“We’ll have to catch up properly once you’re feeling better,” Lavender said, lightly brushing her fingertips across one of the colorful bruises on her face.
“I look forward to it.”
“Good, because we have lots to talk about.”
Abigail got the impression Lavender didn’t just mean catching up on the whole Alex debacle but that she had her own news to share. “I’ll text you tomorrow and we can make a time.”
“Perfect. I’ll let your guy have you all to himself now, he looks like he’s about ready to devour you,” Lavender said with a wink.
She laughed, wincing at the pain in her ribs, the pain that was quickly becoming annoying as it stabbed at her each time her lungs inflated. Still, it was a small price to pay to know that not only was she safe now but so were Ryder, Eric, and the team.
“So you want to devour me, huh?” she said as Ryder locked up the door and set the alarm.
“I do, but until you’re fully healed there will be no devouring,” he said as he came to sit on the floor beside the sofa.
“Spoilsport.” She pouted.
“Uh, babe, don’t stick your lip out like that, it makes me want to bite it,” he groaned.
Heat pooled in her belly. “So bite it,” she urged. She wasn’t on board with Ryder’s no making out policy. So it would hurt, probably every inch of her, but she didn’t care, she could take the pain when the payout would be nothing but pleasure.
“Behave,” Ryder warned.
“Make me,” she shot back.
“Abby,” he groaned again. “You are a very bad girl.”
“Bad enough I need to be punished?” She laughed, she wasn’t into that kind of thing but teasing Ryder like this was fun.
“Abigail Dana McNamara,” Ryder said, standing and pacing around the room before coming back to her, lifting her legs, sliding in beneath them, then kissing her softly, doing absolutely nothing to douse the fire building inside her.
“We could just be careful,” she suggested hopefully.
“You have broken ribs,” he reminded her like she could forget.
“I’m not denying it will hurt, just saying it will be worth it,” she shrugged.
“Abby.”
“You keep saying that, but you know you want this as much as I do. Alex tried to make me afraid of sex, he tried to make it so every time I thought of it all I would see was his face, but I don’t want that to be the case, Ryder. Please,” she whispered, letting the vulnerability she felt seep through.
“Baby …” His eyes met hers and she could see he was wavering.
“We can go slow, easy, I’ll let you do all the work.” She was almost begging and not too proud to get down on her knees if it would work. She knew that Ryder was just trying to do the right thing, protect her from more pain, but the truth was she just needed him right now. Needed to feel him inside her, needed to feel good, and needed to feel connected to the man she loved after so long deprived of everyone and everything.
“You just lie there,” he said, standing with her in his arms and stalking toward the bedroom where he laid her down on the bed like she was made of spun glass.
That wasn’t what she wanted.
“Don’t, Ryder.”
“Don’t what?”
“Treat me like I’m a china doll. I’m not. I survived everything Alex did to me and I didn’t break. I can take the pain. I don’t care about it because you will be making my entire body come alive, you’ll be making each nerve ending dance, you’ll be flooding my system with the best antidote to pain available.”
“Abby, you’re so strong, I’m in awe of you.” The expression on his face dulled her pain, that level of love was what she had always hoped to see shining from someone’s eyes and directed all at her and seeing it had her tearing up.
Ryder slid her sweatpants down her legs just far enough that he could bare her, then reached into the nightstand for a condom.
“No,” she stopped him. “I want to feel all of you, my blood tests are all clean, and I don’t care if we make a baby.”
Without taking his eyes off her, he freed himself and slid into her slowly. That feeling of being filled was heavenly and she curled her good hand around his shoulder, anchoring herself to him as he began to move.
“Baby, you’re so beautiful.” He kissed her. “So strong.” Another kiss. “So kind.” Kiss. “So big-hearted.” Kiss. “You’re my heart, my soul, my everything.”
Balanced on one hand, he began to touch her with his fingers as he moved slowly, in and out. Each word he spoke, each touch of his lips, each thrust brought her higher and higher. Curling her insides until they were so tight that she felt like her entire being would explode if she didn’t come soon.
“I love you, Abby.”
Those words were all she needed, and she came like a rocket as pleasure sparked inside her, hot and powerful, and more than anything else she had ever experienced.
“Sex with you really does keep getting better and better,” Ryder murmured as he found his own release and then pulled out of her.
“Yeah,” she mumbled because it was all her wiped out body could manage.
“I’m going to clean you up and then you’re going to sleep,” he said, smoothing a lock of hair off her forehead as he stood.
Ryder walked into the bathroom then returned with a warm washcloth, he cleaned between her legs, then righted her sweatpants. After disposing of the cloth he came and eased the covers out from underneath her so they could both slide underneath them.
Abigail immediately snuggled up against his side. “Wouldn’t it be awesome if we really did just make a baby?”
“You ready for kids?”
“I never really thought about it. I knew I wanted them, and yeah when we were together last time I started wondering if we were ready, but now I don’t know, if we did make a baby I would be thrilled. I know we just got back together, and I know that I have a long way to go to rebuild my life, but I know what I want. I want to start my own dance studio, I want to sell our apartments and buy a house together. I want to marry you and have babies with you. I don’t care when it all happens but that’s what I want,” she said on a sigh as she tucked her head under his chin.
She felt his lips on the top of her head, and she loved the way his arm held her securely against him.
“I want all of that too, Abby. I want to plan the most amazing proposal and then I want to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you. I want a bunch of little girls who are just as strong and sassy as their mommy, and I want to grow old with you by my side.”
“There’s one little problem with that,” she said sleepily.
“What?”
“I also want to have little baby SEALs.”
“Ballerinas and SEALs, I can see there is never going to be a moment of peace in our house.”
“You wouldn’t want it any other way.”
“I really wouldn’t,” Ryder agreed. “Sleep time now, sweetheart.”
Rolling her carefully onto her side so he could spoon her against him, his body covered hers from her head to her feet, and with his arm curled under her neck and one around her waist his hand settled lightly against her breast, Abigail fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.