He growled and shoved away from me, backing up. I dropped to my feet and breathed hard, holding his glare.

“Fuck this,” he barked, and then he reached out and yanked me away from the door, pulling it open. I watched as he charged out of the room, and I couldn’t help but smile as he ran away.

I immediately followed.

“Does this mean you’re tapping out?” I inquired with fake concern.

“No,” he bit out, storming down the hallway, the muscles in his back flexing. “Game change. New Players. There are plenty of other girls here, Rika.”

“And there are lots of guys here, too,” I threw back, following him down the stairs.

He stopped in the foyer and turned around to look at me, a dare in his eyes. “Is that so?” And then he smiled and twisted his head around, speaking to the crowd. “Listen up!” he shouted to all the guests hanging out. “Rika Fane is Horsemen property. Any guy lays a hand on her has to deal with us!” And then he turned back to me, lowering his voice with a smirk. “Good luck.”

I clenched my teeth together. Dammit.

Play his game. Play my game. It ultimately didn’t matter when he had more people on his team.

Fuck.

He turned around, knowing he’d won, and walked toward the kitchen, leaving me standing in the middle of the foyer, surrounded by people eyeing me and thinking God-Knows-What.

Horsemen property? Christ.

But then his words came back to me, and I paused. Any guy lays a hand on her…

I fought to hold back my grin.

Walking into sitting room, I scanned the area and then moved into the kitchen, finally spotting Alex at the island fixing herself a drink. She wore a tight black dress held up by a strap on one shoulder, bare on the other.

I approached her, and she immediately looked up. “Hey. Can you believe Will flew me here in his dad’s helicopter for this?” she said, setting down one bottle and picking up another. “Like I’m going to find a lot of business with the high school set. I mean I’m controversial, but not a pedophile.”

I snorted.

Not everyone here was in high school, and Alex certainly wasn’t much older than them. But yes, I could guess she was used to more sophisticated men.

I took a deep breath before I lost my nerve.

“How much do you charge?” I asked.

She set down the vodka and pinched her eyebrows together. “For what exactly?”

“For women.”

Present

PLENTY OF OTHER WOMEN HERE. Yeah, that was a fucking bluff if I’d ever heard one. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her, and I’d either have to swallow my pride and actually be nice to get into her bed tonight, or…

Or I’d have to pick another fight.

Either way, she’d have my number. She’d know I couldn’t stay away and that she was the only girl I wanted. How the fuck had that happened?

I stood outside on the patio with a few old friends—some locals who worked in town and some high school friends that never made it out of Thunder Bay—but I wasn’t listening to anything they were saying. I stayed rooted, my arms crossed over my chest, as I watched her through the windows talking to Alex at the kitchen island.

I couldn’t believe she’d called me Kai. And then fucking Trevor? She was doing it on purpose, but why would she challenge me?

She wanted me. Why not just give in?

But no, the more I tried to get her to melt for me and forget all the bullshit we’d gone through tonight, the more she opened her smart ass mouth to feed me her disdain. I couldn’t bend her anymore. She was laughing at me.

What if I’d completely corrupted her? What if she’d begun to like playing games too much, and the lust to play—and to win—overpowered her need for me?

What if her heart had hardened so much that she closed herself off in order to survive?

What if I was the one that had to bend?

Unease weighted on my shoulders, and I let out a breath. I need her.

I want her.

At least tonight I was safe. I’d won this round. No guy was going to come near her, so she’d eventually just go to bed in defeat.

She had no cards left to play.

I watched as she and Alex walked around the island, Goodbye Agony playing through the house, but then Rika stopped, looked up, and met my eyes through the glass. Leaving Alex standing in the middle of the kitchen, Rika opened the door and walked up to me, leaning in.

“You said no guys, right?” she asked, sounding mischievous. “Just making sure.”

One corner of her lips curled, and she turned, walking back inside. I watched as Alex shot me a smug, devious smile and took Rika’s hand, leading her out of the kitchen.

What the…?

I inched to the side, following them through the foyer with my eyes and seeing Rika cast one more glance behind her before they disappeared up the stairs.

No guys. Meaning…?

Charging for the door, I swung it open and bolted through the kitchen.

“Hey, where you going?” Kai grabbed my arm, stopping me. “We’ve got to talk about Damon.”

“Tomorrow.” I pulled away, dismissing him, and made my way through the foyer and up the stairs.

I couldn’t think about Damon right now. He was injured, and he wasn’t doing anything tonight.

Walking down the dimly lit hallway, I approached Rika’s bedroom, noticing that the door was open. The entire upstairs was quiet, the echoes of the music downstairs like a faraway hum.