Chapter 17 #2
Ryder laughed, and the clear, joyous sound of it bounced off the riverbanks and wriggled uncomfortably into my heart. “You look adorable, just so you know. Do you realise your moustache wrinkles when you’re pissed?”
My hand immediately shot up to touch it, and Ryder laughed again.
He moved into deeper water and crooked his finger at me. “Come on. You may as well. You’re already wet.”
I braced my hands on my hips and sulked, “And whose fault is that? And no, I do not look adorable. I look—” I glanced down at myself. “—fucking saturated. That’s how I look. This was your plan all along, I take it?”
Ryder zipped his lips and simply beckoned me to join him again, a challenge woven into that sexy fucking smile.
I considered his invitation a moment longer.
Considered everything that it would inevitably lead to.
I considered my self-made promise to not mess with his heart, or mine, come to that.
Considered the wreck of my life and all the jumbled emotions it had left me with—anger, grief, betrayal, humiliation.
But there was something else hovering just beneath the surface of all that. Something new. A beat of small, fragile wings. Something a lot like . . . hope. Like possibility.
I considered it all for a good three seconds.
And thought, fuck it.
I stripped my clothes where I stood and ran screaming into the freezing water, arms flailing. Ryder caught me and pulled me close. I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck; my semi pressed hard against his belly.
Like a warning bell had gone off, our gazes caught, and Ryder’s expression turned serious. “Are you sure you’re okay with this? With me touching you?”
Am I? Who the fuck knew? It wasn’t the touching or the sex so much as the way Ryder made me feel every second I spent in his company.
The way I never wanted it to end. And so I said the only thing that made sense.
“Absolutely, I am.” I kissed him hard. “I’ve been thinking about practically nothing else since I left your bed the last time. ”
Ryder grinned and brushed the water from my moustache.
Then he kissed me, his tongue sliding between my lips like it was coming home.
A needy sigh broke from my throat into his open mouth and he returned one of his own before gathering me closer in a hungry, punishing kiss that went on and on until my lungs burned.
When he finally pulled away, he cradled my face and stared into my eyes, water dripping from his lashes, those blue, blue eyes full of a thousand things I wasn’t ready to hear.
“Jesus, Thaddeus,” he breathed. “I’ve been wanting to do that all week. You taste so fucking good. Come with me.”
My legs unlocked from his waist and he pulled me toward the narrow shelf on the far side of the swimming hole. He put his back to the rocky outcrop and seemed to rise out of the water a little.
“Are you standing on a rock?” I peered into the depths. “That’s cheating.”
He chuckled and beckoned me closer, gripping me under the arms and lifting me enough to study my slowly dissipating bruises.
“Good,” he announced. “They look better.” He pulled my legs back over his hips and cupped my arse in both his hands, kissing me again, hard and demanding, before mouthing his way down my throat and then over to suckle each of my nipples in turn.
“Oh . . . fuck.” My head fell back, and an unseemly groan fell from my lips, my hips pumping as I strived for friction against his belly.
He gave a muffled chuckle and nipped my chest. “Take it easy or I’ll lose my footing. Always in such a hurry.”
“Always such a slow pain in my arse,” I fired back before attacking his mouth like a crazy man and humping him shamelessly. He laughed all the way through my desperate manoeuvrings until I finally snagged his beard between my teeth and gave it a yank.
“Ow!” He jerked away, still smiling. “So that’s how it’s going to be, is it?” He spun me around while I laughed and wiggled in his arms, marvelling at how easy everything was with this man. How relaxed I felt in his arms. How much I trusted him with my body. How much I felt like . . . me.
Ryder grabbed my hips and lifted me onto the barely submerged and slightly slimy ledge. He turned and pushed my knees apart, then carefully made his way between them, holding the ledge for balance as his feet negotiated the rock they stood on.
“Well, look at that.” Ryder licked his lips at the sight of my stiff dick bouncing enticingly above the surface of the water, in almost perfect position for the enactment of nefarious deeds.
Ryder lowered his head and pressed a chaste kiss to the head of my cock, which, admittedly, had been hoping for a great deal more from the occasion.
He looked up at me, eyes dancing under the lights. “May I?”
I threaded my fingers through his hair and gave it a tug. “You’d damn well better, before I think too closely about exactly what I’m sitting on.”
He chuckled. “It’s only moss. You’ll survive.”
I wasn’t so sure, but the second his mouth landed on my aching dick, I forgot all about the dubious vegetation under my butt and lost myself in Ryder’s wondrous ability to seemingly both suck and lick cock at the same time, and with unrivalled enthusiasm.
The act involved no small amount of skill, considering my balls were currently languishing in the tidal zone.
Ryder’s occasional cough and splutter paid testament to that fact as he made a valiant effort to suck my brains through my dick.
The man’s mouth needed a carry permit, at the very least.
“Lift up.” Ryder’s order broke through the haze of pleasure circling my brain. He slapped my thigh encouragingly, and I shifted a little onto one hip, just enough to let him slide his hand under my arse and his finger into my crease.
“Oh . . . f-fuuck.” I hooked my leg over his shoulder to give him room to work and to open myself up.
He groaned appreciatively, his entire finger sliding into my wet hole until I was riding it like I wanted to ride his dick.
He crooked the tip and an electric bolt of pleasure cascaded through my belly.
I cried out, battling to stave off the orgasm.
“Goddamn you, Ryder!” My hands cradled his head, guiding him to the position I liked best. My fingers found his mouth, wet and wide over my cock, then down around his throat so I could feel him taking me deep.
Then he swallowed, and the sensation under my fingers was the sexiest thing I’d ever felt.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!” My head fell back, and I stared at the fairy lights twinkling above our heads like a star-studded sky. “So close,” I gasped. “So fucking close.”
Ryder grunted and kept sucking my cock, finger-fucking my arse at the same time.
The roar in my body grew louder and deeper, rolling and rolling, rushing for the edge.
Then Ryder gave one final press on my prostate, and I came on a loud shout, unloading down his throat as pleasure barrelled through me in shuddering waves.
My gaze fixed on the twinkling canopy above as something raw and devastating unleashed in my heart.
I didn’t just like this man; I’d fallen head over fucking heels for him.
It was ridiculous and risky and completely nuts.
But that didn’t make it any less true.
I wanted to see if we could be more. If this could lead somewhere.
I wanted the chance, almost more than I wanted anything else.
Which meant I was royally screwed in too many ways to count, starting with my less-than-honest accounting of myself and my work.
My breath returned to my chest, and I gave Ryder’s hair a tug. “Get up here.” I wriggled across to give him room, and he clambered up. There wasn’t a lot of space to manoeuvre, so I took a moment to figure out a plan.
Ryder waggled his brows. “And now that you have me here, whatever are you going to do with me?”
I narrowed my eyes. “This would’ve been a lot easier on the bank.”
He grinned and kissed me. “But not nearly as much fun. Do you know how many times I’ve sat here and jerked myself off, wondering if I’d meet anyone I actually wanted to bring here?”
And just like that, my dick twitched back to life.
Ryder noticed and smirked. “Impressive recovery time there, buddy.”
“Damn right, old man.” I shot him a smirk. “And don’t you dare buddy me. You promised you wouldn’t coerce me into swimming.”
“And I believe I kept that promise.” He batted his lashes. “I can’t help it if the sight of my naked body overwhelms your sense of propriety.”
I rolled my eyes. “You wish. The evening was a little warm, that’s all.
Now get those legs together.” He snorted but did as he was told, and I carefully straddled his thighs into an awkward sort of squat.
The feel of his hard cock pressing against my belly was almost enough to get mine heading in the same direction.
I clamped Ryder’s face between my hands and threatened, “If I fall off, I’m taking you with me . . . buddy. Got it?”
Ryder snorted and grabbed me around the hips to steady me. It wasn’t the most comfortable position in the world, but I was determined to make it work. I took his slick cock in hand and began to pump.
Ryder gasped, and his mouth opened in a soft sigh. “Oh . . . damn, that feels good.” His hands kneaded my arse. “Just like that, baby. Just like that.”
I let him enjoy it for a bit until the stroke of my hand against my own dick began to take its toll. “Kiss me, please.” His mouth met mine, his tongue desperate and hungry. I shuffled higher in his lap and wobbled precariously.
“Going somewhere?” Ryder’s fingers dug into my hips and steadied me. “Jesus, Thaddeus,” he groaned against my lips. “Faster, yeah?”
I happily did as directed, dragging my mouth from his to rest my forehead on his shoulders.
I stroked as fast as I could manage until I felt his body start to tense and met his gaze just in time to feel his cock swell in my hand.
He groaned and jerked, and a warm gush of come washed between my fingers.
I could’ve pushed myself over if I’d wanted, but I was lost in Ryder’s bright eyes, watching him ride his pleasure with his gaze locked on mine like I truly meant something to him.
And oh, how I fucking wanted to.