36. Arabella
36
Arabella
L ife has been full of surprises lately. Aside from working and staying with Ryker, I’m fucking him as well. Despite having my car back, I still rode with him to the club every night this last week. Tonight is the exception. Tonight he’ll be going to work alone, while I have dinner with my mother. My nerves are already on edge, dreading that I promised to do this with her. Silver lining? I’ll be able to get it out of the way, and then she won’t bug me for a bit.
“Lunch is ready, sweet girl,” Ryker announces from the kitchen as he sets two plates down, already adorned with what looks like–a panini?
Confused, I look at the grilled sandwich and then to him. Christ, he’s so fucking handsome. “Did you make this? It looks delicious.”
“No,” he admits, brows raised. “It’s one of those meal delivery things. If you don’t like it, we can look at the menu and order something different.”
If I didn’t think he was perfect before, I certainly do now. Although, now I have more questions. “Don’t you ever, just cook?”
“Aside from basic breakfast, nope.”
“So, there is something you can’t do after all,” I chuckle. “I didn’t think I’d ever find anything.”
“Watch it,” he warns. If it weren’t for the slight smirk on his face, I might worry I crossed a line. “I already told you. There’s lots I can’t do. You’re bound to come across some, the more time we spend together. Time . That one word serves as a reminder that our time together is limited, pulling me from the levity of the conversation.
“Hey, where did you go just now?” He questions, as we settle in to eat our lunch.
“I–just got distracted for a moment.”
“One of these days, you’re going to trust me enough to just tell me what’s on your mind without me having to pull it from you. Need I remind you about our open communication agreement?”
I release a heavy sigh, wishing I could take it back so we could go back to lightheartedly flirting with one another. But I don’t want him to think I’m some needy, clingy little girl that can’t keep her emotions contained. So, I lie. “I was thinking about tonight, wishing I didn’t have to go.”
“I see,” he pauses. “Don’t worry about her too much. I have an idea that will hopefully help you with her, this evening.”
“Okayyyy. Can you give me a little hint? Please,” I beg.
“No can do, baby. But you’ll find out soon enough.” I shoot him a scowl, which should make it clear how displeased I am, but he doesn’t relent. “There is something I’d like to talk with you about, though.”
“When you were getting ready to graduate high school, you were college bound. You had a scholarship and everything. I’d like to know what happened. Did you go?”
Having a conversation about college was not on my bingo card for today. I suspected he may bring it up at some point, but I wasn’t prepared to talk about it now. How do I admit to him that I gave up my scholarship to stay closer to mom, without disappointing him? I’ve seen his disappointed face. Zero out of five stars. Would not recommend. All I want is for him to be proud of me.
“I… didn’t go,” I tell him, hesitantly.
“I see.” Why does he keep saying that? What the fuck does he see? “Why didn’t you go to college, Arabella.”
I’m silent as I relentlessly stare at my sandwich, like it’s personally offended me. The shame I feel is creeping up my neck and I can already feel myself starting to sweat.
“Hey,” he reaches out to direct my gaze back to him. “Don’t do that. I’m not asking because I’m disappointed. I genuinely want to know what’s happened with you in the last six years. I feel like the woman I’m looking at now is different from the one I knew back then. I’m trying to understand. That’s all.”
His tone is reassuring, to say the least. And those ice blue eyes of his tell me he means it. “There’s more than one reason,” I admit.
“Tell me the first one.”
“I gave up my scholarship to stay home and help Mom,” I spit out in a single breath.
He sighs but doesn’t speak for a few moments. “Is your mother really that bad off that you had to put your own life on hold to care for her?”
“They said she’s really not supposed to drive, so she needs help to get to and from her appointments. There are gaps of time where she doesn’t have many, like lately, but after she hit her head in that fall, her memory hasn’t been great. I’m all she has, Ryker.”
“How did she fall?”
“I went on a girls trip with Wrinley, and she fell while I was away.” My eyes sting as I fight back the tears. I still feel guilty for leaving her to fend for herself. “I couldn’t even go away for the weekend without something happening. How could I go off to college?”
“You’re not with her all the time, now. How is that any different?” he questions. He doesn’t understand. No one does.
“I don’t think I’m ever not worried about her on some level. I considered moving in with her, but I don’t think there are enough benzos in the world that could get me through that. Thankfully, it’s been a while since she’s had a significant incident and even if she did, I’m not far.”
“Okay, what’s the second reason?” Shit, he’s really not going to like this one.
“She needed money, so I took out a loan to help her out,” I tell him, shamefully. I know I shouldn’t have done it, but I felt backed into a corner. “She was supposed to make the payments but fell behind. I had to pick up extra hours to cover it.”
The look on his face. That’s the look I’m trying to avoid by not telling anyone about the money. Not even Wrinley knows.
“Jesus.” The disappointment in his tone isn’t lost on me. “How much?”
I stare at him, silently willing this conversation to go away.
“How much was the loan for, Arabella?” he questions more sternly this time.
“Ten thousand, but I think there’s only five left… finally.” It’s been difficult to keep up with myself, but I’m doing better than she was at maintaining the payments.
“I want the name of your loan servicer,” he commands. “And you should consider going to school, Bella.”
Has he not been listening? “I can’t. I can’t afford it and it’ll irrevocably break me if something happens to her again. I know she’s harsh and critical and fucking frustrating as hell, but she’s still my mother.”
“Don’t worry about the loan. I’ll handle it.” It’s so easy for him to just fix everything. I don’t know how he can be so calm about this. “Just think about it. That’s all I ask.”
I nod, to appease him and be done with this conversation, but I don’t miss the pity marring his gaze and causes my stomach to turn. And now I’m no longer hungry.
I'm spending a little more time getting ready than usual, including makeup I never wear, because my mother is always criticizing my appearance… among other things, and while I may not have my life fully together yet, I’m trying and I need her to see it. No, I need her to believe it.
I grabbed black leggings and an off the shoulder sweater and by the time I’m done getting ready, I feel cute. I’ve totally got this.
“Don’t you look ravishing,” Ryker slides up behind me, leaning down, wrapping his arms snugly around my waist. “So delicious, I could eat you right here, right now.”
Chuckling, I turn in his arms as he leans in, pushing me into the counter.
“One… You already did that. Two… Did you really just use the word ravishing ? Who even says that anymore?” I tease. “What are you, an eighty-year-old aristocrat?”
“Would you prefer if I choose different words? How about delicious ?” With each word, he peppers gentle kisses down my neck and my nipples start to peak, goosebumps covering my flesh. “Stunning. Gorgeous. Beautiful. Is that better?”
“You lost me at stunning,” I deadpan. “Nice try though. For tonight’s purposes, I’ll settle for slightly above average. Thank you for getting me out of my shift at the club, by the way. I owe you.”
His eyes twinkle and hold mine for a long, drawn out moment. “I guess it’s a good thing you’re fucking the boss isn’t it?”
I am… fucking the boss. The boss that’s old enough to be my father. The boss that’s also my mother’s ex- man-friend . Does that make him my current man-friend? I’m unsure what any of this means and a sudden wave of worry washes over me. This is still a temporary arrangement. I don’t want there to be an end date, but she’s bound to find out and when she does, she’ll disown me for sure.
“I have something for you. It may help with everything plaguing that adorable head of yours.” His voice is low and husky now. “Turn back around.”
Ryker
“Turn around? Why?” The look on her face is a mixture of confusion and lust. She thinks I’m going to fuck her again. Spoiler alert, I’m not. But I am going to give her something to distract her from what I expect will be a less than pleasant visit with her mother.
My brows lift at her hesitance. She smartly turns to face the mirror and meets my eyes behind her. I give her a cocky smile as I reach up and place my hand around the back of her neck and push, bending her in half over the countertop. She lets out a slight gasp when her warm skin makes contact with the cool marble.
I run my hand slowly down her back until I’m at her waist, then slide her sweater up and grab the top of her leggings and panties, yanking them down her ass, stopping midway down her thighs.
Jesus fucking Christ.
I grip both voluptuous cheeks and squeeze, letting out a low growl, because I do want to fuck her. But there’s no time for that, so I will my cock to stand the fuck down.
“You know I’m going to fuck this ass one day, right?” She lets out what sounds like a moan. “You like that thought, don't you? You want Daddy to fuck this tight hole?”
“It makes me nervous,” she admits. I’m proud of her for telling me.
“I know, baby.” I spread her cheeks and peer down at her tight, puckered hole. The things that run through my head that I want to do to this woman are unspeakable. Staring at her most forbidden hole is not helping my current situation as my dick continues to grow. “Don’t worry. It’s not happening yet, but it will happen eventually. For now, I’m going to give you something to remember me by, while you’re at dinner.”
I reach in my pocket and grab the metal plug I bought just for her. Although, I never thought I'd be putting it in her myself. Holding her open with my left hand, I spit, letting it drip down to where I need it. She gasps lightly, and I can see in the mirror, her face is flush, aside from her pinkened cheeks. She licks her lips, wetting them as I start to press the toy to her hole. When her muscles tense and she starts to stand, I press my body to hers and give her the reassurance she needs. “Relax and take a deep breath baby.” She does as I say, and begins to wiggle her hips as I press the toy gently, breaching her back entrance, captivated as the muscle stretches around the hard plug and slowly disappears. It’s not large by any means, but it’s enough that she should notice it throughout the evening. The end is shaped like a handle with a ring at the end, that can be used for other things, like predicament bondage, but that’s more Hayes’ thing than mine.
“Good girl,” I praise as I pull her underwear and pants back up, followed by a sharp smack to her ass for good measure. “You’ll wear this plug until I see you again later this evening. Understood?”
“Yes, Sir.” She stands, straightening her clothes and swipes her hands down her front to put herself back together as she turns back to face me. Then she’s shifting back and forth on her feet with a confused look on her face. “It feels strange, but I don’t think I hate it. What if I have to go to the bathroom?”
I can’t help but chuckle. “Well, since you don’t pee from your butt, you should be fine there.” Her cheeks heat with embarrassment.
“That’s not what I meant and you know it, Sir,” she glares at me and now I feel like a dick.
“You should be fine. The base is narrow, so it shouldn’t pinch or give you a problem if you’re sitting for any length of time. I trust you to handle it how you need to if anything comes up, but if it falls out, I would prefer you put it back in… if you can.”
“Could it really just fall out?”
Smirking, I squeeze her ass. “Baby, it shouldn’t fall out, but if it does then I guess we’ll have to upgrade to a bigger one, won’t we? I am going to require that you text me if you need to remove it or if you run into any issues.”
She nods slowly. “Yes, Sir.”
Reaching up, I cup her cheeks with both hands and lean down to look directly into her eyes. “I know your mother can be difficult to deal with. Consider this a… distraction. This is your connection to me, even though I’m not with you. And it has the added bonus of training your ass to take my cock.”
“Wait. So I’m supposed to think about you fucking my ass while I’m having dinner with my mother?” she questions.
“I just said think about me. But I’m glad you’re already thinking about me fucking your ass,” I tease. “It’s just a distraction from the heaviness. Simple as that.”
Scrunching up her nose and pursing her lips, she retorts, “What’s happening in my ass right now, feels the exact opposite of simple.” When she starts laughing, I consider how beautiful she really is and realize I’d give anything to see her do it more… just like this.