Love In Ink And Gold

Chapter 3

Yara tossed and turned, the cool sheets twisting around her limbs. She was in desperate need of sleep, especially with her mind filled with the amount of work she would have to catch up on early in the morning, but all she could see was Ryder Ashton. Her mind seemed to only have room for him: his striking jawline, the elegance of his meticulously groomed beard, something she had never been a fan of until she laid eyes on him. It felt as if he were still standing close to her.

She mentally reprimanded herself for having such thoughts and turned again in her bed. The sheets softly grazed her skin, sending her body into frenzy as her mind painted more images of Ryder’s smooth, perfectly tanned skin and those tight curls on top of his head, styled to utter perfection. She sat up on her with a huge sigh as she muttered, “Get a grip Yara. He is just an annoyingly sexy man.” She hated herself for even considering his stupid proposition.

“What you are suggesting, Mr. Ashton, is a marriage of convenience, and I fail to see what I would gain from being your wife.”

She caught him furrow his brow slightly, probably surprised and irritated that she was not reacting like any other red-blooded woman who would have dropped everything for the opportunity to be his wife. Marriage had always been a dream of her; that was before Chris had shattered her heart into smithereens.

“Oh come now Yara Rivers,” he had said mockingly, and her breath hitched at how smoothly her name rolled off his lips. She had to stop herself from groaning outwardly from pure arousal and decided to take a deep breathe instead. “I know you are smarter than that. You know very well this arrangement would ensure that every dream you have for you and any of your immediate family is at the tips of your fingers. You would get wake up every day to write and not worry about anything else.”

Attraction forgotten, she clenched her fists, her irritation boiling over and her resolve hardening. Who did he think he was? She knew he probably had no idea just how much trouble she was in financially, just how much he needed her book to do well so she could finish off Lily’s college tuition for her second year, but him saying all this still send an uninvited wave of embarrassment creeping through her. The fact that it seemed he could see the weight of debt on her shoulders made her want to slap him. Here they were, at an elite party and he had not even mistaken her for just somebody with life going well for her. She had walked away at that second without a second glance at him.

The next day was just as chaotic as her night of tossing and turning, praying she would go to sleep instead of pining over stupid Ryder’s angelic face. She was just glad Ivy had not come back home because she knew her friend would see right through her and think she had won. Yara had seen through that naughty girl’s plans as soon as she had left her in the ‘care’ of Ryder. She went through her day distracted and more broody than she usually was, writer’s block also being a total b***h to her; all her inspiration from last night was gone.

That evening as she busied her herself mixing cocktails and wiping down tables, Yara started calming down and feeling a bit relaxed. It was a Saturday night and the bar was at full swing with their regulars and late night strangers. Just as she was getting into the rhythm of her job she felt an arm snake around her waist. The slurred voice that followed disgusted her. “You wanna come back to my place tonight?”

“I am pretty sure my fiancé does not appreciate having your hand on her body,” Ryder’s strong voice cut through the air behind her. Yara wanted to die as everyone she worked stopped in what they were doing to watch the drama that was, at the moment, her life. Cindy was undoubtedly curious to know who this gorgeous man who looked totally out of place in the run down pub was. The drunk man raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, trying to apologize at the same time.

Why would he say that? She had not agreed to his ridiculous proposal, and she had no intention of doing so, not in this time or age. All he was doing at this point was irritating the f**k out of her and ruining her sleep, which in turn just messed up her whole day. “Mr. Ashton, my only interest is working with your publishing house. Anything beyond that, you can just forget.”

“I am assuming you’d also want me to reverse all payments for Lily’s college fund? Because as of three hours ago, her whole tuition has been paid in full.”

When she had overheard from the party how ruthless this man was, she just thought everyone was exaggerating but this was ridiculous. Was he really willing to break her to get what he wanted? How did he know about her only weakness in this world? It seemed he was not beyond using the young girl to get what he wanted.

“Leave Lily out of this Ryder. I work hard so she can have everything she needs, and I definitely do not need any handouts from the likes of you.”

Yara was beyond furious. The nerve of this man! And why did he think she was a good candidate for this little power play he was trying to play? There were literally millions of girls who would kill to be seen with him, let alone be his wife, and Exhibit A was at the bar, already drooling and ready to sink her claws into him. She turned her back to him yet again to go back behind the bar counter.

Ryder kept a close eye on her, still fuming that she was working here, where all sorts of drunk pieces of s**t thought they had a right to touch what he now considered his. He took a seat at a booth and just watched her as she finally slipped away from the barely clothed woman who was, no doubt, bombarding her with questions. Her phone rang, and she used that as an excuse to escape to a quiet corner.

“Lils, how is my favorite adorable sister doing?” Yara asked, trying her best to keep her tone light.

She knew exactly why she was calling. Only weeks ago, Lily had begged her to let her quit college to help her sister make ends meet but Yara had not wanted to hear any of it. She had not had a chance to go to college herself; her writing career was built on just her high school education, a very overactive imagination and a few online courses she had done before Lily started needing too much.

She had been dreading this call from the moment Ryder had told her he paid off Lily’s tuition fee. They were both very worried about how they were going to pay off this last semester of her second year and Lily knew her sister didn’t have money to cover her whole tuition, let alone the crazy amount that had suddenly appeared in her bank account.

“Do not ‘hi’ me Yara, what is going on?”

Yara would never worry her little sister, especially not about stupid things like having an alpha male force her hand in marriage, so she went with the first excuse that popped into her mind. “I got a huge payment for my novel sweetie. Surprise!”

Yara sighed in as she ended the call and almost her phone when she heard, “Well, I guess we better set the date for our wedding then Ms. Rivers, because the only way for you to make that little lie come true, is through me.”

He was not going to give her a moment to herself, was he? “I still have other options for my novel Ryder,” she shot back in a low hiss. “So please stop being an ass for just two seconds and let me breathe.”

Ryder’s eyes narrowed dangerously, his irritation growing with each rejection. Never had he ever thought he would have to beg any woman to be his wife. Yara Rivers was the first woman who did not seem to be remotely excited about the opportunity to be Mrs. Ashton. He had not thought getting a wife would be trouble, but now he only wanted this infuriating woman.

Did Yara not realize that marrying him would be an opportunity of a lifetime? Sure, her writing was good - really good actually - and she had a lot of potential. But after so many rejections, he wanted her to need him, to depend on him. He moved closer, being sure to invade her personal space until he had her trapped between him and the wall behind her.

“I will make sure no one touches your work, Yaya, trust me on that,” he whispered low.

He had gotten so close, he could smell her beautiful cologne and all he wanted was to bury his face in her neck and just drown in the warmth of her presence. He could feel himself get aroused as his hard body brushed against her softer one. She could have pushed him away but he could see she felt it too, the undeniable attraction between them.

“Ryder, please, just leave me be,” she whispered, her breath quickening as lips grazed her neck. What was happening right now? Here was this man turning her life upside down, forcing her to do something she never wanted for her life. Yet instead of hating him, here she was getting extremely wet for him.

“Are you sure that’s what you want Yaya?” His voice was getting ragged with the restrained. He was just a breath away from losing himself completely. He had never wanted a woman as much as he wanted Yara, from the moment he had laid his eyes on her at that party he had not even wanted to attend, if not for the predicament he had threw himself in.

“You are mine now,” he whispered, being dangerously close to her lips.