Page 6 of Home Game

What the fuck? Seriously? I didn’t have the time or the energy for this shit. Why hadn’t I offered her a couple hundred bucks to get a hotel?

She stood there for a long moment with her back to me. “What kind of pizza?”

I had at least $500 on me. I could give her that and drive her to a nice hotel. She would probably feel safer and more comfortable there, anyway.

Instead, I said, “Any kind of pizza you want. Or I know of this great burger place that delivers.”

She slowly turned around. Assessing me like I was a threat. She lifted her chin. “You should know that I’m not going to fuck you.”

Again, with the shock talk. It left me speechless. I was used to having an unlimited supply of the most beautiful, incredible women throw themselves at me. Punk rocker would come in dead last on my fuck list if she even made it on the list. Which, if I was going to be honest, she wouldn’t.

“Okay,” I said.

She gave me an unapologetic look and said with complete sincerity. “Sorry. But you’re not my type.”

Jesus. She was killing me. “Good thing I don’t lack confidence.”

She looked at me critically. “You do have a lot of confidence, although I have no idea why.”

I tried, but I couldn’t wipe that damn smile off my face.

CHAPTER 2

ZOEY

We drovein complete silence through the city. Everyone loved this city, but for me, this place was wrought with danger and pain. I rarely saw the magic that other people saw in Vancouver.

Deciding to go home with this stranger was probably one of my stupidest decisions yet. Men, no matter how good they smelled or how well dressed they were, were not to be trusted.

I was just so damn tired.

The last two nights, I had worked the evening shift at my job which meant I missed getting to the shelter in time. I was functioning on almost no sleep. Tonight had just been stupidity on my part. I had stayed to help a stranger, and now I was at his mercy.

I glanced over at him. His dark hair was on the long side and his facial scruff made him look older. I estimated him to be about 28 years old. He was tall and strong looking. He was definitely good-looking, but he did nothing for me. In my experience, men were to be feared and watched. They were bigger, faster, and they never asked. Attraction never played into it when I assessed a man. All I needed to discern was their threat level. Would I pay for this reckless decisionwith my life? Would Mr. Charming switch to Ted Bundy the minute he got me alone?

My gut said no. He hadn’t wanted to bring me home. He was doing it because he thought he should, not because he wanted to. Plus, he hadn’t once checked out my body. When he looked at me, he had this perplexed look on his face, while his eyes moved from my hair to my piercings and then back to my hair. I wasn’t super experienced with men, but I knew enough to know he wasn’t remotely interested in me as a female. The women he went for were probably as polished and glossy as he was.

We drove to Olympic Village, and he turned into the parkade of a huge apartment complex. He scanned his fob so that the heavy metal gates clicked open. He parked and turned off the vehicle before turning to me.

“Can I see your driver’s license?”

“Excuse me?”

He looked uncomfortable. “I can’t bring you up to my place unless you’re over 18.”

Was this guy for real? “I don’t have a driver’s license.”

“Do you have any ID?”

I glared at him. “Do you?”

He laughed and then caught my expression and reached into his back pocket for his wallet. “Yeah. Sure.”

I exchanged my health card for his driver’s license.

His face was clean shaven in his ID photo, showing off a sculpted face with high cheekbones, a wide mouth, and a defined jawline. His neck was thick and muscular.

Ryan Parker. 6’4”. 220 lbs.

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