Page 18 of Tastes Like Misery

I couldn’t help myself when I got out and pulled the helmet and glasses off. Jumping into his arms, I kissed his cheek, “That was amazing! Thank you!”

He laughed as he pushed me up against the car and sucked in my lower lip. Meeting my eyes, he had a boyish expression, one of pure delight, “I want to give you this to you all the time, Vivian. Join us, be ours.” Before I could question or answer, he devoured my mouth, slipping his tongue inside, sending searing heat through my body. Any doubt I had flew out of my head as I took every part of his passion and returned it with fervor. My head spun as my body reacted, pressing my center against his hard cock as I gripped his hair. I wanted him to take me right there, needed to feel that hard cock driving into me.

The door of the shack opening didn’t register as I slid my hand under his shirt and raked my hands on his hard abs. He pulled away, his breath heavy, “Joe’s watching.”

“Let him watch,” my own breath heavy with desire.

“No, you’re mine, baby girl. I’m not going to let that weasel see your beautiful body. Come home with me.”

Chapter 11

Vivian

His words were as if he threw ice on me, my desire dwindling to almost nothing. I couldn’t help still having that ache inside me, wanting him. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

“If you want answers, you’ll come with me,” he dangled a prize I couldn’t resist.

“Ollie is there and I want nothing to do with him,” I argued, though it was a feeble attempt.

Dane carried me to his truck and placed me inside, “We’ve already been over this. You want him, Vivian. Stop being stubborn.” Closing the door, he cut off my retort, though I saved it for when he climbed into the driver’s seat.

“I don’t get you. You just told me I was yours, but you have no problem with your friend trying to force himself on me. And you sit here and tell me I want him. What game are you playing, Dane? Because you should know by now the only games I like to play are ones I’m in charge of.”

“Trust me, you’ll love this game.”

“I don’t trust you,” I retorted. “I don’t know you. We fucked one night, and it was amazing. Then you left. Then you rolled into my town for some unknown reason with your two friends and are planning something. Whatever this secret is, I’m tired of it already. Your hot and cold is not something I want in my life,” my hands shook as I unleashed my frustration on him.

He sighed heavily and refused to look at me. I had no idea what went through his mind, but he wasn’t full of the cocky attitude he normally had. It was almost as if he had some heavy burden he carried.

After miles of cruising down the lonesome highway, he finally spoke, “I can’t tell you everything. It was a deal I made with my partners, that you can’t know it all unless you’re all the way in. We have big plans and I think you would be the perfect addition to our team. Most women would jump at the chance to meet those conditions, but you aren’t most women.”

“I’m claiming my prize for winning. I want to know what the conditions are,” I turned my body to face him and waited.

He hit the steering wheel, and I jumped, not sure I wanted to know if this was his reaction. “You know, I used to be a boxer. A champion fighter. Finn was my trainer and Ollie was my manager.”

“I didn’t know,” I admitted, trying to place his face. It would be of no use since I wasn’t into sports at all. Shaming my Texan heritage, I didn’t even know the name of any players on our football team.

“We lived a hell of a life then. My wins kept us rich, drunk, and fucking any women we wanted. We shared them a lot. Hell, we did what we wanted and still do to a point. I was injured and Ollie was caught illegally betting on games. Shit just went downhill fast. We lived off that money for a long time but its running out. None of us have ever been good guys, never claimed to be. So we came up with plans to get our hands on money again.”

I sat in stunned silence, unsure of which thing to unpack first. My mind wandered from the women to what they could be planning, especially in a little town like this. There wasn’t anything here to make them millionaires, as it seemed he was at one point. At least that’s what I could guess, since sports always paid a hell of a lot of money.

Knowing he wouldn’t answer, I needed to know one burning question, “Why me?”

“You’re my match,” he let out a chuckle as if it were some big secret only he knew.

“That explains nothing. Use your words like a big boy, Dane.”

That earned me a glare, but he answered, “You’re a good pickpocket. If I weren’t just as dirty as you, I wouldn’t have known.”

“Really, that’s it? I stole your wallet and you stalk me,” I huffed, not believing this man would become seemingly obsessed over something so simple. “You could have any woman you want. Hell, the three of you have. I can’t see you as a man who chases any woman.”

Surprising me, he reached over and grasped my hand, squeezing it. The intimate gesture was strange and contradicted everything I’d seen from him this far. That deep, smooth voice turned serious, “Every other woman has fallen over me, done anything I asked because they see me as a prize. The famous guy they can write in their memoirs or something. They lay there and take whatever I give them despite not enjoying my tastes.”

He looked at me and smirked, “Not you, though. You wanted me despite not knowing who I was. Then you didn’t just sit and take what I served you. You loved being my dirty little whore. But you also fought me for control all night. I couldn’t stop thinking about you after I left. So, yes, I sent Reginald after you to test how you would get out of it. And you did. Fuck, that made me want you even more.”

“You’re crazy,” I sputtered out. “If I hadn’t run, the police would have thrown me in jail. I don’t have the best record.”

His resulting laughter was insulting, “I told you already, you wouldn’t have gone to jail. The police weren’t coming. It was a ruse. Still, from what he told me, you were one hell of a runner.”

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