My nails dig into his skin. I try to fight my orgasm, but I can't. It feels too good.
"Fuck. Ryan. Don't stop." I let go of my breath.
My hips move of their own accord. They drive him deeper again and again and again—
There.
I groan his name as I come. The world goes white, nothing but pure, blinding light.
Then he's there, groaning my name into my neck. His cock pulses as he comes. He thrusts through his orgasm, spilling inside me.
When he's finished, he wraps his arms around me.
I collapse against his chest.
Slowly, my thoughts find their way into my brain.
But my head is still blinking Ryan Ryan Ryan.
I still need every fucking drop of him.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Ryan
The sun falls over the tiny apartment.
The breeze blows between the windows. It ruffles her hair. Raises goose bumps on her skin.
She rolls onto her back. Stretches her arms over her head as she stirs.
Her eyes blink open. Fix on mine. "You were watching me sleep."
"A little."
"How creepy."
"I prefer romantic."
Her lips curl into a smile. "You would."
"You never watch me?"
She makes a show of crossing her fingers. "Never."
"Believable."
She laughs. "Thanks." She pushes herself onto her elbows. Turns to check the time on the microwave. "It's not really ten. Tell me it isn't ten."
I slide off the bed. Grab my cell from the dining table. "It is."
She lets out one of those I want to sleep forever groans.
"You're off today. Go back to bed."
"You're not?"
"I'm working later."
"How much later?"
"One."
"That's only three hours."
"Still plenty of time." I offer my hand. "I'll buy you breakfast."
She smooths her loose tank top. Adjusts her cotton panties. Both are white. Sheer. Inviting as fuck. "I'm not going anywhere until I take care of this travesty." She twirls a silver-purple strand around her finger.
"Travesty?"
"I don't have a stronger word." She slides off the bed. Tugs at the drawstrings of my pajama pants. "Can I destroy these?"
"I have more."
"And those too?"
"You want me naked, ask."
She bites her lip as she gives me a long, slow once-over. When other women look at me like this, I get irritated. But there's something about the delight in Leighton's eyes.
It's intoxicating.
"Tempting." She drags her fingertips over my stomach. "But something tells me I won't get my hair done if you're naked."
"Something?"
"Experience." She rises to her toes to press her lips to my forehead. "I'm going to get ready. We can have breakfast here. Hang until you need to leave."
"I'll make coffee."
She blows me a kiss, spins on her heels, moves into the bathroom.
There's actual food in her fridge—I dragged her to Trader Joe's last night. She deserves all of it. She deserves a feast. I settle on scrambled eggs.
I scoop coffee into the French press, set the electric kettle to boil, gather the ingredients for breakfast.
Steam fills the air.
I pour hot water over coffee.
The smell of java fills the room as I chop. Then it's tomatoes and bell peppers. Eggs.
Leighton's footsteps move closer. "I'm going to have to kidnap you at this rate."
I shoot her my best don't fuck with me look. "You want to throw down?"
"No. But you can throw me down. On the bed." She laughs. "That was bad. I must be caffeine deprived."
"You got your point across."
She brushes against me as she moves to the coffee maker. Fills two mugs. Fixes mine light on the cream and sugar, hers heavy on it. "Mmm. You're too good at this." She slides onto the counter behind me. "It's too bad my place is so small. I can't bribe you to move in."
"You can't?"
"Well… I'm sure I can think of something. But with the lack of air conditioning—it's really hot, huh?"
"A little." The ocean breeze is enough to cool us off. With her sitting there smiling, it's hard to complain about a room a few degrees too hot. "I can ice that coffee."
"It won't be strong enough." She takes a long sip. Lets out a low moan.
My cock stirs.
I love that sound.
I know what buttons to push to get her naked. Fuck, the thought of pinning her to the counter and driving into her—
I will.
But not yet.
Not until she's panting.
I turn the pan off. Scoop eggs onto ceramic plates. Bring them to the dining table.
Leighton joins me with the coffees. "Would you want that?"
I arch a brow.
"To live together?"
"One day."
"Really?"
"Of course." But it's still hard to believe this is real. That she wants me that badly. That she'll stick around.
She's beautiful, smart, charming.
She could have her pick of any of the guys who come into the shop.
I know I'm a catch in all the superficial ways. In others too. But it's not like I take care of her to win points. It's what I want.
I want her happy, healthy, well fed.
I want her coming until she can't take it anymore.
I want her fucking beaming.
Yeah, I'm letting go of Penny's hold on me, but the baggage is there.
It's hard for me to believe I'll be enough for someone.
That I'll be able to trust someone.
That they'll trust me.
It's fucking everything knowing Leighton wants me like this.
But there's still that voice in the back of my head, nagging at me, asking me if I can believe this is real.
I will get over it.
But it's not gonna be fast. Not if my history of getting over shit is any indication.
"You sure you can handle an all black apartment?" I tease.
She laughs. "We'll have to compromise."
"Fuck. This might be a deal breaker."
Her smile spreads over her cheeks. "What's with the black sheets? I've only ever seen black sheets on guy's beds when they're goth."
"You've seen that many?"
"Shut the fuck up." She blushes. "I was never a Dean, but I… I had fun."
"Was it fun?"
She stares into my eyes, assessing my intentions. She must decide I'm worth trusting, because she nods. "When I was bartending, yeah. That was a solid four years, I guess, of being careful with guys. I only dated guys who seemed like a good time. I made it clear I wasn't interested in anything serious. I didn't get invested."
"Didn't that get lonely?"
"Sometimes. But that was better than the alternative." She stabs a red pepper and brings it to her mouth.
"Getting hurt?"
"Yeah." She scoops eggs into her mouth, chews, swallows. "I did enough of that in high school. Fell for the whole I love you, honey. Let's make love bullshit. Let guys treat me like crap because I believed they'd change. Before I gave up on my mom, I still believed people could change."