Witness Protection (The Witness Series) (19 page)

“Bite me!”

He laughs and turns. “Alright, we will play it your way. Take it out, and I will bend you over in front of that family and spank you. Don’t test me.”

He leaves the bathroom and I gape. I know he is serious and that is just…kinky. I
freshen
my face up and desperately try to ignore the vibrations pulsing through me. I walk back out and everyone is at the table, I give the empty seat next to Ryder a truly awful
glare and slump down onto it
.

“So, tell me Maya, what did you do before that psycho came into the picture?” Lucy asks.

Great, of course she wants to ask me questions when I can barely speak without moaning.

“Um, I…”

“Answer her baby.” Ryder says, grinning.

“I
..”
I swallow, focus. “I just worked at a local office.
Nothing major.”

“Oh, how very interesting, where?”

“Um,”
God
the pleasure.
“Masters.”

“How appropriate.”
Nate laughs.

I shoot him a wicked glare and his eyes widen.

“Oh, my, someone is cranky.”

“She didn’t get enough sleep.” Ryder laughs.

I can feel sweat trickling down my cheek as I force back the orgasm that is sitting and waiting to be released. I feel Ryder
’s hand on my thigh, he reaches over and jerks
the prod,
I
come. I cough to smother it and pretty much break his hand under the table. He winces and everyone stops to stare at us.

“Did you just pinch him love?”
Lucy asks.

“Yes.” I whisper, trying to control my breathing.

“He deserves it.”
She says with a smile.

Ryder arks the machine up again and I know I have had enough. His point is made and he will not embarrass me any longer in front of people I have just met.
If I come again, it will be so obvious and I don’t need that shame. A little play was fine but this is going too far.

“If
you don’t mind, I am tired.”
I say.

“Are you feeling ok?” Lucy asks.

“Fine,” I say pushing back from the table and standing.

“Stay,
” Ryder insists. “Dinner isn’t finished.”

“
GI.”

His eyes widen at our
safe word
and immediately the buzzer is switched off.

“Goodnight.” I say and walk off to the room.

I shut and lock the door, then reef the little device out with a whimper. I am so sensitive and a little sore, damn that over controlling sex freak. What he needs to realize about me, is that I can’t deal with my control being fucked with either.
I crawl into bed and listen to Ryder pounding on the door for what seems like hours. Finally he gives up and I roll to face the bathroom
and begin to doze
. A crash stirs me from my restless dozing, I flip over to see the window being slid up and Ryder tumbles in, dirty, cranky and panting.

“I just climbed through a fucking window for you.”

“Well whoopee.”

He
strides
over to the bed and grips my arms, yanking me up to his chest.

“You used the safe word, locked me out and honestly thought I would just go to bed?”

“I don’t want to talk Ryder.”

“Too bad, I do.”

“Go right ahead.” I mutter, shoving him off and rolling back to my spot on the bed.

“What the hell was that? You just ran off and slammed the door in my face.”

I gape at him as I roll back. “Honestly? You were trying to embarrass me in front of a family I hardly know, you weren’t going to stop until I screamed a release in front of them all.”

“Like you made me do in the laundry?”

“No offence Ryder, but you started that one with your little ‘I want to make you come’ control freak issues.”

“So it’s funny when it’s me but not you?”

“Here’s the thing Fabio, I don’t like giving up my control either. Never have, never will. If a submissive is what you want, go and find one but you won’t find it in me.
I can play the games, enjoy the spankings but I won’t give you my control.
”

He stands for a long moment, just staring at me. His eyes lazily travel over me and then he finally speaks.

“You know, I thought a sub is what I wanted, I thought it was fun and sexy and just the spark I needed until you defied me…”

I snap my head up and meet his gaze. “What?”

“It was so hot, it was my undoing. You are a feisty, beautiful little shit and I can’t get enough of you.”

I swallow as he crawls towards me. “Now stop your childish sooking and let a man in.”

“I am not sooking.” I
protest
.

“You are sooking little sandwich
, big time.”

“Don’t call me a sandwich.” I chuckle finally, laughing at my old joke.

“You are a tasty little treat. Now come on, sleep, I am tired.”

“That’s what torturing a woman will do to you.”

“
Hmmmm
night baby
.”

“Night GI.”

We fall asleep and
early
the next day we all head home. The drive is long and draining, all of us can’t wait for some relief and a good bed. We don’t get it. When we pull up at the apartment, James Clancy is waiting but we don’t need to speak with him to know what the problem is. The entire front of the building has been vandalized, with crude graffiti using words like “Whore” and “Slut.”

“Jesus.” Nate mutters.

“Fucking hell.”

I just stare, old names ring about in my mind. What a whore, stupid little slut. I grip my ears, shaking the taunts from my mind. You didn’t do anything wrong, nothing. Ryder grips me and shakes me a little.

“Hey, stop that.”

“I got her Ryder, go and check it out.”

Nate takes Ryder’s place and strokes my trembling legs.

“Those words mean nothing.”

“People think that of us, of me. I can’t face it. Not again.”

He grips my chin. “You don’t need to because you have done nothing wrong sweetheart. Those things weren’t true.”

“The public don’t know that.”

“No, but it shouldn’t matter because you know that.”

I stare out the window and watch as a sleek black limo pulls up and out steps the one and only Janelle.

“Well fuck.” I hiss.

“Hey, it’s alright.”

She
strides
over to Ryder and grips his shoulders, dragging him in for a kiss on the lips. I am out of the car so quickly Nate can’t stop me. Ryder, as smooth as he is, grips my hand before I get the chance to step past him and lay one on super models cheek. He yanks me back towards him and holds my trembling frame.

“Well hello Ali.”

“
It’s
Maya actually, and what was your name again? Let me see if I remember? Nope, he never mentioned you.”

She scowls at me. “Ryder, are we still playing with this childish little brat?”

“Enough Janelle.”

“Fine, just tell me what time you are coming around tonight.”

I give Ryder a look and he sighs. “Seven.”

She gives me a sour smile before storming off. I yank myself from Ryder’s grip and
glare at him.

“You are going to her house?”

“It’s complicated.”

I slap him, oh so hard. “If I hear it’s complicated once more, I am going to cut your dick off and shove it up your ass!”

“Hey, hey, come on, why don’t we take a walk.” Nate says, stepping in and gripping my arms.

James Clancy walks over and gives Ryder a sympathetic once over.
“Ouch hey?”

Ryder curses but says nothing.

“Nate, we need another statement, I know it’s a pain in the ass but we have to get one.”

“Who did this?” I snap.

“Probably someone paid to.”

“Jesus.”

Nate tugs me away and we walk across the road and to a small park. He sits with me on the small bench until I stop trembling with rage.

“
God
dammit Nate, what is with him and Janelle?”

“I wish I knew.”

“He is playing with me.”

“No, I don’t think
he
is trying to play with you sweetheart.”

“I think you are wrong.”

“He cares about you.”

“No.” I snap.

“He does.”

I huff and we sit in silence a while longer.

“Did he ever tell you much about his father?”

“No.” I pout.

“Well you saw some of Joshua and his
antics,
it used to be so much worse. He used to beat Ryder senseless, from the day he could walk. Numerous times he ended up in hospital, his father was a drunken alcoholic and then decided Ryder was going to be the one to make him a fortune. He pulled a lot of strings and got Ryder into Harvard. Mind you, Ryder had brilliant grades, so it wasn’t hard. He wanted him to be a lawyer, the best of. Ryder refused and studied for the academy. Joshua beat him so badly when he found out, that he nearly killed him.”

“Oh Nate.”
I whisper, swallowing back tears.

“Anyway, Ryder has never stood up to his father, never hit him back. Joshua hit’s him, even now and Ryder doesn’t fight back. He could, he could beat Joshua to a pulp in seconds but he doesn’t.”

“What about his mother?”

“He
finds
his mother weak. She stays at home, says nothing and wallows in her own world. She never defended him and I think he hates her more for that then his father for beating him. She just let Joshua do it, let him beat Ryder. I met him when he was ten, our families knew each other and my ma was close with Ryder’s. She still looks out for her, Christ
knows
why. I met Ryder the first time on a school
camp,
he was brawling with two older boys because they called a girl a slut.”

I stiffen at the word.

“He couldn’t stand it, and he fought with everything he had. I jumped in and helped
him,
we were mates from then on. Ryder cares Maya, don’t doubt him. He has had a hard life and the one woman he finally let in, crushed him. She slept with two other men, and he saw it. He was happy, in love and she was the one. I don’t know what he feels for her now but I think a big part of him finds it hard to turn her away. He is too soft, too caring.”

“I know he is
,
I see that, I do.” I whisper.

“Give him a chance and trust him.”

“I am trying.”

“Come on, we need a shower and something good to eat.”

“Can I invite Sandy over, I miss her like mad.”

“Sure.”

We walk back and James Clancy has begun getting his rookies to clean up the graffiti. We head inside and Ryder is on the phone pacing backwards and forwards with a vicious look on his face. Nate walks into the kitchen and pulls out a beer, handing me one.

“What we making Nate?” I ask.

“Let’s see, we have…beef.”

I laugh. “Insightful.
Mushrooms?”

“Yep.”

“Sour cream?”

“Actually, yes.”

“Stroganoff it is.”

“You know a man too well.”

Ryder clicks his phone shut and walks in.

“Another girl has gone missing.”

“Any details?”

“Amy Rose, eighteen, blonde.”

“Shit.”

I stare down at the beef with trembling hands. Nate pats my back.

“We will get him.”

“I am going to call Sandy, see if she wants to come around.”

“Sandy is going to come around?” Ryder asks.

“If that’s ok?”
I whisper.

“I am going out…”

He
sees
my glare and stops speaking. “Can we talk?”

“No.” I say, gripping my phone and walking down the hall.

“Hey!” Sandy says when she answers the phone.

“Hey we are back, what are you up to tonight?”

“Not much.”

“Want to come around?”

“DO
I
!” She cries.

“Great, get ready Nate and I will come and get you soon.”

“Oh my
God
, ok.”

I hang up and head back out.

“Can we go get her Nate?”