Ryker Fox
Lakeside Apartments
"So..what now?" I asked Dexter, trying hard to concentrate on the issue at hand. But all I could think about is Emma Riley outside, and if she's ever going to forgive me for bringing all this drama to her life.
Dexter sighed, before getting up from the kitchen table where we sat and walking over to the coffee pot to pour himself another.
"I thought it best to fill you in on everything going on before acting further. Now that I have, I say we contact her directly." He said with an irritation in his voice.
I rolled my eyes. "Contact her and say what?! 'We know what you did last summer?'" He scoffed at my sarcasm, but I wasn't really kidding. I felt furious, and totally violated. I had no interest in speaking to Sheila.
Dexter slowly walked back over to the table and returned to his seat wirh his freshly poured coffee as he spoke. "Look, she has to have an angle for all this. Revenge or money are the most likely options. But if we go to the police there's no turning back, it's all public. I want to see if there's a way to handle this quietly."
I shook my head at him and my eyes widened. "Surely you don't mean pay her off? Because that's not going to happen." I said, not being shy to show my annoyance. That was something I wasn't budging on. She's not getting a single cent from me.
"That's not what I'm saying, Ryker. If she really did develop some kind of feelings, maybe we can help her understand the severity of the situation. There will be consequences for her if we were to go to the police for this." He said, sipping his coffee.
I thought about what he said for a minute before I finally understood what it was he was saying. I nodded and pressed my lips together. "You mean intimidate her into letting it go?" I guessed. He shrugged, but I could tell I was right.
"What about what Gina said? About Sheila and Maria in this together..do you think there could be any truth to that?" I wondered out loud. My first guess would be, it's very possible. It would make more sense to me if Maria was the brains behind this. She just seemed much more likely to think of something like this than Sheila. I wouldn't be surprised if Sheila was her puppet.
He thought about it for a moment, before finally shrugging. "It's possible, I suppose." He hesitated, and narrowed his eyes in thought.
"But?" I prompted, guessing he had more to say than that. He sighed and wiped away sweat from his forehead.
"But..at this point it's just a theory. We know Sheila posted the video, but we know little else." He reasoned, his eyes filled with stress. "We have to be careful throwing around accusations of things we have no proof of. It could come back to bite us in the ass." He continued, picking up his coffee from the table.
I sighed, accepting his reasoning. He had a point about that. We couldn't drag Maria into it without proof she knew anything about it. I'm just not sure how to get that proof.
"So..what do you suggest?" I asked, urging him to get to a point. In the back of my mind, I was well aware Gina hadn't come back in with Emma, and it really bothered me. I wanted to know that all things considered, Emma Riley was okay.
He placed his hands on the table in front of him before speaking. "What I suggest is..we track down Sheila and confront her about what we know. Maybe she will be intimidated enough to tell us the whole story about why she did this and with who. If we let her know the possible legal consequences of her actions, maybe.." He shrugged and gestured towards me as if waiting for me to fill in the blanks. As if he had said all he needed to say.
I sighed, and put my hands over my face..letting my elbows rest on the table. "I suppose. I just..don't know if I want to talk to her." I admitted. At this point, I felt too angry to talk to her.
He thought about it for a moment before speaking. "Alright..so I'll talk to her by myself." He suggested while taking another drink of his coffee.
At this point, I was just ready to move on from this conversation and go find Emma Riley. I began to sit up and walk towards the front door. "Well, let me know how that goes." I called after him.
"Wait, Ryker." He called back to me just before I made it to the front door. I rolled my eyes and turned around to face him. I should have known it wouldn't be that easy to escape.
"What is it, Dex?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. He sighed, the stress still all over his face.
"You landing this role is more important than ever. We have to get the focus back on your craft, your talent. You only have a few days to learn that script, I suggest throwing all the energy you have into it. It's very important, Ryker." He warned, an irritation in his voice. I knew exactly what he was saying. 'Stop wasting all your time with Emma Riley and make an effort to save your own career.'
I nodded reluctantly, and Dexter followed behind me out the front door. "I'll call you when I have an update." He said as he began to walk towards his car in the parking lot. I had to admit, I was grateful he worked so hard to have my back. Even though he was a bit overbearing and annoying sometimes.
At long last, it was time to talk with Emma Riley, and see where her head was at. I had to be honest and say I was extremely nervous what she would say.
Emma Riley
"The fact of the matter is, you're in too deep to turn back now." Gina said to me bluntly. I knew what she meant, and I knew that she was right. As much as I should logically distance myself from Ryker, after all that's happened between us in the short amount of time we've known each other..I can't.
The problem is..I may feel that way, but it doesn't mean he does. I know he wants me, but that could change. What if at first it was the thrill of the chase and then it was the excitment of a being with someone new? He isn't exactly known for his long, meaningful relationships with women. What if old habits die hard, and he hurts me without even intending to?
What happens, when I become old news? I'm obviously not the first woman who's had these doubts and fears about Ryker Fox..where are those women now?
Another words...I'm in trouble. I've set myself up to potentially be really hurt, but as Gina said..'I'm in too deep' to do anything to prevent it.
I sighed, trying to figure out what to do now while Gina put her cigarette out. I shut my eyes for a moment, trying to calm my troubled mind. I was startled to open them just in time to spot Ryker walking up behind Gina.
There was a cautious look in his eyes, he sighed and furrowed his brow as if trying to find the right words to say.
Reading the tension in the air, Gina quickly began making an exit. "Well..I guess I'll go finish cleaning the kitchen and then I'm probably going to head to the salon for a few hours. You crazy kids don't kill each other." She winked at me as she walked past Ryker and into the house. I rolled my eyes, noting that subtly wasn't exactly her strong suit.
Suddenly, I found myself alone with Ryker, I wasn't sure if I was ready to face him, but it was too late now. He watched my expression before he broke the silence, his eyes full of remorse.
"I'm...not sure what to say." He finally admitted, nervously rubbing his neck. I sighed, realizing I didn't know what to say either.
"What happens now?" I finally wondered out loud. I wasn't just talking about the drama with the video, I was talking about with us. But I wasn't sure I was ready for the answer to that, so I didn't specify.
"Well..Dexter is going to talk with Sheila. See if he can--" He cut off mid-sentence, his face appearing like he was trying to figure out the best way to say what he was going to say next.
"He's going to see if he can intimidate a confession out of her?" I guessed, with skepticism in my voice. He thought for a moment, before finally nodding in agreement.
"I suppose you could say that. I think there might be something to what Gina said, about Sheila and Maria working together. It makes sense to me." He sounded as if he really didn't believe Sheila would do this on her own.
It was obvious by now how I felt about Maria, my ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend who happened to be cheating on him with the man I'm now interested in and has an attitude sent straight from hell. But this Sheila, I knew nothing about her.
Considering she apparently posted a private video of Ryker and I for the world to see, not to mention the jealousy I feel that she was also with Ryker..my first expression of her wasn't exactly a positive one. I had to admit to being curious though.
I found my thoughts and insecurities getting the best of me and I bit my lip, wondering if I should voice them. I usually don't have much of a problem saying what's on my mind, but I could already feel that I had grown attached to Ryker, and so part of me was afraid of starting an argument. Then again..the hurt and pissed off side of me kind of wanted to start an argument at the same time. Women..we're complicated creatures.
"Just say it." Ryker said plainly, pulling me out of my own thoughts. He seemed to have read my mind, and I stared at him for a moment on confusion.
"What?" I finally squeaked out. He smirked and shook his head as if I was missing something obvious.
"You're doing that thing again. The lip bite is a dead giveaway that the wheels are turning in your head. So whatever you're thinking..please, I want to know." His voice turned serious when he said he wanted to know, and part of him seemed to be trying to convince himself of it. There was a worry and weariness in his eyes.
"I sort of understand what it was with Maria. I mean..from what you told me." I spoke quietly and stared down at the ground, avoiding his staring eyes. "She was easy..someone who would show up whenever you called." I continued, trying to hide how hard this was for me to talk about.
I sighed and shut my eyes, trying to mentally prepare myself to ask a question I wasn't sure I wanted an answer to. His arms were folded across his chest, his lips pressed together. He appeared to be worried of where I was going with this, but trying to appear calm.
"I guess what I'm wondering is..why Sheila?" I finally rushed the sentence out, feeling the anxiety might kill me and impatient to get it out. His eyes widened in surprise.
"What is it about her that you had to have? Or is this just something you do?" I gestured around us and he looked even more confused. I rolled my eyes, though I knew it was unfair to be frustrated he couldn't read my mind.
"This! With us! Do you get a massive hard on for anything that comes near you with a vagina and your common fucking sense sort of just spontaneously combusts?!" By the end of the outburst I was shouting and part of me regretted saying anything in the first place, but my emotions had gotten the best of me.
I could feel my temperature rising as my anxiety was turning into anger, boiling to the point I couldn't control what I said or did. This was something along with the panic attacks that hadn't happened in a while, but it was sure as hell happening now.
Ryker had his mouth dropped open in shock and his eyes were fixated on me. I couldn't exactly read if he was angry, hurt, scared or what but I was too pissed off to care. I could feel myself shaking.
"How many other women do we have to worry about popping out of nowhere to ruin our fucking lives, huh? It's no wonder Dexter seems so damn stressed out all the time! Imagine working for someone who's constantly thinking with his dick and have to trail after him cleaning up his messes?" I found myself gasping for air towards the end of my rant, and I realized I hadn't been breathing. I had to find a way to calm myself down.
I looked him in the face for the first real time since my outburst, and his face was no longer unreadable. His skin had a red tint like he was overheated, the veins in his arms and neck defined. There was a fire behind in eyes that made it perfectly clear, he was pissed.
We stared at each other in an angry, tense silence for a few long moments. I was still hyperventilating, trying to catch my breath and calm myself down.
He broke the silence, speaking through gritted teeth and with an aggression that startled me. "Perhaps you'd like to finish this conversation inside, Miss Riley." His eyes didn't leave mine, and I noticed he was short of breath, too.
I flushed remembering we were outside, in public. I looked around me to see if any of my neighbours had happened to step outside and overheard my outburst.
I was startled when my gaze shifted back to Ryker and I found that he had stepped closer to me and his face was now inches from mine.
"It's not other people you should be concerned about right now, Emma. Get the fuck inside." His voice was hushed, but sounded like a command. Which only pissed me off more.
But something in his eyes made me hesitate to question him here, and I didn't want to make anymore of spectacle of myself than I already did.
So I shot him one last angry glare as I began to walk towards the house. I knew he was trailing behind me by the sound of his heavy breathing.
I wasn't quite sure what I had started, but it was too late to turn back now and was going to come in full force the moment we stepped through that door.
Ryker Fox
I slammed the door behind us once we stepped inside, which she turned around to glare at me for. I hadn't exactly meant to do it, it was the heat of the moment.
I began searching around the apartment. I could see from the corner of my eye Emma looking at me like I had lost my mind.
"What the hell are you doing?!" She said as I stood in front of her again, both confusion and irritation in her voice.
"I was making sure we were alone." I said, trying to control my temper. She rolled her eyes at me. "She said she was going to the salon, remember? So feel free to be a basket case in peace." She said sarcastically.
I did a double take and raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm sorry..you're calling me a basket case? What exactly are you then?" I pointed a finger at her and her mouth hung open as if I had offended her.
"That's not fair!" She exclaimed, the volume in her voice rising with her anger. She took a few steps closer to me, the tension caused the air in the room to feel stuffy and thick.
"You're right, it's not fair and I'm sorry about that! But you knew I had a past before anything happened between us." I pointed out, the sentence coming out like word vomit. She folded her arms in front of her chest, her green eyes narrowing like I had just pissed her off more.
"You still didn't answer my question. About Sheila." The way she said her name was like it left a bad taste in her mouth, her jealousy showing.
I mirrored her by crossing my arms and narrowing my eyes, locking them with hers. "Why don't you ask what you really want to know?" I challenged her. Her lips pressed together as she seemed to process my words.
For a moment, I thought she might deny knowing what I meant. Her honesty, once again catching me off guard. "Am I stupid for thinking what's happening between us is special? Or is this something you do with every woman you come across?" I could see the worry behind her anger, she shyly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
I sighed, my anger slightly calming with my need to comfort her. "Emma." She looked up at me by the sound of her name. Her green eyes burning into me, melting what was left of my anger.
"I've never had with anyone what I have with you." I spoke the sentence without thinking, lost in her eyes. But I meant every word. She looked at me skeptical, but I continued before she could protest.
"I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it, Emma. I'm many things, but dishonest has never been one of them. As shameful as it maybe, those women were all flings to me. I never even thought about actually dating any of them. I have experience in affairs, but not in dating." She eyed me wearily as I spoke. She appeared as though she wasn't sure how to react yet.
"You're like a fucking drug. I tasted you and now I can't stop. I want more of you. There's no room in my thoughts for any other woman. Not since I've met you." I admitted, suddenly feeling slightly vulnerable and awkward. I was never one for labels, but I had essentially just admitted I wasn't interested in seeing anyone else. Hell..I kind of admitted to being borderline obsessed with her.
I got the courage to make eye contact with her again and was caught me off guard when I saw a smirk on her face as she studied me.
"Tell me what you're thinking." I said, almost afraid to know. She bit her lip and looked down at the ground.
"You're blushing." She observed, pressing her lips together. The pink in cheeks gave away that she was blushing too, no matter how much she tried to hide her face.
"Blushing or not, that's the way I feel. I'm sorry about all this. I'm sorry that my past has managed to mess things up for you. You don't deserve to go through all this. I know that. I know..that you deserve better than a man like me." I brushed her hair out of her face, pulling her head up to look me in the eye. She looked up at me, and my eyes traveled down to her mouth.
"I want to be a man you deserve. I want to be better. But I need you to not give up on me. Not yet. Let me try to be worthy of you. Please, Emma." I wrapped my hand around her waist, hesitating because I was unsure how she would respond. When she didn't pull me away, I pulled her closer to me.
The moment her body pressed against mine her eyes widened and she gasped in surprise. "Seriously?!" Her eyes gestured downward and I shrugged as a grin spread across my face.
"What can I say, Miss Riley? It makes me rock hard when you put me in my place like that." I found my hands traveling to get a firm grip on her ass, my bulge through my pants rubbed up against her. Her mouth dropped open, her face flushed. She started to breath heavy once more, this time for a different reason.
My hands still had a grip on her ass, she closed her eyes shut and she spoke as if attempting to not lose focus. But her nails digging into my back gave away that she was getting turned on, too.
"I'm..s-s-sorry for the things I said. I mean..I meant them but, you were right. I already knew you had a past, and you didn't ask for your privacy to be violated. I just..lost my temper--" I cut her off mid-sentence as I took one hand off her ass and grabbed her hair to pull her into me, connecting my mouth to her neck.
"You're so damn hot when you get jealous." I nibbled at her neck with my teeth, teasing her while I pulled her hair. I could hear animal-like sort of growls and grunts coming from me, my aggression taking on a different form for a different reason.
A few weak moans escaped her lips before I drowned out them out when I pressed her lips to mine.
Before I knew it I tossed her on the couch, practically tackling her before she even had time to respond. Normally I would have taken this to the bed, but her bedroom seemed way too far away at the moment.
She gasped as I kissed her once more, as our kiss deepened I massaged my tongue with hers. I felt her melt beneath my touch. My hands couldn't get enough of her curves, my mouth..couldn't get enough of her kiss.
I will never get tired of this. She was both my greatest strength and my greatest weakness.
Emma Riley
I suddenly found myself making out on my living room couch with Ryker. How very teenager of me. Just a minute ago we were yelling like we wanting to kill each other, and now he was practically swallowing me whole.
Before I knew it, we had kicked off our shoes and he was pulling down my jeans. Are we seriously doing this right now? Are we ever going to be able to end a conversation with our clothes still on?
I gasped, breaking our kiss as I felt him slip his fingers inside me. My back arched and I distinctively threw my head back.
His fingers knew exactly where to go, exactly where I liked it. I bit my lip trying to hold in my moans, trying not to be too loud.
I was startled when I felt him wrap his free hand around my neck. "Oh no you don't. Don't you dare hold that in, I want to hear it." His fingers deepened inside me and a moan escaped my throat. "That's a good girl."
I heard the sound of something ripping and when I looked down to see what it was, I saw that he had ripped my white shirt to expose one of my breasts. I made a mental note to scold him for ruining my shirt later on when I'm not..you know, busy.
He growled as he grabbed the breast that was exposed and wrapped his mouth around it. I tilted my head back once more when I felt him take my nipple between his teeth. My moans became louder as the rhythm of his fingers inside me speeded up.
"Goddamn..you're really wet, baby." He growled it out before sucking my breast. I gripped the side of the couch with one hand and held onto a handful of his messy hair in the other. It was getting more and more intense by the minute but he showed no signs of slowing down.
"Someone's ready to be fucked." He said while buried his mouth into my neck. I nodded yes, feeling too turned on to talk. He chuckled.
"Not good enough. I want to hear it." He said as he brought his lips to mine. The delicious rhythm of his fingers slowed down and I grunted in protest, even kicking my feet in a mini hissy fit.
He laughed, breaking our kiss. Our eyes connected and something in his look was hungry, but there was a hint of affection and desire behind it.
"Tell me you want me to fuck you." He said it in a hushed and serious tone. His aggression still present, but there was a slight hesitation like he needed to hear it.
"I want you to fuck me." I said, overcome with my desire for him. He pulled me in for a kiss, and that was the last time we spoke before he gave me exactly what I wanted.
Ryker Fox
Don't ask me how because I don't quite remember..but somewhere in the midst of it we ended up naked and on the floor. We both laid there in each others arms afterward..trying to catch our breath. I wasn't sure how long it had been but we had yet to have the strength to move.
"Holy shit." Emma finally said, sounding winded. "It's like your penis contains magic 'pick-me-up' powers." She said bluntly.
We both found ourselves laughing, and it suddenly hit me how strange that was. We had every reason to be upset. But here we were, in each other's arms after a moment of passion..laughing. I tried to remember the last time I could laugh with someone like this, and quickly realized I couldn't.
She was laid on my chest, and I brushed her hair out of her face..which caused her to look up at me. I don't think I'll ever get over how beautiful she was.
"I want to take you out." I finally said. She seemed startled as she started to sit up. I smiled at her reaction. I hadn't meant to shock her so bad.
"Huh?" She said, as if not understanding what I mean. I sat myself up too and took her hand. She flushed as she looked down at her hand on mine.
"I want to take you out on a proper date. Just the two of us. Really get to know each other. It's about damn time, isn't it?" I smiled at her, though I felt a bit nervous. Let's just say it's been a while since I even thought about asking a girl on a date.
She seemed to be thinking it over, and bit her lip. I broke the silence when the suspense felt too much for me to bear.
"So what do you say...do you want to go out with me?"
Author's note: If you enjoyed this chapter, please don't forget to vote! :)