Warmed by confidence, she slid her hand from the back of his neck to rest it on his chest. “Be careful,” she purred, pouting up at him. “Don’t forget, I like having your attention. If getting naked with you will take that away, I’ll never do it.”
But Ryske didn’t scare easy. Wearing a smirk, he cupped her breast and squeezed, his gaze measuring hers, judging how she felt about having his hands on her. Harlow didn’t shrink. He felt good. Amazing. But she couldn’t let him know that. Any hint that she wanted more would encourage him to strain her already stretched resolve.
“You want my attention,” he murmured, seduction seeping from his every pore. “You want promises. You are a demanding woman, Trink.”
“Only of you,” she said, leaning in. “I’ll demand and demand and demand… Still want to screw me?”
“Screw you, yes. Make you promises, no.”
Pushing her breast into his caressing hand, his growl of appreciation valued her being bold. It hadn’t taken her long to lose her anxiety.
A month apart might have made her wary at first, but losing herself with him when they were alone had always been simple. Their days away from each other faded to nothing.
“Then I guess we’re at an impasse,” she said and tried to turn away.
Ryske snatched her arm and hauled her back. “You’re not gonna walk away so easy, Trink.”
Pulling her arm from his grip, she was happy to counter his vehemence. “Like you walked away from me? A month, Crash. You left me swinging in the wind for a month… Were you ever coming back?”
“No,” he said. Given his line of work, being so honest probably wasn’t normal procedure for him, especially with women. With her, for some reason, it was automatic. “I thought of you.” He drove his fingers through his hair. “Shit, Trink, you can tease me even from way across town.”
She hadn’t done anything to tease him, and she’d never asked him to leave her forever. Walking away from her had been his choice. If he wanted to blame her, he could. But she wasn’t going to apologize for his insanity… even if she was the cause of it.
“Did you dream of me, Sailor?” she teased, walking her fingers up his chest.
“I dreamed of quieting that smart mouth,” he said, leaning down. “Of tying you to my bed and keeping you locked up for two weeks.”
Harlow hadn’t locked him up, and she hadn’t tied him to anything. Bale’s rules had made him feel like a prisoner, he’d told her as much in the past. “Maybe you should stab me.”
One side of his mouth rose higher than the other; the light in his eye became sinister. “If that’s an invitation, I’m gonna take it.” Seeing her confusion made him grab his groin to explain. “I’ve got something real special I wanna drive deep into you.”
“Oh, Crash,” she muttered. “That’s just crude.”
Again, she tried to turn away. This time when he grabbed her upper arm to haul her back, he cupped the back of her head too. Before she could catch her breath, he wrenched her to the tips of her toes and sealed his mouth over hers.
Harlow had told herself not to kiss him, not to give him any encouragement until he could give her something more than sex in return.
That ideal evaporated when he plunged his tongue into her mouth and bonded them in the way she’d been resisting for weeks. The warmth of his mouth was luxury like she’d never known it. Security circled her, pulling her to him, attaching her essence to his like her sanity depended on him too.
If she’d been able to hold onto a thought beyond the incredible texture of his lips owning hers, she may have regretted being glib about how she tormented him. After this, she’d never be sure of her lucidity without him at her side to keep her grounded.
She’d never given credence to the helplessness of addiction. Harlow was strong-willed and had spent her life arguing with her mother because she wouldn’t conform for the sake of it. If she had an opinion that differed from someone else’s, she had no problem voicing it.
That fortitude served her; it combined with her overwhelming desire to drive her on and encourage her in everything she did… which at that moment seemed to be this man.
Grasping for the hem of his tee-shirt, Harlow wasted no time in pulling it off over his head. While Ryske was still freeing his arm from the fabric, she thrust him back, knocking him off his feet. Ryske landed on the couch. Before he could think about catching his breath, she climbed onto his lap to straddle him and ran her fingertips down the center of his bare torso.
Avoiding his mouth was supposed to prevent this. His breaking of that seal, shattered her resolve. They’d crossed the line and he didn’t seem sorry. Driving his hands into her hair, he pulled her mouth back to his and consumed her with his desire.
Habit made her fear for his wound, but reminding herself that it had been healing for six weeks, it shouldn’t be painful anymore. His kiss didn’t slow or drift, so she made herself forget about any vulnerability and let herself trust the strength and capability of the man owning her.
“I figured it might be time to—”
The sound of a male voice made her break the kiss. Planting her hands on Ryske’s chest, Harlow pushed away, blinking the daze of desire from her eyes. Looking over the back of the couch, she found that Noon was just inside the room.
“Fuck off, Noon,” Ryske said, without sparing his friend a glance because he was too busy trying to coil his arms around her.
The sight of another person made her remember herself. Looking at Ryske, the reality of what they’d just been doing became all too clear.
There was no solace in being right. Harlow had known that if she let herself kiss him, or be kissed by him, that her body would take over and instinct would make it impossible to resist going all the way.
15
“Shit,” Noon murmured. “I, uh… didn’t mean to…”
Taking the interruption as an opportunity to regain her senses, Harlow clambered off Ryske’s lap, running one hand through her hair and the other over her hip.
“Oh, come on!” Ryske groaned, trying to catch her legs, but she pushed his hands away. “Come back, baby.”
“No, I… I have to get going.”
Noon pointed over his shoulder. “I can fuck off. I didn’t know you guys were screwing around in here. I—”
“No,” she said, pulling her top down over her stomach. Ryske had explored more than she’d realized; the fabric had been bunched under her bra. “Can you give me a ride home?”
“I’ll give you a ride,” Ryske said, touching the inside of her knee.
Swatting at his hand, she didn’t make contact. “No, thank you,” she said, crossing one leg over the other to side step away from him. “Noon does all the driving.”
Heading for Noon who was still by the door carrying an awkward air, Harlow tried not to show just how grateful she was to him for interrupting what would only have ended one way.
Grabbing Noon’s hand, she took him out of the room and through the bar, the same way Dover had brought her. Harlow didn’t slow down when she got to the other side of the bar, even when she noticed Dover frowning at the view of her dragging Noon along behind her.
The bartender probably expected if she was going to be stealing any man out of Floyd’s, it wouldn’t be this one. But she wasn’t going to hang around to explain herself. That would give Ryske time to put on his shirt and chase after them… and she wasn’t all that sure she had an explanation anyway… not a believable one.
Bursting out onto the street, Harlow was determined to get home as quickly as she could. “What’s going on?” Noon asked, lolloping along with his hand linked in hers.
It occurred to her that there was one man she’d forgotten to worry about. Stopping, she whirled around to point back the way they’d come. “Clyde?”
“Stayed with the Soto’s,” Noon said.
Whether or not Clyde had volunteered to go with Felipe or to stay with him, he’d be able to call a cab from the Soto’s meaning he was safe
, which was a step up from what he’d been at Floyd’s. She’d have a lot of explaining to do when she got to work the following day, not only to Clyde for Ryske’s behavior, but to Gina about Felipe. But that was a problem she’d worry about in the morning.
Returning to her previous determination, Harlow clung to Noon’s hand, using it to pull him into the alley at the rear of Floyd’s where they’d parked the car.
There seemed to be no urgency to Noon’s movements; his dawdling was driving her nuts. “Can we get going?” she asked, glancing at the building beside them.
The closest window was making her nervous. The ones further along that were fogged and emanating some light would be the restrooms, but the one closest to the street was darker. That was the window next to the TV unit in the den… where she and Ryske had…
Trying her best to swing Noon toward the car as she let him go, she followed the move with a push then hurried around to the passenger side. “I don’t have my keys,” he said, touching the hip pockets of his jeans.
After a moment of panic made her mouth open in a silent gasp, her skepticism flared, and she folded her arms against the car. “You’re a car thief.”
His brows rose. “You want me to jack my own car?”
Shaking her head, she grinned. “Your car? Really? Is that the line?” It only took a moment of staring for his smile to crack. Pushing off the car, she opened her hands to it. “Come on, impress me, Cowboy.”
“That’s her line, Noon,” Ryske’s voice came from nowhere, erasing the smile from her face. “Don’t fall for it.”
Movement from the direction opposite to the one she and Noon had come caught her eye. Ryske was emerging from the narrow space between the far end of Floyd’s and the next building. That had to be a dead end alley; there was no space between the two structures on the street side.
So, she guessed she’d found Floyd’s secret entrance.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
The question was moot. The car was the only thing on his current path. When he got to the trunk, Ryske tossed something to Noon. It had to be the car keys because a second later, Noon was climbing into the driver’s seat.
Ryske had come around and startled her attention away from where Noon had been by opening the back passenger door and gesturing for her to get inside.
Though he seemed to think he was being chivalrous, she tilted her head. “Oh, because you’re the guy, you get to ride up front?” she asked.
Rather than make it a big deal, Harlow settled for scowling at him and started to round the door. But, just as she was about to lower into the backseat, he sprang forward, using himself and the door to pin her in place.
“You asking me to get in the back with you? I can do that, baby… What you wanna do back there, Trink?”
Bending his elbows, he leaned in, giving her even less space. The smirk on his face was enough to make her think about kneeing him in a sensitive area, but she restrained herself and sneered instead.
“You’d really do it, wouldn’t you?” she asked. “You’d have sex right there behind your friend.”
He shrugged. “Noon’s seen me do worse.”
Grabbing his arm, she dug her nails in deep while pushing it out of her way. “Oh, I don’t doubt that for a second.”
Climbing into the car, Harlow was quick to turn and reach for the door, holding up a hand to prevent him from getting in with her. “Ah!”
Twisting her wrist, she pointed to the front of the car. Without hiding his amusement, Ryske stepped back and closed her door before getting in next to Noon who had already started the car.
They drove a couple of blocks before the silence got too much for Noon. “So, what’s the story with you two?” he asked. “You back on or…”
“She was on me,” Ryske said, messing with the AC. “And, I’m happy for her to be on me any time, any day.”
“In your dreams, Crash.”
“Every night.”
“We’ve never had a woman on the crew before,” Noon said, like he was pondering the future and how it would play out. “You tell her about Ophelia?”
The next silence was far more loaded. Ryske’s anger fizzled, heating the air, which made Noon tense up as he figured out that he’d just put his foot in his mouth. Difficult as it was to hear that Ryske had another woman in his life, she chose to laugh instead of cry.
“Go with it,” she said, sliding down in the center of the backseat. “That’s what you said to me earlier, Noon, honey.” If this was what he was talking about then he should have been more explicit. “Is that what Dover meant? Ryske and his women? I’m supposed to go with that? You don’t have to worry, Noon, he can keep his women and keep making you all rich. It means nothing to me.”
Twisting to look over the shoulder of his chair, Ryske pinned her in his sights. “Nothing? You had enough?”
“Oh, I have had enough, Ryske. More than enough.”
Folding her hands in her lap, she turned her attention to the street. Noon might be annoyed at himself for opening his mouth about this Ophelia. Ryske might be pissed at his friend for telling her that there was another woman. But, if Harlow had stepped back from her attraction to look at his life, she’d have realized that there was a reason Ryske kept saying he couldn’t make her promises.
Considering his life and the things he had to do to fulfil his role with his crew, Harlow saw that his refusal to promise her anything was about more than just his own selfish need to be promiscuous. Dover, Noon, and Maze, all had roles. She didn’t understand what they were exactly, but Ryske was the man they sent inside to infiltrate or to charm.
That being the case, she imagined there were plenty of times his role involved seducing a woman. Harlow had once asked him how many women he’d made fall in love with him. While he’d refused to be specific, he’d been man enough to admit that he’d hurt women. Whether he felt bad about that or not, he was aware of his power. Though maybe not aware enough, because she’d put good money on most of the women he charmed and seduced falling in love with him.
It wouldn’t be a hard thing to do. If Ryske had told her what she’d wanted to hear, she’d be in his bed, enjoying their affair and she didn’t doubt she’d have handed him her heart by now. Sure, he’d have handed it back at some point and she’d have ended up hating him. But, he’d still have made her fall in love with him in the first place.
They pulled up outside her apartment. Harlow didn’t wait to hear what Ryske said to Noon after she kissed the driver’s cheek. She was out of the vehicle and on the sidewalk heading for the stoop when she heard the other car door close behind her.
“Trink.”
It was her intention to ignore him. There was nothing he could say that would change things between them. Finding out that this Ophelia was a part of the equation too, Harlow knew that even if she’d been tempted to say to hell with it and give herself to Ryske before, there was zero chance of it now.
She was on the third step when he grabbed her and pulled her back down to the first one. That was when she noticed Noon was no longer there, the car was gone from the curb.
“Do you think I’ll feel sorry for you and invite you up?” she asked. “You told Noon to leave, that’s your bad. Get a cab.”
“I’m not sleeping with her.”
Frustrated and tired, she was aware of the hour and that she’d have to get up for work in the morning. Harlow didn’t have time to deal with drama like this.
“I don’t care, Crash,” she said on a sigh. “Sleep with whomever you like. One of us should be getting some.”
Something like swagger touched his expression. “If you want some, I’m right here to give it to you.”
“Go find Ophelia,” she said, but was pulled back again when she tried to retreat. “Damnit, Crash, stop doing that. I’m going upstairs now. Alone. I don’t want you to join me. I don’t want you to follow me.”
For a moment, he examined her. His look of concern became one of admiration
. “Wow, I actually believed that. You’re a natural.”
“This again?” she asked, trying not to groan. “I do not want to be on your crew, Ryske. I want you to leave me alone.”
Turned out he did start to believe her. His concern returned and was followed by anger. “So, that’s it? A month goes by with nothing, you need something, we drop everything to help and then you’re just gone again?”
Doubting his outburst was really any demand for payment, she set a hand on her hip. “What would you like? Because I’ll tell you what you’re not getting. You’re not getting a date. A blowjob. A hand job. Sex of any variety. Or any kind of kiss. If you want any of that, go call Ophelia.”
Frustration flavored his words. “I’m not sleeping with her,” he said, and still hadn’t let go of her arm. Pulling her down the last step onto the sidewalk, he lowered his volume. “She’s our inside man. We’re in because of her.”
“Good. Great,” she said, without an ounce of enthusiasm. “Why do I care?”
Angling his head, he peered into her. “I don’t know, Trink. Do you care?”
She didn’t hesitate to shake her head. “No, I don’t care, because in the car just now I realized you’re right. You can’t make me promises and I don’t want them. We can’t be together, but it’s not because you won’t promise me forever, it’s because I’ll never be able to trust you to be faithful.”
That made him let her go and step away. “If you’re done wanting promises, invite me up. Let’s fuck. Let’s get it over with.”
The demand was too angry for her to believe that he wanted the invitation. “You should be pleased this has happened,” she said. “You didn’t want me to want a future and now I’m saying I don’t… That doesn’t mean I want to drop my panties for you either.”
Unimpressed and still angry, he bobbed his head. “You want your reliable guy.”
She smiled and took her keys from her pocket. “I would never have considered you to be a reliable guy. I could’ve got over that. I might even have gotten over the flirtations you’d have to engage in for your work, maybe even some of the physical stuff…”
Go With It (A Go Novel Book 1) Page 15