by M. S. Parker
“Are you okay?” he asked as my eyes opened.
I shook my head and alarm flashed across his face. “You're too far away.”
Relief immediately replaced concern.
I pulled off my robe and tossed it onto the floor. “I want to feel you against me.” I turned and scooted back against him. “Will you hold me?”
His arms circled me, but his embrace was still tentative.
“It's okay,” I said. “I know I'm safe with you. Hold me tighter.”
He wrapped his body around mine. He nuzzled beneath my ear. “I've wanted to do this from the moment I met you.”
“You're not mad I've made you be so patient?”
“Jenna, love, you're worth waiting for.” He kissed the top of my head. “I'd do it again in a heartbeat to know you trust me.”
“I love you.” It was getting easier to say and I meant it more each time.
“And I love you,” he said. “Now sleep. We have all weekend together with no interruptions.”
“I like the sound of that,” I murmured. Exhaustion was getting ready to take over. I could feel it in my bones.
For once, I didn't fear sleep or what would come after. Tonight, I'd be safe from the nightmares because I was with him. He would protect me. The man I loved. As long as I had him, I was safe.
But even as sleep claimed me, I couldn't quite ignore the little voice that asked me how long this would last. How long until he realized that I didn't deserve him and he left me. I wouldn't dwell on that, I decided. I would live for every moment for as long as I was with him, no matter how short that might be.
– THE END –
The Pleasures series continues in His Pleasures, the next book in this box set.
His Pleasures
A Rylan Novella
Pleasure Series Book 1.5
By M.S. Parker
Prologue
Rylan
I still couldn't believe it. Jenna Lang – the tough tattooed tech, the strongest and most amazing person I knew – was sleeping in my arms. I'd been intrigued with her from the first moment I'd seen her.
At first, I'd assumed it had been an admiration of her intelligence and skill at her job, but as that first night progressed, I'd seen that there was so much more to her than that. Her strength covered a vulnerability that made me want to protect her.
My arms tightened around her as I thought about how close I'd come to losing her tonight. No matter what she said, I still blamed myself for Christophe. My stomach twisted at his name. Rage flamed in my gut as I thought of the things he'd taken perverse pleasure in seeing her do.
I brushed back a strand of her hair and let my fingers trail along her cheekbone, just above the cut that bastard had given her. Most people looked at her and all they saw were the tattoos, the piercings and, of course, the bright blue hair. I had to admit, even I'd found myself caught off guard by the outer package. Now, it was just another one of the things that made her so amazing.
And I loved who she was.
I hated what had happened to her. I hated it so much that I wanted to hit something every time I thought about all the people who had hurt her. Hit and maybe worse. I wanted to beat the shit out of Christophe, but I had a feeling if I saw any of the men who'd abused her, I'd want to do more than just knock out a few teeth.
I closed my eyes and pressed my face against her top of her head, breathing in the scent of shampoo and soap, both mingled with smell that was uniquely her. I loved the way she smelled and I felt my body responding. If she hadn't needed her sleep, I would've woken her and made love to her until we were both too tired to speak. We had all weekend though and I could wait until morning to be inside her again.
Heat flushed through me as I thought back over the last couple hours. While I wished the circumstances that had brought us to this point had been different, I couldn't deny that the time that followed had been among the best in my life. I closed my eyes, picturing her face when she put her hands in mine and told me she trusted me.
The rest of the memory followed.
The taste of her, like nothing I'd had before, and the sound as she came apart around my tongue. I'd felt her muscles trembling under the soft skin of her thighs. When she'd told me to stop, I'd been terrified I'd hurt her. The thing I wanted more than anything was to protect her, to make sure no one ever hurt her again, and the moment I'd seen her tears, I'd thought I'd failed. Then she'd said she was too sensitive after having four orgasms and I'd been unable to hold back the surge of pride I'd felt. Pride that I'd been able to make her feel something good from an act that had once caused her such pain.
I shifted and my hand brushed against the side of her bare breast. I cupped the firm flesh and she stirred, a frown appearing on her face.
“Shh,” I whispered. I pressed my lips against the top of her head. “It's okay. I have you.” I kissed her temple. “You're safe, my love.”
Slowly, so very slowly, her body relaxed against mine.
“I love you, too.”
The words still echoed in my mind. I'd told her I would wait for her to say them, and I'd meant it. Hearing her response as I was above her, inside her, had almost made me come right there. I'd always prided myself on my control, and I hadn't finished prematurely since I was a horny sixteen-year-old groping my girlfriend in the back of my dad's car. And yet, four words from this blue-haired beauty had almost done it. The memory made my cock harden, but I didn't try to will it away. Instead, I let myself remember…
Her pussy was tight around me as I told her to close her eyes. Mine stayed very open though. I wanted to see every emotion as it crossed her face, every minute change, every shift.
She was so beautiful that each time I saw her, my heart ached. As I thrust into her, determined to give her every last bit of pleasure I could, I watched her face. Watched as, impossibly, she became even more beautiful. I tightened my grip on her wrists, ever aware of how precious it was that she trusted me with this.
When she opened her eyes and I saw that the pale gray had darkened to the color of a sky just before a storm, my chest tightened. For the first time since I'd met her, there were no walls, no barriers. I could see everything she was feeling, all of the things she couldn't put into words. I understood every one, because I was feeling them too.
“Rylan,” she murmured my name as she rolled toward me. She pressed her face to my chest as she snuggled more tightly against me.
I ran my hand up and down her back, feeling the scars beneath the angel wing tattoos. It had been a long time since I'd slept with a woman in my arms. I'd had lovers over the years, but in the last four years, none I’d allow to stay. It had been sex, nothing more. Nothing like this. In fact, only one had ever come close, and even Lara had never made me feel like this. She'd been the only long-term relationship I'd had... and things had ended beyond badly.
Chapter 1
– Four Years Earlier –
I was still in a daze as I walked into the hotel and booked a room. The desk clerk smiled at me and asked if I was here for the skiing. When I didn't reply, the smile faltered and I knew he was chalking me up as some rich kid asshole, but for once I didn't care.
Only the most expensive room was left and I took it. Why not? I was doing well – more than well if I was honest. After what I'd just seen with my own eyes, I deserved a bit of a splurge. Besides, what was the point of being a self-made millionaire if I didn't spend money on the things I wanted?
I still didn't understand what had happened. I'd known Lara Roache since she was seventeen and we'd started dating when she turned eighteen. Even though my sister and my best friend both told me it wasn't a good idea, I'd asked Lara to move into my apartment after just eight months.
We'd celebrated our two-year anniversary last week and I'd already started looking at rings. I figured an engagement at Christmas, then a year or two to plan the wedding. We'd still be fairly young to get married, but not crazy young.
I was already in the elevator
when I realized I hadn't brought any clothes with me. All I had was the laptop bag I happened to have when I'd walked out of my place. It was a nice apartment, but lately we’d been looking into buying a house. After all, if Lara and I were going to get married, we’d wanted a place where we could raise a family.
I gave a bitter laugh and was thankful no one was in the elevator to hear. There was always the off chance someone would recognize me, and the last thing I needed was some tabloid story about how I was losing my mind or speculating why I was checking into a hotel.
I scowled. If it hadn't been for my partner, Curt, talking me into doing that interview with People for their “Hottest Under 25” article, no one would know who I was and I could've stayed in Fort Collins. Since the article's release a few days ago, everywhere I went, people talked to me. Never again. I'd told Curt he would be the public face of Archer Enterprises from here on out, and nothing short of death was going to change that.
I stepped off the elevator and breathed a sigh of relief that the hallway was empty. I was not in the mood to see people right now, even strangers. I was still trying to wrap my head around how my world had just completely spun off its axis in the last couple hours. I really didn't feel like having to play nice.
The room was top of the line, but I barely registered it. I didn't care about the room. I walked through the small sitting area into the bedroom and set my laptop bag next to the bed. I kicked off my shoes and started to strip down. I needed a shower. Maybe that could help erase the last few hours.
I cranked the hot water up as much as I could stand and stepped inside. I closed my eyes as I moved under the spray and tried not to think about what had happened. Of course, the memories came anyway.
I knew I had a stupid grin on my face, but I couldn't help it. My real estate agent had called just as I was leaving the office and wanted to know if I'd come by and see a house he thought was perfect for me. I'd told Lara I needed to work a couple hours over and now I was glad I had. It was going to be so much better to surprise her. I hadn't made an official offer, but this was the place. I could feel it in my bones. Six acres along a lake. An absolutely massive house with a beautiful interior. I could see us spending the rest of our lives in that house, raising children and growing old with Lara.
I'd made one more stop on the way home to pick up daisies, her favorites, and a bottle of wine to celebrate. When I didn't see her in the living room, I set the wine on the kitchen counter and the flowers next to it, then headed back toward the bedroom. My stomach tightened in anticipation. Sometimes, when I worked late, she'd head to bed in some sexy lingerie and wait for me to get home.
I opened the door and all of my dreams shattered.
Lara was wearing sexy lingerie all right. A tight black corset that pushed her generous breasts up, but didn't cover the perky nipples. No panties, but garter belts that attached to sheer black thigh-high stockings. Her dark red hair was fanned out around her head and her features were contorted in pleasure. Between her legs was a shapely blonde I recognized as Cassandra, a twenty-something lawyer who lived two floors below us. Neither one of them appeared to have noticed me as Cassandra continued to go down on my girlfriend.
“Right there, baby. Yes, please. More. Lick me. Hard.”
I couldn't do anything but stare as Lara came with a cry I'd thought was reserved for me alone. We'd both had lovers before we'd met, but we never talked about them. We'd said it was only going to be us.
“Oh shit!”
Cassandra's exclamation broke through my shock.
“Rylan.”
Guilt lifted the tone of Lara's voice as she scrambled for her robe, but not half as guilty as I thought she should sound. I didn't even look at Cassandra as she grabbed her clothes and left the bedroom.
“What the fuck, Lara?” The words didn't come out as angry as I intended, but at least they didn't sound hurt. I was still pretty numb at the moment and I wanted to stay that way.
“Rylan, I'm so sorry.” She climbed off the bed and walked toward me.
I shook my head and took a step back. “Talk, don't touch.”
Her jade eyes glittered with tears and I felt a flare of anger. How dare she act upset? Like she was the one who caught me cheating? And like this! This wasn't like I’d seen her out to dinner with another man or kissing him. I'd fucking walked in on her getting eaten out by another woman.
“You know I'd been with men and women before I met you,” she began and I could see her fingers tremble as she lifted them to her lips. “Then you and I were so good together and… well, you're such a great guy. I thought you were the one.”
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
“You're a great guy, Rylan, and that's what makes this so hard.”
“No,” I snapped. The anger was coming now and I struggled to reign it in. “You don't get to act like you're some victim, Lara. Not after this.”
“It just happened,” she said, tears spilling over. “I've been fighting against my attraction to Cassandra for months and then today, I was dressed up, waiting for you to come home and she knocked on the door–”
“What the fuck?” I cut her off. “I don't want to hear the rest. And do you really think it makes me feel better to know you've been attracted to her all this time?”
Her chin lifted and her mouth tightened in a defense I could see coming. “I can't help it,” she said. “It's how I am.” She softened and her eyes glistened again. “I care about you, Rylan, but if I can't love you like that, then I can't love any man. I'd always thought of myself as straight woman who'd experimented, maybe bisexual, but I can't deny it anymore.” She gave me that sad look she used when she wanted me to see her way. “I'm a lesbian. There's nothing I can do about it.”
I stared at her, unable to believe an intelligent woman could be so dumb. “You think that's what this is all about?” I waved my hand back and forth between her and the door. “I don't give a damn about what gender you want to fuck. You lied about it. You cheated on me, Lara. Just because you wanted Cassandra didn't mean you had to fuck her right then and there.”
Her pale skin flushed.
“In our bed!”
I began to pace, waiting for her to say something, anything. When she didn’t, I turned to her and continued, “When you first started thinking this, you should've told me.” I ran my hand through my hair. “You know what, it doesn't matter anymore. We're done.” I looked around. “I can't be here right now. Take the weekend, get your shit together and get out.”
“Rylan.” She reached out her hand and then dropped it. “I really am sorry.”
I sighed, suddenly exhausted. “Someday I might be ready to hear that, but it's not tonight.”
“Dammit!” I slapped my palm against the side of the shower. “Damn you, Lara. Why couldn't you have just told me?”
By the time I got out of the shower, I didn't exactly feel better, but I wasn't worse, so I accepted it.
Lara had been my only serious girlfriend. I'd dated girls on and off in high school and college, but I'd always been so busy with work that it never got beyond casual. By the time I was nineteen, I'd even gone away from casual dating to random hook-ups.
That’s how I'd met Janice, the CSU grad student who'd introduced me to a whole new way of playing during one extremely intense and exciting weekend. Then, at an S&M party, I'd seen Lara, another student at the college who I'd spoken to once or twice in passing.
My phone rang, pulling me out of my thoughts. I frowned. The only person who'd be calling me this late would be Lara and I really didn't want to talk to her again. I felt a wave of relief when I glanced at the screen. It wasn’t Lara.
“Hey, Suzette.” I kept my tone light. No need for her to know what was going on.
“Rylan!”
I couldn't help but smile. Suzette was six and a half years younger than me, my half-sister through our dad. For the first couple years of her life, I'd been with my mother, who'd gone to great lengths to keep me away
from my father and his new family. She even changed my last name to her maiden name when she changed hers back. I found out later that she'd threatened to take my dad to court if he didn't agree to let my last name be changed from Dougall to Archer.
When I was twelve, my mom went off the deep end and the shit really hit the fan. Long story short, she ended up losing primary custody of me and I went to live with my father, step-mother, and half-sister. I'd known what changing my last name back would do to my mom, so I'd kept it, which hadn't made my father happy. That was the story of my life, constantly torn between my parents. My one bright spot, however, had always been Suzette. I adored my little sister.
“What are you doing this weekend?” She didn't bother with any small talk.
“Nothing,” I said and fell back on the bed.
“Since we have a three-day weekend, some friends and I are heading up to the cabin first thing in the morning. You and Lara should come too. I haven't seen you in forever.”
“Lara and I broke up,” I said, my voice as flat as if I’d been reporting the weather.
“Oh, Rylan, I'm so sorry. I know you really liked her.”
I didn't bother to correct her and say that I'd loved Lara, so much that I'd been planning on marrying her before I'd caught her fucking another woman. I wasn't going to get into all of the gory details with my little sister.
“You should come,” Suzette said. “Get your mind off things.”
“You want me to hang out with a bunch of teenagers?” I asked, trying to put a teasing note into my voice and failing.
“Okay, old man, so we're a few years younger than you, but everyone other than me is legally an adult.”
I smiled again. Suzette had graduated young from high school and had turned seventeen just last week, so I tended to forget her college friends were older than her.
“I don't know,” I said.
“Come with us,” she begged, that little girl pleading in her voice. “Once we're there, you can go do your own thing. Don't you think it'll be good to get out of the city for a while?”