Page 20 of Keeping What He Wants

“Where is she?” Beth looked around. “This is your life, Ryker. You live by the brotherhood. She’s not one of us and she never will be. I’m surprised she hasn’t gotten herself shot.” She leaned forward and nipped at his lip. “You can play house with her, but I’m the one that will keep your dick hard.”

Her tongue slipped inside his mouth as she kissed him. What the hell was he doing? If she were any other woman, she’d be banned from the club. He pulled back and stared into her eyes. He didn’t say anything when her hands went to his pants. His mind was in a fucked-up place and the late nights didn’t help matters.

“Stop.” He grabbed her hands and pushed them away from him. “You of all people know that I deserve more respect than what you’re showing me. I’m not going to tell you again. My answer is no.”

She blinked a few times. He waited while she stood and glanced around. Having only one woman was an issue for many of his club members, and he’d let things with Beth get too far. He needed to go home. He needed to sink into Ella and get his head on straight again.

“I’m going home to my girlfriend.” He glanced over at Rizzo. “You need to keep yours in check.”

He went out to his bike and mounted it. He started it with ease and backed out of his spot. He could still smell Beth’s perfume on him, surrounding him. He had no idea how to explain that to Ella.

He rode home and parked in one of the apartment’s designated parking spots. Ella’s car was gone, and instantly his brow furrowed. He grabbed his cell from his pocket and dialed her.

“Hello?”

“Where are you?”

“I’ve decided to stay somewhere else for a few days.”

“What? Why?”

“I watched her kiss you.”

He blew out a breath. “Ella—”

“No. Stop. I don’t care about whatever excuse is going to come out of your mouth.”

He blew out a harsh breath. “You’re overreacting.”

“I don’t know. You say you love me, but it’s really difficult for me to believe. You try to control me yet you’re free to do whatever the hell you want. Another woman kissed you for a full ten seconds before you stopped her. You knew how I felt about the situation, but you went out with her anyway. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.”

She hung up, and he shoved his phone into his pocket. He wanted her. He didn’t know why he had to keep telling everyone that, but he fucking wanted her. Ryker climbed off his bike and went upstairs to their apartment. He didn’t think Beth would be a problem again. He’d told her what he wanted, and that didn’t change with the circumstances.

Ryker showered and decided to call Ella again. Not knowing where she was agitated him, but he was trying to slowly ease back on his protectiveness. She’d been pissed at him over the whole lunch-with-friends thing, and she’d gotten even more pissy when she’d seen Beth. He swallowed hard as he thought about her claims. If Ella weren’t in the picture, he knew he would have let Beth entertain him for her stay. The thought scared him a little, even though he didn’t want to admit it.

She answered the phone on the third ring. “Hello?”

“I do love you. That’s never been in question. And yes, she kissed me. She climbed onto my lap and ground her pussy against me. I got hard too. She tried to tell me how much I wanted her and that you didn’t have to know.” Ryker ran his hand through his wet hair. “Ella, I know how it looks, but I don’t want that. I want you. I’m sorry for today. I should have handled it better.”

“Then why did you let her kiss you?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t think about it. She just walked over to me and shoved her tongue in my mouth. It took me a minute to realize what was happening. I didn’t kiss her back though.”

“She clearly didn’t get the message if she ground her pussy against you. Did you touch her?”

“No.” He blinked a few times. “I handled it. She’s not going to bother anyone again.”

“Did you kill her?”

“What?” He frowned. “No. I told her that she of all people knew to respect me and my wishes. I also told Rizzo to keep her in line.”

She didn’t say anything, and he grew antsy on the line.

“The reason people keep questioning you is because nobody believes that you and I are it. You’ve gone from woman to woman since you lost your virginity. You don’t know how to be in a relationship and people—your club—keep trying to get you to give it up. You say you want to be with me, but you live two different lives. I’m not real to your friends, and because of it, they’re not ever going to accept that you want to be with me.”

He sat on the edge of the bed, propping his elbows on his thighs. “Inviting you into the club is a dangerous thing. I don’t want you part of it.”

“I don’t want to be part of your club. But our lives have to mesh better. We can’t keep going on like this. I don’t want to go on like this.”

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