I placed my hand on his. “Thank you. I really mean that.”
“I’m happy you do.”
In what I believe was an effort to hold me closer, he moved his hand to my leg. It was uncomfortable, awkward even, but I had done nothing but lash out at him for what seemed like our entire relationship. I was willing to put this aside for the moment.
“So, this Sean guy sucks, huh?”
He got me to laugh. “He really does.”
“You think the officers are going to patch him over?
I turned to look at him. “You would know better than I do, but yeah, I think he’s going to get everything he wants… or die trying.”
His voice turned to a whisper. “Some guys just don’t know when to quit.”
“Why would he quit? His prize is right in front of him.”
His eyes softened and his cheek quivered. “You’re right.”
It all happened so quickly. His arms cradled my body, crushing me against his chest. His breath was hot on my lips. I tasted his mouth on mine. He was kissing me.
I pulled away. “Stop.”
“But you…”
“I nothing. I was… I was… let go of me!”
I broke free of his embrace, but he grabbed my wrists as I pushed back. “Grace, stop.”
“Let go of me!” I elbowed him as I stood, pushing off toward the road. I had a good deal of momentum behind me, but I was stopped immediately by the sight of him at the edge of the parking lot. “Ryan.”
There he stood, his face red with anger, but he wasn’t looking at me. “Ryan, no, it’s okay. He’s okay.”
He marched forward, straight toward Mr. Muscles. I ran to him, hoping to stop the assault.
“Didn’t she tell you to stop?” he screamed at Mr. Muscles, who stood in response.
“This must be Ryan Cassidy.”
“You’re damn right I am.”
They were similar in height, but Muscles probably had a good fifty pounds on Ryan. I couldn’t let them fight over me. I was afraid of the outcome.
“Ryan, it’s not worth it,” I pleaded.
“Come here.” He pulled me to his side. “You’re never to touch her again. Do you hear me?”
“I can touch whoever the hell I want.”
With that, Mr. Muscles took a swing. Ryan pushed me out of the way, blocking the punch before it reached his jaw. Although he was smaller in stature, Ryan was a trained fighter, and he held his own quite nicely. I wanted to jump in the middle, to stop the ridiculousness, but I knew I would only be hurt in the process, causing Ryan to flip out even further. So instead, I verbalized my disappointment.
“That’s enough!”
“Stay out of it, Grace.”
“This is the guy you risked everything for?”
Another jab, another hook, and blood began to spill.
“What are you guys even fighting over?” It really was over nothing. Ryan could say he was fighting for my honor, but a few words of disapproval would’ve been enough. This was something else. We were all on edge.
Ryan fell to the ground. As he tried to pick himself up, Mr. Muscles pounced, pushing him into the stones.
“Stop it!” Nothing. They had tuned me out.
Ryan rolled, finding his way to the top of the huddle. Mr. Muscles pummeled his fists into Ryan’s ribs, but Ryan kept swinging. He began pounding into Mr. Muscles jaw over and over again. I watched as Mr. Muscles’ jabs died down, barely making contact. Ryan was winning. I couldn’t take the boyish immaturity any longer. I got in their faces.
“I said stop!”
They both turned, shocked at my volume and intensity.
“You!” I yelled, pointing at Mr. Muscles. “You had no right to kiss me. I have never given you the impression that I had any feelings of any kind for you, and today, for the first time in all the years that we have known each other, I allowed myself to be vulnerable in front of you. And what did you do with that? You should be ashamed of yourself. And you!” I turned my attention to Ryan, “Get off of him.” Ryan followed my orders, wordlessly. “Help him up.” Still silent. “Are you going to be okay?” I looked to Mr. Muscles, who nodded at my question. “Good. Ryan,” I took a second to breathe, “I am appalled at your complete carelessness in this situation. There was no reason to start that fight. I thought… I thought this wasn’t who you are.”
With that admission, I felt the tears pour from my eyes. I had held up my front long enough. It was breaking. I had to get out of there. I started to run. And I kept running.
Ryan
“I thought… I thought this wasn’t who you are.”
Damn, Grace. I don’t know what came over me, but she was right. I claim to be detached, to not fit in, and there I was starting a fight over a person who wasn’t to be won. How childish could I be? But seeing her kissing someone else, after everything we’ve been through, it was too much to handle. All the hatred I was feeling toward Sean was displaced into that moment, and I reacted. Maybe I overreacted.
“Grace!” I called as I ran after her.
About a quarter mile down the road, she stopped, turned into the brush, and collapsed among a group trees. I approached slowly, understanding that I had disappointed her, and she might very well lash out at me. As I stepped closer, I heard her soft sobs.
“Grace, what’s wrong?”
She looked up at me, her red eyes filled with tears. “What’s wrong? Really, Ryan? Where should I start?”
“I just meant…” She cut me off.
“I was shot. That was a ton of fun. Then I had a madman slice a knife down my chest. Then what happened? Oh right, my father was killed right in front of me, and I did nothing.”
“There was nothing you could do.” The phrase was habitual, as I had been repeating those same words to myself every day since.
“And then, as I’m sure you’re aware since you’re here even though I begged you not to come, Danny is a real piece of work, and I’ve been having to deal with your fucking uncle.” Her face collapsed into her hands.
I tried not to take her words personally; I knew she was just trying to process everything she had been through since we met.
In the midst of her cries, she laid one final blow. “And then you come in, the person who is supposed to fix everything, and you pick a fight with someone who doesn’t matter. He doesn’t matter, Ryan. You didn’t fix it. You didn’t. You just made it worse.”
“I know. I know.” I offered up my arms, and without even thinking, she allowed me to hold her. It might seem hard, but I knew we were going to make it through this. “Grace, I truly don’t know what came over me. When I saw him with you, I just wanted to hurt him. In so many ways, so many times, I have failed to protect you. This one instance, I saw my opportunity to show you what I am capable of. I wanted you to see that I can be worthy of you.”
“I never asked that of you.”
“It doesn’t matter. I needed to prove it to myself. Can you forgive me this one time?”
She tilted her head to the side and stared at me. A soft smile lit her face. I had missed that smile.
“Is that a ‘yes’?”
As she nodded, the world disappeared. It was just the two of us… just the two of us… and it could be just that.
“Where is he?”
“Sean?”
“Yes.”
“In the clubhouse, but Ryan, don’t get any ideas, they’re all there. All the officers are meeting.”
Maybe it was a moment of weakness or maybe it was a moment of strength, but seeing her like that made my next decision that much more clearly. I only needed to see her face to know she was all I needed.
“Let’s leave.”
“What?” she sat up.
“We don’t belong in this mess.”
“We started this mess.”
“No we didn’t, and don’t you dare try to convince yourself that you had anything to do with this.”
“If that were true, why am I neck deep in it? R
yan, we can’t run away from this. We have to finish it.”
I knew she was right, but I so desperately wanted her to just throw it all away and run with me. I wanted her to be selfish, for us.
“Grace, I just want you. I want only you, and I’m afraid that if we see this out…”
“Don’t say it.” She held her finger up to my lips. “No. We can’t think like that. It’s going to be okay. We will stop him. I really do know that. And then it’ll be you and me. Then we don’t have to feel guilt, or worry about what they’re having to deal with without us.”
She sensed my hesitation, healing it with her soft lips. First, on my cheek, then moving to my mouth. How could I say no to her temptation?
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
The lightness in her voice was what cemented the reality of the situation. This was what she wanted. I couldn’t take that away from her. “Really. Okay. Let’s do this. You and me.”
“Yes. You and me.”
Her smile widened. I had made her happy. I had allowed her to see hope. “I love you, Grace Brennan.” I pushed her hair from her face and speedily stole another kiss.
“I love you, Ryan Cassidy.” She stole a kiss in the same fashion, and then I did again, until our stolen kisses became given.
As if I had articulated the question that was on my mind, she nodded. There, in the patch of trees, past the brush, I passionately kissed my Grace. I met her lips with mine in an embrace that sealed the promise we had just made to each other. My one hand guided her head down to the ground, as my other found the curve of her hip. I continued to bounce my lips off of hers, tasting her sweet breath with my tongue. I craved her body, her nakedness, but as it was winter and we were outside, I needed to take my time. Warming her up would be my pleasure.
Before setting out to do so, I took one deeper glance at my love. Her eyes sparkled, and her smile lifted my heart. The chill of the air brushed her cheeks red, and her fingertips tickled their iciness against my neck. I would start there. I took her hand in mine and began breathing my hot, yearning breath into her closed fist. I then sucked at each long finger, imagining how the rest of her body would taste. I pushed her sweatshirt sleeve slowly up her arm, aiming at her wrist for my next target. There, I used my teeth. Just a little nibble was enough to make her hips buck into me. It felt good. My desire grew, both physically and mentally. I took a deep breath, motivating myself to take as much time as I could. I wanted this moment with Grace to last forever.
Unable to stay away too long, I bent forward and planted another kiss on her lips. Before I could rise back up, she bit down, holding me to her. The act forced my erection to its fullness, and Grace felt the pressure on her stomach. She offered a coy smile, obviously delighted with her effect on me. My pants could not contain me any longer, and I guided her hand down my chest, over my abs, and to the button of my jeans.
She held me to her with one hand, holding the back of my head in place, and with the other, she performed her magic. Grace slid the button free and carefully unzipped my yearning. Her warmed palm wrapped around me and squeezed. She knew how to tease me, and from the look on her face, she was enjoying it as much as I was. She glided her hand up and down my shaft forcing me to instinctively move my hips.
Then she began to giggle.
“What?”
“Put your weight on me.” I had been deliberately holding myself up, so as not to hurt her.
“No, Grace, this is fine.”
She pulled my head closer. “I want to feel your weight, Ryan.”
Understanding her desire, but still fearing the pain it might cause her, I allowed my chest to touch hers. “How’s that?”
“Not bad,” she purred, “but what about this weight?” She squeezed my erection harder, causing my mouth to open and my head to kick back.
“I want you to keep holding me.”
“Then how about this?” She twisted her body and pushed off the ground, rolling over on top of me. I was stunned by her mobility, and also stunned that I could feel even more aroused. “I want you to hold me, too.” She winked as she guided my hands to her pants.
I mirrored her earlier movements, pressed my thumb to her passion, and felt her warmth flow. She rolled her hips in response, only making me want her more.
“Do you want to be inside of me?” She baited.
I nodded as I bit down on my lip. “Do you like this?” She lowered her mouth and surrounded me with her tongue.
“Fuck.” I bellowed. The shock from the freezing cold air to the warmth of her mouth was an invigorating kind of pain. After a few tastes, she slid off, blew her now icy breath onto me, and then plunged again, mimicking that exhilarating feeling over and over again. While the tantalizing was every bit of spectacular, being inside of my Grace was my only thought. At her next release, I reacted.
“I can’t wait any longer.” I sat up, pushing her back down to the ground. I crawled over her and slid her undone pants off her long legs. She inhaled quickly.
“Is that cold?”
She nodded, mouth still open.
“Good. Now I get to warm you up.” I pushed her legs apart, ready for my victory. I used the weight of my legs to keep her knees out to either side, and then I pushed into her. We both moaned at the contact. Now in the throes of passion, I allowed her to take on more of my weight. I grabbed the side of her neck in my teeth and bit down, begging to hear her scream. I pushed harder and harder as her moans heightened. Her body met mine, and we collided forcefully. Still wanting more of her, I grabbed onto her hips and guided each blow. We moved as one, both begging for the release, but never wanting the moment to end. Her breath became shallow, and her back arched. I had her exactly where I wanted her. About to explode myself, I slid my hand between us, finding her clit with my thumb. As I continued to push into her, I added the pressure of my thumb. She was done. Three more deep moans turned into the scream for which I had been waiting. As if I had tried to time it perfectly, her scream was what pushed me over the edge, causing us to finish in tandem.
Our lips met in appreciation of each other. Sprinkled in sweat, I felt her shiver from the blowing wind. Her shiver shook me alive yet again. Feeling my revived excitement, Grace raised her eyebrow. “I’m good for another round.”
But before I could reply, we heard the undeniable roar of a pickup truck. And then the roar stopped.
Grace
“Quick, put your pants back on.” Ryan tossed me my clothes as he buttoned himself back up.
“Can you see who it is?” It really could’ve been anyone; a bunch of the guys owned trucks.
“I don’t want to peek out there until you’re decent, just in case.”
I quickly fumbled with my zipper, my shaking hands not helping anything.
“You good?”
“Wait,” I stopped him.
“You’re not supposed to be here.”
“I think we’ve already established that one.”
“No, I mean, you hide. I’ll go see who it is.”
“Absolutely not.” I knew it wouldn’t be easy to convince him, but my point was solid.
“Ryan, this makes sense. Whoever it might be expects me to be here. This is my town. Remember? It wouldn’t be that odd for them to find me hiding out behind a tree, alone.”
“Grace,” he took my shoulders in his hands, “you and me, remember? I’m not leaving. We’ll face this together.”
I had spent so long fighting my own battles that I often forgot that the people who love you want to be there to help. The entire time I had known Ryan, I had refused show him the truth. I wanted to protect him from danger, from my family, and mostly, from me. But he didn’t want to be protected. He wanted nothing more than to be with me, and that meant helping me fight those battles.
I argued with myself. I knew I was right in my reasoning, but all my reasoning the past few months had played out with me or someone I loved getting hurt. Maybe this time, letting someone in was the answer. Maybe
there wouldn’t be a catastrophe if Ryan were by my side.
“Okay.”
He wrapped his hands around my waist, pulled me into his body, and kissed me so fervently that it took me by surprise. I allowed my body to sink into the moment, relishing every glide of his tongue over mine. We slowly released our lips, knowing it was time to step out and face our enemies.
“You ready for this?” he whispered in my ear.
“I am.”
With that, he took my hand, and we moved out from behind the protection of the tree. My breath was held as I closed my eyes, preparing for who might be in front of us.
I blinked open.
No one. What had we heard? Were we psyching ourselves out over nothing? Was there really no one after us?
My body froze at the cock of a gun. Then another click kicked my heart rate into high gear.
“Both of you turn around, slowly.”
My worst fears were realized. I didn’t need to see his face to know who was standing behind us. Ryan and I slowly took two steps to turn around and face our attackers: Sean and Danny, of course.
“Hands behind your backs.” Sean ordered. It was then that Danny circled us, pulling rope from his jacket. Ryan gave me a knowing look, and I cringed as the rope chaffed against my wrists. There was no way out of this: at least not yet.
“Took you long enough to get here, Danny, old friend,” Ryan teased as he was being bound. I could only assume his cockiness was a mask to hide his fear. He couldn’t have been enjoying our situation.
“I just wanted to give you enough time to begin to feel comfortable.” Danny winked at me. I shuddered.
“That’s enough of your fucking chatter,” Sean chimed in. He took a few steps forward, coming toe to toe with Ryan. “You know, you just made my day so much easier.”
With that, he turned the gun over in his hand, and swiped Ryan across the head with the butt of his weapon. Ryan fell to the ground, his eyes closed.
“Ryan!” I screamed. I dropped to my knees, hoping to get closer to him, to confirm that he would be all right, but Sean’s gun was under my chin.
“Up.”
Betrayal of Cupids Page 11
