What They Deserve

EIGHT

He waited until the last possible minute before leaving to go pick Raven up. If he was right, she was anticipating his arrival. Why not make her wait it out? Make her sweat a little? Anything he could do to keep her on her heels, panting after him, would help him get closer to his intentions.
         
The door whipped open almost as soon as he finished knocking. Her face was flushed and her words came out in a hushed breath. “Hi.”
          
Giving her a smirk that went unnoticed, he made no move to hug her and watched as she shifted to move forward and raise her arms. When she realized he wasn't going to touch her, she switched directions and made it look as if she had planned to smooth out her hair all along.
          
“Hi. Are you ready?” He didn’t bother to hide the amusement in his voice.

She nodded her head. “Yeah.”
          
As she came out and turned to lock her door, he moved aside, watching her every move. Despite her normal calm and confidence, he noticed a slight shake to her fingers as she twisted the key in the lock. Once she spun around toward him with a weak smile, he offered her his arm along with a dashing smile for show.
          
Just as he expected, she blushed and bowed her head down, almost as if she were shy. It wasn’t too surprising that she was reacting this way. There had been plenty of other women, just as cold as her, that had done just the same. After slipping her arm through his, he led her to the waiting cab and helped her in.
          
He told the driver where to go and settled back, allowing Raven to lean against him. It took her a few seconds before she pulled her hair to one shoulder, let out a soft sigh, and rested her head against his shoulder.

He knew this was all part of her attempt to begin her flirting and teasing. Little did she know, it wasn’t going to work. At least not how she expected it to, not in her favor. She wouldn’t realize any of this for a while, of course, but her day was coming.
          
To kill the silence between them and keep her from getting too comfortable, he began some small talk - the weather, his favorite animals, just whatever popped into his head. 

Not used to this ritual, she sat up with a confused expression and struggled with carrying on the conversation. Simple questions stumped her because they weren’t topics she ever thought about. They weren't things she cared to ask anyone about.
          
The cab stopped in front of a large building with multi-colored flashing lights. The muffled sound of the booming music could be heard before they even got out of the vehicle. A line of people stood against the wall, dressed in various apparel, smoking and talking. One woman slurred her words into her phone and almost stumbled to the concrete ground. Giggles erupted from her even as the electronic device skittered a few feet away. Several people rushed to help her while the others remained where they stood, just watching or snickering.

With an assertive attitude, he led the way past all of this, to the front where they were ushered in. Between the smell of alcohol and body odor, he was grateful for the overpowering perfume Raven had spritzed on herself. Even though he didn’t want to have her clinging to him while they were there, and he knew that was going to happen, this would be an excuse to make it a bit more tolerable.
          
They went further inside, passing a large bar that took up one side of the massive room, and went straight to the dance floor. There wasn't much space with all the other bodies dancing and writhing around. 
          
It was no surprise when Raven began to grind against him. Without thinking, he rolled his eyes and was grateful that she was facing away from him for the moment. She moved her body in a seductive way and trailed her hands wherever she thought it would turn him on. The looks she gave him would set fire to any man’s loins, but he had spent so much effort in keeping focused on his end goal that it was natural to him now to have no feelings, no response. But to make her believe that she had an effect on him, he placed his hands on her hips and matched her movements. He even gave her the same kinds of expressions the other men around them were giving their partners. When she looked at him, she had an air of self-confidence that annoyed him further. She was shedding the shy shell and showing her true colors.
          
Keep thinking you’re running the show. You’ll find out just how wrong you are. Soon.
          
The music continued to blare song after song, never seeming to cease for a second. And the people continued to dance around them, breaking for seconds to grab a quick drink or go outside for a smoke just to be replaced with another body.

This wasn’t something he enjoyed. But none of the dates he ever took his victims on was. 

Raven seemed to be having the time of her life as she pulled and tugged at him every time he tried to step away. She’d flash him a sexy, pleading look before molding her body against his. Head pounding and he feeling drained, he kept telling himself he had to bear with it. This was all part of the plan.

Time was lost to them. He didn't know how late it was when he managed to get her out of the club to take her home. But her eyes were heavy from drinking and he was sure she was more tired than she let on. Her movements had slowed down and become less aggressive.
          
When they got to her door she turned to him with a woozy smile. He felt as if she was giving him a challenge and he wasn’t the type to back down. 
          
After gritting his teeth, he leaned in fast. It took her by surprise, but she got over it and made the kiss as enticing as she could. He ran his fingers through her hair and gave it a gentle tug. She's lucky I don't yank as hard as I want to.
          
Oblivious to his musings, she thought it was fun and games. A soft moan escaped her lips as she pushed herself into him. He moved forward, causing her to stumble back a little. As he deepened the kiss, he slid his hands down to her wrists, giving a slight squeeze.
          
Raven yelped in surprise when he pinned her against the front door, his grip on her wrists a little tighter than necessary and his body pressed into hers. The kiss went on until she moaned again, his hold loosening as he backed off a little.
          
This time she whimpered and grasped for him to come back to her. But he stepped away and gave her a smirk.
          
There are some things you can't be in charge of.
          
“Goodnight.” Using a stern, yet suggestive tone, he broke all physical contact with her.

She muttered goodnight, not bothering to hide her anger with him and let her door slam shut behind her. 

His smile turned to one of pleasure.