19
Penny
Before I even open my eyes and wake up all the way, I know something is wrong. I feel weird… off. My mouth is dry, and there is a bitter taste lingering on my tongue, almost metallic.
There is a pounding behind my eyes, deep inside my skull, that I’ve never felt before. This alone is odd because I’ve had my fair share of head traumas. I should be used to any kind of headache by now.
Prying my eyes open slowly, I take in my surroundings. I’m in Ryder’s bed… naked. His blanket is draped over me. I clutch it closer to my chest and slowly sit up.
I’m alone in the room, which scares me a bit. But the thing that’s really freaking me out is that I can’t remember how I got here. Searching my memory, I ransack my brain for any information on last night. Thinking so hard only makes my head hurt more, and I come up empty anyway. It’s like someone has taken an ice cream scoop and scooped out a piece of my brain, a morsel that held all of my memories from last night.
The last thing I recall is… getting on a bike with Ryder. He drove us to the bar, that’s where things get fuzzy. I think we went in inside…
After that, only snippets of memories flash through my head.
“Are you serious?” A muffled male voice meets my ears. Even through the closed door, I can hear the anger in it. Then I hear Ryder say something, but he keeps his voice low, so I can’t make out what he is saying.
Quietly, I get up from the bed and take small steps toward the door. Immediately, I notice something sticky on my inner thigh. I reach down between my legs, realizing I’m slightly sore, and there is definitely cum stuck to my skin. We had sex last night. He came inside me, again.
Damnit. Why can’t I remember anything?
I grab the first item of clothing I can find. It’s one of Ryder’s sweaters. I slip it over my naked body and tiptoe to the door, lightly pressing my ear against it.
“How can you trust her? And how could she have done all that math in her head?” The unknown man asks.Math…that rings a bell. Ryder asked me to run numbers.
“I just do, and she is good at math. She had no reason to lie.”
“No reason to lie? You’ve been keeping her locked up as your sex slave, ready to hand her down to the guys when you’re done with her.”
No.He wouldn’t do that. He won’t…
“Not to mention the shit that happened to her last night…”
I stumble back, my head spins, and my stomach flips.What happened to me last night?
My hand comes up to my mouth when I feel the vomit suddenly rising. I barely make it to the bathroom before emptying the entire contents of my stomach into the toilet. I keep heaving, my body convulsing, long after there is nothing left inside.
I don’t hear him come in. He just appears out of nowhere, kneeling next to me, his hand on my lower back.
When my body has finally decided that was enough. Ryder hands me a small towel to wipe my face.
“What happened to me?” My voice is so hoarse, I hardly sound like myself.
“You’ll be fine,” is all he says, not answering my question at all. “I need you to come with me and talk to Maddox. He is in the living room.”
I shake my head, but Ryder is already pulling me up to stand. Wrapping his arm around me, he walks me into the living room.
Maddox, who I now realize I know, is sitting on the recliner. His icy glare finds me, and my heart races in my chest.
Ryder drags me to the couch, where he sits down, pulling me with him. Instead of letting me sit next to him like I expect, he pulls me down on his lap. Keeping one arm tightly around my torso, almost like he thinks I’m going to make a run for it.
Glancing down at the floor, I find Mojo looking up at me, his head tilted to the side like he doesn’t understand why I’m scared.
“Penny, is it?” Maddox breaks the silence.
“Yes,” I answer, my voice sounding just as meek as I feel right now.
“What do you remember from last night?”