Page 50 of Dirty Salvation

When at last Zara spoke, he'd seated her at the long-curved bar, banked behind with as many bottles of alcohol as you'd find in a nightclub. They lined up like sobering soldiers, below that shelf was rows or clean glasses of all sizes and shapes.

Rider stepped behind and cocked his brow.

She felt the swell of regret knowing that if she was ever capable of a normal relationship she would have wanted it to have been with him.

She forced a smile. "Wanting everything seems a tad much, don't you think? You've grown increasingly greedy in your presidency, Rider. I suppose you can buy me a free drink at your bar. I'll have a virgin Pina colada."

His grin turned her belly inside out. "Got no Pina colada, baby." She secretly loved that he was calling her baby. Some of her coldness thawed.

"Here, have a coke. I poured it myself so I know it's the best." His charm melted her further.

Not to mention the sinful mouth she couldn't stop looking at or wanting to kiss again.

"How many girlfriends have you had in the past three years? not including that hungry she-devil on her knees in front of you swallowing your dick like she was practicing for a pie eating contest." She plucked at a curious question.

She watched his eyes widen before a laugh barreled out of him. Zara smiled a little with uncritical satisfaction to have surprised him.

He propped his hip against the chrome bar, facing her, strands of chocolate brown hair not caught up in his bun hung down by his beard. She did the decent thing by reaching a hand up tucking them behind his ear.

He caught her hand, keeping it in his loosely, his thumbs working against her knuckles. Intense eyes on her face.

"Oh,fuck me, Icy, don't say dick like that, not if you don't wanna be spread out on this bar." Zara coughed and spluttered choking on her drink. "I'm never gonna live that shit down, am I? She didn't suck my cock, baby, god’s honest truth."

Zara lifted one of her brows staying quiet. He went on.

"It was a dumb as fuck move. I'd already dirtied you up, hadn't I? ripped all those orgasms out of you the night before, all sweet and begging. You were so wet, fuck, I could still taste you on my tongue the next day."

Her thighs clenched. Still, she didn't say a word, hardly breathed through his thumb brushing against her skin. It felt like small fires were licking her fingers.

"Dumb as fuck move, Icy. I knew you'd come to the club again to see me, one of my boys told me you were askin’ around for me. I told that chick to get on her knees before havin’ you sent over to the office, wanted to chase you off, didn't want to dirty you anymore, you had big plans, you told me when you were all soft and soaked in my pleasure. You were heading to law school. That wasn't gonna mix well with my club ... and ... Jesus. "

Rider paused to lift her hand to his mouth, giving the same attention only this time to let his lips move over her fingertips, one slow move at a time, each knuckle basking in his attention.

She tried to pull it back and he stopped her by pressing his mouth to the center of her palm.

"You rocked my foundations, baby, down to the core, I was fuckin' scared of that feelin'. I wanted to keep you, knew it the second I saw you in that teeny tiny yellow dress lookin’ like sunshine and temptation, my cock achin’ for you, I wanted you, but too much shit was goin’ down with my club, couldn’t keep you then, I thought I was doin’ the decent thing when in actuality it was a shitty move."

So much admission, Zara's mouth once full of soda suddenly dried on a hard gulp. The sips of cola feeling like sawdust in her belly.

Her eyes searching his face for any hint of a lie.

"It doesn't matter now."

"It does if you're still lookin’ at me the same way you did three years ago, like I crushed you. It was a shitty thing for me to do. I'm sorry, Zara."

“Apology accepted, but it really doesn’t matter, Rider.”

Zara shrugged, pulling her hand free at last, she rubbed at the tingles in her palm feeling his kiss there.

"Zara baby. Look at me."

"It's over, Rider, it doesn't matter why you did it, or why I believed what I was seeing. We didn't know each other or owe each other anything. Look…I. I should get back to----"

He growled low. "Baby. I need you to fuckin’ look at me now."

He'd wanted tokeepher.

Why was she choking on all those 'What If's' again?

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