Page 15 of Ripple Effect, Vol. 3

I glance down at myself and back again. “Is this seriously the only T-shirt you have left?”

“Yeah. I don’t bother with bloodstains, I just toss ‘em. We’ll pick up some new ones tomorrow.”

“We’ll? As in … I go with you, or you and your entourage of killers who like to hit the mall sometimes?”

A chuckle escapes him, and I have to hide the smile from knowing I made him laugh. “You’ve got a cute sense of humor, Bandit.” He pushes up from the table, as if to leave, and I’m struck by a strange feeling.

I don’t want him to go. I actually like hanging out with him, as strange as it sounds. “You’re leaving again?”

“I’ve some files to read over after I shower. You probably need a shower, too.”

I nod up at him, suddenly aware of the sweat that’s already dried to my body. “I do. I just thought after you might want to … I don’t know, Netflix and chill or something?”

“The fuck is that?”

“Basically we pretend to watch movies until we’re feeling horny again.”

“Sounds fun, but not tonight.” With the rest of his six-pack in hand, he strides out of the kitchen, and I’m left sitting at the table alone again.

His lonely little whore.

6

Dylan

With one hand on my exposed thigh, the other on the wheel, Rip drives toward downtown, where exactly, I have no idea.

“I have to know. Why would you take me up on my offer in the beginning? Why did you agree to fuck me?”

Eyes on the road, his thumb strokes my inner thigh. “Why do you ask?”

“You seem too private to let someone stay with you.”

“I didn’t intend for you to stay. I intended for it to be temporary.” He glances over at me, dropping his gaze to my bare legs that peek from below my ragged out coat. “I didn’t expect to enjoy your company as much as I have.”

“You thought by treating me like a whore that I’d act like one.”

“I haven’t treated you like a whore.”

“You never kissed me first.”

“What?”

“There’s an order in life. Kissing is sort of the starting line for sex. You meet. You kiss. Then you fuck. Unless you’re a prostitute.” I shrug and cast my gaze out the passenger window. “You never kissed me.”

The car veers off to the side, knocking me against the door and at the screeching halt, I throw my hands out in front of me to keep from biting the dashboard.

He stares through the windshield, giving no indication whether or not I’ve said something to piss him off, until his eyes finally shift to mine. “I don’t kiss anyone.”

Before I know what the hell is going on, Ripley’s on me. His hand grips the back of my neck, the other cups my chin, tipping my head back to meet his gaze a second before it falls to my mouth. “I’m kissing you, though.” The day old scruff on his face brushes my skin as he slants his lips over mine.

“It’s too late,” I say, wedging my hand between us, pushing against his chest. “You’ve already fucked me.”

“Yeah, well, in some ways, you’ve fucked me too, Bandit. So feel free to tell me to stop if you don’t like it.”

My heart is pounding with anticipation, my blood vibrating through my veins. Just hours before, he had me pinned to the table, his body slamming into me, but the thought of what’s to come, this very basic human pleasure, springs goose bumps across my skin.

He turns my head just enough and runs his thumb across my bottom lip. Hot peppermint breath scatters across my face as his tongue wets my top lip before he catches it between his in a kiss.