Chapter 5

Dylan couldn’t stop smiling as he stood side by side with Riley for the morning call. Lockdown was over, which made everyone feel a bit restless, after spending so much time caged. Everyone but him. Riley had fucked him several times every night since that big announcement that Dylan was going to be his exclusive bitch. His body ached in many places, but none unpleasant. Cobra was a guy who liked to give it hard to the partner in his bed. Dylan knew he must have lived up to expectations when Riley offered him his smug grin as the prison guard moved past them and gave them clearance to hit the cafeteria for breakfast.

Riley’s acolytes were all there when they arrived. They immediately made room for their boss and Dylan, without giving them any suspicious glares. Right away, Sean started talking business, while Dylan paid half-attention. When was Riley going to tell them that his ass was no longer the village bicycle? Was he even going to do it? Now, that they were out of lockdown, and Riley had fucked his fill, maybe that promise was forgotten.

Dylan stared at his plate, trying to convince himself that he wasn’t going to feel depressed about it. At least, he wasn’t at the Niners’ mercy, like before, a free for all piñata to get kicked about whenever anyone felt like taking it on someone weaker than them.

That should be enough.

“Hey, are you going to eat that or what?”

Riley’s whisper, right in his ear, startled him.

“You’re a bit thin, and I need you to keep that ass,” Riley continued and put his mini jam on Dylan’s plate. “What?” he asked roughly when Dylan stared at him. “I don’t like this sweet stuff anyway.”

“You look good, Dylan,” Sean intervened with a smirk. “Real pretty this morning.”

Riley turned toward his lieutenant. “Keep that thought to yourself. Now, a little announcement for all your ears. This pretty bitch here,” he said and took Dylan by the shoulders, “he belongs to me and me only from now on.”

Sean’s face fell. “Boss, is that a joke?”

“No joke. This is how it’s going to be from now on. If any of you got ideas about touching my woman, we’re going to have a problem.”

Everyone at the table was silent. Eyes were moving from Riley to Dylan, and back to the man in charge. Dylan didn’t dare to stare, but he could tell the guys weren’t happy. Maybe it hadn’t been that good an idea. Yeah, Riley was their boss and all, but these were convicts. The word ‘loyalty’ probably meant squat to them. They could turn on Riley just like that, and then they would both be in danger. Dylan turned to say something, but Riley was so focused, looking straight at Sean, that he didn’t dare to interrupt.

Sean eventually looked away first. “All clear, boss. We won’t give you any trouble.”

“Good. Now, let’s see about that business. I’ll go talk to the warden today.”

“Moving high up,” Sean said with a smirk. “That’s good for you, boss.”

“And for the rest of your lot,” Riley replied.

Dylan held his breath until everyone was up and leaving. Was that all? Were they going to be happy with not fucking him? Dylan preferred that he wasn’t seen as some prize, but it didn’t matter what he preferred anyway.

Riley was looking at him so intensely that he had to ask. “What?”

Riley smirked at him. “Eat your fucking jelly, wuss.”

Dylan gasped in outrage. “Wuss? What’s that for?”

Riley ruffled his hair. “You were pouting and thinking that I’d let the boys have a nice long round with your ass.”

“No,” Dylan denied.

“You were totally thinking I’d ditch you. But I won’t let them put their cocks in you anymore. I promised. That’s for you, too. Don’t go wiggle your ass around. If I find you giving that boy pussy to some dude, I’ll beat the shit out of him.”

Dylan swallowed hard. “What about me?”

“Told ya. I don’t hit women, let alone my women. But I’ll tie you to the bed and give enough dick to you to last you a lifetime.”

Dylan grinned. “That’s hardly punishment, Riley. You know I love your dick.”

“Don’t try me,” Riley warned him.

A small shiver moved down his spine. There was a reason why they called the guy Cobra. He could look pretty damn menacing when he wanted. Dylan had good reason to believe that he wasn’t exactly joking. “I won’t,” he promise.

Riley smiled at him and pushed a strand of hair behind his ear, making Dylan tremble at the touch. Fuck, he was falling for this man, and that wasn’t good. Love complicated things unnecessarily. So, he moved his head away. “Let me give you back a piece of advice, boss,” he said in a strained voice. “Make sure the others don’t think you have a soft spot for me, even if you fuck me. Weakness is not a good look in a place like this. Take it from someone who knows what that means.”

“Duly noted,” Riley said and moved his hand away. “So,” he leaned closer, “should I push your head in my crotch right now to show the others I mean business with you?”

“Are you asking?” Dylan looked straight in the sinner’s blue eyes. “That’s a sign of weakness, too.”

“O’Connor, move it,” a guard warned. “And take the missus with you.”

Dylan obeyed right away, but Riley took his time, moving lazily like a big predator. The smirk he gave the guard told everything about the guy’s standing in the place. He brushed by the man, and Dylan almost missed how Riley pushed something into the man’s hand.

“Come,” Riley said and didn’t look at him to see if he was following.

Dylan hurried after him and didn’t dare to look at the guard. However, he heard the man chuckling under his breath. There was something nasty in that; something Dylan didn’t like at all.

Riley stood while the warden did his play of showing off his power by ignoring him for a couple of minutes, although he had been the one to summon him. “O’Connor,” the warden finally said and linked his hands, resting them on the desk, while taking him in with the look of someone who was used to weigh people all day long. “The mover and shaker himself.”

Riley smiled. “I wouldn’t call myself that, warden.”

“Mr. Richardson, and you can call me ‘sir’.”

Riley kept his plastic smile on, hoping he wouldn’t get a cramp in his face muscles. “Alright, sir.” He could play the deferential dog when needed. And now, he needed that this fucker didn’t cut in on his business, at least not by much.

“You’re probably wondering why I summoned you here,” the warden said and stared at Riley with his water-like eyes. No wonder the guy had chosen to work in a prison. He looked halfway dead.

“It crossed my mind.”

The warden chuckled and turned his head. “You’re running a profitable business, I hear.”

“Anything to make pass the time.”

“Oh, is that what all is about? Passing time?”

“Men do that when locked away. Passing time, that is,” Riley repeated. Now, he truly was wondering what the warden was all about. “It’s all a matter of what you do to make it pass faster.”

The warden chuckled, finding something amusing in Riley’s words. Riley wasn’t amused at all.

“It’s understandable. The practicing of your business acumen, I mean. What I don’t understand is the bitch.” Richardson turned his head brusquely and stared him in the eye.

Riley frowned. “What about him?”

“You’re a ladies’ man, O’Connor. So people say. And I heard it through the grapevine that you made the whore your missus.”

How the fuck had the warden hear about that? It couldn’t be from his guys. They had all been in lockdown, and Riley had just broken the news to them that very morning. The only explanation was that one of the guards he was paying to keep quiet had gotten a little too verbose with the big man.

“How does that work?” The warden tried to pin him down with his watery eyes. Riley couldn’t tell the man’s age. It could be 40 or 60. Richardson was caught between ages and stuck there, and not in any pretty spot.

“How does what work?” he asked.

“Don’t play the thick, O’Connor. You’re fucking pussy by the ton, and then you suddenly switch to some used man’s ass.”

Riley had a mind to tell Richardson to shove it when the sun don’t shine, but he had been in business for a long time. This guy played the enemy, and he had yet to understand why. “It is what it is, sir. I like having sex too much to settle for my own hand for weeks on end.”

“Ah, yes. You have the right to conjugals, although you’re not married to that lady that keeps on visiting you. Quite the enterprising man, I’d say.”

“You are free to cut me off them,” Riley said.

Richardson scoffed. “Of course I am free to do whatever the hell I want. You know, convicts are not allowed to fuck. The point of having your freedom taken away from you is to make you repent and develop a strong desire to be back out in the world, never to return again.”

Riley smirked. “I was wondering how there are no repeat offenders around here. They must have all learned that valuable lesson.”

The warden burst into an ugly laughter, and then stopped just as abruptly. “You’re a big shot, out in the world, O’Connor. But here, you’re not. It’s my prison.”

“Of course it is,” Riley replied.

“All the power you think you have here, it’s an illusion. I can make it go away as easy as I can snuff out the light of a candle.”

“That’s true, sir.” Riley kept his face as neutral as he could. He had expected the warden to want a nice fat cut, not whatever this was. All men wanted something. So, he had to be patient and wait to hear whatever this one wanted.

“Hmm.” The warden got off his chair and walked round the desk. He stopped and leaned against it.

Riley observed him. Under the conservative suit, he could guess the strong body. It wasn’t by whim that Richardson was letting him see that. That was a man looking for a bone to pick. Riley needed to use his cunning ways not to let himself baited into it.

“What are willing to give to maintain your business? In here?”

Finally, they were making headway.

“30?” he asked directly. 20 was the ongoing rate, Sean had assured him, but this man wanted something extra, and Riley didn’t care about haggling, especially since he wasn’t counting on the money made inside. He was rich on the outside; this was for fun and status.