“I got an idea.” He grinned devilishly. “Maybe this billionaire is the same guy as the arrogant boss from earlier. What do you think?”
“Stop,” I growled, my cheeks burning with humiliation.
Ryland strolled around me as he held the book high, enjoying himself way too much.
“Honoria moaned in ecstasy as Derek pounded into her pussy,” he read aloud, ignoring my choked sputters. “The pleasure was too intense, too hot. She tried to hold back her moans, but it was impossible; Derek was a genius at sex as he was at software engineering…”
Ryland’s shoulders shook with laughter. “Dude. That's a fucking random thought to have while fucking.”
Ignoring my murderous glare, he continued cheerfully, “...and it was all she could do not to burst into flames on the spot. Denying him was as useless as trying to negotiate a peace treaty with North Korea.”
I scowled as he grinned at me.
“I added the last part,” he said helpfully.
“I know,” I snarled.
“Ah. Familiar with the book, are we?”
“Being a total asshole, are we?”
“Just trying to find out about your interests, Allie cat. Isn't that what friends do?”
“Thanks for your show of friendship. Now give it back.”
Ryland tilted his head, pondering.
“Nah.”
I growled and tried to climb him like a cat on a post, but Ryland backed away, dangling the book above me as he laughed.
He came up against a bookshelf, and I took the chance to grab onto his shoulders and try to hoist myself up.
“Allie,” he choked with laughter. “Relax—”
“Give…it back…” I hooked my hands around his neck and yanked with my entire weight, but I might as well have been tugging on a tree trunk.
We struggled for several moments, him playful, and me frantic with humiliation.
Suddenly, Ryland stiffened, and I looked up.
Our faces were inches apart.
We watched each other for a beat, both breathless, neither one daring to move, as if the moment would be lost if we did.
Then the book hit the floor with a thud as Ryland sank his hands into my hair.
I gasped as he pushed me back against the bookshelf, tipping my head back and crushing his mouth to mine.
There was nothing soft about this kiss. The pressure of Ryland’s lips was painful, rough, urgent, as if he'd waited too long to taste me and finally snapped.
I slid my hands up his chest, feeling the hardness of his abs and pecs, the raw power of his muscles rippling under my palms. I tasted blood as he ate at me.
“Fuck…Allie…”
Ryland whispered my name hoarsely between kisses, like it was a prayer. His arms wrapped around me like he never wanted to let go.
Fisting his shirt in my hands, I pulled him closer to me. Ryland obliged, bending me back as he took my mouth in deep, sweeping strokes. I felt off-balance for a moment, but Ryland's arms were rock-solid as he held me tight against him. His kisses went on and on, one caress after another until I didn't know where one ended and the next one began.
This wasn't kissing.
This was possession.
“Ryland,” I moaned against his lips, relishing the sensations bombarding me.
The stubble on his jaw was scratchy against my fingertips, the hardness of his erection delicious against my stomach. I breathed in his masculine scent mixed with his cologne hungrily. I could pick him out blindfolded in a room full of people.
“So damned sweet.” Ryland eased his urgency, pressing hard, fleeting kisses to my lips, branding me.
I returned them, and soon he began to do it leisurely, taking his time to taste me as if we had all the time in the world.
Here, between the musty bookshelves, I was just Allie and he was just Ryland. The world had forgotten us, and we had melted away into our own annex where no words were spoken but everything was said.
I wanted him.
There was no use denying it. I wanted this guy and all of his arrogance, his bossiness and his secrets.
And if my pride stood in the way of having him, it had to go.
I pulled away from Ryland just enough to look into his face.
Ryland stared down at me, his light blue eyes bright with desire and emotion, his chest working with unsteady breaths.
“What's wrong?” he asked, a little notch forming between his brows.
“Nothing.” Reaching up, I smoothed it away with a finger. “I just wanted to look at you.”
“And what do you see?” Ryland asked my old question back at me, his voice gravelly.
He took my hand and pressed the back of my fingers to his lips, then he turned my hand over and rubbed his stubble-roughened cheek against my palm.
I felt a pang in my chest at the intimate gesture.
“I see a guy who has everything,” I whispered, meeting his gaze directly, “but always wants more.”
At my words, Ryland's brows drew together again, his hand tightening around mine.
“I see a guy who is proud and ruthless, but can also be kind.” I swallowed. “I see a guy who is too hard on himself, and who has enough responsibilities for twenty people.”
Ryland planted an open-mouthed kiss on the inside of my wrist, right where my pulse was. I drew in a sharp breath, but his brilliant gaze never left mine as his tongue dipped out, branding the sensitive skin.
“And?” he murmured.
“And I see a man who wants to be loved, but doesn't know how to ask for it.” I wrapped my hand around his, gazing up at him with all the emotion on my face, nothing held back. “A man who deserves it more than anyone else I know.”
Ryland froze at my words.
“I know you too, okay?” My eyes pricked with heat all of a sudden. “I know you're not this perfect, flawless statue you pretend to be. You keep building this… this fortress to keep yourself from getting hurt, but I know who you are behind all that. You can fool everyone but not m—”
Ryland crushed me to him, cutting me with his mouth. He kissed me like it was our last time, like he wanted to steal every kiss I would ever give.
“Allie,” he said in a ragged voice. “I tried… Fuck, I tried…”
Then he gave up, resting his forehead against mine.
“I need you,” he breathed. “I fucking need you. Beside me, under me, around me. I need you in every way, because Allie, you’re already inside of me. Just tell me what to do.”
I looked up at him, letting him see everything I felt for him.
“Take me back to your place,” I whispered.
Ryland's eyes widened at my words, burning into mine fiercely. His arms tightened around me, and I knew that he would never let go of me again.
Ryland sped us back to his apartment, driving so fast that I was tempted to tell him to slow down. But I didn't say a word, because I was just as eager for this as he was.
The moment we got past the front door, Ryland slammed it shut and pinned my body against it with the full weight of his. Then he bent and caught my mouth in a rough, passionate kiss, as though I was a drug he'd been craving.
I couldn't help a gasp at his urgency. I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist, feeling the delicious hardness of his erection between my thighs, right where I needed him.
Ryland groaned and grabbed my ass, hoisting me fully against him, kissing me desperately like his life depended on it. I pressed my lips harder to his, moving against him with abandon.
It had always been a fiery inferno whenever we collided, but there was something different about this kiss this time.
This time, there was something freeing, as if all the walls between us had finally come crashing down.
Our tongues tangled and I tasted blood, but still I held nothing back, showing Ryland just how much I needed him.
How much I loved him.
Ryland broke off to look into my eyes. “You're mine,” he
said in a low voice. “Only mine.”
My heart ached as I took in the raw look in his eyes, his disheveled hair where I'd thrust my fingers through it. His beautiful eyes were stark and vulnerable as he watched me. I hated the pain in them, and would give anything to take it away.
It was a good thing that I could.
I brought my face close to his, whispering against his lips, “I'm yours.”
Ryland’s fingers tightened painfully around me as he crushed me tight against his chest. “You won't regret this, I swear.”
“I know.” I turned my face upwards blindly, seeking his kiss again.
Ryland pressed his lips to mine, then he trailed down to my neck, kissing the sensitive skin, suckling sensually. “Say it again.”
“I'm yours.”
We made out passionately as he walked us towards his bedroom. I tightened my legs around his waist, relishing his raw strength. I was no more than a small weight in his arms.
Ryland's room smelled like I remembered, of his cologne and his masculine scent. The last time I'd been here I'd run away from him, and from the dark look on Ryland's face, he was recalling the same thing.
“Never letting you go again,” he growled, pressing me back into his bed.
He took my jaw in his hand, angling my face up to his.
Our slow-burning kisses became urgent. The smoldering embers grew into a fire.
Our hands began to wander, groping at each other hungrily. I tore at Ryland's shirt and pants, wanting to feel his hot skin against my bare body.
Ryland knew what I needed. He shed his clothes and shoes quickly, then practically tore mine off.
“Ryland,” I gasped, turned on by the dark look on his face. Knowing that he lusted over me made me grow even wetter, and the ache between my legs increased with every passing second.
A low moan escaped me as Ryland pressed open-mouthed kisses down my neck to my shoulder. His hand trailed teasingly over my breasts, moving to my stomach, descending between my thighs.
Then he parted the swollen lips with his fingers, touching me right there.
“Oh, yes,” I breathed.
“Wet for me.” His eyes were bright with lust.
My head fell back on the pillow as Ryland took my knees and pushed them apart, baring me to him completely. He teased me with his finger, slipping over my wet pussy, petting me just the way I liked.
“Yes,” I panted. “Right there…”
Ryland's eyes were heavy-lidded as he stroked my slit leisurely.
“Play with your tits,” he said, his voice husky with lust.
I took my breasts in my hands, kneading, pushing them together. I pinched my nipples, twirling my fingers around the hard buds, pretending it was Ryland’s tongue. My breaths came shallow and fast, and I grew wetter as Ryland watched me.
How was it possible that this guy could make me so aroused with just his fingers and that cocky look on his face? I couldn't get enough of that smirk, as if he knew that my body was his to command.
It made me feel hot.
Sexy.
“Ryland,” I panted, arching my hips to his touch, meeting his lustful gaze with one of mine. “Don’t stop…”
Ryland’s face took on a primal excitement at my show. His hand left me, but before I could protest, he'd gone down, replacing it with his mouth. His tongue thrust into me, eating me like he couldn’t get enough.
I cried out, arching my hips up, lost in the ecstasy.
Ryland made a hum of approval, and the sound vibrated through my aching flesh. The sight of his dark head between my thighs was intimate, sensual. His brows drew together as he lifted my hips to his mouth, licking and sucking me.
Then his gaze lifted and collided with mine. Watch, he commanded silently.
I was helpless not to.
Ryland’s brilliant blue eyes held mine as he dragged his tongue up my inner lips and over my clitoris, agitating the aching bud. I moaned loudly, loving the jolts of pleasure he sent pulsing through my body.
But Ryland didn't stop there. He began to suckle on my clit while sliding two fingers in and out of me, thrusting and curling them inside me.
My hips rolled in response, but he clamped an iron arm across my hips, holding me down for his assault.
The feeling of being trapped only heightened my thrill. He was so strong, so domineering…
I surrendered to him completely, letting the pleasure take over me.
“Play with your tits,” he ordered again.
My hands rushed to obey, squeezing them the way I liked it. The way he liked it.
I put on a show for him, moaning and arching, crying out his name. I had always been restrained during sex, holding some part of myself back, but with Ryland, it was like another woman had taken over my body and shed my inhibitions.
And I didn't care. This was Ryland, and I trusted him with my body and my heart.
Mindless whimpers slipped past my throat as I fell back on the pillows, taking in every ounce of pleasure. I felt like a mass of sensation and awareness, existing solely for the sexual bliss Ryland was giving me.
Ryland's face was dark with triumph as he watched me. “That's it, love,” he murmured, working my body. “That's it.”
The pleasure built with every stroke from his thrusting fingers, climbing… climbing…
And then…
“Yes, yes!”
Pleasure exploded in my belly, in my pussy, at my clit. I clutched onto fistfuls of Ryland’s hair, grinding myself against his tongue as I came and came and came.
Ryland milked me for all I had to give, easing his sucking only when I began to come down from my high.
Then he rose up with a triumphant look in his eyes.
I heard the rip of a condom foil, and he pushed my knees wider apart and settled between them.
The swollen head of his erection bobbed against the inside of my thighs for a second before pressing directly into my core. I barely had time to relish the blunt pressure when Ryland plunged himself into me.
I moaned, wrapping my arms and legs around him, needing him to fill every inch of me. His fingers dug painfully into my waist, and he began to thrust.
“Fuck, Allie,” he growled, eyes bright with desire. “So damned tight.”
My head fell back as a new wave began to build. It was too soon after my climax, but Ryland knew every point of pleasure in my body.
His body itself was an aphrodisiac.
His biceps and forearms bulged as he gripped my hips, and the slick sheen of sweat on his chiseled six-pack was enough to send me into another frenzy.
It was shallow, but I couldn't help it. I was turned on, and it showed.
“Please,” I moaned, begging and loving it.
Ryland began fondling me with my own wetness. My clit was still swollen from my previous orgasm and was even more sensitive now, but he knew just the right amount of pleasure-pain to give me.
He stroked me ruthlessly until I was mindless with pleasure. My breasts bounced with his every thrust, and all the while, Ryland watched me with that cocky smile playing on his lips. His dark hair hung over his eyes as he leaned over me, making him look like a pirate in one of those romance books that he made fun of.
I giggled at that thought, then my laugh turned into a moan as Ryland slammed into me punishingly.
“Pay attention,” he drawled, his cock sliding in and out of me wetly.
“I am,” I protested.
“Yeah? Then what am I doing to you? Tell me.”
“You're having sex—”
“What am I doing to you, Allie?” He slammed into me again.
“You're…you’re fucking me.”
“And how do you feel?”
“Good,” I gasped in surrender. “I feel so good…”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I want you to… to fuck me harder. To make me scream—oh! Oh my god, yes!”
My eyes rolled back in my head as Ryland pounded into me, hard and r
ough. He grabbed my breasts and squeezed them painfully. It was so delicious, and my lips parted in mindless bliss as he pumped in and out of me. My body was his to do whatever he wanted with it.
“Look at you,” Ryland growled. “You love being fucked like this.”
“Yes,” I moaned. My inner muscles rode the thick, hard length filling me. “Ryland, I'm—mmm…”
“That's it,” he murmured, watching me intently. “That’s it.”
“Oh god, yes. Yes!”
My legs clamped around Ryland’s waist, and I jerked over and over as I climaxed again, screaming my ecstasy. I felt my inner muscles squeezing Ryland, tightening around his thick shaft as I came.
“Fuck!” Ryland suddenly bit, looking stunned for a split second.
Then he groaned my name and began pumping into me in hard, frenzied spurts, coming violently inside me.
I held onto him for the entirety of our orgasms, riding the wave until every muscle in my body was limp.
When Ryland was spent, he collapsed on me, panting from exertion. Our chests rose and fell with our heavy breathing.
“Fucking hell,” he panted, turning his face into my neck. “I wanted to hold out, but it's been too damned long without you.”
My hand went to his hair weakly, stroking the thick strands that were plastered against his nape with sweat. I hadn't known for sure earlier, but now I did—Ryland hadn't slept with anyone since me. I bit my lip, feeling both glad and relieved.
After another minute of catching our breaths, Ryland carefully eased out of me and disposed of the condom. He went to the bathroom, and I heard the sound of running water. A moment later he came back to bed with a damp towel in his hand.
“Open up,” he said.
I obeyed, and he gently pressed the warm towel between my legs. I couldn't help wincing at the sting.
“Does it hurt?” he murmured.
“A bit. We were pretty rough. And you’re quite big.”
Ryland raised a brow. “Quite?”
I raised my brow right back. “I won’t say it. Your ego doesn't need any more stroking.”
“No, but I know something else that does.”
My eyes widened. “But we just—aren't you—”
Ryland gave a low chuckle. “Later. I'll need awhile to regroup. You just made me come harder than I can remember.”
Arrogant Page 24
