“Come in,” I respond groggily.
Ryker opens the door a few inches. It squeaks and he peeks his head through. “Your clothes and some extras just arrived. Please look through it and keep whatever you want. Everything else, I’ll send back.”
“Okay. Thanks?” I don’t mean it to come out as a question, but this has to be the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me, and it feels so strange and new. My mind is still trying to catch up. Or wake up. Maybe this is one of those dreams where you keep waking up in another dream, like you're trapped in an endless loop of REM.
“You’re welcome. I have to go to the club soon, but I’ll be back by 3am. If you need anything–”
“What timeisit?” I interrupt.
“It’s after 5. I like to get there a couple hours early to help set up for the night.”
“Can I go with you?” I don’t know why I ask. “I kind of don’t want to be alone.”
He stares at me with a furrowed brow, like he’s not sure how to answer, but he eventually does. “If you come, you stay by my side at all times and you follow my directions to a tee, unless I say otherwise. Understood?”
If it means I don’t have to be alone all night, I’ll do it, so I nod, “Yes sir.”
My vagina isn’t prepared for the words that come from his mouth when he says, “good girl.” Did my panties disintegrate? I shouldn’t be having thoughts like this about him, but my traitorous vagina has a mind of her own. For now, I’ll have to ignore the intense throbbing in my core and pretend it doesn’t exist like every other emotion and feeling I’ve managed to mask all my life. Totally doable.
“You’re going to have to find something–” he pauses with a raised eyebrow. “Different to wear. My clothes look good on you but they’re not exactly club appropriate.”
“I’ll find something that works better,” I assure him. “Speaking of the club though, I feel like I should explain that what I was wearing last week was completely out of the norm. The only way I could muster up the courage to wear it was because of the alcohol. By the time I’d had a couple shots, I kind of stopped giving a fuck how my body looked.” It’s not a fun thing to admit to someone, and I don’t know why it feels especially hard admitting it to him. I’ve struggled with body image issues for a long time and it’s a hard thing to unlearn.
“Let’s look together.”
“Excuse me?” My mouth falls open at his abrupt response.
“I said–let’s go look at the clothes and together we’ll figure out what you’ll wear. I own half the club, Arabella. There has to be something in there you’ll feel comfortable in, even if it’s not perfect. I’ll make sure no one gives you a hard time.”
We grab a bunch of the clothes he ordered and lay them out on the bed. When I sit and the mattress immediately dips next to me, I’m assaulted with that clean, spicy scent, straight from the tap. He smells like bad decisions and it’s hitting me straight in my core.
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath, grounding myself so I can focus on my task.
He chooses a purple tank top and pairs it with black skinny jeans that look way too tight. I give my head a firm shake. “I can’t wear that. It’s too tight and will show every flaw I have. No way.”
His response is sharp and immediate. “Youcanwear it. There isnothingwrong with your body Arabella. You’re beautiful. Don’t let anyone tell you differently. Now put it on, so we can go.” When he turns to walk away, my eyes widen and my mouth gapes at his harsh, gruff tone and then it registers that he calledme beautiful. I can’t stop my stomach from tightening at his words.
Huffing out a breath, I relent and shout at his back. “Fine, but I’m bringing a sweater.”
He’s already out of sight, but I hear him let out a quiet chuckle. “Go ahead, but it gets hot inside Gravity as people start piling in. I’d love to see how long you last before you have to take it off.”
“I can handle a little heat.”
He turns his head and a hint of a smile breaks through his hard shell. “We’ll see about that. Let’s go.”
Ryker
An hour later, we’re walking into Gravity. Thirty minutes later than I wanted to be here. I saw Hayes’ car outside, so I know he’s already here, but there’s also a truck I don’t recognize. I need to catch up with him at some point, to talk about last week's security issue. Letting anyone into the club area drunk is unacceptable and I need to know who did it, so I can hold them responsible.
I nod in the direction of the bar. “Sit there anddonotmove.”
“Got it,” she says, striding down the aisle and sliding onto a tall barstool.
I regard her for just a moment as she moves. Her skin is already glistening with a thin layer of sweat and I’d be willing to bet, she’ll have ditched the sweater by the time I get back. Although, part of me hopes I’m wrong. She’s dressed simply, but she wears it well. I don’t love the thought of her being gawked at or possibly hit on by some of the men that come through here. If I keep her busy, maybe it’ll help stave off any wandering eyes. Who am I kidding? If I can’t even stop looking at her, other setsof eyes will surely have the same problem. Except, I don’t think I want anyone else looking at her.
Fuck, I need a drink. Why do I keep thinking of her in less than pure ways? My chest tightens at the unwelcome thoughts. I was half hard when she called meSirearlier and it took nearly twenty minutes of deep breathing on the drive here and thinking about naked grannies and anything else that might tamper my arousal, to get it to go down. I need to lock it down quickly, before I do something I can’t take back.
I knock lightly when I reach Hayes’ office, opening his door slowly. “Are you decent? I’m coming in.”
