28. Chapter 28
Chapter 28
Emily
T he past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind. Not only were things with Ryan going wonderfully, but I was ahead of schedule and putting the finishing touches on my book. When I entered the library, I wasn’t too surprised when Ryan asked me to follow him to his office. Glancing at Betsy, who sat at the front desk, she had her eyes on the computer screen in front of her.
Walking into Ryan’s office, there was an old wooden desk sitting at the center. But I hadn’t been able to observe anything else with Ryan’s lips slamming against mine as he pressed me against the now closed door behind us.
Pulling my laptop bag from my shoulder, I set the bag near the wall before my hands pushed into his hair and I deepened the kiss. His hands went to the hem of my navy sundress with cute daisies printed on it, before gliding up my thigh.
“There isn’t a chance in hell I could resist the temptation of you wearing a dress,” Ryan said as he broke our kiss. “Can you stay quiet?”
I nodded but a gasp escaped me as his fingers pushed my underwear aside and ran over my slit. Gathering the wetness there, he dragged them to my clit, and I bit my lip to keep from moaning out.
“Are you sure?” He asked with a devilish grin on his face.
“Yes,” I hissed as his fingers pushed into my pussy and began massaging the exact spot that would send me flying.
He kissed my neck and collarbone as he moved to the little bit of cleavage on display. His other hand, the one that wasn’t busy pumping my pussy, traveled up to my breast where he squeezed and teased. I was flying higher and, quickly, my body screamed for release.
“Please, Ryan, fuck me. I need your cock,” I begged.
Suddenly everything stopped and he moved his head back to look at me wide-eyed. Did I say something wrong?
“I don’t think I have a condom,” he stated.
Confused at first, I breathed out, “I’m on the pill, and I last tested negative.”
“Same, but are you sure?”
“Yes. If you’re good with it, yes, please.”
His eyes heated at my pleading tone, and suddenly I was spinning and being guided to the center of the office. He bent me over the desk and flipped up my dress. As he pushed my underwear down my thighs I gripped the edge of the desk.
His fingers rubbed my slit and his zipper sounded in my ears. Feeling his cock at my entrance, I bit my lip to keep from moaning out. As he pushed in, I stifled the moan as best I could, but a squeak still came from me.
“Oh fuck, I’m never going to be able to go back. You feel too good, sweetheart,” he whispered hoarsely.
He was right, this felt too fucking good. My walls clenched around him as he sank his full length into me. It was fucking perfect. I fought to keep myself silent, but every now and then a gasp escaped me.
His fingers pressed into my hip as he pounded into me roughly, and I covered my mouth with my hand to keep from yelling out. His hand shifted as he squeezed the cheek of my ass.
His pace slowed as he leaned over me and his hand wrapped around the base of throat. Every thrust hit that exact correct spot I needed, it was driving me out of my mind. Pulling me up a bit, his mouth kissed the junction where my neck met my shoulder.
“Fucking perfect, you are perfect,” he whispered hoarsly in my ear.
His hand slid from my throat down my front, slipping into the front of my dress. His fingers squeezed my breast and pinched my nipple, making my back arch and a gasp escape from my mouth.
There was a needy, uncontrolled, desire driving him, and it surrounded me wholly. I couldn’t care about possibly being caught, not as my pleasure was being held on a knife’s edge. As his other hand slipped from my hip to my front, his finger circling my clit, my body trembled. He was everywhere at once, pushing me higher, my senses overloaded with each thrust he made.
As every muscle in my body went tight, he whispered, “Let go.”
My vision darkened as I lost control over my body, and every muscle snapped, giving in to the pleasure traveling through me. With a stifled grunt Ryan followed me over the edge, each squeeze of my walls met each pulse of his release. He laid over me as we collapsed to the top of his desk again.
“Maybe I should wear dresses more often,” I whispered breathlessly.
“We will never complete our work,” he whispered back with a chuckle.
He reached over to the edge of the desk where a tissue box sat. He pulled a couple before his cock slipped from me. Gently he wiped at my pussy before he slid my underwear back into place and covered it with my dress. As I pushed from the desk, he tucked himself away.
Turning to him, he pulled me into his arms and kissed me. For a few minutes, we stood there with his arms wrapped around my shoulders and mine wrapped around his waist. It was perfect.
And I was falling hard for him.
“We should get our work done,” he whispered, and I nodded against his chest.
Separating, he closed his laptop while I walked over to my bag, thankful I chose flats instead of heels with the way my legs felt weak. He pulled open the top drawer of his desk, grabbing a few folders from inside before he joined me at the door. As he unlocked the door and pulled it open, I smirked. I could only imagine how embarrassing it would have been if someone had walked in on us and was incredibly grateful he had locked it.
As we walked down the hall, he gave me the few updates he had on authors who signed up to attend. Exiting the hall, Betsy was busy at the computer still, and she didn’t move her eyes from it as we walked past. Once again we dodged becoming the next hot topic of the town.
Inside the study room, we both set up, and I immediately opened my book to write the ending. I knew exactly what I wanted to happen and got to work finishing it up. Once I finished, I would do a few read throughs to find any possible plot holes before I sent it to Meghan for editing.
A couple hours later, I straightened in my chair to stretch out my back and wake my body up a little bit. The downside to having amazing sex was my body wanted to do nothing but relax afterward. I wasn’t complaining. Sex with Ryan was phenomenal. Glancing over at him, his eyebrows were pinched as he stared at his laptop.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
His eyes jumped from his laptop to meet mine, and there was serious concern there. Everything from a problem with his family to one of our friends being hurt ran through my brain until the hint of anger came through in his expression.
“You are not going to believe this,” he said.
I rounded the table and he pointed to an event on the screen. My mouth dropped open in shock. In the past, the church had done some shady things, but I never expected them to do something like this. Something so clearly manipulative.
“How the hell did they manage this?” Ryan asked, pushing his fingers through his hair.
The event listing showed MCCC had put together a full-on concert with a popular Christian recording artist on the same freaking day as our book festival. We were now in a battle for available accommodations for the competing events.
Collapsing into the chair next to Ryan, I didn’t know what to say or do. We were completely blindsided and low on funds. We couldn’t reserve accommodations for our event knowing we wouldn’t get those deposits back if the places weren’t booked. The church wasn’t just trying to take city funds from the library, this was a blatant attempt to stop the library from getting any funding and needing to close its doors for good.
“We need a super popular author to accept a table, and we need it today,” Ryan said with a groan.
“I-- I can’t,” I started and his attention snapped to me.
“No, I didn’t mean you. I know how you feel, and I wouldn’t put you in that position. You still have to live here after the event is over.”
I sighed, but my brain continued to wage a battle. I could reveal who I was and possibly save our event, or I could stay hidden and possibly lose the library and Ryan. If the library closed its doors, Ryan would be jobless and likely have to move to wherever he could land a job in his original field. I didn’t want to lose him, but I also didn’t want to put my friends and family in a position where they would need to defend me against the haters that would come flying out of the woodwork.
Pulling my phone from my bag, I quickly called Meghan.
“What’s up?” She answered.
“We have a problem. MCCC announced a concert with Nikki Blessed for the same day as the book festival.”
“Son of a bitch!”
“I know.”
Meghan was silent for a moment before she said, “We already have Jason and Carrie at the Orchard Inn, but maybe Dylan Anderson can help us out.”
“Really, an Anderson?” I asked skeptically.
“According to Levi, Dylan isn’t like the other founding families. Plus him and Jason’s sister, Rachel, are a thing, remember?”
“I-- What? When did that happen?” I asked.
“I told you about that during our last girls night. You never listen when I have juicy gossip.”
“I listen when you witness it first-hand but when it’s more than two people deep, I kinda ignore it until it’s proven true.”
“Anyway, Dylan could probably convince a few of the original residents who bought up rentals. I’ll text Levi and have him ask Dylan.”
“I don’t know if it would be enough.” I frowned as Ryan was texting someone on his phone.
“Yes, but I can also call Dr. Cooper, who is friendly with many of the people who own the vacation rentals. Dad still talks to Walt, who might be able to get in contact with a few bus drivers and we could bus people in from Fairwood. We are not giving up on this!”
“Bus drivers,” I stated more optimistically, and Ryan’s gaze shot to mine as his eyes widened with a bit of hopefulness.
“Yes.” Meghan said.
“Okay, that is your task for today. That and finding us a big name so we can hopefully sell more tickets and book these places faster than the church.”
“Well, evidently, I know one huge name in the area, who will likely be walking around the event anyway,” Meghan hinted, but when I didn’t reply she continued, “Don’t worry, I’ll find someone.”
“Thanks, Meg.”
Hanging up the phone, I explained her idea to Ryan and he visibly started to relax. By the time I finished telling him about Meghan’s plans, he took a deep breath and nodded.
“It’s okay, we can manage this. We are going forward as planned. I’ll contact a few of the Fairwood hotels once we have an answer regarding buses. We can add them as accommodation options and offer bussing from the hotel to the library,” Ryan said and I nodded.
It would all work out. I had to stay positive about it. If I let myself get down, I’d end up spiraling. We could still have a successful event, even if I kept my identity a secret and didn’t do the signing.