Ryker Quotes

You comin’ or what?” Ryker returned. Layne glanced through Merry and Cal, nodded and followed Ryker. It would seem big, scary, badass, looking like a raving lunatic Ryker needed his BFF. Fuck.

Jesus, holy fuck,” Rivera murmured, coming to a quick halt and looking up at the tall, hulking, tattoo-sleeved Ryker. “Boy, what’d your Mama feed you growin’ up?” he asked. “Newborn babies,” Ryker answered, scowling down at Rivera.

I couldn't believe a man had written this! Ryker had a way with words and the way with words and the way my emotions got twisted in them was a gift only a true writer possessed.

You made him feel special, Ryker…” Ryker smiles as he leans back on the arm of his couch, still holding my hand. “He is special, Natalie…he’s yours.

I want to come all over you. I want to mark you as mine, so that every wolf in the pack knows who you belong to. ” - Wolf Shifter Ryker Black

I thought of the many times I saw that little boy in the azure eyes. The many times I wanted to protect him...save him. Ryker's eyes could turn from sky blue to storm clouds in seconds!

Gotta admit, I wasn’t committed to the task,” Ryker confessed. “But for a bitch in a tight tee with a great rack who makes twelve layer cakes and likes drunk sex, I’ll step it up,” he offered.

He was a ruffled haired, stubble faced, woman's dream, tangled in sheets. So I stepped away from the Ryker and went for coffee instead.

Grace...you don't understand...kissing is not just principle thing with Ryker. It's not a macho...Heman woman hater thing to him...or a way to avoid commitment. It's a defense or him.

Fuck me, shut the fuck up,” Cal entered the conversation, glaring at both Ryker and Devin. “Caked. Jesus. Seriously? Are we talkin’ about cakes?

Gavriel wanted to control me. Blaise wanted to see me. Callum wanted to save me. Ryker wanted to punish me.

He keeps doing that.” “What?” She laughs. “Kissing your forehead.” “Yeah . . . he does.” I can’t stop my grin. “Does it bother you? I can hear your smile, you know.” “Not really. It doesn’t, like, mean anything. It’s just . . . it’s Ryker.

When I'm near you, the air around you vibrates with life, Beck Ryker.

Miss Rasputin, what a delight to finally meet you,” said the vamp, speaking with only the faintest hint of an accent. “Let’s hope you still feel that way in a few minutes, Mr. Delacroix.” “Pierre, please. And may I call you Evangaline?” Pierre smiled at her winsomely. “No, you may not. My name is Ms. Rasputin to you.” Her answer took the vamp aback, but he recovered quickly and smiled again showing off his small pointed canines. Pierre’s dark eyes flicked over to Ryker in his feline form and he raised an aristocratic brow. “My, what a big pussy you have.” “You know what they say, the bigger the better.

It’s over now, Ryker.” “That’s the thing, Natalie… it’s never really over.

Two weeks ago he stopped playing fair. He showed up in glasses. Dark rimmed, sexy as hell, and totally unexpected. If someone would have told me that Ryker could get any more attractive, I would have said they were on crack. But I was wrong. Completely and totally wrong.

Criminal: You can suck my dick, motherfucker! Detective Bridges: You suck mine! [shoves barrel of pistol in the Criminal's mouth] An' you get used to it, cause you get to Rykers you're gonna find a lot of dick on the goddamn menu! Now grunt twice for yes! You through bitchin'?

I was trying so hard, and I was so frustrated, that I could not see anything beyond the pressure I placed on myself.” Ryker

Ryker was hers, and he was going to remain hers. Whether he liked it or not, they were going for it. Period.

You’re not dirty, or bad, or wrong, or anything that ass of a father told you,” he whispered, kissing the swell of her breast. “I honestly don’t know what you are.” “Ryker, please.” “Except mine.

You never say what I expect you to say, Roxanne. You never do what I expect, either. Each time I ask you to hang out, I wonder if you'll go off on me, or ignore me." "Ask me? You never ask, Ryker, you just take." He smirks, still staring at the fire. "That's only because I'm afraid you'll say no.

Gavriel copes by convincing himself he’s in charge. I get off on watching. Ryker is so scared of losing you again that he pushes his jealousy and anger to the side. And Callum? He likes it. He just doesn’t know it yet.

Baby...drummers bang all night long!

I want to make it clear, right here, right now. I own you.” Gavriel’s declaration sent an electric thrill down my spine. I’d always belonged to him, but hearing it rocked me. “Ryker, Callum, and Blaise? They're all going to have pieces of you; I tried fighting it when we were teens, but I'm not going to fight it anymore. I own each of you. You hear me? You can’t escape it.

I’d been blathering for the last twenty minutes about all that had been going down with me. Except for Ryker’s warning about my neighbors, I didn’t leave anything out. “Vi,” I snapped when she still didn’t say anything. “Quiet,” she returned. “I’m trying to stop myself from slapping you upside your head.

He couldn't retort back,

Ryker holds out a hand as I approach. “I’m Ryker.” I shake it, smiling. “Rylan.” He smiles back. “Cute. We kinda match.” Alice and Aidan. We’re adorable.

And then there was Ryker, Lord of Oryn, who had shadows that could kill a person without him so much as moving.

don’t like it when people surprise me. I put Ryker into a little slot marked overprivileged douche bag, and if he doesn’t fit there, then I’m not sure where to put him.

Look,” the Ryker copy said, “I’m you. I know everything you know. What’s the harm in talking about this stuff?” “If you know everything I know, what’s the point of talking about it?” “Sometimes, it helps to externalize things. Even if you talk to someone else about it, you’re usually talking to yourself. The other guy’s just providing a sounding board. You talk it out.

Ryker, I do trust you, but I can’t let your fear of losing me keep me from making my own choices. This didn’t exactly work out like I had hoped, but it was a choice I had to make." Kiah trilogy (2) The Tech War

When he drives under a lamp, his smile widens, and I notice for the first time a dimple under his right cheekbone. Oh no, this isn't good. A guy like Ryker Black cannot have dimples. It's wrong. And right. Too right.

All stress is self-induced, he reminded himself. It’s in your mind. You don’t need it. Lay it down. Panic is contagious. But so is calm. Stay calm. Do your work. Slow is smooth. Smooth is smart. Smart is straight. Straight is deadly.

Å, herregud! Hvor jeg skulle ønske styrkeforholdet hukommelse/glemsel var motsatt fordelt! Det må skyldes en grunnleggende skjevhet i mitt system at denne helt urimelige ubalansen får bestå. Der mine lykketreff av glede ryker ut med badevannet, oppbevares fadesene i et brannsikkert hvelv. Mine fineste stunder gnagd vellystig i stykker av tidens tann, mens munnfullene av nederlag forblir hele og ufordøyde, slik at jeg blir nødt til å svelge dem i meg gang etter gang.

Intimacy with Wright had seemed necessary; an essential human experience she didn’t think she’d get anywhere else, at least not on her terms. Ryker changed everything. Ryker, she wanted. Hell, a part of her needed him, and the rest of her just craved.

You know," she said, "if I stay the night I'm going to hate myself in the morning." Ryker shrugged, the hint of a smile creasing the corners of his mouth. "That's okay. If you stay the night, I'll probably hate you in the morning too. But that's a chance I'm willing to take.

In the distance, Amanda heard the sirens. Just a little bit longer. She didn't know what was wrong with her, but she was scared of dying before she had the chance to tell Ryker goodbye. In their capable hands, though, surely they could keep her alive long enough for him to return. They had to.

Yes…be yourself. Don’t go in that room and for one minute try to mold yourself to their expectations. I didn’t offer you this position to do the same exact job I did. I gave it to you because I want you to be better at it than I was, and you’re going to be because of who you are, not who they want you to be.

I don't force women to my bed, Danica." I shivered. Something about going back to the use of my full name had my skin tight, my breath bated at the sight of his feral grin. "They come willingly, and begging." "And is that something you want?" I was playing a dangerous game, egging on an actual dragon. A lesser shifter would have pounced on the teasing, the taunting between us, long ago. Not Ryker; he had all the time and patience in the world to play the games I'd been playing with him. "I can unveil the mark tonight if you want, but we both know it's already there between us. Everything after that can come as slowly as you need it to; in the end I already know you'll find your way to me as it was intended. I offer you my everything, Dani. My wings, my strength, my soul." He leaned down, his lips pulled into an amused curve as he rumbled in my ear. "My cock, if you think you're ready to cross that line and have me fuck you until you forget your own name.

They effectively gave us what amounts to $150 billion, and for what? To buy our assurances that we would stop enriching uranium for a decade? To rent our promise not to build any nuclear warheads? Why would we have said no? The whole thing was a farce. We were not even asked —how does the saying go? —to sign on the dotted line.

I'm ready to hear your plan for Moscow, assuming you're not going to eat me for knowing what you are." Just 'til Moscow. I could handle this just until we got to Moscow. Right? "I'm not going to eat you." Ryker snorted a laugh, then changed the expression on his face to something of flirtatious mischief. "That is, unless you want me to, firecracker.

Ryker, you ride with Orlando,” Ryker mocked in a snarky voice as he turned to the other man. He gestured toward the Pinto with a look of revulsion on his rugged face. “How the hell does he expect both of us to fit into that tiny metal trap? Even if we could squeeze in, the tires will probably pop. In fact, let's just carry it over. It'll be faster that way.

You’ll forget his face and his name, but his hold on you will last forever because it’s unresolved.

paperwork, identification, is in place.

sometimes people couldn’t be saved, no matter how much you wanted it, no matter how hard you tried.

But no one—and I repeat no one—plays with my lady balls. That just won’t do.

He wasn’t happy. Not yet. He wasn’t peaceful, not entirely. But he was grateful for his life and the evidence of God’s grace, and for now that was enough.

My orders didn’t mention consequences.

I wanted to yell. I wanted to claw his eyes out. Sickeningly, I wanted him to bite me again. I wanted Ryker. And as if on cue, a roar to shatter the castle echoed through the halls. He'd come for me. My heart filled with emotion. It was joy, and want, and hope. My heart was full, and I could have cried. I looked Apollo in his dangerously red eyes. "Fuck you, Apollo," I managed to whisper. "My dragon is here.

Ryker grunted, rolling his shoulders with a creaking sound just as the wings came back out. His silver eyes shone brighter than before, and the clawed fingertips I saw on my first day here emerged. He was gorgeous, brutal, otherworldly. Scars and all, he could be the subject of a sculpture in any museum and captivate the observer. What had I been bantering with all this time? Sharing meals, sharing the loft. Shit. "Hello, Danica. You're looking at a dragon.

Ryker's head snapped to look at me, and we locked eyes. That's when the tug at my heart really started to pull, and I had to gasp for breath as it burned to life. A pull, a connection. Was this what they called a thread of fate? If it was, it meant something about Ryker and me that I didn't have time to process in the heated moment. Ryker's nostrils flared, and he roared, his face snarling as he began charging back down the hallway to where Oleg and I were.

Mmm, I hope we get there in time for breakfast," I mumbled. "I'll get you whatever you want," Ryker said. "Do you want to stop for food?" "No," I said. "I want Dad's pancakes." "Whatever you want, Dani." Ryker kissed the top of my head. "I want pancakes, answers, and rum," I grumbled. "A new phone, and some clothes that don't smell like sex and show off my ass cheeks." "I like your ass cheeks," Ryker chuckled. "Not helping," I managed before letting out another big yawn.

Your house, huh?" "I've seen yours, I think it's time I show you mine." "Ya know, when people say that, they're not usually talking about houses." He chuckled. "Yeah, but we've already played that game. We can play it again later, if you like.

Are you getting cold?" Ryker asked. I smiled and pulled the blanket tighter around me. "And what if I am?" Ryker gave me a playful grin as he stood from our bed. "I'd have to come warm you up, firecracker." "I don't know..." I teased as I backed away. "You'd have to catch me first!" I jumped as fast as I could, giggling as I tried to run. Too bad Ryker was far faster than me. I laughed as he carried me to our bed. In our perfect house on the mountain. A dragon and a witch. And our happiness.

So if I take off my clothes and lay down on the table, you wouldn’t have sex with me?” He chuckled. “Nope.” “You sure?” "Yep.” He continued on with cooking while I stood there, dumbfounded. I didn’t believe him for a second. His back stiffened when I took off my shirt and pants and climbed up on the table." “I am so hungry,” I announced, waiting for him to turn around. When he did, he completely ignored me and sat down with his plate of food. He pointed to the counter. “Your plate’s up there.

Boys will be boys. Slowly, I stand, wiping the crumbs from my hands on my jeans. “Z,” is my only response and Ryker’s brow quirks. “Z,” he echoes dryly as if he doesn’t believe me. “That’s what I said.” “Like the Z?” Daire clarifies. Two tiny diamond dermals are pierced above a thick black brow, glinting as he arches it on his forehead. “Yes,” I say. Introductions are so tedious when very few have actually seen my face. Anyone could claim to be me, but all of them would fail when it came time to prove it.

They’d all be wrong, though, and I sincerely hope they believe him today. If not, fuck it. I have a job to do and skeptics, chauvinists, purists, and otherwise backward-thinking assholes aren’t going to stop me from achieving my goals. To turn this team into champions.

What are those?" Ryker asked. On the table were three large shot glasses, filled with vodka and topped with a spurt of whipped cream and sprinkles. "Pancakes." I took one of the glasses, ready to knock it back. "Dani, those are not pancakes," Ryker said, leaning forward to smell them. "That is vodka." "Potato pancakes," I said, and I knocked mine back. "Don't judge a family tradition, it's a long story and you can't tell me I don't need a shot or three after what I went through." He didn't looked impressed. "You drink as much as Gavin.

I don't have money to buy a bunch of land. I don't know how much you think land goes for nowadays, but it's not a dollar an acre anymore." Ryker smirked. "Trust me when I say I have more than enough money for it." I balked. "How? You live in a cabin in the middle of nowhere with no real job and nothing around you." "And I'm a dragon, Dani. A dragon who likes his gold." Slowly, so slowly, it sank in. He did mercenary work, that much I knew, and that kind of thing paid well, right? Dragons hoarding treasure seemed like something out of a fairy tale, but then again so did dragons until a few weeks ago. The confident look on his face said it all.

And I take it the distraction from before was at your location, Lady Thea?" Ryker kneeled down next to me, putting an arm around my shoulders. The Lady of Winter tightened her hold on the little girl. "It was, but we stopped it." "There was a loud boom," Ryker prodded for details. Thea's mouth was a grim line. "There was. It seems someone... someone came into her powers unexpectedly. The threat was handled." Her eyes fell to the child cuddled under her chin, shivering in a pink nightgown, not from the chill but from the trauma of the night. We all stared, and the girl peeked around her little shoulder long enough to show me the flash of blue eyes to match Thea's under the mop of dark hair that matched Devin's.

Wings. Ryker had fucking wings. Big leathery wings like a bat but with a deep gray-green coloring. I fell backwards onto the floor of the loft, my ass hitting the wood but my eyes staying locked on Ryker. A comment from my second day here surfaced. Something about not wearing shirts because they got in the way. No fucking wonder they got in the way if he could pop out a pair of wings. The thin membrane that stretched to allow light through it was a lighter, paler gray than the rest, snagging on whatever breeze the morning brought with it and tempting Ryker to open them up wider to catch the wind. They were big enough to that he'd have to duck down quite a bit to even attempt entering the doorway of the cabin, even if he had them tucked in tight to his back.

Uhh, Emerson, are you okay?” Ryker asked as he unfolded his tall frame from the pickup, flickering his attention to Bash. “She’s fine,” Bash answered for me. “I sure as hell am not!” I answered. "Are you going to stand there while this caveman carries me off?” Bash’s hand tightened across my ass in response. Ryker tilted his head and sighed. “Fuck my life, you two. You’re not in the same town for a week and you’re already at each other. Bash, are you going to hurt her? Rape her? Lock her away in a cave?” “Don’t be a pain in my ass, Ryker. Of course not.” “Emerson, are you honestly scared of Bash?” “What? No. He’s just an asshole! Put me down!” I kicked my foot and Bash grunted. Good. “Okay, well you two kids have a nice night and work your shit out. Emmy, give him hell.” He waved us off and went into the bar where his sister waited. “Looks like it’s just us, Emmy.” “You have to be kidding me,” I groaned.

And then there was my magic. A wicked smile played across my lips as I thought about it. I couldn't do much yet, but I was rapidly learning the one thing I had taken to like a duck to water: spell circles. I'd gotten enough of a crash course with Max during the battle, and since my blood was practically made to charge spells, I was doing quite well with them. Our mountainside was filled with them now. It had taken me two solid months, but I'd finally encircled the area so that Ryker could freely transform and fly in his dragon shape without seeing him. Well, most anyone; I'm still learning after all. I found if I applied myself I could learn the runes on my own. No Book of Sisters needed, just like Max had said. And apply myself I did. I will never be helpless again. I spent a lot of days practicing while Ryker went hunting. I may not be able to conjure anything, or transform things or curse things. But I could put a set of rules in a spell circle, and with my blood as the active component, my circles were pretty near indestructible now.

But through the ash and darkness I saw him. My dragon. Beautiful, terrible, fierce. The scars of his stories still evident, even in this form. I remembered the ones who'd come before me, those who had also pried open his shuttered heart. The ones who had left him. But I wasn't ready to go yet; I wouldn't leave my dragon in that dark place again to pick up the pieces of his fallen loved ones in isolation. And Ryker wouldn't let me go. "Ryker!" I screamed as I fell. He was enormous, beating his wings and trying to rise up to meet me. One of his wings was a tattered mess, but still he pushed up, his body beginning to shift and change. He shrank and shed his scales, turning back into the human shape I'd known him in but keeping the wings that helped push him to me in a desperate gust. My eyes were flooding, tears falling every which way in the wind as I fell. I stretched out my arms to him, and he reached up and grabbed me. "Dani!" he growled over the wind. I was pulled into his chest, my head tucked under his chin as my hot, wet tears soaked us both. "It's over, he's dead. I told you my fire would never hurt you.

Lady Georgina of the Summer Court," Heather added. I turned in my seat to see two fae in the parking lot through the glass front door. The girl was on fire. Like, literally on fire. Her clothes had burned off, but you couldn't see much of her. You know, through the fucking fire. "What is going on?" I asked. "She's having some hot flashes." Thea came to stand near our table and crossed her arms with a sigh. "Alan is there trying to cool her off. The pregnancy has been rough on her." I looked at the flaming fae again, and sure enough a big ginger dude with a wild beard was waving his hands in the direction of his mate, spraying her with a mist of water. He might have been trying to put out the fire or just trying to simmer it down. "I've heard about this," Jerod said, standing up and tapping his chin. "You've had a little baby boom over here, haven't you?" "Something like that." Thea met Devin's gaze, pressing her lips in an attempt not to smile, and went over to the door to greet them. "The faerie gate is," Heather paused, "overcorrecting for a previous problem we'd had. Let's leave it at that." I looked up at Ryker, who was watching the flaming fae. He looked down at me with a shrug. "Fae. I'm still not entirely sure how they work and I've been around a while.

Mom, how are we originem? How are they not all gone?" I asked. "One lived," Mom said. "You several-times-great-grandmother. There was a nasty feud, but Rowena made her escape from the final, horrendous battle. She vowed to dilute the blood. Live as a normal witch, conceal our origin. We couldn't let ourselves have children with another witch or a warlock or any other being of power for that matter. In theory, we would eventually be safe enough to live our lives without the fear once the magic was diluted." "But it didn't, did it?" Ryker asked from behind me. Mom turned Eliza's head to study Ryker. She nodded and looked back down at me. "No, it didn't work. You don't have much power on your own, my heart. If you've been trying spellwork it probably went awry, didn't it?" I nodded. "How did you do it? I watched your work for hours and it never went wrong." "Blood, my heart. The only spellwork I did was what I had to mix and add and brew, and as it finished I would add blood. Even a drop will do. That is the way of our power." "The smell of originem on Dani is as strong as it was before your coven died out," Ryker said. "A mistake that we each found out too late. Once I became one with The Book of Sisters, it became clear. The power could in theory be diluted, but not the blood. Never our blood.

CUTHBERT: No, they didn't warn you about my dancing. They didn't warn you about its sensual power. They didn't warn you that the gyration of my hips is as the gyration of galaxies, that the writhing of my limbs is as the writhing of your most ancient desire. They didn't warn you that to watch me boogie is to hear ancient drums beat an eldritch, irresistible rhythm in the most primal part of your soul. (ASHTON stiffens as CUTHBERT speaks. She turns and grips him with one arm around his waist and one behind his head, and kisses him hungrily.) ASHTON: Please don't do that tonight, in front of Marty and Susan. CUTHBERT: Of course not. An orgy breaking out on the dance floor is fun once or twice, but I've learned there is a terrible price to pay for my powers.

Antes de que nos diéramos cuenta de lo que estaba pasando. Era como el desenlace de un largo conflicto. Nos dejamos caer como satélites en llamas, abandonándonos a la gravedad que nos imantaba, abrazándonos y riéndonos. Ortega emitió unos jadeos excitados cuando mis manos se introdujeron en su kimono, con mis palmas acariciándole los pezones erectos, sus senos adaptándose a mis manos como si hubiesen sido diseñados para ello. El kimono fue cayendo poco a poco, después frenéticamente arrancado, dejando al descubierto una espalda de nadadora. Me quité la camisa y la chaqueta de una vez, mientras las manos de Ortega se debatían con mi cinturón, abrieron la bragueta y una mano de largos dedos se deslizó por la abertura. Noté la callosidad de cada base de sus dedos acariciándome. Salimos de la sala, no sabría decir cómo, y nos dirigimos hacia la cabina de atrás. Miré los largos músculos de sus muslos; yo era Ryker, era yo, porque me sentía como un hombre que por fin vuelve a casa. Allí, en la habitación cubierta de espejos, ella se acostó boca abajo, sobre las sábanas revueltas, se arqueó y yo la penetré hasta el fondo. Ortega estaba en llamas. Me hundí en un baño de aguas calientes. Los ardientes hemisferios de sus nalgas marcaban mis caderas a cada sacudida. Delante de mí, su columna ondulaba y se retorcía como una serpiente. El pelo le caía sobre la nuca con una elegancia caótica. En los espejos que nos rodeaban, Ryker se inclinó para acariciarle los senos, después las costillas, la redondez de los hombros, mientras ella se aupaba y volvía a desplomarse como el océano que rodeaba la nave. Ryker y Ortega, frotándose juntos como los amantes reunidos de una obra clásica. Sentí que el primer orgasmo la recorría, pero cuando ella se volvió para mirarme a través del pelo enmarañado, con los labios entreabiertos, perdí todo control. Me pegué a ella vaciándome hasta el último de los espasmos. Me desplomé sobre la cama y salí de su cuerpo como si naciera de nuevo. Su orgasmo continuaba.

help.’ ‘Can you get me out of here?’ ‘Not exactly.’ ‘So how can you help?’ ‘I... we can provide consular assistance. A translator for any interviews, a lawyer if you need one. And we’ll work closely with the authorities here to get you repatriated to Britain as soon as possible.’ ‘So what are you waiting for?’ Willoughby looked flustered. ‘It’s not quite that easy. We need to wait for the prosecutor to come back with their plan. At the moment we’re still waiting for the official charge.’ ‘I’ve not even been charged? And how long will that take?’ Willoughby rubbed the side of her neck. ‘That’s a good question. The system here is a bit different to back home, to say the least.’ ‘I’d never have imagined.’ ‘But, for starters, there’s something more pressing.’ ‘Which is?’ ‘We believe you’re British. That’s according to the information we’ve been given about your arrest, the communication we’ve had with the Mexican police and prosecution service, and… your accent speaking with me today.’ ‘I’m sensing a but.’ ‘We don’t know who you are. We don’t know your name

I pushed forward suddenly, the head of his cock teasing my entrance open in bliss. But a sudden jerk from Ryker left me painfully empty once more, and I whined in frustration. "Just say it," he teased. "Do you like it a little rough? All you have to do is say yes." Fine. Ass. "Yes," I hissed. "Yes, I do." Instant pressure hit me as he slid his length into me in one go. I was so wet, there was no friction stopping him as he filled me completely. Tight, hot, hard. I took in a sharp breath and he gave me a satisfied hum. "There now, that wasn't so hard," he mused. Smack. Ryker shoved into me just a little harder at the same time he smacked me right on the mark, and I screamed. I was so hot, and wet, and full of him that I could hardly keep myself from unraveling. Thankfully, his hands stayed firmly in place, helping to hold me still as he slid out again, only to thrust inside once more. "Fuck, Danica," Ryker rumbled. "Your pretty little ass is turning the hottest shade of pink." I was breathless as Ryker thrust again and again, pushing me higher and higher. Sometimes he would smack the mark again, and I was sure I would be feeling it in the morning but I couldn't bring myself to care. All I could care about was Ryker and what he did to me. I felt wholly and truly right with him, and my head was in a fog as the orgasm hit me hard. "Ryker!" I shouted as he thrust at just the right moment and all the tight muscles in my body came loose. Floating, floating and falling and clenching and dropping into a boneless heap. I was still reeling from the high he had started in me when I felt his hot release as well. Ryker came hard, gripping my hip as he shoved in as deep as he could. The hot, burning stretch of him shoving so hard coupled with the intensity of my own postorgasm shaking pulled another cry from me. When we were both spent and he was still over me, staring down in satisfied confidence, he leaned in with a light kiss. "Good girl, you take me so fucking well." My ass stung, I was filled to the brim, and I liked it. Releasing my hip, he slid out of me and I groaned at the fleeting feeling of fullness. When wetness trickled out of me, more than just my own arousal, I pressed my thighs together.

I need you to say it." Ryker's hot breath was on my neck, his hand on my hip, and he was ready to sink into me the second he got his answer. All I had to do was admit it. Or I could try to take matters into my own hands just to fuck with him. I pushed forward suddenly, the head of his cock teasing my entrance open in bliss. But a sudden jerk from Ryker left me painfully empty once more, and I whined in frustration. "Just say it," he teased. "Do you like it a little rough? All you have to do is say yes." Fine. Ass. "Yes," I hissed. "Yes, I do." Instant pressure hit me as he slid his length into me in one go. I was so wet, there was no friction stopping him as he filled me completely. Tight, hot, hard. I took in a sharp breath and he gave me a satisfied hum. "There now, that wasn't so hard," he mused. Smack. Ryker shoved into me just a little harder at the same time he smacked me right on the mark, and I screamed. I was so hot, and wet, and full of him that I could hardly keep myself from unraveling. Thankfully, his hands stayed firmly in place, helping to hold me still as he slid out again, only to thrust inside once more. "Fuck, Danica," Ryker rumbled. "Your pretty little ass is turning the hottest shade of pink." I was breathless as Ryker thrust again and again, pushing me higher and higher. Sometimes he would smack the mark again, and I was sure I would be feeling it in the morning but I couldn't bring myself to care. All I could care about was Ryker and what he did to me. I felt wholly and truly right with him, and my head was in a fog as the orgasm hit me hard. "Ryker!" I shouted as he thrust at just the right moment and all the tight muscles in my body came loose. Floating, floating and falling and clenching and dropping into a boneless heap. I was still reeling from the high he had started in me when I felt his hot release as well. Ryker came hard, gripping my hip as he shoved in as deep as he could. The hot, burning stretch of him shoving so hard coupled with the intensity of my own postorgasm shaking pulled another cry from me. When we were both spent and he was still over me, staring down in satisfied confidence, he leaned in with a light kiss. "Good girl, you take me so fucking well." My ass stung, I was filled to the brim, and I liked it. Releasing my hip, he slid out of me and I groaned at the fleeting feeling of fullness. When wetness trickled out of me, more than just my own arousal, I pressed my thighs together.

Villa Mariangela,

All stress is self-induced, he reminded himself. It’s in your mind. You don’t need it. Lay it down. Panic is contagious. But so is calm. Stay calm. Do your work. Slow is

Chase’s jaw drops. Ryker hisses. “How the fuck does that happen?” Chase asks. Um. I don’t know. I honestly have no idea. “Not sure.” Ryker breathes fire. “How does he live with himself?” “He should be ashamed,” Chase adds, then gestures to a nearby booth. “We need something strong for this kind of horror story.

So, what’ll it be, Miss Book Babe?” I blink, surprised. “Did you just give me a pet name?” Chase’s grin is all kinds of cocky. “You gave us nicknames. Only fair. And it seems fitting,” he says. “Was Miss Bookalicious taken, Weston?” Ryker asks his friend dryly.

Dostoyevsky

The darker the night, the brighter the stars; The deeper the grief, the closer is God.

A great disaster has befallen Russia,’” Oleg said, citing Solzhenitsyn. “‘Men have forgotten God,’” the voice at the other end replied. “‘That’s why all this has happened.’” Then, per their predetermined verification plan, Oleg now cited Dostoyevsky from The Brothers Karamazov. “‘Above all, don’t lie to yourself.’” “‘The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him,’” the voice replied.

And he loses all respect for himself and for others—and having no respect he ceases to love,’” Oleg added

I’m here to change your life, Mr. Ryker.

Is that why I’m here?” Ryker asked aloud. “Because it would be fun for someone else? To make a life and then experience it through them?

Chase Weston is the golden guy center, all warm brown eyes and panty-melting smile, of the Sea Dogs. Ryker Samuels is the dark-haired, bearded, and broody-as-sin defenseman on the Avengers.

Chase whistles. “And I thought jerking off two dudes at once was your party trick.” A laugh bursts from me. “I guess I have two party tricks now.” “But keep the first one just between us,” Ryker says, without cracking a grin as he comes behind me, then slides a possessive hand up my back, curling it around my neck. Like he’s sending me a message. He doesn’t want any other men to share me.

He’s a rabid dog,” Ryker states, pointing at how hard Ledger is staring.

Ignore Jiggie. Come, Ryker.” Ryker listens and positions himself behind me. He pushes me against Hazen’s chest, and I press my palms onto him to catch myself. After a moment, I feel lube right against my ass. “I think it’s numbing lube,” Hazen mutters. “Sometimes, the pain is good. How are you doing, pretty boy?” My fingers tangle into his mohawk. His full lips curl into a smirk. “You’re embarrassing me, Mom,” he teases. “It’s mommy to you.” I wink back, capturing his lips as Ryker’s tip slides in and out of my ass.

I hit Ledger. “Shut up and stop repeating him, Hazen.” “Was it good, though?” Jigsaw asks, lifting his head. I snort, turning over. “I never tell you guys if your sex is good or bad.” It’s silent before all hell breaks loose. Ledger and Ryker confidently keep saying

they are the best. Hazen worries he is terrible now, while Jigsaw wants to be rated. “Oh, my devils! You guys will get us kicked out. Stop it.” It’s silent again before Hazen asks, “So… Ozias is next? I like him.” “So, fuck him yourself,” I mutter into Ryker’s chest. “Maybe I will. He won’t say I’m horrible.” “I never said that.” I giggle, standing and jumping right on Hazen. He expects it, wrapping himself around me. “Damn, I don’t have wings to use to fuck you with,” Hazen mutters. “Sky sex sounds dangerous,” Jigsaw mutters, turning over. “Yeah, because your cum would burn people below.” Ledger snorts. I giggle, touching Jigsaw’s back as he laughs.

I’m going to enter the Hall of Choice, make Captain Ryker Waterborn, Head of the Fae Division in the Republic’s Army, fall in love with me, and then I’ll kill him on our wedding night,” she declared.

We file into the suite and are instantly greeted by Rena and the three younger Noires, all various shades of trouble. While Axel and Ryker sport suits, charm, and a chiseled edge, the rest of the family boasts self-expression. Jax has blue hair, highlighting the dark blue rims on his golden-brown eyes, gauges in his stretched piercings, and colored tattoos. Maddox has wintry-gray eyes, messy onyx-black hair, and black tattoos all over his pale skin, even his fingers. Cash is less extreme—tousled blond hair, complementing his baby blues, and a few less tattoos. His menacing smile is what sets him apart. No question he’s a miscreant, shoving anyone within reach to the depths of Hell. Although I suspect the fall from grace would be the trip of a lifetime. And last, but far from least, there’s Rena, the gothic-punk Noire princess.

Ah… and that’s all there is. The game is over, there’s no more moves to make, no more rounds to bet on, it’s time to pay for the game,” Ryker called, his voice taking on a strained edge. His volume was raising with every word he spoke. “And now, as the sun is gone and the skies have fallen, where the dark is our sovereign, we can all crowd together in the impenetrable cold of the night!

He felt like a finely honed instrument, a weapon of war finally being unleashed.

Ryker was sprawled across the bedding, ass-up and naked as the day he was born. He let out a sleepy hum and shifted a little before settling back down. Damn. He's chiseled from head to toe, I'll give him that. Wait, I'm freezing my ass off and he's butt naked and content?

Being attracted to Ryker was understandable, considering he was definitely my type. Tall, rough around the edges with that stubble on his jaw, the shaggy brown hair that was reaching for his shoulders, the couldn't-care-less attitude like he was at the top of the food chain and he fucking knew it. The biceps didn't hurt, either. No, I couldn't stop thinking with my ovaries and there didn't seem to be anything I could do to stop it.

Ryker wrapped his arms around my middle and stood up, scooping me off my feet. "But I'm sure we can handle a shower and some sleep." "Put me down, Ryker! I need to grab clothes and towels," I said. "I prefer neither." A familiar, assholeish grin plastered across his face as he carried us to Dad's room and the only shower in the apartment. "I'm not walking around naked in Dad's apartment. That will have to wait until..." Until. Until what? What was I saying? Ryker, the bastard, caught me in my words all too quickly. "Until what, Dani?" he asked with that damned smirk and the fucking sexy rumble in his voice. And the way his eyes were eating me up, even though we were both covered in dirt and soot. Ryker set me down on the bathroom floor. "It will have to wait until we're alone," I said. "Truly alone, not here." I focused on turning on the hot water. Ryker hooked his thumbs in the top of my shorts and began to slide them off me. "Ryker, not helping," I grumbled, fighting the smile trying to creep onto my lips. "Unless you intend to wear them in the shower, I think I am." Even though he was behind me I could see his smug grin pretty clearly in my head. I swatted his hand away. "No, Ryker," I said, turning to face him. "Bad dragon." He kept smiling but narrowed his eyes as he leaned down to whisper in my ear. "You can shower in peace, firecracker. I'll let you sleep, and eat, and I'll take this vampire pain in our ass. But after all of this has settled, I'm taking you deep into the Siberian plain and I'm going to fuck you until you don't know what to do with yourself.

Light and smoke aside, all that remained on the sidewalk was a little red English bulldog. Other than the general doggish shape, that's where the similarities to any beast from this plane ended. "Ferdinand!" I cooed and rounded Ryker to scratch the creature between the stubby horns on its head. He was happy to see me, and he drooled out a little lava while shaking his two stubby tails. "What in the hell is that?" Ryker looked down at Ferdinand with disdain. "That has to be the most pathetic demon dog I've ever seen." "Shh, don't listen to the big mean man," I purred at Ferdie. "And you're the best demon dog, you're the best boy and I'm going to find you a cheeseburger later.

It wasn't until a burst of hot flame caressed my left hip that a tingling sensation, not unlike magic, crawled down my skin. Ryker gave a low chuckle. "Of course it's on your perfect ass." I craned my neck to see. Across my hip and indeed partially down my backside until it brushed the very top of the back of my leg, a pattern was revealed just a few shades darker than my skin. It was like having a lighter sort of henna painted across my hip in the design of scales. Dragon scales. "What is that?" I asked, startled. "The mark. My mark." Ryker mused. "The perfect match to my scale pattern, not repeated in any other dragon." Brushing my fingers over the skin, it didn't feel any different than it had before. It was just decorated now. My preferred black dresses would always cover it up, but my mind wandered to my closet and exactly what I owned that would show off a flash of scales at my hip. I needed to go shopping. "So, it was always there?" "Always," Ryker answered, a new sort of interest in his eyes. "How does your chest feel?" I rubbed a hand where the thrumming usually sat, but found it was gone. I had been so distracted by the process of being covered in fire and his taunting hands that didn't burn me that I hadn't noticed when it left. "I always knew I liked your ass," Ryker said. I frowned. "It's on my hip," I insisted. Ryker took one hand and smacked my left cheek, firmly on the mark. Immediately a delicious heat shot through it, running straight between my legs where I twitched in anticipation. Fuck. "What's the matter, Danica?" Ryker teased out my full name again, leaning down to meet my neck with a kiss.

No, he only fed off me. That's why he was so hard to fight; he's fueled by whatever is in my blood. But his bite had, uh, side effects." Ryker grunted, knowing full well what I was talking about. A frustrated sigh escaped me as I tilted my head back, willing the cool air to take some of this heat from me. "Do you need help taking care of it?" Ryker asked. His tone was surprisingly serious, no playful hints or innuendos marring his offer. I must have had a puzzled look on my face, because he elaborated. "I'm not going to fuck you tonight, Dani. When I take you, it's going to be because you begged me for it, not because another man forced this on you." My lips parted as I stared at Ryker. If he'd wanted to cool me down, his words had the opposite effect. Now all I could picture was finding out just what he kept under that worn pair of jeans. Preferably, I'd be back in a black cotton dress and not Mina's club-wear, and there wouldn't be a vampire after me. But the picture Ryker just painted? I wanted that. My thighs pressed together. I could feel the wetness on my skin. "Fucking hell," I groaned out, gritting my teeth. "No, Ryker. I'd rather let it wear off with time. I'm not going to get off on something Apollo started." The glint in Ryker's eyes was filled with hungry appreciation. Satisfaction was dripping in his voice as he reached out and cupped my chin. "Good girl; I can promise your efforts to wait will be well rewarded." Another needy sound keened from my throat. "Bastard.

The cool air hit me, and I knew I was wet already but something about being stared at by Ryker with such heated interest made the problem worse. "Now," he said with striking calm in his tone. I obeyed, and before my lungs had even filled all the way he had swooped sown and placed his mouth at my clit and licked. One long, hot, tenuous stroke. The breath he'd had me take came out instantly as a cry of surprise and delight. Ryker was tasting me, all right, and he was relentless with it. When he suckled on that bundle of nerves above my entrance, I took in a sharp breath and grabbed his shoulders. "Close," I hissed out. A mistake, because he sounded amused as he left me with one last stroke of his tongue before moving away. He left me throbbing, wanting, pissed, blissful. "Asshole," I breathed, earning a laugh from the dragon between my legs. "Hold still," he growled playfully, and with one of his hands he lifted my backside just enough to grab the dragon's mark on my ass. Hard. I moaned and the mark burned as my lower body tingled in the best possible way. Ryker's hot tongue didn't stop its assault as I began that dangerous climb to orgasm.

Apollo leaned down and devoured my mouth. He took my lower lip in his teeth, the pressure threatening to puncture it with a fang. Revulsion at the idea overrode any of the sensations Apollo's bite may have had on me. There was too much adrenaline in my body and my head still swam with light, drifting swirls. But I didn't pull back. Not once. When Apollo was satisfied that I had put on a pleasant show for his taunting on Ryker, he let me go, but not before letting his fang nip the thin skin at my lip, leaving a bead of red blood to fill my mouth with the metallic taste of my own downfall. The blood that had caused so many vampires to hunt me down.

And Dani..." Ryker looked down at me and his eyes softened. "You're shaking." I was shaking. I hadn't used a spell in a fight before; actually, I hadn't used a spell successfully, ever. Solisarius, a burst of blinding sunlight. It was one of the things I'd studied when I'd found my old book in the hopes that it would hurt the vampires. But conjured light is no substitute for the real thing. "I did magic." The tremor in my voice betrayed me. "You did." Ryker leaned down to me closer to eye level as he wrapped an arm around me. I looked down at my hands, which still trembled from the magic. Was this what Mom felt? Did she like it? Was the rush of using her powers enough to keep her coming back for more?