“Oh,” I say.
“And yes, was the night a total disaster? It was. But I brought you back to my apartment for a reason because I know you see it as a safe place. And that’s where I want you to be, safe.” He takes a step forward and then another, and then another until he’s inches from my face. He grips my jaw, his thumb extending to tilt my chin up. “Everything I said, I fucking meant. You have captured me, Myla, in all the best ways. And despite what your mom might think, I feel like I’m the one who is out of your league. I feel like at any moment, you could walk away and find someone better, someone more suited for you. I know the disadvantage I have in this relationship. I know that your heart, your mind, and your wit far exceed what I have to offer.”
I shake my head, but he holds me still.
“Yes, Myla. It’s fucking true, and don’t tell me otherwise, do you hear me? You are an amazing woman, and I am so damn lucky that you’re mine.”
Tears drip down my cheeks as I stare up at him. He’s lucky?
He thinks he’s the lucky one? He has that so backward. I’m standing in front of a man unmatched. He’s unlike any man I’ve ever met . . . or will ever meet.
“Do you understand?” he asks me, and when I don’t answer because I wasn’t paying attention, he repeats himself. “You’re mine, and no one is going to make you fucking feel any less perfect than what you are.”
He’s perfect.
He’s everything I could ever have hoped for in a man, and as I’m staring up into his powerful eyes, a wave of emotion washes over me. A feeling so strong, so intense, that I realize this is the real thing. With Ryot.
We’ve been together for a year. It’s been hard with his schedule, but we’ve made it work. And even though we’ve spent that year together, we’ve never truly expressed our emotions, not until tonight. Not until we were at my parents’ house. Not until I saw what love was not. Love is not abusing a child. Making them feel weak. Love is not staying silent when that child needs a champion. Love is being ready to stand up for and protect the one who owns your heart. And just as Ryot defended me tonight, I know I will do everything in my power to do the same for him if he needs that.
Wiping at my eyes, I clear my tear-stained cheeks and then rest my hands on his chest. “Ryot?”
“Yeah, babe?” he asks.
“I need to tell you something.”
“What is it?” He lowers to look me in the eyes.
This is it. I wet my lips, our gazes lock, and then I let the words pour out of me before I can stop them. “I love you, Ryot.” My throat tightens, and I repeat, “I love you so much.”
His eyes soften, and he gently cups my cheek as he tilts my mouth toward his. He doesn’t answer. Instead, he molds his lips to mine.
Soft.
Possessive.
But sweet at the same time.
He backs me up to the bed and gently lays me down so he can hover above me and continue our kiss. It’s like a drug, his mouth on mine, it gets me so crazy, so high like nothing could harm me when he’s this close. And I won’t stop chasing this high, because it’s the best feeling.
After a few more kisses, he pulls away and connects our foreheads. His nose rubs against mine, and he quietly says, “I love you, too. You’re my girl, Myla. My everything. I’ve loved you for so long but never wanted to tell you in fear you weren’t ready.” He smooths his nose over my cheek. “But I know you’re ready now. Your heart is open.”
“It’s been open for a long time,” I say. “I just don’t think I knew how to express it, but after today, it was as if it just came out of me. I love you, Ryot. Thank you for loving me. For being patient with me. For making me feel like I matter. I’ve been made to feel like I add zero importance to this world, but you . . . you make me feel worthy of the air in my lungs.”
“Baby,” he says softly. “You are so fucking worthy, and don’t ever second-guess that.”
And then his mouth is on mine again.
His hands are running up my shirt and pulling down the cups of my bra, where he plays with my nipples.
I undo his pants.
He removes my shirt and lowers his mouth to my breasts. And that’s where he stays for a while, lapping at my nipples with the flat of his tongue, pinching them with the tips of his fingers, and sucking on them with his swollen lips. He doesn’t stop until I’m writhing under him, begging for him to give me release. That’s when he releases me and pulls my pants off as well as my thong. I remove my bra, and while I do that, he strips down to nothing.
I crawl back on the bed, spread my legs, and say, “I want you inside me . . . bare.”
He pauses. “Bare? Babe, you don’t have to.”
“I want to. I’m on birth control. I want nothing more than to feel all of you with nothing between us.”
He rolls his teeth over his bottom lip as he crawls closer and then brings his mouth to mine. While our tongues tangle, he positions the head of his cock at my entrance, and then with one more kiss, he pushes into me, inch by delicious inch. It’s torturous but so, so good because I’m feeling every bit of him.
“Fuck, so warm, so tight.” His eyes squeeze shut. “Babe, I won’t last.”
“Well then, you better make love to me.”
And he does.
Sweet, slow, tender.
The way he kisses me. Holds me close. Never lets me lose contact.
It’s the best sex of my life.
The best night of my life.
Nothing will ever . . . ever top this.
RYOT
“Where are you taking me?” Banner asks, looking out the window. “This whole meetup has been evasive and uncomfortable. I would appreciate a little heads-up. Some backstory. Anything. Anything other than you just sitting there in silence. I mean . . . where the hell are we? We’re in a back alleyway. That’s weird, man. Are you going to kill me? Are you part of a mob? Do you owe a bookie money? Dude, don’t be Pete Rose. Don’t bet on the game.”
I put the car in park and get out of the car. When Banner doesn’t move, I say, “Get your ass out here.”
“Out where? In the brick alleyway? Do you really think that’s a safe place to be? I’ve been working out, but, dude, these muscles are all for show. I don’t know how to use them.”
“For fuck’s sake, Banner, we’re not going to get beaten up. Now if you don’t get out of the goddamn car, I might kick your ass myself.”
“Brutal,” he mutters. “Can’t fucking win either way.” He hops out of the car, rounds the hood, and stands next to me. “Okay, what are we going to do now? Scale the wall like Spiderman?”
Rolling my eyes, I walk up to the brick building’s metal door and give it a knock. When it opens, a man in a suit answers. “Name?”
“Babe Ruth.”
He nods and then opens the door. “Follow the hall, first door on the right.”
“Thanks,” I say as Banner stands there, his mouth agape.
When I push at his shoulder to get him moving, he whispers, “Dude, you’re part of a mob, aren’t you? Listen, I knew I said I would follow you anywhere, but this is pushing it. I won’t survive in jail, you know that.”