by Raven Scott
Or like, the pork briskets curing in the grocery store by my apartment.
Shaking my head as Riley’s hoarse screeching muffled slightly, I cleared my throat roughly.
Brighton crossed his muscular arms over his broad chest, his chest hairs curling out the top of his shirt.
Can’t get much more Italian than this right here.
“So-o. . . what do you want, Brighton? Or are you just gonna stand there and stare at me like I pissed in your cereal?” Rocking back on my heels, I stuffed my hands in my pockets to cock my head. “I don’t think we’ll be much longer. Plus, we got dinner reservations for 8:30.”
“Look, Reece— I know she got the shit smacked out of her, and she needs to let it out, but you should’ve gotten a soundproof room.”
My eyes narrowed on him, and I fished out my cell phone as I stared down my nose at Brighton. I liked the guy, but he should’ve known better than to interrupt me over a fucking noise complaint. “I expected to fuck her when I booked, not walk through her crisis, Brighton. From now on, I’ll remember to get the soundproof room. We’re almost done. Speaking of done. . .” Trailing off, I glanced down at my phone as I huffed an inhale. “You do what I asked?”
“Brandon hasn’t been back. I don’t know what you expect, Reece, but he probably won’t come back after we threw his ass out in the snow naked.”
Nah, guys like him are annoyingly persistent. Rolling my eyes, I turned to reenter my room.
Riley was panting and whimpering. So faintly, a tiny, yellow-green mark marred her jaw, the sickly color amplified by the sweat dripping off her. My lip twitched in a snarl, and I slid my phone back into my pocket to walk over to the mini fridge. “You want some water, Riley?”
My coo earned me a rasping ‘yes’, and Riley jostled slightly at the sudden sound of my voice.
Grabbing a water bottle from the fridge, I twisted the cap and took a few gulps myself. Watching her scream like that ‒ like she was dying ‒ these disgusting, gut-wrenching, brutally pathetic shrieks…it was enough to make anyone feel the pain. Her breath hitched when I pressed the bottle to her cheek, lips puckering slightly as I guided the opening to them. “Slowly, baby, slowly.”
But Riley wasn’t slow, and water sloshed out of the bottle to trail down her neck and breasts. Her nipples hardened from the cold, but no goosebumps pocked her skin.
Cooing softly, I just let her drink.
She drained the bottle in record time before panting and coughing harshly.
“More?” I tossed the bottle carelessly, reaching up to grab the pull cord hanging from the ceiling.
Riley’s lips moved, but no sound came out.
The chain resisted when I yanked, and I grunted with the effort as cold water rained down from sprinklers. Her body jerked from the sudden, frigid drops pelting her skin and soaking her hair. My gaze slid from her jostling, shivering body to the clock on the wall, and I fought back a frown.
Thankfully, it didn’t take nearly as much time to untie Riley as it did to hang her up in the first place. Her chattering teeth and light whimpers filled the room, and I left one ripcord for the electrical box hanging nearby. Black Cat had all sorts of fun shit to play with, and I wasn’t gonna lie… I was a little disappointed that things had gone the way they did.
Mechanical whirring buzzed in my ears as Riley lowered, the drain in the floor gurgling loudly before she even reached the tiles. Flicking open a boxcutter, I started sawing away at the ropes that bound her. Even while I was tying her, I was hoping to get lucky, but this probably worked out better for me, anyway.
The very last thing I wanted was Riley thinking I only cared about sex with her. If I had to be by her side, comfort her through her bullshit, I would— because to her, it wasn’t bullshit. Her mother was a cunt, and she’d never once mentioned her dad. She had a brother, but he was a drug addict loser as of 3 years ago, the last time she’d seen him. In passing, she’d mentioned how he just disappeared from her life, and no one talked about her brother.
Which really fell in line with what I assumed about her mother. The bitch.
Riley’s limbs unraveled to flop against the floor.
My brows in surprise when she seemed to have the strength to hold herself on her arms. She panted wildly through flared nostrils, and I started untangling her hair to pull off her blindfold.
Her big, brown eyes were glossy under heavy lids, wandering until they found mine, and she blinked sluggishly. “Ugh…”
I had my own change of clothes, so I didn’t hesitate to wrap my arms around her and pick her up.
“That was— that was. . .”
“I know, Riley. Don’t rush.” Setting her on the bed pushed up against the corner, I grabbed the towel I’d set out and plopped it on her head.
Her shivering intensified, and she wrapped her arms around herself.
“We should just make it to dinner. I booked us a table at Le Travoletta. They’re pretty upscale, but the food is great, and they don’t get skimpy about the portion.”
“Oh.” She sniffled hard as the fog in her eyes started to clear. “Thank you.”
My lips quirked up at her dazed reply. “You’re very welcome.” Gently drying her cheeks and down her neck, warmth suffused my chest at the genuine gratitude in her tone. No woman deserved to get hit, let alone being told it was her fault. The fact that her mother probably doubled down had only made it worse. I’d gone into Riley’s phone to make sure she’d blocked her mother like she said she had, and I was proud of her for finally sticking to her immediate, gut instinct.
“I feel a lot better.” Riley cleared her throat of its roughness. “I know this— it didn’t go how you expected, but—”
My smile widened as I worked the fluffy, white towel around her shoulders. “Why do you do that?” Cutting her off, I reached to grab a second towel and start drying her legs.
Riley tensed as her gaze laid heavily on my crown.
“You don’t have to ever apologize for needing anything. Yeah, I booked this room because I wanted to fuck you, but you know what’s more important than draining my balls? You, Riley.”
When I glanced up, she was getting all watery eyed again.
My heart throbbed painfully as I covered her thighs with the towel. Reaching to cup her round face in both my hands, I knew my smile strained as her jaw ticked wildly under my palms. “You are important, Riley. What you want is important. What you need is important. You shouldn’t feel guilty for putting yourself first, especially when the alternative is sex.” Today was just down the shitter all around, and I tapped her chin with my thumb as it wobbled dangerously. “Besides, I can always jerk off to your pictures. I’m no professional, but I think I worked it well.”
Blubbering a laugh, Riley inhaled a deep breath.
I smirked as I dried her legs and feet.
She flopped back onto the bed with a groan, but the atmosphere was lighter, now.
I couldn’t resist tickling her feet a little, the soft soles twitching and her toes spreading as her giggle caressed even the deepest crevices of my brain.
“Why are you so good to me, huh?” she asked.
My brows knitted at the rhetorical question, or was Riley really expecting an answer? Why was I so good to her? That’s easy. “Because I want you to like me— duh. I don’t screw around with my relationships, you know. Plus, you owe me. I got you donuts you didn’t even ask for. I’m an entitled, rich white guy that expects to fuck when I so much as glance in your general direction.”
She laughed again.
Such a pretty, light laugh that I could seriously get used to. I stood up to start unbuttoning my shirt.
Riley’s expression was really pure. She didn’t necessarily look happy, but there was this peacefulness about her that radiated from her pores like a furnace on high.
“Seriously, though, Riley. I figured you can’t do that if you think I’m only doing this out of pity. I’m not. I’m doing it because I wanna fuck you on a regular basis
.”
“Did you treat your last sub like this?”
Walking around the bed to jostle open Riley’s gym bag, I grunted lowly as Sarah’s fuzzy image blossomed in my mind’s eye. She and I weren’t really compatible, but a blowjob was a blowjob, so…“No. I don’t treat anyone like this.”
Her eyes widened at my admission.
I arched a brow quizzically.
Slowly sitting up, Riley reached to rub her hair.
Pure affection wiggled between my ribs. Taking out her dress, I grabbed my own clothes that I’d thrown in her bag with a small smile tilting my lips.
10
Reece
“What’s up, Vanessa? I’m in the middle of dinner.” Vanessa rarely called me; most of her communication was via text or email. Leaning back in the booth to frown, I hung my arm over Riley’s shoulders as a slight ruffling tickled my ear.
“You got a job request, and I’m not sure what to do.”
My brows rose high in surprise and I almost choked on my own spit at that. Sliding out of the booth, I ignored Riley’s curious glance as I strode for the patio doors. “What job?” My jobs ranged from grabbing people to cleaning up messes and everything in between. I was a handyman, good for anything and willing to do anything for the proper price. There wasn’t a job I wouldn’t do, as my main client was Carlyle Santino and I trusted him not to fuck up my security.
“One of the requests pinged a contact in your phone, so Jerry took it down and sent it to me. I double checked, so I thought you’d want to know about it. Someone took a hit out on your girlfriend.”
My vision blurred briefly as I tensed, and Vanessa went quiet as my brain tried to figure out that last part. Disbelief raged in my chest, and I cleared my throat roughly to stop it closing altogether. “What the fuck did you just say?” Growling menacingly, I automatically glanced over my shoulder to watch Riley pick at her pasta. “Who requested it?”
“I don’t know, yet. We haven’t gotten to that stage. Did you want me to assign you the job?”
I scoffed roughly at the question.
Vanessa rustled through the phone as she switched ears. “The person wants proof sent to a burner. Do you want me to keep an eye on it— see if it comes online?”
“Yeah. Send the confirmation. Find out who the fuck did this. And, Vanessa—” Inhaling deeply, I flopped my head back and exhaled slowly in a futile attempt to calm down. The frigid air stung my lungs, but I was raging too hot. “I have a feeling Brighton at Black Cat can help. He still owes me, so if he gets slimy, tell him we’ll be even.”
“Ok.”
I hung up, covering my mouth to hide my snarl as I started to pace furiously. All requests were pending until approved, but if that dick of a man found our dark site, he probably made the request on others, too. Frankly, I was pretty well-known, but it wasn’t like some idiot with a gun would look too hard into a job.
Most guys would do some PI work to cover their asses, at the very least, but not all. Money was money was money.
“Shit— why now?” Anxiety zinged down my spine to stiffen my legs, and I paused at my own grumble. “The guy hasn’t even tried to get back into Black Cat. . .”
Beating a woman despite knowing it’s against the rules means he’s confident that he can scare her into keeping quiet. But that was almost all I knew of the situation, which meant I had to ask Riley about it. Even not showing up, I didn’t know if that was out of the ordinary for this guy. Maybe, he was a once-a-weeker like Riley, or he was just going because his friends were, and they got bored when he got banned.
“Damn.” I headed back inside, rolling my shoulders to stop them from looking so stiff. Glancing through the restaurant, my eyes narrowed into slits. Slowly walking the short distance back to our booth, I sat down and propped my elbow on the table to hold my chin on my fist.
Riley paused her eating with her fork buried deep in her bowl.
My mouth dried as I raked my brain for something to say. “Tell me everything you know about your last dom— the guy that hit you.”
“Brandon? I mean, that’s all I really know about him— his name. The police didn’t care about getting his information from Black Cat. They threw him out, yeah, but once I was in the back room, they let him back in to get his stuff, and that’s when the cops talked to him. I haven’t seen him since. I don’t know if he was a member or anything, but I imagine Black Cat knows that stuff.”
I drummed my fingers against my thigh as she spoke, and frustration bubbled n my veins.
“Why?”
“Forget official information, what about your impressions of him? What did you think about his attitude?”
Her quizzical expression deepened, tinged with concern that wrinkled between her brows.
Grabbing her hand under the table, I squeezed insistently before she tensed. “Please just tell me, Riley.”
“Um— uh– I don’t know. He was okay at first, a bit of an asshole, but I thought that was just nerves because he was new. He wanted to jump into a contract. We didn’t even do much first. Um. . .” She looked mightily uncomfortable, and I tangled our fingers with an encouraging nod. Licking her lips, Riley tilted her head down in shame, but her eyes didn’t leave mine. “It wasn’t pleasant at all, but I chalked it up to nerves. After the fourth time, I told him I was cancelling the contract— that we weren’t compatible, and he should find someone else. That’s when he attacked me. He—he grabbed my hair, told me I was ‘his’ and that I wasn’t allowed to cancel the contract because he was in charge.” Inhaling a shuddering breath through trembling lips, Riley reached to touch her face where Brandon had hit her.
I struggled not to lose my shit over what she was saying— the story wasn’t over yet. There was plenty of time to freak the fuck out when she wasn’t right next to me.
“I yelled at him to let me go, but that’s when he hit me. He said to shut up and only talk when he said, that I was garbage and other awful names. He p-pushed me onto the bed, got on top of me, said I was disgusting and liked it, but—” Her voice caught, and she tore her eyes off me to stare at the edge of the table. “I managed to hit the emergency button on the floor, and he started screaming that I didn’t have the right to tell him ‘no’. They dragged him out, and I went to the back while the cops were called. When they left and clearly didn’t believe me, I went to the hospital, but the nurses were all giving me nasty side-eyes, so I didn’t stay. I drove back to Connecticut, but you already know how that turned out. And…that’s the story.”
“Hey. . .” Reaching to cup her hot face, I forced aside my anger as Riley’s shoulders shivered with her efforts not to cry. That’s way more than just getting slapped. “Thank you for telling me, Riley.”
Gulping harshly, she ducked her head in a dull nod.
I stroked her cheek with my thumb.
Hesitantly, her big, brown eyes met mine once again, watery and slightly red, but she hung on. “Why do you want to know?”
Dread knotted my gut at the question. I knew it was coming, but nothing prepared me for the way my heart absolutely dropped. Pursing my lips thinly, I inhaled through flared nostrils and cleared my throat. This Brandon douchebag was definitely the kind of guy to hold a grudge against women for turning him down. Black Cat didn’t vet normal members, but I’d bet money he had a few police reports under his belt.
Can I get away with avoiding the answer? Doubt it, but I sure as shit was gonna try. “So if I ever see him again, I can beat him half to death with a clear conscience.” I was going to have to pray to whatever deity was up there that if someone came after her, that person would do some fucking research. This was entirely dependent on whether or not the proposal was issued on another site. I need to text Jerry. He’s a smart nerd. He’d know to flag anything found anywhere, but I have to make sure.
“I believe you’d do that, but that’s not the reason. But— but you know what? I’m not even gonna ask.”
My relief must’ve been obvious on my face, and
soft, smooth fingers reached to caress my jaw.
Smiling faintly, Riley scooted a little closer. “I don’t want to know right now.”
“Good. Okay. I appreciate that, Riley. I’d rather not fuck up this day worse than it probably started for you. It’s honestly not that big a deal. . .”
Her brows twitched in disbelief.
I shook my head. “I’m gonna shut up, now.”
11
Riley
You’re not gonna come in? That question still floated through my head every waking second. After our date, Reece took me home, kissed my cheek, and promised to text me, so I knew he was home safe. Even though it was days ago, my cheek still tingled, and a perpetual smile stretched my lips.
Dear, Riley, blah, blah, blah. . . I appreciate you contacting me about your emergency. Yada, yada—corporate blabber. I hope your problems resolve. . . My smile widened as I sat back in my computer chair, hugging my head between my elbows to sigh in satisfaction. “Thank God. That’s the last one.”
My last confirmation that I quit. I fucking quit. And I wasn’t even worried! Why? Because I’m done being jerked around. I had enough in my savings to carry me over while finding a job, and I was determined not to get frantic about it.
Snatching my phone off my desk, I swiped the screen as warmth crawled up my neck. I hadn’t told Reece about my decision to quit my writing jobs and excitement tingled the tips of my thumbs. Memories played behind my eyelids when I blinked, reeling like a movie that I would never get tired of watching.
Reece had taken me on a lovely date, and I wanted to see him again, but I didn’t want to seem clingy. He liked straightforward, but doubt clouded my mind. Telling him I wanted to screw around with him was not gonna happen. Even though quitting my jobs felt great, I was still in trouble until I could find employment with pay high enough to sustain my life.