Ride Hard

I shake my head. “You didn’t,” I whisper. I look around the room again. “I know this is your room. Can’t I have my own?” I have no right to ask for anything; I know that. Maybe it’s survival, self-preservation that has me pushing him, asking for things I don’t deserve.

“Langley,” he says my name and takes a small step toward me. His voice is so deep, husky, serrated. “Why would I put you in a room other than this one?” He lifts a dark eyebrow again. It’s almost as if he’s… amused. He doesn’t give me a chance to respond before he’s smirking and speaking again. “Why would I have you anywhere but with me, when what I want from you calls for privacy… and you in my bed.”

Oh. God.

His words shouldn’t have the type of effect on my body as they’re having. And the way his smirk grows tells me he knows exactly what is happening to me right now.

He knows he has me right where he wants me.

Literally and figuratively.Chapter SixteenRideI close the door. It sounds final, but it’s not. I’m merely putting things off. I’m not even sure why. Not truly. I should pack Langley up and send her away, let her explore her newfound life without her past tarnishing her—without me tarnishing her.

A good man would do that.

But I’m not a good man.

I want to keep her close. I want to keep her with me. I want her in my bed, and in time, I want between her legs. I’m man enough to admit that, even if only to myself. I can lie and say it’s because she’s too young and needs someone to take care of her, to protect her. That’s partially the truth, but it goes deeper than that.

I want to be the man she lets between her legs. I want to the be the man she looks to for protection, for comfort, and to cool that fire that’s burning inside her.

I can see it. I can see the heat in her eyes when she looks at me. Langley may not want to admit it, but she wants me. Her body certainly wants me. Her nipples were so fucking hard a minute ago that it took all I had not to suck them into my mouth.

Langley and I are going to come together, there’s no point in denying it any longer. I’ve already put the plans into motion. She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s going to be my old lady. For that to happen, she’s going to have to stand up to the fire. That means she’s going to have to show the spark inside her, that drive not to put up with anyone else’s shit, especially when it comes to the club girls. They know what I have in mind, and they aren’t happy. They’re going to try to prove Langley is too weak to fit in. She’s not, and I need to make sure she knows that.

I can step in and make her way here easier, but I don’t want to. I want Langley to make her home here and to prove to my men and the women here that she belongs not only here, but by my side.

I want her to want to be here of her own free will.

Maybe it’s not fair, but that’s the way my world works, and the sooner Langley accepts that, the better it will be for both of us.

“Yo, Ride.”

I look over at Tubs as he walks toward me. “You get that cut ordered?” I ask, irritation in my voice. I want to go get Langley some food, as well as some decent clothes, even if I fucking love the fact that she’s wearing mine. I wasn’t lying to her about going to get her some food. She’s too damn skinny. I know it’s because that fucking Einstein didn’t feed her properly, that she had been scraping by just to keep food in her belly. She will never have to worry about that again, because she has me. She’ll soon learn that lesson too, and that will just be one more thing that will draw her to me. I’m going to take away all of her worries. I can’t give her a clean life, but I sure as fuck can give her one that doesn’t drain the fucking life out of her, like the one she was living before.

“Yeah, they’ll have it ready in two weeks,” he says, his gaze moving over me, and I know he has more questions; hell, maybe he’s questioning my sanity. I sure as hell have been fucking doing that myself.

“Not good enough. I want it done by next Saturday.”

“Ride, damn, that’s not even a week away.”

“I know that, asshole. It’s four days. That gives you and the crew four days to get this place ready for the biggest fucking party we’ve ever had.”