by Lisa Ladew
And then it broke. The waves crashed. The sea inside her roiled. Urgent surges of blissful, velvety sensation pulsed at her, then finally receded. She fell to the mattress, limp.
“Now you’re ready,” Ryker whispered in her ear.
Ivy would have thought she was done. There was nothing that could compare to what she had just experienced. Oh God, why hadn’t she done this long ago?
***
Ryker stared at Ivy, limp and motionless on the bed, her dark hair framing her pixie face, her breasts high and gorgeous and flushed. His cock throbbed with the memory of the feminine noises she had released with her orgasm. He’d never heard anything so erotic in his life. He just wanted to make her do it again and again.
He lifted her easily and placed her in the center of the bed, her head on the pillows. He climbed on the bed with her and nudged her knees apart. Her eyes were still closed, her expression far away and dreamy.
“Babe, do you still want to do this?”
“There’s more?” she whispered.
Ryker laughed. “Tons more. But it might hurt you at first.”
She opened her eyes. “I'm yours, Ryker. I still want to do this. I don’t care if it hurts. I want you.”
Ryker didn’t need to hear it again. He tore open the condom wrapper and sheathed his cock quickly, then knelt close to her. She opened her eyes and propped herself up on her elbows, watching him intently, not a trace of self-consciousness in her face. God, he loved her. Her sheer nerve and incredible smarts. And now was she going to turn into a sexual vixen too? Lucky him. Lucky, lucky him.
But he didn’t want to hurt her. His mind reeled at the thought of even causing her an instant of pain. If only there was some way around it. But he’d done all he could. And now the only way past it was through it.
He took his cock in his hand and lightly pressed it against her, seeking her opening. She was wet and ready for him, but as he pushed inside as gently as he could, even he gasped. She was shockingly snug. He watched her face, concerned. She gazed at him, wide-eyed, with a tiny smile playing on her lips, her hands running over his chest and shoulders. The next millimeter he pushed forward brought the tiniest wince of pain to her eyes and he froze, scared to move again.
But she moved. She undulated her hips maddeningly, and scooched towards him. “It’s OK, it’s not too bad,” she whispered. “Please Ryker, keep going.”
He pushed gently again and she gasped. He froze. “No, it feels good. So good. So … full. Ryker, please.”
He inched forward and she wrapped her legs around his back, urging him on. In his mind, he saw her small, feminine hands exploring his cock when he’d first gotten undressed and desire roared inside him again. He gritted his teeth and held back what a small animalistic part of him wanted to do, which was slam and plunder. He’d never hurt her for the world. She would see only his tender side. Only the very best parts of him would he offer up to her.
She writhed underneath him, her face beautiful in its pleasure. “Please Ryker, it feels good. Please don’t stop.”
He pushed forward again, but not as far as he could go, then pulled out and thrust back in, setting a slow, deliberate, easy pace. Ivy pulled him down to her and moaned in his ear. “Yes, yes, Ryker, oh I never knew! I never knew it would be like this.”
Slow, slow and easy, he chanted inside his head, determined to maintain control, even as her words worked to rupture it.
“Ryker, harder please, just a little bit harder.”
He set his jaw against the desire that leapt inside him at her words. With one thrust he seated himself fully for the first time, her gasp and moan almost pushing him over his own cliff. She didn’t know what she was asking for. He pulled out and thrust again, just a little harder. “Yes,” she urged him on, and he forgot every promise he had made to himself. Harder he thrust, the delicious sensations building and ebbing within him.
Ivy’s eyes, which had drifted closed when she pulled him down on top of her, flew open. “Oh God, Ryker, I’m going to come again!” she cried, amazement in her voice.
He almost laughed at the tone of surprise in her voice, but the laugh was covered by his own guttural moan that merged with Ivy’s higher-pitched cry as her pleasure triggered his own release.
After a few moments of recovery, Ryker rolled sideways and disappeared into the bathroom for a moment. As he came back out, she watched him under her lashes. He climbed into bed with her. “Well, was it everything you thought it would be?”
“No,” she said, a slight smile playing on her lips.
“No?”
“I never could have imagined anything like that. I want to do that again.”
Ryker lay back on the pillow, relieved and amused. “OK, just give me a minute.”
Ivy grasped his hand and they stared at the ceiling in silence for a moment. “Oh, Ryker I forgot to tell you something.”
He rolled onto his side and gazed into her eyes, 100% OK with the world at that moment. “What is it, babe?”
“I love you.”
Ryker’s mind stuttered for a moment. He felt a grin cross his face. She loved him. And she wanted to make love to him. “I love you too, Ivy. More than anything.” And that was worth more than anything else in the world to him.
Chapter 24
As Ivy woke, the day appeared brighter, and with more promise than any day she’d discovered in many years. She and Ryker had taken their relationship to a new, blissful level last night, one that she couldn’t wait to explore further. She would have dinner with her dad and her half-sister today. And on Monday they would get to start the next phase of their professional lives. Ivy sighed happily and poked Ryker in the back. “Wake up sleepy-head.”
Ryker turned onto his stomach and mumbled something she didn’t understand. She got up and floated down the hallway, thinking the smell of breakfast would get him moving.
An hour later, they arrived at the police station and walked, hand-in-hand, to Chief Foley’s office. Ivy reminded herself many times that she couldn’t call him Hunter anymore, for now. His secretary took them to get their uniforms, and then led them to a large conference room neither one had been in before. “Chief Foley says you need to be in this room at 10 o’clock, in your uniforms,” she told them, then left quietly.
They found bathrooms in the hallway and changed their clothes into their recruit uniforms, white button-down tops and blue police slacks. Ivy pinned her hair down neatly, glad that it was growing out quickly. She eyed her reflection and thought to herself that she couldn’t wait until this was a blue-on-blue uniform, complete with utility belt and gun.
When they returned to the large conference room, people had started to gather in it. Uniformed officers, people in suits and professional attire. “That’s the police chief,” Ryker whispered to her, pointing out an older gentleman in a dress uniform covered in medals. “And that’s the Mayor. I wonder what’s going on.”
A man approached them from behind and Ivy looked around. It was Hunter. He pulled up a chair. “Sorry I didn’t tell you about this yesterday, but I put your name in at the last minute,” he said, looking at Ryker. “I didn’t know if they were going to accept you or not.”
“Put my name in for what?”
“A Bronze Medal of Valor. I wanted a gold, but the mayor said it was highly irregular, giving a medal to a recruit, so we agreed on a bronze.”
Ryker’s eyes widened. Ivy clapped her hands and bit back a squeal of delight. “Oh Ryker,” she whispered, trying not to draw attention to them.
Ryker looked around at all the people filling the room and taking their seats. He looked pleased, but embarrassed. “You didn’t have to do that,” he sputtered. “I was just doing what anyone would have done.”
Chief Foley clapped him on the back and laughed out loud. “We’d all like to believe that but no, you did a lot more than 95% of the world would have dreamed of doing. Or been able to do. And we want to honor you for it.”
“This isn’t all
for me?”
“No, this is the regular monthly awards ceremony. There’s other people getting medals too. You just come up to the podium when your name is called.” With a smile, Chief Foley stood up and walked to the front of the room where he spoke into a microphone. Ivy watched, thrilled to be here to see this, as the Chief called up officer after officer. At last he came to Ryker.
"And our last medal of the day will be given out to a police recruit for the first time ever. Ryker Wells.” Ivy squeezed his hand and released him to walk to the podium. His face was slightly reddened, but composed.
Chief Foley put a hand on Ryker’s shoulder and went on. “Everyone here has seen the footage on the explosion on Monday that destroyed an uptown neighborhood. Many of you have heard the rumors that the man behind that explosion had planned to take dozens more lives, both at a school and at an office building downtown. Those rumors are true, and this man here was solely responsible for thwarting the horrible plan that would have brought so much devastation and heartache to our city. He demonstrated incredibly quick wit and amazing courage. And for that, the Mayor has awarded him the Bronze Medal of Valor, one of our highest honors.” He turned toward Ryker, holding up the medal.
Ryker turned his body towards Chief Foley and lifted his chin, his expression shining and hard. Chief Foley pinned the medal on his shirt. The room erupted into applause, and when the Mayor stood up, everyone stood up. Ivy stood with them and clapped so hard her hands hurt. When the applause finally died and the room had retaken their seats, Ryker wound his way back through the tables, looking slightly stunned.
Ryker sank into his chair and grinned at Ivy. Ivy grasped his hand, fierce pride coursing through her. He was a hero, and he was all hers.
<<< The End >>>
Epilogue
Kara Price walked out of the hospital with the help of her dad and her cane, her leg hurting even less than it had the day before. She blinked in the sunshine, glad to finally be out of that place. It was hard to feel whole and happy in a hospital. But now that she was out, she could start the path to recovery, and that made her glad. She found herself eager and thought about why. She would be having dinner with her half-sister, Ivy, tonight. She’d always wanted a sister, and now she had one. And she liked Ivy a lot.
Her dad interrupted her thoughts as they made it to his car. “I’m driving you to your house, right?”
“Yeah, but can we stop at the police department? I need to get some things out of my car first.”
“Yep.”
Kara eased herself into the passenger seat and picked up her leg with her hands to swing it inside so her dad could close the door. On the drive, she held her face to the sun and let her father’s words wash over her. They were soothing, comforting. Being shot was a horrible interruption of one's life and she just wanted things to get back to normal. Her father talking almost non-stop about people he was helping was definitely normal.
He turned into the police department and Kara felt a small pang of disappointment that she had so many weeks left before she could get back to work. She loved her job and missed it terribly already. Just be glad you’ll be able to go back, she thought.
“Give me your keys,” her dad said. “What do you need out of your car?”
Kara almost did, but then remembered why she needed to do it herself. There was some small chance that her … that there would be something in the car she didn’t want her father to see. “I got it, Dad. No worries.”
She picked up her leg again and swung it out of the car, then heaved herself to her feet before her father could even get his door open. “No Dad, just stay there. I’m fine, really.”
She limped to her car, her heart beating fast, and not just from the exertion. Sure enough, as she looked in the window of her car she saw a red gift box on the passenger seat. Adrenaline poured into her system.
“No. No,” she said under her breath, wanting to flee. But she couldn’t. She knew she couldn’t. This was her life here. She couldn’t flee her life. She had to fight. If she could just figure out who she was fighting.
Numbly, she tried her door. Locked. She looked across to the passenger door and saw it was locked too. She always locked her doors, especially since the first gift she’d received. She clicked the button on the key fob and heard the locks click open.
Panting a little, she opened the door gingerly and stuck her upper body inside. She tucked a finger under the box lid and flipped it off. What she saw filled her with revulsion. This wasn’t just a note. Or some flowers. Or some candy.
The box was filled with hair. Blond human hair, the edges of which looked ragged, like it had been hacked off. A note. There had to be a note. There always was. She gritted her teeth and pushed her fingers through the hair, finding the folded piece of paper right in the middle. She read it and gagged, not knowing what to think.
In sloping, shaky handwriting, it said:
Dawn needs to pay, don’t you think? For hurting you? This will make her remorseful. And if it doesn’t, don’t worry, I’ll think of something else.
Her hand shook slightly and she heard a car door slam behind her. Her father. Hastily she put the lid back on the box and grabbed it up.
Dad walked to the passenger door and opened it. “Can I help you, sweetie?” His eyes landed on the box and he smiled. “Uh oh, secret gifts from a boyfriend? Don’t worry, I won’t ask. I’m rooting for that young man you brought to the dinner at the Mayor’s house though.” He tipped her a wink and then seemed to see her face. “Kara, are you OK, you’re completely white.”
No dad, I’m not OK, she thought. I have a stalker and now he’s getting dangerous.
But what she said was, “Yes Dad, I’m fine.”
<<<>>>
Book 3 in the Unauthorized Series, featuring Officer Kara Price, will be coming in mid-March, 2015. Please sign up for my mailing list in order to be notified the exact day it comes out!
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In the meantime, I am working on another Edge of the Heat spinoff, starring some of Emma's paramedic/firefighter friends. Look for book 1 at the end of January.
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About the Author
I live in the frozen north (Idaho pandhandle). I am married and have 2 boys, the oldest 11 and the youngest 2. I'm trying to break a facebook addiction right now and get back to real life.
Dedication/Acknowledgements
Thank you to my many advance readers and beta readers. Names coming soon. And thank you Nicki, Rachel, and Lisa. And of course thank you to my husband and sons for their continuing support and inspiration.