Page 32 of Silver Spoon Falls, Vol. I
TWENTY-THREE
FRANCESCA
The timer starts on my special assignment in fifteen minutes, and I plan to ace it within five minutes after that. Do I feel a little guilty for getting help with my assignment? Nope. Not at all. Professor Bailey said we could use any available resources to help us find his hidden suspect file.
On Wednesdays, the Silver Spoon MC has church at their clubhouse, so their wives decided to have a female version of the meeting.
All the MC “old ladies” and their close friends get together and read down and dirty books.
Not long after I moved to Silver Spoon Falls, I met Scarlett Taylor when I stumbled into Gatsby Books, and we bonded over our love for dirty romance.
When she invited me to attend the weekly book club meetings, I jumped at the chance to meet new friends.
I even convinced Amelia to attend the weekly meetings with me.
Before long, we became close with all the ladies.
These women have a unique taste in books, and I’ve learned some very interesting things from the stories my new friends choose to read.
At the last meeting, I was complaining about my insane assignment and Scarlett Taylor offered to get me help.
Her husband is Finn Taylor, one of the best hackers in the world.
I have no doubt that finding Professor Bailey’s hidden file won’t even tax the genius’ brain.
The computer whiz even promised to tutor me a little, and I’ll take all the help I can get.
Establishing myself in the male-dominated field is an uphill battle, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get a leg up.
A little after I drive past the turn-off to the Silver Spoon MC clubhouse, my maps app pipes up. “Turn right in one-fourth of a mile.” Thank God for modern technology or I’d be completely lost. Scarlett wasn’t joking when she said their home is secluded.
I pull up at the home located way the heck back in the woods. Woah. This freaking place is awesome, and I feel so out of place. Taking a deep breath, I grab my laptop and head to the door. This is my chance to kick butt on my final and get a leg up on my competition in the forensics world.
“Good evening.” I smile as Scarlett, Finn’s wife, opens the door. “Thank you so much for arranging this.”
“No problem.” She winks at me. “Us girls have to stick together. “Francesca Moore, this is my husband, Finn Taylor.” As she points at her hot-as-hades, dark-haired husband, I realize this computer nerd is hotter than any of the hacker wannabes in my class. In fact, he’s hotter than just about any other man I’ve ever met. Except one. Mr. High and Mighty.
It’s terrifying how much of my brain the big jerk occupies.
I thought I was in trouble the first time I sparred with Ryker over security at the hotel.
Then he walked up to the reservations desk and returned my snark word for word.
By the time Mr. High and Mighty kissed me to within an inch of my life, I knew I was in deep doo-doo.
The big jerk stole my freaking heart before I knew what was happening.
“Nice to meet you,” I tell Finn. “And I appreciate you taking the time to help me with this assignment.”
“Any time.” He smiles at me before walking over to pull his wife into his arms. I feel a little out of place when he lays a deep kiss on her. “I’ll take you to my computer cave.” He points down a long hallway.
I follow him into the massive room that looks like CIA headquarters. “Did your professor give you any guidelines for the assignment?” We jump right in.
I’m explaining my assignment when the doorbell rings. “Excuse me,” Finn tells me and rushes over to glance at one of his monitors. “What are these fuckers doing here?” He mumbles mostly to himself before storming out of the room.
Curiosity killed the cat . I glance at the monitor and groan.
There on the massive screen are Ryker and two other men—a man who is obviously his identical twin and Bender Valentine, the recently retired rockstar.
Oh, man. I’m not sure how I feel about living in a town bursting at the seams with millionaires and celebrities.
Or the fact that the man who stole my heart has an exact replica out there.
A loud chorus of laughter erupts in the hallway, and I perk up my ears to try to hear a little of what’s happening, but the walls in this fortress are solid.
“It’s a surprise to run into you here.” My heart pounds away in my chest when Mr. High and Mighty strolls through the door followed by the three other massive men.
It’s like freaking testosterone overload in here.
I barely resist the urge to fan myself as I take a deep breath. “Is it?” We both know the odds of him showing up out of the blue are astronomical. About the same as a mousy, curvy girl like me snagging the hot jerk’s attention.
“Not really.” Ryker shrugs then prowls toward me.
“That’s eight, sunshine,” he growls, and my face turns red as I wonder if the other men have any idea what he’s talking about.
“We might have to do it in two sessions to give your gorgeous fucking ass some time to rest between my swats.” Just great.
Their chuckles tell me they are well aware of what Mr. High and Mighty is talking about.
I don’t have time to resist. The next thing I know, Ryker’s strong arms wrap tightly around my body as his tongue explores the inside of my mouth.
My hussy side takes over, and I melt into his kiss, forgetting about the other three men in the room.
I groan as electricity crackles up my spine and my knees turn weak.
Feeling his hard cock pressed against my belly wakes me up from my Ryker-induced stupor, and I attempt to pull back but he doesn’t let me go far.
“Good to see you, sunshine.” He smiles against my lips before placing a soft kiss on my nose.
“Your little avoidance scheme is over.” Mr. High and Mighty whispers against my ear, “I can’t take another second without you.
” All my snarky comments fly right out the window as I realize I feel exactly the same way.
We are in so much trouble. The permanent kind.
Ryker steps back and introduces me to his twin brother, Razor Montgomery. It suddenly hits me why Ryker looked so familiar the first time we met. Mr. High and Mighty’s clone was a member of Bent, along with Bender, one of the most popular bands in the world.
Razor Montgomery steps over and holds out his hand. “Nice to meet you.” I reach out to take his hand, but Ryker steps between us and slaps his brother’s hand away.
“Don’t even think about touching my fucking woman,” Ryker growls, and Bender Valentine bursts out laughing.
“You are so fucked, my friend.” The rockstar shakes his head, ignoring Mr. High and Mighty’s growl while stepping over to us.
“Now put the caveman away while I meet your girl.” Your girl?
Is there some sort of silent male communication going on around us that I’m not aware of?
The rockstar smiles down at me. “I’m Bender Valentine. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“You too,” I manage to squeak out past my dry throat, still overwhelmed by all the male hotness circling the room.
After all the introductions are done, Finn cuts in, glancing down at his watch. “Francesca’s assignment started five minutes ago. We don’t have any time to waste on this cozy meet and greet.”
Finn gets to work hooking my laptop up to one of the large monitors on the wall, and then we jump in.
As the computer hacker clicks through the hard drive, Ryker steps close to me and wraps an arm around my waist. Luckily, I have one of the smartest men on earth working on my assignment since my mind is mush from feeling Mr. High and Mighty close.
“Here it is.” Finn glances over and smiles. “I’m impressed. Old Professor Bailey did a good job hiding this.” I grab my phone and check the class comment board to make sure no one has beaten me to the prize. “But he’s no match for me.”
Finn clicks a few times, then my phone vibrates, letting me know there’s a new comment on the class board stating the assignment is over and I’m the fortunate student getting an A+ on the class final. Woot woot! “Thank you so much.” I rush over to Finn. “I can’t begin to thank you enough.”
Ryker grabs my hand and pulls me back. “You can express your gratitude from over here by me.” His tight grip on my arm leaves no room for argument. “Let’s get out of here. We have a lot to talk about.”
“I don’t want to be rude,” I hiss under my breath, trying to pull out of Ryker’s hold, but my pitiful attempt is a joke. His strong arm wraps around my waist and pulls me closer.
“We need to talk.” Ryker isn’t budging. “And I’m not letting you get away this time until we work everything out.” I’m pretty sure I hear him mutter, “And I make you mine forever,” under his breath.
“Poor fucking pussy-whipped asshole,” Finn grumbles while unhooking my laptop from the cord on his desk.
He smiles down at me as he hands me my computer.
“I’m glad I could help you.” Then he glances over at Mr. High and Mighty.
“You’re going to have to get over yourself while I give your girl a few pointers.
I promised my wife,” he adds quietly—so quietly I almost miss it, but the other men don’t.
“And you’re calling me pussy-whipped?” Ryker growls, starting a whole debate on who’s the most pussy-whipped man in Silver Spoon Falls.
Scarlett slips into the room and stands next to me as I pack my backpack. “See? They’re like little boys comparing their wee-wee size,” she teases as her husband walks over and wraps his arms around her waist.
“You know there’s nothing wee-wee about my equipment,” Finn growls against the side of her neck. “Why don’t we go upstairs and I’ll remind you.”
“That’s our signal to blow this popsicle stand.” Ryker takes my hand and calls over his shoulder, “See you assholes later.”
“Call me.” Scarlett glances around her husband and smiles. “We’ll set up a time for Finn to tutor you.”
I wave at my new friend and let Ryker drag me out of the house.
Once we step out onto the front porch, I pull my hand from his. “Do you have to drag me around?”
“No.” He shrugs. I squeak when he bends down and lifts me against his hard body. “I can carry you if you prefer.”
“Wait, wait, wait.” I smack his shoulder, trying to get a grip on this situation. “We need to set a few ground rules.”
“Whatever makes you happy,” Ryker agrees before kissing the heck out of me.
My mind shuts down as pleasure soars through my soul.
I forget all about our conversation and let his kiss pull me under.
When he pulls back and places his forehead against mine, I let my eyes slowly blink open.
“Now, what are those rules you want to discuss, sunshine?”
I can’t even remember my own name by the time he’s done with me.
“What rules?” Great. I melt against his muscular chest, trying to force my brain to function.
“Wait. It’s coming back to me.” It’s hard to concentrate with his woodsy scent wrapped around me.
“First.” I poke my finger against his chest. “You can’t pick me up any time you feel like it.
” Not that I don’t love the feeling of him holding me close, but there needs to be rules. I can’t make it too easy for him.
“But I love to hold your sweet curves against me.” He shakes his head, not really agreeing to my rule.
“Second rule.” Biting my bottom lip, I search my mind for an appropriate request. Oh. I got it. “I’m not going to jump into bed with you.”
Ryker’s eyes widen as he smirks down at me. “Ever? Because I’m not prepared to live the rest of my life like a monk.”
Oh, heck no. I doubt I’ll be able to control myself very long around hot Mr. High and Mighty. “Just until I’m ready.” I shrug. I’m not sure how long my unruly hussy lady bits will allow me to resist this insane pull between us, but I don’t plan to go down without making him work for it.
“Is that all?” One side of Ryker’s lips pulls up into a slight smile. “Two ground rules?”
“I might come up with more later.” I need to leave my options open. Just in case I find other ways to make him work for it.
“I agree to your rules.” I let him get away with the “ for now” he mutters under his breath. “Now, will you have dinner with me tomorrow night?”
“I work until six tomorrow.” All my intentions fly out the window as I stare into his electric blue eyes and find myself caving. “I’m available after that.”
“We can have dinner in my suite.” Woah. Wait just a minute. How in the world will I be able to resist him? In the presidential suite. With six bedrooms and six king-size beds available? I won’t.
“Maybe we should try out the Broadway Steakhouse.” I throw out an option that might result in me keeping my virginity beyond tomorrow night.
“We need privacy.” He sets me on my feet before placing a soft kiss under my ear. “To talk.” Yep. I’m sure it’s just to talk. And I’m the Queen of England.
“Okay.” I meant to say no, but my mouth took off without my brain and now it’s too late. Who am I kidding? There’s no way I can resist Mr. High and Mighty.