52. Ryder

52

The months in Vegas flew by. After the Hebert incident, the Serafini family had engaged Blackwood to perform a full security audit, so half of Ryder's time had been taken up with that. They'd also tried to hire him as Luna's bodyguard, but he'd declined and recommended Randall instead. She needed someone who wasn't emotionally involved, and Ryder trusted Randall to do the job.

He'd also grown bored.

Not with Luna, but with work. He missed his team. He missed the challenge.

For the first two months post-Hebert, the guilt had eaten away at him. Guilt that she'd give up her career while he kept his. Luna had thrown herself back into the show, and she was receiving rave reviews. Stepping back from social media, posting once or twice a week instead of once or twice an hour, had taken a weight off her shoulders, and Ryder began to worry that she'd want to stay in Vegas long-term. Offers rolled in. Half of the hotels on the damn strip called to talk about a residency, but she turned them all down. Ditto for most of the brand endorsements. The only ads she did involved Rocky and dog treats, and she gave the money she earned from those to the shelter. Ryder had loved the old Luna, the fragile mess he'd met in San Gallicano, but he fucking adored the new Luna. Every day, she got stronger.

All along, she'd insisted that she was going to move to Richmond with him, that she knew what she wanted, but he'd still had his doubts. She had the world at her feet. What more could he offer? Then a month ago, in the quiet moments, he noticed the tiredness that began to creep in around the edges. A stiffness in her movements when it was just the two of them. They'd talked.

"I know my limits," she said. "It's just that in the past, I was never able to respect them. No matter how tired I felt, I wasn't allowed to show it. When we get to Richmond, I'm gonna sleep for a week straight."

So that was Luna in month four. Upbeat but weary. She sang to herself as she began packing for the move, as she googled "things to do in Virginia" and texted back and forth with Caro. The lawyers were still fighting for music royalties, and they were confident of wrestling at least part of Stargirl away from Amethyst, but Luna said she didn't much care. She had the bulk of her savings back, now carefully invested by Caro, and all she wanted was a fresh start. And one of those couches that reclined. And a lifetime supply of cookie dough ice cream.

Ryder watched her as she slept. Sometimes, she curled up against his side and used his chest as a pillow, and other times, she spread out like a starfish. Today was a starfish day. Luna flopped an arm across his face and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "Candy Kittens." A British fan had mailed Luna a package of the cat-shaped candies, and now she couldn't get enough of them. Ryder had managed to find them for sale at Walmart, but at four times the price of their UK counterparts, so he'd persuaded Emmy to bring back a case when she visited London. Now Emmy was also obsessed with Candy Kittens.

"Watermelon," Luna said, and yeah, called it. She was definitely dreaming about food. Again. "Candy cock."

Okay, this sounds hopeful.

Luna had a magic mouth, both in public and in private. She gave him head every morning, and she did it with enthusiasm, although he secretly feared that she didn't enjoy eating dick as much as she claimed and only did it because the sex issues were ongoing. Things were better, no doubt about that. She'd carried on with the physical therapy, plus they were both going to therapy-therapy, and they now had the world's largest collection of sex toys, his and hers. Even Rocky had his own dildo, which he'd joyously stolen from the packaging when Luna got distracted trying to find her phone charger. The little guy looked so sad when they took it away that they'd let him keep it. It wasn't as if they got many visitors. Luna had grown to love her privacy.

Her eyes flickered open.

"Morning, gorgeous."

Luna's gaze was unfocused for a moment, and then it landed on Ryder's face. Her lips curved into the sweetest smile. Sweet with a hint of filth.

"What's the time?"

"Eight thirty."

Used to be that his workdays started early and evenings were chill-out time, but in Vegas, that had been turned on its head. They'd gotten into a routine. Wake up, brush their teeth, feed Rocky (in Ryder's case) and check for any overnight scandals (in Luna's case). Then they'd go back to bed and fuck around for an hour, sometimes two, take a shower (together), eat breakfast, and start their day.

"I should brush my teeth," she said.

When he got back to the bedroom, she was already on her knees. But Ryder shook his head.

"Not today, moon. Today is all about you." He lifted her onto the bed. "Any requests?"

"Just make me feel good."

"Let's try something a little different."

"How different?" she asked, her voice tinged with suspicion.

Ryder reached into the nightstand drawer for the satin blindfold he'd bought and slipped it over her eyes.

"If you take one sense out of the picture, the others are heightened."

"They are?"

"They are."

She arched off the bed like a cat at the first stroke of his tongue, and a long moan slipped through her lips.

"You're my candy kitten," he told her, and the moan turned into a giggle. Ryder would never tire of this view or those sounds. Mark Antony had been right in one respect—Luna Maara was a queen. She ruled Ryder's world, and he wouldn't want it any other way. His gaze roamed over her body, taking in the small, firm breasts, the trim waist, the muscles taut from dancing. That sweet, perfect pussy. The chemistry between them was undeniable, but Luna's pelvic muscles still hadn't gotten the message.

He knew why—in her head, she'd built sex up to be such a Big Fucking Deal that every time they tried it, she freaked out in case things went badly, which meant things did go badly. In her subconscious, toys were fine, but his dick was still a problem.

And no matter how many times he reassured her that he wasn't going anywhere, he wasn't certain she believed him. Two weeks ago, she'd sobbed after another failed attempt and said that if he needed to hire a hooker, she'd understand, if he could just be discreet about it. What the actual fuck?

Over the past few months, Ryder had asked himself if he could live without sex, and the answer was yes. But he couldn't live without her. He circled her clit with his tongue, smiling to himself as she fisted the sheet in her hands.

"There," she choked out. "More."

More? She wanted more? They bought lube in bulk, and he applied a liberal coating to his fingers, not that he needed to. Luna was already slick, her breath coming in short pants. He slid a finger inside her, and when she gasped, he knew he'd found the elusive G-spot. It barely took a minute to get her off. She was so fucking responsive, his queen. She came with a soft cry, her skin glistening, her fingernails digging into his shoulders.

"I love you," he promised her. "Always."

"Your turn."

His dick ached, but when she tried to remove the blindfold, he stopped her with a hand.

"I'm not done yet."

No, he was deciding whether to take a risk. Whether she was ready.

He crawled up the bed, tracing the contours of her body with his tongue, her skin salty. A year ago, if someone had told him this was where he'd be, that he'd have hooked up with the queen of social media, he'd have laughed them all the way to the asylum. And yet, here he was. He was ready for the "pussy whipped" jokes when he got home. Didn't care, not when he had his girl.

"My feet," she whispered, and he switched out the lube for massage oil. The time on stage took its toll on her body. She always returned the favour after he'd had a hard day in the gym, and her hands were almost as skilled as her mouth.

"No scandals today?" he asked as he got to work.

"Most people are being pretty nice, with it being my last show and everything."

"Last show for now."

"Maybe." A pause. "Taliska Records got in touch again yesterday. Through my lawyer."

"Oh?"

"Two albums and a world tour. They put even more money on the table."

"That's great," Ryder said, even as his blood ran cold. "Sonic Flare's loss is their gain."

"I'm not taking it."

"You're not?"

"Money doesn't buy happiness, and they wouldn't even give me the rest of the year off. I mean, having the cash to buy, like, a huge mansion would have been cool, but what's the point if I don't get to spend any time there?"

"We don't need a mansion, moon. There's only two of us."

"Right." She tensed for a moment as he pressed his thumbs into the arch of her foot, then slumped back onto the pillow. "That feels so good."

He slowly worked his way up her body again, and the taste of her alone was enough to make him come. But he forced himself to think of other things—field stripping his guns, crawling through the jungle, swimming through freezing water—until the urge subsided. Luna was relaxed now, exactly the way he needed her as he turned on a small, almost silent vibe, one of her favourites, and spread her legs wide.

"Happy last show day, moon."

"More, give me more."

Yeah. He decided he would.

With her mind elsewhere and her body boneless on the mattress, he took a deep breath and slid his throbbing dick into her. Waited for her muscles to clamp down, but it didn't happen. Thank fuck for that.

He gave a tentative thrust and got a groan in response.

So far, so good.

It wasn't as if this was his plan, anyway. Luna had suggested it herself, said that maybe he should just surprise her one day and get the hard part over with, but he'd forced a laugh and said it wouldn't be much of a surprise if she knew it was coming. And then he'd filed the idea away for the right moment.

This was the right moment.

He bit back his own groan and leaned forward, supporting his weight on his arms as he willed himself to last longer than five seconds. Bare inside her, every sensation was magnified. Luna had planned for that as well when she started taking the pill two months ago.

"Is that a new toy?" she asked.

"Do you like it?"

"Mm-hmm."

He leaned in to kiss her deeply, and his hips found their own rhythm. It took a while for the penny to drop, but when it did, her gasp was one of shock rather than pleasure as she scrabbled to pull off the blindfold with one hand while the red-painted nails of her other hand dug into his arm.

"Don't overthink this," he warned. "Just lie back and think of Candy Kittens."

As he'd hoped, the joke eased the tension zinging through her, and her death grip on his arm relaxed.

"You look so beautiful right now, moon. If you want me to pull out, you only have to say the word."

She bit her lip and shook her head, then wrapped her legs around his waist, holding him inside her.

"I need this," she gasped. "Keep going."

Think of an ice bath.

They fit together perfectly, and that was the moment he knew they'd make it. All the doubts vanished, and he knew Luna felt it too. Those worry lines she always talked about Botoxing melted away, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. It wasn't long before her hips began to move with his.

"I can't hold out much longer," he confessed.

She peppered kisses over his face. "Don't. I want to feel it."

Ryder came hard and deep, their gazes locked, sweat-slicked bodies pressed against each other. Now it was his turn to go weak. With the last of his strength, he rolled them so she was on top.

"You have no idea how good that feels."

She grinned down at him, his dick still twitching inside her. "Oh, I do. I can't believe it finally happened. Like…like…I can think of the future now. I mean, I know we made plans, but I always thought… Never mind. All these new possibilities have opened up, right? Marriage, kids… No more dildos. Now I get to play with the real thing, which is top-notch, by the way. And…and I'm rambling."

"Let's go back to the marriage-and-kids part."

She clapped both hands over her mouth. "Did I say that?"

"Yeah, moon."

"If that's not what you want, I'll totally understand."

He peeled her hands away from her face. "I'd marry you today if that's what you wanted."

"Really?"

"Really. I'm good with kids too, but we don't need to make that decision for a few years."

A sob burst out of her. "I might be a little busy today, but I could do tomorrow."

She was joking.

He wasn't.

"Then it's a date. You want to get off me so I can give you the ring?"

"What? You have a ring?"

"Bought it two months ago."

A smile played at the corners of her lips as the penny dropped. Yeah, this was a proposal.

"Are you going to ask me properly?"

Ryder chuckled. His girl never let up. "Luna M?—"

"Wait! Don't say Puckett. I hate that name."

His grin grew wider. "Luna Maara soon-to-be-Metcalfe, will you marry me?"

"Of course I freaking will."

It was a small wedding. Just the two of them with Knox and Caro as witnesses, Reverend Elvis officiating, and Kacie, Shani, and Luna's four backup dancers as guests. Luna had agonised over whether to invite Jubilee, but in the end, it was a moot point. With Amethyst on a court-ordered anger management course, Jubilee had taken a job as personal assistant to a travel blogger, and she was somewhere in the Mediterranean. No word on whether her boyfriend had paid back any of the money she'd lent him.

The ceremony took place in a quiet corner at the Black Diamond, out of sight of the media, who were camped on the sidewalk in front of either the Nile Palace or the Nebula, depending on who their sources were. Fans had spotted the ring Luna wore on stage last night, and the internet had gone into meltdown. To assist, Braxton Vale had "accidentally" let slip that there would be a hush-hush event at the Nebula today, while Romeo Serafini had put in a rush order for a wedding cake and flowers.

All Luna had wanted was a white dress and a ring, but her friends had rushed around to make things special. Venus and Aisha did her hair and make-up, Paul offered to play photographer, and Luis organised flowers for her bouquet, pink of course. Caro had found the dress, while Kacie made a collar and tie for Rocky. Knox helped with the ring shopping.

When Emmy heard the news, she'd put Ryder's dress uniform in the smaller of Blackwood's two jets along with a vintage sapphire necklace that would cover "something borrowed" and "something blue." She'd also sent a warning: do not mention the word "wedding" to Bradley, or he'd be on the next flight out.

In a twist nobody saw coming, Luna decided to wear the Cleopatra earrings as "something old." Hebert had written to her last month, apologising for his actions and begging for her forgiveness. She'd granted it. He was still in the hospital, but Emmy said Carole-Ann Murray visited him regularly.

As for "something new," Luna wouldn't tell Ryder what she'd chosen for that, so he figured it was underwear. He didn't plan on her panties lasting long, but he'd buy her as many replacement pairs as she wanted.

He had to pinch himself when Luna appeared. Her dress was a simple sheath of white satin, but her smile lit up the room. Her father was who-the-fuck knew where, so Knox and Luis walked her down the aisle, one either side, and when she got to Ryder, she stood on tiptoes, kissed him on the lips, and whispered, "You look so hot."

Elvis cleared his throat. "Ma'am, we didn't get to that part yet."

Five minutes later, they were man and wife, and this time, it felt right. When Ryder said "I do" to Shylah, he'd regretted it almost immediately, but all he felt when he looked at Luna was love. Love and anticipation for what the future would bring.

A new home, career changes, kids… They'd do it all together.