THIRTY SEVEN

Ryder

Mina texted me while I was at happy hour.

The courier arrived with a package. A Contract? Send Lexie to your place with it. It'll be at your desk.

"What's the matter?" Lyndon asked astutely when he saw my face change.

“Nothing.” I put my phone back in my pocket and picked up my beer. I tried to listen to what Michael was saying, but the image of Lexie in my head made it hard for me to focus. I had to keep my muscles tight so they wouldn't spring into action and carry me home to meet her. It would be very, very stupid to even try.

I drained my beer.

Or maybe I needed to go home and make sure she knew in no uncertain terms that she should never come back. Even if God himself told her to drop something off at my place, she had better leave it with the fucking concierge.

And then I remembered that I looked at her Instagram page on my home computer a few nights ago. Fuck. Had I ever closed it? Was there a chance at all that she would look at my computer? My home one was not password protected.

A mistake I would correct right away.

"I have to go," I said suddenly, cutting into Michael's story. Even though the chances of Lexie waking up my computer and seeing her Instagram profile still up on the screen were about as slim as the anorexic model selling lipstick on the billboard across the street, I still couldn't take the chance.

Michael waved his hand in farewell and immediately went back to continuing his story. When Michael was on a roll, there wasn't much that could stop him. With the exception of Lyndon, who looked at me with a puzzled expression, the others quickly waved goodbye and went back to listening to what was being said.

“What?” I inquired, indicating to the bartender that I wanted my check.

"It seems like all of a sudden you're in a rush."

"Where is the problem with that?"

It appeared as though he was waiting for me to respond to that question because he shrugged. He was sure that it was connected to Lexie in some way. It seemed as though Lyndon had that kind of knowledge at all times. It was one of the reasons why he was such an excellent security expert. He had the ability to read people's thoughts.

But I didn't want him to be in my head, not at this time. There were things in there that I didn't feel comfortable allowing even my closest friends to see.

I deflected the question by saying that "some of us have to hustle for a living." "A significant contract just arrived, and I have to make sure everything is in order with it before the actress can think of anything else to ask for,"

"So it seems to be a woman who is very demanding?" Lyndon inquired, completely aware that I was being dishonest with him. I had gone into too much detail, which is a mistake that he always picked up on.

“Exactly.” Before Lyndon could keep going with his line of questioning, I signed the credit card slip and left.

I got back to my place faster than ever before. When I got there, I looked around the lobby for Lexie with a wary eye. Had I forgotten her? Was she about to leave? How could I tell her what I wanted to say in public? How did you say, "Stay the fuck out before I do something we'll both regret" in a socially acceptable way?

It wasn't something I had to worry about. When the elevator came, she was neither in the lobby nor in the elevator. That meant she could either teleport or was still in my penthouse. The thought of her being in my space made me feel things I didn't want to name.

At least not until I was back in the shower.

I knew she was in there when I got off the elevator on the top floor. I was able to feel her. I was quiet as I went through the penthouse. She was nowhere to be found in the living room or the kitchen. I finally saw her. I was almost not surprised when I found her in the last place she should have been, sneaking out of my bedroom. But not fast enough.

When she saw me, she threw the knob down as if it were proof.

She stuttered, "I-I was just looking for the bathroom."

She was very pretty, but she lied and stole. Her cheeks got red and her eyes got big because she felt bad. Her chest was going up and down in an annoying way.

I moved forward and pushed her back on purpose. Then I myself opened the door and took a look inside. Even though nothing was out of place, she still made a mess of it. She had upset me.

I said almost to myself, "I came back here to tell you to stay the fuck out of my space."

"I was interested," Lexie whispered, giving up the act.

My grip on the knob got tighter. "Lexie, you should have left. You should have done it."

I wasn't able to.

She let go of the act and carefully, lightly touched my arm. I had been angry for weeks and it was finally coming out. I could no longer hold myself back. I wanted her more than any other woman I had ever wanted, and she gave me permission to do so. To hell with the rest.

I pushed hard on the door to open it. Lexie jumped and took another step back in surprise.

"Oh no you don't." I pulled her to me and wrapped one arm around her waist so that the length of her body pressed against mine. I got my free hand tangled in her hair and pulled her head back so I could see her face. I had to make sure she knew what she was agreeing to and how it worked.

"I want to fuck you," I said, trying to keep my voice from sounding soft. "But this can only be that. I'm sorry, but I can't be your boyfriend."

"Who told you that I want you to be?" Lexie asked with defiance. "I've been with a lot of guys, Ryder. You're not the kind of person I'd want to bring home."

When I heard that she had a lot of boyfriends, I instinctively gripped the book tighter. "I'll make you forget all of them," I swore, and I put my hand on her mouth.

When anger and desire came together, they were both poisonous and addicting. I pushed her into my bedroom, but instead of walking her back to my bed, I pushed her up against a wall and kept hitting her mouth. I would want her to understand that this wouldn't be romantic. There wouldn't be any roses or candlelight.

I was surprised that she didn't try to make the kiss softer. She didn't push me away or call me an asshole, which was both a relief and a disappointment to me. Instead, she seemed to relish the brutality as she encircled my neck with her arms and volunteered her young body for more. She was dressed in one of her older dresses, one of those droopy, transparent types that the sun easily saw right through. I pulled it up from the bottom, pushed it up over her waist, and pinned it between us. She let out a gasp when I put my hand in her underwear. She was already hot and wet, and I could almost feel her sweat on my fingers. Part of me wanted to push her to the floor and slide in beside her. She was all set.

But I couldn't keep myself in check. I'd hit her with a jackhammer, and we'd be done in five minutes. I couldn't make that work. I wanted to take my time getting to hell if I was going there.

Lexie moaned, "Ryder," when I put my finger in her soft, slick box. As I put another finger in, I looked down at her. Her lust-filled eyes were blurry and had heavy lids.

She still had her arms around my neck, but her fingers were not very close together. I thought that the pressure of my body against hers was what was keeping her up.

"Now tell me about all of your ex-boyfriends," I teased her quietly. "Was there any of them that made you feel this way?"

She shook her head in a slow, lazy way. She bit down hard on her lower lip, and as I found the sensitive part of her clit and twitched it, her head fell back.

Let me know what you want, Lexie. I got close to her ear to nip it.

She said in a whisper, "I want you."

"What do you want me to do?" I planned to get her to say it. We were here because of what she did. The rest of the way was up to her.

"I want you," she said. Slowly, her eyes opened. I was still touching her, and I could see in her blue eyes that she was getting more and more horny. "—I want you inside me."

"I am inside you." I stuck in a third finger to show what I meant. She was so tight. She was going to squeeze my crotch like a vice. I was so excited.

Her body shook, and her eyes closed again. "I'm sure you understand."

“No.” I stopped and moved away. "Lexie, you can't act like a shy college girl. Tell me what you want or get the hell out of here."

Her eyes flew open. I saw the same hopelessness I felt deep down. If I had to, I'd make her leave, but I didn't think I would.

"I want your cock in my mouth," she said as her cheeks turned even redder.

I was already ready, but now all my blood was flowing down, making me feel dizzy and hard. It was all I could do to take a step back as she slid down my body to her knees, looked up at me, and grabbed my manhood just like I had imagined the night before.

"Lexie," I groaned, bracing myself against the wall to keep my hips from moving forward as she gently slid her lips over the tip.

She moved almost gingerly up and down.

She said in a whisper, "I've never done this before."

A better man would have put an end to it right then. That man wasn't me. I gently put my hand on the back of her head and helped her move up and down. I had been sucked off by people who were almost pros, but nothing felt as good as when Lexie's tongue gently swirled around my shaft while her hands were on either side of my hips. I shut my eyes and took it all in. Then, when I could no longer take it, I stepped back.

She looked at me with doubt in her eyes.

I helped her stand up and unzipped the zipper on her back. Her dress fell off like a flower dropping its petals, leaving her in two pieces of lace that I knew wouldn't last another minute.

I said, "Let's go," and led her to the bed.