by Cali MacKay
Gabe was starting to think that the Ryker men took awhile to fall for a woman, but when they did, they fell hard and fast. Not that he was anything like Quinn—and yet he knew just how easily he could go down that road if Hadley was by his side.
Trailing kisses along his jawline, Hadley nipped at his ear, sending a jolt of need through his core, as she reached down to stroke him. “I just want to forget them…I don’t want to think of anything else but you.”
“Well, I sure as hell can help you with that.” And there was no way he was going to take things slow and sweet. What she needed was a distraction. Something intense. Something that would ground her in that very moment and would keep her focused, so her mind wouldn’t wander to her problems.
Gabe rolled her onto her back, capturing her mouth in a bruising kiss, breaking away just long enough to yank off his t-shirt. Cupping her breasts, he stroked her nipples and slid his tongue over hers as their kisses deepened and he swallowed her needy moans.
Slipping his hands up over her waist, he snagged her t-shirt and pulled it up over her head, before setting her breasts free, her bra tossed aside. Lowering his head, he feasted on her perfect breasts, sucking and biting one nipple and then the next as she tangled her fingers in his hair, her back arching to offer herself to him. But he didn’t just want her; he needed her and everything she had to offer. She’d become the blood in his veins, the air in his lungs, his very soul—she was the one thing that sustained him.
Pulling his worn leather belt free of his jeans, he wrapped the strap around her wrists, taking care to leave enough slack to not cut off her circulation, but not so loose that she’d be able to get free. Her eyes went wide for a moment, but then she leaned forward and bit his bottom lip, following it up with a kiss that left him ready to ravage her. He raised her arms above her head and wrapped her fingers around the spindled headboard, before binding her arms to the bed.
“I want you at my mercy, babe. But if you have a problem with this—with what I’m about to do to you—then just tell me. We can always stop—or change things up.” Gabe didn’t think she’d mind him tying her up, but he needed to make sure. He wanted to distract her from her worries, not add to them.
Her tongue darted out to lick her lips, her chest rising and falling as her breath quickened. “Is it bad that I really want you, Gabe—no matter what you have in mind? I want to forget my past and start new—and I don’t want to overthink anything or let a single experience pass me by.”
Cupping her face, he ran his thumb over her lip, his heart tight as it ran wild. “Fuck no—it’s not bad. Because I want you, Hadley. Like I’ve never wanted anyone before.”
It was a confession he’d never have made in a million years. But that was before Hadley, when the women he’d been with were nothing more than a bit of fun.
And fuck, but his woman was gorgeous, especially when she was spread out below him, her perfect breasts and pert nipples just begging to be teased, tasted, feasted upon. But first…he ran a slow finger down between her breasts to her jeans, flicking the button undone, before grabbing the waistband and yanking them off her, making sure to grab whatever little piece of lace she had on as panties.
“I want to taste you, Gabe…please…” Hadley licked her lips and bit her bottom lip, making her absolutely irresistible.
“You’re a sight, babe. And in just a moment I’m going to fuck that pretty little mouth of yours, since you asked so nicely.” He was already unzipping his jeans and shrugging out of them, the thought of her sucking his cock making him so hard, he ached.
She pulled at her bindings before turning those blue eyes on him. “I want my hands free so I can touch you…stroke you.”
“I suppose we can reach a compromise, since I’m in no position to deny you anything when you look at me like that.” Gabe undid the strap where it tied to the bed, but left her hands bound together. Using his belt, he reeled her towards him as he stood, forcing her to follow after him. “Will this do?”
She dropped to her knees before him, without him ever asking, and her willingness nearly did him in, his attachment to Hadley only growing. “May I?”
“Fuck, Hadley…yeah…” She was messing with his head—with his heart, even if he refused to admit it.
He watched as she brought her bound hands to his hard length and wrapped them around his girth, sliding them towards the base as she ran her pink tongue up to the head of his cock and along the crease, before encircling him with her full lips. She slowly sucked him, working his length into her mouth, keeping her eyes on his, as her tongue danced along the silken skin of his cock and her needy little moans urged him on. It was so fucking good, and yet the thought of her developing those skills on another—on Matt—was enough to make him want to claim her as his own and find a way to erase all the men she’d been with before him.
He brushed the hair from her eyes and then tangled his fingers in her thick locks before tightening his hold to control her pace and just how much of him she’d take. His hips rocked into her mouth, her throat loosening around him to take him in, the sight of her with his cock disappearing past her lips just too fucking perfect. “That’s it, babe. You all right?”
Given his size, he’d be an ass not to ask—and yet she only sucked him harder in response, her needy hum vibrating against his cock as a groan escaped him. He loved that she was so willing, that she seemed to truly enjoy sucking him off, which only made her mind-blowingly sexy.
Desperate to make it last, he tightened his hold on her hair to control her pace, slowly fucking her sweet mouth as her eyes slipped closed, her long lashes dark against her flushed cheeks. “That’s right, sweetheart. Fucking perfect…nice and deep.”
As she took him deeper with each stroke, sucking him, teasing him with her tongue, he found it impossible not to quicken his pace. Pleasure coursed through him to his core as his climax neared, the sight of her on her knees before him, with her pretty lips and bound hands wrapped around his cock, almost too much to bear without him coming then and there. Each thrust picked up in its intensity, his hips rocking towards her, forcing her to take all of him, as he neared that tipping point.
“Babe…I’m going to come.” He loosened his hold so she could pull away if she wanted, but she only quickened her pace in response, taking him fully as she let out needy little moans that vibrated around his cock. And then he was coming with a grunt, his release rocketing through him like hot lightning. His eyes locked on her as he watched her take him, swallowing all he had to give her, his breath and heart hitching at the sight of her. “Fuck…I think I’m in love.”
He pulled free of her, and watched her lick her red lips, as if savoring his taste. He felt dizzy with having just come, dizzy from his words and whether or not there was anything to them, and dizzy from still desperately wanting her. Reaching down, he scooped her into his arms and laid her down on the mattress before binding her to the bed once more, his mouth hard on hers in a kiss, tasting himself on her lips.
“Gabe…” Her brow furrowed, but fearing she’d wanted to discuss the asinine thing he’d mumbled in a moment of feels-too-fucking-good ecstasy, he decided to distract her.
“Hush, sweetheart.” He needed to have her, taste her, needed to feel her quiver in his arms with her orgasm, needed to hear her cry out, his name on her lips.
Nestling between her legs, he lowered himself to her, pausing to steal a heated kiss, his tongue dueling with hers. Cupping her breast, he rolled her nipple between his thumb and finger as she struggled against her bindings. He trailed kisses and nips down the length of her long neck, before pulling her other nipple into his mouth to suckle at it, eliciting a needy moan from Hadley’s lips as she wrapped her legs around his waist, thrusting her hips towards him in search of some relief.
“I bet you’re so wet for me. And I can’t fucking wait to feast on you and your sweet pussy.” He nibbled at her waist, the flare of her hip, and then at her inner thigh, his stubble rough against her delicate skin
. Hooking her legs, he spread her wide and pushed her knees back towards her, tilting her hips to give him complete access to what he craved. To what was his.
She bit her bottom lip as he looked at her, her body stretched out in front of him, taut from struggling against her bindings. He breathed in her scent, letting it fill his head, before he slowly ran his tongue along her slick folds to tease her clit. He was already hard for her again, his need spurring him on as he thrust his stiffened tongue in and out of her, before finally letting it soften to flick and circle her clit.
Muttering his name on needy breaths, Hadley wrapped her fingers around the bed frame, her hips tilting towards him in an undulating, demanding rhythm. He then thrust two fingers deep inside her and pressed his thumb to the bud of her ass, as he sucked on her swollen clit, teasing it with his tongue as he fucked her with his fingers using long, hard strokes.
“Gabe…faster…” He obliged her, and then she was losing it, coming undone for him, her head thrown back as her body tensed. “Fuck, that’s it…I’m coming…”
Her body tightened and quivered in his arms as he lapped at her juices, her taste salty-sweet, her scent filling his head. He wanted her desperately, like he’d wanted no one before. And fuck, but he wanted her skin to skin. It’d be a first for him, and it was a huge leap of faith. It’d be too easy for someone to try to get pregnant on him, given his wealth—not to mention the health risks. But with Hadley? He wanted to feel everything—and he trusted her. Completely.
Kissing his way across the curves of her belly as she caught her breath, he couldn’t quite believe he was going to go down this road. And yet now, he could think of nothing else. “Babe…I want you so fucking bad—and I want you bare, just like this.”
Hadley sat up best she could with her hands still bound to the bed, leaning forward to cover his mouth in a bruising kiss that made him want to take her, then and there. When she pulled away to give him the answer he was waiting for, their mouths and bodies parted only long enough for her to get her words out. “I’m clean and on the Pill, but Gabe…”
He knew what his sexual history was like, and why she should worry—except that she had no reason to be. “You’d be my first, Hadley—skin to skin. I’ve always been safe.”
She pulled away to look at him in question. “Really? You’ve never?”
“No, babe…but I want it to be you.”
Chapter Fourteen
Hadley couldn’t quite believe what Gabe was saying, especially when he’d been with so many women. And yet, he’d said from the start that he’d never had a long-term relationship, so perhaps it wasn’t really a stretch that he hadn’t experienced that sort of level of intimacy with anyone else before.
The thought had her heart racing—that he’d actually take this next step with her. She liked him, a lot, but this all had her wondering where the hell it was going. She wasn’t supposed to be involved with him in any way at all, and she was now, not only involved, but falling for him. Hard and fast. This had quickly become so much more than just a fling.
“Fuck, I want you, Gabe, but I’m going to get my heart broken. Because if anyone can really hurt me—despite everything else with Matt and Abby—it’d be you.” She shook her head, but when she looked at him, at the fierce, indecipherable emotions in those blue eyes of his, she felt her heart hitch, and knew she was already a goner. “Fuck…”
“Hadley—I swear I won’t hurt you. I know my past likely sets off all sorts of warnings, but I’m different when I’m with you. You’ve changed me—for the better. And there’s no fucking way I’m letting you scare yourself off. I can’t let you walk away from me when we’ve only just gotten started. It’s just me and you. No one else—you have my word.” Gabe shifted farther up her body, still nestled between her legs, cupping the back of her neck and kissing her, his head bent to hers, everything about him intense. “I won’t let you go, babe…I can’t. You’re mine.”
And then he was pushing into her, burying his cock deep as her body was forced to stretch around his girth, taking her, claiming her as his own as she surrendered her heart to him. Her hips rose up to meet him, as she struggled against her bonds, desperately wanting to hold him, to pull him close. He bit her neck as he slowly pulled out of her, only to push into her hard and deep once more, his thrusts quick and forceful, his retreat teasing her as he slowly pulled out again. Hard and fast, then teasingly slow. Again and again. He kept up that pace, the tension inside her building once more; each thrust, each nip, pushing her closer to her release. Feeling him, skin to skin, knowing what that meant, only heightened everything she was feeling, emotionally, physically, and made her love him all the more.
And fuck, but she did love him, even if it was a new love, a love like a spring bud, so delicate and fragile that there was a good chance it might not make it. And yet if it did survive, it could easily grow into something beautiful, something that could last.
“Hadley…I need you to come for me, ’cause fuck…this is too good. You’re so tight, so wet for me, and you feel fucking amazing. I’m not going to last, babe.” His pace had now quickened, each thrust pounding her into the mattress as her orgasm barreled towards her, building like a coming storm, her nerve-endings tingling as the energy consumed her.
“I’m so close, Gabe.” Grabbing her leg, he tilted her hips and opened her up further to him, and that was it. She could take no more and her orgasm crashed over her, his lips hard on hers as he swallowed her cries, and he joined her with a grunt, his body tense as he filled her with his hot cum, his cock pulsing deep inside her.
With his forehead pressed against hers, he breathed heavily, his kiss suddenly so tender it made her heart ache. After all that had already happened that day, her emotions were raw and so close to the surface, there was no way she could hide them from him. The way she felt about him left her feeling vulnerable and exposed, and it was suddenly all too much.
“Untie me, Gabe. Untie me…” Her eyes were stinging as she looked away from him, not wanting him to see her so emotional, lest he realize that she’d gone and fallen in love with him like a fool.
His fingers made quick work of her bindings, even though he’d yet to pull out of her, their bodies still linked as one, his cock barely softening inside her, even though he’d just come. “Babe…what’s wrong?”
He got her hands free, and gently rubbed them as she pushed him off her, unlinking them, suddenly feeling panicked. She tried to leave the bed, but he held onto her. “I need to go, Gabe.”
His brow furrowed, though it was clear she’d be going nowhere. With a firm touch, he gathered her back into his arms, laid them both back down, and held her tightly to him despite her struggles to get free. “You’re going nowhere, Hadley. You’ve had a rough day and you’ve worked yourself into a panic.”
“You can’t keep me here if I want to go.” He was going to see her cry, and it was the last thing she wanted. But it was all too much. And she couldn’t feel this way about him. It was too soon, too new, too dangerous. Gabe wasn’t the sort of man she should fall in love with—not if she wanted to keep her heart from being torn to tatters.
“I can keep you here, and I will, love.” He tipped her chin up, forcing her gaze to his, even though she tried to look away and pull out of his grasp. “Look at me, Hadley.” His tone was stern yet tender, and she found herself obeying him. “I need you to tell me what’s happening in that pretty little head of yours. ’Cause I think you’re getting yourself worked up needlessly.”
“Maybe I am, but you know what? It doesn’t matter. None of this does, because in a week or two, I’ll be long gone and you’ll have moved on to your next one-night stand.” She tried to pull away, but he held on tight, her frustration and fears finally setting her tears loose.
“Hey, babe…don’t cry. I’m not going anywhere—and I have no interest in pursuing anyone but you.” He nuzzled her and brushed her lips in a sweet kiss, and another, before kissing her tears away, causing her heart to hitch.
“I’ve fallen for you, Hadley. And I refuse to let you go. You’re mine, babe.”
“I’d like to believe you, Gabe…” Hadley broke off, longing in her voice. But how could she believe him? It couldn’t be real…
“What do you need from me? Do you need me to say it? ’Cause I will.” Gabe cupped her face in both his hands, his eyes locked on hers, and took a deep breath. “Fuck…I’m falling in love with you, Hadley. And the thought of losing you, the thought of you with anyone else, the thought that you might leave me, is fucking unbearable. You don’t need to say anything, but you do not get to leave—not when I can’t get you out of my fucking head and out of my heart.”
“It’s too soon—you barely know me.”
“I know all I need, babe. I may not know all the tiny details of your life, but I know how I feel about you. And fuck, but I know you feel the same way too.” He kissed her again, his touch intense and yet tender, as if he was coiled tight with the same tension that held her. “Tell me you’re mine, Hadley. I don’t need you to feel the same way about me yet, but I do need to know you’re mine. That you won’t go back to your ex, that you won’t walk away from what we have.”
She wanted to deny it all. To pretend none of it mattered, knowing that admitting any of it would only leave her more vulnerable. And yet he demanded the truth of her, and she didn’t have it in her to lie. “I’m yours, Gabe—though I’m worried it’ll be my undoing.”
“I protect my own, Hadley. I’m fiercely loyal—and I will make you happy.”
“And what about you? You can’t tell me that I’m the one who’ll fulfill your every need, when you’ve gone through dozens of other women and they’ve never managed it. I can’t make you happy, Gabe. Not long-term.” And then he’d leave.
He brushed his lips against hers. “But you already do, babe. You make me happy—and I’ll be even happier once you stop trying to push me away. ’Cause I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart. You’re in my head, my heart. Your scent, your taste, the way you feel in my arms when you come…I’m never letting you go.”