Chapter 9 - Ryker

I clenched my back teeth as my formal name spilled from her lips. She didn't have a fucking clue what was going on, but her submission was about to land her under me. I'd give her some damned waves to ride.

"Get the fuck on, Penn," Domenico barked.

Thank fuck he couldn't see my face. He'd have me shot and buried so fast, Willow's legs would still be black and blue.

I winced again as I looked at her legs. They were perfectly shaped. Her hips plush enough to grip and not hit bone. Her legs would look fucking fantastic around my waist.

"Mr. Penn?" Willow said softly. Her eyelids fluttered as if she were getting ready to open her eyes again.

I growled at her.

They lay still once more.

Fuck. I needed to get her moving and get the fuck out of here. She was bad for my wellbeing. "Okay, Willow, put your hands on my waist." Did I really need her touching me to maneuver her body? No. But no one else needed to know that.

Her hands lifted slowly, a furrow tugged at her brow.

"A little higher." I think you meant a little lower, my inner deviant said. Shut the fuck up. I'm not really in the mood to be disemboweled today.

Great, this woman has turned me into a schizophrenic. Or is it split personalities? Either one, I'm going crazy. Legitimately this time.

Her small hands settled softly on my hip bones. Her fingers flexed into my body for a brief second. "Is this good?"

No. Lower. "Yes." I bit my cheek. This whole experiment was based on my knowledge of muscle memory and distraction. Let's get the shitshow moving. "So when you called me Thor last night, were you thinking that I looked like Chris Hemsworth or someone hotter?" I took a small step back as I talked to her.

She followed my motion as her mouth quirked up at the corner. "Chris Hemsworth is out of even your league, Ryker."

My fingers bit into her jaw. "That was rude." I wanted to turn her over my knee. Out of my league. That was the biggest load of bullshit I'd ever heard. The man was a pansy compared to me.

Her lips parted the smallest degree as my fingers tightened on her jaw. Her lashes fluttered as her eyes flicked from side to side under the thin veil of her lids. Her mouth ticked up. "Uh oh. Should I offer to kiss it and make it better?" One brow rose high.

Domenico growled. "You're not kissing anything. Neither is he."

I lowered my voice as I took another step back. "Anytime you want to kiss it, you just let me know, pet." She followed after me.

She snorted. Right in my face. Her eyes closed, her hands on my hips, she rebuffed me. Her nose wrinkled. "Nah." She lifted her face slightly. "Now if you had Chris Hemsworth available, maybe." She tipped her head to the side. "Probably. A good, definite probably on that one."

I growled at her. "That's two, pet." I took another step back.

"Two what?" Her steps were hesitant and stiff, but we were making progress.

"Two times you've insulted me. In less than two minutes even."

She shrugged. "I'm sorry your ego is so flimsy. You might want to work on that." She wet her bottom lip, eyes still closed.

I narrowed my eyes at her. Flimsy ego? I'd earned every part of my ego, little girl. "So when you suggested I put you in my bed or yours, did you have any preference?"

Her brow furrowed again. "I never said that."

I stopped walking. "Open your eyes."

Her mossy green irises greeted me in an instant. I searched their depths. "You really don't remember, do you?"

She tilted her head to the side. "What am I supposed to be remembering?"

I tried a different track. "What's the last thing you remember before waking up in my penthouse."

She rolled her eyes. "You sound incredibly pretentious when you say it that way. My penthouse." She dropped her voice into what I was assuming was supposed to be an imitation of me. She shook her head. "I remember escaping the bathroom at the hospital when...he came in and had Tali removed." She looked over my shoulder. Looked back at me. "Why?"

"You don't remember me saving you from the...him?" I studied her.

Her eyes widened. She shook her head. "No. How did you do that?"

I shook my head.

She squeezed her hands at my hips. "Tell me."

I narrowed my eyes at her.

She smiled prettily. "Please."

Fuck. She's not allowed to smile again. Ever. I told her what happened.

Her eyes were wide and her mouth made the most tempting O I'd ever seen. My dick would fill it quite nicely. But I also wanted to taste it. Taste her. Write her flavor on my mind. Write my name in her flesh with my whip. "You don't remember any of that, but you remember that you called me Thor?"

She blinked a few times. Nodded her head, her brow furrowed. "Why would I only remember that part?" She looked up at me, sage green eyes wide.

I shook my head. Part of me was thankful she didn't remember any of the rest of it. I'd made an ass out of myself flirting with her as we'd climbed down those stairs.

But another part of me, a part I rarely acknowledged, was pissed it had been wiped from her memory. One of the few times I behaved like a real live human and the only witness doesn't remember it.

I shook my head again. "It doesn't matter. Close your eyes. We're almost there."

Her lids slammed shut immediately.

"And I'm almost a century old. Hurry the fuck up, Penn. We still need to get to the DA's office before it closes," Domenico said.

I rolled my eyes. The man was bossy. And whiny with it. The business day had officially started an hour ago. We weren't exactly racing daylight right now.

"Ever been dancing?" I asked Willow.

She shook her head. Nodded.

I laughed. "Which one, pet?"

"It depends on what kind of dancing you're talking about."

"Formal?" I retreated another step, forced her to join me in movement.

She nodded.

"Club?"

She shook her head. "I've tried, it just looks like I'm a decapitated chicken in death throes."

I burst into laughter.

A soft smile bloomed on her face. Her head tilted to the side. "You should laugh more. It's beautiful."

My mirth eased. "Can't do that. I've got a rep to uphold."

She snorted. "Real bad boy, huh?"

Déjà vu slapped me in the face. Hard. "Yeah. Terrified mothers on reference to prove it."

"I don't know that bad boys help strangers walk across their apartments."

"I'm on a redemption kick."

She lost her smile. "Then you need to save it for someone else. You won't get enough points from helping me." She lowered her face, dislodging my hands.

"You think I'm that much of a lost cause, huh?" I asked her softly.

Her eyes flew open, horror written on her face. "No. No, that's not what I meant at all." She studied me for a moment.

I barely kept the smile off my face.

She pinched my hip. "That was a horrible thing to do."

I moved my hands to fully frame her face. I caught her gaze with mine, let her see my sincerity. "I think helping angels qualifies for pretty high points."

She lowered her gaze to my chin. "If I find one, I'll send her your way."

"I think I've already found her." Fuck. I had to get out of here. I didn't know what it was about this woman, but she kept twisting me in knots. And she didn't notice or care.

Willow's stomach protested loudly.

I smiled again. "And look, all done." As if I'd removed earplugs, I could hear everyone else in the room again. They were talking amongst themselves as if it were Sunday fucking dinner. I'd been able to block them out. Completely.

I eyed the woman who'd let me guide her across a room essentially blind.

She opened her eyes. Looked around. When she looked back up at me, she had a look of stunned disbelief on her face. "How?"

I leaned down, put my lips by her ear. She smelled sweet. Like cookies and woman. "Like I said, I know a thing or two about bodies...and pain."

When I straightened and looked back at her face, her pupils had dilated wildly. They were so blown out it looked like she had no green around the black hole of her iris.

I watched her tongue flick out and wet her lower lip as her gaze dropped to my mouth. A soundless sigh escaped her lips before she lifted her gaze back to mine.

I raised a single brow as I waited for her to speak.

"Holy cannoli." She blew out a deep breath. "Can I make you cupcakes?"

My brain short circuited.

Wait. What?

Cupcakes?

Where the hell did that come from?