Chapter 17 Royce #2
I liked when he called me baby, almost as much as when he called me Rose. This version of Ford was unsettling, but in a good way. Like discovering a new language, or a new color.
Ford led the way in through the house, and flipped on lights as he went. His house was as ugly as the last time I saw it, but seeing it with him inside of it, without being angry and hurt over items he stole or the card I rejected, made it seem a little less horrible.
“I know, it’s bad.” He joked, but I caught the way his cheeks turned the slightest shade of red. I considered how ridiculous it was that this giant of a man would be embarrassed by something as simple as the interior of a house. One he owned, which far surpassed anything I had done.
Reaching for his hand, I held it there and smiled. “It’s not. I like it.”
Ford grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, and then handed one to me. “You want to help me make it less ugly?”
“When you’re ready, I’d be happy to, but you should be proud of this place.”
He sipped the water and I watched the way his throat moved, and somehow found it extremely erotic. Once he was finished, he slipped out of his cut, laying it over the back of one of the chairs in his dining room. Although calling it that was a stretch.
“I’m not sure I can tell you all the things I’m ready for, Rose.”
My stomach flipped around at his confession, and instead of replying I slid my jacket off and laid it across the back of another chair.
My boots went next, until I was in my white socks, wiggling my toes.
Ford stared down at my feet with an expression that nearly broke me.
It was gentle and cautious, as if he were nervous.
“Are you…” I wanted to ask if he was anxious, but that might reveal that I was.
He stepped closer and placed a firm hand at my hip. “Scared to have you in my house, where you’re comfortable enough to walk around in your socks? Am I nervous that you’re about to be naked in my shower?”
“Yeah,” I breathed in reply.
His forehead pressed against mine. “Fucking terrified.”
“Oh, good, then we really are in sync and shit.” I pressed my hand against his chest.
We stayed like that while we let the severity of this decision between us settle in.
“Go shower. I’m going to make you some food.”
He pressed a kiss to my forehead, then I grabbed my bag and headed for the hall.
Ford’s bathroom wasn’t as horrible as I imagined it would be.
It was a little dated, but clean. I found fluffy towels folded and snugly kept on the small shelf.
Inside my bag held all my products, so I pulled them out while the water warmed.
The pressure and temperature were perfect, and I relaxed immediately under the spray.
There was something so therapeutic about not being at home.
As much as I loved my family, and the protection they provided, it was a cage.
A protective shell designed from the fear of a desperate father. Ford had given me wings, while allowing me to preserve my roots. Wild rose indeed.
The realization that I was spending the night at a guy’s house without having members of the club outside the door was suddenly a thrill inside my chest, like a match being struck. Emotion clogged my throat with a sharp burning sensation that manifested as a giggle.
Then a full-bellied laugh.
I’d finally left the shelter of the Wolf, only to be found by a man who owned a cat. Speaking of…where was Gus? I shut off the shower, and wrapped up in the fluffy towel, drying off.
Once I brushed out my hair and moisturized, I pulled on a cropped T-shirt and pair of cotton underwear.
In my bag, I had shorts I could slip on, but I hesitated.
Ford didn’t seem shy with me, but I really didn’t want to risk him not fucking me tonight.
The kiss earlier in the day had left me aching in a way that I hadn’t ever experienced before.
Sure, I hadn’t had sex in a long time, but the way Ford touched me was like a slow burn heat that coiled tightly within me, ready to burst into a wild inferno.
I hated to compare the two, but secretly, where I’d never tell anyone alive, even Connor had never made me feel the way Ford had with just a simple kiss. Inhaling a deep, steadying breath, I closed my bag and left the bathroom.
A soft glow across the hall caught my attention.
It was Ford’s bedroom, with the door wide open, shades drawn shut, and a simple lamp clicked on next to his bed.
He’d gotten two small nightstands on either side of his bed, and a gray feather duvet covered the mattress.
I walked in with a warm buzzing in my belly, radiating against my skin as I set my bag down on his floor.
I was going to sleep in Ford Ryan’s bed tonight.
Venturing back toward the kitchen, I found Ford standing with his hips facing the counter while he diced up cheese and strawberries. He’d stripped out of his white T-shirt, jeans, and even his socks.
He stood there in a pair of dark green boxer briefs.
The sinewy lines of muscle that ran up his tatted arms were so mouthwatering that I couldn’t break my gaze.
I tried to see as much of him as I possibly could, and yet it still felt like it wasn’t enough.
He had so many tattoos I’d yet to even see or begin exploring.
His abs had baby abs that I had the strangest urge to trace.
It seemed he was making us a charcuterie board, which honestly would be divine. Stepping closer, I was about to ask about it when I saw the bundle of gray curling around his ankles.
“Gus!” I gasped, briskly lowering to my knees against the ugly linoleum.
His fur was soft against my face as I pulled him into my arms and got to my feet. “I’ve missed you so much, handsome.”
I was smiling from ear to ear when I finally glanced up at Ford. He was completely frozen. Jaw locked, eyes blazing and searching my face, my chest, and down my body. He swallowed, which made his Adam’s apple bob.
My happy grin fell the longer Ford just stood there, holding a knife, while our snack board went untouched. “Ford?”
He made a disgruntled sound that could rival a wild animal. The knife went to the counter in a clatter and his gaze shuttered. “Fuck me, I can’t do this.”
My heart wilted, worried that all his hate for me would outweigh whatever semblance of affection he found. His comment regarding how he used to care for me once tangled like a bramble in my mind as a pathetic question tumbled out. “Why—”
I didn’t get a chance to finish before he placed his thumb against my bottom lip.
“Need you to put him down, because I can’t wait any longer to fuck you.”
His thumb barely released my bottom lip in time for me to gently drop Gus so he landed on all four of his paws and ran toward the living room. Ford pulled me into his arms, his hands going under my ass to lift me, then his mouth pressed against mine.
My legs wrapped around his waist as our mouths moved sideways, our tongues warred, and my fingers ran through his hair. His muscled abdomen flexed under my aching core. Ford walked us into his bedroom and gently set me down on his mattress.
I gripped his biceps as he hovered over me and fit his hips between my parted thighs. I could feel how thick and fucking long he was as his erection pressed against my core, separated only by our underwear.
“There is one thing I have always wondered about.” His voice was raspy and deep as he spoke close to my ear, his mouth nearly touching me there.
“What?” I gasped.
His fingers tugged at my underwear, and he smiled. “Does your pussy feel like silk? Because I always imagined it would.”
I didn’t have a chance to form a coherent reply as Ford moved down my body. He stared at my center, where the gray fabric covered my pussy.
With a groan, he stroked a finger over the obvious wet spot there. “I can see how wet I’m making you.”
Lifting on my elbows, I watched with rapt attention as he carefully placed his hand under my thigh, lifting it the smallest amount. “I could get used to seeing this. In fact, I plan on having some fun with this. I hope you don’t mind.”
Then his eyes were up on mine. “I’m going to slide into you with my tongue, Rose. Which means, you will spread your legs for me. You will fuck my face. You will not hold back anything from me, including an orgasm. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” I breathed, focusing on how handsome he looked between my legs, prepped to bring me pleasure.
“Now let’s start with this thong, I’m fucking gone for how you look in it. Need to see it soaked by your needy cunt.”
He curled his fingers around the fabric and stretched it against my core, yanking it down my crack so the majority of fabric was soaked by sinking between my pussy lips.
“Look at that.” He said in awe.
The friction felt divine, so I rocked my hips as he continued to pull at the garment.
“Mmm,” he lowered his face with the fabric still stretched against me, but his tongue began tracing over it and where my sensitive lips pushed out past the thin fabric.
Ford muttered between licks, “I want to keep these.”
My hands were in his hair while he played with me, licking and tracing a path with his hot mouth. My clit poked against the soaked fabric of my thong, being pulled tight, and Ford seemed to notice as he gently lapped at it and pulled with his teeth.
“Ford, please. Move the underwear.” I needed to feel him. I needed his tongue on me, his fingers…something.
His hazel eyes flicked up as he continued to play. This time he used his finger to slide along the outside of my bare lips and then carefully dip below the fabric, into my pussy.
It was torture, but it felt incredible.
“More, please. Ford, give me more.” I begged.
It seemed he was done playing as he adjusted his position until he was between my legs, and then with a swift tug his mouth was on me.