Page 29 of Synnr's Ride

Every nerve sang with bliss, and he couldn't stop now. His teeth clenched, trying to hold back. But Hanna showed him no mercy, and with a gasp he came, seed spilling.

Hanna leaned back, wiping her swollen mouth. Now she looked like some fallen angel, wings drooping and body made for sin.

He should have been sated. Instead he wanted to lay her flat out and feast on her until she was crying out in pleasure.

Jori forced himself to calm down. Now wasnotthe time. He rearranged his pants until he was something approaching decent, though he was sure his cheeks were flushed and pupils blown.

Hanna stood and gave him a nod. "I need to get back to work." She wiped some of the dust from her knees and left him alone.

And he was completely alone. Kark and Rexx were no longer in the hallway. When had they left?

Could he have pulled away from Hanna before...?

Jori forced the thought out of his mind. He took another minute to gather his thoughts before forcing himself to walk back into the main area of the bar, where Kark gave him a broad grin and slapped him on the back while Rexx summoned Zilly to bring Jori a drink.

To sell the job, Jori had to smile. He had to listen to the vulgar jokes from Kark's crew and laugh along. He couldn't look at Hanna. If he did that, he'd give it all away.

But he feared he'd crossed a line he couldn't uncross. He just had to wait for the consequences.

10

Hanna sawwhen Jori took off. He'd brought his bike to the bar, but they were supposed to ride home together.

Then Kark had to go and ruin it.

Hanna compartmentalized for the rest of the night. If she let herself remember the taste of Jori, the way his skin felt under her fingers, she'd be a mess of nerves and heat.

She had to fix this.

Jori hadn't looked at her for the rest of the night. They couldn't go on like that. She spent the rest of her shift dreaming up conversations they'd have to speak and wishing it could all be solved with a kiss.

And she was a bit... disturbed... by how much she'd liked it. Kark and Rexx weren't the audience she would have chosen, but knowing she was being watched, even through Jori's wings, had made it even hotter.

Yeah, Hanna definitely had to stop thinking about that.

In the small hours of the morning, she made it home. She expected Jori to be asleep. Or gone. If he couldn't face her at the bar, their tiny house would be so much worse.

She found him sitting on the couch, holding a decorative ball in his hands and tossing it from one hand to the other. He didn't glance at her when she walked in and locked the door.

The bedroom was calling to her for more than one reason. But it would be beyond easy to go to sleep and pretend that all would be well in the morning. She and Jori would have plenty of time to build their emotional walls back up, and they could play this off as just part of the job.

Hanna's job made her a liar, but she was trying not to lie to herself. She forced herself to cross the room and sat in the chair closest to Jori.

When he looked at her, there was dread in his eyes.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" It came out a bit defensive. But the compartmentalization that worked so well at the bar suffered a structural failure the second she spoke with Jori.

"If you need to report me for disciplinary action, I'll cooperate. My behavior was—"

"Don't finish that sentence." Hanna's mind whirled, trying to catch up with what he was saying. "Have you been spiraling all night?"

Jori jolted. "I wouldn't call it spiraling. I've been thinking."

"There's your problem." She ran her fingers through her hair and shook it out. "You saved my ass back there. Maybe I could have talked Rexx around, but I'd much rather suck your cock than his."

That startled a choked laugh out of Jori.

"We both knew this might happen," she continued. "Are you going to be okay?"

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