by Ella Brooke
“I want to be, but I thought you’d enjoy the show.”
He gritted his teeth a bit. “I only like private shows, darling.”
Nodding, I looked up at the beautiful sight before me. The dreams I’d had about him couldn’t have done him justice from the way his abs shone in the moonlight to the deep V of his hips. His shaft was large and thick. I’d felt it with my tongue and knew how much bigger and more impressive it was than Samson’s. I almost had the crazy idea that it wouldn’t fit. That was dumb, but Ryker was definitely in a top tier class for members, that was for sure. I couldn’t keep myself from licking my lips. That was the best I could hope for since I really wanted to let my jaw hang open and my tongue loll out. He was like an angel, and just for me.
“You don’t have to,” I finally blurted out. “I’m on the Depo shot, and I’m clean. I should probably be a bit more worried about you, I guess, with your reputation.”
“But I’m religious about getting tested every six months.” He dropped the condoms back in the drawer and shoved it shut with a flick of his hip against it. “I’m glad to hear it about the birth control. I’ve wanted to feel every possible inch of you since I met you.”
I ran a finger over my collarbone and down the curve of my breast. Letting it go low, I moved it until I was tweaking my own left nipple into a hardened peak. “I’ve felt the same way.”
“Good, darling, because I’m going to make you scream so loud that all of Paris will hear you.”
“Talk is cheap, Ryker Eden. You need to show me all you’ve got.”
He crawled over the bed then and pressed his hips firmly against my belly. I could feel his erection grinding into my abdomen. My clit was throbbing at a rapid clip, and wetness was already pooling at my legs, soaking in under me and into the sheets. I was so ready for him, and he’d had that effect on me from the moment I’d met him.
Ryker aimed his body a bit lower and then lined his shaft up with my labia, letting the head of his member slide gently over those lips. I took in a ragged breath at the sensation. Leaning lower, he kissed his way down my collarbone, taking little nips and bites at the skin there as he did it. His tongue laved lovingly against the hollow of my throat even as his manhood kept stroking my vagina. But I wanted more. I wanted all of him.
I gasped even as I ran my hands through his thick hair. My hands seemed to move on their own as they pushed just a little from where he was licking my chest. “I need your mouth on my tits. I need your penis in me.”
He laughed. “Thought you’d be less direct. Maybe coy there, siren.”
“You need to fuck me now, Ryker. I can’t wait any longer, and I doubt you can either.”
He grinned, a look that was probably outlawed in more states than I could count, but slid his shaft into me so deep that his testicles slapped up against my body. He slid in so fast but so smoothly, even as large as he was. It was like I was truly made for him. Ryker’s member filled me in a way I’d never been completed before, let me wanting for nothing. His grin faded as he wrapped his lips around my right nipple and suckled it deeply. I bucked against him, my hips as wild as my hands. Every part of me had developed a mind of its own, and the only thing we could all agree on was that we needed Ryker Eden.
That he was a drug we couldn’t resist.
Never had a chance against.
He slid his hardness in and out in a slow, teasing rhythm that matched the way his tongue teased and trailed over my nipple. I moaned again, and a string of curses and prayers fell from my lips. I’d never been like this before, always had been almost silent in bed. Then again, I’d never had a lover like Ryker, someone who seemed to anticipate my body’s needs and fulfill them without a prompt. Without even a whimper. It left me moaning and speaking out my pleasure.
“More, Jesus God, do anything you want to me, Ryker.”
His hips flexed again, and he was pounding me harder, riding me with wild abandon. My skin buzzed with the pleasure building through me, like it was alive too. Then, I gave in to everything, all the sensations—the silk sheets against my back, the heft of him above me, the cinnamon spice hanging in the air. All of it, especially the way my skin and nerves buzzed and thrummed with the pleasure through me.
Finally, I couldn’t hold back anymore, and I didn’t want to. I came with Ryker’s name ripped from my lips, screaming so loud I was almost worried the concierge might send someone up or that our neighbors below us would come and complain. I didn’t fucking care. I’d never felt fuller in my life, better.
And it was all because of Ryker.
Because for a time, I’d found everything I’d ever needed.
Chapter Nine
Ryker
Alan Edgerton never took those stupid violet contacts out of his eyes. He also insisted on meeting me with his emcee top hat on. I didn’t see the point for a dinner at one of the best clubs in the Bellagio, but he apparently did. Down to the fucking stupid cravat in the desert. Maybe he thought he was a walking advertisement for The Bacchanal at all times. It was the excuse my brother Davis used to be a walking venereal disease to promote the player lifestyle for our betting app. Personally, I felt that the product either sold itself or it didn’t. There was no need for the over-the-top theatrical bullshit.
Clearly, no one had ever told Alan that, or he’d never listened.
He leaned back in his chair after the two hundred dollar plus lobster dinner he’d ordered. It was all part of the process to both literally and figuratively butter him up. “So, you and the little Green Fairy really have fallen in love, haven’t you?”
“I care a great deal about Savannah. I could support her full out today, but she loves this job, and she has a sister to take care of.”
Alan rolled his eyes. “One I’ve heard about more than once when she’s slunk in too close to the call time. I know all about Mary Anne.”
“But, there has to be a way to come to an agreement.”
“She doesn’t dance as well for the customers with you in her life. Savannah’s been distracted lately, and her understudy isn’t as pretty, but Lilah is focused. She can keep the clientele happy.”
“Can she sing better than Marilyn Monroe or have the VIP guests salivating over her? Cut the crap, Edgerton. We know that everything about Savannah is special. You found a diamond in the rough, and you’ve been exploiting her ever since. Now, you have a way to keep her from even relationships. That shit won’t fly.”
“I’m connected on the strip. Not only can I fire her for her dalliances, I can blacklist her from every comparable show out there.”
I reached across the table and yanked his ass by the cravat toward me. It was rewarding to see his eyes bulge and his skin go blue and pasty. “Listen here, you little shit. I don’t care that you think you’re some hotshot producer and showman now. I could give a fuck about who you think you are. I have half the high rollers on speed dial in this town, and my brother has the other half. If we say so, you won’t have a career, so fucking play ball with me or I will end you.”
I dropped him then, and he fell back against the chair. His eyes searched the restaurant for help, but the owner of the Bellagio was a close, personal friend of mine. Edgerton would find no allies here.
“You…you bastard,” he croaked.
“Maybe, but it takes one to know one,” I replied, crossing my arms over my chest. “Now you have two choices. You can keep being a stupid little prick and screw with Savannah and her career, or you can listen to me, and I will help you out.”
He rubbed at his neck. “How?”
“You could use more seating capacity, I can tell. Renovations for any theater aren’t cheap, and here in Vegas they’ll cost an arm and a leg. I have spare cash lying around for all of this. You leave Savannah alone, let her make her own choices without threats, and you can have any sized theater you fucking well want.”
His eyes grew wider. Hungrier. “And if I don’t?”
“I know everyone in this town, even the seedier si
de. I don’t want to, but I’m sure I can get a few kneecaps broken if I asked. So, do we have a deal?”
Edgerton regarded me, and even through those damn contacts, I could see the hate flaring in his eyes. “Yes, but you’re one right bastard, Eden. One day, that’s going to bite you in the ass.”
“But today’s not that day.”
***
“So, kiddo,” I asked as Ian slid into the seat in my Audi beside me. “How was school today? Are you liking your new class after the other stuff?”
I was barely able to keep myself from using the word “regular.” It wasn’t what I meant, just that I knew there was his typically scheduled stuff and now the newer things he was getting used to.
Ian didn’t smile, but he didn’t frown either, keeping his expression neutral as he buckled up his seatbelt. “You didn’t bring the limo.”
“I don’t always need to have someone drive you for me. I wanted to try and schedule more time with you. I worry I’m not doing enough.”
Ian leaned against the window of the car. “You do tons, Dad. I know you’re busy.”
“I’m never too busy for you, kiddo,” I said as I pulled away from the school’s driveway and wound through the neighborhood’s back roads. Soon we’d be out toward the highway and cruising to the penthouse. “Seriously, Mrs. Jefferson said the class would really help.”
“I dunno. Some of the kids are really quiet like me. We have activities and stuff, but sometimes guys like Brad make fun of me for my ‘special class.’ Most of the kids in it are really nice, though.”
“Good, and don’t worry about turds like Brad.”
His eyes got wide. “You said a bad word!”
“It’s not really.”
“Mommy wouldn’t have let me call Brad a turd.”
I bit my tongue and stopped myself from saying Penelope wasn’t here. Not anymore, and not ever again. Instead, I shrugged as I merged onto the expressway. “Brad is a turd. It’s not using a curse word if it’s a provable fact. Don’t worry about a thing that idiot says. If you’re having fun in your skills class and making friends, then that’s all that matters.”
“I like it okay.” He nodded and settled his backpack on his lap. “But I like the scouts more. I can’t wait for the Grand Canyon.”
“I know, and I can’t wait to help chaperone with the other dads.” Frowning, I swerved around a Buick going far too slow on the open road. Tourists. “You can tell me anything, Ian. Do you know that? Even if it’s hard or you think I’ll be sad, you just need to know that I won’t be.”
His voice was so quiet when he spoke again that I barely heard him. “But you miss Mommy. It hurts to talk about, and I don’t want you to hurt too.”
“I love to remember your mommy.” I patted the top of his head, at the mop of dark blond hair. “I have so many stories still to tell you. Some for when you’re a little older but tons now too. She had lots of things she wanted me to make sure you knew after she died. I’m going to do that. I want to do that, but you don’t have to feel you have to hide.”
Ian curled his backpack closer to his chest. “But I don’t want you to be sad. You’re sad a lot, Dad.”
I thought I’d been hiding it better from my son, that he hadn’t noticed how upset I’d been. Maybe I couldn’t hide anything from anyone. At least Davis and Ian seemed to be able to read me like a book. All this time, struggling to protect them, and all I’d done for Ian was make it worse, make him obsess over the fact that I was somehow the person he needed to protect.
I ruffled his hair some more. “But you never have to worry about me, okay? From now on, I’m going to be here for you. All you have to do is ask.”
“Good…do you ever miss Mommy?”
“All the time, kiddo.”
“Do you ever think about a new person? Would I get a new mommy?”
I swallowed. Hard. I’d only been with Savannah for a few weeks. What came in the future was far off, and I could only even think about something permanent with her if Ian liked her as much as I did. She was sweet and smart and fierce, had taken care of her baby sister for years. I had a feeling she’d make a great stepmom for any kid since she’d already raised her sister before. Basically. But that was still far down the road.
If Ian met her and hated her, then it would never work.
I was going to be the best dad to Ian. No matter what.
“Daddy? Do you want to get a new wife?”
“I don’t know. Would you be mad if I got married someday?”
“I don’t want a new mommy.”
“I know, kiddo, and no one would be your mommy. Only Mommy was your mommy.” I rolled my eyes. “I mean, I know that anyone I did date, really date wouldn’t be a replacement. And I bet she wouldn’t want to be either.”
“Bella tried to be, and she was mean!”
“No one I’d ever date would be like Bella, not ever again.” I should have known when my son was so shy around Bella and disliked her so much that she was a complete no-go. It had taken a while after that to really understand what a rancid, money-hungry bitch she was. “But there is someone new, and I do like her an awful lot. Her name is Savannah. Maybe you can meet her next week. We can do something special for all of it, okay?”
He blanched and hugged his backpack so tightly I thought something was going to crunch. “Is she like Bella? I don’t like when they’re mean.”
“I was never ever going to marry Bella. And if I’d known all along how awful she was…she’s gone now, and she’s never coming back. I promise you, kiddo, she is nothing like Bella. Savannah’s really nice, and she sings great. You’ll like her. I do.”
Ian quirked his head at me. “Does she know all the songs from Moana? I love that one!”
“I can ask,” I chuckled as I pulled into the hotel parking and then up to our private space. “I bet she can do a whole Disney medley if you ask her.” Parking, I slipped out of the car and took my son by the hand. When we passed through the main foyer, the hotel staff waved to us until I got to the executive elevator and took us up to the suite. “You know, I think you could have her set it up for a whole show, maybe get her to wear a couple costumes too,” I joked.
“Daddy! She wouldn’t need a costume.”
“I bet she’d do a mean Elsa.”
Ian considered that and laughed. Both of us were in such a good mood before I opened that door and found Bella Hall standing there. She was as cool and calculating as ever. At almost six feet tall and with the lithe, willowy limbs of the model she was, Bella basically owned the spotlight in any room. Her blonde hair shone even now under my fluorescent lighting, and her green eyes regarded me eagerly. Most men would fall for her. Davis clearly had, and why he kept trying to hook me back up with her, I had no idea. He had to be how she’d gotten up here. I’d changed the elevator keys after she’d been kicked to the curb for the gold digger she was.
“Oh no!” Ian shook in my grip and ran from me to his bedroom.
“Well,” I said, striding to the bar and pouring a Scotch. “Quite an impression you make on children.”
“Ian loves me,” she cooed, her voice simpering. “It’s all a little game we play.” Bella sat down on the sofa and lazed over it like she still owned the place. She didn’t, and I hated her for the casual way she could just come into my home after embezzling from me. After clearly being nasty to Ian behind my back. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve hardly missed you. I don’t know why Davis let you in, but we’re done. I made it clear when I made sure they pressed charges on your stealing ass.”
“But I’ve done my time and now am a reputable member of society again. Even have gigs lined up. I could use someone on my arm at all my events. Wouldn’t you like that, Ryker?”
“And you’re clearly insane, but then again, you always were.”
She slunk over to me and put her hand on my shoulder. I recoiled at her touch, at the way her nails dug in just a bit. “That’s not fair. I wasn’t feeling well
then. I’ve had therapy and community service, and I’d never steal from you again.”
“Because if you steal from me once, I’m not going to stand for you to do it again or to scar my son again. I had no idea at the time how awful you were, Bella. But I’m wiser now, and you need to get the hell out of my home.”
She pulled her hand back and regarded me with a sour look, one that left her lips pinched together tightly. It added lines to her face that aged her in a way all the Botox and Restylane couldn’t fix. Her community service and white-collar prison sentence had left her drained in ways that Bella clearly didn’t want the rest of the world to see. But I could glimpse through her façade now, and I’d never be tricked again.
Stalking over to the door, I yanked it open and glared at her until she walked to the threshold. Bella shoved her purse over her shoulder and stared back at with me with a look that dripped hatred.
“I want you back, Ryker. I’ll have you back. Besides, I’m not a girl you want as an enemy.”
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s a promise.”
I waited until she crossed over the threshold and then shook my head. “You’ll never have me, Bella, and besides, you haven’t been a girl in a very long time.” I slammed the door in her face and twisted the lock shut as fast as I could.
Then, reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my cell and punched a familiar number on my speed dial. “Davis, what the hell have you been thinking?”
Chapter Ten
Savannah
Six Weeks Later
I pulled out the tuna to make my sandwich for practice. We didn’t have shows until tomorrow. No one came for Mondays through Wednesdays to our theater, so we had those days to practice. On the weekend, we did two shows a day. Always intense. The second I picked up the tuna to dish out into a bowl with some relish, my stomach churned. That had been happening lately. I’d been randomly nauseated in practice or on the stage, and I figured it was because a couple weeks ago, Lilah, my understudy, had had the flu. It was early April, and a few people were still catching the last dregs of winter colds.