Read Riding Steele: Aftershock for Free Online

room, and his bed. To ravage her all night long.
    Fool that he was.
    *
    Laurie gazed at him. She wanted him to ask her into his room. Into his bed.
    She longed to sleep curled up in his arms.
    When she’d come here, she knew it would take time to convince him. But now … having to walk away from him in this dark hallway … almost broke her heart.
    “Steele, I want to be honest with you.”
    He frowned. “I’m listening.”
    “The reason I came here is because …” She gazed up at him, willing him to believe in them. “I want a chance to convince you that we can work. I don’t want you to hold back. I mean, maybe be a bit patient with me, but I want you to dominate me. What Donovan did, that was abuse. What you do … it’s exciting and sexy.” She took his hand and held it within her own. “And I know you would never hurt me.”
    His face was grim and he drew his hand from her grip. “I already proved to you that it won’t work.”
    “But that’s not fair. You were trying to push me too hard.”
    He leaned close, his intimidating presence backing her against the wall. “Who said I was fair? When I dominate a woman, she does exactly what I tell her to do, when I tell her to do it. And she likes it. No questions. No whining. Just blind submission.” He glared at her. “If you can’t do that, then it won’t work.”
    He was still trying to scare her, to push her away. She knew that. But unfortunately, he was succeeding.
    Had it been a mistake coming here?
    Her stomach twisted and she turned away, then headed for the door to the room she shared with Wild Card.
    *
    Steele watched Laurie walk down the dark hall and open the bedroom door, then slip inside. His gut clenched at the thought that she’d be climbing into bed with another man.
    He went into his room and closed the door, then slumped onto the bed. With his hands behind his head, he stared at the white ceiling above, visible in the soft glow of moonlight. Laurie was probably snuggling up beside Wild Card right now, her soft body close to his.
    Fuck! He rolled over, glowering in the darkness.
    It’s not like she and Wild Card were together. But, damn it, the man wasn’t made of stone. With Laurie close and soft in his bed, why wouldn’t he make love to her? He’d already fucked her before when they’d been sharing.
    It would be meaningless, just physical intimacy. But it wasn’t meaningless to Steele. The thought of Wild Card touching her drove him insane with jealousy.
    God damn it, Steele loved her. He’d known it all along. But he couldn’t be with her. He couldn’t take a chance on hurting her.
    But his heart ached with need. If only she would come over here right now. Slide into his bed and tell him again that they could work things out. Right now, maybe he’d actually believe her. Because he wanted it so badly.
    With her help … maybe they
could
make it work.
    A knock sounded at the door and his heart stopped.
    “Come in.” He sat up and turned on the light on the bedside table as the door opened. Was it Laurie?
    “Hey, there,” Raven said, peering in at him. “May I come in?”
    “Yeah, of course.”
    Raven closed the door and walked to the bed, then sat on the edge.
    “I thought you might want to talk,” she said.
    He shrugged. “About what?”
    She rolled her eyes. “You are such a guy. About Laurie, of course.”
    Raven leaned toward him. “Why don’t you try telling her how you feel?”
    He raised an eyebrow. “And how do I feel?”
    “You’re crazy about her. And either you’re denying that to yourself, or you’ve found some reason why you think it won’t work.”
    “Rave, leave it alone.”
    She pursed her lips. “If I actually thought you meant that, I would. But you have that lost little-boy look and I know you just need to be pushed in the right direction.” She leaned in close. “Why don’t you tell me why you’re fighting this?”
    He stared into her stubborn face and knew he wouldn’t get away with