Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
EVE
H is eyes have a wicked gleam in them as he presses his body against mine. He’s rock-hard, and I hold back a moan as I come into contact with him. He’s been a walking temptation ever since we got here this morning. His black t-shirt matches mine with the logo and clings to his body like a second skin.
When I walked out earlier to get coffee, he was bent over the hood of the car in his dark jeans and black boots. He lifted his head to look at me like he felt my eyes on him. His gaze has left me with a deep ache that I’ve been trying to ignore all day. It doesn’t help that he’s wearing a backward hat. I feel like a kid who has had candy within reach all day but is not allowed to reach out and taste it.
“I think you want this right now just as much as I do. I’ve felt your eyes on me all day, just like you’ve felt mine. I bet your panties are soaked for me right now,” he whispers against my ear before pulling it with his teeth.
I close my eyes and let out a soft moan that I’ve been holding in.
“But you are right. It is the middle of the day, and I’m sure everyone knows exactly what we are doing in here right now. I should go and let you get back to work.” He starts to back up, and I bring him back to me. Chuckling, he weaves his hands into my hair and holds the back of my neck, running his thumbs along my cheeks.
“What’s the fun of being the boss if you don’t have a little job perks?” I look up at him, and his eyes dance with amusement.
“I couldn’t agree more,” he says, slamming his lips to mine. I immediately run my hands up under his shirt, seeking his bare back. He moans as I rake my fingernails down hard muscles as he lifts me up on the desk. His hands find my bare thighs before sliding up under my skirt and palming my ass, bringing me flush against him.
He rubs me hard against his jeans, and the friction has me throbbing for him. His tongue dives deeper, tangling with mine. I bring my legs up, wrapping tighter around him, my heels pressing into his back.
“Fuck,” he rasps out, his fingers digging deeper into my flesh. He grabs the lace on my thong, and I hear fabric rip seconds before my hands frantically find the buckle of his jeans. Lowering the zipper, I free him from his black boxer briefs, and he’s deep inside me on my next breath. “Jesus, you feel so fucking good. I would live with you wrapped around me if I could.”
His hands lift the bottom of my shirt, exposing my bra, before he undoes the middle clasp and frees my breasts. Reaching behind, he pulls on my ponytail, making my back arch as his mouth teases and pulls my nipples one by one. A deep burning starts to form as he goes deeper and harder inside me. Papers scatter to the floor as my hands try to find something to hold onto.
I feel my body start to tighten, and I whimper against the desk, trying to hold back the cry that’s about to escape. “Ryder…” I moan, knowing I’m close.
He yanks me back up to him and presses my lips against his neck. “Use me,” he breathes against my hair. The first wave of my orgasm slams into me, and I bite down on his neck to muffle my scream. He lets out a deep growl as he fists my hair and buries his face in it.
He goes deeper and releases into me as we go over the edge together. Tremors shoot through my body as I taste his flesh to keep silent. The hard grip on my hair and thigh tells me he’s fighting to be quiet, too. Our breaths are ragged as I squeeze around him, pulsing together to a matching rhythm. I feel the room come back into focus as I return to my body. His heart beats fast against mine. I see the red mark on his neck and kiss it softly.
“Sorry if that hurt,” I whisper against his skin, placing another lingering kiss on his neck.
“It didn’t hurt,” he grins into my hair. “You can sink your teeth into me any time you want, especially if you’re cumming around me while you do it. I’ll wear you proudly on my skin.”
“I can’t believe I just slept with my boss in his office,” I giggle.
“Hmmmmm. It’s our office, and I see you as my partner here, but I’m more than happy to be your boss anytime you want to recreate a hot office scene. Just don’t file a sexual harassment my way…Ms. Mercedes Rhodes.” He lifts his eyebrow up and smirks.
“I wouldn’t dream of it, Mr. Montgomery.” I wrap my arms around his neck, weaving my fingers in his hair to bring his lips back to mine. I kiss him softly on the lips before tracing his bottom lip with my tongue. I could easily stay here all day, but I know we both have to get back to work.
Groaning, he breaks away. “If I stay in you any longer, I’m going to start round two, and I know we have that meeting to get ready for. He pulls out and fixes his pants while I put my bra back together and adjust my shirt. Grinning, he picks up my panties from the floor.
“Sorry. I owe you a pair,” he laughs, holding up the torn lace before stuffing them in his pocket.
“This should be a fun meeting. I’ll try not to pull a Basic Instinct ,” I mumble. I grab some tissues off the desk and clean myself up before standing to pull my skirt down.
“I’m putting you behind the desk the rest of the day. I’m not taking any chances with that short skirt.” He eyes the black skirt I’m wearing like he’s trying to make sure that you can’t tell I’m not wearing any underwear. I love how protective he is over me. He’s always made me feel safe and loved.
“I’ll gladly hide out here. I’m not ready to face the guys anytime soon. I know for a fact they know exactly what went on when the blinds shut.”
“I’m pretty sure the bite mark on my neck will give it away if the blinds don’t.” He laughs when my cheeks get red thinking about it. He gives me another kiss before walking to the door. “I’m going to go check on things out there. I’ll be back when our client arrives.” He turns with his hand on the knob. “I love you.” His blinding smile melts away any thoughts running through my head.
I break out into a huge grin. “I love you too.” He pulls open the door and leaves. I run my hand over my messy ponytail before grabbing my purse and walking into the private bathroom attached to this office. I need to clean up at least and make myself presentable…panties or no panties. The… I just had sex hair is not going to cut it.
I wring my hands together again for the millionth time as I pace the small living room. Jake should be back from the airport any minute now with his parents and sister. We thought it would be best to have some alone time with them here before they meet Ryland, and we join the others for the cookout the guys have planned.
“Hey,” Ryder says, coming up from behind and wrapping his arms around me. “There’s nothing to be nervous about. We’ve talked to them a million times this past two weeks, and they understand why you left.”
I turn and bury my face in his chest, needing his calming presence to settle my nerves. “I know. I just still feel like I let them down…let you all down,” I say into his t-shirt.
“Eve, look at me.” He cups my face, and I lift my eyes to his. “When I look at you, what do you see?” I search his greys and immediately get flooded with warmth. Tears blur my vision at the sheer intensity of what I feel when he looks at me.
“Love,” I whisper. “I feel loved.” His beautiful smile appears, causing every little worry to simply disappear.
“And that’s all you are going to see when my parents and sister look at you. No one blames you or feels like you let us down. You’ve always been a part of our family, and that hasn’t changed. Neither has the love we all have for you.”
“He’s right, you know,” Ryder’s mom, Meaghan, says softly. We both turn and see his parents standing in the doorway. We were so focused on each other that we didn’t hear them come in. She looks exactly like I remember her. Her dark hair flows down her back, and her slender frame is in white flowy pants and a black fitted tank top. She looks so much like Ryder with her grey eyes that you would never know she didn’t give birth to him. She opens her arms, and I immediately run into them.
I breathe in her familiar scent of lavender as we both let the tears fall. She rubs soothing circles over my back and keeps telling me everything is okay now. I’m home, and I’m safe. When we finally break apart, Ryder’s dad, Trevor, smiles at me with his blue eyes shining with love. His dark hair has a little more grey sprinkled in it, but he still looks exactly the same to me.
“Where’s my hug?” I laugh before his strong arms come around me. “Everything is going to be okay, baby girl. You’re home now.” I cry even harder when I hear the nickname he gave me. He always included me with Savi when he talked about his girls.
I finally break away and wipe my eyes. I turn back to Ryder, who has his arm around his mom. “Where’s Savi?”
“I’m right here.” I whip my head to the sound of her voice and see her standing in the doorway. The last time I saw her, she was just sixteen, and now a beautiful young woman stands before me. Her dark hair is loose, and her big blue eyes hold mine. We still have the matching dusting of freckles across our noses, and we both have the same five-foot-six slender frame. If it wasn’t for the color of our hair, we could be twins.
“Well, are you going to hug your best friend and sister, or do I just keep standing awkwardly in the doorway?”
I laugh and throw myself at her. “God, I missed you so much.”
She laughs and hugs me tight. “I don’t know whether to hug you or slap you for thinking I couldn’t take down that ass of your dad.”
“You probably could have,” I laugh into her hair. “There was no way though I was going to take the chance of him getting near the ones I love.”
“I know. I wouldn’t expect anything less from your selfless heart. Thank you,” she whispers, “for wanting to protect us and for fighting like hell to bring the both of you back home to us.”
“I would do it all over again if I had to.” Ryder loudly clears his throat, and I look back at him. His eyebrow raises as he stares me down.
“Well, not exactly the same way. I won’t ever leave Ryder again if my past finds a way to catch me. We’ll deal with it together this time.” His greys hold mine as the promises we made to each other linger in the air.
“Damn right we will,” Savi says. “Prison will seem like a day at the park if either of them tries anything again.
“Okay, Rocky, put the gloves down for now. How about we go find Ryland? It’s about time you meet your niece in person.” Ryder puts his arm around Savi, and we follow them out the door.
“You mean Ryland Savannah. Don’t forget the Savannah part.”
“How could I forget? You haven’t shut up about it since we told you,” Ryder laughs.
Meaghan takes my hand as we walk back to the main house.
“I can’t wait to meet my granddaughter. You don’t know how bad I’ve been wanting a little girl to spoil. I keep waiting for Travis and Sophia to give me one,” she laughs.
“Wait until you see her. You would never know that she just met Ryder two weeks ago. They have a very strong bond already, and it’s like she knew right away who he was.”
“That’s because the bond is in here,” she says, placing a hand over her heart. “The minute we brought Ryder home with us, I felt that mother/son bond immediately. He will always be my sister’s little boy, but he also became my son that day, just as much as my other three. I’ve always felt that bond with you,” she says softly. “You were dealt a shitty hand with your parents, but it all brought us together. Trevor and I will always be here for you, Eve. You’re like a daughter to us, and that will never change.”
She squeezes my hand before letting go and walking into the house. My throat gets tight with emotions as I try to keep it together.
“You okay?” Ryder turns around and walks back to me.
“Yes,” I nod my head. I watch as Ryland reaches out for a smiling Meaghan. She laughs, tears flowing down her face as Ryland puts her hand on her cheek. “I’ve never been more okay than I am right now.” I feel his arms come around me as we stand back and watch his parents and sister get to know another piece of their hearts that they didn’t know was missing.