“Girl, you are so gone for that man.” Yes, I absolutely am.
Ryder gives me a guy chin jerk when our eyes meet which should look cocky but when he does it, it makes me all hot, bothered, and breathless. I practically skip out of the room to meet him.
“I wasn’t expecting you to be here.”
“I know. Thought I’d surprise you.” He traces a single finger down the side of my uplifted smiling face.
“It’s the best surprise.” I grab ahold of his front belt loops but don’t lean in to kiss him even though I’m dying to. I know we have an audience, so I try to behave myself. It’s really hard.
“What’s up, man,” Trevor greets him.
“Not much. Just picking up my girl.” The girlie part of me screams and does an internal happy dance when he says I’m his girl. “Good study session?” he asks me.
“Yeah. We have a lot of work to do to finish the presentation but we’re planning on meeting again tomorrow and next week, so it should be good to go by next Friday.”
Meredith pops up next to Trevor. “Hi. I don’t know if you remember me from the other day.”
“Meredith, right?”
“That’s me! Are you ready, Trevor? Looks like Elizabeth’s all covered for getting home tonight.”
“Yeah. Let’s go. See ya around, Wildcat.”
Meredith gives me a big bear hug and the guys do that fist bump thing. Ryder takes my bag and places his hand possessively on my lower back as we walk outside. I’m surprised at how busy the campus still is at nine o’clock at night.
“Goodnight, Elizabeth!” I hear Meredith yell at me from across the quad as she and Trevor walk toward the dorms. I wave and then settle my hand in Ryder’s when he reaches for it.
“I was right, you know.”
“Right about what?”
“Trevor. Wanting you.”
I spin around and fist my hands around the front of Ryder’s shirt, because let’s face it, my hands won’t pass up any opportunity to touch this man. As I walk backward, tugging him along with me, I tell Ryder, “I’m aware he’s interested, but he knows I’m taken. I think you made that very clear to him outside the study room.”
“I shouldn’t have done that,” Ryder says, stopping us when we reach our parked cars. “Word could get back to Jay or Jules if people start talking about us as a couple around campus.”
“I honestly don’t think Meredith or Trevor are in their same social circles. But I get it. We need to be more careful.”
The humid night’s air hangs heavy with a tinge of ozone as lightning flashes somewhere in the distance from a lone cumulonimbus cloud. I feel my back being gradually pressed up against the cool metal of my car as Ryder slowly pushes into my body, one hand splayed flat on the hood of my car. He hasn’t done anything more than that and I’m already turned on and desperate for him. My fists grip tighter to his shirt and I pull him in closer.
Dipping down, Ryder rubs our noses together while breathing in deeply. “You always smell so good. Jasmine, right?”
I hum my reply as I return the favor by rubbing my nose up and down his cheek. Ryder has a unique smell - a mixture of something citrusy and spicy. “Would you like to follow me home? I could whip up something to eat?”
“I could eat,” he replies in a tone that alerts me that his words mean more than their literal translation.
I unclench my fists and allow my hands one leisurely swipe up his torso and back down to the ridges of his stomach. “Let’s get going then.”
The dizzying feeling of my body being lifted and settled causes me to shriek then giggle as Ryder’s body lands on top of mine, his mouth eagerly falling on my collarbone to deliver a flurry of sensual kisses that have me writhing underneath him.
“I thought you were hungry,” I pant out.
“I am.” His lips move down lower on my chest to the swells of my breasts, and all I can think is hell, yes. A single bright light flashes outside followed by a boom of thunder, the sound rattling my apartment window.
We barely made it inside my apartment before we attacked each other. The living room couch was as far as we got. Needing to feel his skin against mine, I tug and lift at his shirt. Ryder gets the message and pulls back slightly to yank it over his head and toss it somewhere over the sofa.
“Mine too,” I demand.
“Patience,” he taunts me, and I growl at him. He nips my stomach with his teeth and my growl turns into a grunt. His thumbs go under the edge of my tank top and he pushes it up and stops. The anticipation is killing me, so I open my eyes to see what he’s doing. I have a long, red scar running up the middle of my abdomen. Ryder trails his finger up the raised ridge and kisses my navel.
“You are absolute perfection.” He licks his lips like he’s preparing to devour me, and I have to squeeze my thighs closed to ease the ache between them. My movements don’t go unnoticed. Ryder lifts his smoldering eyes to mine and gives me a heated, knowing smirk. His gaze moves to the side and I know exactly when he sees them, and I tense up at his sharp intake of breath. I’ve always kept my tattoos hidden, even at the beach.
“Elizabeth.” His whisper full of emotion, his perceptive fingers tracing over the delicately winged tattoos. Beautiful reminders of that ugly night. The night which is the reason I can’t remember. I tear up when I see his eyes cloud over with pain and longing, a single tear running down his masculine cheek. I’m completely undone at how this strong man shows me his softer side. I love you.
“You are so brave,” he says, and presses kisses along one scar before tracing the outline of the broken butterfly that covers it with his tongue. “So strong.” He moves up to repeat his gentle ministrations on the second scar. “So gloriously beautiful.” Another kiss. “Never hide these from me.”
I can’t take it anymore, my body is overheated and stimulated to the point of no return. My hands move to rip my top off so I can finally feel him against my bare skin, but Ryder is quicker and snatches it up and over my head. Using one hand, he locks my wrists above my head to keep my arms in place. He slides his other hand, palm flat, down and around my back, the rough pads of his calluses inciting trails molten fire across my skin. I feel his fingers do a twist as my bra falls open and slides apart releasing my aching breasts. At the same time, he lowers his head to take my lips and kisses the shit out of me.
Another crack of lightning followed closely by a long roll of thunder plays out like a drumbeat to our frantic movements. Ryder releases his grip which frees my hands and they are more than eager to touch and play with this man’s beautiful body. His mouth finally descends back down to my breasts, my nipples beaded and aching for him.
“What is that John Mayer song?” he murmurs before flicking one nipple with his warm tongue. “Your body is a wonderland,” he says before taking my nipple into his mouth, sucking it with gentle pressure while swirling his tongue. I don’t think I’ve ever felt anything so wonderful.
He tortures me with pleasure, his mouth unrelenting, as he kisses back and forth across my chest, making sure to give each breast equal attention. The sensations are overwhelming and so intense that I can feel my orgasm building and close to cresting just from what he’s doing to my breasts alone. It makes me excitedly afraid to find out what is going to happen when we have sex for the first time. And yes, I’m thinking when and not if. I know if he asked me right now, I would happily let him take me and use my body however he wanted.
As he seduces me with his tongue, I press my lips on any part of his body my mouth can reach. My hands bunch and caress every inch of skin I find until they finally find their way underneath the back of his jeans to cup his splendid ass. My nails dig in and he flexes and groans.
“My turn,” he says, the fingers of his left hand moving under my shorts past the top of my panties. I know what he’ll find. I’m soaked and swollen and so ready for him. One touch from him and I’m more than likely to shoot off this sofa like a bottle rocket.
“Jesus,” he hisses
when his thumb caresses the tight knot of nerves and one finger rubs up and down my swollen folds. “You are so wet,” he groans. I was right. That one soft caress has my entire body spasming while a long, low vocal emission erupts from my throat. I notice how his pupils contract then dilate as he pushes two nimble fingers inside of me, his thumb strumming my clit like a skilled musician. My hips raise up and push against his hand, the loudest moan escaping my parted lips when he curls his two fingers up inside of me hitting a place that makes me see stars.
“God, I love hearing you make those sounds.”
The thunderstorm that had been building outside bursts open in a crescendo of lightning strikes and loud, booming thunder. It’s like mother nature is giving us our own personal fireworks display and matching our passion with its intensity.
Just as my body is about to detonate, a memory hurdles itself forward.
“I’ve got you, Liz. Trust me,” he says kissing my breast one last time as his hand slithers its way down my stomach to tease the top of my shorts.
My eyes flutter closed. A round of fireworks go off in the distance casting a rainbow of colors over my face. His thumb and forefinger pop the button of my shorts and ease the zipper down. My breath hitches, my eyes still closed.
“I love you, Liz,” Jayson whispers against my lips and kisses me slowly as his hand drops lower to find me wet and swollen.
He strokes and glides and pinches until he finds the bundle of nerves that will send me into heaven. His finger begins to rub circles on my clit and my eyes pop open. Just as the finale of the fireworks begins, my body tenses, bows, and I scream out his name in sublime ecstasy, my cries of pleasure drowned out by the cacophony detonating above us. But he doesn’t stop. He kisses and touches me until the last of my shudders subside and the most gorgeous smiles spread across both our faces.
Between what Ryder’s doing to me and the memory flash that hits me out of the blue, my orgasm comes out of nowhere. I cry out, my body arching up so tightly, I feel like I’m being ripped apart in the most wonderful way as wave after wave of pleasure assails me from all directions until it leaves me in a limp, sated, boneless mess. My hands which have been clawed into Ryder’s ass gradually release and I wrap them around his neck. My body continues to shudder uncontrollably as my orgasm pulses and rolls through me as if it could go on endlessly. It feels like forever before I’m able to breathe normally again.
Ryder cups my mound, trying to soothe the tumultuous ache that doesn’t seem to want to end. He finds my lips and kisses me softly. My body jerks against his one last time, tears streaming down my cheeks that he lovingly kisses away.
When my shudders finally stop, I open my eyes to see his face above mine. I reach up and trace his face with my fingers.
“Holy shit,” I breathe out.
“I think that was one of the hottest fucking things I have ever seen.”
“I think that was one of the hottest fucking things I’ve ever felt,” I say back, smiling widely. “I would so love to return the favor,” I purr, sliding my hand down to cup the massive bulge straining against his jeans.
Ryder groans into our next kiss. “Tonight was for you, baby. We have plenty of time. I finally have you and I’m not going anywhere.”
“Next time then?”
“Abso-fucking-lutely.” And to prove his point of there being many more next times, he sinks down into me, the feel of his weight on top of me as heady as his kisses, and takes my mouth with gentle abandon over and over until my lips are kiss-swollen. We snuggle down and spend another hour laying tangled up together on my sofa until sleep overtakes us. Before my mind drifts away into slumber another memory slips in.
All our next times, I hear Jayson’s voice whisper in my mind.
Chapter 16
Elizabeth
The piano music that is the alarm on my phone starts playing, waking me from a deep sleep. My eyes slowly blink open and I try to stretch out my arms and legs but am prevented from doing so as they are entangled with Ryder’s. We fell asleep on my couch last night. My body starts to tingle as I remember our hotter than hell make-out session. Ryder’s bicep flexes under my neck where my head is currently resting as he begins to stir and wake up, his face snuggled down in the crook of my shoulder. The first thing I feel is his smile against my skin.
“Good morning,” he sleepily mumbles and lightly bites into my neck. My body goes from light tingle to lit firecracker in an instant.
“If you’re taking me to my MRI, we need to get up and get dressed. And breakfast,” I add, suddenly very hungry. We never did eat last night before we passed out.
“Got it,” he says, and rolls over on top of me, pressing his morning erection against my middle and I melt into the sofa cushions. He places three delicate kisses on my face – a kiss on the shell of one ear, then my nose, and lastly, my other ear, before lifting himself up and off of me. I vocally whine at the loss of his body from mine.
“Let’s go take that shower,” he suggests, holding his hand out to me.
“Together?” I ask almost too excitedly, because hell yes, do I want to see him completely naked and wet.
I’m already planning on all the dirty things I’m going to do to him in my shower, but Ryder squashes those fantasies when he laughs, “I can see the wheels turning in your brain, Elizabeth. As much as I would love to slam you up against the shower wall and ravage you, we don’t have time. It’s going to take longer than a ten-minute shower for me to do all things I want to do to you.” Knowing he’s right still doesn’t stop me from pouting.
I take his hand and then jump on his back as he carries me piggy-back to my bathroom. As we strip our clothes off, my eyes land on his chest seeing the tattoo inked right above his heart for the first time.
“Ryder, is this—” I don’t finish. My eyes heat with wonder and arousal. “May I?”
He nods.
“It’s beautiful.” I lean closer to trace the outline of the letters that spell out my name, my breath fanning over his skin. His tattoo is of a princess crown with “Elizabeth” scripted under it. Four measures of musical notes sit at the base of the crown. My brain hums the tune and realization hits me.
“Ryder, this is the song you played for me in the music room.” The song he said I wrote just for him. A rush of emotion steamrolls its way into my heart and settles, refusing to leave. I’m so in love with this amazing man.
After several minutes, Ryder turns on the shower and lifts me. He carries me bodily under the spray until we’re both slick and wet. Our shower is quick, if a bit handsy, as we both have too much fun taking turns soaping each other up. Ryder’s body is like nothing else I’ve seen; all ripped muscles, tanned skin, and those sexy cut hips that form a V arrowing down toward what I consider heaven. Even though he said no fooling around, it doesn’t stop him from fingering me again to a glorious orgasm. He drops to his knees in the shower and makes love to my butterfly tattoos with his mouth, and in doing so, Ryder’s gentle kisses heal a broken part of me.
Again, my desire to return the favor is halted when he lifts me up and carries me out of the shower, much to my numerous protestations which Ryder laughs at before shutting me up with a deep, toe-curling kiss and another promise of next times.
Once we’re dry, I throw on some clean clothes, but Ryder has to put back on the clothes he was wearing last night. The only exception is that this morning, he’s going commando. I think I drool a little bit when I watch him pull his jeans up and button them closed. We eat a quick breakfast of cold cereal and I offer him use of my toothbrush.
Packed and ready to go to the hospital, I’m standing by the front door waiting for Ryder. I check my phone to see several texts from Julien, Jayson, and of course Daniel and Drew who are checking on me knowing today’s my MRI. I reply to the two of them first and then read Julien’s and Jayson’s.
Doppelganger: Missed running with you this morning. Hope the doctor visit goes well. Have practice this afternoon so will talk to you la
ter.
ScaryGuy: Mornings aren’t the same without you here. Let me know how the visit goes.
ScaryGuy: Was going to ask you if you wanted to do something tomorrow night.
What do I say back? Tomorrow is my date with Ryder.
Me: Going out with a girl I met in class. There’s a party Saturday that I was invited to. Why don’t you guys come with me?
ScaryGuy: Would love to. Count me in. Want me to pick you up?
Me: Can we all ride together?
ScaryGuy: We can do that. My truck is big enough for all of us. Let me text Jules, Ry, and E and I’ll text you back.
Me: Perfect.
I see the three dots on my phone indicating Jayson’s typing something. They disappear and come back several times but no text ever comes. Ryder grabs his keys and wallet then takes me in a hug.
“Ready to go?”
“Yep. Let’s do this.”
“Definitely that one,” Meredith says as she sits cross-legged on my bed.
Being the only girl I know, I begged her after class this morning to come over tonight and help me get ready for my date with Ryder. I’m nervous as hell, anxious, and a little bit scared. I want things to be perfect. Because of my memory loss, to me, this feels like I’m actually going on my very first date and my hormones are acting accordingly.
“You know you could wear a sack over your head and Ryder would still think you’re the most beautiful girl in the world.” I roll my eyes at her and slip on the pink silk floral wrap-around dress she picked out for me from my closet. “That man looks at you like you are water and he’s been stuck in the desert for ten years.”
“I think you may have him mixed up with me.”
“Oh, I’m not leaving you out. I was about to say that you eye-fuck that poor boy so hard I’m surprised he’s able to walk a straight line.”
I burst out laughing. “Oh my God. Not the visual I want right now.”
Ryder met me at the library again last night since me, Meredith, and Trevor had another study group meeting to continue working on our presentation. Ryder was wearing a dark gray button-down short-sleeved shirt and jeans that fit him like a glove. I may have ogled him a bit when we left the study room.
Paper Stars Rewritten: Fallen Brook Series: Book 2 Page 14