Part 23 (2/2)

Riley gasped. ”You-”

”I love you.” His eyes were warm.

No longer that steely grey. She couldn't name the color, just the temperature in their depths. And there was heat. Lots and lots of heat. Everything inside her melted, at both his expression and the words she'd longed to hear.

”You're strong enough to overcome your past, and you're strong enough to deal with me. From the minute you walked into that ballroom, you were it for me,” he said in a gruff, emotional tone she'd never heard from him before.

She swallowed past the lump in her throat. ”How do I know you won't find some reason to push me away again?”

His hand remained on her cheek. ”You trust me. How do I know you won't leave me for a better bet?”

”You trust me,” she said, a slow grin spreading across her face.

Then she did the one thing that guaranteed him she understood. She grasped his wrist and turned her head, easing her cheek into his palm, accepting him and opening herself to them.

”I love you too, Ian.”

The words reverberated in his brain until finally settling in his heart. She meant it. More important, he believed it.

He lifted her up and seated her on the desk, stepping between her legs. ”I'm not sure how I got so lucky, but I won't be s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g this up.”

She wound her arms around his neck. ”How about you just screw me instead? How's that for a play on words?”

”Not funny.” He leaned in, touching his nose to hers. ”I'll be making love to you, not s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g you. And that's something you'd better remember.”

He eased her skirt up around her legs, pulling off her barely there panties. ”I think you should give up on underwear too,” he informed her. ”It'll make my life so much easier.”

”Works for me,” she said as her trembling fingers fumbled with his belt buckle, finally opening his pants.

He stepped back long enough to drop his trousers and kick them aside. He came back to her, taking his time, allowing his c.o.c.k to slide up and down her s.e.x. He couldn't refrain from glancing down, viewing his glide against her slick folds.

She answered with a soft moan. ”I didn't think we'd be like this again,” she whispered.

Knowing he'd broken her heart, he swore to himself he'd do everything possible to mend it and keep her whole for the rest of her life.

His gaze never leaving hers, he eased himself inside her slowly, reveling in the feel of her internal muscles as she clasped and clutched around his shaft.

She braced herself on her elbows, locking her legs around his waist, holding him in place.

”I love you,” he said, thrusting deep.

Her eyes opened wide, and she moaned at the intimate contact.

”I love you too,” she said. ”So much.”

With her words came soul-shattering emotion, as he made her his, settling so far inside her she became part of him. And every time he breathed, the base of his c.o.c.k rubbed her c.l.i.t, bringing them both closer to completion.

One good drive into her again and he'd come, but he didn't want to take her hard and fast and lose the beauty of the moment. Instead, he rocked against her, over and over, rolling his hips against hers, letting her soft breaths, clutching fingers, and wet heat work their own brand of magic.

He leaned in and pressed his lips against hers just as she started to come. She tugged at his hair with her fingers and rolled her hips, bucking against him. His c.o.c.k grew rigid, his entire body tripping in ecstasy, feeling every second of her release.

”Oh, Ian! Love you, love you, love you!”

Her continuing chant triggered his release, and he began to thrust, his body consumed by the biggest tidal wave of heat and sensation he'd ever experienced. He was overwhelmed by the feelings and emotion pulsing through him as he spilled himself inside her. To his shock, she continued to pulse around him, aftershocks or a continuation of her equally explosive climax.

Unwilling to separate, he remained inside her and stroked her hair as they both came down.

”Ian?”

”Hmm?”

”Next time, you can tie me up,” she murmured.

And d.a.m.ned if his c.o.c.k didn't twitch in agreement. He appreciated that she might want to give him what she thought he needed, but the truth was, all he needed was Riley. The rest didn't matter.

He reluctantly pulled out of her. He headed for the bathroom, returning with a wet cloth. After taking care of her, he lifted her into his arms and moved them to the couch, where she cuddled on top of him, her head resting on his shoulder.

They lay in silence for a while, her rhythmic breathing rea.s.suring him she wasn't going anywhere ever again.

”I'm seeing a therapist,” she said softly.

Her sudden revelation surprised him, but he was glad she decided to confide in him. ”Is it helping?”

”It is.” She paused. ”I need to tell you what happened with my father.”

He nodded, needing to hear it too. ”I a.s.sume he called and asked for money.”

”Mmm-hmm. He saw the photos of us and decided you were his ticket to a windfall. He threatened to create a scandal that would embarra.s.s you and the team. He swore you would drop me like the trash I always was.” She shuddered as she spoke, and he realized the awful lies she'd grown up hearing about herself.

He tightened his arms around her and tried like h.e.l.l to suppress the anger reverberating through him. She didn't need that from him now.

”I knew you wouldn't care, but I did. I didn't want to bring that kind of humiliation into your life, or your family's. None of you needed or deserved that.”

”How about next time, you let me decide what I need?”

She nodded into his chest. ”The thing is, even though he didn't hit me when I was younger, he made sure I knew my place. That I wasn't worth a d.a.m.ned thing, and those feelings came flooding back. I just wanted to fix it myself and make him go away. But when I got to the p.a.w.nshop, I couldn't do it.”

Ian stilled. ”But your father had the necklace in his hand. I just a.s.sumed you were giving it to him to sell.”

She lifted herself up and straddled his waist. ”No. I was going to p.a.w.n the necklace and give him the money at some point in the future. But I changed my mind. I couldn't do it. I couldn't give in to him one more time in my life, and I really couldn't part with the necklace you'd given me.”

She reached up, her expression crestfallen when she realized the pendant was no longer there.

He could fix that, but he wanted her to finish unburdening herself first.

”I stood in the p.a.w.nshop and decided right then to go to you, so we could figure out what to do together. But when I walked out, my father was there, demanding the cash, and you know the rest.”

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