No, when I kiss June, I kiss her with everything I’ve fucking got because I might not get another chance.
Chapter 5
June
Ryder Hawke and I have spent a lot of time talking over the past few months, but nothing has prepared me for this kiss. No amount of flirting or friendly behavior has prepared me for the fact that he kisses like a god. He kisses like a king. He kisses like he’s perfectly comfortable being the sexiest man in the room.
And to my very own surprise, I kiss him back deeply.
Deliciously.
I kiss Ryder like
he’s my king, and in this moment, he is. In this moment, Ryder is everything to me and I can’t quite stop thinking about the way that he tastes.
I allow myself to take my time with him tonight. I don’t often kiss men and women at Anchored. Okay, I never kiss anyone at Anchored. Ever. In all of the time I’ve had the club, tonight is the very first night I’ve kissed a patron.
Suddenly, I wonder why I didn’t do it sooner.
All of the reasons I had mentally listed have flown out the window. Somehow, I can’t seem to recall a single good reason for not touching people at the club. Seriously, what was I thinking? Ryder is touching me like he was born to do this and at the moment, I’m inclined to agree.
He kisses me slowly, deeply, and then, to my utter and complete surprise, Ryder draws a long, low moan from my lips. He pulls back and grins.
“That’s a pretty big smile,” I say.
“It was a pretty good kiss,” he counters. Ryder reaches out and strokes my cheek, igniting a flame between my legs that hasn’t existed in a very long time.
Oh, don’t get me wrong: I masturbate all the time. After spending so much time at Anchored, I’d have to be a nun not to need some sort of release. We have so many sexy happenings at the club that sometimes when I go home, I need release. I need to come apart. I need it.
Apparently, what I’ve really needed is Ryder Hawke all to myself.
Still, it’s different when he’s touching me, playing with me. Ryder seems to make every inch of my body come to life. I’m very aware of every part of myself right now and it’s all because of Ryder.
It’s all because this man, this liar, is incredible.
Oh, I haven’t forgotten that Ryder has a secret. It’s one I’m slightly desperate to know, to be honest. I’ve Googled him and Facebooked him, but everything seems to check out. Ryder Hawke is, in fact, just some small-town writer who came to Westbrook to give it a shot.
He really is a man who knows what he wants.
“Come home with me,” he whispers, touching me. Then his eyes meet mine and I see that he’s just as surprised as I am. I’m guessing he got swept up in the moment because he’s not the type of Dom to bring a submissive home. In the time he’s been a member, I’ve had my eye on Ryder. I’ve never seen him spend more than one night with a submissive and I’ve never seen him invite anyone to leave with him.
There have been several broken hearts during his time here.
“I’m not who you think I am,” I tell him with a sigh. Pulling away, I lean against the back counter and just look at him. “I don’t do this,” I tell him. “I don’t fool around at the club.”
“I know,” he says.
“No,” I shake my head. “It’s not just a line, Ryder. I never, ever fool around with people from the club. I never have. I’m not ready to cross that line.”
“You felt the connection between us,” he says. “Don’t tell me you didn’t.”
I shrug and look away. He’s right. I did feel it. I felt something powerful drawing us together, but I have responsibilities he doesn’t understand. I can’t just go home with him. Not with Ryder.
“I didn’t,” I lie. “I’m sorry.”
“That’s ten,” he says.
“Excuse me?” I look up at Ryder sharply. He can’t possibly be serious. Ten spankings? That’s what he’s going to give me because he thinks I’m lying? He couldn’t possibly know that.