Chapter 6

Ryker

What have I done?

Being impulsive is not okay. Losing my cool is dangerous. Becoming a Butterfly's Dom is strictly forbidden.

Even if it's not in the club's rule book.

"You're all fucking fired," I announce, entering my office. My men stand in a semi-circle, waiting for me like it's a goddamn intervention.

"Whatever, Ryker," Vault says. "You'd be fucked without us."

I'm fucked no matter what.

Dropping onto the couch, I scrub my face with both hands and groan. "This is a disaster."

"Not necessarily." Dmitri sits next to me and squeezes my shoulder. "This might be what you need, man."

What I need is to get these assholes away from me, soothe the busted egos of all my members, and give Tara a spanking severe enough that she can't sit for a week. "Vault, Bull, can you make sure the penthouse guests are completely satisfied? And I do mean completely."

"No problem," Bull says as he leaves with Vault.

I can only imagine the tricks they'll pull tonight to make Jessie and her party happy. No bump in pay would likely be big enough to make it worth it for Bull and Vault either. Fuck my life. "She's cost me too much, and it's only been ten minutes."

I don't know what came over me on that stage. I pushed this woman to be bold, and she delivered. Then I lost my composure and wanted to…

Wanted to what?

My answer makes my skin crawl.

I've just paid for sex. Took my power and aimed it at her. I don't even know this woman and here I am, offering two-point-two million like its chump change, have accepted to be her Dom, and kicked out one of my best member's wives from my club, all in one evening.

"I've lost my damn mind."

Dmitri's cocky smile vanishes. "What made you bid on her?"

I've never bid on a Butterfly before. Part of my reputation stems from the fact that I'm unavailable and untouchable. Why does it feel like everything I've built over the past five years is about to crumble like a house of cards?

"I have no fucking clue." My chest hurts. It's hard to breathe.

"Relax," Dmitri says. "I'm sure we can fix all this."

"I'm gonna need you to shut your fucking face." I stand up and start pacing. "You made it so much worse pointing out that she could pick any Dom in the room."

"I'm just adhering to the rules, boss." I don't appreciate the amusement in his tone.

Someone else clears their throat. Another shuffles their feet.

I feel like the butt end of a joke, and my anger comes to a rolling boil. "Everyone out!"

They leave without being told twice. Except for Dmitri. Stretching his massive arms across the back of the couch, he makes it clear he's not going anywhere yet. "You pay me to keep my eyes on everyone in the club."

I keep pacing.

"As part of my job, I also keep my eyes on you."

I flick my gaze to him, then drop it back to the floor while I act like a caged tiger.

"The look on your face when you saw her spoke volumes, Ryker."

"My expression was the same for every woman who came on the stage."

"I'm not talking about the stage. I'm talking about when you're in your office watching her from the security cameras. I'm talking about when you were in the changing room where they were doing hair and makeup."

I stop short. Dmitri was watching us? It shouldn't surprise me. "I didn't look at her any differently than I do the others."

"Yes, you fucking did." He stands up and storms over to me, jabbing me in the chest with his finger. "You always have the same expression, Ryker. All business, all flirt, all bullshit. But with Tara?" He huffs a laugh and I want to punch him. "You looked at her like she was yours to play with."

"Because I was playing with her." Dmitri knew the plan. I was to go into the dressing room and make her jealous, make her feel insecure amidst her competition so she'd either walk out and forfeit her chance to be the Butterfly, or be bold enough to do something that would ultimately win her the title on her own. He and I worked all night on that strategy, damnit. "That was the plan!"

"The plan was to make her feel some kind of way." He licks his lips and that smirk of his comes back. "Instead, it was you who felt something, Ryker. I saw it."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm your oldest friend. I know you better than anyone else here."

"That doesn't mean shit."

"You want her," he presses. "And so does the rest of the club."

I know.

"You didn't have to bid on her. She'd already won, man."

I know.

"Swooping in at the last minute and upping the bid wasn't necessary for her to become the Butterfly. It was only necessary for you to assert dominance."

He's right and I hate that he knows me this well. "Fuck."

"You also did it because the thought of someone else not paying her worth wasn't something you would tolerate."

Double fuck.

"You bid on her because you've seen the way others drool over her at this club and you weren't going to let that shit stain, Blake Rittenhouse, have the bragging rights—and ultimately the power—over Tara when her month as Butterfly is over if he was the highest bidder."

Triple fuck.

Dmitri is slinging truths, and each one feels like a whip across my chest.

Tara's drawn the attention of every member in the club. They'll want to either fuck her, be her, or break her.

"We all know you stayed in that room because you wanted her, Ry."

"So?" Maybe, on some level, that's true. But I can't afford to indulge in what I want. This is a business. My business. "I've wanted plenty of members before. She's hardly the first."

Dmitri's brow arches. "When you escorted Tara into the room for her to choose her Dom, we all felt the possessiveness roll off you."

Doubtful.

"You could have left immediately, like you always do." Dmitri shrugs nonchalantly. "You could have told me to shut up when I reminded you of the rules."

But I didn't.

"You've been really tense lately, Ryker. I haven't wanted to pry, but maybe…" He pauses and sighs. "Maybe this woman will help you blow a little steam off, yeah?"

If I blow any steam off on Tara, I'll likely break her.

"Look at it this way," he says. "The next Butterfly Ceremony will be the best one yet, now that everyone thinks you're on the roster as a Dom."

It's the one thing I never wanted to have happen. "God damnit."

"Don't worry, we'll use it to our advantage."

The hell we will. "I'm not—"

"We'll take care of it," he says, cutting me off. Probably because he knows where my head went. "Trust me, okay? I got your back. Now if you don't mind, I've got a club to run, and you've got a Butterfly to play with."