Page 14 of Keeping What He Wants

“You can’t tell me what to do, Ryker. I don’t care if you’re worried about me. You can’t come home and actually prevent me from leaving our apartment. You can’t do that. It’s not okay.”

“Well, I did it.” He kept his gaze on her. “I’m not apologizing for it either. I will do whatever I think is necessary to protect you. If that pisses you off, I don’t give a fuck.”

“They’re not coming after me! I’m not in danger.”

“You don’t fucking know that. I don’t know that. And until I know what the fuck is going on with the lead I have, you’re going to pretend you’ve got a target on your back. I’m not messing around with your safety. I think something bad could happen to you, and it’s not going to if I can prevent it.”

They stood there staring at each other. She liked his protectiveness. It annoyed the crap out of her, but she liked that he wanted to keep her safe. She couldn’t hate him for that even if she didn’t particularly like him in that moment.

“Let me go.” She gripped his arm and tried to move it so she could get around him.

“Why is it that you think I’m always partying and fucking around?”

She stopped. “Well, in all fairness, I didn’t expect you to be working with my dad on a case.”

“How many times do I have to say it? I only want you.”

She glanced toward the TV. “Maybe sometimes it doesn’t feel that way.”

“Why doesn’t it feel that way?”

“I know you were talking to a woman earlier when I called. You’re not fooling me by putting the phone on mute.”

He groaned. “How do you know that?”

“Because you only mute your phone when there’s another woman around. You don’t want me to hear what you’re saying to her. It’s not very reassuring.”

“Is this more reassuring?” He leaned in to kiss her, nipping at her lower lip with his teeth.

“I’m not having sex with you.” She shoved at his chest.

“No, you’re fucking me.” His hands slid down to grip her ass tight and rub her crotch against his erection. “It’s been too long, and we didn’t get to finish the other night.”

He lifted her and carried her to the sofa. He had to be a special kind of crazy if he thought she was going to give in to him. He reached for her jeans, and she smacked his hands away. Hard.

He held her gaze until she looked away. The club was the breeding ground for all kinds of fucked-up relationships. In the few instances she actually went there, she’d seen men manhandle the women like Ryker had just done to her. Telling them to suck their dick or bend over in front of them. Those women would do it willingly too.

She wasn’t one of those women.

He reached for her chin, forcing her to look at him. “I keep telling you that those other women don’t compare to you. I keep telling you that I only want you. I don’t know what goes through that complicated mind of yours, but it’s not even a question in mine.” He glanced down, letting his gaze linger along her body. “I know what I want and who I want. You are so beautiful and so damn stubborn. I love you, though. I’ll do anything for you. You are what makes my life complete.”

He undid her jeans and hooked his fingers in the waistband of her pants to tug them off her body. Ella pushed away from him, but he managed to pin her down and kiss the inside of her knee. He was too fucking big for the couch. It made for an awkward shift of bodies so that he could settle between her legs. She watched as he slipped his arms around her thighs, making himself comfortable while he held her apart for his liking. The thin lace barrier of her panties did nothing to deter his interest. She was wet, and he could probably smell her.

“You’re mine, Ella, and I protect what is mine.” He glanced up at her.

“You don’t have the right to treat me this way. It’s not okay. You can’t possibly think that it is either.”

“Treat you what way?” Ryker kissed the inside of her thigh.

“Like this.” She shoved at him. “Manhandling me. Telling me who I can and cannot go out with. I’m not some club whore, Ryker. You have no right to put me in that category.”

He pressed his face against her, not saying anything. Ella didn’t believe for one second that he actually listened to her. Ryker would always do what he wanted, and there was very little that she could do about it.

“You don’t know what a club whore is or you would stop comparing yourself to one. I honestly don’t care if you think I treated you wrong. I’d do it again if it meant keeping you alive and angry at me instead of some dead chick with a bullet in her head on the side of the road.”

He rubbed the tip of his nose against her clit. “And all that anger boiling up inside you is about me not coming home to you last night. For the second time, Ella, I was working. Not women. No partying. No drugs. I know you worry about me too, but baby, I’m just a phone call away.”

“Shut up.” His hot breath fanned against her wet pussy and only drove her agitation higher. He locked gazes with her as the tip of his tongue lightly flicked the stretch of fabric over her entrance. Maybe he was right. She did worry about him. They were supposed to meet at home, and he’d never showed. What was stopping him from being the dead body on the side of the road?

---