She fought back emotions that welled to the surface. This was it?
Rider didn’t seem to notice her plight. He flung one arm out to tug his jeans over and fumbled in the pocket until he held up a condom. “Put it on me. I need to be inside you.”
Emily took it with shaky fingers, completely confused by his actions and his words tonight. She couldn’t turn him down though. She didn’t think she would ever be able to turn him down. If she ran into him on the street years from now, married and with seven kids, she would still gladly lower herself to the ground at his feet and suck his cock, even in public.
She shook as she removed the rubber and scooted down to his thighs to roll it on his length.
“Ride me, Emily. I want to watch your tits bounce above me while you make yourself come on my cock.”
Her arousal might have been simmering beneath the surface, but with those words, she needed him so badly she could hardly command her knees to crawl forward so she could line up with his dick.
Rider took her hips in his hands and tugged her down over him sharply, impaling her so fast she gasped. He groaned, his head rolling to one side. “You have no idea what you do to me, baby.”
Yes, I do… And that’s unfortunate.
She watched his face closely. His lips were parted on the constant sound seeping out. His forehead was furrowed in concentration. And then he met her gaze and softened. He trailed his hands up to cup her breasts. “So full. So sexy.”
Full? My chest? That wasn’t a word she would ever have used to describe her B cups.
He stroked his thumbs over her nipples, making her shiver again. “They are, baby. Swollen. They’re larger when you’re aroused. I love it.” He pinched her nipples and she arched her chest.
“Ride me,” he commanded again. “You control it.” He released her and set his hands at his sides. His gaze still zoned in on hers, however, making her feel as though he controlled her anyway. Did he not know he could command her body with his look as much as his touch?
Emily set her hands greedily on his incredible pecs and lifted off several inches. Her moan mixed with his, resonating in the room.
She found herself wanting the instant gratification he’d already demanded of her in the last half hour. Again. She needed him with a severity that matched the orgasms they’d each just forced from the other. So, she thrust over him, up and down, throwing her head back and enjoying every ounce of friction against her inner walls.
As she lifted and lowered faster, Rider’s hands landed on her thighs and then eased up until he wrapped his wide palms around her legs and used his thumbs to stroke her clit with every pass. “Come,” he commanded too soon.
She wasn’t ready. Or maybe she was. In any case, she came for him, squeezing his cock, and he gripped her down on his length and pulsed up into her at the same time.
She heaved above him, leaning on her hands over his chest, her eyes glazed over with lust and unable to capture his face yet.
Slowly she saw him smiling at her.
“Such wanton abandonment. It’s glorious. You’re amazing.” He pulled her down over him so she rested on his chest, his cock still embedded inside her, firm enough to fill her quivering pussy.
They lay like that for a while.
Finally, Rider eased her up. He sat her on the floor and crawled over to grab his bag. He extracted a pouch of wipes and cleaned them both up, spreading her legs in her seated position and holding her thigh with one hand while he took gentle care of her.
She nearly cried. Everything he’d done since he’d walked out of that locker room had jerked her around like she were riding on a roller coaster. His strange serious mood was daunting and hinted of impending doom.
“You okay?” she finally managed to squeak out.
He jerked to face her again. “Of course. I’m perfect.” He inched back over and kissed her sweetly on the lips. “Get dressed. Katy and Jenna are probably wondering what happened to you. They get mother henish sometimes.” He grinned.
She nodded, still suspicious of his motivations.
Chapter Twelve
Holy fuck. What the hell had he done? He had to fight to make eye contact with Emily now that they were getting dressed. He avoided her eyes, but he didn’t miss a single inch of her sexy skirt and the sheer purple blouse she put on over a black lace bra that was more sexy than functional. She’d transformed so much in the last few weeks, he didn’t recognize her.
Except that was a lie. Underneath the new clothes, she was the same innocent woman he’d fallen for sitting in that booth fidgeting with eyes as wide as saucers. And he wanted her as much now as he had the first time he saw her.
Nope. That was also a lie. He wanted her more now.
And that was the danger zone.
He was fucking with her heart now. He could tell by the sorrowful way she pinched her eyes together, trying hard not to let him get to her. He wasn’t stupid. He knew he was an ass. He couldn’t stop himself.
He needed to end this soon. He was falling for her and he knew better. Hell, she wasn’t in a place to build a relationship with him either. She wasn’t willing to share him with her family or her coworkers. What was left? How long could they carry on like this, hiding from the world so no one would know about her supposedly deviant side and his firm lack of faith in relationships in general.
He could try dating her. But, if he thought he would hurt her now by ending this, he could only imagine what it would be like weeks from now when the newness wore off and he grew tired of having a ball and chain around his neck like a noose.
“Ready?” he asked when he realized she was standing by the door with her bag slung over her shoulder.
“Yep.” Her tone was clipped, strained.
He cringed. He knew he was toying with her. It wasn’t fair.
He took her bag from her shoulder and put it with his own. With a hand on the small of her back, he led her from the room and down the hall to the locker room. “Wait here a sec. Let me stash these.” He entered and stuffed their two bags in his locker and returned immediately, not giving himself a chance to stop and think.
He wanted to do a scene with her. That much he was sure of. Something she would remember him by. Because he was an ass…
When he emerged, she was gone. In less than a minute, the imp had disappeared on him.
He lifted his gaze to scan the room and found her waving at him from a booth where she sat with Katy and Jenna. Of course. Never mind he told her to wait for him…
Rider headed across the room with the intent of gently reprimanding her for her insolence, but he was stopped by Rafe and Mason at the bar getting waters and sodas. “Hey, Rider, what does your woman drink?”
Rider winced. He turned to his friends and came up behind them. “She isn’t my woman. Stop calling her that.”
Rafe chuckled, but quickly changed his expression to serious. “Dude? What’s up with you? That chick is totally into you, and I can see the feeling is mutual. Why do you insist on fighting it?”
Rider furrowed his brow. “Has it ever occurred to you she doesn’t want a relationship either?”
Mason cleared his throat. “I’m not sure I believe it. Did she say as much?”
“Of course,” Rider responded, turning his gaze to Mason. “She doesn’t want her parents, brother, or her coworkers to know she’s been coming here, let alone that she’s been dabbling in submission.” He cringed as the words left his mouth, almost angry she was so adamant about keeping him a secret even though he had no right to be since he’d repeatedly harped about not wanting anything more than a trainee.
“Okay.” Rafe held his hands up in defeat. “Have it your way. But, take my advice. Be careful with this woman. Her heart is lying on the table over there.”
Mason spoke again lower. “She hasn’t taken her gaze off you since you stopped to talk to us, and her face is beet red.”
Rider jerked to look her direction before he could stop himself. Sure enough, Emily bl
ushed and swiveled her head to face the other women.
Mason grabbed two drinks and nodded at the others on the bar. “Grab Emily a water. She’s gonna be thirsty after whatever you did to her in room three before we got here.” He smirked as he walked away. Rafe did the same, leaving Rider to pick up the last two drinks and trudge across the room. His feet felt leaden. His friends were right. He just didn’t want to admit it.
By the time he arrived at the table, the scene had changed drastically in seconds. Rafe had Katy standing behind him and Mason was pulling Jenna from her seat. They all four glanced repeatedly at both Rider and a new face at the edge of the booth.
Dave Peterman. The man was a regular at the club, who Rider knew well because he was also a fellow cop who worked at the same precinct as Rider in narcotics.
Rider nodded at him. “Dave.”
Dave’s face was serious, his eyes drawn close. “Rider. Listen, I know this is unusual, but I need a word with your submissive.”
Rider jerked his head back. “With Emily?” He glanced at her, noting that she had no idea what was going on any more than he did. Her eyes were wide and her mouth open in shock.
Rafe backed up with Katy. “We’re going to mingle. See you guys later.”
Mason and Jenna followed, leaving Rider staring at Dave. “What’s this about? She’s with me tonight, Dave.” The man had some huge balls if he thought he was going to hone in on Emily while she was under Rider’s care.
Dave shook his head. “Nothing like that.” He relaxed his shoulders. “Look, man. You know me. I’m not going to steal your woman. I just need to talk to her. It’s a private matter. Would you give us a few minutes?” A long pause ensued, during which Rider handed Emily a bottle of water without looking at her.
He felt the need to clarify. “Emily is my trainee.”
“Whatever, Rider. That’s not at issue here.”
Rider hesitated. He did know Dave. And he’d never known the man to do anything that would piss him off at work or at the club. He needed to trust him now. Whatever he had to say to Emily must have been serious for him to interrupt them at the club. “Fine. I’ll wait at the bar.” Rider backed off, not turning around fully. “Yell, if you need me, Em.” The nickname slipped out before he could stop it, sounding far too endearing coming from him. But it was too late.
He stepped toward the bar and finally pulled out a stool. He was too far to hear anything Dave or Emily said, but close enough to watch if she became distressed.
No matter what happened next in their bizarre arrangement, she was still his to protect tonight, and he intended to do so.
•●•
Emily fidgeted while this man named Dave, whom she’d never met, sat across from her and put his elbows on the table. “My name’s Dave. I guess you gathered that.”
She nodded. “What do you need to speak to me about?”
He tipped his head and then lifted it back to meet her gaze. “Listen, I’m just going to come out and say this. I saw you come in with your friend that first night and have noticed you several other times.”
“Virginia?”
“Yes. I thought you looked familiar when you first came through the door, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Then I danced with Virginia and she mentioned she had a friend who used to come here.”
“Claire,” Emily blew out a breath as she spoke the name. There was no doubt who he was talking about. No sense acting like she had no idea.
“Yes.” He nodded. “And then I remembered seeing you at the police station. Claire was your sister, wasn’t she?”
“Yes.” Her voice was barely audible.
“I assume you came here looking for answers.”
“I did.”
“I wanted to confront you for two reasons.”
“Okay.”
“For one, you need to know that whatever Claire was messed up in, it didn’t come from this club. I looked at the police report on her. I know she died of an overdose. If you thought you might trace that back to Extreme, you’re barking up the wrong tree.”
“I realized that the first night.”
He looked only mildly shocked. “You sure?”
“Yes. Positive. Alcohol isn’t even served here.”
“That’s correct.” He lowered his voice and glanced around, not moving his head, just his eyes. “And drugs are strictly forbidden. In fact, after I looked into your sister’s death, I checked the books here also. She did come here that night, the night she died, but she wasn’t allowed entrance. She was high. Harper told her to go home and sleep it off. He warned her not to come back in that state again.”
Emily was shocked. Dave knew an awful lot about Claire.
“So, if you aren’t still looking for answers at Extreme, why do you keep coming every week?” He looked confused.
Emily licked her lips. How was she supposed to confess to this man that she thought she too was submissive?
“Ah. I see.” Dave sat back and spread his hands on the table. “Well, no worries then. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t on a wild goose chase looking for something that you won’t find inside the club.”
Emily shook her head and shot a glance at Rider, who moved to stand until she held up one finger asking for more time.
He sat back down, but he looked ready to explode.
“So that brings up my next reason for talking to you.” Dave straightened in his seat again. “You should not dabble in looking for a drug dealer. It isn’t safe. Not even for a cop. Certainly not for a woman. You’ll find yourself as dead as Claire in a heartbeat.” He narrowed his stern gaze. “Do you hear me?”
“Yes.” The word was breathy.
“I know it may seem like the police are doing nothing to find out what happened to Claire, but that isn’t entirely true. We’re tracking several known drug dealers all over the city.”
Emily opened her mouth to interrupt, but Dave held up a hand to stop her. “I’m not saying we’re specifically working on your sister’s case, just that we’re aware of every OD in this city. We don’t take these things lightly, and we will bust every dealer we can as we find them. It takes time.” He leaned closer to her again so his face was inches from hers. “Don’t mess with this sort of thing, Emily. You’re a cute vibrant woman. I’d hate to see anything happen to you.”
She nodded, her voice caught in her throat at the serious way he nailed her.
“I assume Rider knows nothing about this or he wouldn’t have given me such grief about speaking to you.”
She nodded again.
“You should tell him.”
“I—”
Dave shook his head. “I don’t care what’s going on between you and Rider, but he is a cop, and a good one, one of the best. It’s wrong of you to keep this kind of secret from him.”
“He’s just training me,” she whispered.
Dave smiled warmly. “I see. Well, I’m not buying that, so take my advice.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Please do.”
A shadow covered them both as those last words left Dave’s lips.
Emily lifted her gaze to find Rider standing over her, his patience used up. “You’ll think about what?”
“Leave it alone, Rider,” Dave said as he stood. He grabbed Rider’s bicep in a friendly manner and looked him in the eye. “I was just leaving. Enjoy your evening.” Dave released Rider and walked away.
Rider whipped his gaze to Emily. “What the hell was that all about?”
Emily cringed. “Hey, don’t yell at me. And stop staring at me as though I slept with somebody else in front of you.”
Rider slid into the seat Dave vacated, across from Emily instead of next to her as he usually did. She didn’t miss the slight.
She lifted her chin and confronted him. “You’ve been strange this entire evening, Rider.”
“Me? I’m not the one who spent twenty minutes arguing with a stranger while my face was white as a sheet. What gives, Em?�
��
It was the second time he’d called her that, and she flinched again, as she had the first time. She didn’t want him to use that name for her, not in a tone that pretended he cared. Because clearly he did not.
“It’s really none of your business, Rider.” She crossed her arms, figuring defiant was her best option right now. She didn’t have the energy for anything else.
He opened his mouth in shock. “Seriously? You’re going to sit there and tell me it’s perfectly normal for some random guy in the club to ask me to leave my own woman at the table so he can tell her some long drawn-out story while I watch from across the room, and I’m supposed to just grin and move on?”
“Your woman?” Her voice rose as she released her arms to grab the edge of the table. “Your woman?” she repeated louder. “That’s rich, Rider. First of all, you know good and well Dave is not some random guy. You know him. I’ve never met him. But he’s a cop on your force.
“And secondly, I am not your woman. You’ve made that perfectly clear from the start and numerous times since then. You’ve pointed out to nearly every person we approach that you’re merely training me in the ways of submission, and have no intention whatsoever of getting involved with me. I’m super fucking clear about that.”
Rider opened his mouth, but she shut him down.
“Let me finish. Now, I realize I’m at least as much to blame in whatever the hell is happening between us as you are. After all, I never wanted to get involved either. I simply wanted the experience, and you gave it to me.”
“Are you fucking dissing me, Emily?”
She glared at him. “How dare you? I can hardly break up with somebody who was never mine in the first place, Rider, The Enforcer.” She fought to keep her voice down so no one would overhear the biggest fight she’d ever had with a man in her life. She’d never been as ballsy as she was right then. The club was noisy enough and the music loud enough she thought they were safe from wandering ears.
Rider protested. “That’s not fair. Of course I care about you. And I won’t deny I’m attracted to you besides as a trainee. But it doesn’t change the fact that I’m not boyfriend material. I told you that. However, when you’re with me as my submissive, it’s my job to take care of you. I would do the same for any woman I dominate, even if it’s just for the evening.”
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