Chapter 63: A Personal Favor
Evelyn set down the pen and leaned back, feeling all her strength drain away.
“It’s a pleasure doing business, Evelyn.” Ryan collected the contract, put it in a folder, and returned to stand before her. “Now, let’s discuss the other deal.”
“The other one?”
“Of course. I provided you with emergency funds a while ago, remember? I told you it was conditional.”
Ryan chuckled softly, leaning over, resting his arms on the chair's handles, completely enveloping her in his shadow. His cedar scent, mixed with an aggressive masculinity, invaded her senses.
“You promised to design something for me in return,” he said slowly. “Now is the time to fulfill that promise.”
“I…” She tried to speak, but her throat was too dry.
“I want a men’s design, a matching ‘couple’s’ line to go with your ‘Rebirth’ collection.”
A couple’s line?
“What’s wrong? Can’t do it?” Ryan raised an eyebrow, his finger gently tapping the chair arm. “Or are you trying to back out of your promise?”
“I’ll need your measurements,” Evelyn said, pushing down her turbulent emotions. Whether he was Ryan or Mr. K, the fact remained: she owed him a favor.
“Naturally.” He straightened up. “But I don’t have a measuring tape here.”
“Then…” Before she could finish, Ryan took her hand. His palm was broad and warm, and his rough thumb grazed the back of her hand, sending a shock through her.
“Use your hands to measure.” He pulled her hand and placed it on his chest. Through the expensive shirt, she clearly felt the solid muscle beneath and his strong, steady heartbeat.
“A designer’s hands are the most accurate tool, aren’t they?”
Evelyn tried to pull her hand back, but his grip was iron. Her wrist was trapped. Her cheeks flushed uncontrollably.
“Start with the shoulders.” He commanded, guiding her hand up to his scapula. Her fingers moved awkwardly across his broad shoulder, feeling the taut muscle underneath. Her mind struggled to treat this as professional work, to memorize the sizes and data, but the electric jolt of touch made it impossible to concentrate.
“Here, you need enough room for movement.” He guided her hand down his arm, then to his waist. Her hand moved over his body like a feather out of control. His body heat radiated through the shirt, burning her palm, burning away her reason.
When he guided her hand lower, almost touching the belt of his dress pants, Evelyn couldn't take it anymore and violently tried to pull away.
“Enough!”
“Enough?” Ryan tightened his grip, pressing her hand even closer, making her feel the distinct change happening in a certain part of his body. “Evelyn, you believe in reciprocity, don’t you?”
“Don’t forget I helped you out of a small bind in the auction suite last time… and now, I’m running into a small bind of my own.”
His words detonated in Evelyn’s mind. She instantly understood what he meant by “bind.”
“You’re disgusting!” she struggled, his fingers painfully tight around her wrist.
“Disgusting?” Ryan chuckled. “Damian walked all over you, slept with other women right under your nose, and even wanted you to be his mistress’s nanny. What was that? Noble?”
Every word was a precise knife thrust into her deepest wounds. “When he threw you and Director Worth out on the street, I drove you home. When he tried to outbid you at the auction, I took him down. When he tried to sabotage your final review, I gave you this contract.”
His voice was seductive, slowly eroding her remaining self-control. “Now, your benefactor, your partner, your admirer, is having a natural reaction to your charm. Are you going to be ungrateful and just watch me suffer? Evelyn, you’re not that cold-blooded.”
Evelyn froze. He was right. Damian had given her nothing but pain. This man had given her money, opportunity, respect, and even saved her life.
Her resistance weakened. Her body trembled with shame.
Ryan saw her surrender. He leaned closer and whispered in a voice only she could hear, “Darling, help me, like I helped you, okay?”
Her last mental barrier crumbled. Evelyn closed her eyes, her lashes fluttering, no longer fighting his control.
Feeling her submission, Ryan took her hand and guided it lower.
“Ugh…” Ryan groaned in pleasure. “Darling, please stroke my cock, it’s going insane. It wants no one but you!”
As if to confirm his words, Evelyn felt the pulsating beneath her hand. Startled, she gasped, “Ah…”
Ryan was even more aroused. He urged, “Please, it can’t take it anymore… Mmm… Get it out… Hurry!”
His ragged breathing filled her ears, scattering her thoughts. As if in a daze, she unbuckled the cold belt and pulled down his zipper. His cock immediately sprang out.
Slap!
It hit her hand, the sound jolting Evelyn back to reality.
“Tell me, Evelyn,” he moved closer, their breath intertwining, their noses nearly touching. “Between him and me… Damian, whose cock is bigger and makes you hotter?”
The question exploded in her mind. She bit her lip in fury and shame, but under his deep, lustful gaze, memories of Damian's coldness and indifference in bed—the cold, lonely nights of the past eight years—flooded back. Why should she remain the meek, discarded victim?
Shame mixed with a fierce, secret pleasure of revenge. She closed her eyes, her lips moving, finally squeezing out a tiny whisper.
“It’s… yours.”
The man's erection was so hard and thick that her single hand couldn't fully wrap around it.
This answer clearly pleased Ryan. His eyes grew darker with lust. He let out a low growl, gripping her hand and guiding it up and down his thick, pre-cum slicked cock.