Chapter 17 #2
Groaning, he pulled back, kicking the door shut. “Before we…get to that surprise, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“Okay,” I said, grabbing his hand and pulling him over to the couch.
Nerves fluttered through my belly at his words. It was never good when a man wanted to talk, but I was willing to push my doubts aside and hear him out.
With a glass of wine in hand.
I took a deep swallow, then pretended everything was normal as I pulled my knees up on the couch and turned to face him. Swirling the wine in my glass, I smiled at him.
“So, what did you need to tell me?”
Shifting uneasily, he picked up his own glass and swallowed a good portion. “It’s actually about this morning.”
“Right, the way you freaked out over the shirt, or the way you made me come on your fingers.”
I was going for bold and fearless. I didn’t want to cry like I nearly did this morning. That would not keep him around for long.
“The shirt,” he said, confirming my worst fears. Staring down into his wine glass, he took a big breath, blowing it out.
My stomach sank even further into the bottomless pit that was quickly forming.
“Listen—”
That was never good.
“When I was in New York, I was seeing someone. We’d been together for several years, and…I thought we were going to get married.”
I steadied myself for the bomb he was about to drop.
He was going back to her.
He was still in love with her.
This was all a mistake.
“Something happened between us, and…” He shook his head, finally looking at me. The devastation in his eyes couldn’t be faked. He was in love with her, hurting and unable to recover, and I was just a distraction.
My eyes dropped to my wine glass and I forced a smile. “It’s fine.”
“What?”
“It was just one night. That’s what you’re going to tell me.”
“What? No!”
Hope blossomed as I looked up into his eyes. Could he be serious? He wasn’t leaving?”
“What I was going to say is that…I’m not ready to move on. Not into another relationship. And I probably should have told you that last night, but I was a little wrapped up in…other thoughts.”
“Oh.”
Well, I wasn’t expecting that.
“I like you, Ellie. A lot. I think I made it pretty clear that I want to fuck you anyway I can on any surface every hour of the day. And I don’t see that changing anytime soon. But I should have been honest with you about where my head is.”
I nodded, feeling a twinge of disappointment deep in my gut.
I was relieved that he wanted to fuck me, that he found me that desirable.
But the idea that he didn’t want more than that was hard to take.
I didn’t want to be somebody’s fuck toy.
That reminded me too much of what happened with Liam, and I never actually slept with him.
But the fallout was no different.
“Ellie, I’m just trying to be honest with you. And if you tell me you don’t want to sleep with me anymore, I completely understand. I can’t expect you to stay with me when you know I can’t offer you more.”
I upended the contents of my glass, swallowing the last of it in one gulp. It was a mood killer to hear the man you were attracted to only wanted to sleep with you, and nothing more.
Nothing about what happened last night was turning out the way I wanted. I didn’t know how to react, what to say. I wanted him, but did I really want to have a non-relationship with the man?
Could I handle that?
I stood and walked into the kitchen, refilling my wine glass as I thought it over. It was sex. Amazing sex. Earth-shattering sex. He might not want more now, but in time, he might see things differently.
Not that I expected him to change just because he was sleeping with me. That wasn’t likely to happen with any man. But I also didn’t want to be made to feel cheap. I wanted more than just sex.
“Ellie, say something,” he said, getting to his feet.
“I want more.”
His face fell, the pleading look turning more toward disappointment.
“I don’t want to just be used for sex.”
“I get it,” he said softly.
“But I also know that you can’t offer me more than that right now. So, I have a counteroffer for you.”
“I’m listening.”
“Don’t make me feel cheap. I don’t want you dropping by in the middle of the night and then sneaking out.
If we make plans to see each other, you don’t show up just expecting sex.
I want a friendship out of this. I want someone I can spend time with and feel comfortable with.
It doesn’t have to be a relationship in the normal sense.
But you can give me your time. You can treat me respectfully and get to know me. ”
“That’s basically a relationship.”
“No, that’s not what I’m asking for. I’m not asking for the commitment. When you’re done, you tell me. But while you’re with me, we can share a meal. We can talk about our days. You can spend the night, or I can stay with you. That’s what I need. I don’t want to feel cheap.”
He stiffened, nodding immediately. “I get it.”
“What happened last night was…” I sucked in a breath, remembering how he laid me out on the counter and devoured me. Shivers raced down my spine at the thought of all the other ways he could have me.
“And that’s what you want,” he said, slowly walking around the counter. “You need more of what I can give you.”
He stopped just shy of touching me, his fingertips playing with the hem of my dress. “You need my touch.”
His fingers glided up my thigh until they touched the edge of my panties. He raised an eyebrow, lifting the dress. “These are not what you were wearing this morning.”
I let out a shattered breath, feeling dizzy from his touch. “I couldn’t smell like sex at the shop.”
“I would think it would sell more products,” he smirked, raising the dress higher so he could fully see what I was wearing.
“Fuck,” he hissed, rubbing his finger across the lace.
My pussy clenched as he dropped to one knee and leaned forward, inhaling my scent. His nose skimmed my clit, then his tongue laved at the material, making me cream.
“So fucking sensitive,” he groaned.
Spinning me around, he got to his feet and pushed me over the counter, pressing my face to the cool surface. Air hit my ass cheeks as he raised the dress, flipping it over my back.
His soft hands skimmed over my ass, giving a squeeze before his fingers slipped under the string. With one hard tug, the fabric pressed against my clit.
I cried out, needing more.
“So fucking sensitive,” he whispered, leaning over me.
His fingers slipped free from the string, then trailed the thin material between my ass cheeks, down to my soaked pussy.
“So fucking wet for me. Were you this soaked all day?”
He tugged on the string again, and I cried out, needing more.
“Ryder,” I moaned breathlessly.
My ass cheeks spread as he nudged his cock between my legs, still bound by the constraints of his jeans.
“Fuck, what I wouldn’t give to stuff my cock in your ass and feel you squeeze me.”
I breathed hard, my ass clenching on cue. I wasn’t sure that I was ready for something like that, but with Ryder, I might just be willing to find out.
He pulsed his cock against me, his breathing turning ragged as his fingers slipped back to the string, tugging in time with his hips.
“So fucking soaked for me. So ready for my cock to fill you, aren’t you, my sweet Ellie?”
Sweet Ellie. I focused on the words as his fingers plunged into my pussy, thrusting in and out as I heard the buckle of his belt come undone.
He stepped back just enough to drop his pants, and then I felt his thick cock pressing at my backside. I peered over my shoulder, mesmerized as he stroked his thick length.
With a final tug on the lace, he tore it from my body, thrusting his fingers harder inside me. Then all at once, they were gone and his thick cock filled me so completely, nearly choking me as he fucked me hard.
“Fuck, my sweet Ellie, so fucking tight,” he groaned, tugging me up so I was pressed against his chest.
His fingers tore at my wrap, pulling the dress away from my breasts as his teeth nipped at my throat. The cup of my bra was pulled down, and then he was tugging at my nipple, twisting it and flicking it as his hips drove against me harder.
“Ryder!” I called out when the sensations became overwhelming.
“Talk to me, Ellie. Tell me what you need, what you want.”
The room spun around me as he drove his hips against mine, thrusting his cock hard and deep inside me. He ripped the dress the rest of the way from my body, flicking off my bra in one easy move.
“These breasts,” he murmured, sucking on my neck. “One day, I’m gonna shove my cock between these. Twist these pretty nipples as I come all over you.”
His hands cupped my breasts, twisting and pulling, and all the while, his tongue laved at my skin. His teeth nipped at my throat, leaving bites and kisses that left me lightheaded and walking on air.
“Nobody does this to me, Ellie. Nobody twists me up inside like you do,” he murmured.
I cried out as he pinched my clit, twisting hard as he slammed inside me over and over. I was spiraling out of control, practically weeping with relief as my body handed itself over to his skilled hands.
My hips banged against the counter as he took me one final time, thrusting so hard I fell forward and collapsed against the cool surface.
“Fuck!” he shouted, filling me so deep that something inside me pinched.
Breathing hard, he trailed his lips up my spine, leaving wet kisses in his wake. My eyes fluttered closed as I gave in to the post-orgasmic feeling of walking on clouds.
Never in my life had I ever been so fucked.
And not just because the man currently inside me was so fucking good at using his cock.