Page 1 of Her Surprise Protector
Chapter One
Riker
I stopped being ticklish a long time ago. Back in middle school, tickling had been the best and easiest way to flirt with the girls in our classes without teachers raising eyebrows. Then I had started dating my first real middle-school girlfriend, Maddie - the first girl who had tickled me back.
That was when I discovered that I was so ticklish, even the slightest touch of fingers to my sides had me in paroxysms of laughter and tears. For my own survival, I had to adapt to my surroundings and evolve into a better version of myself – Riker 2.0, new, improved and no longer ticklish. Despite this, one thing could get through my iron defenses and recreate that tickling sensation I remembered.
That thing was the ocean. I stood at the edge of the surf on Cooper’s Beach, my face to the water and my back to my East Hampton mansion. Usually, the periodic lapping of the waves stopped just at the tips of my toes, but occasionally some little change in the dynamics of the tide sent water over and under my feet…and dragged grains of sand away with it, tickling my toes.
I didn’t like the sensation, but I could no more move my feet than I could my hand that held the glittering diamond engagement ring. The diamonds glittered cooly, but they didn’t feel cool. The summer sun and my uncertain fingers had warmed the stones.Warm. Like someone is actually wearing this.If I drew my hand back and tossed this thing as far as years of working out, learning martial arts and handling my duties as CEO of Sunset Security would let me, the stones would cool down. They might even drop to the temperature of the heart of the woman who was supposed to wear this.
My hand gave a little angry, betrayed twitch, and that was enough. Just enough to break me out of my paralyzed indecision. I could do it. I was going to do it. I was going to throw the ring into the ocean.
I moved my hand, but not to throw the ring. My fingers just cleared the teeth of a panting dog with curly brown hair as it jumped for the shiny object I was holding. “No,” I snapped, suddenly furious. The dog came bounding back for a second go, and I was forced to slip the ring into my breast pocket to hide it from the irritating animal. “No!” I fended the canine away with my foot, enraged beyond reason.
I had been so close. I had held onto the engagement ring for months, unable to look at it or incapable of throwing it away. Just now, I had been so close…
A flash of red came around the bushes that formed the privacy hedgerow between my mansion and the mansion next door. A woman emerged onto the beach. A beautiful woman, actually, if I had been in the mood to care about that sort of thing. The red that had caught my eye was her hair. It fell around her big brown eyes and lacked any sort of styling, but still managed to make her look sexy. Again, if I had been in the mood to care about these things.
“Is this your dog?” My frigid voice could have frozen the summer seas.
“Uh, y-yes- I mean, not exactly- Chauncey, come here, boy!” She made a swipe for the dog’s collar as he sniffed interestedly at my ankles. She missed, and the dog jumped up again, nearly bowling me over in the process.
Overtaken with righteous rage, I reached out a lightning-fast hand and snatched the dog’s collar myself. The woman snapped on the leash she was holding, sending me a quick, apologetic smile that instantly faded when she took a step back and saw my face. “If I ever see this dog on my beach again, I’m calling animal control. I shouldn’t have to deal with off-leash dogs outside my own house on my own beach.”
“N-no, Sir, you shouldn’t. I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry. He got out through-”
“I don’t want to hear excuses,” I cut her off. “I just want to hear that it won’t happen again.”
The redhead blinked rapidly and swiped a hand over her eyes under the pretense of checking the leash. “It won’t, I promise. Again, I’m really sorry. Have a- have a nice day.” Her voice almost broke, but she managed to contain herself and tugged the dog off toward the mansion next to The Eagle’s Perch, my own estate.
I almost called after her that Ihadbeen having a nice day before her dog showed up, but that would have been a blatant lie, and I was already pretty sure I would never see that damn dog again. This whole day had been a cycle of irrepressible memories and open wounds. Chauncey and his irresponsible owner hadn’t made things any better.Can this day get any worse?
I felt the tiniest sting of remorse as I watched her hurry back up the path from which she had come.No that wasn’t it.Cheated, that was how I felt. Robbed. Deprived of a chance to begin moving on from my ex-fiancée. Tossing this ring into the surf would have been a start. It had taken me so long to reach this point, and now I had lost my conviction.
Of course, a dog had been to blame. My ex had a dog. Let’s just say, ‘like dog, like owner,’ was applicable in Hallie’s case.
I trudged across the shifting sand to the back gate set in the elaborate wrought-iron fencing that protected my estate from the idiot teens that sometimes roamed the beaches. It swung shut with a clang, and I tapped my phone to turn on the security system, then followed the path to the back deck. I growled when I caught my bare toes on the last step that led up to the deck. Everything was against me today.
Well, maybe not everything. A glance at my Rolex told me that I had about half an hour before the agreed-upon time to meet my two friends, Zeke and Nate, at the Hamptons Peak, the Hamptons most exclusive club. We had turned the club into our mutual weekend getaway, a way for three shamelessly rich guys to keep in touch and relax over the countless luxuries the club had to offer.
This was just what I needed – an evening with the boys. No ex-fiancées and no irresponsible dog owners. Just me, several stiff drinks and a casual evening of betting over poker with my friends.
I had started to get ready before the ring had grabbed my attention and driven anything else from my mind. All I had left to do was change out of the linen slacks wet from the sea spray and the dog’s slobber, locate my wallet and keys, then smooth a little gel through my wind-tousled hair. I grabbed my phone from the hall table on my way out, strode the lengthy distance across the large, open living room to the garage door and slid into my convertible Mercedes. My aviator sunglasses waited for me in the cupholders and I slipped them on just in time to shade my eyes against the sun that streamed through the rising garage door. Closing the door and reactivating the security system took seconds, then I sped off toward the promise of forgetfulness and a good time.
As the manicured shrubbery and sand dunes on the other side of the street flashed past, I gradually managed to calm myself. Sometimes, I wished I could live in the Hamptons seven days a week. Unfortunately, that wasn’t where my business headquarters was located. Like many prosperous and successful companies, mine had made its home in the center of Manhattan. Monday through Thursday, the city called to me, keeping me in my penthouse that overlooked Central Park.
I loved New York City and the airy penthouse that gave me a bird’s eye view of it, but…the place wasn’t meant for one person. It was meant for three people – a husband, a wife and their son. The penthouse made me lonely for my family. I still felt their absence, especially when I returned home late at night after a long day of work.
I spent the rest of the drive to the club wondering how outrageous it would be to fly my private jet to work in the morning and back in the afternoon four days a week. By the time I had parked the car outside the massive building and taken to my own two feet, though, I had abandoned that impractical idea.
I said building, but the Hamptons Peak had several buildings, all connected with enclosed, glass-sided walkways. And a luxury golf course surrounded the place, giving way to the beach. I knew my favorite room, the Peaks Casino, would be buzzing with activity. The Hamptons was the perfect location for a club like this. Cash pretty much grew on trees around here – or, at least, it fell freely from the pockets of a few iconic families who had lived here for decades.
I swiped my card to enter through the arched front door. I would be spending some money tonight, that was for sure, but I might make some, too. It depended on whether my luck planned to improve at all or just stay terrible for the rest of this miserable day.
I didn’t have to check with Zeke and Nate. Thursday evenings always found us in the same spot. Not at all to my surprise, both men had already arrived and ensconced themselves at our usual table. Partially drained glasses were in front of their seats and a third, untouched tumbler was on the table at another seat.
“For me?” I asked, placing a hand over my heart. “You shouldn’t have.” I lifted the glass of whiskey and took a sip, the burn from the alcohol hardly affecting my hardened tastes.
