The Alpha King

Chapter 7

Artemis

I stared out the window, deep in thought, trying to figure out why the hell I agreed to go out with this man? This was exactly the behaviour I swore to myself I would avoid at all costs and somehow this total stranger, Kayden´s landlord, wove through my defensive walls and coached a yes out of me. Why? Why did I do that? How did he do that?

I felt a little lost. No, scratch that. I felt completely lost right now. I couldn´t wrap my head around it no matter how many times I replayed the moment in my head. The way his gaze lit up when he turned around and saw me walking toward him, even his smile tugged my heart because it seemed genuine and warm. I shook my head, getting rid of those thoughts. This was a one-time thing only and after this evening I don´t need to see him ever again. He said no strings attached. Just a cup of coffee and then it's sayonara big boy, no hard feelings.

I snug a peek at his profile. The man was handsome, a strong jawline covered with a trimmed beard and those damn eyes. Up close, his eye colour was enough to make any woman swoon. I admit it; I swooned a little. Crystal blue coloured eyes were my weakness, not that I would admit it out loud, just to myself.

I glanced at his left hand resting on the wheel. The three rings on his fingers got my attention because they looked unique. Nothing I had ever seen before. Family heirlooms, maybe? The one on the ring finger looked platinum, although I couldn't be sure. If I wanted to take a better look, I would have to turn my head and he would then notice I was studying him. That was the last thing I wanted, to let him know I found him attractive enough to ogle him while he was driving. I was also fully aware of his right hand resting on the gearstick and his pinky finger almost touched my leg. The mere thought of his hand touching my thigh was alluring, sending warm tingles throughout my body, much to my shock.

Closing my eyes, I turned my head and, opening my eyes, I tried to focus on the passing buildings, ignoring the handsome devil next to me. I noticed the buildings had changed from tall skyscrapers into smaller houses and the street was narrowing. We were no longer in the central city.

”Where exactly are you taking me, Mr Barrett?” I asked again, a little annoyed. At the back of my head, I was regretting agreeing to this nonsense.

.

”Ryker.”

”What?”

”My name is Ryker. I don´t want you to use my surname when addressing me.”

I blinked. Twice. I wasn´t expecting him to want me to be so familiar with him already. I sure didn´t feel like we were on a first-name basis at all, if ever.

”Why?” asking that out loud sounded a little stupid, but I still wanted to know why he wanted me to call him by his first name if we weren´t going to see each other after the evening was over. I didn´t see the reason behind his request.

He frowned while pressing the winker down, turning the wheel and briefly glanced at me like he didn´t understand the question.

”Because I want you to use my first name,” he answered like it was the most logical thing. Well, it was but I still wanted a valid reason. Call me stubborn or stupid.

”Why?”

I watched as he parked the car on the side of the road and turned off the engine before turning to look at me.

”You´re a close friend of Kayden and I want to be your friend as well, but if you don´t feel like it after this day, I don´t push it.”

”But why?”

”Now you sound like a parrot.” he chuckled after I asked the same question the third time.

”That's because you´re not answering my question.”

”I have. Twice.” Ryker pointed out with a small smirk, irritating me even further.

”I want a good reason why I must use your first name. I don´t see the reason to do that if we will not see each other in the future.”

He paused for a moment, glancing out the windshield, his left arm resting on the steering wheel. I could see him licking his teeth while his lips were closed like he was trying not to say something he would regret later.

”Just humour me, I don´t like you using my surname. Can you please settle for that reason for now?” He turned to look at me again and I was about to say something but bit my tongue when I thought I saw his eye colour changing for a fraction of a second from blue to red. But it was so brief I was sure I had just imagined it.

”Fine. Ryker, where are you taking me?” I finally huffed as I looked out, seeing we were parked on a sidestreet. On each side of the street were small stores that looked rather cute now that I looked closer. Ryker merely unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door motioning me to follow him. Rolling my eyes I unbuckled my belt and step out of the car feeling the chilly evening air on my face. Closing the car door I zipped my jacket and walked up to him. Ryker locked the car and started leading me through the alleyways.

At the end of a quiet corner in the middle of an alley, he stopped walking, and I almost stumbled on my feet, hitting my forehead at his back.

”Here we are.” he chuckled, glancing over his shoulder as I glared at him in return. Stepping aside to see what he was referring to, I glanced at him again, a little baffled.

”Er, what place is this?” I asked sceptically.

”You'll see.”

I looked around the deserted streets and couldn´t find any remarkable shops or signs. Now I was getting worried, but Ryker smiled at me beckoning me to follow him when he saw my sceptical face. He took my hand before I could refuse and led me to a gate of an unremarkable residential building. I watched him press a button labelled basement.

To my surprise, a mechanical door, hidden in the wall, opened. I felt like I had stepped into some James Bond movie. The neon displayed inside had a retro feel, and saxophone jazz blared from the speakers as we stepped inside and I could take a look around. It was so different from the quiet outside.

”Wow…” I muttered to myself.

We went down the aisle into what looked more like a bar than a coffee shop.

”Is this a bar or a coffee shop?” I asked quietly while Ryker guided me to a corner booth that provided privacy. The bartenders and servers familiarly greeted him while glancing at me with a small frown.

"Little of both. During the day it serves as a coffee shop, during the night, more than a bar.” Ryker explained, sitting down in front of me.

I hummed, taking in my surroundings and couldn´t help but furrow my brows at the faces the workers were giving me.

”Looks like you´re a regular here?”

”When I´m in the city, yes.” Ryker spoke while waving toward the keeper at the bar.

”And how many women have you brought here hoping to get into their pants?” I asked sarcastically. Right after I asked that I frowned at myself. Why would I care? It was none of my business. I didn´t care if he had brought the entire army of women here with him. So why did I feel this small sting in my heart when I thought of him with someone else?

What the hell was wrong with me? It seemed I asked that question every damn minute. But to my defence, this man in front of me made me question myself more than I wanted to admit and it scared the crap out of me.

Ryker snapped his gaze back at my face with a frown of his own before chuckling, a one-sided ironic smile on his lips.

”None. This place is my getaway from my hectic work life, and I like to be by myself when I unwind. So, there's no need to be jealous.”

”I´m not jealous! I don´t care how many women you have been with here. I was only curious.” I huffed, leaning back, earning a burst of hearty laughter in return.

”Right. If you say so,” he chuckled when a waitress approached our table.

”Evening! I´m Jill and I´m serving you two this evening. What can I get for you?” she greeted us cheerfully, taking her notebook ready to write our order.

”I´ll take a large black coffee and two big chicken sandwiches,” Ryker said his order before turning to look at me. Biting my lip I was trying to figure out what to order when the waitress saved me trouble.

“We have the best pancakes in the city. I highly recommend raspberry and blueberry pancakes.”

I smiled at her and decided to go with a salty caramel latte and four raspberry pancakes.

“Excellent choice. I'll be back with your orders in a few minutes.” Jill said, before walking away toward the kitchen, leaving us alone.

Ryker studied me, amused, and it rubbed me the wrong way.

“Don´t get any ideas. I am not here to shine out your ego and I´m not jealous of your past women. I don´t particularly care how many you have f****d after taking them to a cup of coffee, but let me make this clear. I am not letting you into my pants after this evening is over. I will never let you into my pants.”

I watched Ryker´s expression darken as he leaned back while his left hand rested on the table, tapping the surface with his index finger. His glare was fixed upon my face and I could see what I said angered him. Well, too bad for him. I wasn´t going to take any of it back.

“You done?” he growled, making me jump at the viciousness of his voice. I swallowed and nodded, forcing myself to meet his blazing glare. I wasn´t one to cower in front of anyone, but his dangerous aura was now scaring me a little and I wondered for a minute if I had made the mistake of being so blunt.

“Let me be clear. It's not my style to take women out for a cup of coffee and then, as you so elegantly put it, f**k them afterwards to shine my ego. It is, however, my style to get to know them first before I even humour the idea of taking them into my bed. I´m not the playboy you seem to think I am. Sure, I have dated a few women in my past and we have shared kisses, but not everyone gets to my bed before the night is over.”

I was speechless as I listened to his angered revelation of his past regarding his dating life. I struggled to believe what he told me was the whole truth. This sexy hunk of a man seriously tried to sell the thought of him not having s*x with women who were more than eager to share his bed?

Pfft, yeah right.

“So, what? Now you´re telling me you´re a virgin?” I sniggered, not buying his explanation.

He merely rolled his eyes.

“No, I´m not a virgin. But I am very picky about who I allow to come into my bed and share a passionate night. I´m not a saint, but I don´t fool around with everyone who flashes me a coy smile and promises to take care of my every need. I have self-respect. And in my position, I have to be careful who I share my personal life with.”

That last sentence made me curious, and I tilted my head a little.

“In your position?”

“I have many businesses I manage, I am also a leader for many people. Some are just power-hungry, trying to take advantage of my title.”

It kind of made sense. A man in a prominent position had to be careful around others like my father always lectured me when I was younger. Never trust people you don´t know inside out. That was the only good advice I heard from his lips.

“Hm,” I mumbled.

Luckily, the server came back with our orders, giving me a short breather. I mulled over Ryker's words while focusing on the delicious, fluffy-looking pancakes in front of me, making me drool. The smell was sweet, and I wanted to dig right in ignoring the scowling man across the table. If what he said was true, which I highly doubted, he might be a good companion for someone who valued him as who he is rather than what he could offer with money and power. But men in his position liked to use their power over women to get what they wanted and I, for one, wasn´t going to fall under his spell.

Cutting a piece of the pile of fluffy pancakes, I took a bite and nearly moaned at the explosion of flavours that caressed my tongue and my eyes fluttered shut involuntarily. Holy hell! This was one damn good pancake. The sweetness of the raspberries, airy texture, followed by something lightly sour, lemon maybe? It worked miracles in my mouth.

When I opened my eyes again to take a second bite, I noticed Ryker looking at me with an unreadable expression on his face, but his eyes told a different story entirely. There was a storm of desire raging in them, and I halted my fork in midair.

“What?” I asked.

He shook his head and, taking a calming breath, shifted his focus on his food while I kept staring at him.

“Nothing,” he muttered, taking a bite of his sandwich, avoiding my gaze.

I shrugged, turning my eyes back to my pancakes, but I could feel the tension between us simmering underneath. I could almost touch it. I wasn´t sure what it was, but it was making me uncomfortable suddenly.

“So, what is your story?” His question threw me off since I wasn´t expecting an actual conversation with the man in front of me.

“Excuse me?” I paused my chewing and looked up at him.

Ryker stared right back at me with a small smile, taking a sip of his coffee. He then licked his lips drawing my attention to the motion for a second as he put down the cup and leaned forward resting his elbows on the table.

“I asked what is your story?” he repeated the question.

“I heard the first the time.” I snapped my eyes back on his face my face heating up under his gaze.

He tilted his head a little with a chuckle.

“Then why did you respond like you didn´t?” He sounded amused by my demeanour and I was getting irritated.

“I wasn´t sure if I heard you right. And I am not about to tell you my life story.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don´t know you, and after I tell you my story, you tell me yours and I don´t want to get to know you. I promised myself I wouldn´t get involved with men. Besides, I thought I made clear this, is one-time-only kind of deal.” I hissed, digging in my remaining pancakes.

“Has something happened to you in the past that makes you act like this when someone is trying to be nice, especially if it’s a man?” Ryker asked the question I really didn´t want to answer. I glanced at the plate in front of him but refused to see his face and continued eating.

“None of your business,” I merely muttered as I took the last bite and pushed the plate aside concentrating on my latte, playing with the creamy foam on top. I heard him sigh and silence fell between us but it wasn´t my luck to continue for long.

“Tell me at least why did you want to learn how to use bow and arrows. It´s not something every girl wants to learn as a hobby, in my experience.”

I looked up seeing him staring at me thoughtfully like he was trying to solve a puzzle. Something in his eyes made me want to open up to him, it was like he was putting a spell on me I couldn´t resist.

“I wanted to piss off my dad and I grew up watching movies and historical tv series where people used them. It looked cool so I wanted to learn to shoot an arrow too. But mostly to piss off my dad.” I shrugged.

“Piss off your dad?” he chuckled, crossing his arms a crooked one-sided smirk playing on his face.

“Yes. We don´t see eye to eye on anything. Not with my hobbies, friends or my work. So, I entertain myself by pissing him off whenever I can, because I can.”

I watched Ryker´s smile deepen into something darker, and for a moment I thought about Loki the God of pranks because it was so a mischievous smirk it caused chills to run through my spine.

“You are quite the firecracker then?” he asked, his voice dropping lower making me gulp.

“Maybe.” I shrugged while scooping a spoonful of cream foam loving the sweet taste of it.

“I know a couple of people who would love you for that,” he muttered to himself mostly, but I still heard it. Suddenly I realized I had spoken about my life, as little as it was but still. Although I had stated I wasn´t going to and that didn´t sit well with me. I paused licking at the spoon and lifted my blazing glare at Ryker´s face who in return lifted his brow in silent question.

“What the hell are you playing at?” I snapped, watching Ryker´s face falling into a look of total confusion as he scowled at me.

“I´m not playing anything,” he answered warily, studying me intently, apparently trying to figure out why my mood took such a turn all of the sudden.

“I don´t believe you. I specifically told you I am not interested in getting involved with you after today and I wasn´t about to share anything about my life. So what kind of stunt you´re pulling here getting me to tell you s**t I don´t want to tell you?”

I was getting angrier by the second. Maybe I was being irrational about how I reacted, but at the moment I didn´t give a s**t. Ryker´s brows shot up at my outburst and he leaned back, keeping his eyes on me like he thought I would suddenly bounce at him and slit his throat.

“I am not doing anything. Perhaps you subconsciously trust me enough to open up.”

“Well, my subconscious can go f**k itself, because this s**t…” I huffed, pointing to the space between us.

“Isn´t happening. End of story,”

“Why are you so defensive? I am not going to hurt you, you can trust me. We are two adults having a cup of coffee, it's not even a date.” Ryker spoke, sounding a little desperate. I bristled at the word date but bit my tongue from lashing out again. He had a point, I knew that. I also knew how stupid I was acting, but called it panicking or whatever. The mere thought of being bound to someone and getting hurt emotionally and physically was enough to keep my distance. I needed to protect myself and the best way to do that was to stay alone, not trusting anyone I didn´t know. I learned this the hard way and there was no way I was going back to that road.

“We´re done. Can you please take me back?” I asked, shutting down completely. I avoided his gaze, folding my arms around me like a shield, anxious to get out of here and back home. f**k, I didn´t need this s**t in my life. I was so good at living alone and I liked it that way.

His heavy sigh told me he was trying to keep calm, but fortunately, he didn´t say anything to persuade me to stay.

“Sure. I'll take care of the bill. You can go outside and wait for me.”

Nodding, I got up and rushed toward the front door, feeling his gaze on me the entire time until I finally stepped outside and took a deep breath. My heart was screaming at me to go back and tell him why I was behaving this way, but my head refused to comply. He didn´t need to know about my f****d up experiences in the past. Nobody knew. Not my brother, not my best friend, not my parents, not even Kayden, and I intended to keep it that way.  

I always told everything to my brother and Kayden, but this was something I was so ashamed of I didn´t want them to know and look at me with pity. I couldn´t deal with that. Everyone saw me as a strong, independent woman who didn´t take s**t from anyone and could kick anyone who tried to hurt me to the ground, but I haven´t always been this strong.

I had a dark secret.

A secret I would take to my grave.