“Please leave,” she whimpered, pressing a fist against her mouth to keep from crying hysterically.
A few seconds ticked by before he gently slipped his fingers from her body and pulled her shirt down over her rear. Part of her rejoiced that he’d leave while a larger part grieved that it would be the last time he set foot in her house. It had to be.
“I told you I’m not going anywhere,” he said with a thick, gravelly voice.
The precious seconds it took for his words to register gave Ridge time to stand, grip her around the waist and lift.
“You need a shower,” he said, carrying her up the stairs like a sack.
“What?” When they hit the landing, Avery kicked and clawed at his hands to release her. “What the hell are you doing now?” she demanded.
“You smell. I’m cleaning you up.”
Ridge kicked open the bathroom door, flicked on the light and while still holding her thrashing body, started the shower. Avery clawed at his hands, but Ridge never loosened his grip. Once his leg gave out, but he caught himself before he dropped her. Putting himself between her and the door, he set her down, stood her up and with one quick motion, ripped her nightshirt off her body.
“That was my favorite shirt,” she protested, completely forgetting she now stood before him utterly naked.
“You killed it,” he said with a halfhearted smile. “It’ll probably crawl away and die now.”
Insulted, Avery glared at him. “Is there no end to your cruelty?” Her voice didn’t resonate with the anger and hostility she intended. After all, it was hard to sound so pissed when her body still hummed from his touch.
“Get in the shower,” he ordered, crossing his arms over his wide, muscled chest.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Because you stink, Avery. I’ve known you ten years and never once did you let yourself go like this.”
She shook her head. “I don’t get you,” she whispered. “You told me to stay out of your head and I did. I severed all ties just like you wanted and suffered for it.” Ridge winced and she swore she saw real pain reflect in his eyes. “I was almost there and now you want to drag me back. Go home, Ridge. Let me get through this any way I can and we’ll both be better off. You’ll be free of me.”
God, those words came out of her throat like razor blades, but they had to be said. Maybe she was on the track to finally being alone. Ridge closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. Avery took the chance and made a move to get to the door. In the blink of an eye he had his arm wrapped around her middle and in two steps lifted her up and set her down in the tub beneath the spray.
Gripping her shoulder in a firm hold, he forced her to stay as he toed off his shoes and unbuttoned his jeans. Avery panicked. He did not think he was going to get in with her. He had to be out of his mind.
“What are you doing?” she asked, struggling against his hold.
“You don’t want to get cleaned up, I’ll do it for you.” In one quick stroke he shucked his jeans and boxers down his legs.
Avery gasped and then moaned as his thick erection bobbed free. How the hell would she get through this? “Ridge, don’t do this to me,” she pleaded, unable to take her eyes off his glorious body.
“I can’t help it,” he said in a desperate voice as he kicked his jeans away and then grabbed the hem of his shirt and peeled it up his body. The material hung from the arm holding her. He quickly switched hands and dropped it to the floor before stepping into the tub with her.
Avery tried to escape. This wouldn’t end well. He’d shower her with pleasure and then walk away again and damn it, this time she didn’t think she had enough energy left to bounce back.
“Let me do this,” he growled, snaking his arm around her middle and tugging her back against his body. “God, just let me touch you, baby. Let me take care of you.”
“I don’t need to be taken care of,” she whimpered. Didn’t he see that?
Ridge ignored her. Instead of responding, he grabbed the soap and caressed her tummy and breasts with it. His hands slipped and slid over her flesh making her insides turn to jelly. Avery laid her head back on his shoulder, helpless to make him stop. He used his soapy hands and lifted her arms, lathering her armpits. She should have been self-conscious about that, but hell, even the flesh there tingled from his touch.
When he finished washing her top, he moved down and smoothed the bar of soap over her hips, around the top of her thighs and then back up until he could dip the bar between her legs. Avery groaned at the silky sensation of the lather and hard surface of the soap as he brushed over her clit. Ridge’s steel cock pressed into her back and throbbed when she gasped.
“You shouldn’t be doing this,” she groaned. The pressure in her head increased, the wall she carefully built bowing beneath Ridge’s constant forceful intrusion. “Don’t,” she whispered. “Don’t destroy all the progress I made.”
The pressure eased slightly, but her head spun when Ridge quickly turned her to face him. He tipped her head back into the spray and ran his fingers through her hair, getting every strand wet. Avery risked a glance at him beneath her wet eyelashes. The man stole her breath, her will and her soul.
It seemed every time she saw him a different side made an appearance. Hunger illuminated his eyes while at the same time need made them dark. He could be strong, powerful and commanding, yet gentle and loving. She’d seen his worst and still her heart and soul begged for him. He’d suffered through a hell she would never understand and watched it nearly destroy him. He’d been torn down to a shell of the man he used to be. Yet, when he thought she needed help, saved from herself, he came charging in.
Vulnerability and strength were two characteristics that kept bringing her back to him. She admired his strength but respected his vulnerable side. Avery closed her eyes. Why couldn’t it work out for them?
Ridge picked up her shampoo bottle, poured a dollop in his palm and rubbed his hands together before slicking them over her head. Avery held onto his shoulders as he massaged and washed away a week’s worth of filth. It was nice having him clean her, a memory to hold her during those long, lonely nights. A pang of sadness hit her like a fist and tears welled in her eyes.
“Don’t cry, babe,” he whispered, pulling her closer to his body.
Avery fought the tears as his erection pressed against her belly. She wouldn’t be able to hold out against him this time. If he initiated sex, she would fold and revel in his body. She could give him her body, but she’d have to hold on to her mind. Allowing him in after so much work and suffering would destroy her.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said, working his hands through her hair. “I’ll never forget the first day I met you.”
Avery couldn’t stop the smile spreading across her lips. She remembered it well. She’d caught him and Cale horsing around, acting like nineteen-year-old fools, but when she’d made an appearance Ridge had fallen into the proper gentleman mode and given her the sexiest smile she’d ever seen. He’d hooked her then and there.
“I knew that day I had a family,” he continued, tipping her head back again and letting the water rinse away the soap.
As the water cascaded over her scalp and down through her locks, Ridge lowered his mouth and took one of her pebbled nipples between his lips. His tongue lashed at the hard flesh, sending fire through her bloodstream. Her brain spun around like a top inside her skull and when he sucked hard, drawing her farther into his warm, wet mouth, she cried out as a kaleidoscope of colors burst behind her eyelids.
With each tug on her nipple her pussy clenched and creamed until her thighs quivered uncontrollably. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, clinging, holding on for dear life as he slowly destroyed her with exquisite pleasure. Ridge released her nipple with a pop and quickly moved to the other, lavishing it with the same sensual attention.
Avery heard herself muttering but had no clue what she said. Her tired brain basically shut down. Ridges hands slid up and down her
back, cupped her ass and squeezed, separating her cheeks. One long, thick finger zeroed in on her puckered rear and messaged the opening until she nearly begged for him to enter her.
Avery thought the room tilted and spun, but realized Ridge had turned her and pressed her back against the shower wall. He knelt down, lifted her leg and placed her foot on the side of the tub. She looked down her body at him and shivered as he stroked his hard cock with one hand and separated her lips with the other. Had she ever seen anything more erotic than Ridge stroking himself? No. That answer came quick and sure.
She tried to brace herself for the explosion of sensation as he slowly moved his face closer to her aching core, but nothing could prepare her for the mind-numbing, soul-shredding detonation that ripped through her when his tongue made one luscious swipe from opening to clit. Avery screamed as her arms reached for something to hold on to. Her knees buckled as currents of electricity overtook her nerves and set her flesh on fire. Ridge cupped her ass and held her up without missing one glorious lick.
“Too much,” she whimpered, thrashing her head back and forth against the wall. This wonderful, exquisite pleasure would kill her, she knew it, and at the moment didn’t give a damn.
Ridge growled deep in his chest and continued to feast like a starving man. His tongue jabbed inside her, gathered her cream and retreated. His lips captured her clit and sucked until her body vibrated and hummed like a tuning fork. More, she needed more. Avery reached down and gripped his hair, fisting it as she tilted her pelvis, offering him more.
Ridge took and took greedily. He ate, sucked and licked like a man possessed. Avery’s orgasm tightened at the base of her spine, her clit throbbed almost painfully and her inner walls clenched around his tongue.
“Ridge,” she gasped, teetering on the edge of oblivion. His name sounded muffled in her ears, barely making it through the roar of her blood.
Ridge adjusted his hold on her ass and found her puckered opening. He messaged the sensitive tissue for a brief moment and then slipped his finger inside at the same moment giving her clit one tiny, devastating nip. Her release stole her breath as it hit hard and fast. Muscles clenched, nerves snapped and sizzled and somewhere in the distance she heard screams.
Her body shattered into a billion sensual pieces, scattering around a world of unbelievable pleasure before converging and settling back into place. Blinding white light flashed in her eyes momentarily and her heart hammered inside her chest as if it wanted to be set free. Ridge held her up, his lips and tongue continuing to assault her swollen, sensitive tissue, but in a more gentle way.
Avery rolled her head back and forth against the shower wall and all but sobbed. He was right—no one would ever be able to make her scream the way he did. Ridge kissed his way up over her bare mound, tummy and between her breasts before leaning against her and pressing his erection into her body. He captured her lips with a hungry kiss that she couldn’t help but return.
His tongue speared between her lips and swept her mouth, giving her a deliberate taste of herself. Ridge sank his fingers in her hair and held her head, tilting it so he could devour her mouth more fully. Avery reached down and cupped his balls, rolling the silky flesh in her palm. Ridge groaned and pulled back with a jerk.
“Fuck, baby. Your hands are magic,” he uttered.
If he thought her hands were skilled, then he’d like her mouth. Avery pushed him back slightly, giving her enough room to kneel. She gripped the base of his cock with one hand and continued to torment his balls with the other. Eager, she pressed the tip of his head against her lips and sucked him all the way to the back of her throat, letting her tongue follow his thick, protruding vein.
“Avery,” he growled, tilting his head back and holding onto her head. “Sweet, sweet, Avery.”
She loved his satin-covered steel rod with her tongue, giving as much as he gave her. His salty semen made her hungry for more, but Ridge pulled her back until his cock popped free of her lips.
“As much as I love your mouth,” he whispered, lifting her up, “I love your body more.” Ridge turned off the now-cold water, reached for a towel and began drying her.
Avery stood confused, unsure what he meant. Was this it? Didn’t he want her to finish him off? Once he had her partially dry, he quickly swiped the towel over his body, stepped out of the tub, picked up his jeans and then offered her his hand.
“Come on, baby.”
She put her hand in his and followed him to her bedroom. Ridge shut the door, pulled his wallet out of his jeans and tossed it on her nightstand. Avery couldn’t take her eyes off him. His tense, lean, muscled body glistened like dew in the morning sun. His cock jutted from a nest of brown hair that she desperately wanted to run her fingers through. The man was a work of art if she’d ever seen one.
“Lay with me, Avery,” he said, stepping to her bed and once again offering his hand. “Let me show you what I can’t tell you.”
She heard the touch of desperation in his voice, saw the pleading beneath the hunger in his eyes and it tugged at her heart. God, she loved him so much. Avery stepped up and put her hand in his. Ridge lowered her to the mattress, rose above her and then reached for his wallet. He pulled out a single foil package, tore the top off with his teeth and then proceeded to roll the latex down his throbbing erection.
Avery watched, mesmerized by the action. His large hands moved so fluidly and when he had the condom in place, he gave a long, slow stroke back up to his head. Avery licked her lips, wishing she could taste him again.
Ridge chuckled. “You know how to stroke an ego,” he said shyly.
“You’re breathtaking,” she whispered, running her hands up his bunched arms.
Ridge shook his head, settled himself between her legs and lifted her hips until his head nudged against her slick opening. He hesitated, took a deep breath and then pushed slowly inside her. Avery moaned as he stretched her sensitive muscles, filled her to overflowing and excited every nerve ending he brushed. Her slick juices flowed until it ran down her ass cheeks.
Once Ridge had himself seated to the hilt, he shivered, closed his eyes and held very still for a few moments. She didn’t mind. She enjoyed having him inside her, as if they were one.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he said with a thick, gravelly voice. Ridge opened his eyes and pinned her with a look of desperation and need. “So wet and hot,” he continued. “You hold me so tight, like I belong.” His last work cracked with emotion.
Avery cupped his wounded cheek in her palm. “You always did,” she said, staring into his misty eyes. What she wouldn’t give to know the thoughts inside his head at this very moment.
Ridge cleared his throat, gave his head a slight shake and then began to withdraw. Avery held onto his arms as he rocked in and out of her body in a gentle hypnotic motion. They hadn’t made love like this before. Both of them always so desperate and eager, but she liked this. It seemed as though they actually shared this experience for the first time. He kissed her thoroughly, tenderly, nibbled at her neck, lavished her breasts with hot, moist attention and started a low burning fire in the pit of her soul.
Sweat beaded on his body, trickled down his forehead and occasionally his cock pulsed deep inside her. He wanted this to last, she thought to herself. He didn’t want to rush it. Did he know this would be their final coupling?
Ridge stretched out over her body and rolled to his back. Avery sat up, her legs straddling his hips and his cock buried inside her body. She braced herself with her palms on his chest and gazed down into his handsome face. Ridge ran his hands up and down her back and they stayed like that for several moments.
She wanted to tell him she loved him. She wanted to make him understand she’d loved him since the day she met him, but to speak the words would spoil the moment. Instead, Avery rose up until only the tip of his cock remained inside her body and then lowered again.
“Aw, fuck, Avery,” he whimpered. “You’re killing me.”
Sh
e gave him a sad smile. “No more than what you do to me,” she told him and then picked up the pace slightly.
Ridge cupped her breasts, rolled her nipples and then pulled her down toward him so he could suck and tease the pebbled points. Avery lost control and bounced on top of him with abandon. Each stroke of his cock brought her closer to that peak of pleasure she desperately wanted. She ground her clit against his pelvis, swirled her hips and then bounced more.
“I can’t last, baby,” he groaned, sinking his fingers deep into her hips. “You’re too good, too fucking good.”
Her body tensed, her orgasm once again coiling around the base of her spine. She wanted them to come together so she reached between her legs and rubbed her clit. Ridge watched, almost drooling, before he pushed her hand away and took over himself.
“Ride me, babe,” he demanded in a growl.
Her juices flowed, seeped out and over his thighs. The sound of their bodies slapping together added to the moment. Finally, Ridge gave her clit a slight pinch and she erupted from the inside out. Waves of bone-melting pleasure surged through her body. Avery tipped her head back and screamed at the same moment Ridge’s cock pulsed hard inside her.
He shouted, arched his body and drove himself deeper. Avery couldn’t stop moving. She needed every sensation, craved it and locked away the memory. Right now they were the only two people on this earth and she wanted to keep it that way. Tomorrow, well, she’d have this.
Slowly the quaking eruptions ceased and she fell forward onto his chest. Ridge wrapped his arms around her and held fast, kissing her cheek, combing his fingers through her hair and easing her down with tender love and care. Avery heard his heart pounding inside his chest and before long, the warm sound lulled her to sleep.
Her last thought before she drifted into the darkness was that she hoped tomorrow never came.
Chapter Sixteen
Ridge gently rolled Avery until she lay on her back. He gingerly pulled from her body with a wince, immediately missing her wet heat. He’d never come so fucking hard in his life. Reaching down to pull the condom off he silently chuckled at how red and completely deflated his cock was. No woman could handle him the way Avery did.
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