“He knows something,” Ryder grits out, returning to his task.
“We’re wasting our time here,” I soothe, trying to talk him down.
“He fucking kidnapped her!” Ryder yells. His chest is heaving; his eyes are unfocused.
“I know,” I soothe again. “Let her end it.”
“FUCK!” Ryder yells. It’s so loud it makes me wince. The knife hits the floor with a clang when he roughly jams his hands in his hair, tugging.
Les goes to step up to him, and I gently place my hand in front of her. “I got this,” I tell her. Ryder isn’t himself right now, and it will kill him if he does anything to hurt or scare her.
“Ryder,” I say calmly, “You need to pull yourself back together.” All the other guys are just as shocked as me. Ryder is relentlessly pacing, pulling at his hair. No one knows what the fuck to do; they just know if too many of us come at him at once, he’ll surely snap.
“I can’t,” Ryder says, sounding like a wounded animal. “Fuck! I can’t!” I hear Les choke off a cry, and I know I need to end this. Now, his control makes sense. This is why he never let himself go for this type of thing.
I step in front of him, where he’s pacing. His hands drop from his hair, and he pulls his arm back, nailing me right in the jaw with a right hook, making my head snap to the side.Fuck. That hurt.I hear Les make that noise again, and something in me snaps.
I wrap my hand around his throat, squeezing, and slam his back against the wall. “You’re fucking scaring her,” I growl in his face. “Get it together. Now!”
Ryder lets his head drop against the wall with a thud. “I can’t.” He makes that noise again. “I can’t, Zane.”
I squeeze his throat harder, pushing my face right in his, locking my eyes on his. “Yes. You can.”
I watch as his eyes start to refocus, and his shoulders drop. I feel his hands on my hips and know he’s about to push me away. I relax my hand until his hold on my hips jerks me closer. I adjust my grip to squeeze differently; that’s when he moans, rubbing his hard cock against mine.
“What do you need, Ryder?” I ask.
“I don’t know,” Ryder groans, swiveling his hips.
“I think you do,” I whisper, my lips rubbing against his. “You need someone to take control of you so that you can get your own back.” Ryder goes to shake his head, so I squeeze tighter, cutting off his air; his mouth drops open on another moan.Is Ryder a switch?I’ve seen his dominant side with Les, but I’ve also noticed that submissive side poking through with Gage and Leo. “Tell me,” I demand, and his whole body shudders. I take a step back, keeping my hand on his throat, pulling my hips from his hold, making him whimper at the loss of contact.
My dick is throbbing behind the zipper at the thought. I’m notdoing it for myself. He needs this. I look over my shoulder at Les, and she’s standing against her table, still looking a little worried. I look a little further and notice Steve is dead, and the rest of the guys have slipped out. I was so focused on Ryder that I didn’t even notice.
I look back at Ryder. “Tell me what you need.” I already know what he needs; I just need him to tell me. “Do you need me to take control?”
His eyes focus on mine again. They’re still black, but that crazy gleam is gone. “Yes,” he breathes reluctantly. I move my hips back to rub against him, soaking in his moan.
“Is that what you want?” I ask, licking across his bottom lip. “You want my cock?”
His eyes start to narrow, so I apply pressure to his throat. I see the moment he stops fighting it. “Yes.” He swallows. “Please.” I shut my eyes at the sound of his begging, trying to gather my own control.
When I open them again, whatever he sees there makes his face relax. I place my other hand beside his head. “Get my cock out,” I demand, and I can hear Les suck in a breath. “Do you want her here for this?” I ask just for his ears. I don’t know how he’ll feel about this in front of her. He nods in my hold, his hands going to the button and zipper on my jeans, undoing them and shoving my pants and boxers off my hips. “Stroke it.”
His hand wraps around it, stroking hard, twisting his hand around the head. I’m painfully hard; the head is a deep angry purple, just from being this close to a guy I used to hate. But after everything that went down upstairs with all the guys, I know that shit was done. My feet carried me upstairs on their own accord when I heard Holden moaning Ryder’s name. Curiosity was at the top of the list when I saw them. The longer I watched, the more I realized it was more than curiosity. It was desire. The surprise wasn’t Gage sucking my dick or even Holden. It was the feeling I had toward Holden once it was done. Even from the first day he walked into my apartment, when I got that call from Jay, there was something I wanted to soak in from him.
I feel Ryder pant against my lips, his eyes focused on them. “You want to kiss me, Love?” The nickname rolls off my lips with ease, justlooking into his dark eyes. The whole dynamic is twisting, changing into something neither of us expected. He nods, but something else is lurking in his eyes besides lust and desire. Shame. I can’t have that. I lean close to his ear so only he can hear. “This doesn’t make you weak. Don’t hesitate to take what you want or need, and never feel ashamed of that. Do you understand?” I look back at him, and he nods. “Words, Love. Say the words.”
“I understand,” Ryder says hoarsely. I don’t hesitate; I seal my lips over his, groaning at the contact. I have to chase his tongue back in his mouth to remind him who’s in control. I give his throat a gentle squeeze, and he shivers against me. His hold on my cock tightens, stroking faster. I pull away and peck his lips again because I can’t help myself.
“Is this still what you need?” He nods. “On your knees.” I let the authority in my voice bleed into that command, and his eyes widen. When he drops to his knees in front of me, I almost come on the fucking spot. “Suck,” I grit out, teetering on edge.
He licks around the head before sliding his mouth down my cock until it bumps against his throat. Placing both hands on the wall, I work my hips back and forth, fucking his mouth in shallow thrusts. I push in further, and his hands fly to my thighs. Rubbing one hand over his head affectionately. “Relax. You can take it all.” His eyes widen again. I push harder, making him gag, and his eyes start watering. “Breathe through your nose, Love.” I feel him relax at the pet name, and I slide in. My balls are touching his chin, his nose brushing my pubic bone. His eyes are locked on mine, seeking the acceptance I know he’s looking for. “Good boy,” I groan. I have no clue where the hell that even came from, but it’s exactly what he needs. And it feelsright.
Slipping from his mouth so he can breathe, I touch the side of his face. “Stand up.” He frowns but gets to his feet. I don’t want him on this hard concrete floor on his knees anymore. “We’re not done,” I assure him. “Go to my room. Take your clothes off and wait for me.”
He jerks a nod and slips from the room. Not only am I getting him out of this basement, but I also need to give him a chance to change his mind. I can feel the tug toward him, and he feels it too. I need himto be sure this is what he needs from me. The guy who used to be his enemy. I need him to be sure that’s how he wants to give me his body. I need him to be sure he even needs me.
I turn to look at Les, tucking myself back into my jeans. She doesn’t look worried anymore when she smiles at me softly. I walk over to her and slide my arms around her waist. “How did you know that’s what he needed?” she asks, wrapping her arms around my neck.
