Chapter 3 #3
“You ran,” he rasped. The light from the lanterns caught his eyes at just the right angle to reflect back. The wolf was always present in Ryker, human skin or not. “You ran away. From me.”
“And that wasn’t enough of a hint for you?” I threw my hands up and moved over to the cavern wall, leaning against it. “Space. I wanted some fucking space after finding out you and the others believe I’m a spy.”
He frowned at me. “I don’t believe that.”
“Funny.” I narrowed my eyes. “I don’t recall hearing you speak up in my defense when Gavril called me that. In fact, I’m pretty sure not one of you said a word in denial.”
“Rynn—”
“No.” I slashed my hand through the air. “It’s fine. I get it.”
“You don—”
“I do,” I assured him.
“Will you let me explain?” he growled and took a step forward.
“It doesn’t matter.” I crossed my arms. “I already told you last time that what happened between us was a mistake.”
“The last time being this morning? And also how many times have you made this mistake now? A dozen? Two dozen?” Ryker cocked his head, sending silver hair spilling over his shoulder. “One might think you enjoy making it.”
He took another step, and the temptation to let my gaze drop intensified.
Through sheer willpower, I kept my eyes on his.
“Congratulations, Ryker. You have a nice dick and traveling to the closest outpost is inconvenient. Otherwise, I’d be visiting the hot lycan with pretty green eyes—and his very nice dick—a lot more often. You’re just more available,” I sneered.
In a flash, he was in front of me. I tried to slip out from between him and the cave wall, but he planted an arm on either side of me. I knew from experience that I’d have to fight him to get free.
I also knew from experience exactly what that would lead to.
“What. Lycan.” It was a demand, not a question.
Shit. Once again, I had failed to think before speaking.
There was, in fact, a very handsome lycan with green eyes at the nearby outpost, but I knew fuck all about his cock because he knew what pack I belonged to.
Everyone did, which meant they were polite and very respectful to my face.
I’d tried to flirt with the handsome boy once, and he’d panicked so hard, he’d tried to run out of the tavern but had apparently forgotten how doors worked because he’d slammed into it and frantically tried to find the handle to get himself out.
It was hilarious and frustrating at the same time.
But if Ryker figured out who I was talking about, there was no way the green-eyed lycan would be able to run fast enough. I didn’t need his death on my conscience.
“You don’t own me, Ryker.” I shoved at his chest, but I’d have had better luck getting a boulder to move. “I can fuck whoever I want.”
“Agree to disagree.” He raised his right hand to caress my jawline, and I barely managed to kill the impulse to lean into his touch.
It’s not because it’s him. It’s because you’re touch starved, I thought bitterly. Even the most stoic Velesians craved touch, but lycanthropes in particular needed it. We were meant to be in a pack, and I hadn’t truly belonged to one in over a decade.
I’d been dealing with the lack of physical contact—outside of my many mistakes with Ryker—by convincing myself that things would get better between me and the others. That we’d have more casual touching in our daily interactions.
But that was never going to happen because they would never view me as one of them.
“I don’t think you’re a traitor, Rynn,” he said quietly.
“You didn’t say anything,” I repeated, hating that even I could hear the pain in my voice.
His fingers went still where they’d been stroking my jaw. “Cade and Bastian . . . they have their reasons.”
And there it was. The reminder of where his loyalty would always lie. Fool me once . . .
I planted my palms against his chest and pushed with every ounce of my strength. Ryker took one step back, and I darted towards the entrance, only for him to grab my wrist and yank me back. I went with it, using the momentum, and slammed my fist into his nose.
Cartilage crunched and blood sprayed, but the bastard still didn’t release me.
“Let go!” I demanded.
“That the best you got, Princess?” Ryker grinned and slowly, one finger at a time, released his hold on me. His nose was crooked and blood covered his face . . . and it all made him hotter.
Life wasn’t fair.
“Fuck off,” I snapped before turning and stalking towards the exit, or at least that had been my goal.
My instincts screamed at me, and I jumped straight up, avoiding Ryker’s attempt to swipe my feet out from under me.
Spinning back around, I brought up my elbow just in time to block a punch to my stomach. Ryker bared his teeth. “We’re not done.”
“Yes.” I jabbed at his face, forcing him to step back, and I did the same, putting much-needed distance between us. “We are.”
“Not your decision.” Ryker stalked towards me with a look I knew all too well.
Shit. I darted to the side but was too slow. He tackled me, twisting so he landed on the ground with me on top of him. Ryker might love to spar with me, but he always pulled his punches. He enjoyed pushing me, seeing how fast I could go. How hard I could hit.
He was often angry at me for one thing or another, but never for landing hits. If anything, the more I hurt him, the happier the lycan got.
Because Ryker was unhinged.
Then again, I was the one rolling around on the cave floor with him for the second time today. If he was crazy but I kept coming back for more . . . what did that make me?
Leave. I needed to leave right now.
I sprung up only for Ryker to yank me back down so I straddled his stomach.
He twisted my arms behind my back, holding them in place with one hand and pressing me down with the other until our faces were only a couple of inches apart.
My blood was pumping. I was still furious, and I had a very hot, naked man beneath me.
Not just any man. Ryker.
Things were not looking good for my No-Bad-Decisions plan.
Ryker let out a deep, raspy laugh. “I can see how angry you still are, and I can feel”—he moved his hand from my back to my hip, encouraging me to grind against him—“how wet you are.”
I bit my tongue to hold in the moan that wanted to slip free as my core tightened. Ice-blue eyes laughed at me, and I really wanted to punch him . . . but not as much as I wanted something else.
“Ryker,” I growled.
“Yes, Princess?”
“Shut the fuck up.”
He gave me a feral grin, blood still smeared across his face from where I’d punched him, and then he was kissing me.
And I was kissing him back.
Hello, Bad Decision.
Just like in everything we did, the two of us battled for dominance.
Ryker’s tongue demanded entry, and I parted my lips, letting him in.
The taste of him exploded across my tongue.
I hated Ryker. He frustrated me more than any person I’d ever met in my life, and there was absolutely no future for us.
But he also made me feel alive in a way that nobody else had ever done.
And that, more than anything, was why I hated him.
This time, I didn’t hold back my moan when he bit my bottom lip at the same moment the hand on my hip slid between my legs and he thrust three fingers into my aching cunt.
I pulled against his grip on my wrists, and Ryker released me. The sweet, coppery taste of blood filled my mouth, a mixture of his and mine, courtesy of my now-bleeding lip. I wrapped one hand around his throat and the other in his hair as I kissed him back while riding his fingers.
My grip tightened around his throat, feeling his pulse flutter. Close. I was so close.
Pleasure rolled through me, a delicious tension building as he pumped his fingers in and out of my slick heat.
Then they were gone, and I felt myself step back from that edge of pleasure I’d been riding.
“What the fuck, Ryker?” I jerked myself upright, keeping my hand around his throat, and glared at him.
“Wanted you good and angry for this next part,” he rasped before grabbing me by the waist and lifting me up slightly until I felt the thick head of his cock push at my entrance. A wicked grin spread across his lips. “Show me how much you hate me, Rynn.”
“Fuck you,” I spat.
“That is the ide—fuck!” Ryker groaned when I sank all the way down on his thick, hard length.
A deep, husky laugh poured from me as I rolled my hips forward. He was bigger than anyone I’d ever been with, and I loved the feeling of my body stretching around him.
I kept one hand locked around his throat, but the other, I planted on his chest as I started riding him hard, chasing after the pleasure he’d denied me with his fingers.
“More,” Ryker demanded. “We both know you’re more pissed at me than that.”
I raked my claws down his chest, leaving thick rivulets of blood in their wake.
“That’s it, baby.” He thrust his hips in time with my movements. I let my head fall back, eyes closed as my pussy tightened around his cock. The sounds of our bodies joining filled the cavern, along with the scent of our blood.
For just a moment, I let myself forget everything outside this cave and just let myself exist. With him. No complicated pack. No pressing obligations. No monsters to be hunted.
Just two people enjoying one another.
Ryker’s hands gripped my hips, urging me to go faster. We were both breathing heavily, and when his fingers trailed down to rub my clit, I detonated.
The cavern swallowed my scream as the orgasm ripped through me.
When my pace faltered, Ryker flipped us over.
My back hit the cool stone, and then I screamed again as he pounded into me.
He gripped my thighs, pushing them up until they were pinned against my chest. Something about this position made him feel even larger, and it was all too intense for my overstimulated body.
“Come for me again,” he growled.