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Chapter 25: Nikki
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Dear Diamond Chapter 26: Nikki
Ten minutes later, Ryker and I were outside Swank. I dreaded entering. Not knowing what I'd face or when the other shoe would drop was worse than any punishment Jesse could have doled out. There was certainty in punishment; the degree kept me guessing.With my backpack strapped on, I walked a step behind the foreboding figure I'd shown up with. There was no doubt in my mind that Ryker garnered fear and respect wherever he went. If I had to be sidled with a broody alpha, at least he was nice to look at...or swoon over, whichever. I didn't normally come through the front door, not that there was a normal with this place. I hadn't been here long enough to have a routine. Nevertheless, it seemed odd to enter like a customer without being one. The bouncer waved us through without so much as a word. Regardless of how badly I wanted to ask how Ryker got by without paying a cover or even offering a greeting, I kept my mouth shut. Swank wasn't open for business, anyhow. Questioning him wou
Dear Diamond Chapter 27: Nikki
The spotlight hit me as the electronic beat hummed through the speakers. The crowd erupted the second I came into view center stage. As much as I hated anyone having to do this as a career, I had respect for a woman who could work a pole with precision. My muscles ached after one song. It took incredible control, and I only did very elementary tricks. Flexibility was the only thing working in my favor; although, I would never understand what men found sexy about a woman doing the splits. The other girls were helpful in all ways except choreography. I depended on music videos I'd memorized in high school. Luckily, I'd spent more time dancing to slutty music in the privacy of our tiny apartment than I had socializing, and those moves translated into happy customers. Not that drunk men cared once my top came off, and if they had, as soon as I bent over, exposing myself, they wouldn't have anymore. I didn't focus on the men, just one man...and I felt the music. It was easier to lose mys
Dear Diamond Chapter 28: Ryker
I didn't think she'd go through with it, and the deer-in-the-headlights sheen that glistened in her eyes all but confirmed it. Then as quickly as it had arrived, the reluctance disappeared. The fierce demeanor she maintained on stage worked its way from the top of her head, down her spine as she straightened it, and to her toes. Determination set in where hesitation had been. The blue-grey turned to sapphires when she met my stare. I'd swear they were so clear I could see through them. Everything about this woman surprised the hell out of me. She hadn't cowered behind me when she'd seen her apartment, she didn't back down from Sam and Jesse, and when she set her mind to see something through, she did. Maybe she compartmentalized the hell out of her life; I didn't know. All I could be certain of was she faced every challenge head-on. Her standing in front of me now was just further proof.I hadn't planned for her to actually dance; in fact, that had been the only way I'd gotten int
Dear Diamond Chapter 29: Ryker
A knock at the door interrupted my fantasy and Diamond's performance. She stilled in my embrace as the bouncer stuck in his head to give her a warning. She had ten minutes before she had to be on stage for her next performance. Diamond nodded her understanding. The instant she faced me, Diamond disappeared, and Nikki sat perched in my lap. The spell between us had broken, and now we sat in awkward silence as my thumbs still cradled her breasts from the sides.I didn't speak when I slid my hands down her hourglass waist, or as they curved her hips to her round, voluptuous ass. I spread her cheeks as I pulled her tightly against my crotch and rolled my groin between her legs. Her lids drooped with desire, and the beat of her pulse picked up in the vein on her neck. I stood, still holding her against me, desperate to slide my finger beneath the tiny string of her costume and dip into her wetness. But if I had, neither of us would make it out of here any time soon, and I didn't need to d
Dear Diamond Chapter 30: Ryker
I glanced at my phone for the hundredth time tonight. It was late, and I had zero interest in staying here any longer than absolutely necessary. Nikki had just wrapped up her last dance, but the crowd was restless. They wanted her to mingle and had a hard time taking no for an answer. Looking like a mean motherfucker had its advantages at times. I enjoyed staring down each shit stain who dared get close enough to talk to her. I didn't even have to speak; growling accomplished far more than words when you were covered in ink and holes and a known felon. Inside I thoroughly amused myself...outwardly, I appeared pissed. "It's okay to smile." Nikki jabbed me in my side with her elbow. Ever since she'd gone behind the curtain, her attitude had changed. Like that final number relieved her from her duty tonight, and now, she could be herself. My jaw ticced, and I clenched my fists over and over under my folded arms. "Put on your clothes." I shouldn't be so short with her, but not having
Dear Diamond Chapter 31: Ryker
Sam stepped into the light from the streetlamp overhead. "Trying to sneak out?" He cracked his knuckles, and I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from reacting.Nikki tensed at my side, and her grip on my fingers went slack, so I tightened my hold on hers. I didn't have to glance down to see her looking up at me. Her hand shook in mine, and I could hear her ragged breaths. I stopped a few feet from the men in front of us. The two I didn't know had stepped up behind Sam, putting our mode of transportation and escape route behind them. They now formed a triangle, and the two in the back put their hands on their hips. It was an odd display of choreography that showcased the guns in holsters on their belts. Blindly, I used my arm to maneuver Nikki behind me. I wasn't dumb enough to believe that a bullet couldn't go through my body to hers, but she had a better chance of survival if I got hit first. I crossed my arms and straightened my back. "Not at all. I've been waiting to hear f
Dear Diamond Chapter 32: Nikki
The engine roared to life, and I realized that in a short amount of time, that sound had started to ignite a fire within my soul. It fueled me with energy, and electricity coursed through my veins as soon as the hum of the motor flowed through to my skin. I imagined the vibrations to be as addictive as narcotics, or maybe that was the man who brought the noise to my ears and the rumble between my thighs. It was raucous and should have startled me with as frazzled as I was after the encounter in the parking lot, but it calmed me with the anticipation of the freedom I found on the back. The solitude, the lack of noise except the rustle of wind, the inability to communicate with anything other than nature-it trumped yoga, chocolate, and my little experience with sex. Ryker didn't have to ask me twice to hop on. The moment he put that helmet on my head, I was ready to ride.And then he took a right out of Swank's parking lot rather than left. I leaned in while he could still hear m
Dear Diamond Chapter 33: Nikki
"Why are you doing this?"He stopped working and wiped his hands on a dish towel. His brown eyes searched my face in confusion. "You said you were hungry.""No, not dinner. This thing...with me. Why are you doing it?"Ryker popped a chunk of raw broccoli into his mouth and chewed before he answered. He was the only person I'd ever seen who could make food sexy. "I told you-" "No bullshit. The real reason."He swallowed, and his Adam's apple danced down his neck and back up. The tattoos expanded and then constricted; it was art in and of itself. The browns of his eyes swirled with golds and hints of green as his pupils pulsed and then dilated. I expected some in-depth or detailed explanation for whatever had caused him to go protective alpha over a woman he didn't know. He shrugged. "Not a clue."I arched my brows, not believing his response.Ryker stopped what he was doing and turned the burner down on the simmering sauce. It smelled divine. "The night of Chase's b
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