“Ryland…” I gasp his name, the word leaving my mouth in three syllables as my body shakes from the force of his thrusts. “I’m gonna come. I’m gonna… fuck… please…”
“Let me see you.”
He drives into me twice more and then stops, grinding hard against my clit and pressing into me so deeply that he hits the back of my channel. I gasp as pleasure turns to pain and back again, and he rears back, grabbing my chin and staring hungrily at my face as the orgasm crests inside me. He watches as my eyelids droop, my mouth drops open, a low cry falls from my lips.
And whatever he sees on my face pushes him over the edge too.
I feel his body shudder between my legs, and he draws back and slams into me again in three long, deep strokes as he comes hard. Sticky liquid spills out from where we’re connected as he strokes in and out a few more times, breathing harshly.
Then he wraps his arms around me and lifts me off the countertop, his cock still buried inside me as he carries me out of the kitchen.
We must look like a fucking mess. His pants are hanging low on his hips, the fabric of my dress is bunched around my waist, leaving me bottomless and topless, and his shirt is half unbuttoned, his tie half undone.
But I really don’t care about that either.
Chapter 11
I’m not sure where Ryland is taking me until we get there.
Keeping a firm grip on me with one hand, he opens a door with the other, stepping inside the guest bedroom where he’s been staying and kicking the door closed behind us.
I expect him to set me down on the bed, but instead, he takes a seat on the mattress, settling me on his lap with my legs straddling his waist. His cock pulses inside me, and we both give a little shudder before he pulls back to look me in the eyes.
His hazel irises are softer than I’ve ever seen them. Even the angular lines of his face seem less harsh.
He runs a hand through my hair, tangling his fingers in the dark locks, and I glance down at his disheveled clothes. I’m a little pissed at myself that I didn’t even get his shirt all the way off. I can see hints of the delicious ink that covers his torso peeking out from the opening where I managed to get his buttons undone. It’s beautiful, and I wish I’d gotten the chance to explore all of it.
As if reacting to my heated gaze, Ryland makes a noise in his throat. It draws my attention back up to his face, and the second my eyes meet his again, he leans forward to kiss me.
This is like our first kiss.
Soft and gentle, just the barest brush of our lips.
Only this time it’s better, because it doesn’t feel so much like he’s trying to pull away.
And neither am I.
The weight of what just happened settles over me as we break apart, and I tug my bottom lip between my teeth.
Is this totally fucked up? Is it insane for me to have feelings for all three of the men who’ve basically stalked me for the past two and a half years?
And did I just betray Marcus somehow?
Ryland shakes his head. I’m sure I didn’t say any of that out loud, but he seems to have read my thoughts somehow.
“Marcus knows.” His full lips, swollen and red from our bruising kisses, ghost over mine once more. “He knows how I feel about you. How Theo feels about you. He’s always known. And he meant what he said in the alley that night. I’m sure of it. We’ve never shared a woman before, but we all knew you were different from the very first moment you came into our lives.”
Something warm and sweet spreads through my chest. It’s almost painful how good it feels—the two feelings blending together, just like they did during our hard fuck earlier.
It’s not just Ryland’s reassurance that Marcus would be okay with this. It’s the fact that he’s speaking of his friend in present tense.
As if he’s still alive.
As if he could walk through the front door at any moment.
I didn’t realize until this moment just how much the wake had gotten to me. How much it hurt to hear Marcus referred to over and over as someone who used to exist, who used to be alive.
But Ryland doesn’t believe that. And even if it’s stupid to keep clinging to hope, I’ll be right there clinging beside him.