Page 42 of Reaper's Hunt

“If you need to be fucked,” I purr in her ear so that only she can hear me, “you have three guys who can deliver that so much better than any of the riffraff in this bar.”

And that’s when I realize this was all a ploy to drag me out of the shadows.

“Prove it.”

“You’ve been fucked more times in the last several days than people usually do in weeks. Aren’t you tired?”

She shimmies out of my arms, wiggling her ass a little more than necessary. “If you aren’t game, I have several men lined up for the taking.”

Yeah, that does it. I roughly reach around to grab her chin, pulling her face to face with me, her lips a breath from mine. “None of them are touching you, sweetheart. Office. Now.”

Her grin widens as she leans forward to steal a kiss before heading down the back hallway, Malik following a second later. God, this woman is going to fucking ruin me.

Selene

It’sbeenthreedayssince Blaze went silent after leaving all those rocks in my house. I’ve been splitting my time between Dante’s place and the boutique, researching with what little time I have in Ronan’s office. Ronan’s mind is a fucking marvel, all of the red string connecting dots I would have never picked up. This truly is a different, darker world than I’m used to, especially when Malik described in detail one of the men he plucked the eyes from and fed to another. I’m notsadistic. I make art. And it’s always for a reason.

I try to make sense of what I’m staring at, even as I shift in the oversized chair I’m stuffed in. My pussy is sore and my ass throbs from the thorough spanking Ronan gave me at the bar a few days ago. It didn’t help that Dante saw it yesterday and decided to recreate it until I was screaming through one of the strongest orgasms I had ever had.

Fuck all these men for knowing what breaks me.

Ronan had to save me shortly after, Malik getting a little too feral. One of his cuts was just a bit too deep, the man licking his knife as he fucked me into oblivion. Ronan’s made a rule that no one is allowed to touch me until Friday and while I appreciate it, my whore self needs dick.Stat.

At least, in the meantime I can focus on this investigation and ignore the moments when Harley tried to interrogate me on Monday. I lied my way through that until another detective saved me and said that I was free to go, which was great, except for the fact that Harley won’t stop calling. I wish it were Blaze instead of him and that’s saying something.

A small noise tears me from my thoughts as I turn my attention to Ronan sitting behind his desk, poring over a file. He’s different than the other two. He watches me, his eyes tracking me as I grab a coffee mug in the kitchen, as I sling my bag over my shoulder to say goodnight, but he hasn’t touched me since the bar. I see the hunger in his eyes, but he holds back for some reason and I’m too curious for my own good to let it just lie.

I also am too intrigued by this strange dynamic I’ve fallen into, trying to understand this hit list and Blaze’s intentions. We haven’t found anything yet, and that’s why I decided to distract myself.

With Ronan.

Just be blunt, Selene. Straight to the point.

I push to my feet and move toward him, Ronan looking up the moment I’m in his space. “Why won’t you fuck me?”

Ronan snorts, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands on the desk. “You’re not exactly lacking for attention, Selene,” he muses, his gaze flicking to a bandage on my shoulder and then back to my face.

“That wasn’t the question and you know it.”

“Because I want more than that. A one-night stand, sure. A regular fucking, I’d be glad to, but we both know that’s not what this is. Sweetheart, you say you don’t do feelings or whatever bullshit you keep spouting. Dante’s told me all about it, but it’s not hard to see you’re craving more than just touch.”

“Is this your version of an intervention? Because it’s a horrible one. I’m just doing this until I get the one guy I came for.”

Ronan laughs, the sound rumbling through his chest as he pushes away from the desk and then drags me onto his lap. I’m not used to this, the way he so tenderly holds me against his chest, tucking my head beneath his chin. “You keep telling that to yourself,” he says as one of his hands sift into my hair, pulling it from the ponytail, “but this is who you are. I’m not judging you. I’m telling you it’s a high you keep chasing and it’s impossible to leave behind. I should know. I’ve tried to get out so many fucking times. Hell, look at Dante. We don’t ever really leave. Tell me, when you find him and gut him, what happens next? Settle down, get married, have kids? Travel the world? What’s next, Selene? That’s what terrifies me with you, because there’s no end, and we’re a lot, but protecting you is impossible.”

“You don’t even fucking know me,” I say, sitting up in his lap. “Why would you protect me? I know why Dante would and Malik’s just crazy. But you? We’re jeopardizing your career, Dante’s, everything. What’s in it for you?”

Ronan’s expression softens, his hand moving to cup my cheek, his thumb brushing across my jaw. “I care about you,” he murmurs. “I had no idea who you were when I fucked you in my office the first time, but I’ve been hearing about you through Dante’s eyes for years. Spiced Coconut, I called you. I fell in love with you before I even saw your face, a fantasy of a woman I never met, didn’t even know your name or what you looked like.”

“You’re a lot sweeter than I thought you’d be.”

He snorts again as he tugs on my hair a little, dragging a gasp from me. “Sweetheart, I’m not sweet. I think I’ve told you that before.”

And yet, I know that there’s a sweet version of him, the one he shows me in moments like this or when Malik gets to be a little too much. Other times, he’s rough and he’ll fuck me hard and fast like I need. The duality of a man I could fall in love with.

Cut that shit out, Selene. We don’t do feelings.

I struggle to sit up a little further when Ronan starts checking my bandage, grunting at the state it’s in. I’m not telling him that Malik fucked me in the bathroom an hour ago because he doesn’t need to know. However, even with a full shower and a new bandage, it’s pretty obvious to tell.

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