Soul Chance

by Nichelle Gregory

  Ari waved her hand. “Please, don’t stop. I love the music.”

  Ryder turned back to the piano and resumed playing, pleased by her soft compliment. Having Ari nearby inspired him. Harmonies shifted, the song he was creating in real time taking on a moodier tone. Ryder slowed the pace of the piece as he neared the end, briefly meeting Ari’s gaze when she came to stand by the piano. Ryder lifted his hands from the piano and the last note of the song resonated within the room.

  “That was beautiful, Ryder.” Ari pulled all her twists over her shoulder.

  Ryder’s gaze dipped to the strands of hair nestled between her breasts. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” Ari dropped her gaze from his and tinkled the ivories. “The tonal shift in the melody was so unexpected but I loved it. Is it your song?”

  “It is. I’m glad you liked it.” Ryder returned her hesitant smile, mesmerized by the tentative upward curve of her full lips. Beats of silence ensued and Ryder silently cursed his stiffening cock as he once again imagined how Ari had gotten herself off earlier. What had she been doing when she’d called out his name? The need to know was killing him.

  Ari cleared her throat and pointed to the chardonnay. “I also liked your wine.”

  “Mmm, yes. Did you taste hints of apricot?”

  “Is that what that was? Delicious.” Ari gave him a bright smile. “Add the portion I drank to my outstanding loan. How much will that be? Twenty, thirty dollars?”

  “Goddammit, Ari.” Ryder dragged a hand through his tousled hair.

  “What? Surely you’re not mad I didn’t assume I wasn’t to pay for what I took?” Ari swiveled away from Ryder, flashing him a cool look over her shoulder. “Goodnight, boss.”

  Ryder snagged her wrist when she started to walk off. “Like it or not, I am your boss now.”

  Ari’s brown eyes sparkled with resentment. “Yes, you are and I am not going to get my way with you anymore.”

  Ryder tightened his hold when Ari tried to wrench her hand away from his. “Ari, listen.” He waited to speak until she’d stilled and looked at him. “The wine was a gift. I’d planned on sharing it with you.”

  “Was that before or after you were finished teaching me a lesson with your cock?”

  Her sassy question made him harder. “You’re upset about last night.” Ryder stood, shortening the already small distance between them. “Mixing business with pleasure is always messy. I want to apologize for not making you come. That was a mistake.” Ryder slipped his arm around Ari’s waist and brought her up against his body. “One I’d like to rectify.”

  Ari’s pulse quickened as Ryder bent his head and kissed her. Her anger forgotten, Ari moaned as she melted into him. She splayed her hands across his pecs. She ran her fingers over hard muscle as Ryder embraced her and pushed her back against the piano until her bottom brushed against the keys. The disjointed notes echoing in the room matched her emotions as Ryder deepened the kiss. Lingering hurt feelings made her wish she possessed the willpower to push him away. She found herself wrapping her arms around his neck instead.

  Ari dug her fingers into Ryder’s hair as he moved his hands to cup her derrière. She wriggled against his hard-on, delighted by her effect on him. It made the all-consuming yearning enveloping her senses easier to accept. Ari wrenched her mouth away from Ryder’s when he slipped his hands beneath her nightie to caress her bare ass. “You’re my boss.”

  “Yes, I am.” Ryder squeezed her ass cheeks and Ari ached for more from him.

  “We can’t keep crossing the line.”

  Ryder nuzzled her neck. “What line?”

  “The one between business and pleasure.” Ari gasped when Ryder brought one hand up and caressed her hardened nipple through the soft cotton of her pajamas.

  “I never wanted to there to be anything other than pleasure between us.”

  Ari jerked against him when he tugged on her nipple, depressing more keys on the piano. “But there is. Mixing business with pleasure is messy. Your words, but I agree.”

  “What are you saying, Ari?” Ryder dropped his hand from her breast to her hip. “Do you only want a business relationship with me?”

  Ari wet her bottom lip, finding it hard to think with his fingers skimming over the curve of her ass. “I think that would be easier, less confusing.”

  “Confusing?” Ryder scoffed. “I want you. Do you still want me?”

  It was an unfair query with him standing before her half-dressed, evidence of his hard cock visible from the bulge in his shorts. His question brought erotic flashbacks of her earlier private play session to mind—the mere thought of him had sent her over the edge. A flush of heat washed over her body beneath Ryder’s steady gaze.

  “Is it that difficult to answer my question?”

  Ari shivered within his embrace. “My answer is beside the point—”

  “That’s exactly the point. You don’t have to answer because I know you want me.”

  Ari’s heart skipped a beat as she looked up into Ryder’s gray eyes, knowing in an instant her shameless cry for him had carried through the wall. “You…you heard me.”

  Ryder’s slow, sexy grin wreaked havoc on her heart. “I did, and I’ve got to tell you, it was one of the sexiest things I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to.”

  “Oh, God.” Ari dropped her face from Ryder’s. She shook her head, troubled that her embarrassment didn’t supersede her arousal.

  “Hey, there’s no shame here. Our desire is mutual. So, again I ask, do you only want a business relationship with me?”

  She drew in a ragged breath, hardly aware of Ryder easing her from the keyboard and into the curve of the wooden body of the piano. Ari didn’t doubt he wanted her but their current business arrangement complicated the situation. How could she work for Ryder, temporarily live and sleep with him, without getting further bogged down by her increasing desire for him? The need to please him was also troubling.

  It wasn’t her style. She was her own woman. Men typically danced to her tune.

  “Ari?”

  Ari blinked and focused on Ryder. “We should keep things between us business only.” She leaned against the piano and lifted her chin as Ryder’s gaze narrowed. “I think that’s best.”

  “Bullshit.” Ryder slid his knee between her thighs, effectively shortening the hemline of her nightie with his action. He slipped his hand between her legs and touched her pussy.

  “It’s what I want, Ryder.” Ari bucked against Ryder, glaring at him when his fingers dipped into her wetness.

  “C’mon. We both know that’s not true.” Ryder caressed her clit, sending delicious zings through Ari. “If any two people could successfully mix business with pleasure, it would be us.”

  “B-but that wasn’t the arrangement we made.”

  “Why are you fighting this?”

  “Because…” Ari stifled a moan when Ryder squeezed her pussy lips. “You can’t have it all.”

  “Says who?”

  “Says me.” Ari gasped again when Ryder pushed one finger into her. She realized it would be so easy to give him all of her, to surrender her heart, who she was, to be his. The realization scared her. Ari groaned, torn by desire, her thoughts and her newfound resolution not to let things get entangled further between them.

  “Fuck. You are so wet.” His husky laughter made her wetter. “You need to stop playing this game.”

  Ari shuddered against him, her resolve weakening a little with each shallow thrust of his finger he gave her. “Maybe we should renegotiate our terms.” She uttered the statement before thinking it through.

  “Renegotiate?” Ryder paused for a moment.

  “Yes.” Ari tightened her vaginal walls around Ryder’s finger, wanting him to resume his previous erotic ministrations. She was rewarded with an additional finger and a faster pace.

  “How so, Ari?”

  “Well…” Off balance with Ryder’s leg between hers, Ari placed her elbows on the piano
, trying to gain better purchase with her precarious footing. She thought of her life in Vegas, the fun, party-filled times she’d left behind without much choice. This was her chance to regain what she’d lost. She would do things differently in Sin City this time, stay out of the casinos, secure another steady gig and get her own place. “One year here is too long.”

  Ryder’s gray eyes seemed to darken as he held her gaze. “You’re performing what…ninety minutes a night, six days a week to pay off my loan of fifty grand?” He removed his fingers from within her, spreading her wetness over her pussy lips. “One year isn’t long enough.”

  “Six months. Six months of singing and me.” Her crazy proposition hung between them as seconds ticked by.

  “Six months of singing and you?” Ryder traced tiny circles on her clit. “Meaning sex?”

  Her scandalous proposal sounded even worse coming from Ryder. What had she been thinking to suggest such a wicked deal?

  “Oh, wow.” Ryder shook his head as Ari parted her lips to recant her wild offer. “Do you really hate it here that much?”

  Ari shrugged. “I miss my brother.”

  “Bullshit.” Ryder smacked her pussy. “You miss partying and spending money you don’t have.”

  Ari gasped from the shock of his action and curt words rather than actual pain.

  “As intriguing as your offer is, Ari, I’m not sure you could handle the new terms of our agreement.” Ryder smoothed his palm over her tingling wet flesh. “You would be mine whenever and however I wanted.”

  His statement sent a dark thrill through her. “However?”

  “Yes.”

  Ari trembled when Ryder went back to caressing her clit. “And just what would that entail?”

  “You offered me six months of singing and fucking, after which you will be able to leave The Cove with your loan paid in full. Is that what you want?”

  Ari hesitated from answering, unsure of her own indecent proposal. She moaned as Ryder strummed her clit with his thumb. Her legs trembled as a wave of pleasure washed over her. She wanted Ryder to stop teasing her and make her come. It wouldn’t take much to send her over the edge.

  “Is it?”

  Ari closed her eyes, conflicted by the sweet sensations sweeping over her. “Y-yes.” She was close to climaxing. Ari groaned with frustration when Ryder brought his hand from between her legs and took hold of her chin.

  “Are you sure, Ari? Because I will not be open to any other negotiations from this point on. Furthermore, be advised that the original time period in which you had to settle the loan between becomes two years instead of the one if, for any reason, you fail to hold up your end of this new agreement.”

  Tiny prickles of awareness scattered goosebumps over Ari’s skin as she stared into the steel gray depths of Ryder’s eyes. Six months of singing and sex with Ryder would be a cakewalk. She had no intentions of messing up this deal. In an instant, all of Ari’s reservations faded away. “I’m sure.”

  Ryder gave her a slow, predatory smile that almost made her second guess her decision. “Very well.” He angled her face upwards. “Let’s seal our new deal with a kiss.”

  He gave her no time to reply, dipping his head and claiming her lips in a fierce, punishing kiss. Ari moaned against his mouth as he pushed her against the curve of the piano. She dragged her nails over his back, whimpering when he tugged on her hair rougher than he had in the past then ended the kiss.

  “You took a gamble presenting that offer to me.” Ryder’s low voice sent a shiver up Ari’s spine. “We both know what a thrill it is for you to place outrageous wagers. I wonder if you feel as victorious as I do.”

  Ari yelped as Ryder lifted her up onto the piano. She watched him unbutton and unzip his shorts then extract a condom from his pocket.

  “Because—” Ryder ripped on the foil package with his teeth. “I’m going to thoroughly enjoy having you for the next six months.” He pushed his shorts down along with his underwear, revealing his hard cock.

  Ari’s eyes widened when Ryder placed his hand between her breasts and pushed her back on the gleaming wood. Her heart pounded in her chest as he spread her legs wide. Ari managed to anchor her feet on the edge of the piano, dazed by her current predicament.

  “Why, look at you about to drip on my baby grand.”

  Ari attempted to close her thighs, more than a little embarrassed by his sardonic statement, but Ryder stopped her. She let loose a small cry in the back of her throat when Ryder sank two fingers into her. He gave her several deep thrusts, teasing her, taking her closer to the sweet point of no return. Ari moaned as he stroked her, ready to beg Ryder to get her off when he withdrew his hand from her wetness. She gasped when he replaced his fingers with his warm mouth.

  She placed her palms flat on the piano and sucked in a sharp breath. Orgasmic spirals whirled faster with every flick of Ryder’s tongue. Ari’s climax hovered just out of reach. She panted, wriggling beneath Ryder. She mewled with need as he kissed and sucked on her clit.

  Her short, sharp breaths added to the erotic sounds of Ryder pleasuring her. Ari closed her eyes, unable to focus on anything other than the delicious orgasm crashing over her. She writhed on top of the piano, moaning with pleasure, but Ryder didn’t stop. Sensitive from coming, Ari tried to bring her trembling legs together. Ryder kept them open, undeterred, tasting her, coaxing every ounce of bliss from her climax.

  Weak and breathless, Ari moaned when Ryder pulled her off the baby grand. Her legs wobbled as her feet touched the floor. She reached up to touch Ryder’s face but didn’t make contact as he turned her around. Ari had time enough to place her hands on the piano before Ryder pushed her nightie up to expose her bottom.

  “Push that ass out.”

  Ari obeyed his gruff command, glancing back at him as he sheathed himself. She drew in a quick breath when he tapped his cock on her ass cheek.

  “Face forward.” Ryder punctuated his order with a hard smack on her derrière.

  Too stunned to say anything, Ari complied. She gasped as he guided his cock into her. Ari gripped the piano, thankful her slickness eclipsed much of the initial discomfort of his sudden penetration. She grunted when Ryder took hold of her shoulders and began moving in and out of her with rapid-fire thrusts. His brutal pace rocked her body, pushed her up to her tiptoes.

  Ari uttered a low groan. Her voice sounded foreign to her, mixing in with the torrid slaps of skin on skin that resonated in the room. Ari’s lungs ached from her shallow breaths. Her breasts jiggled beneath her night shirt, sending delightful sensations through Ari as her nipples brushed against the fabric. Ari moaned, wanting Ryder to come, overwhelmed by his relentless passion.

  “Fuck!” Ryder released Ari’s shoulders.

  Ari leaned over the piano, whimpering as Ryder came. She welcomed his slower thrusts. He stilled within her, making Ari aware of their harried breathing as he pulled out. Her nightie slipped back over her hips as Ari laid her head on her arm, completely spent.

  “Goodnight, Ari.”

  Ari straightened with a frown, turning in time to see Ryder leave the room. Goodnight? That was all he had to say to her after what had just happened? This was the second time he’d left her after sex. They’d usually spent the night together.

  Ari stared after Ryder, still feeling the effects of him all over her body. She let out a small sigh. Maybe Ryder had been right to question whether she could handle the new terms of their agreement.

  Chapter Five

  “You finally decided to call back.” Ryder grinned as he sipped his coffee.

  “Hey, son, my days are more chaotic now than they ever were. It’s hard work vacationing with your mom.”

  “How is she, by the way? She usually calls me at least once a week.”

  “Aw, she’s been preoccupied. You should see her. She’s über-tanned.”

  Ryder chuckled. “I bet.”

  “So, how are things going at The Cove?”

  “Things are going well.�
�� Ryder walked over to the window overlooking the terrace and proceeded to update his dad on the recent renovations he’d hired out.

  “I’m glad you’re taking care of the roof issue first. I was planning on getting to it this summer too. I know it must seem like a lot of expenses coming out of pocket all at once but trust me, you’ll see the returns in less than a year. A lot of our past patrons come back to spend holidays or special occasions with us, and I’m positive the updates you’re implementing will bring in new guests as well.”

  “We’ll see. If The Cove starts costing me more money than it brings in, you’ll be the first to hear about.” Ryder smiled when his dad laughed. “Technically, this place is still yours. We haven’t officially signed the paperwork to make it mine.”

  “Speaking of which… Your mom and I will be coming that way in a few weeks. We’ll take care of the paperwork then.”

  “I told you I was still on the fence about making this a done deal. I’m still not sure I want to juggle managing this resort with my other work.”

  “New gig coming up?”

  “Possibly.” Ryder lifted his coffee cup for a sip. “I’ve been offered another chance to be a celebrity judge.”

  His father snorted. “For food?”

  “Nope. Music.”

  “It’s not that one show with that yak kitty yak chick that’s always giggling when the contestants screw up, is it?”

  Ryder grinned. “That’s the one.”

  “Oh, man.”

  “Hey, I’d be a part of one of the biggest shows on television right now.” Ryder finished his coffee, knowing his dad would never get his need to forge his own path outside the family business. “Anyway, did you get my message about Cassie?”

  “I did.”

  “What a blast from the past that was.”

  His dad cleared his throat. “I bet.”

  “Yeah. I couldn’t believe it. She looks pretty much the same. It was weird as hell to run into her after all of these years.”