Chapter 34
thirty-four
WREN
The kiss starts soft and sweet, but it doesn’t stay that way.
Ryan’s hands slide into my hair, tilting my head back as he deepens it.
I feel that familiar flutter low in my stomach that only he can cause.
We’re standing on this ridiculously romantic terrace with candles flickering around us and the ocean stretching endlessly in the background, but all I can focus on is the heat of his mouth and the way he’s holding me like I’m something he can’t live without.
“God, I missed this,” he murmurs against my lips.
I laugh, but it turns into a gasp when he trails kisses down my throat. The stubble on his jaw scrapes against my skin and I shiver, my hands fisting in his shirt to keep myself steady.
“We should go somewhere more private,” I whisper.
“Why? No one’s watching.”
“Because if you keep doing that, I’m going to forget we’re supposed to be acting professional.”
He pulls back to look at me, his eyes dark with heat. “Professional went out the window the moment I saw you in that dress.”
“This old thing?” I flick the dress out with my fingertips.
“That old thing is going to be the death of me.” His hands slide down to rest on my hips. “Do you have any idea what you do to me?”
The raw honesty in his voice makes my breath catch. “Show me.”
Something fierce flashes in his eyes. “Come with me.”
He takes my hand and leads me through the resort.
Past the infinity pool with its underwater lighting, past a hot tub that’s definitely going to feature in tomorrow’s filming, past what looks like a spa area with massage tables set up under a pergola.
Everything is beautiful and expensive and designed to make people fall in love on camera.
But I’m not thinking about cameras right now. I’m thinking about the way Ryan’s thumb is stroking across my knuckles, the way he keeps glancing back at me like he can’t quite believe I’m real.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“My room.”
“Ryan, we can’t. If Elena finds out…”
“Elena said we had two hours of private time. What we do with it is our business.”
We reach a set of stairs leading to the second floor. Ryan pauses at the bottom, still holding my hand but not pulling me forward.
“If you want to stop, we stop,” he says quietly. “No questions, no pressure. We can go sit by the pool and talk about the weather if that’s what you want.”
I look up at him, this man who’s been driving me crazy for weeks, who kissed me in a storage closet and made me feel things I didn’t know I was capable of feeling. His hair is mussed from my fingers, his shirt wrinkled from my hands. He’s looking at me like I’m the only person in the world.
“I don’t want to talk about the weather,” I say.
His smile is slow and devastating. “Good.”
His room is just as over-the-top as everything else about this place. Massive bed with white linens, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the ocean, a balcony with what looks like a private hot tub. Rose petals are scattered across the comforter and there are more candles than a church.
“Subtle,” I mutter.
Ryan closes the door behind us and suddenly, the space feels different. Intimate. Real. We’re alone. Actually alone. No cameras, no crew, no one watching our every move.
“Second thoughts?” he asks.
I turn to face him, taking in the way he’s standing there so still, giving me space to change my mind if I need to. Not pushing, not assuming. Just waiting.
“No second thoughts,” I say. “Just… are you sure about this? About us?”
He’s on me in two strides, his mouth crashing into mine with desperate hunger. His hands are everywhere, sliding down my back to grip my ass, pulling me against him so I can feel exactly how hard he is.
“Fuck, I need you,” he growls against my lips.
“Then take me.”
His hands find the zipper of my dress and he drags it down slowly, his knuckles brushing against my spine. The dress pools at my feet, leaving me in just a white lace thong and the heels Elena’s team picked out.
“Jesus Christ,” he breathes, stepping back to look at me. “You’re fucking perfect.”
I should feel exposed, but the way he’s looking at me makes me feel powerful. Like I could bring him to his knees with just a look.
“Your turn,” I say, reaching for his shirt.
But instead of letting me undress him, he catches my wrists and pins them above my head against the wall.
“Not yet,” he says, his voice rough. “I want to taste you first.”
Before I can respond, he’s dropping to his knees in front of me. He hooks his fingers in my thong and drags it down my legs, his breath hot against my inner thighs.
“Spread your legs for me,” he commands.
I do. He wastes no time burying his face between my thighs. His tongue finds my clit immediately, circling it with just the right pressure to make me cry out.
“Oh god, Ryan!”
He hums against me, the vibration sending shock waves through my core. His tongue is relentless, licking and sucking until I’m grinding against his face, chasing the orgasm that’s building low in my belly.
“You taste so fucking good,” he murmurs between licks. “I could eat this pussy all night.”
“Please,” I gasp. “I’m so close.”
He slides two fingers inside me while his tongue works my clit. That’s all it takes. I come with a scream, my legs shaking as waves of pleasure crash over me.
But he doesn’t stop. He keeps licking, keeps finger fucking me through the aftershocks until I’m begging him to stop because it’s too much.
“One more,” he says against my swollen flesh. “Give me one more.”
He adds a third finger, stretching me, curling them to hit the spot that makes me see stars. His mouth is relentless on my clit. Before I know it, I’m coming again, harder this time, my vision going white around the edges.
When I finally come back to myself, Ryan is standing in front of me, his face glistening with my arousal, his eyes dark with satisfaction.
“I’ve been thinking about this all day,” he murmurs against my lips.
“Just today?”
“Okay, fine. I’ve been thinking about this since the hotel. Since the storage closet. Since that first night when you came to my room and we talked until sunrise.”
“Fuck,” I breathe. “That was…”
“That was just the beginning,” he says, lifting me easily and carrying me to the bed.
He tosses me down on the rose petals and I bounce slightly, laughing breathlessly. But my laughter dies when I see him stripping off his clothes, revealing inch after inch of tanned skin and hard muscle.
When he pushes down his boxer briefs, his cock springs free, thick and hard and already leaking precum. I lick my lips, suddenly desperate to taste him.
“Come here,” I say, crooking my finger at him.
He joins me on the bed, but when I reach for his cock, he catches my hand.
“Not yet,” he says. “I need to be inside you. I’ve been thinking about your pussy all day.”
He reaches for his wallet, fumbling for a condom. I help him roll it on, my hands trembling with anticipation.
When he finally settles between my thighs, I wrap my legs around his waist, pulling him closer. Then he’s pushing inside me in one smooth thrust.
We both groan at the sensation. He’s so thick, stretching me perfectly, filling me completely.
“Fuck, you feel incredible,” he gasps. “So tight and wet for me.”
He starts to move, setting a rhythm that’s deep and hard and perfect. Each thrust hits the spot inside me that makes me see stars. I can already feel another orgasm building.
“Harder,” I beg. “Fuck me harder.”
He complies, driving into me with a force that makes the headboard slam against the wall. The sound of skin slapping against skin fills the room, along with our moans and gasps.
“You like that?” he growls. “You like when I fuck you hard?”
“Yes! God, yes! Don’t stop!”
He reaches between us to rub my clit with his thumb. I nearly scream at the added stimulation.
“Come for me,” he commands. “Come on my cock.”
I do, exploding around him with a force that surprises us both. My pussy clenches around him rhythmically. He curses as he follows me over the edge, spilling himself inside the condom with a hoarse shout.
We collapse together, hearts racing, skin slick with sweat. I trace lazy patterns on his chest while he plays with my hair.
“You’re incredible,” he whispers against my skin. “Perfect.”
“Not perfect.”
“Perfect for me.”
The words make my heart skip. We lie tangled together, hearts racing, skin damp with sweat.
“That was…” I start.
“Yeah.”
“We’re in so much trouble.”
He tightens his arms around me. “Worth it.”
“Elena’s going to know something happened.”
“Probably.”
I prop myself up to look at him. “And you’re okay with all that?”
He reaches up to cup my face, his thumb stroking across my cheekbone. “For you? I’m okay with anything.”
The show is nearly over. I’m almost at the end of this journey. I should feel strong. Instead, all I can think is, what if I’m still just the girl nobody picks?
The sincerity in his voice makes my chest tight. I want to tell him I feel the same way, that I’d risk everything for this, for him. But the words stick in my throat.
Instead, I kiss him again, pouring everything I can’t say into the touch of my lips against his. He kisses me back just as fiercely. I know he understands.
But what if he crushes my heart by accident?