Page 22 of Keeping What He Wants

“Go home, Hawkins.”

She nodded. “I’m going.”

“You okay?” He signed some papers and handed them to the nurse before giving her his attention. “You’ve been going nonstop.”

Ella nodded. “Yeah. I’m okay.”

“You got a ride? I don’t think you should drive.”

“Yeah. My boyfriend is coming to pick me up.”

He seemed satisfied with that. When Ella’s shift ended, she went outside to find Ryker standing there. He looked about as shitty as she felt. Ella pulled out her keys.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I’m tired. I didn’t sleep much last night and I’ve worked twelve hours.”

Ryker reached for her bag and keys. “Come on. Let’s go home.”

She led him to her car and got in the passenger’s side. She was out by the time he started the engine. The next time she woke, Ryker was undoing her seatbelt. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up and opened the door. She got out and went to the apartment. Ryker unlocked the door and she stepped in, happy to be back in her own space again.

“Did you fuck her?” Ella asked.

“No.”

“I don’t think I understand why it is okay for you to do what you want but you claim I can’t for my protection. Please explain that to me. I’m supposed to be protected and locked inside my own home while you get to go out and do whatever you want with whomever you want. I told you how I felt about her and you left me to go out with them anyway. And then she kissed you. You didn’t push her away. She ground her pussy against you and you got hard. How am I supposed to take that, Ryker?”

Ella went to the couch and pulled the blanket around her.

Ryker sat in the recliner. “I admitted I could have handled that better. I also said I’m sorry and I am.”

“And you think that makes it okay? You do something stupid and sorry makes it okay?”

“What do you want me to do?”

She shook her head. “Keep your dick in your pants? Is that so difficult?”

It wasn’t so much that Beth liked him that she was upset about. Women stared at him all the time. For the most part, he ignored them. He did like the attention though. Past or no past, he shouldn’t have brought Beth into their home. He didn’t get that either.

“I didn’t fuck her.”

“You did at some point.” She met his gaze. “She clearly thought that you would again. And you didn’t even have enough respect for me to keep that bullshit out of my house. Do you honestly think I want you to parade that crap around?”

Ryker rubbed his hand over his face. “No. And this very reason is one of the problems I have with your request to be part of the club. There are women there that I’ve fucked. I told you I’d give you my sexual history if you wanted it, but I was far from a virgin when we got together. I haven’t slept with anyone but you since. You just see things differently than I do. Women are petty. They try to start shit with one another and they usually cause the biggest fuss when a guy is involved. The higher the status, the more problems they cause. Women do things, Ella. I don’t think anything of it. I get how it looks, but I really thought, I don’t know, that you knew me better than that.”

“Has this happened before?” The thought of him entertaining those women made her want to puke.

He swallowed hard. “Not exactly, no.”

“What exactly has happened then?”

Dropping his head back, he sat there a moment before he answered. “Women flirt. They offer sexual favors. Most of the time it’s just fun. There’s no intentions to carry out anything behind it. Beth took things too far because we do have a history. She and Rizzo only came to our house because I really did consider them my friends. I should have expected something from her, but I didn’t. I just fucking messed up, Ella. I took care of it though.”

“I don’t know what you expect of me, Ryker.” Tears filled her eyes. “I thought things between us were one way, but now they’re obviously not. I don’t really think you’d cheat on me, but at the same time I’m still hurt by what you do allow.”

She laid back on the sofa and covered her eyes with her arm. Ryker got up and walked over to her. Leaning down, he tried to kiss her, but she stopped him. Ella didn’t know what his plans were but she didn’t want to deal with it tonight.

“I love you.” Ryker propped himself over her with one hand on the arm of the couch and the other on the back. “I’m in love with you. I thought you were just bitching at me for that morning so I didn’t think anything about going out to eat with people I considered my friends. If I knew it was this big if an issue, I would have stayed at home.”

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