by DD Prince
“Stakes?” I asked.
He grinned. “I win, you let me take your ass.” He passed me three darts with red flights. He had three blue ones.
“Ho-no. Nuh uh. Four carat diamond, I told you. And don’t think I haven’t noticed you getting a little bit too familiar with that area.” I wagged my finger at him with admonishment.
“Breakin’ you in slow. And you like it. You fuckin’ know you do.”
“Yeah, well, your beast of a cock ain’t getting in there, believe me.”
He got the biggest smile on his face.
Yeah, he liked that. He straightened and strutted proudly right up to me. “Beast?”
“Mm hm,” came from me.
“I win, you do what The Beast wants. Anything The Beast wants.”
I smiled. “Except my ass.”
He shrugged. “We’ll see.”
“What if I win?” I asked.
“You win…” He looked thoughtful, “You can do anything you want with The Beast for the rest of the day.”
I laughed. “Sounds like a win-win for The Beast.”
He wiggled his eyebrows.
And I didn’t wipe the floor with him, it was a close game, but I did win.
He put the darts away and asked, “So, what do you wanna do for your win?” He adjusted himself crassly, and I laughed at him.
“I want The Beast to pick,” I said.
His teeth sank into his bottom lip and then he moved to me, put his arms around me, and then he put his lips to mine.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, and pulled his elastic out of his hair and held him to me while I kissed him.
“What does he want? Tell me what he likes.”
“Better not. Don’t think you’re ready for that,” he winked.
“I’m ready,” I assured.
He looked uncertain for a second.
“C’mon, Valentine. Tell me. What does my beast want?” I poked his chest.
“Your beast?” he smiled.
I gave him a sly grin. “Yeah. Mine.”
He gave me a heated look.
“C’mon. Tell me.”
“You really wanna know?” he asked.
“I’m asking, aren’t I?”
He grabbed me by both ass cheeks and pulled me tight to him, got to my ear, and whispered, “Act like you’re scared. Beg me not to.”
“What?” I giggled. “But I want you to.”
“Beg me to stop. Then when I don’t stop, fight me off.”
“Rider, seriously.” I giggled.
“I am serious, gorgeous.” His voice went lower. “You wanted to know what I like? What gets my motor runnin’? I want you to fight, scratch, bite, and know that no matter how hard you fight, we end the chase with me sunk deep inside that beautiful body. And Jenna, the harder you fight, the harder I’ll get.”
I swallowed hard.
“You want it hard?”
I’d wanted it slow and sweet. Passionate. Tender. But the look in his eyes and the visible bulge in his pants at just this conversation? Maybe it was time to try things his way. After all, it had gone well the few times I’d sort of gone with it. If you didn’t count me taking off after the ‘hate sex’ comment.
I put my lips to his throat and kissed it. “Okay,” I whispered.
He looked at me, both surprise and promise in his eyes.
“You’re gonna need a safe word.”
My eyes bulged. Maybe I wasn’t ready for this.
His thumb caressed my cheek. “If it gets too intense, if you get scared. Okay? I’ll go easy this time, since we’re new, but the places I wanna take us? The places I fantasize about taking us? We’ll go easy today, but you get too scared, or you want me to stop, you say the word. I’ll stop.”
I nodded.
“Your eyes are huge. Am I scarin’ you?”
I smiled. “I thought you wanted me to act scared.”
He closed his eyes and blew out a breath. “Fuck me, you’re fuckin’ sexy.”
I smiled again. And then I cleared my expression, using my hand flat in front of my face and pulling down to reveal a serious face.
“What’s the safe word?” he asked.
“How about ‘safeword’? Keep it simple.”
“Okay. You use it if you need to.”
“Okay.”
“You sure?” he asked.
“I’m sure.”
Was I, though? I wanted to be.
“Okay, baby. You don’t go any farther than the garage that way. Or, we stick to inside the house, if you prefer. What?”
“Wherever The Beast wants. Except my ass. Or anything too weird.”
“From the SUV to the garage are the boundaries. Go, upstairs, do some busy work, distract yourself. And soon…” he eyed me from head to toe. “I’ll come for you. We’ll save the weird stuff for next time.”
My belly wobbled, and I giggled nervously.
He winked.
I went upstairs and cleaned the bathroom sink and mirror. And then I was wiping the kitchen counters (that didn’t need it). I wandered outside onto the side deck and was just about to sit down on one of five wooden rocking chairs that were out there, when a hand came around from behind me and covered my mouth.
The rocking chair was knocked over and then I was pulled against a hard body. For a split second, I actually panicked, thinking someone had found us, but then his mouth was by my ear and I heard his voice.
“Hey there, pretty girl. I’m gonna fuck you now. And you’re gonna like it.”
And I felt a mixture of relief and adrenalin surge at the exact same time. I turned ultra-competitive and stomped hard on his foot and elbowed him in the gut. I heard him grunt and then I took off running, toward the garage.
It didn’t take long before he was right on my heels. He caught me and took me to a pile of leaves on the ground.
My heart was racing. My heart was racing so hard it felt like it’d fly right out of my chest.
I had a safe word. This was pretend. And, I wanted to be exciting for him. The idea of turning him on? It was turning me on.
I kicked and scrambled as he tried to flip me to my back. He either let me get away or I legit got away, and was scrambling to get up, but then he grabbed my ankle and dragged me backwards and then flipped me.
I swung a fist and caught his shoulder and that’s when I saw his face. His eyes were heated, determined. I slapped with the other hand and caught his jaw with just the tips of my fingers. He subdued me, getting my wrists pinned over my head and then his lips were on mine.
And suddenly, I felt like I had to fight harder. Like this was real. Like I had to make it stop. Because it was hitting me, like a ton of bricks, how twisted up this was.
God. What was I doing?
People were dead because of a fake rape game. A fake rape game that got a man dead. A girl hurt. Another girl dead and raped for real. And here we were… playing a fake rape game.
“SAFEWORD!” I shouted.
Instantly, he let go of me.
“This is fucked,” I said, breathless. My heart was racing. Hard.
“This is fucked!” I repeated, crab-crawling backwards, putting about five feet of distance between us. I collapsed onto my ass in the dirt.
He leaned back.
“How can this be hot? How? Jet died like this. What’s wrong with us?”
I couldn’t believe I’d even let it get that far.
“Jenna,” he closed his eyes and moved back and sat on his ass in the leaves. “I was gonna go easy. But, you were…” he stopped talking and stared at me, looking like he was searching for words, or maybe trying to figure out what’d just happened.
“How does this turn you on? How did I allow myself to even…I’m turned on, too! Or I was, and now I’m not. I’m so, so not, Rider.”
I was shaking my head. “I got excited, too. The idea of being something other than a dead lay? Being something you wanted? But, Rider. This isn’t right. Especially not now. Maybe som
e other time, but with everything going on right now?”
He nodded. He looked remorseful. “I was gonna go easy. You were so into it, I guess I… got too into it.”
So, this was my fault? Maybe it was. My shoulders slumped.
I got to my feet and dusted leaves off my jeans. I felt bile rising in the back of my throat.
I walked back toward the cabin. But, I heard something up ahead and Rider tackled me back to the ground.
“Fuck. Wait a second,” he said.
My eyes were wide. We were hunkered down while he listened.
I heard a voice that sounded familiar and his body relaxed.
“It’s okay,” he said. “Just Jess.”
He helped me up and kept my hand in his as we walked toward the cabin.
Spencer and Jesse were both there, by a silver pickup truck.
Spencer spotted us and then grabbed a black and pink glittery overnight bag (mine!) and a large suitcase (Also mine. Wahoo!) out of the bed of the pickup truck and headed toward us.
“Hey,” Rider greeted.
“Stopped and saw Pippa and Joe. Brought your girl’s stuff. Thought we’d hit the cache and grab a few weapons. I need some clothes, too. Running low since most of my shit got singed.”
“Shoulda texted,” Ride informed him.
“Yeah, see that.” Spencer smirked and reached over and pulled a leaf out of my hair and tossed it. He reached again and pulled out another one.
My face went hot.
Jesse chuckled and lit a cigarette. “Sorry, Ride.”
Rider put his arm around my neck and pulled me closer to his side. “Get what you guys need and take off. We need some time.”
Spencer smiled and shrugged. “Gotcha.”
Rider had my big bag and I took my smaller one, and they headed toward the garage. We headed back to the cabin.
Inside, he put the bag down and then took the bag that was in my hands and put it down. His thumbs went to my jaw, his fingers into my hair. “You okay?”
I nodded, and face-planted into his chest.
He put his arms around me.
God, that felt good.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered into my hair. “Didn’t think of it that way. It’s not the same, any games we play, okay? What’s between you and me has nothing to do with anything bad. I just like to play. I get why it flipped you out, and we won’t play again like that until you’re ready. Okay? You seemed into it and I got carried away. That’s why there’s a safe word. It was just too soon.”
I looked up at him. “What if I don’t wanna play that way at all?”
His face went blank. And I felt it like a kick in the gut. This was what he liked. What if we were fundamentally too different?
The silence between us went awkward, so I pulled away.
“I wanna see what Pip packed for me.” I picked my smaller bag back up. He lifted the bigger one and carried it into Jojo’s room. I followed.
“Is she okay with us sleeping in here?”
“Yeah, she’s cool,” he said, looking irritated.
“Rider…” I said, feeling all awkward.
“Baby, don’t. Forget what happened outside, okay? I just want us to have a good night together. I’m gonna go get rid of these guys and start up the fire to cook our steaks. You wanna do the sides?”
“Do the…?”
“Make the salad, do the spuds?”
“I don’t cook,” I said.
He tilted his head and smiled. “You can’t make a salad? Wash the potatoes and wrap them in foil so I can throw them on the fire?”
I scrunched up my face. “I can open a bag and dump it into a bowl. You bought individual salad ingredients. That requires slicing and chopping, and julienning, and fancy knifework.”
He chuckled. “Shit. Okay. Yeah, after seein’ the way you hacked at that wood, I can’t imagine what you’d do to a cucumber.”
I laughed and playfully smacked his arm. He was good at erasing the tension.
“I’ll take care of the food then,” he said.
“I’ll wrap up the potatoes,” I offered. “Then I’ll see if Pippa packed me any lingerie and put it on under my clothes for you to play ‘unwrap Rider’s present’ later. Does that help?”
“Deal,” his eyes went heated and he moved in and kissed me. The kiss was sweet, though, almost chaste. Not hungry. And I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, or all that’d happened since getting to the cabin, when he wandered out of the bedroom and left me in there.
***
I had jeans, my own sweats, bras (hallelujah), and a lot of sexy underwear and lingerie. Way more than Pippa had been asked to pack. This was a massive suitcase and my overnight glittery Duffle bag. She even packed me a little black dress. I was happy to have four of my own pairs of shoes, plus more make-up and skincare products.
I’d brought the suitcase that Jojo had packed for me with mostly clean clothes in it since we’d done laundry at the clubhouse, but I’d be happy to be back into my own stuff.
A few minutes later, I heard voices, so I went out and saw Spencer heading out the front door. Jesse and Rider were out front already, looking deep in conversation by the truck.
“Thanks for bringing my stuff,” I called out.
“Not a problem, Blue Eyes,” Spencer said, heading out with a filled massive hockey bag. “See ya soon.” He gave me a smile and then walked to meet Jesse and Rider.
And I thought about what Jojo had said about finding Spencer a girl. A strong girl since he was such a handful. He was a really good-looking guy and I’d seen some humanity from him a few times, but he certainly had some demons.
I waved out the door as Jesse got in the truck. He gave me a two- finger wave and slammed the door as Spencer stood by the driver’s side.
Spencer and Rider spoke for a second and then Spencer laughed at something Rider said and got in the truck. I guess they were over their squabble.
Rider walked back toward me, a little smile on his face.
“You two cool?” I asked.
“Huh?” he asked.
“You’re past your fight?”
He waved his hand. “Yeah, countless fights over the years. Me and Deacon, D and Spence. It’s all good. Brothers.” He shrugged.
“Did he really make reference to nailing me?”
He glared. “Don’t bring that up again or he and I won’t be cool.”
My eyes went wide.
“That was over the line. Don’t wanna discuss it.”
I waved my hands defensively. “Can we go back to the fun portion of our one-night getaway?”
He let out a breath. “Sounds good to me.”
“Pippa packed me loads of lingerie.”
“Yeah?” he raised his brows and the tension vanished from his face.
“Loads of visual delights in store for you,” I said, with a wink.
Mission accomplished. My tension erasing game was strong, too.
***
It was later that night and we were cuddled up, watching a movie. It was a little scary, though, and I kept burying my face in his shoulder. I showed the extent of my culinary skills by wrapping raw potatoes in foil and leaving the rest to him. I did the dishes, though, and then before our movie, I only half-burned the Jiffy-pop popcorn I’d found in the pantry.
Dinner was good. Steak with mushrooms and baked potatoes and salad. After the movie was over, he said, “Watch another?”
“Naw, let’s go to bed,” I said.
“You sleepy?” he asked teasingly, stoking the fire in the fireplace.
“Nope.”
He smiled again, but it didn’t look like his heart was in it.
And I was feeling a bit frustrated.
“I’m trying here, Rider, but work with me. Show a little enthusiasm?”
“What?” Now he looked irritated.
“You’re stuck on what happened earlier and my saying ‘What if I don’t wanna play those games?’”
“Ah fuck, let it g
o, will ya?” he grumbled.
I glared. “Obviously, this is an issue. So, no. I’m not gonna effing let it go!”
“We don’t need to figure everything out in one day, Jenna. You don’t wanna play today, you might feel differently when this shit is behind us, I get that. We don’t need to beat that horse to death today. Let it go.”
“I’m going to bed. Goodnight,” I snapped and headed toward the bedroom.
“Get back here, Jenna.”
“Don’t call me Jenna!”
“What the fuck?”
He looked at me like I’d lost it. And I guess maybe I had.
“You never call me Jenna unless you’re pissed at me. You have no right to be pissed at me right now for wanting to fool around with you. I’m pissed at you!”
“Huh?”
“I’m pissed at you!” I repeated.
“No, back it up to calling you Jenna. What the fuck?”
“I don’t like it when you call me Jenna.”
“Uh, would you like me to call you Genevieve Maybelle instead?” He spat.
“Don’t you ever say those names to me again!” I hissed.
He threw his hands up defensively. “You might wanna start explaining and start explaining now, before I call the fuckin’ loony bin to come lock you down. You’re near the end of your birth control pack, aren’t ya?”
I gasped. “Don’t you even!” (But he was right; I was only a few pills away from the end of my pack).
“Start explaining, then,” he invited.
“A) Don’t call me Genevieve. Ever. I’m not ready to tell you why, but trust me, you manage to get those walls you want inside of down, you’ll find out why.”
“Fine,” he agreed, and he looked less irritated already.
“B) You only call me Jenna at specific times. You call me gorgeous, or beautiful, or babe, or baby. You only call me Jenna when you’re being bossy or when you’re fighting with me. And right now, you’re fighting with me.”
He looked a little thrown for a beat and then he started to laugh.
And then I felt embarrassed. Because I sounded like a lunatic.
“Okay, gorgeous, how ‘bout you get over here right now?”
He was still by the fireplace. I was by the hallway.
“And why should I do that?”
“Fine, I’ll come there.” He put the fire poker back into the holder and stalked toward me. I backed up at the intensity coming from his eyes. He backed me into the wall right beside where the hallway opened up.
