Little Bird
Aviana
His confession of what he did to Samuel should scare me, but it doesn’t. In some twisted way, it makes me feel safer—because he did it for me. He ended the nightmare that Samuel was, and now, I don’t have to fear his hands ever touching me again. I don’t have to fear that darkness coming back into my life.
What scares me more is how easy it is for me to accept this. How easily I accept that Ryan, as my protector, will do anything it takes to keep me safe, even if it means crossing lines I can’t fully comprehend.
His eyes meet mine as if they are searching for something, anything to tell him I am scared of him but I am not. All I see is the man who has fought for me in silence. He fought for me by protecting me from the very people who had hurt me, the ones who sought to destroy me.
I’ve been angry at him for not being there, for the silence between us, but sometimes I wonder if he ever really left. If, somehow, he was always there—just beyond my sight—fighting battles I never knew about, keeping the worst of it away from me. Maybe I was never as alone as I thought. Maybe he carried the weight of it so I wouldn’t have to.
I feel my chest tighten as I finally understand. “You protected me,” I whisper, the realization hitting me like a ton of bricks. “You’ve been fighting for me all along, haven’t you?”
Without thinking, I scoot closer to him on the bed, my heart beating faster with every inch. The realization of everything he has done for me, fills the space between us .
I closed the distance between us, my hands trembling ever so slightly as I reached out to touch his face. “Ryan,” I whispered, my voice barely audible, “I love you. I love you so fucking much.”
His eyes widened in surprise, but I didn’t give him a chance to respond. I pressed my lips against his, my tongue demanding entrance. He groaned, his arms wrapping around me as he deepened the kiss.
Straddling his lap, I could feel his hardness pressing against my aching center, and I moaned into his mouth. I wanted him, needed him inside me. I pulled away, my breath coming in short gasps as I looked into his eyes. “I don’t want it to be slow, Ryan. I want you to fuck me hard, to show me just how much I am yours, how much you love me.”
“, as much as I want that, we don’t have time. I promised Cade you wouldn’t miss your session.”
“Then we better get started.”
I didn’t need to say anything else as I pleaded with him with my eyes. He growled like he was conflicted. His hands gripped my hips as he spun me on to the mattress face down. I gasped as he pressed his body against mine, his erection digging into my ass. “Is this what you want, .” his breath hot against my skin, “You want me to fuck you hard and fast?”
“Yes,” I moaned, my body aching for him, “Fuck me, Ryan. Show me who I belong to.”
He didn’t waste any time, his hands pulled down my shorts and panties in one swift motion. I gasped as the cool air hit my exposed skin, my pussy already slick with desire. I could feel his fingers tracing my slit, teasing me, making me moan. “You’re so fucking wet, ,” he growled, his fingers sliding inside of me. “Is this all for me?”
“Yes,” I moaned, my hips bucking against his hand. “It’s all for you, only you.” His other hand doing his best to take off his sweatpants.
His fingers sliding out of me before I felt the head of his cock pressing against my entrance. I moaned, my body arching as he slammed into me. “Fuck,” I cried out, my fingers digging into the sheet as he began to move. He was rough, his thrusts hard and fast, just like I had asked for. I could feel my orgasm building, my body trembling with need.
“I love you, Avi,” he grunted in my ear, his hands gripping my hips as he pounded into me. “I’ll always protect you, always fight for you.”
“I love you too, Ryan,” I moaned, my body tensing as the orgasm crashed over me. I cried out, my body shaking as he continued to thrust into me, his movements becoming more erratic as he reached his own release.
He collapsed against me and pressed kisses against my neck. “I love you, ,” he whispered, “I’ll always love you.”
We lay there for a moment, tangled in the aftermath of everything, our bodies pressed close and our hearts beating in perfect rhythm. But then, he swatted my ass, breaking the moment with a grin.
“Come on, ,” he said, his voice filled with a teasing edge. “We’re going to be late, and as much as I can’t stand that guy, I promised you’d be at your session.”
I laughed softly, the sound mixing with the tenderness between us. We scrambled to get cleaned up, both of us trying to ignore the temptation to fall back into each other, but time was ticking. After he got dressed and I found some clothes in a suitcase, he walked to the closet.
“I have something for you, ,” he said, his voice quieter now, almost unsure.
When he turned around, my heart skipped at the sight of the small box in his hand.
“Ryan…” I said softly, my voice wavering as a tear threatened to fall.
“Open it, ,” he said, walking over to where I stood, his voice rough with emotion. “It’s yours.”
I took the box from him, my fingers trembling slightly as I opened it, revealing the silver bird necklace on a delicate chain. My breath caught in my throat, and memories of my 18th birthday hit me all at once—the anger, the heartbreak, and how I’d thrown it at the wall, unable to hold onto the love he had given me.
Ryan stepped even closer, watching me carefully. “When I’d talk to Liam about you,” he said softly, his voice thick with regret, “I always called you my . He had that stupid nickname for you, ‘Little Screamer,’ but I wanted something that was just for us. Something more meaningful. I didn’t work those extra hours at the tack shop to save up for leaving. I was saving up for that necklace. I saw it in the jewelry shop window when I went into town to get your medicine when you were sick, and I decided I would work harder, longer, to get it for you. It was never meant for anyone else but you.”
The words hit me like a wave, and I blinked back tears, feeling the weight of everything he had sacrificed. My fingers brushed the delicate silver bird, the weight of the necklace feeling like a promise—a reminder of how much he had always cared.
“Ryan,” I whispered, my voice thick with emotion. “I don’t know what to —”
He cut me off, his hand cupping my cheek gently. “Don’t, . Just let me show you how much you mean to me now.”
He looked at me with such intensity, his eyes soft yet filled with something deeper—something I couldn’t put into words. His fingers trembled as he took the necklace from the box, the silver chain glinting in the dim light of the cabin.
Without breaking our gaze, he slowly lifted the necklace, unclasped the chain and draped it around my neck, the cool metal against my skin sending a shiver through me. I could feel the weight of it, both literal and figurative—the weight of his love, his regrets, and everything we had yet to face together.
When he clasped it behind my neck, his hands lingered there for just a moment, as if he needed to make sure it was real, that this was really happening. That I was really here, with him, and we were going to be okay.
“You’re mine, ,” he whispered, his voice rough with emotion. “And I’m never letting you go again.”
I swallowed, the lump in my throat growing, as I let the warmth of his words sink in. I turned my face up to him, my fingers brushing over the necklace as it rested on my chest, and I knew then, without a doubt, that everything had changed.
He kissed me, slow and deep, his lips claiming mine as though they had never left.