Page 2 of The Fighter

I opened the back door and stepped in, then settled into the backseat, staring sightlessly out of the shaded windows. The partition was up, separating me from Nik. He couldn’t hear or see me, and I was spared from the history audiobooks he listened to in order keep himself busy. If I had to hear about the civil war one more time in a male narrator’s monotone, I was going to lose it. Crazy fucker was obsessed with America’s wars.

I checked my watch.Seven minutes.

I fidgeted.

I never fidgeted, confident that bed partners were a dime a dozen. If one declined, I’d find another. It was how I’d lived for so long, I couldn’t remember another way.

But Tav… those eyes, that body, that coiled energy simmering below his skin… it all told me that he was not interchangeable with any other man tonight. It was either him, or I went home alone. He was different, and wanting license to his body and his pleasure for a night was enough to make me lost my cool.

Almost.

I checked my watch again.Five minutes.

I tapped my foot and shifted in my seat, the leather squeaking under me. This was foolish. Tav wasn’t coming. Ishould knock on the partition and tell Nik to step on it, to get home.

Tav.Was that his real name? Could it be short for something? He seemed like a one-word man. But then, so was I usually.

Three minutes.

Ben and his fucking club. I was going to tell him I thought it was a shithole. Maybe I’d help invest in fixing the place up. I needed that corner gone where I had seen Tav, that was for sure. I knew I’d never be able to look there again without seeing his shadow and wondering if it was him.

One minute.

Fuck.Fuck. I dug my fingers into my thigh so tightly, I knew there’d be marks. Maybe I’d read him wrong. He could have been there for any number of reasons, and he might not even be into men. The shadows could have been playing tricks on me, that bulge in his pants not really there.

With a second to go, I raised my fist to knock on the partition, but before my knuckles could make contact, the door to the Bentley opened, cold air rushed into the back seat, and Tav’s body slid beside mine. He shut the door behind him, those multi-colored eyes darting around the cabin of the car, as if he was cataloguing everything.

I let him, wanting him to be comfortable. Because I was about to make him very uncomfortable, very soon. No way was he going to do what I was going to ask him to do if he didn’t feel safe.

“Seatbelt,” I said, buckling mine.

Once Tav had secured his, I knocked on the partition, and the car began to move. I flicked a finger toward the shaded glass. “My driver can’t see or hear anything. Okay?”

His palms lay flat on his thighs, and he turned his head to face me. After a slight hesitation, he nodded. A flash of something raw flitted over his face, and then he locked it down.

I trusted my instincts with people. It was how I stayed alive growing up in a shitty Detroit suburb. It was how I kept Benjamin and Devlin alive when we’d sneak out of our trailer park and steal cigarettes. It was how I stayed alive now, when sometimes the weight on my shoulders felt unbearable. And I could tell that Tav needed a focus. Something to do. Something he wasorderedto do. “So, you are here in my car, and we’re going to be at my apartment in about fifteen minutes. By getting in this car, I’m assuming you want to do those things I mentioned in the club.” I didn’t phrase it as a question.

He didn’t answer, but his eyes held mine, so I took that as confirmation and continued. “Tonight, you obey me. You don’t have to call me master or sir or any other title. Conrad is fine. But you obey me. I own your body until I release you in the morning.”

He again didn’t answer. Which didn’t unnerve me, really. I preferred the quiet ones.

“If at any time I ask you to do something you don’t like. Something that you aren’t comfortable. Any time I take something too far, you say red, and I’ll stop. It’s as simple as that. Do you understand? I need you to answer vocally now, please.”

His hands fisted on his thighs, and the muscles in his neck strained. Those were the only indication of his nerves and anxiety. “I understand.”

“And you’ve been with a man before?” I thought I knew the answer, but I needed to be sure.

He nodded.

Good.I let my gaze drift down his broad chest, and I smiled when I saw his hard nipples through his thin shirt. He worea heavy leather jacket but had left it unzipped. At the club, I thought it had been a fashion statement, but now I noticed that the zipper was broken. The elbows were scratched and worn. With every breath, his stomach expanded and contracted, and I saw the firm ridges of muscles in his abdomen. He was hard in his jeans, the outline clearly visible as it curved toward me. “Take out your cock, Tav.”

His eyes flickered. A quick jerk to the right at the partition separating us from Nik. I tilted my head. “I already told you he can’t see her hear us. I realize we just met, but I’m going to need you to trust me when I tell you something.”

He swallowed.

“I’ll ask again. One more time, and if you don’t want to do it, I’ll stop the car, and you can get out. No questions asked. Now, take out your cock.”

His fingers slowly uncurled on his thighs until his palms lay flat on the denim. He didn’t take his eyes off my face as he flicked open the button of his jeans and slowly slid the zipper down. He tugged down the snug black briefs until his erect cock was freed and slapped against his belly.