Page 103 of Ryker

“Not to me you’re not.” He’s perfect, amazing, what I’ve been dreaming of. “You’re just want I need.”

His gaze roams over my face. Without saying a word, he runs his thumb along my bottom lip, dragging it down to show my teeth. “I’m not what you need.”

“Don’t speak for me, Ryker.”

We just went from casual, to playful, to cautious, to this. God, why can’t we ever be consistent?

He tips his head back and looks down his nose at me. “I’m your first.”

It’s like that fact won’t penetrate his thick skull. Leaning into me, Ryker’s mouth hovers over mine and he licks the seam of my mouth, sending heat to my pussy. Maybe we work best teetering between cheerful and angry. My body sure loves it.

I really should seek professional help.

“Am I a bastard to be both happy and sickened that I’m your first real Dom?”

“No.”

“Wrong answer, Tara.” He presses his forehead to mine. “Tell me it’s terrible that I feel this way. Tell me it’s despicable that I love how only me has had you submit to them so beautifully. Tell me I’m a twisted bastard for the way it makes me feel territorial and protective of you.”

Words catch in my throat, along with my breath. I’m not saying shit.

“Say it,” he growls. “Say I’m a bastard for the things I want to do to you, especially knowing you’ve never been dominated by someone like me before.” His lips brush mine. The intensity between us is so thick, I can’t think straight. “Say it, Tara. Say I’m a bastard. A monster. A depraved animal for the way my dick is rock-hard, knowing I’m the only one you trust enough with your desires.”

A weak exhale blows out of me. “You don’t even know what my desires are.”

“Tell me.”

I turn the tables. “What do you want to do to me, Mr. Hudson?”

He growls and just when I think he’s going to kiss me, he moves and nips my earlobe instead. “Careful, Butterfly. You’re in my territory now.”

That doesn’t scare me. It makes me melt like butter. “Tell me what you want to do to me.”

Why won’t he say it?

Fine. I’ll approach this another way.

“Do you enjoy knowing I’ve only taken orders from you, Mr. Hudson?” My back’s against the wall. His arms bracket me, caging me in. “Does it please you, Sir, to know that I stayed on my knees like a good girl that first night for you? That I waited on the floor, just like you told me to, all night long?”

“Fuck.” An exhale rattles out of him. “Yes, Butterfly.”

I love how he reacts to me. There’s no denying how much I turn him on and it’s thrilling, addictive, and fun as hell. I’d be anything in the world for this man—a powerhouse, a puppy, a princess, or a whore. “I got myself off in front of the camera that night, hoping you were watching.”

The possessiveness in his tone sounds dangerous and makes my pussy wet. “I didn’t get to see it.”

“Pity.” My heart’s racing a mile a minute. This is so much fun. “I put on quite a show for you. Maybe Dmitri saw it instead. Or Vault.” Because we both know someone had to keep their eyes on me that night.

Ryker grinds his teeth. “Fuck, Tara, you’re going to make me murder my best friends.”

I think he’s only half joking. “I’m sure they only watched to make sure I stayed safe.”

He growls. “Feel safe now, Butterfly?”

When Ryker presses his forehead to mine again, I’m instantly drawn back to the moment when he did this in the hall after beating the shit out of Dmitri and then ripped me away from Vault, who said he was only trying to protect me.

Pieces click together and I realize how thin the line can be between intense and unhinged.

How precariously is Ryker teetering right now?

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