CHAPTER NINE
Riley
My phone began ringing just as I busted out a fresh box of cereal. Since it was the middle of the day, Ann-Marie was at work, leaving me home all alone. That meant the plan was Netflix and napping on the couch until my shift at the bar started. Oh, and trying not to think about Xavier.
I left the cereal box on the counter and went into my room to check the phone. My heart did a flip and flew all the way into my throat. It was him. Calling me the same day I’d left his penthouse.
Did I do something wrong? Did I not lock the door on my way out? Did he come home and see I’d looked in the box under his bed?
It was the middle of the day and Xavier was probably extremely busy. He couldn’t be checking in just to see how I was doing.
With my heart pounding away, I pressed the answer button. “Hello?”
“Can you meet me at the club?” His voice sounded tight and anxious. The pounding in my chest transformed into an even more extreme form of worry. Something was definitely not right.
“When? Tonight?”
“No, right now.”
I paused, but really, I already knew what I would say. After the night before, there was no hope of me ever being able to say no to Xavier Fields again. “Sure. I’ll leave in a few. Is everything all right?”
“Yes… yes, everything is fine. Did you have a good time last night?”
His question drizzled my body in warmth. “Yeah, I had a great time.”
“So did I. Should I send a car to pick you up?”
“No, thanks. I’ll just leave now and take the train.”
By the time I arrived at Enigma, I was even more confused than I’d been when Xavier called me. In one second, I went from thinking I might never hear from the man again to having him call me up and ask to see me the afternoon after our first date.
I tried the club’s front door, just on the off chance that it was unlocked, and found it giving under my touch. I tentatively made my way down the short hall, my footsteps obnoxiously echoing the whole way.
The second door opened before I had a chance to touch it. Xavier stood there in front of me, dressed in a suit and looking even better than I remembered him. His deep purple tie was loosened, and his hair pushed up in the middle, like he’d been running his hands through it. The sight of him looking professional yet undone ignited a fire between my legs.
“Hi,” he said.
I had to take a fresh breath before responding. Xavier looking so good had my body forgetting how to breathe on its own. “Hey.”
He stepped out of the way and allowed me to enter. Enigma seemed like a different place with no one else around. The stage and couches sat lonely, waiting for people to come and fill them up.
“Have a seat,” Xavier offered, gesturing to the bar.
I settled into a spot on the end. It felt almost like dèjá vu, sitting in the same space as when I’d first seen Xavier. That was only a few nights before, but it already seemed like it happened in another lifetime. He was a stranger then, and now he was… well, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t completely know him yet, but I did feel tied to him in a strange, and probably dangerous, way.
The danger part both scared and thrilled me. My time with Xavier had been amazing, but I also felt afraid because I didn’t know what was coming next. That fear kept me on my toes. It kept me wanting more.
“You often come here this early?” I asked, setting my backpack on the floor. I’d brought my work clothes with me in case I didn’t have time to run home before my shift started. It looked like I wouldn’t be getting that nap in, but I was okay with that. A little bit of time spent with Xavier was absolutely worth it.
Xavier opened his mouth, then hesitated. “No,” he tartly replied. “Not usually. I had some business to tend to here. I didn’t have to rush back to the office, and I thought… about you.” His eyes settled on mine, sending electricity shooting across my skin.
I spoke without thinking. “I was thinking about you too.”
My own declaration sounded so emotional compared to his. I bit down on my tongue to prevent myself from saying anything else too revealing. But Xavier didn’t seem to mind. His lips pursed like he was trying not to smile.
“That’s exactly what I needed to hear.”
I cocked my head and studied him — really studied him for the first time since getting to Enigma. I couldn’t properly explain it, but there was a story in his eyes. He was pained or upset about something. Had he been like this the night before? Had I just not noticed?
“Is everything all right?”
He blinked so hard it was almost a flinch. “What do you mean?”
“I… just wondering. It kind of seems like something might have happened.”
“No,” he said, his voice projecting confidence again. “Everything is fine. I just wanted to see you. Is there something wrong with that?”
He stepped closer and pressed his broad hand against the small of my back. Heat exploded in my core, and all thoughts and musings left me. My brain became a melted mess. All I knew and understood was Xavier’s touch.
My eyes drifted closed as he dropped his face to my neck. “Have you been thinking about my hands on you?” he whispered in my ear.
“Yes,” I nearly moaned. My knees started to shake. I’d lost all control of my body. It was a good thing I was already sitting down because I doubted I could handle standing in that moment. Xavier’s free hand dropped to my stool. There was a sharp scraping noise as he pulled it toward him. His legs brushed against the outside of mine, locking me in. Teeth gently pressed into the skin of my neck. Releasing myself to what was happening, I closed my eyes the rest of the way as pleasure flooded my body.
Xavier’s fingers pushed under my t-shirt and worked their way up my back, carving a delicious path. I tilted my chin upwards and met his lips. His kiss came on strong and hot, almost like an attack. It was exactly what I wanted. I was pounding with desire, so close to feverish that sitting there in my clothes was becoming painful.
As we kissed, I dug my fingers into Xavier’s shirt and pulled at his tie. He grabbed my bottom lip between his teeth and tugged. A moan slithered out of me, a noise unlike any I’d ever made. Every time Xavier touched me, my whole body responded. It wasn’t just the place where we made skin on skin contact that I felt pleasure. It was a whole body sensation. When just one of his fingers grazed my skin, each one of my nerves screamed with joy. It was no wonder he’d been on my mind nonstop all morning. There was no one like Xavier Fields. And there never would be.
Xavier’s kiss became more frantic as he pulled my t-shirt over my head and tossed it to the floor. The unlocked front door briefly rose in my mind, but a second later, it disappeared. Xavier’s mouth had found my bra, and his teeth bit one of my nipples through the fabric. I pressed his head closer to my chest and arched my back.
Two strong hands locked onto my waist and lifted me away from the chair. With one swift move, Xavier deposited me on top of the bar. My legs hung over the side and my heels kicked against the wood. Xavier stood up straight and undid the button and zipper on my jeans. Two fingers slipped through the opening and pressed against my panties. Pleasure filled me, wild and unrelenting. I pawed at Xavier’s shirt, eager to undo the buttons and get my hands on the tight muscles that waited for me there.
“You’re feisty,” Xavier breathlessly said. “I knew you would be.”
“Only with you,” I gasped. Once more, it was probably a more revealing statement than I would make if I were in a right mind, but in that moment, I was nowhere close to sane.
“I’m going to do so much to you,” Xavier said in a low voice, like it was more to himself than to me.
I briefly stopped grabbing at him. “Like tie me up?”
His eyes flashed with pleasure. “You’re asking for it?”
“I found your box. The one under your bed.” I realized how the news sounded, and quickly tried to backtrack. “I wasn’t going through your stuff. My bra was under the bed and...”
“You liked it,” he said in a darker tone. He didn’t sound displeased, though. He was excited. Thrilled, maybe. I could see it on his face.
Xavier’s mouth tackled mine again, his tongue forcing its way across my own. He went back to my pants, pulling them off and dropping them on the floor. The second they were fully removed, he pushed my panties to the side. One finger slipped inside of me and probed my entrance. His touch deep in me sent me over the edge. While we kissed and he fingered me, I ran my hands over the bulge in his pants. Frantically, I unbuckled the belt and released Xavier’s pulsing length.
The heat coming off his dick was so strong I could swear it nearly burned my palm. I stroked the underside of it, enjoying the silkiness. Xavier rummaged in his pocket and pulled something out. There was a crinkling, and a few seconds later, he had a condom on.
We didn’t skip a beat. Xavier pushed into me with perfect precision, stretching my walls and sending pleasure rippling through me. Fast stroke after fast stroke hit me. My bare ass slid along the wooden bar, and my shoes hit its side with heavy thuds. I opened my mouth as wide as I could, accepting Xavier’s tongue on mine as easily as I accepted his thrusts.
His hands made their way down my back to grip the top of my ass. He held onto me so tightly that it began to pain. Oddly enough, it wasn’t uncomfortable, though. It was perfect. Everything about what was happening was wild and almost… violent. I felt like an animal. I felt like I wasn’t even in control of my own body. I’d let loose in a way I never had before.
Xavier’s mouth broke away from mine and found my shoulder. He buried his teeth in the meatiest part there and sucked hard. I let my head fall back as a groan ripped through me. The pleasure in me spun like a ball of fire. His hands still on my rear, Xavier pushed his whole weight against me as he thrust, jarring our bodies from the force. I sealed my eyes shut and exploded.
The pleasure went on and on, shooting into my toes and stealing my breath as orgasms racked through me, one on top of the other. Xavier groaned and tensed. I felt the jerking of his length deep in me, and then his heavy exhale against my neck.
He slowly leaned back and looked at me. “That’s just what I needed.”
My heart tightened. “I thought you said nothing was wrong.”
In a millisecond, his face went from relaxed to guarded, like he slipped a mask on. “Nothing’s wrong. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t need this.”
I nodded. “All right.”
The twisting in my chest was still there. Xavier was hiding something. His face might have been cool and passive, but pain and fear existed in his eyes. For the second time in five minutes, I was reminded of animals. When they were hurt, they were the most afraid. The most aggressive.
Xavier gingerly pulled away from me, picked up my pants, and handed them over. “Do you want to go get cleaned up?”
My tongue felt thick as I answered. “Sure.”
Going into the women’s bathroom, I wiped myself off with paper towels and splashed cool water on my face. I knew I shouldn’t be concerned over Xavier not sharing everything with me. Jesus, we’d only met a few days before. I didn’t expect his life story or his deepest, darkest secrets.
But it was the way that he so easily claimed nothing was wrong that got to me. His response seemed almost reflexive, like he would have given it no matter what I asked. Even though I inquired in such a casual way, he still couldn’t be honest with me. Healthy, well-adjusted people shared things about their lives. And not just with the women they were having sex with. With everyone. It was just a normal thing to do. Xavier’s resistance to sharing anything was a warning sign, and I knew it.
And yet it still didn’t matter. The man waiting for me outside that bathroom had already snared me in his trap. Just like I’d been afraid of, I’d been captivated and seduced. There was no getting away until he made the decision and cut the thread.