Page 20

Cadence

The door to the outer chamber creaked open, and I stiffened. I’d been on edge ever since I found the note.

The sound of heavy footfalls followed, but I was now so familiar with Ryker’s gait that I instantly relaxed.

Then I remembered it was his fault that I was in this situation, and anger flooded my system like a wild maelstrom.

A moment later, the door swung wide, and Ryker stepped inside.

I bristled at the sight of him.

He had pulled the strands of his light-colored hair into a messy knot atop his head. No care or attention had gone into the updo, and yet, it made him look even more attractive.

Fucking asshole.

His tight leather trousers did nothing to lessen that impression. His thick, muscular thighs and toned ass hinted at the hours he spent training, honing, and enhancing his skills. With his white tunic loose, he flaunted his muscular chest, and I fought the urge to lick my lips.

No. Absolutely not. I was not going there.

This man was my enemy, and my body needed to get on board with that notion and stop betraying me.

I snapped the book I had been reading shut and tossed it onto the bed.

“Well, if it isn’t the King of Assholes himself,” I taunted.

“I’m in no mood for your antics tonight, Cadence,” he growled, marching toward the washroom.

“Good. Then you can let me go, and I’ll be out of your hair,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

Ryker disappeared behind the door that led to the bathing chamber, and I heard the sound of water splashing.

I flicked the covers back and got out of bed as I waited for him to reemerge. I hated it when he ignored me like I was nothing more than a mere nuisance. As if he hadn’t upended my whole life only to discard me in the next moment.

Ryker returned from the washroom, his tunic nowhere in sight as he leaned against the door frame. His gaze raked over my body, and a hungry glint entered his eyes, which had me pressing my thighs together.

“I love how my gifts look on you, Temptress,” he said with a low rumble I felt in my core.

I glanced down at the lace nightgown I wore. It revealed more skin than the occasion called for, but the silky fabric was impossible to resist. It was like I had pulled on a slice of heaven when I slipped it down my body.

Suddenly uncomfortable, I glowered at Ryker, channeling my disquiet into the familiar rage I felt whenever I was in his presence.

“Don’t change the fucking subject, Ryker!”

He pushed off the wall and strode towards me. “I see you haven’t learned your lesson from the last time you mouthed off at me.”

My flesh heated at the memory.

When Ryker reached me, he circled me like a predator sizing up its prey. The warmth of his body caressed my bare skin, and I shivered.

“Or is it that you want a repeat?” he whispered against the shell of my ear.

“Fuck you!” I spat.

Before I could turn to face him, Ryker gripped my hip with one hand and cradled the back of my head with the other, then pinned me against the wall.

I gasped in surprise, and he seized the advantage, locking both my hands in one of his much larger ones at the base of my spine. He tapped my ankles apart, spreading my legs wider as he stepped closer to me. His hard chest pressed against my back, and I could feel his cock thickening against my ass.

“Are you sure this is the game you want to play, my vicious Temptress?” he growled.

“I’m not your anything, Ryker.”

A deep chuckle vibrated down my spine and settled between my thighs with a pulsing intensity that had me rubbing my legs together to ease the tension.

“I guess it is.”

His weight lifted off me, no longer pressing me into the wall as he released my hands. I tried to get away, but Ryker’s palms came down on either side of my head, caging me in.

“Did I fucking say you could move, Cadence?” he snarled.

My heart raced. Not from fear, but from anticipation.

“Answer me!”

“No,” I bit out.

Ryker moved his hand to my shoulder, gathering my hair and pushing it aside. His fingers grazed the collar at my throat before he placed a soft kiss on my neck.

“I do like the visual reminder of my ownership,” he purred.

The memory of what he’d done had me seeing red. “You can’t own me, Ryker! I’m a fucking person!”

“On the contrary, Cadence. I do own you. I own every fucking inch of this sweet flesh,” he said as he slid the band of my nightgown down my arm, exposing my breast. He repeated the action with the other strap until the garment pooled at my waist.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he murmured.

His hands gripped the fabric bunching at my hips before he pushed it down my body until it reached the floor. Ryker took a step back, his gaze burning a path down my flesh as he assessed me. I didn’t turn around. I stayed perfectly still, waiting to see what he would do next.

“Good girl,” he praised when he realized I would not resist him.

Ryker unbuckled his belt, and I stiffened.

“What are you doing?”

I had intended to sound demanding, but it came out breathy, wanton.

Ryker chuckled darkly. “There are consequences for your actions, Cadence, or did you already forget about your little stunt from this morning? You continue to defy me, and so I am forced to remind you of your place.”

Goosebumps erupted all over my body. His last lesson had been more enjoyable than I would ever admit, especially to him.

A whipping sound cut through the air and a moment later, pain flared on my ass cheek. I jolted forward, my breasts grazing against the roughened wall, bringing my nipples to a peak.

Fuck! Did he just spank me with his belt? More importantly, did I like it?

Before I could dwell on it, another slap hit my ass, and my body shot forward again. The contact sent waves of exquisite agony through me, and I had to bite my lip to prevent a moan from escaping.

I did like it. I liked it a lot.

Six more strikes followed in quick succession, and I was a panting mess by the time Ryker’s belt hit the floor. My ass felt as though it was on fire, but I couldn’t deny the slickness between my thighs.

Ryker’s warmth surrounded me as he pressed against my back once more. He must have removed his pants at some point, because I could feel the swell of his cock as it jutted against my ass.

I hissed as fiery pain exploded across both cheeks. Ryker’s breath came heavy, though I couldn’t tell if it was from exertion or excitement.

Probably both.

“I’m proud of you, Cadence,” he murmured. “You took your punishment so well.”

I scoffed as I rested my head against the wall.

“Are you ready to learn what else you can take?”

“I’m ready for you to go to hell, Ryker.”

He tsked. “And here I thought we were making progress.”

His teeth sank into my earlobe as he whispered, “Tell me, is my pussy soaking wet right now?”

“No,” I snapped and rubbed my thighs together as if doing so would erase the evidence of my arousal.

Ryker chuckled. “Let’s find out, shall we?”

A calloused finger danced across my folds before dipping inside me.

“You’re dripping, little liar,” he growled.

I bit my bottom lip hard enough to draw blood, but when Ryker pushed another finger inside me, I couldn’t stop the moan that left my lips.

“Mmm,” he hummed. “You like that, don’t you? You like it when my fingers fuck you so hard that you’re moaning like a common whore.”

I couldn’t deny it. I did like it. I liked it very much.

Ryker pumped his fingers in and out of me roughly, and my walls tightened around him, trying to hold the digits in place. He withdrew his fingers abruptly, leaving me feeling empty and unfulfilled.

“W-what?” I muttered, not sure what I was asking.

A moment later, the head of his engorged cock nudged my entrance, and I inhaled a sharp breath as I lost myself to the delirium of the lust coursing through my veins.

Ryker’s hips thrust forward as he sheathed himself to the hilt. Pain flared in my core with the sudden intrusion as my body struggled to accommodate his size. Ryker groaned as he laid his forehead between my shoulders.

“Fuck Cadence,” he gritted out. “Your pussy was fucking made for me.”

I said nothing.

I couldn’t.

The sense of him filling me so completely, stretching me wide, it was all-consuming, overwhelming, to the point that I forgot how to breathe.

“Can you feel how your body tightens around me, strangling my cock as she welcomes me home?”

And then he started moving.

Ryker rocked his hips, impaling himself inside me over and over until he had me seeing stars.

I sucked in a ragged breath.

“That’s it, Cadence. Let me in. Let me claim what belongs to me.”

A large palm landed on my hip, gripping tightly, while the other trailed up my side before cupping my throat. The cool metal of the collar dug into my flesh as Ryker anchored himself so he could pound into me.

“You’re taking me so well, Cadence. Every fucking inch. I am going to coat your womb with my come. I’m going to bury myself so deep inside you that you’ll never be able to get rid of me.”

My orgasm began to build, and I moaned.

“Fuck, Cadence. Yes! Squeeze my fucking cock. Come all over my dick like the whore I know you can be.”

I cried out as my release tore through me with a ferocity that left me trembling.

“Good. Fucking. Girl.” Ryker bellowed as he thrust inside me. “Take every fucking drop I have to give you.”

Ryker came with a roar. His body tensed around me, and then he stilled.

We were both breathing heavily as I remained caged against the wall under the weight of Ryker’s enormous frame.

When I had recovered enough to speak, I whispered, “Are you ever going to free me?”

“No,” Ryker answered without hesitation.

“I hate you!”

“Hate me all you like, Cadence, so long as you’re by my side.”

Ryker pushed off the wall and disappeared from behind me. I didn’t move. My emotions were waging war inside me, and I couldn’t tell if my anger or my despair would win out on this occasion.

A warm cloth was pressed between my thighs, startling me. Peering over my shoulder, my eyes locked with Ryker’s as he cleaned up the mess he’d made.

Without a word, he tossed the cloth on the floor and lowered onto his haunches as he pulled my nightgown back up my body. When he was done, he took my hand and tugged me towards the bed.

He settled me beneath the covers and wrapped an arm around my middle, pulling me flush against his chest.

I listened to Ryker’s quiet breathing as I attempted to settle my wildly beating heart. When his breaths evened out, I gave in to the need to follow him into sleep, feeling dejected for being unable to reconcile my raging emotions.