“Why don’t you come over here, sexy?” Wyatt calls out to her.
She flashes what is supposed to be a seductive smile, but it’s forced and awkward. She walks to Wyatt, swaying her hips. Wyatt is only a few of feet from me in a chair, but she tries to make those few feet stretch to miles.
She begins to dance for him, giving him flirty, shy smiles. I watch intently, low growls rumbling in my chest. I lean back, sipping my drink but never taking my eyesoff them.
She nearly jumps out of her skin when he touches her. Part of me thinks it’s because I’m here, but I can see in her face, that’s not the only reason. This is her. She doesn’t want some guy she barely knows touching her.
Everything in me wants to rip his arms off then shove them up his ass until he’s waving from his mouth. The other part of me wants to see her suffer.
Wyatt tenses when she jumps, clearly not expecting that reaction. He’s a good guy. A decent guy that doesn’t want to hurt anyone or make them uncomfortable. Not your typical rocker by any stretch of the imagination.
I envy him.
“She’s here to do a job,” I tell him casually, like I’m not about to burst into a flaming inferno of lust and rage. “Make her do it.”
Her entire body tenses. She glances over at me, the scorching anger in her eyes is only matched by my own. I smirk at her with a raised brow. A challenge.
A challenge I should not have issued because suddenly all the moves she learned in our bedroom are out for everyone to see as she grinds against Wyatt in a lap dance, staring at me with defiance. I clench my teeth, but I won’t be the one begging for mercy here. I’ll make sure she thinks twice before challenging me again.
“Why are you wearing so many clothes?” I taunt. “You’re supposed to be stripping. He’s not paying you to dry hump his leg.”
Her eyes grow wide, her reluctance obvious once again. She looks over her shoulder at Wyatt, biting that fucking bottom lip.
“Ryder,” Dane warns, “don’t.”
“She wants to get paid, then she should do her job.”
“You’re a fucking asshole,” she mumbles under her breath.
“No, love, I’m not. I’m just pointing out facts. Don’t hold out on them.”
“If she doesn’t want to, it’s okay,” Wyatt says. “I’m going to pay anyway.”
“Fuck that,” I grab her by the wrist, pulling her to my lap. I press my legs between hers and force them apart while grabbing her by the throat, bringing her to my chest. I breathe in her sweet smell of jasmine and vanilla. But when her breath hitches for a second, a sound she only ever made for me— when she wanted me as badly as I wanted her— I nearly lose my resolve.
I want her so bad it hurts. I close my eyes to remember that she’s the reason I can’t breathe most days. She’s the reason I’m angry and everything hurts. She took my peace. She took my heart.
I run my hands on the inside of her thighs as I bite her shoulder. “Show them how hot that pussy is for me.”
She shudders but this time, I can feel her embarrassment. I can hear it in her whimper. My stomach roils at the sound.
“Ryder!” This time it’s Angel with a warning.
“Don’t worry, mate,” I wave him off like a war isn’t being waged inside of me. I push her off my lap because I’m losing this battle to keep going. “Now, why don’t you get on your knees and show them all the things you learned when my dick was in your mouth.”
The room goes silent. The only sound is her sharp intake of air. Her green eyes pool with tears. My heart begins an erratic thundering. I fucking hate that I still can’t stand to see her cry.
I shove it away and focus on the hole in my chest. The one she put there. The one that will never be filled.
“Come on, pixie. Don’t tell me you forgot everything I taught you. Of course, you didn’t. Whores never forget.”
When the first tear falls, my need to take away her pain outweighs the need to punish her. Especially, when I’m the cause.I move to grab her up andtake her out of here.
“RYDER!” Maddox booms behind me.He is around to where we sit in a blink. He glares daggers at me ashe grabs her from the floor, pushing her to Dane.
“Heaven,” I say with so much regret. I move to go to her, wanting her to know I’m sorry. Maddox puts himself between us. I nearly punch him in the face until I see her bury her face in Dane’s chest.
Maddox and Dane’s blue eyes blaze at me with fury. It’s the wrong emotion to project at me. It incites me.The moment of regret is gone.Like throwing the whiskey in the fire, my anger begins blazing again.
