Strip Me Bare (22 page)

“Do you remember when you wanted a tattoo,”
he asks, “but wouldn’t get it because of your father?”

“Yes, so you drew one on me in permanent
marker,” I giggle. “It took a week to wash off.”

“I’m glad you didn’t get it,” he says,
tracing an infinity symbol with the tip of his finger at the base
of my neck.

“Why? I thought body art was your favorite
type of expression,” I tease, recalling a conversation we had a
lifetime ago.

“It is, but your skin is just too beautiful
to mark up,” he kisses my shoulder and the heat from his mouth
electrifies down my body. He grabs both of my wrists and pulls them
up over my head; his full weight now on top of me. I can’t move as
he restrains me; my heart racing at 110 mph. With one hand holding
my wrists, he slides the other underneath me and cups one of my
breasts.

“You drive me fucking crazy, you know that?”
he asks as he digs his erection into me.

Arching underneath him, I lift my ass to see
just how crazy I can make him. He moans loudly as he dry humps me
from behind. The sound does wild things to me. Letting go of my
wrists, he sits up and slides his boxers off, the mattress dipping
underneath his knees. Then sweetly and softly, Ryan kisses my back
as he slides my panties over and inserts one finger inside me,
bringing my whole being to life.

With one arm he holds me down as he coaxes
and coerces my body with the other, pushing it to the limit. And
after a few long, hard, heat-inducing minutes he withdraws, just
before he flips me right over the edge.

With my arms still stretched over my head and
my breathing heavy, Ryan crawls on top of me. Spreading my legs
open with his, he surges into me without any warning, the rush
causing me to gasp as I clutch the sheets and press my forehead
firmly against the mattress. Hooking one arm underneath me he
slightly lifts my hips, then begins to move exactly the way he
dances; passionately, keenly, instinctively feeding my body exactly
what it needs. Exactly what its craving. Devouring each pull and
every push.

As I listen to his tortured sighs and feel
his slick skin slide across mine, my mind goes blank, and there is
only Ryan. Inside me, on top of me, suffusing every part of me.

He tangles his hand in my hair and tugs,
gently pulling my head back, “I want to be the only one who touches
you like this,” he rasps in my ear, sending my body and my emotions
spinning out of control. I’m a hot spring of yearning as my climax
builds deep within my core. Aching and throbbing, I’m desperate for
every inch of him. Then, with one hard thrust he snaps me like a
rubber band and I choke out my orgasm as he pulls harder on my
hair.

“Alana,” Ryan groans as he finds his own
release; constricting his arm tighter around me, rendering me
still. Then he collapses on top of me, his breath hot and heavy
against my back.

“You’re so fucking incredible,” he says as he
wraps himself around me.

“You may have told me once or twice,” I
giggle languidly.

“I’ll tell you for the rest of your life if
you’ll let me.” He hugs me tighter.

I will.

Ryan locks the door to the B&B and slips
the key back into his jean pocket, just as Emily emerges from
behind some hanging beads with a big, buff blonde guy in tow. She
freezes when she sees Ryan and me, with an expression on her face
that looks like she’s just been caught with her hand in the cookie
jar.

“Don’t tell Alex,” she says
automatically.

Ryan and I just glance at each other. “Hey,
what happens in the dance quarter stays in the dance quarter,” Ryan
tells her with a surrendering hand gesture.

“We were just having a bit of fun,” Mr.
Hawaiian Tropic says lightly, a hot Australian accent flowing out
of his mouth.

“Is that like your mantra or something?” I
ask, recalling Ryan telling me the same thing when we were in one
of those little rooms.

“Nah, just the truth,” he smiles, his green
eyes twinkling.

I hook one of my arms with Emily’s and start
walking down the hallway. “So, how was the Thunder from Down
Under?” I ask highly amused.

“It’s Logan, and,” she rolls her eyes back,
“amazing.”

I can’t help but laugh aloud, clutching her
tightly.

“Where were you?” she asks curiously; I know
she saw us coming out of that room.

“The Chamber of Secrets,” I laugh.

“Excuse me?” Emily raises an eyebrow.

“It’s a conversation for another time,” I
hint.

“Is it a one scoop or two scoop
conversation?” she asks intrigued.

I sigh, “It’s like a four scoop
conversation.”

Her eyes go wide.

Right before we get into the main room of
Culture, I hear Logan mutter something to Ryan as they walk behind
us.

“She
is
my girlfriend,” Ryan responds
and I turn my head. Logan is looking at me with an amused
expression.

“So you’re the one who tamed Jack the
Stripper.”

“The definition of tame must be different in
Australia,” I joke, “because the last thing Ryan is, is tame.”

“Compared to what he used to be like he
is.”

Ryan punches Logan in the arm, “I don’t think
Alana needs to hear anymore about it.”

“Nor does she want to,” I add dryly. I like
living in blissful ignorance.

“Hey, I’m just saying, you must be one hell
of a woman.”

I glance at Ryan, he’s straight-faced, but
there’s a gleam in his eye, “She is.”

When we get back to the VIP room, it’s close
to 2 AM. Jill is passed out cold on the couch and there are a few
make out sessions going on. Sean is in the corner trying to hit on
one of Jill’s friends and he looks close to sealing the deal.

It’s a regular bordello in here.

“Does your brother hang out here often?” I
ask Ryan.

“Occasionally,” he answers, looking at the
same thing I am. Sean in action. Now that he’s not heckling me, I
notice he looks skinnier then the last time I saw him. His clothes
are baggier and his face is thin. He’s still beautiful though, just
like Ryan. “The best is when he gets mistaken for me.” Ryan’s eyes
sparkle mischievously. “I’m not the only Pierce who’s donned a
stripper pole.”

“No way.” I gape at Ryan.

“Swear to God.”

“Now that’s a show I would pay to see.”

“I wouldn’t let you.” Ryan snakes his arm
around me possessively and nuzzles his nose in my hair. The gesture
giving me the most sensitizing kind of chills.

“Relax, I could never mistake Sean for you.”
I kiss him tenderly, running my tongue along his bottom lip.

“Good. Because I would have to kill him if he
tried anything stupid with you.” And there’s a flash of warning in
his eyes.

“I don’t think he’d do that.” I try to pacify
him. I don’t like that look one bit.

“With Sean you never know.” He digs his
fingers into my flesh and kisses me so hard it feels like he’s
trying to brand his name onto my lips. “I’m going to go get my
things and have a quick conversation with Daniel.”

“Who’s Daniel?” I ask woozy, trying to
recover from that imperious kiss.

“The owner who approached me about Vegas. I
want to tell him I’m in.”

A little stab of reality hits me when Ryan
says the word
in
. We’re really going to do this.

“Okay, go. I’ll be fine. Do what you have
to.”

Ryan’s face lights up with a huge smile. “I
am going to make you so happy,” he grabs my chin gently.

“You already make me happy,” I breathe, just
before he brings his mouth to mine again.

“Don’t disappear,” he orders seductively.

“That’s not my MO,” I jest.

“Mine either. Not anymore.”

“Nope, not anymore,” I agree, suddenly love
struck. Ryan is undoubtedly the person I want to spend the rest of
my life with.

I watch Ryan walk out of the room, all hot
bod and sexy confidence. Then I lean over the railing of the
balcony near the wall, watching the club dance with life.

“Ryan left you all by your lonesome?” Sean
asks from my right side. His voice sounds exactly like Ryan’s.

“He’s just getting his things. Where’s your
mark?”

“My mark?” Sean raises his eyebrows and I
notice his pupils are teeny tiny.

“Yeah, Jill’s friend who looked like she was
begging you to bend her over in a bathroom stall.”

“Dirty mouth,” Sean jibes. “You should eat a
piece of Orbitz.”

I roll my eyes, even though I sort of want to
laugh.

“I only
look
prim and proper, people
can have many sides.”

“Don’t I know it.”

“Then why do you keep treating me like you
can’t see past the surface?”

Sean doesn’t answer; he just stares fixated,
like his mind is wandering other places.

“Are you always so controlled?”

“What?”

“Uptight, you always seem so uptight.”

“I’m not that uptight, my boyfriend is a
stripper,” I argue.

“Maybe,” Sean shrugs considering, “but I
don’t think I buy that. I’ve watched you, you’ve been drinking all
night, off doing God knows what with my brother and yet here you
are completely composed, not one strand of hair out of place.”

“I’m poised, what can I say? It’s the way I
was brought up.”

“Do you want to unwind?” Sean asks
randomly.

“Unwind how?” I ask, and somehow I already
know the answer is going to be with something illegal.

Sean holds his hand up and there’s a tiny
pill between his thumb and index finger.

“What’s that?”

“X,” he answers, and my heart pounds.
No
way
am I taking that.

Sean and I stare eye to eye, him egging me
on.

“What does that number mean on your neck?” I
ask.

“It’s the number of days Ryan spent in jail,”
Sean says without blinking, still holding the little white pill up
to my face.

“Why did you let him do it?”

Sean’s eyes glaze over with a detached
glare.

“Because I’m weak,” he answers candidly, and
I’m absolutely floored by his honesty.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Ryan growls,
causing Sean and I to both snap our heads in his direction.

“Nothing, bro. Just trying to chill your girl
out,” Sean says.

“She doesn’t need to be chilled out,” Ryan
grabs me and pulls me behind him. “And what are you doing with that
junk?”

“It’s nothing,” Sean tries to play it
off.

“It’s not nothing!” Ryan yells and I flinch,
I’m not used to him raising his voice. “You get popped with that
shit you go to jail. You’re on probation dickhead.”

“For your information jagoff, I was released
last week.”

“And you’re right back to your old
bullshit!”

“It’s one little pill, it’s harmless.”

“It’s not the one little pill I’m worried
about, it’s the bag of little pills I’m sure you have stuffed in
your pocket,” Ryan snaps. “And keep that crap away from Alana! What
the fuck are you thinking?!”

He
’
s not.

“She wasn’t going to take it; she’s too
good
for that.”

I’m trying to figure out if that was a dig or
not. Sean is hard to read sometimes.

“You’re goddamn right she’s too good, she’s
too good for any of this,” Ryan fumes.

“Don’t you mean she’s too good for
you,”
Sean leans into Ryan’s face provokingly, “Finally
seeing the forest for the trees, brother?”

Suddenly Ryan’s fist is flying through the
air. I hear the
whack
as he clocks Sean right in the mouth,
putting him on his ass, and then he goes after him.

Holy shit!

Sean and Ryan brawl relentlessly, throwing
one vicious punch after the other; blood splattering all over the
shiny square table and white leather couch and poor comatose Jill.
It looks like a crime scene. Then in one great rush every guy in
the room swarms around them, eventually pulling them apart. Sean’s
lip is bleeding and so is Ryan’s eye.

“Get him out of here!” Ryan shouts and it
doesn’t even sound like him. His voice is hoarse and hostile, and I
wonder if I‘m getting a glimpse of a past Ryan, one who had to
fight for his life for three long years.

He rips his arms free from the two dancers
holding him back, as Sean is dragged out of the room. Everyone is
staring at Ryan with wide eyes and gaping mouths. Ryan snatches my
hand and hauls me outside, pulling me down the dark hallway until
we reach two steps that lead to
another
camouflaged door.
Geez, there are secret entrances all over this building. He tows me
inside then slams the door behind him; squeezing the shit out of my
hand the whole time.

“Ryan,” I say unevenly as he bangs the back
of his head against the door. “Ryan, please calm down.” I put my
hands on his shoulders, but he just stands there with his fists
clenched and his body wound tight.