Chapter 17

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Ryker’s weight pressed her to the mattress as their kiss went on and on. Not that she wanted it to end. She could kiss this man forever.

She was going to kiss him forever, or at least for the rest of her life.

She wrapped her legs about his waist, her chemise riding up her thighs. He still wore his breeches, but that didn’t stop the hard length of his shaft pressing her in just the right spot.

The ache between her thighs pulsed, growing more intense with every roll of his hips until she could hardly catch her breath, her body so taut, she thought she might snap.

But just as she reached the apex of her pleasure, an orgasm about to break, he pulled back. “Not yet.”

She cried out in protest, pushing up on her elbows as he rose.

But her objection died on her lips as he tugged at the buttons on his breeches, stripping them down his hips and revealing powerful thighs.

Her mouth went dry.

The man was magnificent.

“Chloe,” he rumbled standing straight and tall over her. “I want to see you too, love.”

Giving a tiny nod, she started to rise up again as Ryker grabbed the hem of her chemise, skimming it up her thighs, over her hips. To her waist, and then higher.

The fabric brushed her nipples, making them tighten, until the fabric was over her face and then sailing through the air.

The rest of her pins had long since fallen out and her mass of tangled curls trailed down her back.

For a brief moment, she considered covering herself with the long strands. But Ryker leaned closer, his eyes dark with desire. “You are perfect, my love.”

A flush climbed her cheeks as her chin dipped. She wasn’t lean like him, her body softer, weaker.

But he touched her rib cage, his thumb stroking the underside of her breast as his mouth dipped to her nipple and she forgot to be worried, the feel of his hot, wet mouth making her cry out with desire.

She tipped her head back as she arched into the touch, her fingers threading through his hair again.

He settled on top of her, paying the other breast equal attention as the hair on his chest tickled her belly.

She made a half gasping, half laughing noise as her hands traced the thick muscles of his back. “You’re so beautiful.”

He lifted his head then, the intensity of his gaze having only increased. “You are beautiful. The curves of your body are enough to bring a man to his knees.”

“I’m not chiseled like you… I…”

“You are perfectly soft,” he answered, beginning to trail kisses down her body. “If you want a man to keep you warm and protect you, love, I want a woman to dull the sharp edges of the world. Can you do that for me, Chloe?”

She had been made for that. She could feel it deep in her soul. “Oh, yes.”

He placed a kiss along the seam where her leg met her torso. “Good.” And then he kissed along her thigh, her entire body tensing in preparation.

The flat of his tongue slid through her folds, causing her already-overheated sex to shiver. “Ryker,” she moaned, grabbing onto his scalp to pull him closer. She was desperate for relief, and he obliged, using his tongue to bring her wave after wave of pleasure until he thrust two fingers into her channel, giving her the exact pressure she needed to break apart into a thousand tiny pieces. Her cry echoed through the room, her body going limp.

* * *

Ryker pushed up, looking down at Chloe, her body relaxed, her eyes half closed. Had she been embarrassed by the way she looked?

The woman was as perfect as he’d ever seen. Every curve, every angle made to please.

With one hand he pumped his cock, seed already leaking form the tip, with the other, he ran his hand from her ribs to her waist and over her hip. Her skin was like silk under his palm, and he knew with certainty what he’d suspected from the first. One time with Chloe was never going to be enough.

It would take him lifetimes to love this woman properly.

He thought of all the silly notions he’d held onto, when he tortured them both. What a fool.

He positioned himself between her legs as she lifted a hand, running her fingers over the muscles of his chest, her gaze meeting his.

“I love you,” she whispered, her body splayed out for him.

“I love you too,” he said but the truth was, love did not begin to describe how he felt. He’d protect this woman until his last breath. He’d give all he had to keep her safe and warm.

Slowly, he pushed inside her, the tightness of her sheath making his eyes roll back even as he fought for control.

Her face pulled into a wince, a small whimper falling from her lips. He held still, pressing closer to kiss her lips, holding her body against his.

As she relaxed, he tried again, sinking deeper into her sheath until finally, after several agonizing minutes, he was fully seated inside her.

His balls tingled from the effort, and he knew he’d not last long. Slowly sliding out, he pushed back in, being careful not to hurt her, her arms locked tightly about his neck.

The effort to move slowly only added to the anticipation, his entire body taut with the effort.

One more slow stroke, then two, and his body shook with the effort to maintain control. When one of Chloe’s legs hooked about his waist, he lost the fight, and with one more deep thrust inside her, he came undone.

He let out a loud groan, his orgasm tearing through him. Chloe held him tightly, her murmured words in his ear lulling him closer as he collapsed on top of her. He had no idea what she said. The words didn’t matter.

It was the feeling. The promise of love and care that had him rolling to the side, cradling her body into the front of his.

This was what he’d always needed and never knew.

Chloe fell asleep in the circle of his arms and for the longest time, he just watched her sleep, completely amazed that this woman had consented to be his.

When she was deep in sleep, he rose, pulling on his breeches. He had no intention of going far, but he did need to write to Strongborn and tell him what had happened, and turn over Adam’s belongings to the other man to further the investigation.

And he’d need to tender his resignation. Chloe was right. It was time he quit the club.

Not that he entirely regretted his time. As he thought back to the many challenges he’d completed over the years, a fair number of them had prepared him for his fight with Adam and for the task of keeping Chloe safe.

He’d learned to be a man behind those doors, though he could confess, there might have been a more moral way to accomplish the task.

That was the difficult part about Adam’s words. Some of them were true. Adam might be a religious zealot, too far in the other direction, but he wasn’t wrong.

He, Strongborn, the others, they ought to lead by example.

With that in mind, he crossed to the small writing desk in the corner and pulled out a sheet of paper, penning a quick note.

Then he rang the bell to summon a footman to deliver the note.

But it wasn’t a footman who came to the door, but his Aunt Mildred. Pale, her features taut, his aunt looked seriously upset…