Animal (A Real Man)
RYE
I'd been called bad, dangerous … a criminal. And I didn't deny it. Everyone knew it, especially the one woman I wanted but couldn't have.
I should've stayed away, should've left her alone. Jessa was the daughter of my business partner, too young for me, too innocent.
But I wanted her in the worst of ways, and no amount of self-control could keep me from her.
I wanted to claim every part of her, make her know what it was like to have a real man between her thighs.
And I’d have her.
JESSA
He was older than me, dangerous, masculine in the best of ways. I saw how he watched me, the looks he gave me when he thought I wasn't paying attention.
Rye wanted me, even if he'd never do anything about it.
I was just the virgin daughter of his business partner, not someone he'd ever get involved with. But that didn't stop me from lusting after him, from picturing his big body over mine, his hands touching me until I cried out for more.
But I was tired of waiting. I would make the first move, and damn the consequences.
Warning: The hero of this story might seem like the “bad guy,” but no fears because it’s a safe read, there isn’t any OW drama, and he only has eyes for one woman. It’s a hot and dirty story, short and to the point, and exactly what you’ve come to expect in the Real Man series.
1
Jessa
I'd known him nearly my whole life.
My father's business associate, the man who put fear in everyone just by looking at them.
Now here he was, sitting at our dining room table, the cigar in his mouth causing a cloud of smoke to fill the small room. He had a square-cut glass of bourbon in front of him, and although my father was speaking to him about the business, Rye watched me.
Rye Jaxon.
Even the sound of his name did something to me. He might've been a business partner with my father, their illegal dealings bringing in loads of money—so much they couldn't even count it—but Rye was the muscle of the two.
He was big, strong, and tall. He was a beast, and all others took in his size and knew to give him a wide girth.
“Jess, sweetheart, I need you to go to your room for a minute.”
Although I was nineteen and knew the illegal operations my father and Rye did in order to make money, my father still wanted to protect me. Maybe he was naive in thinking I didn't know what he really did, how he sold drugs and guns, how he did underground business to make a living.
But I knew all of it, heard all the rumors. I’d even seen some of it go down.
I stood but kept my focus on Rye. My father was speaking to him about something, but Rye had his attention right on me.
He lifted his glass and took a long drink of liquor, his gaze locked on mine over the rim of the cup. I felt my body heat rise but suddenly chill at the same time, goose bumps forming along my flesh.
I shouldn't want him—not just because he was my father's business associate, not because he was older than me, but because he was dangerous.
I left and went to my room, shutting the door softly and leaning against it. I felt my nipples harden, pushing against the material of my bra and shirt. I was also wet between my thighs, an instant reaction I had whenever I was around him.
What I needed was to get myself under control because there was no way anything whatsoever was going to happen between us. Even if I threw myself at him, begged him to take my virginity, I knew Rye would never touch me.
But then what was with the looks he gave me? What was with the possessiveness I felt from him as he watched me?
Maybe I’m imagining those looks, that feeling?
No, that wasn’t something I could ever imagine.
I knew that I wanted Rye to be my first, wanted to feel his rough, strong hands on my body, holding me down, making me take all of him. This might be in my head, a fantasy of mine, but it was something I wasn’t going to let go of.
And Rye was who I wanted, who I’d have even if I had to tell him, show him how ready I was for him.
Rye
I left Kash's house, my thoughts on Jessa. Hell, I thought about her constantly. She was too good for me, too sweet and innocent, too vulnerable. I was a dirty bastard for desiring her, for imagining the filthy things I wanted to do with her.
She'd been living with her mother until last year, when she’d turned eighteen. But even before she’d lived with Kash permanently, she’d come to visit regularly. I never saw her as anything more than the daughter of my business partner.
But something had changed in the last year. At eighteen Jessa moved in with her father. Her mother had remarried and moved out of state. Jessa hadn't wanted to go with them, and so she stayed here.
I remember that day. She was no longer a child but a woman. She’d just graduated high school, her body all curves. But I told myself not to even think those thoughts of her.
She was far too young for me, nearly two decades younger, to be exact. But it wasn't the age difference so much that bothered me, but the fact that my life was not something I wanted her involved in, even if she was inadvertently because of her father.
Kash also tried to shield her, protect her from the work we did. Maybe it wasn't a living to be proud of, but it was who we were, what we did, and there was no going around it. The best we could do was make sure Jessa was protected.
I entered the bar Kash and I owned, walked past the customers, and headed to my office. The bar was a front, as were the other three businesses we owned: a strip club, a small corner grocery store, and a bar that was on the other side of town. They were to make things go smoothly with the law, to pay our taxes and stay under the radar.
The illegal gun business was where our money came from, and where we got all our connections.
Once my office door was shut, I moved to my desk and sat behind it. I busied myself planning the gun drop for later this week, something to try and get my mind off the one woman who invaded my thoughts constantly.
Kash and I were criminals in every sense of the word. I never tried to downplay it or lie about that fact. But we didn't hurt people unless they tried to do harm to us or the ones under our protection. We didn’t terrorize people, didn’t bully them or use illicit violence just because. We made money, albeit the illegal way.
We didn't deal guns to kids, didn't try to make an innocent into a criminal. We might not be law-abiding citizens, but when someone needed our help, we were there, no matter who they were, no matter what lifestyle they chose to have.
Kash might have thought Jessa didn't know what we did, how we brought in money. But I was fully aware that she knew how we made a living. Even before she lived with her father, I could see in her eyes the realization and truth of what she knew. She might never have brought it up to us, but she was smart as fuck.
When the drop-off was secure, I disconnected the call, tossed my cell on the table, and leaned back in the chair. I sat there for long seconds just staring at the wall, wanting to go to her, wanting to hold Jessa.
I'd never been a man who thought I could find love, thought I'd ever settle down. But I wanted that with Jessa. I wanted her to be mine in all ways. I wanted to show her that underneath everything I was a good man.
Or maybe I was a delusional bastard in thinking I could have her. Maybe I needed to get my shit straight and come to the realization that Jessa would never be mine. She could do better than me, could find a man who toed the line, who followed the rules.
I growled low, the sound involuntary. Just thinking about her with somebody else, imagining some bastard touching her body, making her feel good, pissed me the fuck off.
No. No one else would have her but me.
2
Jessa
I had my school papers spread out across the table, a pencil between my teeth, staring at the disarray that was in front of me. I was in my second year of college, and although my degree was undetermined, the prerequisites that I had to do were enough of a workload for me.
The flash of headlights coming through the dining room window had me turning my head and staring out the glass. My father's SUV came to a stop on the gravel driveway.
“Your dad here?”
I looked over at Trevor, my study partner from my history course. Although we should've just stayed at the library and worked on this project, I had no problem bringing him back to my house. But we probably would have been focused better at a school setting.
“You think he’ll be okay that I’m here?”
“Yeah, it's okay. He won't have an issue with us working here.” It was late, and we were on a deadline for this report. I'd rather be home and relaxed than trying to study elsewhere.
Trevor looked at his cell. “You know what, I should be going anyways, to be honest. I have an early class tomorrow morning and have a few things left to work on before I can go to bed.”
I heard more than one door open and close, but the light from the kitchen and the darkness outside made it impossible to see anything clearly.
“Yeah, it is getting late.” I looked over and watched Trevor start gathering his things. Gravel crunched under heavy footfalls right outside the house.
And then the front door opened and closed at the same time I heard my father's SUV leaving. My brows lowered in confusion. If he was home, then who was leaving with his vehicle?
And then Rye walked around the corner, his huge body filling the entryway. He had on a pair of worn jeans, and his black boots seemed lethal … shitkickers to be exact. He wore a white T-shirt, the material stretched across his massive, muscular body.
He was looking right at me, but when Trevor stood, his chair scraping across the floor, Rye turned his focus on my classmate.
I'd been called bad, dangerous … a criminal. And I didn't deny it. Everyone knew it, especially the one woman I wanted but couldn't have.
I should've stayed away, should've left her alone. Jessa was the daughter of my business partner, too young for me, too innocent.
But I wanted her in the worst of ways, and no amount of self-control could keep me from her.
I wanted to claim every part of her, make her know what it was like to have a real man between her thighs.
And I’d have her.
JESSA
He was older than me, dangerous, masculine in the best of ways. I saw how he watched me, the looks he gave me when he thought I wasn't paying attention.
Rye wanted me, even if he'd never do anything about it.
I was just the virgin daughter of his business partner, not someone he'd ever get involved with. But that didn't stop me from lusting after him, from picturing his big body over mine, his hands touching me until I cried out for more.
But I was tired of waiting. I would make the first move, and damn the consequences.
Warning: The hero of this story might seem like the “bad guy,” but no fears because it’s a safe read, there isn’t any OW drama, and he only has eyes for one woman. It’s a hot and dirty story, short and to the point, and exactly what you’ve come to expect in the Real Man series.
1
Jessa
I'd known him nearly my whole life.
My father's business associate, the man who put fear in everyone just by looking at them.
Now here he was, sitting at our dining room table, the cigar in his mouth causing a cloud of smoke to fill the small room. He had a square-cut glass of bourbon in front of him, and although my father was speaking to him about the business, Rye watched me.
Rye Jaxon.
Even the sound of his name did something to me. He might've been a business partner with my father, their illegal dealings bringing in loads of money—so much they couldn't even count it—but Rye was the muscle of the two.
He was big, strong, and tall. He was a beast, and all others took in his size and knew to give him a wide girth.
“Jess, sweetheart, I need you to go to your room for a minute.”
Although I was nineteen and knew the illegal operations my father and Rye did in order to make money, my father still wanted to protect me. Maybe he was naive in thinking I didn't know what he really did, how he sold drugs and guns, how he did underground business to make a living.
But I knew all of it, heard all the rumors. I’d even seen some of it go down.
I stood but kept my focus on Rye. My father was speaking to him about something, but Rye had his attention right on me.
He lifted his glass and took a long drink of liquor, his gaze locked on mine over the rim of the cup. I felt my body heat rise but suddenly chill at the same time, goose bumps forming along my flesh.
I shouldn't want him—not just because he was my father's business associate, not because he was older than me, but because he was dangerous.
I left and went to my room, shutting the door softly and leaning against it. I felt my nipples harden, pushing against the material of my bra and shirt. I was also wet between my thighs, an instant reaction I had whenever I was around him.
What I needed was to get myself under control because there was no way anything whatsoever was going to happen between us. Even if I threw myself at him, begged him to take my virginity, I knew Rye would never touch me.
But then what was with the looks he gave me? What was with the possessiveness I felt from him as he watched me?
Maybe I’m imagining those looks, that feeling?
No, that wasn’t something I could ever imagine.
I knew that I wanted Rye to be my first, wanted to feel his rough, strong hands on my body, holding me down, making me take all of him. This might be in my head, a fantasy of mine, but it was something I wasn’t going to let go of.
And Rye was who I wanted, who I’d have even if I had to tell him, show him how ready I was for him.
Rye
I left Kash's house, my thoughts on Jessa. Hell, I thought about her constantly. She was too good for me, too sweet and innocent, too vulnerable. I was a dirty bastard for desiring her, for imagining the filthy things I wanted to do with her.
She'd been living with her mother until last year, when she’d turned eighteen. But even before she’d lived with Kash permanently, she’d come to visit regularly. I never saw her as anything more than the daughter of my business partner.
But something had changed in the last year. At eighteen Jessa moved in with her father. Her mother had remarried and moved out of state. Jessa hadn't wanted to go with them, and so she stayed here.
I remember that day. She was no longer a child but a woman. She’d just graduated high school, her body all curves. But I told myself not to even think those thoughts of her.
She was far too young for me, nearly two decades younger, to be exact. But it wasn't the age difference so much that bothered me, but the fact that my life was not something I wanted her involved in, even if she was inadvertently because of her father.
Kash also tried to shield her, protect her from the work we did. Maybe it wasn't a living to be proud of, but it was who we were, what we did, and there was no going around it. The best we could do was make sure Jessa was protected.
I entered the bar Kash and I owned, walked past the customers, and headed to my office. The bar was a front, as were the other three businesses we owned: a strip club, a small corner grocery store, and a bar that was on the other side of town. They were to make things go smoothly with the law, to pay our taxes and stay under the radar.
The illegal gun business was where our money came from, and where we got all our connections.
Once my office door was shut, I moved to my desk and sat behind it. I busied myself planning the gun drop for later this week, something to try and get my mind off the one woman who invaded my thoughts constantly.
Kash and I were criminals in every sense of the word. I never tried to downplay it or lie about that fact. But we didn't hurt people unless they tried to do harm to us or the ones under our protection. We didn’t terrorize people, didn’t bully them or use illicit violence just because. We made money, albeit the illegal way.
We didn't deal guns to kids, didn't try to make an innocent into a criminal. We might not be law-abiding citizens, but when someone needed our help, we were there, no matter who they were, no matter what lifestyle they chose to have.
Kash might have thought Jessa didn't know what we did, how we brought in money. But I was fully aware that she knew how we made a living. Even before she lived with her father, I could see in her eyes the realization and truth of what she knew. She might never have brought it up to us, but she was smart as fuck.
When the drop-off was secure, I disconnected the call, tossed my cell on the table, and leaned back in the chair. I sat there for long seconds just staring at the wall, wanting to go to her, wanting to hold Jessa.
I'd never been a man who thought I could find love, thought I'd ever settle down. But I wanted that with Jessa. I wanted her to be mine in all ways. I wanted to show her that underneath everything I was a good man.
Or maybe I was a delusional bastard in thinking I could have her. Maybe I needed to get my shit straight and come to the realization that Jessa would never be mine. She could do better than me, could find a man who toed the line, who followed the rules.
I growled low, the sound involuntary. Just thinking about her with somebody else, imagining some bastard touching her body, making her feel good, pissed me the fuck off.
No. No one else would have her but me.
2
Jessa
I had my school papers spread out across the table, a pencil between my teeth, staring at the disarray that was in front of me. I was in my second year of college, and although my degree was undetermined, the prerequisites that I had to do were enough of a workload for me.
The flash of headlights coming through the dining room window had me turning my head and staring out the glass. My father's SUV came to a stop on the gravel driveway.
“Your dad here?”
I looked over at Trevor, my study partner from my history course. Although we should've just stayed at the library and worked on this project, I had no problem bringing him back to my house. But we probably would have been focused better at a school setting.
“You think he’ll be okay that I’m here?”
“Yeah, it's okay. He won't have an issue with us working here.” It was late, and we were on a deadline for this report. I'd rather be home and relaxed than trying to study elsewhere.
Trevor looked at his cell. “You know what, I should be going anyways, to be honest. I have an early class tomorrow morning and have a few things left to work on before I can go to bed.”
I heard more than one door open and close, but the light from the kitchen and the darkness outside made it impossible to see anything clearly.
“Yeah, it is getting late.” I looked over and watched Trevor start gathering his things. Gravel crunched under heavy footfalls right outside the house.
And then the front door opened and closed at the same time I heard my father's SUV leaving. My brows lowered in confusion. If he was home, then who was leaving with his vehicle?
And then Rye walked around the corner, his huge body filling the entryway. He had on a pair of worn jeans, and his black boots seemed lethal … shitkickers to be exact. He wore a white T-shirt, the material stretched across his massive, muscular body.
He was looking right at me, but when Trevor stood, his chair scraping across the floor, Rye turned his focus on my classmate.