Warm liquid shot out, coating my chest, once, twice and again, as he pumped and pumped. Finally, he sank back on his heels, his head drooping as he caught his breath.
Finally, his blue eyes looked into mine. “You’re fucking amazing, you know that?”
“I didn’t do anything.” I ran my fingers through his essence, noting that it was this same stuff that created the baby growing inside me.
He leaned over, his hands on the pillow on either side of my head. “You did everything. Now, one good turn, deserves another.” With a sexy smile, he moved down my body until his shoulders were settled between my thighs. His hands slipped under my backside and lifted me to his lips.
“Hold on, baby. I’m gonna make you come so hard.”
Before I could prepare, his mouth devoured my pussy and within minutes, he fulfilled his promise. My entire body rocked and writhed as he shot the first and then a second orgasm through me. Before I’d finished coming down on the second one, he moved up my body, slid inside me, and together we rocketed up to heaven.
Epilogue
Trina—One Month Later
On one of my first video chats with the therapist, she told me that I was afraid to be happy and live life to the fullest. A couple months ago, before I accepted the bet from Sinclair, I’d have balked at that assessment. I was quite content in my life. Yes, it was extremely ordered. Yes, I didn’t suffer fools. Yes, I avoided giving too much trust to others. But that didn’t mean I was avoiding happiness and fulfillment. First, there was a contentment in order. Second, I’d taken the bet, which surely suggested that I knew how to live on the wild side.
But now I fully understood what she meant. Ryder was my chance at happiness and fulfillment, but to achieve it, I had to open myself to him. I had to trust him with all my being. Not just my body, but also my heart…my very soul, and that was terrifying. My fear wasn’t that I worried Ryder would hurt me. I knew the man he was. Sweet. Kind. Romantic. He had the patience of a saint.
But knowing he would be careful with my heart, and willingly handing it over were two different things. Yet I did. With fear and yet hope, I’d given him more of me than I’d ever given anyone.
It started at the Harvest Festival when I faced my second biggest fear and spoke in front of the crowd about how great he was. It continued that evening when I faced my first biggest fear and told him how I felt. Not only did he accept my love and fears, but he seemed to understand the magnitude of what that meant for me, and he cherished my feelings and me.
Now, several weeks later living with Ryder for real, I found it was getting easier and easier to trust that I’d be okay. I wasn’t opening myself up to get hurt, and he wasn’t going to leave me behind, as my parents had done when I was a kid. I believed him when he said he loved me. I trusted him to cherish my heart. He saw me and understood me as no one ever had.
Now my biggest fear was that I’d say or do something to mess things up, because while I was opening my heart to love, that didn’t mean my personality changed. I could still be mouthy. But when I needed to be challenged, he stood up to me in a way that was frustratingly honest and gentle. Other times, he gave me a look that said I was going off the rails, and then would move on. That was frustrating too, but because I loved him, instead of barking back, I’d stop and assess my thoughts and feelings, as taught to me by my virtual therapist. Nine times out of ten, I was more upset than the situation needed and I could have expressed myself better.
Mostly I learned that having someone to count on was so much better than trying to go at it alone. I’d been so scared on my first doctor visit, but with Ryder by my side the second time, I had someone to share my concerns, to hold my hand, and then make me laugh or smile with some quip or joke about the baby.
Work was back to normal, which meant I could be mouthy there as well. For the most part I used it in my gatekeeper responsibilities to keep people from bothering the mayor. I was still upset about Brooke, and wasn’t afraid to express my frustration when she was doing a job that had been mine. However, the mayor and Sinclair were doing a better job at explaining why they were making the decisions they were regarding the divvying of duties between me and Brooke.
So, all and all, life was good. No, I thought as I entered Ryder’s house…my house, after work, life was fantastic. If only I didn’t have to go to another one of those senior dance parties. Why was Sinclair continuously pawning off that duty to me? I wanted my old duties back, not new ones.
I walked in the door and stopped short when I saw Ryder standing in the living area in his nice slacks and white shirt, holding a rose.
“Don’t tell me,” I said. “You’re playing at the senior center tonight.”
“Yep.” He stepped up to me, giving me the fl
ower and a kiss.
When he pulled back, I narrowed my eyes at him. “What a coincidence, I have to go there too.”
He flashed me his sexy grin. “A coincidence indeed.”
I must not be as smart as I thought as I realized this was probably a conspiracy. “So, you did set this up?”
His expression turned serious. “A man in love never reveals his secrets.”
I laughed. “Okay Romeo. Let me get changed, although I don’t know what I’ll wear. I’m starting to get too big for my britches.”
His hand went to my belly. “You’re beautiful.”
“You’re biased,” I said, giving him a kiss on the cheek and then heading to the bedroom to change.
“That doesn’t mean I’m wrong,” he called after me.
Twenty minutes later, we pulled into the senior center parking lot.