Page 15 of Ryder’s Storm

Ryder crossed the street and looked up at the impressive house. By the looks of it, this Victorian had been renovated from top to bottom, no expenses spared, while retaining all the historic details that made San Francisco’s architecture so rich.

Since this was his first day of this assignment, Ryder decided to ring the doorbell instead of using his key. It was best to start off on the right foot.

Ryder heard the sound of footsteps approaching. His schooled ear recognized the click-clack of high heels. The door was opened by an elegantly dressed blond woman. This had to be the stepmother. Benjamin was right. She was stunning, and definitely not older than her mid to late thirties. But nothing stirred in Ryder. She wasn’t his type. Not even close.

“Mrs. King? I’m Ryder Giles from Scanguards. I was assigned—”

“—to protect my lovely stepdaughter, yes, my husband told me. Please, do come in,” she said with a warm smile. “The living room is the first door on the left.”

“Thank you, Mrs. King.”

“It’s Claudia, please. Mrs. King makes me sound so old.” She laughed. “Scarlet should be down any moment. She’s got a bit of a late start today. She studied all night again. I wish she’d get that head of hers out of her books occasionally. She’s so ambitious.”

In the living room, Ryder glanced around, making himself familiar with the windows and any doors, without being too obvious. “Nothing wrong with a good book, Mrs…. uhm, Claudia.”

“I’m glad I could arrange to meet you in person today. Transitioning to new security personnel is always hard for Scarlet. So I drove up from Palo Alto this morning.”

“You and your husband don’t live in the city on a permanent basis?” Ryder asked politely.

She shook her head. “Brandon—uh, my husband—prefers the peninsula. He hates the fog. But this house has been in his family for decades. We come here occasionally, but he travels a lot for his business, and whenever I can, I accompany him on his trips.”

Ryder heard the creaking of the stairs before Claudia turned her head to the sound.

“Scarlet,” she called out toward the hallway. “We’re in the living room.” Then Claudia whispered to him, “She’s a little shy at first when she meets new people. Don’t worry, she’ll warm up to you eventually.”

Ryder turned to look at the girl entering the living room. The moment their eyes met, Ryder froze.

As if paralyzed, she stood there, still a good eight feet away from him, dressed in a pair of jeans and a casual white T-shirt, wearing sneakers. Her long black hair was tied back in a low ponytail, and on her nose sat a pair of metal-rimmed glasses. She looked like an unassuming studious girl. But he knew better.

This was Scarlet’s disguise. Because he’d seen the real Scarlet last night. Or should he call her Sara? Because the woman who stared at him as if he were a ghost was the same woman he’d fucked senseless at the nightclub.

9

Scarlet stood frozen in shock at seeing Ryder standing in her living room. How the hell had he found her? And what had he told Claudia? And why had he even bothered to look for her? Did he want a repeat of what had happened the previous night? But then why did he look at her with an expression of utter surprise on his handsome face?

“Come in, Scarlet,” Claudia coaxed. “Meet your new bodyguard. He’s replacing Grayson as of today.”

Her new bodyguard? No, no, that couldn’t be! How had this happened? This wasn’t fair! No wonder he was looking so shocked. He hadn’t been searching for her after all. He was here because he worked for Scanguards. And there was nothing she could say to him to make him leave her home immediately. Not in front of Claudia in any case. Neither Claudia nor her father could ever find out that she’d had mind-blowingly fantastic sex with Ryder.

When Scarlet didn’t move, and Ryder remained just as frozen, Claudia added, “Is something wrong?”

“Not at all, Mrs. King, uhm, Claudia…” Ryder said with an innocent smile. “I’m sorry for my momentary silence. It’s just, whenever I take on a new assignment, I’m somewhat anxious whether I’ll measure up to my clients’ expectations and vice versa. But I think all my worries were entirely unfounded.”

What an actor he was! Christ, even Scarlet believed his statement even though she knew he was flat out lying.

“Your openness is so refreshing,” Claudia said with a broad smile, eating up Ryder’s boy-next-door charm like a cat a bowl of cream.

Ryder took a step toward Scarlet and stretched out his hand in greeting. “It’s very nice to meet you, Scarlet.”

She was forced to shake his hand. The warmth of his touch sent the same tingling feeling through her body that she’d felt when he’d touched her clit and made her come. Judging by the way he locked eyes with her, he probably knew what she was thinking. She felt her cheeks flush with heat, embarrassment making her tongue-tied.

“Nice to meet you too,” Scarlet said, knowing if she continued her silence any longer, Claudia would suspect that something was wrong. At least Ryder had the decency to pretend that this was their first meeting. She was grateful for that.

As quickly as she could, Scarlet let go of his hand.

Claudia looked at her wristwatch. “It’s getting late. I’d better get my errands done. Scarlet, why don’t you show Ryder around so he knows his way around the house. I’m assuming you already have a house key, Ryder?”

“Yes, thank you. I was given Grayson’s key.”