[Copyright © 2013 The Daredevil]

All rights reserved.

***

Ryder's POV

I walked down the steps in my house and cringed. This had been one of the wildest parties I'd had here, and it was definitely obvious with the mess. Looking around at all the red cups strewn about the living room, I groaned. I couldn't begin to imagine what the rest of the house would look like.

I walked down the rest of the stairs and rolled my eyes when they landed on several hockey players sprawled out on my couch and floor. Walking up to the first one in my way, I nudged him with my foot.

"Hey, dumbass, wake up, it's time to go home," I told him and nudged him once again. He groaned and rolled over, so I nudged him harder. "Get the fuck out or I'll break your legs."

"Alright," he mumbled as he dragged himself off the floor and stumbled out the house. I took a look around the room and groaned. There was way too many of them. Walking over to the table by our coat closet, I pulled the drawer open, revealing just what I was looking for.

I walked back to the living room and stood in the middle, pressing down on the button, I grinned and brought the bullhorn to my lips. "If your ass isn't out of my house by the time I am done speaking, I will fucking kick you out myself, and trust me, it won't be pretty."

I walked towards the kitchen as every person in the living room scrambled out; they all knew I wasn't playing. The last time someone hadn't left my house when I'd told them to, my team and I had stripped him naked, tied his hands behind his back, stuffed a d*ldo in his mouth and left him passed out in front of a mall.

Grabbing some garbage bags, I headed to the living room and began the long tedious process of getting the house cleaned. I had started picking up the trash off the ground, slowly making my way through the house, when my latest lay walked down. Where the hell had she crashed? Not in my bed. I never let any girl stay in my bed; it just gave them false hope.

"Hey, Ryder," she purred as she swayed towards me. I grunted a hey and hoped she'd take a hint and leave. "So I was thinking that maybe we could go get some breakfast..."

"Look, Jenny-"

"Penny, " she corrected with a hurt look.

"Right, you need to go. I made it perfectly clear what was going to happen, last night," I told her as I continued picking up the trash off my living room floor.

"But-"

"But what? Did you think I would change my mind if you gave me head?" I asked her with a bored look. "Go home, drink some water, eat something and forget about me."

"You're an asshole, Ryder." She glared and went to slap me, but I knew the routine already.

I grabbed her hand mid-way. "Not today. You knew what I wanted since the beginning, it's not my fault you think you can change me. Don't want your heart to be broken? Then don't fucking sleep with the one guy that makes it perfectly clear that he just wants sex and he only wants it once with you."

She glared as her eyes filled with tears and I let her hand go. I got back to work and soon heard her leave. I hated when they did that. I always made it perfectly clear to them that I only wanted sex. But they just had to try and make it something else. I didn't want a relationship, I didn't even sleep with a girl twice, did they really think I was going to stick to one girl? Fuck no.

I walked into the kitchen and cringed. What the hell? Why did it smell like urine?

Oh no.

No.

Fuck.

I growled when I got a whiff of our laundry room; it reeked of piss. Every fucking time!

My hockey teammates were lazy as fuck and usually used our laundry room as a fucking bathroom. It didn't matter how many locks I put on the door, they found a way to use it as their personal bathroom. I was going to give them hell in practice on Monday. Fucking assholes.

I turned back to go get a mop when I noticed the empty vodka and tequila bottles on the kitchen counter. Who the hell went into my dad's liquor cabinet? I was so beating the shit-

Casey.

Fucking Casey.

We'd drank the entire bottle. It was a good thing my dad wasn't coming home any time soon, or I would be in so much trouble. Speaking of trouble, there was someone I needed to see.

***

I looked up at the big, black iron gates in front of me and looked back down at the address scribbled on the piece paper in my hand. Did I have the right address? Only one way to find out. Pressing down on the button on the intercom, I waited.

"Yes?" a female voice crackled through the intercom a minute later.

"Is this Casey Stratford's house?" I asked.

There was silence for a minute. "Yes."

"Oh, can you tell her Ryder is here to see her?" I asked.

"I'll buzz you in," the person replied and a minute later the huge iron gates swung open. I turned on my bike and rode past them and down the huge driveway that could basically be called a fucking street, it was that long. I finally broke through the trees lining the driveway and a fucking palace came into view. What the hell was this chick made of? Gold?

I drove up to the steps that led to the house's front doors and turning my bike off, I got off and took my helmet off. I was standing at the end of the stairs, staring at the huge house in front of me, when the doors swung open. A women, dressed in a maid uniform, who looked to be in her fifties, walked out and stood at the top of the stairs waiting for me. I walked up the steps and came to a stop in front of her. She gave me a warm smile and I gave her an awkward one in return.

Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun, and the wrinkles around her mouth, suggested she loved to laugh. Her eyes were blue and friendly. She was a lot smaller than me, but that was expected, since I was six-foot-three.

"Ryder did you say?" she asked and I nodded. "Mm, Casey's never mentioned a Ryder. I'm Nadia, her housekeeper. Why don't you come in?"

I nodded and followed her into the house. My eyes widened when we stepped in, my mouth falling open. Seriously was this chick Bill Gates' daughter or something?

"Do these people shit money or something?" I asked and I heard Nadia chuckle.

"I guess you could say that," she replied.

"How long has Casey lived here?" I inquired curiously, looking around at the beautifully decorated home. Everything in the house looked like it would cost me a shitload of money to repair if I accidentally broke it, so I made sure to keep my hands to myself.

"Quite some time now," Nadia answered. "Have you eaten anything?"

I turned towards her with a grin. "Are you asking because you're going to feed me?" I asked her hopefully.

She chuckled softly and motioned for me to follow her. We walked down this long, empty hallway with different paintings hung on both walls, into this huge, Victorian style kitchen and I almost had an orga*m. It was stocked with the newest kitchen appliances. Something that no one but my dad knew, was that I wanted to be a chef. I loved hockey but it wasn't what I wanted to do all my life. My dad was a chef and he'd taught me how to cook when I was just a kid.

I walked over to the beautiful oven. It was a freaking 60cm 11 function pyrolyctic built-in oven. Mother of god. It was the latest in technology and it was gorgeous. I ran my hand on it's surface softly.

"Mm, I have a feeling you treat that better than you treat most girls," I heard Nadia say behind me, snapping me out of my haze. I turned towards her.

"Don't you?" I asked.

"Well it is the best in technology, what do you think?" She grinned and I smiled back.

"God, it must be like heaven cooking in here," I told her as I stared at everything in fascination. My dad would go nuts with a kitchen like this.

"I'm guessing you spend a lot of time in a kitchen?" she asked, her tone hinting at curiosity.

I nodded. "My dad is a chef."

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Tyler Cavanaugh," I said and watched as recognition flashed in her eyes.

"Oh, the owner of the 'Brewing Coffee'," she replied.

"Yep." I smiled.

"Casey loved eating from there; she was extremely disappointed when it closed," she informed me and my heart twisted in my chest. I'd hated to see the place go as well, but we had needed the money at the time.

"Yeah," I mumbled. "Speaking of Casey, where is she?"

"She's asleep," a girl answered as she walked in. She seemed to be about my age and looked a lot like Nadia. She had long black hair, blue eyes and the sexiest olive skin. She was hot but she wasn't what I usually went for. Who was I kidding? I didn't have a fucking type, she just needed to be a functioning girl.

"Are we talking about the same Casey Stratford?" I asked confused, momentarily forgetting the girl with the long legs in front of me. She couldn't be talking about the same Casey. There was no way the up-tight Casey that I knew was asleep at this hour. Although, I hardly did know the girl.

"Yep, she's a late sleeper," the girl answered as she gave me an appreciative look. I gave her a smirk and returned the favor. "Casey may be a nerd and anal about everything but wake her up before eleven and you'll regret it."

"Seriously?" I asked with shock. Mm, that's interesting. I guess the nerd had bite.

"Trust me, love, waking her up, is the worst thing you could ever do," Nadia warned and a light bulb went on in my head. What can I say, I have a knack for getting into trouble, and it would be fun to see calm, cool and collected Casey have a fit. "This is my daughter Savannah, by the way."

"Hey," I muttered distractedly. "Where is Casey's room?" I directed my question to Nadia.

She threw me a curious look before answering, "She sleeps on the third floor, why?" She wasn't done talking when I was already making my way to the stairs with mischievous plans. This was going to be fun.

I walked up the wide stairway, looking around. I found it odd that there weren't any family pictures hung on the wall. There were a lot of expensive paintings, but no pictures. I stood at the end of the first flight of stairs and looked to my right and then to my left in confusion, searching for the stairs that led to the third floor.

"On your right, end of the hallway. Once you get to the top of the stairs, you'll find Casey's room at the end of the hall," Nadia informed from the bottom of the stairs. Turning around, I gave her a grateful smile, before heading to the hallway on my right. I walked down the long hallway with doors lining it on both sides. Finally I arrived at the stairs that led to the third floor and I started up. Once I reached the top, I spotted Casey's bedroom door at the end of the also long hallway. Seriously, how many rooms did they need?

I started my walk down the hallway with a grunt. You definitely did not need to go to the gym in this house. Just walking from room to room would make you fit. I finally arrived at Casey's door and I smirked at the 'Keep out or enter at your own risk,' sign hanging on it. Please.

Knocking on the door once, I waited for an answer. Getting no answer, I slowly turned the knob and slid the door open. I walked into the dark room and got the shock of my life. I was definitely not expecting what I found.

Casey's room was painted in a dark blue, with white trimming. On the wall, posters of some of my favorite bands, like Led Zeppelin, Guns and Roses, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones hung in all sizes and shapes.

I walked further into the room slowly, my eyes traveling over every surface. Her bed was set on a higher level of the room. It looked a lot like the lower level, except the lower level was basically a lounge area, equipped with bean bags and the biggest plasma TV I'd ever seen. I turned to my right and my eyes widened. On another level, she had a Pool and a Foosball table, a snack bar and-

Holy shitballs.

Was that the latest xbox and sony playstation? Can I move in? My eyes traveled down to the cabinet with over-flowing games.There were all types of games. You name it, she had it. Who would have known that Casey was a gamer?

My attention was drawn to her bed when I heard her mumble something in her sleep. I walked over towards her, stepped up onto the higher level and stood at the foot of her bed. I stared at her as she slept. Okay, that sounded creepy. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and tried to stifle a laugh when she started to snore.

"Casey," I spoke softly, nudging her softly with my hand. "Casey."

She stirred a little and mumbled something, rolling over, which caused her sheets to move down, exposing most of her body. I tried really hard not to laugh at her pj's. She was wearing a pajama set that had 'Woody' from Toy Story all over it. I nudged her once again and mumbled her name. I didn't want to have to do this, but she wasn't waking up. Nudging her softly again, I shrugged when she didn't even so much as flinch.

Walking away and towards the bathroom as quietly as I could, a shit-eating-grin made it's way onto my face. Okay, so maybe I really wanted to do this. I walked into her-of course-huge bathroom, grabbed a pail, filled it with ice cold water, then walked back out and over towards her bed.

"Casey," I whispered, not really wanting her to wake up. When she didn't stir, I smiled evilly. Oh well. I tipped the pail right over her head and let the water gush out.

She gasped and sprung up. "What the-"

"Good morning, sunshine," I chirped happily with a grin.

Her eyes snapped towards me in surprise. "Ryder? What the hell?"

"You weren't waking up," I told her with a nonchalant shrug, fighting a laugh. She gave me a bewildered look, her eyes darkening.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she asked with a glare and I shrugged, to which she growled. "Run."

My eyes widened when I noticed the angry gleam in her eyes and I knew shit was about to go down. "Shit." I turned and bolted out of her room, with her hot on my heels. Not good. I ran as fast as I could, down the first flight of stairs and then down the long hallway to the second flight. Once I was down the second flight, I bolted to the kitchen. "She's gonna kill me!"

Nadia turned abruptly at the sound of my voice and tried to hide her grin. I ran towards her and used her as my human shield. Yeah, I know, not the manliest thing to do, but I wanted-no, I needed-to keep my balls attached to me and I had a feeling that was the first thing Casey was gonna go after.

"Nadia, move away from him," she demanded and Nadia tried to oblige but I kept her firmly in place. "Come fight me like a man, you p*ssy."

I tried not to laugh. Had she just called me a p*ssy?

"Casey, calm down, honey," Nadia tried to reason with her, holding Casey at bay.

"Fuck that, let me at 'em," she answered as she tried grabbing me but I jumped out the way just in time.

"Don't let her get me, Nadia," I pleaded and Nadia chuckled.

"Ryder Cavanaugh, get your ass from behind Nadia and fight me," Casey demanded and I grinned. Cute. Wait, what? Since when do I call girls cute? Hot, sexy, fucking hot, fucking sexy, sexy as hell, yes, but cute? Never.

"Come on, you little fucker, you wanted to play? Let's fucking play," Casey said as she tried once again to get me. "Nadia, you need to move out of my way."

"I'm trying," Nadia grumbled as she tried once again to escape my grip, only to have me tighten my hold on her.

"Oh my god, is that Savannah with our next door neighbor?" Casey suddenly exclaimed, her eyes widened as she stared out the back door.

I felt Nadia stiffen under my grip, and before I knew what was happening, she had removed my hands and was storming out the back door, mumbling something in Spanish along the lines of, 'Gringo pendejo."

My eyes snapped to Casey in horror. She gave me a smirk and lunged at me. I lost my balance and tumbled to the floor, Casey on top of me. She straddled me and started to lunge her arms at me.

I started to laugh. Seriously? This was what they were so afraid of? I laughed harder as her punches-well, what she called punches-came faster. My laughter suddenly died when she kneed me in the balls, hard. I winced in pain as my hands automatically went down there to protect me from any future attacks. She suddenly twisted my nipples and I yelped. What the flying fuck?

"Don't fucking mess with me," she told me as she grabbed a chunk of my hair and pulled. Well... that's enough. I grabbed both of her hands and flipped her over, straddling her, I took a moment to breathe. "Get off of me!"

"Mm, I knew I was right when I thought you were a feisty one," I told her with a smirk and she scowled. "A lady in the streets, but a freak in the sheets, eh, sweetheart."

"Get off of me, you perv," she demanded, wiggling underneath me. A part of me suddenly became alert with attention, making us both freeze. What the fudging fuck? "That better not be what I think it is."

I cleared my throat and adjusted myself. "Don't flatter yourself."

"Whatever, just get off of me," she replied and I obliged, standing up. I extended a hand to her, which she slapped away and got up on her own. "Wait a minute...what are you doing in my house?"

My stomach growled with the smell of bacon and my eyes were drawn to the huge plate of food placed on the kitchen island. My feet moved on their own towards the food. "Right now, eating."

"How did you get in my house? You know what, scratch that. Nadia has a knack for letting delinquents into my house," she muttered, giving me a distasteful look to which I replied to with a roll of the eyes. I dug into the huge plate of food and groaned. Mother of pudding, I think I just had my third org*sm this morning. Yes, third. No I am not telling you about the first one, you perverts.

"Casey, you want the usual as always?" Nadia asked as she walked back into the kitchen looking flustered, I tried to hide my smile.

"Yeah, thanks, Nadia," Casey replied as she walked over to the kitchen island and hauled herself up onto the chair next to mine. "Why are you here?"

I turned to her when I realized she was talking to me. "I'm here to make sure you don't back out on our deal."

"Why would I do that?" she asked in confusion.

"Because you're Casey Stratford," I replied, my food claiming my attention once again.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked with a dangerous edge to her tone.

I sighed impatiently. "Okay, how about we leave the questions for later? I'm trying to eat."

She gave me an annoyed look then turned to Nadia who placed a tall glass with a yucky looking green liquid in it, in front of her.

"What the hell is that?" I asked, giving it a disgusted look.

"It's a collard greens smoothie with mango and lime. Want some?" she smirked.

"God no," I answered in disgust. "Why the fuck are you drinking that shit? Here, have some bacon." I grabbed a piece off of my plate and shoved it her way, she backed away from it and shook her head.

"No thanks," she muttered as she moved my hand away from her face. Had she seriously just rejected bacon? Who does that?

"What? Do you not like bacon? Please tell me that's not the case here," I told her.

She shrugged. "I wouldn't know."

I stared at her for a minute, not fully understanding. "What do you mean?"