Chapter 28
Claire
I’ve never giggled so much in my life. My face hurts from smiling. I’ve also never been naked this long. True to his word, Ryder hasn’t let me leave the bedroom for two nights. He even cuffs me to the bed when he leaves to get food so I can’t escape. It makes me so fucking aroused every time that I can’t even eat what he brings back until he satisfies me again.
Several times, he has left me cuffed to the bed while he feeds me. That’s sexy, too. Everything with Ryder is sexy. I’m cuffed to the bed now because he’s just returned from getting me coffee.
“Are you going to let me take a bath this morning?” I ask jokingly. The man has washed me several times with a warm cloth on the bed, but he hasn’t let me use the shower or the tub.
I know why. He’s marking me. He has an obsession with getting me pregnant. I was joking about him propping me up to make sure his sperm have a better chance, but he’s done everything but tip me upside down.
We have to clean up and get dressed this morning, though. Our parents are coming. I can’t go downstairs smelling like sex.
Ryder grunts. “No. I’ll give you a shower.”
A shiver runs down me, leaving goosebumps all over my body. I’m aroused again as I stare at my husband. I’m sitting against the headboard, my arms spread wide since he has connected my wrists high up on the posts. My breasts are heavy, my nipples deliciously sore.
Ryder sets his coffee on the nightstand and carefully climbs onto the bed, holding mine. “Spread your legs, baby.”
I part my knees for him so he can kneel between them. Where has my modesty gone? It’s fled the estate. That’s for sure. His come is running out of me again, and I’m wantonly spread open for him. It’s scandalous. It’s hot.
He holds the mug up to my mouth and carefully gives me a sip of coffee, holding his other hand under the lip in case it drips.
I moan as soon as the elixir enters my body and accept several more sips. “You could release me so I could hold that myself.”
My man smirks. “Why would I do that?” He helps me drink more coffee before setting the mug on the nightstand and settling between my thighs. He runs his hands up and down the sensitive skin between my legs, making my never-dormant pussy twitch with need. This man is going to get me pregnant if he hasn’t already.
Maybe I should be panicked. I never imagined myself pregnant at this stage of my life. I’m twenty-two. Until two weeks ago, I didn’t have a single prospect of a man. No one I would have given my virginity to lived in the county. And I certainly wouldn’t have married any of the men I know. I shudder, forcing myself not to think about Smith. He doesn’t belong in my bedroom.
Ryder keeps my feet planted on Earth every time he looks at me, his intense gaze reminding me I’m his world. He is also mine. So, if the man wants to have babies, we’re having babies. I can already picture him as a father. He will be amazing.
I’m also scared. I’m going to get huge and fat, and the idea of pushing a human out of me makes me panic. I bite my lip and clench my legs against his thighs at the thought.
He frowns. “What’s wrong?”
I draw in a breath. He might as well know my fears. “I’m just thinking about how huge I’m going to get and wondering if you’re still going to find me attractive—and also worrying about pushing a human out of me.”
His face softens. His hands move to my breasts, cupping them reverently. “You will be so fucking sexy all round with my child. I won’t be able to take my eyes off you. And I’ll be right beside you when you give birth. You can squeeze my hand until it hurts.”
He has an answer for everything.
“What about the bakery? My parents need me. Now is not a great time for me to leave them in a lurch for a few weeks while I’m recovering from childbirth.” I have so many random concerns.
He pinches my nipples, making me arch into his palms.
“Ryder…”
He releases them and scoots closer. “I spoke to your parents about that, actually.”
My eyes bug out of my head. “You talked to my parents about me getting pregnant?”
“Well, not specifically that. I spoke to them about making sure they have the funds to hire more help. I’ve talked to Thomas about it, too. We have a lot of wiggle room with regard to the estate. Thomas has the power to dole out money however he wants, and he wants to turn this town around. We’ll be working with him to get every business back in the black and thriving. I’m hoping you’ll help me.”
This is an odd conversation to have while I’m spread open and restrained to the bedposts, but I focus on Ryder’s intensity. He hasn’t been this serious since we said, “I do.”
I lick my lips. “Help you how?”
“Help me run the estate and get the town what they need. I’d like you by my side. I want your input. I’m hoping you’ll take charge of several aspects of the town’s renovations.” He holds my gaze, swallowing.
It’s rare for him to ask me to do something instead of ordering me to. That’s what he’s doing. He’s asking me to work with him.
“You want me to quit at the bakery?”
He doesn’t look away. “If working at the bakery is your passion, I won’t stand in your way. Never. I always want you to do whatever fulfills you. I’ll support you in everything. But I don’t think that’s the case. I suspect you work for your parents because it’s expected, and you haven’t had other options.”
I’m soaking in his words. He’s right.
“What if someone else could work for the bakery and you joined me fixing the estate and the town?”
I stare at him, not looking away, thinking. My heart is pounding. I know he likes me with him all the time, but this is bigger than that. He’s asking me to be his partner.
“You’ll let me take over some aspects and manage them without interfering?”
He gives me a slow smile. He’s already delighted and hopeful. “Yes, baby. Always.”
“You won’t stick your nose in and argue with my decisions?”
“I promise.”
Could I work with him like he’s suggesting?
He cups my breasts again and teases my nipples with his thumbs, making it hard to think. He’s always going to do this. He likes to keep me a little off-kilter.
This is my life now. This man is my world. The thought of going into town to open the bakery at four in the morning every day is not appealing at all. He’s right. Making pastries is not my passion. Ryder is.
I have a chance to help make this town thrive again. I’m not going to pass up the opportunity. “Okay, but on one condition.”
He grins wide, his fingers wrapped around my sore nipples. “Anything.”
“You fuck me one more time and then let me lounge in the bath for an hour before our parents arrive. My muscles hurt. I need to soak with Epson salts.”
He flicks my nipples. The man is so distracting. He’s thinking about my proposal, and it’s almost comical that he’s so conflicted.
I arch my chest into his hands, trying to focus on my goal here. “A bath is not going to cause water to wash up inside me and rinse the billions of little sperm out, Ryder. I’m not going to douche. Just take a bath.”
He cracks a smile. “I’ll agree, but I have my own condition.”
Bossy man. “Let’s hear it.”
“I get in the tub with you and wash you myself.”
“You’re worried your little swimmers will come out if you don’t supervise?”
He shrugs. “Something like that.”
I giggle. “Deal.”
Why do I think I’m going to be making odd deals with this intense, bossy man for the rest of my life?