him, as she’d done with everyone she’d met.
Mom and Duke hadn’t had a conventional relationship. Or a long one. They’d met while Mom was defending him on aggravated assault charges. Mom had once criticized me for meeting men on Tindr, but that seemed positively romantic in comparison.
After getting to know the basics about each other, I’d finally broached the subject of spending more time at the gym. Duke had been cautious at first, thinking that I wanted to hang around with him all the time and get to know my father. I explained that I just wanted to get to know the people here a bit better, and told him how I would soon be working for Child Welfare Services.
The second I told him that, Duke relaxed and started telling me all about the kids that had come here and turned their lives around thanks to some basic discipline and training. He actually sounded quite proud of what he achieved with some of his customers.
In particular, he’d spoken a lot about Riker Clyne, the former criminal and now fighter slash teacher. Duke clearly had a strong bond with Riker and he was the first person I got introduced to as his daughter.
The woman called Gayle, who must be his girlfriend, quickly dragged Duke away and left me alone in the office with Riker, a man whose muscles seemed to pulsate twenty-four hours a day if my meetings with him to date were anything to go by.
“You’re Duke’s daughter,” Riker said slowly.
Not so cocky any more, are you?
He sounded thoughtful now; not at all like the man who’d somehow charmed his way into my panties the other night.
I realized I’d stereotyped him. He looked rough, and clearly worked out a lot. Combined with his behavior, I’d assumed he was an idiot. I hated it when people were quick to judge others, but now I’d done the same thing. He’d just had a different upbringing to me.
One of the reasons I wanted to work for Child Welfare Services in the first place, was because every child deserved a fair shot in life. Thanks to Mom, I’d been pushed to succeed academically and could afford to go to a great college.
I hadn’t even taken out many student loans, which meant I could pick a career based on what I wanted to do for a living and not what I needed to do to pay the bills. How many people had that luxury? I was better educated than Riker—and probably everyone else in here—but that didn’t make me cleverer than them and it certainly didn’t make me a better person.
“Yes, I’m his daughter,” I said, aware that I had perhaps been staring at him a little too long. It said something for his face that despite the rippling muscles on show, I didn’t have any trouble looking into his dark brown eyes as I spoke.
“I didn’t know he had a child.”
“Neither did he,” I replied. “Mom died recently, so I decided to hunt him down.”
Perhaps I was just exhausted from the ordeal of meeting my biological father, but I was finding this conversation tougher than the one I’d had with Duke.
I could handle men like Riker coming on to me. Well, usually I could. The night with Riker had been different. I’d played it cool and calm that night until the moment I’d put his hand between my legs. Now I couldn’t even maintain a basic conversation with him.
This was purely physical. My body didn’t know or care whether Riker would be a good long-term partner. This was simple lust. Panty-drenching, desperate lust.
I wanted Riker in the same way that men wanted a bikini model, and it made me feel somewhat pathetic. I’d always thought I was above that kind of thing. Apparently not.
I’d been through a lot this morning. That’s all it was. My brain was fried, and my body wanted straightforward physical stimulation.
Not even Riker’s criminal background put me off. Duke had told me about Riker coming to the gym after a stint in prison for attempted murder. Regardless of your
Mom and Duke hadn’t had a conventional relationship. Or a long one. They’d met while Mom was defending him on aggravated assault charges. Mom had once criticized me for meeting men on Tindr, but that seemed positively romantic in comparison.
After getting to know the basics about each other, I’d finally broached the subject of spending more time at the gym. Duke had been cautious at first, thinking that I wanted to hang around with him all the time and get to know my father. I explained that I just wanted to get to know the people here a bit better, and told him how I would soon be working for Child Welfare Services.
The second I told him that, Duke relaxed and started telling me all about the kids that had come here and turned their lives around thanks to some basic discipline and training. He actually sounded quite proud of what he achieved with some of his customers.
In particular, he’d spoken a lot about Riker Clyne, the former criminal and now fighter slash teacher. Duke clearly had a strong bond with Riker and he was the first person I got introduced to as his daughter.
The woman called Gayle, who must be his girlfriend, quickly dragged Duke away and left me alone in the office with Riker, a man whose muscles seemed to pulsate twenty-four hours a day if my meetings with him to date were anything to go by.
“You’re Duke’s daughter,” Riker said slowly.
Not so cocky any more, are you?
He sounded thoughtful now; not at all like the man who’d somehow charmed his way into my panties the other night.
I realized I’d stereotyped him. He looked rough, and clearly worked out a lot. Combined with his behavior, I’d assumed he was an idiot. I hated it when people were quick to judge others, but now I’d done the same thing. He’d just had a different upbringing to me.
One of the reasons I wanted to work for Child Welfare Services in the first place, was because every child deserved a fair shot in life. Thanks to Mom, I’d been pushed to succeed academically and could afford to go to a great college.
I hadn’t even taken out many student loans, which meant I could pick a career based on what I wanted to do for a living and not what I needed to do to pay the bills. How many people had that luxury? I was better educated than Riker—and probably everyone else in here—but that didn’t make me cleverer than them and it certainly didn’t make me a better person.
“Yes, I’m his daughter,” I said, aware that I had perhaps been staring at him a little too long. It said something for his face that despite the rippling muscles on show, I didn’t have any trouble looking into his dark brown eyes as I spoke.
“I didn’t know he had a child.”
“Neither did he,” I replied. “Mom died recently, so I decided to hunt him down.”
Perhaps I was just exhausted from the ordeal of meeting my biological father, but I was finding this conversation tougher than the one I’d had with Duke.
I could handle men like Riker coming on to me. Well, usually I could. The night with Riker had been different. I’d played it cool and calm that night until the moment I’d put his hand between my legs. Now I couldn’t even maintain a basic conversation with him.
This was purely physical. My body didn’t know or care whether Riker would be a good long-term partner. This was simple lust. Panty-drenching, desperate lust.
I wanted Riker in the same way that men wanted a bikini model, and it made me feel somewhat pathetic. I’d always thought I was above that kind of thing. Apparently not.
I’d been through a lot this morning. That’s all it was. My brain was fried, and my body wanted straightforward physical stimulation.
Not even Riker’s criminal background put me off. Duke had told me about Riker coming to the gym after a stint in prison for attempted murder. Regardless of your
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