Page 17 of Clashing

Chapter twelve

Rougher

Scarlett

E ating dinner with Dan was one of the most chill parts of my day. He had a way of making things easy. Except he noticed something up with me, and that part made my palms sweat.

“Meet anyone with potential to be a friend?” Dan asked as I picked up our dinner plates and carried them to the sink.

They were the same mismatched plates he’d had since I met him.

In fact, aside from the slight difference in orientation, this kitchen resembled the one he had in New Mexico.

Same round table. Same wooden chairs. Same lack of curtains on the window over the sink.

“I don’t know.” I snatched a towel to dry the dishes while he washed them. “I haven’t been out much. Tammy’s nice.”

“I thought you were joining some group.”

“I was going to but I—shit!”

Dan’s knees buckled and he crumpled, barely catching himself on the counter.

I slipped my arm under his and helped him to the closest chair. “What happened?”

“Damn thing gave out on me again.” He rubbed his right knee and winced.

“Ice?”

“Nah, just give me a minute.”

“You need to go to the doctor—”

“No.” He straightened his knee, a determined frown on his face. “No doctors.”

“Stubborn as a fucking mule, I swear,” I muttered, returning to the sink.

He scoffed. “Look who’s talking.”

A witty retort died on my lips when he hissed in pain. He really needed to do something about his knees before he couldn’t walk at all.

I finished the dishes and said goodbye to Dan with a kiss on the cheek. On my way to the bar, I spotted Ryker reclined against the wall in the alley with his thick arms on display over his chest.

My heart raced. His fervent stare stopped me in my tracks. Eyes dark, he uncrossed his arms and beckoned me. It shouldn’t have been that easy for him to get me over there, yet my feet wouldn’t stop moving.

The moment I was in reach, he seized my hips.

His warm, calloused hand cupped my face, and his lips caught mine in a kiss that sparked tingles all over my body.

His hands slid down and claimed my ass with a tight squeeze.

Breaking the kiss, he slipped his hands into my back pockets as he nuzzled my neck.

“This is just fucking.” His teeth scraped my skin. “You know that, right? It won’t turn into anything else.”

“I know.” I angled my head and lost my fingers in his dark hair. “I don’t want anything else.”

“Good.” He smacked my ass. “You’re coming home with me tonight.” He grabbed my hand and had me halfway around the building before I processed his statement.

“Wait, I need stuff.”

“What stuff?”

“Uh, keys? My car?”

“You don’t need your car, and I already locked your door.” My keys dangled from his finger, and I gaped.

“Seriously? Do you know any boundaries?”

“Well, you weren’t going to do it.”

“Dude, you need to get over that.”

He halted and dragged my body to his. “Scarlett, if you keep pissing me off, I’m going to edge you all night and not let you come.”

I licked my lips, and his gaze darted to the movement. He groaned and pulled me into another kiss, his tongue sweeping over my lips. “You’re going to be the death of me, I swear,” he grumbled, taking my hand again.

I formed a retort in my head, but it vanished the moment he handed me a helmet. I paled at the motorcycle we paused in front of. “Uh, no.” I shoved the helmet into his arms. “I don’t think so.”

“Why not?”

“Why don’t I just bring my truck?”

“What’s wrong?” His lips lifted in a smirk. “You scared?”

“I’m not scared. I just don’t like motorcycles.”

“You’re such a bad fucking liar. Come on, sugar. I promise I won’t drive crazy. Live a little.”

I scrunched my nose at the beast of death he called a vehicle. He gripped my neck and kissed me, his tongue plunging between my lips and caressing mine. “Come on, Scarlett,” he murmured against my mouth. “Have a little faith.”

My insides fluttered in demand for more kisses. A demand I didn’t have the strength to deny. “Fine.”

He secured the helmet on my head, then swung his leg over the bike. Hmm. Motorcycles scared me, but a muscled hunk on a motorcycle? Different story.

I flipped up the visor. “Where’s your helmet?”

“On you.” He positioned the bike upright, then patted the space behind him. “Sit.”

“That’s silly. You wear it.”

“No. Let’s go, Scarlett. I don’t have all night.” He drummed his fingers against his bike. “Do you want me to eat you out again or not?”

Obviously I wanted him to do that. I shifted my weight while he tapped a piece of metal behind his foot. “Put your foot here. There’s one on the other side too.”

One bracing breath later, I climbed on the bike. I adjusted on the seat, sliding closer to him and wrapping my arms around his waist.

“Hold on tight.” He revved the engine, and we lurched forward.

A squeal erupted from my mouth, and I tightened my arms around him. He didn’t drive crazy, but he did drive fast . I rested my head against his back and shivered at the wind whipping around us. Despite the cold, I didn’t hate it as much as I’d expected.

We rode for about twenty minutes before we turned onto a long, dark road.

Trees shrouded us for most of the street but thinned when a building came into view.

A sleek, modern house. Not huge, but it could’ve fit both the trailers I grew up in with plenty of room to spare.

Black and brown framed the boxy structure.

Sharp corners and floor-to-ceiling windows made up the second floor, while the ground floor appeared to be a cement garage.

Ryker stopped in front of the garage and reached into his pocket. A clank announced the metal door lifting, and two dogs ran out. Ryker hushed them as he walked the bike inside and cut the engine. Curious noses sniffed me the moment my feet hit solid ground.

Once I removed the helmet and set it down, I crouched and extended my hand to let them smell me. Ryker crouched as well, ruffling one’s head. They preened under his attention but returned to lick my hands.

“Who are these two?” I giggled, dodging a lick on the face.

“Grayson.” He patted the gray-and-white pit bull. “And Demon.” He scratched behind the rottweiler’s ears.

“Demon?” I stifled a laugh. “Really?”

“He’s only friendly because I brought you. If you came around without me for the first time, you’d see why he has that name.” He stood. “Come on.”

They followed him through the alarmingly neat garage.

Gray coated the ceilings, walls, and floors.

One side of the space stored locked cases and the other side housed shelves organized with tools and a long workbench.

A punching bag hung in the middle of the room across from a weightlifting bench.

Ryker led the dogs past the locked cases near a door.

They sat when he told them to and never moved while he filled their metal bowls.

“All right, eat.”

They sprinted forward and ate from their separate bowls.

I approached Ryker and rubbed my arms. “Wow. You’ve trained them well.”

“They’re good dogs. Cold?”

“A little.”

“Wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t half-naked.”

“Uh, actually, it wouldn’t have happened if we rode in a real vehicle.”

“Please.” He opened the door and waved me ahead. “You enjoyed it more than you thought you would.”

I rolled my eyes on my way upstairs. We ascended to another door, and Ryker reached around me to open it.

My mouth fell slack. His home made the garage look messy.

Despite the dogs downstairs, every surface was spotless.

The leather couches, the coffee table, the shelves flanking the big screen television—all of it was sleek and polished like it’d never been touched.

Dark, hardwood floors didn’t boast a single scuff.

The open floor plan allowed a view into his massive kitchen with marble countertops.

A fireplace sat to the right of one of the bookshelves, between the kitchen and living room.

“Wow.”

Ryker caught my wrist when I advanced to explore more. “You haven’t seen the best room.”

He kissed me, and his warm arms eased the chill from the ride.

I greedily pressed myself against him for more body heat.

Something he granted by lifting me. I wrapped my legs around his waist, not paying attention to where he took us until he dropped me on a bed.

He caught my jaw before I took in my surroundings.

Darkened eyes drifted to my lips, then back to my eyes.

He dipped his head and kissed the corner of my mouth, then along my jaw to my neck, leaving my skin hot and begging for more.

He continued past my breasts and stomach as he undid my shorts.

He slid them and my underwear down at once.

I shuddered when he kissed my inner thighs and slung my legs over his shoulders.

“Ryker,” I murmured, losing my fingers in his hair.

His tongue darted to my clit, and I arched my spine. Guttural sounds tumbled out of me with the precise and relentless attention of his tongue. He was ridiculously good with his tongue. His hands. His . . . well, everything.

The sucking and licking made me needy enough, but then his fingers slid inside me. His other hand caressed my outer thigh and tingles crawled their way up to my pussy, which quivered more with every stroke of his fingers and tongue. It didn’t take long for the pleasure to explode.

My legs still twitched from the orgasm when he climbed over me and kissed me.

My excitement lingered on his tongue and lips—a new but not unwelcome experience.

In fact, the longer he kissed me, the more it turned me on.

He untangled my hands from his hair and pinned them over my head.

A jolt of excitement shot through me when I tried to move my hands, and he squeezed them tighter.

“Do you like that?” he asked against my lips.

I locked my legs around his waist. “Yes.”

“Do you trust me?”

It was insane to say yes, but the truth was, I did. Dan trusted him, and he’d given me no reason to doubt him.

“Yes.”

“Good.” The tender kiss he gave left me chasing after him when he pulled away. “Because I want to get rougher with you. But I want you to know, you can tell me to stop if it’s too much.”

Rougher with me? Yes, please. I nodded. “Okay.”

His lips claimed mine again, this time fiercer.

I sank into the bed, and he sucked my lower lip into his mouth, then dragged his teeth off it.

My shirt and bra were discarded, and he sat up on his knees, removing his shirt, then his belt.

My breath accelerated with my heart rate.

I’d never had a man turn me into a hypersexual addict like he did.

I forced myself not to dwell on it because if I did, I’d realize he’d singlehandedly repaired my enjoyment of sex after I thought it’d vanished forever.

He set the belt down and clamped his hands on my hips.

How I ended up lying on my front, I didn’t know.

He tossed me so effortlessly, it dampened my pussy and yanked me out of my wandering thoughts.

He took my hands hostage and leather tickled my skin.

I glanced back to find his belt snug around my wrists. I wiggled but couldn’t break free.

“Okay?” He glided his hand over my spine and goose bumps followed.

“Yes.”

He hummed in approval and placed a hot kiss against my neck, caressing my ass. “Good girl.”

My pussy clenched. Other guys I’d been with made me feel weird about liking this—if I even had the courage to bring it up. He was the first one taking the lead. I wouldn’t tell him, but I’d get on my knees anytime he asked.

He caressed my ass before lifting it. I shivered as his hand brushed the sensitive skin of my inner thighs on its way up. He alternated between circling my clit and sliding his fingers in and out of me until my whimpers echoed off the walls, the release so close I could taste i—

He stopped.

“Ryker,” I whined.

“Patience, Scarlett.” He kissed my spine. “Remember how hard you came the other night?”

My breath trembled, and my eyes slid shut. Yes. I wasn’t about to forget that any time soon. Or ever.

His lips drifted over my butt to my pussy, where he gave me a languid lick. I arched, giving him better access. My reward was an approving caress over my ass while his tongue toyed with my clit, and his fingers plunged into me. Again, he had me panting, my toes curling. Then he fucking stopped.

I needed a release too badly to care how desperate I sounded. “ Ryker. ”

He smacked my ass, and I yelped. “Keep complaining and it’ll never happen.”

His fingers found their way to my most sensitive parts once again.

He edged me twice more, leaving my body pleading for consistent attention.

Excitement dripped down my thighs, my nerves on high alert at what could happen next.

The fact I couldn’t see what he was doing, couldn’t finish myself off, all of it added to the scorching heat he continuously stoked.

Ryker stopped touching me, and the restraint on my wrists loosened.

I shuddered when the leather wrapped around my throat instead.

Fabric rustled behind me. I hoped his clothes were coming off.

Strong hands rubbed against my ass, then .

. . Yes. It was clothes because his tip teased my throbbing pussy.

He nudged inside me and closed his hand around my wrists, pinning them to my spine. “This what you want, baby?”

I’d come just from him filling me. It was inevitable with how sensitive I was.

“Yes.”

“Promise me you’ll keep your hands where they are, even if I let go.”

My insides vibrated with need. “I promise.”

Fingers digging into my hips, he jerked forward and his cock penetrated me.

Dropping my forehead to the bed, I moaned.

He yanked me up by the belt which tightened it around my throat and forced my back to arch.

Wrapping the belt around his fist, he tugged it toward him as he thrust in so deep I screamed.

“Oh, God .”

“You like that?” His thrusts grew harder.

Unable to speak through the whimpers, I nodded. “Words, Scarlett,” he growled, smacking my ass.

“Yes.” I gasped as he rammed into me. “Just like that, but harder.”

“Fuck,” he groaned, and his skin slapped against mine when he shoved into me. I cried out, pleasure assaulting my senses until stars danced in my vision.

He jerked me back toward him, and his fingers clasped around my wrists. Hot breath skirted over my skin, and when he tightened the belt around my neck, I almost came.

“Baby, I’m going to make it so you can’t walk tomorrow.” His lips grazed my ear. “Every time you step, you’ll feel that ache and miss my cock in you.”

Having trouble walking never sounded so good.