Ryker froze. His eyes widened, and his hands tightened on my arms. For a split second, I wished I could rewind time and recall my words. With every passing second of silence, my heart died a little. When I couldn’t take one more second of his silent condemnation, I closed my eyes, drowning in dark tidal waves of self-pity and self-censure.
“Open your eyes, Hattie.”
I shook my head. “No. I’m sorry I said it. I should’ve kept it to myself. We can pretend like it didn’t happen.”
“I can’t do that,” he said, resting his forehead against mine.
I rolled my head to the side. “Please,” I whispered.
He cradled my face, gently forcing me to face him. I didn’t open my eyes, but I felt his nose brush against mine.
“I love you too.”
My eyes popped open as my heart did a victory dance in my chest. “You do?”
He grunted in disbelief and frustration. “Of course I do.”
“I never thought…I didn’t know,” I murmured more to myself than him.
“Now you do.” Our lips fused together in a frenzy of desire like this was the first time we had ever kissed.
Our mouths tangled.
Our hearts united.
Our bodies harmonized.
Our breathing quickened.
I loved him. Every flaw. Every secret. Every smile. Every inch of him. Nothing could change my mind. I could’ve carved out my heart and given it to him right then because he owned it. Every jigsaw piece belonged irrevocably to Ryker Vargas.
My lover.
My captor.
My other half.
My future.
Button by button, he opened my shirt, taking his time like I was the best present he’d ever received. Then, he slid my panties down my legs. His boxer briefs followed. Skin to skin, I ached to feel him inside of me again. I didn’t want to waste one more second. I reached between our bodies to guide him inside of me, but he snagged my wrists one by one and pressed them against the headboard.
Ryker had other ideas. “Not so fast,” he muttered.
He trailed kisses along my jaw, down my neck, and then licked a path to the delicate skin behind my ear. Each flicker of his tongue sent a rush of pleasure through my body. He kneaded my breasts, soft and gentle, and circled my nipples with his thumbs. Then, his mouth followed his talented fingers, and I was lost. Moaning, I arched into him, offering and begging for him to take anything he wanted.
One of his hands slipped down my body to my sex. I spread my legs, intentionally giving him better access. His finger swirled around my entrance, then he stroked in and out of me with two fingers. My hips rotated as he moved with the hands of a man who knew how to play my body, igniting every nerve ending. He always had. He always would.
“Ryker,” I gasped, so close to the edge my vision blurred. The ache inside of me multiplied with startling velocity, becoming hotter and more urgent with each thrust of his fingers.
“What do you want, Hattie?”
“You. Inside. Me. Now.” I wanted to experience the soul-shattering connection when he buried himself deep inside of me, and we moved together like we were meant for each other.
His eyes darkened with promise, and his hand stopped moving. “Now?” he whispered, his lips hovering inches from mine.
“Yes,” I answered, because there was no reason to fight him anymore. No reason to pretend. We were on the same page. We were moving forward together. No secrets. No lies. Only love.
He moved his hand and shifted his body so his hard cock rested against my sex. He flexed his hips, tormenting me with the slow slide of his cock along my entrance until I thought I’d die of emptiness. With his eyes searing mine, he slid inside of me, filling me, stretching me. As he began to move, everything faded but the feel of him inside of me and the warm brush of his lips against mine.
Perfection.
Completion.
Beauty.
Those three words tumbled through my mind as he glided in and out of me with long, languid strokes—each rock, tilt, and flex bringing me closer and closer to completion. I groaned, voicing my need the only way I could at that moment.
“Does that feel good?” I nodded almost too eagerly, and a suggestion of a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “I know. We’re perfect together.”
He was right. Maybe that was why I could never refuse him. I circled my legs around his waist and tilted my hips as he moved with the perfect carnal rhythm, igniting a slow burn in every nerve ending. He consumed me with every touch, kiss, and thrust.
In moments like this, only Ryker and I existed. His room could burst into flames, and I wouldn’t care or notice. His hand moved to the apex of my thighs. One masterfully aimed touch and the slow burn exploded into a wildfire. I cried out as an orgasm ripped through my body. He moved faster, harder, wringing every ounce of pleasure from my body and his until he collapsed on top of me, the strong and heavy beat of his heart nudging my breastbone.
With his head buried next to my neck, his thumb traced the edge of my jaw. “I love you,” he whispered. I turned my head and pressed a sideways kiss on the center of his palm.
“I love you too.”
He rolled off me and chuckled.
“What’s so funny?” I stared at his smiling face.
“Nothing. I’m happy.”
“Me too,” I said, and I was. For the first time in months, I believed everything would be fine. Better than fine. Ryker made me believe in us, in him, and our future. Regardless of what happened with my family or Evan’s family, I had Ryker, and at that moment, nothing else mattered. “Having you in my life makes me happy.”
His mouth found mine, kissing me, loving me, and telling me without words everything I needed to know.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ryker
I placed a tray on the bed next to Hattie. I could get used to waking up next to her every day. She looked so peaceful with her dark hair spread out on my sheets. The morning sunlight flooded the bedroom, highlighting the contours of her body.
I had never wanted the women I dated in my space, touching my belongings and demanding my attention the morning after, but Hattie made me want that and more.
When she left Mexico, I thought I’d be able to forget about her, but it never happened. Days passed, weeks passed, and I craved her more and more. She complicated my life from the minute I saw her, and now I couldn’t imagine my life without her.
Last night, we finally talked about what we meant to each other. We loved each other, but so many obstacles stood in our way. I planned to fight for a life with her even though I didn’t know what it’d look like, because being with her felt…right.
I stroked the side of her face and her eyes fluttered open. “Good morning.”
“Hey,” she whispered. “What’s that?” She sat up, eyeing the tray of food.
“Breakfast in bed.”
She smiled. “Really?”
“Yes. Don’t look surprised. I can be a good guy when I want to be.”