Page 9 of Driven by Desire

CHAPTER SIX

Her chocolate brown eyes snapped liquid fire at him, turning his dick to stone right there in the fucking restaurant. He wanted to reach across the table, yank her to the floor, tear open his zipper and shove his cock into that sassy little mouth. No one had ever spoken to him the way Riley Bancroft was speaking to him. Just the thought would mean death.

Yet, he wanted more. He wanted her to keep talking, so he would have an excuse to take her home, strip her bare, beat her ass and then fuck her raw. She was everything he never knew he wanted in a woman. Damned if he hadn’t been waiting thirty-nine years for her to come along. His cock was nearly bursting his seams to take a piece of her, but he knew he needed just a little more patience. She was still too scared of him. And while the bastard in him thrived on fear, the man that wanted to keep her was willing to bide his time and create the correct balance between fear and intrigue.

She would have to learn her place. In order to do that he would have to teach her to respect him. He would also show her all the things he could give her, starting with the incredible chemistry he felt sizzling between them each time he was near her. The sparks that ignited in the air between them the very first time he stepped foot in her garage and saw those delicate white Sketchers with the Sharpie doodles drawn on them sticking out from underneath the car she was working on.

She was still too frightened to recognize the incredible potential of their attraction for what it was. He would show her. Even if he had to break apart her world and force her to see it. He wasn't a subtle man. There was a reason he owned this city. He would own this woman too.

When she continued to ignore the food in front of her, he copied her action and placed his own napkin on the table. Very well, if she was ready to leave, then so was he. Besides, he had an appetite for something other than the Mexican fare they were currently presented with. He stood, tossing a hundred-dollar bill on the table. She looked up sharply. Clearly, she had been expecting him to react negatively to her rude comment.

“Let’s go,” he said, pulling her from her chair with a hand on her arm. She stumbled on her incredibly high boots and reached for her purse. Fuck, she had the most beautiful legs he’d ever seen. All sexy, smooth curves.

She had no choice but to follow him when he took her hand and began pulling her around the tables toward the exit. She dragged her feet in a clear show of reluctance, but ended up outside in the warm summer evening air. He walked her quickly toward the far end of the lot where his S7 was parked. Roman had the back door open for them.

Riley dug her hand into her purse, which was awkward considering Soloman had her other hand in his warm, solid clasp. She dug her heels in and tried to force him to stop walking.

“I’m not going with you!”

He stopped and pulled her around so she was facing him. He gave her a pointed look. “Your date gave you a ride here. Get in the car. I’m giving you a ride home.”

She twisted her hand out of his grip, yanked something out of her purse and held it up to his face. He saw right away it was a can of pepper spray. “I said,” she growled at him, cocking her hip to the side and staring at him coldly, “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

Lust sizzled through his veins, screaming at him to show her exactly how he’d made it as one of the evilest bastards in town. He could have that can out of her hand and her on her knees with her hair twisted around his fist in seconds. But the sight of her standing there, facing off against him, beautiful and fearless, convinced him that he wanted to keep Riley Bancroft. Long term. Beating her in a parking lot in front of potential witnesses didn’t work with this plan. He needed her whole and unbroken if he planned on taking her as his wife.

He nodded toward Roman who stepped up behind her. When she felt the body heat against her back she glanced over her shoulder, her eyes lighting up with worry. Now she was sandwiched between two men who were both half a foot taller than her, even with the heels, and outweighed her by a lot. The tiny can of pepper spray would be absolutely no help. Soloman put his hand out and waited. After a moment, she gave him the can.

“Good girl. Now get in the car.” He tried to make his deep voice sound soothing. She shook her head.

He sighed. He really hadn’t wanted to go after the people she cared about if at all possible. He should have known she wouldn’t give him a choice. Truth be told, he was enjoying the hunt too much anyway. He wanted her resistance. He took her chin in his hand to make sure she was listening.

“Your friend, Katie Pullman? The fake name your buddy Wendell gave when he was pretending to be you.” He paused and waited for her to nod in acknowledgment. Fear lit her beautiful eyes. “Little Katie’s been on our radar for a while. My guy Roman here has had a thing for your girl for years. He backed off when she married her artist and moved up the coast. Now it seems she’s divorced and coming home. Guess how we know all this?”

“No,” Riley whispered, shaking her head. “Please leave Katie out of this.”

“Yes, Riley,” he said in a hard voice. “You brought her to our attention with your little stunt at the shop. Now get in the car.”

***

Fuck. She didn’t have a choice. Now they were threatening Katie. If she didn’t go with Soloman, Roman would go after Katie and do to her what they were doing to Riley. Katie was tough, but the divorce had been hard on her. She was fragile, she wouldn’t be able to handle the pursuit of someone like Roman. Riley turned on her heels and glared up at the big, muscular bodyguard, throwing every ounce of hatred she felt for the man into her look. He stared back at her coldly before stepping aside so she could slide into the open vehicle.

Riley buckled her seatbelt and pointedly ignored Soloman who took the seat beside her. Roman got into the driver’s seat. She stared hard at the back of his head and finally said in an accusing voice, “I didn’t know you knew Katie. And she’s my best friend.”

He didn’t speak for a moment as he pulled the Audi onto the road. She was forced to take a moment and appreciate the gorgeous black leather interior of the $120,000 vehicle. Finally, Roman spoke. “Knew her brother.”

“Wendell?” Riley asked, confused. She was pretty sure she would have heard from Wendell himself if he’d ever hung out with Soloman’s terrifying right-hand man.

“Dexter,” Roman grunted.

Riley fell silent. Dexter had been Katie and Wendell’s older brother, the one that’d been killed in a gang shooting. Now she understood. Roman had been part of the same gang as Dexter. The one that’d been taken out by the Red Brotherhood in a gang war that lasted a week. Rumour had it that a single guy had taken out half the Brotherhood in bloody revenge for the death of his best friend, Dexter Pullman. Then he’d quietly disappeared. Everyone thought he’d been killed too. Now Riley suspected he had just gone to work for Soloman Hart.

Soloman picked up her hand and laced his fingers through hers. She tried to draw away from him, but he tightened his hand to the point of pain. She subsided, deciding that hand-holding was not the hill she wanted to die on. She turned fiery eyes on him and dug her nails into his hand. He gave her a feral smile and jerked her toward him until her face was inches away from him.

She gasped and brought her hand up to brace herself against him. Her hand landed on his hard chest, sliding against the fine fabric of his suit jacket. She felt his pectoral muscles clench under her fingertips and jerked back in response. He brought his hand up to catch the ponytail at the back of her head and hold her still, forcing her to stay within the circle of his body instead of subsiding into her own seat.

“Just let me go,” she begged him quietly, searching his eyes out in the darkness. What she saw there made her heart sink. Gleaming possession combined with ruthless intent ensured that he would not let her go. “This won’t work, Soloman. We’re from different worlds. I like fast cars and video games. You like… I don’t know, expensive suits and… and breaking people’s kneecaps and stuff. Stomach turning shit like that.”

He chuckled coldly, releasing her just enough that she could relax back into her seat. He continued to keep his hand in her hair though, running his fingers through the chestnut waves, smoothing them out along the back of the seat. “We’ll work, Riley, don’t worry about that.”

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