Page 11 of Clashing

Chapter seven

Addicted

Ryker

“C an you pretend last night didn’t happen, sugar?” I asked, nose pressed to her neck. “Can you pretend you don’t know what it felt like to fuck me?”

She didn’t answer right away, and I knew why.

PTSD episode aside, our night was fucking electric.

That shit wasn’t one-sided. I had stared at her tonight, but only when her attention was on someone else.

When that fucking douchebag approached her at the bar, I swear she flirted right in front of me to make me jealous.

It shouldn’t have worked, but then he followed her to the bathroom, and I couldn’t stand the idea of anyone else touching her.

“Of course I can,” she said.

Lie. Even if I hadn’t always been good at detecting it, she sucked at lying. Her chest heaved, and those dilated pupils gave her away. She wanted me again, just like I wanted her.

“Don’t fucking lie to me, baby. You said it was amazing right before I tongue-fucked your pussy.”

She inhaled sharply. With another girl, it might not have worked, but I paid attention last night. Every time I talked dirty, she ate it up.

“I was—I just said that. I didn’t mean it.”

You really think I buy that? I dropped my hands to the outside of her thighs, my fingers reaching under her skirt and caressing her soft skin. She leaned back into me, her ass brushing my cock.

“Try again.” I slid my fingers to the inside of her thighs. “You can lie better than that, can’t you?”

“I . . .” She very deliberately ground her ass against my cock, and I grunted.

“I’m not going to fuck you until you take that back,” I growled, kissing her neck. That was fucking untrue. It didn’t matter what she said to piss me off, I’d still have her.

“I take it back,” she said quickly, rolling her ass against me again.

“Good girl,” I murmured, biting her earlobe and cupping her pussy.

She whimpered and threw her head onto my shoulder.

My lips landed in the crook of her neck, my teeth scraping her skin.

I’d never needed to give someone a hickey so badly.

Something to let everyone in the bar know she was off-limits.

So I did. She threaded her fingers through my hair while I sucked her skin red.

Turning her around, I tugged down her panties. Her fingers fumbled with my jeans, undoing the button and zipper, then pushing them down. She stepped out of her panties, and I bunched her skirt at her hips before moving my hand to her pussy.

She pushed my hand away and locked her arms around my neck. “I don’t want to waste time. I’m wet. I want you right now.”

“Fuck, Scarlett, what are you doing to me?” I searched my pocket for a condom that I made quick work of putting on.

I kissed her hard, sliding my hands under her skirt and cupping her ass to lift her and brace her against the wall because the door wouldn't hold up against what I was about to do. My cock throbbed and I thrust into her.

“Oh, God.” Her head thumped the wall, and she tightened her legs around me. “ More. ”

Her desperate demands dragged me into a state of needing to satiate her.

I found a spot on the wall and focused on it to stop from coming like a teenage boy losing his fucking virginity.

No girl ever affected me like that. I tried to mentally prepare for the sound of her sweet voice and shoved into her again, eliciting a loud whimper.

“Careful, baby. You want to announce what we’re doing to the whole bar?”

She buried her face in my neck, muffling her sounds as I fucked her, her heels drawing me closer. She knotted her fingers in my hair and tugged. I groaned, my fingers digging into her ass. It was like she knew exactly how to make me lose my mind.

I pumped in and out of her, grinding myself against her clit until finally, she clenched around me. Shit . I barely made it this time. Her pussy tightened on me, and I hardly held myself together. I slammed into her harder, and she cried out into my neck.

Her nails scraped my scalp. “ Ryker. ”

“Scarlett.” Her name trembled on my lips while I came inside the condom a touch before she gushed around me.

Still made it. Probably the first time in a decade that I’d had trouble not coming before a girl.

I usually made them come prior to my cock entering the picture.

Scarlett was fucking with my head. I couldn’t do this with her.

Something about her kept drawing me in, and I wasn’t the kind of guy she should be with.

I eased her down and intended to set the record straight.

I really did. Then she kissed along my neck on her way to my ear.

“Again.” Her bedroom voice destroyed my chance at finding inner strength. “As soon as we close.”

So much for setting the record straight. I lowered my lips to her shoulder. “You’ll be lucky if you make it to closing.”

She slumped against the wall and closed her eyes, readjusting her skirt. God, she was beautiful. Her eyes fluttered open, and she fought a smile. “You’re still an asshole.”

“You’re still sweeter than sugar, and I’m looking forward to tasting you again later.” I planted a hard kiss on her already swollen lips.

She hummed when I released her and smoothed her hand over her hair. Approaching the mirror, she checked her makeup, then turned for her underwear. Which were stuffed in my pocket, where they’d stay. I dodged her when she reached for them.

“Ryker,” she scolded. “Give them back.”

“I don’t think so. You’ll get them back later.” I unlocked the bathroom and strode out. She muttered curses behind me and rendered me unable to hold in a smile as I entered the bar, taking my seat next to Gill.

He raised an eyebrow. “Something happen?”

I grimaced at my empty glass. “What makes you say that?”

“Some poor boy ran from the hallway, got his friends, and booked it out of here like he committed a crime.” He chuckled and tipped his glass back. “Only you could send someone running like that.”

My gaze gravitated to the corner Scarlett rounded. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Fuck. Me. My self-control ceased to exist in her presence.

Swollen lips and a flushed face painted a clear picture of what we’d done.

A red splotch on her neck stirred pride that I was the one who made her such a mess.

My cock twitched, and my jeans tightened to make room for the consequences of my dirty thoughts.

Her eyes met mine briefly, then darted away. As soon as she walked behind the bar, I held my glass up. “Another, sugar.”

Gill scooted his glass forward. “For me too, please.”

She narrowed her eyes at me and retrieved the scotch. When she returned, she filled Gill’s glass and corked the bottle, then slammed it on the bar. Bracing her palms on the counter, she shot me a feisty glare, a catalyst for my thickening erection. “I don’t answer to sugar.”

Gill laughed, and I bit back a smile as she moved to the next customer, not sparing me another glance.

“I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a woman turn you down.” Gill smacked the bar top. “I see why you come here.”

I scowled. She wasn’t the reason I came here. Or at least she hadn’t been part of the equation before. Now?

She had a hold on me that defied logic. Maybe I needed another night with her, undisturbed. I knew what to avoid. I hadn’t been done with her when that happened. That’s all it was. After tonight, she’d be out of my system.

Gill refused to share his drink and finished when Scarlett walked by again. He lifted his glass, catching her eye. She nodded and refilled his scotch. He abandoned the bar to say hi to the others, leaving me mostly alone with her since the crowd had thinned.

She glanced at me briefly while she printed a check, and I held my glass up, elbow braced on the bar. “Please, sugar?”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, returning the bottle to the shelf. I leaned forward on my forearms as her red nails clacked against the register.

“I’m sorry, I keep forgetting. That’s the wrong term. Please, baby?”

She faced the register but failed to hide her smile. Refusing to look my way, she gave me the finger.

“Is that the finger you use when you’re thinking about me? Interesting choice, I must say. Is it because it’s longer, and you can go deeper?”

“For fuck’s sake, Ryker,” she hissed, trying to give me a dirty look despite her upturned lips.

Damn, she had a great smile. She printed off a couple receipts and turned to leave.

“Baby, baby, baby.” I caught her arm. “Please, baby?”

She scoffed, and her inability to play it off like she wasn’t amused made my own lips curve up.

“Baby, come on. Please, sugar? Baby sugar? Sugar baby?”

She hid her face with her hands. “Oh my God .”

“Oh, we have a winner. Please, sugar baby?”

“You’re the worst,” she said through laughs, yanking out of my hold.

“Please, Scarlett?”

She hesitated. Her glare accompanied the pouring of scotch.

I took a sip and held my glass to her like a toast. “Thanks, sugar.”

She huffed and stalked away. “Asshole.”

I chuckled at her annoyance. I might’ve felt bad if she didn’t purposely annoy me too.

Her refusal to pour me another refill, even after I called her Scarlett, didn’t surprise me. She either ignored me totally or said, “Go home and get it yourself, sugar.” I cackled at that response.

I admired her shamelessly the rest of the night. Not just because she was fucking gorgeous but because I wasn’t the only one who noticed. Now, I was certain she did the ‘leaning over to give a view of her tits’ thing to bug me yesterday and not for the tips since she wasn’t doing it today.

Only a few people milled about after Tammy left.

She cleaned her section and said goodbyes.

My boys had disappeared a long time ago.

I’d rush the remaining patrons out at two, but that was still three minutes away.

I blamed my raging hard-on for Scarlett on her damn clothes, but the truth was, the girl could wear a giant sweatshirt and sweatpants, and I’d still want her.

The last group left while Scarlett was in the kitchen, so I cleaned off the tables they were at. I’d been here late with Danny before. It wasn’t the first time I helped clean up at the end of the night.

Scarlett reentered the bar. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I do. I need to be inside you again. Go lock that front door or risk someone walking in on us.”

Cheeks tinting pink, she rushed to the door, locked it, and switched off the neon Open sign.

I carried the rag behind the bar and rinsed it before washing my hands.

A light flicked off, leaving the place in near darkness except for the bulb leading up the stairs.

Scarlett waited at the bottom of those stairs, biting the lip I was about to.

I smirked and stalked toward her. She took the first step up when I called out, “Stay here, Scarlett. I want to come in the bar and remember fucking you right where I sit.”

“We can’t do that. There are windows!” she whispered, as if anyone could hear her.

“So what?” I shrugged. “I can make you forget about them.”

She squeaked and ran upstairs. I sprinted after and caught her on the second to last step. She was one up from me. From here, our height difference didn’t matter as much. I could reach her easily.

She glanced at me over her shoulder. “I’m not having sex with you on the bar.”

“Fine.” I cupped her breast with one hand and lifted her skirt with the other. “Then right here.”

“R-right here?”

My hand ascended between her thighs. “Right here.”