Chapter 23 Liam
TWENTY-THREE
LIAM
It had been all I could do to keep my hands off of Ryker on the trip back to the condo, and as soon as the door closes behind us, I’m on him. My lips find his, and my hands go to the hem of his shirt, tugging urgently.
“Off,” I tell him, my breath already ragged despite the fact that we haven’t even started to do anything yet.
I have no idea how long it had taken for the guy to fall off of the dock, but I intend to convince Ryker that he needs to take his knife to my skin until I bleed and bleed.
Maybe this will be the time he cuts out my beating heart, or slits my throat, and proves Maggie right.
I should be afraid.
Instead, I’m so aroused that I don’t think I could stop myself from jerking off tonight if I tried.
It’s a damn good thing Ryker’s here now.
Ryker makes a low, growling sound that goes straight to my cock before he shoves me toward the couch. I whine, but he pulls his shirt off and unbuckles his belt, which is that’s definitely going in the right direction.
“Do you know how long it takes to drown?” Ryker asks as he kicks his shoes off.
I take a second to take off my own shoes, pulling my shirt over my head and throwing it blindly aside before stripping off my pants and underwear. “No. Tell me,” I demand. “Tell me all about drowning. Have you ever drowned someone? Did they struggle?”
“I’ve never killed anyone,” Ryker says with a smirk.
“I don’t know why you think I would have.
” He pushes me down to the couch and looms over me, nails raking down my chest hard enough to hurt.
“Drowning can take ages, anyway. And technically, you asphyxiate from lack of oxygen. … Since your nostrils fill with water instead of air.”
“I do love a good asphyxiation,” I say, trying to focus on his gaze but having a hard time keeping my eyes open as I revel in the sensations. “I wonder if they rescued him.”
I hope not.
“Depends on how well he kept himself above water,” Ryker answers. “But he was in the water for a few minutes already before that woman spotted him. I bet they had to fish him up from the bottom of the river.”
Ryker kisses me savagely, and as much as I liked the softer kisses, I missed this rawness, this intensity.
The real Ryker, not the safe, sanitized version he presents to the rest of the world.
I kiss him back with every bit of desperation I can muster, intent upon showing him exactly how much I want this, how much I want him.
It has little to do with the amount of time it’s been since I last came, surprisingly. I think that even if I’d been fucked six ways to Sunday right before seeing that man start to drown, I’d still be this hard and ready to go.
“Fuck me,” I beg.
“The moment I get my cock in you, you’re going to come,” Ryker says with a laugh. He flicks the head of my erection, making me yelp. “Suck me first, brat.”
He’s not wrong. I’m about to erupt.
I get down on my knees in front of him, yanking his pants and boxer briefs down so I can reach his cock.
Fuck, it’s beautiful, and I grab hold of it, guiding it into my mouth with a moan.
My tongue swirls around the head before I take it deeper, greedily taking as much as I easily can before I pause to tease and taunt.
I want to make him almost come undone from my mouth, but if he doesn’t fuck me and make me come, I’m going to lose my shit.
Ryker grips my hair and twists it, sending pain across my scalp. “Are you even trying, brat? I know you can do better.”
I make another sound low in my throat. I can do better, but I don’t want to risk him coming, either. Then again, I do like him like this, commanding and forceful, and maybe he’ll just shove me down on his dick if I don’t do a good enough job and choke me out that way.
I push myself harder, the head of his cock pressing against the back of my throat, and I swallow several times to allow him to slide into it. Fuck. I love it when he’s in me like this, but I don’t know how close he is to coming down my throat instead of in my ass.
Ryker groans and holds me in place, so that for several seconds my nose is pressed up against his pubes and his cock constricts my breathing.
My eyes roll up in my head, my mind growing fuzzy from the lack of air. It would serve me right to die by choking on cock, wouldn’t it?
Before that becomes reality, Ryker pulls out entirely.
“Fuck,” he growls. “You’re such a needy little brat.” He rubs his spit-slick cock along my cheek, and I moan, parting my lips again for him. He shakes his head though. “I promised you something else. Better find some sheets you don’t mind staining.”
Oh fuck.
Either he wasn’t paying attention to the time either, or it really had been under two minutes.
Or he’s just as desperate as I am.
“The ones on my bed are fine,” I assure him.
I’ll have to throw them in the wash before my housekeeper arrives, but that’s not a problem. No, a problem would be him deciding to drag this out to torment me even more.
Ryker laughs. “Then why are you still on the floor here?”
I immediately scramble to my feet, my cock achingly hard as I practically skip to the bedroom. Ryker is right behind me.
I spread myself out on the bed while Ryker shuts—and locks—the door.
Did he take one of my kitchen knives? I didn’t see him grabbing one.
“How thick are the walls?” Ryker asks. He pulls his socks off then approaches the bed. He sits down on the edge and places one hand on my shin, stroking my skin with an oddly gentle touch.
“Thick enough to where I could cry for help all I wanted and no one would come running,” I tell him.
It’s suicidal at best to tell him that, but who would I be if I didn’t throw caution to the wind? He obviously does plan on making me scream, which means he might be cutting deeper than he had at the park.
Ryker laughs again, and his eyes are so beautiful and wild, with a feral passion he definitely didn’t show to Maggie.
“I was more wondering how long it would take for anyone to smell your corpse,” he says as he bends forward and places a kiss on my stomach. My cock rubs against his collar, and even that touch threatens to make me come.
I swallow hard, watching him intently. “My housekeeper comes in on Tuesdays,” I tell him.
Ryker lifts his head and smirks at me. “Are you trying to warn me off? I shouldn’t kill you after all?”
“How many times do I have to remind you that I’m too pretty to kill?” I complain. “And you like me alive. How often are you going to find a brat that lets you cut him up and begs for more?”
“Are you afraid?” Ryker pushes his fingers into the divots of my hips. “Even though you just told me the walls are too thick for anyone to hear your cries for help.”
I’m about to give him a kneejerk, flippant response when I realize I don’t actually know the answer to that question. Am I afraid? I don’t think so. “I don’t want to die,” I say truthfully. “But all good things must come to an end, etc.”
After running his finger along my cock once, Ryker sits up. “Maybe they’ll end today.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a folded-up knife. My eyes widen as he unfolds it and reveals the very sharp blade.
That’ll slice through my skin like butter.
My cock throbs.
I really don’t want to die. I’m still young, and there’s so much I haven’t done. But I’m not afraid of the idea of closing my eyes and never waking up again.
I don’t particularly want to be cut to pieces in a way that’ll drag out the pain for a long time, and maybe I’m afraid of that idea. Of course, if I tell him I’d rather he slit my throat, he’d do the opposite just to be contrary.
“Do you want me to be afraid?” I ask, tilting my head as I study his expression. “Or are you more interested because I’m not?”
Ryker drops the tip of the knife to my chest. “I have no fucking clue why I’m interested in you, brat. But I do know you’ll look good in red.”
He makes the first slice, and I gasp at the sudden sharp pain. My body instinctively recoils, and what was probably a smooth cut goes jagged.
Ryker scowls at me. “Hold fucking still. Or do I need to tie you up?”
As much as I like being tied up, I also like the challenge of having to stay still with invisible bonds instead.
His command is every bit as tangible as rope or cuffs would be, and I really don’t want to have to explain more bruises to Maggie.
“I’ll stay still,” I tell him, settling back against the bed and taking a deep breath.
I did it in the woods, with rough bark against my back and bugs probably circling around and ready to suck my blood dry. I can do it here.
Ryker places the knife against that first cut. “If you mess it up again, I’m leaving.”
My eyes widen, and desperation sweeps over me. “What? No!” I protest. “I can’t help but move a little.”
I’ll try, though, because I don’t want him going anywhere — especially not until he’s fucked me senseless and left me wrung out and sated.
Ryker smears the blood that’s already leaking out of the first cut down to my nipple. “If you want to keep both your nipples, you’ll definitely hold still.”
Then he makes another cut, curving out from the first one.
I grip the sheets to keep myself from jerking in pain, my breath catching as I let out a cry. Oh, fuck, this is intense.
Maybe he does plan on killing me.
Would anyone care?
Gran would. Maggie might.
Beyond them…
It’s a depressing thought, and I focus instead on the pain coming from those cuts.
The next cut curls around my nipple, and the pain has me gasping and moaning in turn. My vision is already starting to swim.
I look up at Ryker, desperate for him in a way I’ve never cared about anyone before.
He’s grinning widely, his gaze focused on my body. His tongue darts out to lick his lips, and when I look between his legs, I can see his cock is fully erect and brushing against his own stomach.
“Fucking gorgeous,” Ryker murmurs as he cuts across my chest.
I love that he thinks I’m gorgeous.
I love that he’s obsessed with me, even if it’s not half as obsessed as I am with him.