33. Ryder

As I wander the halls of Shadowvale, the sense of guilt gnawing at my conscience, I find myself drawn toward Eva's room.

I don't know about Theo and Oliver, but there's been a lingering tension inside me ever since the kidnapping. I can't bring myself to go near Eva, afraid of what I might do or say to her.

With each step, the push to speak to her, to explain what's going on, grows stronger. As I approach her room, a tumult of emotions swirls within me, mingling with the apprehension that tugs at the corners of my mind.

Hesitantly, I reach up and knock on the door, pausing when the sound of my name catches my attention. I push the door open, and for a moment, time seems to stand still as I take in the scene before me.

Eva is kneeling on the bed, hand pressed deep into herself as she furiously rides out what looks like the beginning of an intense orgasm. She freezes when our eyes meet but cries out, giving herself away.

"What are you doing?" I demand, all guilt forgotten in the moment as my base instincts take over. The desire to join her wipes any other thought from my mind, and I step forward, repeating the question.

Eva has a guilty look on her face as she scrambles to move, but I stop her with a hard look.

"So needy," I rumble, stepping forward again. Her eyes widen, and she gulps visibly. "Couldn't even wait for one of us to take care of you, could you?" I ask, tone teasing. "I should punish you, baby girl."

Her body trembles, legs parting a little wider at that, and I realize she's just as turned on as I am. "I'm going to spank you five times, and then you're going to spread yourself wide for me, and I'm going to edge you until I think you've sufficiently been punished."

"Oh, God," Eva whimpers, hazy desire in her eyes. "I missed you, Ryder. Couldn't stop thinking about you."

My pants are suddenly too tight. "I want you to get on your hands and knees," I order her. She moves quickly, leaning down so she can obey.

Once she's situated, I move forward, running a hand over the supple skin of her backside, enjoying how smooth it is under my fingers. I give her bum a pinch, earning a wet gasp in return.

"Count each stroke," I order her.

She tenses a little, and I bring my hand down, a crack ringing out as skin strikes skin.

"One!" she cries out, fists gripping the sheets. My hand comes down once more, the skin immediately starting to turn red. "Two!"

I've noticed before that her skin is sensitive to being marked up. It doesn't take a lot for her to bruise when we suck wet marks into her neck or grip her hips tightly.

My excitement intensifies as the next hit reveals cherry red marks blooming on her skin. "Three!" she calls, a moan punctuating her words.

"Two more," I say, stopping for a break as I rub my hand over her flesh again, the skin warm under my palm. "Can you take it?"

"Yes," she says, voice breathless.

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, sir!"

Raising my hand, I spank her again, the crack ringing out in the silence of the room. "Four!" Eva shouts, pushing her ass higher as though begging for another.

With the final blow, Eva lets out a sob, and I turn her over, pushing her up the bed until she's nestled among the pillows. I intend to make good on my word and immediately lick her wet cunt, tongue lapping up the slick that's smeared all over her folds.

"You taste so good, baby girl," I say with a growl as I lap my tongue against her over and over again. "I'm going to keep you right on the edge until you're going crazy for me."

Beginning my tumultuous assault of her pussy, my lips close around her clit as I suck hard, opening her up with my hands and slipping my thumbs into her entrance. She cries out and nearly bucks me off her as I suck, pressing my tongue flat and stroking over the bud in quick motions.

She tastes so sweet from here, so delicious, with a little salty musk that drives my senses wild. I rub my face against her, nose against her bud, and it sends her bucking again.

I need her to ride my face, I realize. I'm going to torment her, edge her until she's crying from desperation, then I'm going to flip her and have her ride my face. The plan has me so excited that I start licking harder across her bud, eager to see just how desperate she can be.

My thumbs twist inside her as my tongue and lips assault her throbbing clit, sucking, licking, and toying with it over and over again. Each pass of my tongue has her lifting her hips off the bed, seeking more, always greedy for more.

I can tell she's getting closer as her movements get more erratic and she gets harder to hold down. Using my hands as leverage, I continue to tease inside her but hold her body down harder so she can't get away. She starts rutting into the sensations, bucking her hips toward my face.

I pull back a little, not wanting her to achieve her pleasure too quickly. With my teeth, I graze over her bud and then brush my nose over her once more, enjoying the noises she makes as she struggles to move into the sensation, desperate to chase the friction needed for her release.

"Please!" Evangeline begs, hot desperation in her voice. "Please don't stop."

Pulling all the way back, I sit up on my heels, face shiny with her slick, a grin on my face. "I want you to ride me," I tell her. "You're going to kneel over my face, and I'm going to pleasure you while you ride me."

Linking my hands with hers, I help her upright, and we switch positions so I'm the one lying on the bed, knees bent. I guide her over my face, positioning her so her cunt is directly atop me.

She hesitates a moment. "Are you sure I won't hurt you?" she asks, looking down at me.

"If I die, I die the way I want, baby girl," I say, yanking her down. With a little wiggling, she's situated exactly how I want her, and my tongue plunges back into her wet entrance once more.

Eva seems almost unsure of herself at first, movements slow like she's worried she'll hurt me, but after a few seconds, she grows bolder, allowing herself to enjoy the ride.

Her cunt is steadily producing slick now, and I lap it up eagerly, nosing along the length while she rides me. As her movements grow more erratic, I hug her toward me around her lap, keeping her in place.

Her body pushes down against me one final time as her cunt flutters, body tensing as she comes with a strangled cry.

"Fuck!" she curses, all but collapsing as soon as she's done. I help her off me, pulling her to my chest as my fingers move down to continue to torment her, slipping two inside at once as I finger her to another release.

"Oh, God," she whines. "Fuck, Ryder, don't stop!"

Chasing her orgasm, I work her through it, rubbing my thumb against her clit. She's a mess now, tears of pleasure leaking from her eyes, drool on her chin, eyes hazy and unfocused.

"You look beautiful," I murmur, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"I feel sticky," she says with a soft laugh. We lie together for a few minutes, catching our breath.

After a few moments, Eva's hand reaches out, grabbing my cock and wrapping her fingers around it, stroking up and down. Her hand is soft around me, reminding me of the silky feeling of her inner walls and the way she feels when I'm inside her. I groan, bucking up as her fingers move faster.

I'm so worked up now that it doesn't even take long before I'm tensing, arching my back as I spill all over her fingers.

"Wanted to return the favor," she murmurs, licking it up. I groan, the sight far sexier than it has any right to be.

Once we're cleaned up and lying back in her bed together, I take her hand in mine and bring it up to my lips to give her a kiss.

"I missed you," she says, voice low. "You and Oliver and Theo. You've been avoiding me."

It isn't mean or vicious, but it still stings, knowing she's not wrong. I wince and give her a sheepish look.

"It might have been hard, seeing you kidnapped," I admit. "I've never been good in relationships. I don't really do that kind of thing, so when I saw you there, it was like my heart was ripped out of my chest. I felt like I'd failed at protecting you."

"Do you think this was a mistake?" Eva asks, a note of uncertainty in her voice.

"In normal circumstances, I'd probably just walk away," I tell her, being completely honest. "I'm shit at relationships. There's a reason I usually only have one-night stands. But everything has happened in such a backward order that my brain is still trying to play catch up."

Eva stares into my eyes for a long moment. "If you want to take things slower, that's okay. I understand. You don't have to rush into anything with me just because of the baby."

I turn, cupping her face between my hands. "But that doesn't mean I'm running away. I just need you to be patient with me. Can you be patient? Can you wait for me to figure all this out?"

Silence hangs in the air between us as I await her answer.