Aric (The Boundarylands #7) - Callie Rhodes Page 0,4

before crouching down on his haunches so his face was even with the window. He knocked gently on the glass.

The woman nearly leapt out of her seat, turning away so her hair hid her face completely.

"Time to come out, Jo," Aric said mildly.

A fresh wave of fear rolled out of the car, and his cock hardened even more. God, how he was going to love every moment of screwing that out of her.

"I'm fine right here," she mumbled. Even quivering with fear, her voice had a lilting, melodic quality.

"Look at me," Aric said.

But Jo only seemed to shrink into herself further, wrapping her arms around her torso. He wondered briefly if this was some sort of act Nicky had taught her—that she sensed that refusing him only made him crave her compliance all the more—then discarded the thought. Fear like that couldn't be faked.

"Look at me, Jo," he repeated in a tone that made it clear that this time it was a command, not a request.

He saw her draw in a breath before she slowly uncoiled her body and faced him.

The new girl was just as pretty as Aric had expected, with big brown eyes and full pink lips that would look especially good wrapped around the head of his cock.

"Now, get out of the damn car."

She did as he asked…sort of. Instead of opening her door, she slid all the way across the seat and out the other side, then stood there watching him warily with the car between them.

Aric couldn't help but chuckle at her cunning. Damn, this was going to be good. He'd go along with her little games for now, but the moment he finally managed to get her underneath him, she'd be all done pretending to be the boss. He'd make sure that she went for hours without letting up.

"Okay," she said, an edge of determination to her voice. "I'm out of the car. Now you can go back to your—" She squinted at the nondescript building. "Bar? Roadhouse? Club? Whatever this place is."

Aric narrowed his gaze. He'd expected her to relax once she saw that he wasn't an ogre, that he could be chivalrous while at the same time making it clear that he wanted her. Hell, he thought she might even be flattered, like some of the other prostitutes were when he chose them.

But he couldn't seem to get past her fear for some reason. The scent of panic was so thick that he could catch little else.

"Are you trying to tell me that Nicky didn't tell you where you'd be working tonight?" he asked, even though he found it hard to believe.

A spark of hope flashed in her eyes as she clutched her big brown purse more tightly to her chest. "Listen, I really need to talk to this Nicky. Do you know where she is?"

"Sure. She's inside." Aric inclined his head toward the door. The porch now overflowed with alphas, some with prostitutes on their arms, others alone, everyone in a boisterous mood. Music spilled out from inside, and he could hear Mia, the bartender's mate, scolding people to make room for her to get through the crowd.

Jo's face paled as a roar of excitement went up. Aric suppressed a smile, wondering who was getting their ass kicked at the pool table.

"On second thought, maybe I don't need to talk to her right this second," she said.

"You don't need her at all," Aric assured her. "Hannah was right. Everyone's nervous their first night. But I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. In fact, I'm going to do you so well that every other man who comes after me will pale in comparison."

Jo's eyes grew even wider. "Oh, God."

"Come here, Jo," he told her.

She raised her hands, not budging from the other side of the car. "Okay, listen, I know you want to hire me, but—"

"No, that's not what I want, Jo," Aric said forcefully. "What I want to do is fuck you harder and longer than you've ever been fucked before. I want to leave you shaking with pleasure, and yes, there's a nice pile of cash in it for you, but believe me, neither of us is going to be thinking about that when you're taking my cock."

Jo's face lit up in the prettiest shade of pink he'd ever seen. A blushing whore? That was a new one—but Aric was sure he could get used to it.

"Okay…I need a drink," she said, finally meeting his eyes. Her own filled