36. TASTE OF YOU

36

TASTE OF YOU

YARA

R yden followed me in his car. When we reached the ME office, he parked first and stepped out in a hurry. Walking to my car, he opened the door for me, looking like he had just walked out of another world. The sun cast its golden rays along his body, dancing on his bronzed skin, making him look even more delicious than he already was.

“I can do it,” I said as I stepped out of my car, my body pressed against his. He didn’t move. He didn’t look like he was planning to move, but of course, I didn’t complain. The need to touch him 24/7 was sometimes so overwhelming.

“I know you can, but I wanted to,” he said with a shrug. I scoffed, but the way his eyes shone with sincerity made me feel something warm, and I didn’t like that feeling very much.

I cleared my throat, trying not to let his words detonate the walls I had built around myself. I had built those walls for a reason, and I couldn’t let him breach or break them.

As if he could feel my nerves, his smoldering eyes met mine. “Sometimes you say the most impertinent things without even blinking, do the most improper things, and take whatever I say like a fucking warrior. And then there are times like this… and it makes you nervous.”

“I’m not nervous.”

“Whenever you’re nervous, there’s a line here…” He traced his finger between my eyebrows. “And a subtle tilt here.” He touched the side of my lower lip. “And then there’s that look in your eyes, like a deer caught in headlights.”

“You talk too much, Ryden Sinclair. If you want to use your mouth, I can think of a few ways you can productively use it without going blah, blah, blah.”

His eyes twinkled as he leaned closer and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “I want to find which one of you is real.”

“What do you mean?” I asked with a frown, pushing his hand away from my forehead.

“I want to see if you’re the confident woman who touched herself when I was watching or the twitchy little mouse who… just looked like she was between the claws of a hungry cat when I opened the door for you.”

“Oh, shut up and come with me.”

He laughed and obediently followed. “Yes, ma’am. I love walking behind you.”

“Because you look like my bodyguard?”

“Because I look like I’m protecting what’s mine from wandering eyes. That ass of yours… It’s enough to make any man go mad. I want to punish you for wearing such a tempting dress to pull all the eyes to your ass.”

“Are you going to lick it better after you punish me?” I asked, my voice flirty, and his breath hitched.

“Of course. I’ll even kiss your pussy better, you know, to reward you for always listening so well,” Ryden said, caressing my throat with one finger.

I swallowed the thick lump of lust back down, trying to regulate my breathing. One of the orderlies rolling out a big garbage bin stopped and stared at us, his mouth half hanging open.

“There’s nothing to see here, Stan. Go,” I said, and Stan flushed before he walked away—or more like ran away. I opened the door to my office for Ryden, motioning him inside. “You first.”

He walked in and growled when I smacked him on his sexy ass. “Your ass is just as impressive,” I whispered, following him and locking the door behind us.

“Take a seat,” I said, settling behind my desk. “I’ll find the reports.” A quick search on my laptop pulled up the autopsy report numbers for both Sofia and Nikki. I was right. Doctor Tobias was the one who autopsied Sofia. “Let me find the physical copies,” I said, standing up from my chair.

Even though every report was filed by the name, case number, and TOD on the computer, I always kept physical records. It was easier to bring them home with me when I was stuck on a case.

I walked to the tall metal shelves filled to the brim with brown paper files, each file meticulously printed with the case numbers and the names of the victims.

I grabbed Nikki’s folder from the lower shelf and quickly leafed through it to make sure it was hers. I was trying to reach Sofia’s file when Ryden stepped closer to me. The warmth of his body was distracting, as was his scent. Stomach clenching with need and breath hitching, I ground my ass against his erection. He let out a long moan.

“Want help, Doctor West?” he whispered, his breath teasing the back of my neck as he ran his fingers through my hair, pressing me against the rack with one hand while his other went around my stomach, pulling me flush against his erection. Need coiled up my bones, thrumming, chanting, lusting.

When would this forest fire burn down to become a soft, more manageable flame? I could deal with a flicker, but this raging heat was becoming scary.

He tugged me by my hair, his hand rough… until my head was tilted back, my throat exposed.

“Now that you’re here, it’d be rude to turn down your help.” I breathed out when his lips gently pressed against the side of my neck before he let me go with a smile.

“Ah, and you’re always so polite,” he said, his voice mocking as he leaned over me and grabbed the file from the shelf, his other hand never leaving my body.

When I turned around to meet his eyes, they were already deliciously dark. There was a small earthquake within my heart. I couldn’t do this. This wasn’t a part of the deal I made.

“Don’t look at me like that,” I said, my voice hoarse, my heart running like a horse on a racetrack, my body trembling with more than lust.

There was something so strangely open and vulnerable in his eyes but also something possessive and deranged.

“Like what?” he asked, as if he was completely oblivious. He wasn’t. We both knew what I was talking about.

“Like you want to eat me, like you want to devour me until…” Until I become a part of you, until I wear your mark on my body that’d become a fucking storm warning, cautioning other men against making a move on me, until I was only yours.

Did I want to be his?

No. A part of me clawed in warning.

The thing between us, wasn’t… ever going to become anything real. We weren’t built for relationships. The real ones. That would be a fucking trainwreck, and the collision would bring secrets spilling out, secrets we didn’t want the other to know.

How would one live and love with too many secrets, especially ones as dark and distorted as ours?

“We have work to do,” I finally managed to gasp out, trying to pull myself out of Ryden Sinclair’s orbit. He was the fucking sun.

“I don’t believe I’m saying this because I was called a workaholic one too many times, but the report can wait,” he whispered, taking the autopsy files from my fingers and putting them down on the shelf. He grabbed my hands in his and pulled them to his chest, imprisoning me between the metal shelves and his body. His stormy gray eyes became onyx until I was panting from just that look.

He took my mouth in a ravishing kiss. He bit, licked it to make it better, and then he bit harder. “Sometimes I feel like I’d die without touching you, like my survival is tethered to your skin. It’s madness, is it not, Doctor West?”

“If you’re mad, I may be mad too,” I whispered as he kissed my cheek and softly bit the underside of my chin with a sigh. I pulled open his zipper, and he groaned when my fingers met his cock.

He pulled my dress up with a groan. “I hope… it won’t always be like this.”

“It won’t be,” I said.

With all the secrets we carried, all the bodies we buried, there was no way to continue this for a lifetime without burning each other down. I didn’t want that.

“You’re not good for a man’s ego, Little Killer.”

The irony wasn’t lost on me that he gave me a nickname that was more than suitable for me, even though he didn’t know that side of me.

“Well, I think it’s good to hear the truth once in a while,” I said with a smirk as he played with my skin, tracing patterns and painting an abstract that lit a new fire burning within me. “Now, do you want to fuck me or keep talking?”

“You—do you even think before you say something?”

“I believe you only get what you ask for,” I said with a shrug as he traced the side of my thighs, his fingers creating a strange friction. “I’ll always ask for the things I want. I want you. NOW.”

I had once stayed on the sidelines, watching as people stomped all over me. It took me one dead father to walk away. I was never going back there, not for anything, not for anyone.

“Was it hard to fight alone?” His voice was soft, as if he understood even the things I hadn’t told him. Shit. I just wanted to fuck him, but whenever he was around… Things were starting to get out of control. “Let me fight with you then.”

Once again, I felt that tremor in my heart. Why would he say something so… so mad, so sincere to me?

“I’ve been doing it all on my own for a long time. I hate it when I’m not in control.”

He raised my palm and put it on his lips. “I’m not asking for the steering, Yara. I’m asking to be your first mate.”

“But you’re not made to be a first mate, Ryden. You like the steering wheel too much.” He sighed, shaking his head. “Let’s not talk about that. We both know that this”—I pointed between us, and he grabbed my finger in his hand with a low growl—“arrangement is only for sex.”

He bared his teeth, looking like he wanted to bite my head off for saying that. He pushed me further into the shelves, his eyes blazing with unsaid anger. “Sex.” Grunting, he rubbed his finger against me, making me moan. “You’re such a heartless bitch.” There was no heat in his words, but his eyes…

He tugged my hair with a growl.

“That mouth of yours, so sweet, and yet the words you say…” He pulled my hair again, looking straight into my eyes.

“You like my dirty mouth,” I said, stroking him.

“Yes, I do,” grunting, he pushed my hands above my head and held them there with one hand. His cock pressed against my stomach, and he continued to kiss my throat as if he couldn’t get enough of it, enough of me.

My whole body was made of pleasure nerves, and I felt his touch everywhere.

“I want you like nothing else I’ve ever wanted in my life.” His finger traced down my breast, and I moaned. Loud, shameless. Ryden’s eyes dilated, and he took a deep breath, as if he could smell the scent of my arousal in the air.

He pressed his hand against my breast, his fingers teasing my nipple, sending waves of pleasure straight to my pussy. It was almost impossible to stop myself from screaming. “Enough, Ryden. I want you.”

“Here?”

“Nobody’s coming. I locked the door,” I whispered, and his eyes gleamed in satisfaction.

“Want to play a game, then?” He lifted me and placed me down on my desk. Files spilled out of the desk when he made space for us, but I didn’t care.

“What game?”

“I’ll show you,” he said, pulling my panties down, before removing my dress until I was only in my bra and heels. He grabbed a scarf hanging on my chair and wrapped it around my eyes.

My heart thundered, and a soft sigh left my lips when his fingers circled my erect nipples, begging for his mouth. The sigh turned into a gasp when he removed my bra, and then his mouth was on me, suckling.

“Ryden?” I moaned when he pulled away from me, leaving me gasping for more. I heard him walk away from me. “What are you…” My words died when I felt the block of ice on my nipple. He must have taken it from my refrigerator. I screamed, and he laughed, his voice smug. The bastard was enjoying this.

“Do you love it?”

I nodded. “Yes.” His icy fingers went to my pussy, and I jerked back. “Do you love this?”

He’ll kill me. But I’ll die a very satisfied woman.

He bit my ear. “You’re perfect, Yara West. I love how your body reacts to me.” He kissed the side of my neck, my shoulder, the side of my breast. I felt everything tenfold now that I couldn’t see. The way his hands possessively rubbed over my body, the way his mouth was hot and fast and hard. This man was so fucking good at making my body dance to his erotic music.

It was slow, torturous. I wanted it to be fast and hard.

“Ryden…” I begged. But there was no sound. What was he looking for now? What would he do now?

“Ah!” His voice was victorious when he found whatever he was looking for.

“What?”

“I knew it. You carry it around in your purse. Your little toy.” I groaned when he walked closer to me. “Lie down,” he ordered. “Lie down, and do as I say, my dirty whore.” My lips parted as he thrust the vibrator inside my pussy. “Touch your breasts.” My hands went to my breasts, and he moaned. “Pinch those greedy nipples. Yes. Just like that. My good fucking girl.”

I trembled. The darkness in his voice caressed my skin. The speed of the vibrator increased, and he rubbed his fingers against my clit.

“Do you want to come, darling?”

I sobbed. I couldn’t form any words. My mind was empty.

“Not yet. We’ll find out how long you can last. That’s the game.”

“I don’t want to play this cruel game.” I wouldn’t last longer than a few seconds.

He dug his fingers into my thighs.

“Don’t talk back, Red.”

I gasped and buckled under him as he gripped my thighs tighter, keeping me in place. I could feel the heat of his stare, despite the blindfold. “What a pretty pussy. I want to live between your legs.”

“Ryden,” I moaned when he increased the speed, sending my body into a shock of pleasure and his tongue went to my clit, pressing, prodding.

“Scream my name, Yara.”

“What if someone hears?” I whispered, suddenly feeling bashful. This was my place of work.

“Let them hear. Let them know who you belong to,” he said, his voice filled with greed and possessiveness.

“Ryden. Aaahh.”

The vibrator stopped before I could explode, and he pulled it out of me. I shuddered when I felt his fingers replacing the toy. “Taste it.” He pressed his fingers to my lips, and I sucked his finger with a groan. His laughter was dark, indulgent.

“Little Killer?” I felt his cock rubbing against my opening, exploring.

“Yes.” He thrust his cock in, and it was the best possible feeling. “Faster,” I ordered. His moan mixed with mine as he moved in and out, fast, faster. I moved along, trying to find release. I was at the edge of a cliff of pleasure and desperate to fall.

My pussy went tight around him, and Ryden grunted, trying so hard not to come. But I didn’t want to wait anymore.

“I want to mark you.” He bit my shoulder as he increased his pace. “Claim you. Hurt you.”

“Do it.”

“Yara…” The scream that came out of him was so loud I was sure the whole building heard it.

His body trembled as we came together. When I removed my blindfold, Ryden was staring at me with something… something that made me want to run. I should have run…

But I stayed.