my secret, Andrew?” She asked loudly.
The guy got out of the SUV and looked her up and down. She watched his nostrils flare a little as if he was sniffing something. Fucking weird? Andrew chuckled at his… friend and her.
“Get in and I’ll tell you,” he made it sound like a dare. She edged around the huge guy with cold eyes and a colder voice and jumped into the passenger side of the front seat. She didn’t ride in the back. She wasn’t that type of girl. Big guy did though, accepting his fate at backseat bitch to her. She didn’t even need to call shotgun.
“Zachary Woods,” he told her, leaning forward to say it in her ear. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Riley Stern.” Suddenly, there was nothing cold about his voice. No, it was incredibly hot.
“I certainly hope you haven’t actually,” she responded tightly. “You brought someone with you, Andrew?” She turned to her boss, glaring. He was trying hard to keep a straight face.
“He just jumped in. He wanted to get out of the house for a little while. I’ve told him nothing,” he finally let another sheepish smile spread over his face and laughed without regard to her blush rising.
“Well,” she looked back to Zachary, “we’re going to the local animal shelter and I’m hopefully adopting a cat. I hope a big tough… guy like you can handle that.”
She swore he nearly smiled and she didn’t understand the inside joke as Andrew howled with laughter.
“A cat, huh?” He was now at least smirking, this Zachary Woods. A smirk looked fucking good on him. He had a God damn dimple and she really wanted to know if the other side matched.
“Yes?” She looked between him and Andrew, who was pulling off now. She had a feeling this was going to be a very long morning.
“Cool,” he finally said. “Cats are cool. I know a lot of cats.”
“Alright…”she turned to Andrew, who was still having a hard time not laughing while he drove.
“Zachary, I don’t think I’ve ever seen this from you, man.” Andrew chuckled hysterically.
“Seen what?” Zachary growled. She could only describe that sound as a growl at least. It was feral.
“There’s the Zachary we all know and love,” Andrew mumbled to himself. Riley could barely hear it. “Nothing, man.” This he said louder for Zachary.
She snorted and figured out that rib. Apparently Zachary was the temperamental one, She looked back at him and the glower he had plastered on his face, making it all harsh angles, had her a little worried. He glaring at the back of Andrew’s head.
“That’s his default face,” Andrew whispered to her. He must have been able to see it in the rear view mirror.
“I can hear that, fucker,” she watched Zachary reach one long leg out and kick the back of Andrew’s seat.
“Yo, man, I’m fucking driving. Can we not do this?” Andrew grunted. “I’m not even sure why you’re fucking here if you want to be a cranky fuck.”
Riley snapped her head back to Andrew. Did he just drop three f-bombs in three sentences? Good lord and all things holy. Zachary only growled at him and that sent shivers down Riley’s spine. That feral sound was hot.
“As I was going saying,” Andrew growled back. “I don’t normal see you try and be nice to people or have regular conversation. I guess that five minute change in personality had ended.”
They rode in silence for a little while, ignoring each other. Riley wasn’t sure how to feel about this entire morning anymore. They picked up her check from the diner and she nearly squealed at how much it was. In two weeks, her check would be even better.
By the time they were done with the bank, the SUV internal temperature was cold. It had less to do with the heat on and more to do with Zachary in the backseat.
“So, we should hit the pet supply store first,” Andrew told her quietly. “So you have everything you
need, even if you don’t get a cat today. You’ll be ready.”
She nodded slowly. Yup, that sounded pretty well thought out.
“What kind of cat were you thinking?” Zachary mumbled in the back. She had the distinct feeling he wanted to know what was going on but was too much of a bad ass to appear that he wanted to know.
“Something small,” she turned to him and smiled. “A little runt that I can cuddle with.”
“So…” he grinned then, looking her up and down from around the seat. “Like you.”
She bristled and glared at him. Wow, these estate boys knew how to say everything wrong thing. Andrew was back to chuckling to himself, shaking his head.
“I might be a little runt, but you damn sure won’t be cuddling with me,” she hissed. “So, no, not like me.” Zachary laughed, throwing his head back.
“Troy was right,” he finally patted Andrew’s shoulder. “She’s got a mouth on her.”
“Don’t antagonize her, Zachary,” Andrew mumbled between chuckles. “I want my employee to feel comfortable going places with me and not harassed by all of you.”
“Doing a stand up job there, boss man,” she mumbled and moved to look out the window. Zachary was still laughing to himself, not even attempting to control himself.
“Don’t antagonize Zachary,” he looked down at her as they pulled up to the pet supply store. “He can be downright mean if you push him and he really doesn’t give a shit about people’s feelings.”
She nodded silently as Zachary kicked the back of Andrew’s seat again in what seemed like retribution. Andrew didn’t respond this time and they all jumped out of the SUV. Luckily, the place was open this early. It was only eight, since they were able to get through the bank quickly.
Wild Pride (The Kingson Pride Book 1) Page 5
