Page 48 of On Your Knees

“This is for you to sign,” he says, pushing a folder across his desk.

I open it and read through the contract. It all seems fairly straightforward until we get to the payment.

“You can’t be serious!” I gasp out.

“Do you want to negotiate your salary? I can pay you ten percent more.”

“What, no! This is way too much. I can’t get special treatment.”

“On that note, I’m out. I will be at your office to pick you up at five. We have something special we need to plan for your other boyfriend,” Zeland says.

“He isn’t my boyfriend,” I say defensively.

“No, but he will be ours if we play our cards right.”

I hear Zeland’s words but look at Ridge. “Not mine, stray. It’s you two with feelings for the kid.”

“More dicks for me, but that doesn’t mean he can’twatch. See you in a few hours.” Zeland winks at me and leaves Ridge’s office.

I wait until the door is closed, then face Ridge, who hands me a pen. But as I reach out to grab it, he pulls me onto his lap.

“I know this is new for you, and while I might not believe in love, I still like spoiling what’s mine. Zeland is hard to spoil because he has as much money as I do, but something tells me you are going to be just as hard.”

“Does Arlo earn this much?”

Ridge leans in and whispers, “He earns more. Zeland is going to call him up to his office to give him a promotion. Apparently, the nerdy gamer boy has caught his eye, just as you have ours.”

Leaning forward, I sign on the dotted line and then stand, turning around to straddle his waist. “I know I’m a complication you didn’t want, but before you decide anything more, you need to know I’m broken. I don’t want love—getting close to anyone makes me feel sick to my stomach. I will forever be waiting for the other shoe to drop, then for all of you to leave me.”

“It’s too late, stray. For some reason, you weaseled your way under my skin so deep I need to see you. We can be broken together, and on the bad days, Zeland will be the glue that holds us together. He has been my rock for years now.” Ridge places a hand on either side of my face. “You’re mine now, stray, and if you feel the need to leave, just try it, because you won’t be able to hide from me. I’m not going anywhere—not now, not ever. Once I let someone in, it’s forever.”

“So you’re like a wolf, the leader of our pack.”

Ridge smirks. “I’ll be your alpha.”

He nips at my lips before pressing his against mine. Maybe having people around isn’t a bad thing. What if my mother was the defective one, not me? She was supposed to love me unconditionally, but what if those who choose to be around you are the ones you need to hold close?

Chapter Eighteen

Arlo

Laughter echoes down the headset. “Awe come on, a cactus would fuck me harder in the ass. That was pitiful.”

I snort at that. It’s so fun to team up with UrNewStep_Mom against the annoying teenagers who play this game with their foul mouths and insults. I just sit quietly and have her back.

My life has changed since I met her. I have friends now. Sure, one is online and we’ve never met. Then there’s Aspen, who I swear flirts with me even though she is dating my boss, who also endlessly flirts with me through email, but she doesn’t seem bothered by that either. She explained they have a somewhat openrelationship since she doesn’t believe in love. Still, making a move on her would be a dick thing to do. I’ve been waiting for the masked woman to send me a new location. She said it would be tonight, but didn’t specify when. She is sending a Ridez to pick me up, and while going to an undisclosed location to meet up with strangers is probably one of the stupidest things I could do, I can’t wait.

My phone buzzes and I almost jump out of my skin.

Be ready in one hour.

My heart flip-flops in my chest. It will take me that long to be ready. I might have researched way too much, but after the masked man put his fingers in my ass, I needed to know how to clean myself out. It seems a lot more complicated than it really is.

“I’m out,” I say to UrNewStep_Mom.

“Okay, hot stuff. I’ll continue to show these boys what it’s really like to get fucked instead of pretending they have touched a female.”

I chuckle and tell her to have fun before logging off. As expected, it takes the entire hour to get ready, but I’m standing out the front of my house when a Ridez car pulls up. The door automatically unlocks, and I slide into the back seat.

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