Chapter Twenty-Nine Emma
Even as I sit down at a table with Vincent, I still don’t have an answer to give to him.
I barely slept last night, tossing and turning in bed as my mind kept racing. I thought about this opportunity. About the baby. About the guys. About my family.
About everything.
And I still don’t know what to do.
“Want some sake?” Vincent asks from across the table.
“I’ll just do some water. Thank you,” I tell him as my hands fidget in my lap under the table. I managed to convince him to meet somewhere else besides a bar, but I didn’t expect this fancy restaurant.
“Aw, come on. I know we’re here for business, but we can have a little fun too,” Vincent says as he flashes me a charming grin. “Especially since you ditched me last time.”
My face warms up. “Sorry about that. I do appreciate and respect your time.”
Vincent waves his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. You can make it up to me in San Francisco.”
I let out a stiff laugh. He’s already so confident that I’ll take the job, but I just don’t know yet. Eventually, I’ll have to tell the guys the truth. I can’t hide something like this from them. Especially since one of them is the father.
What I’m worried about is what will happen next. What if they don’t want to help raise the baby? What if they decide that they don’t want to be with me?
I’ll have to raise the baby alone, and the thought of doing that far away from home scares the hell out of me. I don’t think that’s genuinely plausible after giving it some actual thought.
Of course, among all the scary scenarios in my head, there is the fantasy of the guys wanting to be a family. Wanting to be with me. Somehow, everything turns out okay without struggle or pain.
But I know how reality is.
No matter what I do, my life will change, and people will get hurt.
“I’ve been really thinking about your offer,” I tell him, my palms growing clammy.
Vincent holds up a finger to make me pause as the waiter comes by. “Your best sake.”
I almost roll my eyes as he orders for me again, but I control myself. I’m about to really disappoint him.
Vincent turns back to me and grins. “Well? Ready to pack your bags and come work for me?”
The past version of me would’ve already had my bags packed and ready to go, but things are different now. The guys changed everything, and this baby will change things even more.
I’m not that woman anymore. I can’t run away.
“No, she won’t be.”
My eyes dart up as Ryan strides over to our table like he’s on a mission. My heart jolts to a complete stop as he walks over to my side, my shock rendering me silent.
“Ryan, is that you?” Vincent questions him as he narrows his eyes in suspicion.
“Sure is,” Ryan replies as he wraps his fingers around my arm and helps me to my feet. “She will not be working for you because you’re a gigantic asshole with an even bigger ego and a small dick.”
Vincent’s jaw drops in shock, and I still can’t get a word out. What the hell is he doing? Is he literally insane?
“Excuse me?” Vincent sputters, bewilderment etched across his face.
“You heard me. I know you fucked Gina and Scarlett, and I know that you hired them so that you could fuck them,” Ryan bites out as he pulls my coat around me. “If you think you’re going to do the same thing with Emma, you can go fuck yourself.”
“Ryan!” I hiss at him, my mind reeling from all the insults he just spat out.
Ryan wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me away from the table, not letting me get another word in. “Be pissed at me, but I’m doing you a favor. I know him.”
I stumble along, pitching a quick look over my shoulder to see that Vincent is red in the face. He didn’t exactly defend himself. Did he only offer me the job because he wanted to sleep with me?
Disappointment drops on my chest like a sack of bricks, leaving me feeling crushed and deflated. As if I need this blow to my ego on top of everything else.
“This way,” Ryan says as he leads me down the quiet, empty sidewalk, pools of streetlights illuminating our way through the dark.
I snap back to reality and jerk away from him, stumbling back toward the entrance of an unlit alleyway. “I can’t believe you just did that! How did you even know where I was?”
Ryan narrows his eyes as he steps closer to me. “I have my ways. I knew you were meeting up with him, so I had to talk some sense into you.”
I scoff at him and move back to match his steps, shadows reaching out for me. “Talk sense into me? All you did was insult him and steal me away from my business meeting!”
“Business meeting? Have you ever had a business meeting at an expensive sushi restaurant that’s a hot spot for date nights?” Ryan questions me, backing me up into the alleyway.
I swallow hard as he looms over me. “I didn’t know that. But you still can’t crash my dinners! You’re not—”
“Your boyfriend? Yeah, you made that clear!” Ryan bites out. “But I’m still going to look out for you because that’s what you do when you care about somebody!”
“You’re going to get us in trouble, Ryan!” I tell him as I grab the front of his black coat, giving him a shake that barely moves his body an inch.
Ryan places his hand over mine, keeping me close as he gazes down at me. It’s so dark that I can barely make out the features of his face, but I can see his eyes. “And if I don’t care?”
I exhale shakily as heat pools low in my stomach, the intoxicating smell of his cologne washing over me. “Ryan…”
I can’t. He can’t. We can’t.
But we do.
Ryan leans down and crashes his lips against mine, his free hand gripping the back of my neck.
I fist his coat even more, losing the battle in my mind and submitting to my desires. I let him back me up against the nearest brick wall, shadows cloaking us as our bodies press together.
Ryan’s other hand travels down my side, tracing the curves of my figure. He groans at the feeling and grazes his teeth along my bottom lip in a needy bite.
I moan into his mouth and slip my hand under his coat, clawing at the back of his shirt. He needs to be closer. So much closer.
Ryan seems to sense my neediness and slips his hand under my skirt, his fingertips brushing over the thin material of my panties. “Fuck, you’ve already soaked your panties, angel.”
I press my mouth against the front of his shoulder as he applies more pressure, muffling my own sounds of pleasure. Heat blooms from between my thighs, growing more intense with each teasing rub of his fingers against the fabric.
Ryan finally tugs my panties to the side and slides his fingers through my folds, immediately groaning. “I’ve missed this. I’ve missed you.”
“Ryan,” I gasp as his fingers glide over my clit. A jolt of bliss crackles through me before simmering down into addictive heat. He’s so good with his hands.
Ryan gives me exactly what I need, moving his fingertips in slow, steady circles to make the heat within me burn hotter. He slides his free hand into my hair and tightens his grip, dragging me close enough so that he can whisper in my ear. “Stay quiet. Don’t want anyone to hear you, right?”
His warning just turns me on even more. I let out a weak whimper as he slips a finger inside of me and rocks it in and out, making me even wetter. It’s effortless for him to push in another finger.
“Squeezing my fingers so good,” Ryan praises me as he curls them deep, rocking the heel of his hand against my clit.
My thighs threaten to clamp around his wrist as he works his fingers in and out of me, making the pressure in my stomach build rapidly. I scratch at his back through his shirt, doing everything in my power to stay quiet as I get closer to my release.
“Oh… please…” I whimper.
Ryan grins against my ear. “Want to come, baby? Are you going to come all over my fingers?”
I nod fervently as I sink my nails into his back, needing to hold onto something to ground myself. His hand grinds against my clit so perfectly, and combined with the perfect thrusts of his fingers, I’m a goner.
“Oh—” I cut myself off by biting the shoulder of his coat, muffling myself as my orgasm shudders through my entire body.
Ryan pins me against the wall, keeping me upright as my legs threaten to buckle under me. He keeps slowly rocking his fingers in and out of me, drawing out the bliss as much as he can until I’m sensitive to the touch. “That’s a good girl.”
I tremble in his grasp for a few seconds, catching my breath as my face burns from the heat. The pleasure lingers, keeping me warm in the cold night air. Eventually, I release him, and he slips his hand out from between my thighs.
“You’re so beautiful,” Ryan murmurs before cupping my face and pressing a soft kiss against my lips. “So fucking beautiful.”
My heart flutters at his sweet words, but as the pleasure and warmth fade away, reality takes their place. Instead of telling him the truth, I broke our agreement and let him finger me in public. What the hell am I doing?
I swallow hard as I fix my panties and my skirt with shaky hands, my eyes dropping from his. “We shouldn’t have done that.”
“I don’t regret it. I don’t regret any of it,” Ryan replies as he watches me. “At least I got you away from that asshole.”
My eyes shoot up to his. He can’t just crash into my life like this, causing chaos and taking me into dark alleyways. We’re going to get caught. “I should go home.”
Ryan gestures toward the entrance of the alleyway. “My car is down the street. I’ll drive you there, but we need to talk first.”
“Talk? About what?” My heart drops. Does he somehow already know about the baby?
Ryan gives me a stern look. “You haven’t been yourself lately, and we’re all worried about you. I get we agreed to not do this and that, but you’re killing us.”
Guilt twists in my stomach as I hear the genuine concern in his voice. I didn’t mean to worry them, but there is so much going on that they don’t realize. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to be sorry. You just need to talk to me,” Ryan replies as he holds his hand out to me. “Please, Emma.”
He isn’t the type to beg.
I don’t know what I’m going to tell him, but I know that he won’t let me go home by myself. Ryan also isn’t the type to give up easily.
Without a word—because I have no idea what to say—I place my hand in his.And let him lead me out of the dark.