Bleeding Hearts: The Complete Duet

by A. Zavarelli

  That knowledge got me harder than anything else ever could. She was all mine to play with. To tease and taunt and fuck how I saw fit. My teeth scraped along her sensitive skin and brought on a welcome hitch in her breath. Brighton liked the anticipation. The ever present knowledge that I’d sink my teeth into her flesh, but never quite knowing where.

  Course, I had to be more cautious in the places I went about it these days. Another welcome side effect of her carrying my child. Even the sadist in me had a tender spot for the little fella. We didn’t want to harm him.

  At the base of her throat, I gave her just enough of a nip to leave a little mark. That would do quite nicely to distract. She moaned and tugged at my hair in a weak attempt to take back control by shoving my face into her skin. I used the hand resting on her tit to pinch the nipple at the same time I bit down on her shoulder.

  “Again,” she ordered.

  My palms squeezed her ass and then smacked it for good measure.

  “Sorry, my love,” my voice darkened. “Was that a command you just gave me?”

  “Please,” she begged recklessly. “Mark me again.”

  Hard fingers wrapped around her pony tail and gave a sharp tug. “Do you forget who you’re talking to?”

  Her eyes widened as her head rattled back and forth in a frantic effort. “Never,” she promised. “You’re in charge, Ryland.”

  I hummed my approval against the column of her neck, imbibing her scent in long, slow pulls. My lips roamed over the silken landscape of her skin, pausing to nip her earlobe before further exploration. She hissed in a breath, and I used the opportunity to latch onto her neck. Sucking her until she bruised, I soothed it over with my tongue while my fingers strummed circles over her back.

  “Better?” I asked.

  “Yes,” she breathed.

  Covering her hand with mine, I dragged it down until it was wrapped around my cock. I liked to watch her play with it, to see the uncertainty bloom across her face as she handled the beast. She made a fist and gave a couple light tugs before teasing my balls with the pads of her fingers. Something else she liked to play with. I wasn’t complaining.

  My head fell back, and I urged her forward. Without much decorum, her breast was promptly stuffed into my mouth while she pleasured me. I wanted to be inside of her, but prolonging her defiant foreplay seemed like an acceptable alternative.

  Throughout the progression of her pregnancy, her nipples had grown sweeter. I wasn’t imagining things, they tasted like frigging candy, and I couldn’t get enough of them. Each pink confection received an appropriate amount of tongue lashing before I repeated the process on the other side. Every time I deemed myself satisfied, I went back in for just another sip. That’s how it always begins, isn’t it? Just another taste? I groaned out my frustration while rubbing the soft mounds all over my face.

  Brighton giggled and then sobered.

  “I want you to fuck me hard,” she whispered.

  My eyes roamed over hers, staggered by the fear of rejection that lay within. Before I even got a chance to say anything at all, she continued to state her case.

  “I asked the doctor, and she said it’s fine as long as nothing hurts.”

  My hands cradled her face, and I gave her a tender kiss. She melted against me in one breath, and in the next attempted to stage a protest. My fingers hardened around her jaw and bit into the skin, eliciting a gasp as my lips moved to her ear.

  “You want my filthy words, baby girl?”

  “Yes.” She panted.

  “Tell me.”

  “I want you to say dirty things.”

  My tongue clicked, and I shook my head in disappointment. “Too vague. Sorry, baby.”

  She wailed in frustration and gave me her widest, most innocent eyes. “Please, Ryland?”

  “Please what?” I mocked her, my hands gentle as a Spring breeze as they glided over her skin.

  “Please fuck me and make it good.”

  I laughed in spite of myself. “You wound me, baby girl. Is it not always good?”

  She had the decency to look ashamed of her jumbled up words. “Yes, of course, it is. Always. The best…”

  “Okay, now you’re just going overboard. No need to gloat.”

  Her eyes narrowed, and she tried to pull away. “Just forget it,” she ranted.

  I snatched her arm and held in her place with a sadistic grin. Oh, how I loved when she took a tone with me.

  “Where do you think you’re going?”

  She opened her mouth, and I crushed my lips against hers, shocking the hell out of her. My teeth snagged the plump bottom lip and tugged sharply. She whined out her pleasure and dug her fingers into my shoulders.

  My erection had the nerve to start grinding against her belly. Impatient little fuck.

  “Stand up,” I barked.

  She scurried to her feet like a good little soldier and awaited my instructions with clasped hands.

  “I’m not going to fuck you hard, Brighton.”

  Another protest was on the verge of her lips as she blinked up at me, and I silenced her with a look. She’d learned to love the pain I bestowed her. Now she craved it. She wasn’t the only one who missed it.

  “You’ve got my baby inside of you,” I scolded as I pressed her against my chest. “We aren’t going to risk it. But I’ll give you what you need.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  I turned her to face the wall and pushed her palms up against it.

  “Open your legs for me, dirty girl.”

  She did.

  The engorged purple head of my cock didn’t waste any time seeking out her heat as I rubbed myself against her. Dipping inside of her once just to get wet, I smeared some of that wetness over her ass.

  A pause. I waited for the all clear from ground control.

  “Yes, please…” she moaned. “Please, Ryland.”

  “Okay, baby,” I cooed. “No need to ask me twice.”

  I slipped inside of her with a torrent of curse words. Her toes curled into the carpet and her spine arced into a beautiful curve once I’d rooted myself fully.

  “Good girl.” My praises were punctuated by tender kisses down her back and across her shoulders. “Such a good girl for me.”

  She quaked beneath my praise and tried to rock back against me. I stilled her with my fingers in her mouth.

  “Suck.”

  She did.

  Once they were nice and wet, I brought them down to her clit and coaxed some more incoherent babble from her lips.

  “This is mine,” I informed her.

  “Yes, yes, yes…” she agreed enthusiastically.

  “My pussy.” Thrust. “My ass.” Thrust. “My filthy little mouth to fuck when I please.” Thrust.

  “Yes, Ryland!”

  Her voice tinged with excitement, and my cock swelled with every throaty murmur.

  “You’ll never take it away from me again.”

  “No, never.” She shook.

  My thumb flattened against her clit, and she bucked against me, screaming out profanities. What an utterly sweet debauchee she’d turned into.

  She rode my palm, pistoning me faster, harder. I allowed her to take over the pace because it felt too fucking good not to. She trembled and constricted around me, searing me with scorching heat as savage shock waves tore through her body. Already on the verge of exploding myself, her next words propelled me over the brink.

  “I’ll never leave you again, Ryland.”

  “Oh, Christ.” I threw my head back on a groan. My cock jerked violently, spewing boiling hot lava deep inside of her.

  Brighton collapsed back against my chest, and I barely made it to the bed before we both fell in a heap. Completely unaware of how profoundly she affected me, she curled up like a kitten and promptly went to sleep in my arms.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Brighton

  After two weeks of moping around, I finally decided that I needed to stop stressing over
Brayden. I’d left him texts and voicemails to call me, and I hoped that he would. But in the meantime, I needed to focus on getting ready for the baby which meant house shopping.

  When Ryland made the appointment with the realtor, I had no idea what kind of houses he had in mind for us. But when I saw them, I was utterly speechless.

  They were the kind of houses I’d only ever seen in magazines. Top of the line luxury with more space than I even knew what to do with. From turn of the century in Pacific Heights to art deco in Sea Cliff, we saw them all. The realtor had an excited gleam in her eye as she led us from property to property, no doubt tallying up the commission she was about to rake in. But Ryland didn’t really seem to have an opinion one way or the other, simply asking me what I thought of each one as we went. Until we got to the last and final house.

  On Belvedere Island.

  His whole demeanor changed as we drove down Golden Gate Avenue and pulled into the gated driveway of the white mansion overlooking the sea. I threaded my fingers through his and squeezed, giving him a soft smile as the car came to a stop. I never would have guessed that he’d even consider a house so close to his old family home, but there was something in his eyes that told me differently. It was a small spark of hope.

  “I’d understand if you didn’t want to live here,” he said. “But I grew up in this community, and I know the people. I think it’s a great place to raise kids, and I wanted you to see this place before you make a decision.”

  I leaned up and kissed him before the realtor ruined our moment by delving into details about the architecture. Ryland helped me from the car, and I got a good look at the palatial Queen Anne style mansion perched on a prime piece of San Francisco real estate. It was elegant, yet in an understated way, which I liked. It looked like a real home, albeit a very large one. The realtor started rattling off features as I tried to take it all in. The property came with wraparound porches, a solarium, and a carriage house. As she commenced the tour, she pointed out each feature as we went along.

  “Herringbone oak floors, mahogany doors, marble bathrooms…”

  I stopped listening as I tried to take it all in. It was honestly the most beautiful home I’d ever seen. Everything inside was filled with natural light, creating a relaxed and happy atmosphere. In the back, the views of the city skyline and Angel Island were unrivaled. There was a pool and garden, and even an outdoor breakfast nook. The property had more bedrooms than Ryland and I could ever use in a lifetime, but he mentioned something about getting a housekeeper upon my pointing that out.

  When I glanced up to see how carefully he was watching me, it was obvious how much he wanted this place. This was where he felt most at home. Where he wanted to settle down and make a lifetime of memories. I wrapped my arms around his waist and squeezed.

  “What do you think?” he asked.

  “I think it’s completely crazy.” I smiled up at him. “But I love it.”

  He looked relieved. “You do?”

  “I’d be crazy not to.”

  “Agreed,” the realtor chimed in.

  We both laughed and took a moment to stare out at the skyline before Ryland spoke again.

  “Let’s do it,” he said. “I want to put in an offer today.”

  ***

  Once Ryland set things in motion, it took us all of three weeks to get settled into our new house. The realtor told me she appreciated that he was a man who got things done quickly. I simply laughed. She had no idea what Ryland could accomplish when he set his mind to it.

  We had a housewarming dinner and invited Matt, Nicole, and Norma. Since leaving rehab, she’d moved into our old apartment, and seemed to be spending a lot of time with Ted. It was very odd, considering he was nothing like Frankie, but I guess that was a good thing.

  Matt and Nicole’s relationship had obviously progressed just fine, considering how she couldn’t keep her hands off him. She still found time to book shopping dates and arrange times to decorate the nursery which I obliged her. We also planned to continue our weekly meetings for Sophia’s Shoes in the city until the baby came.

  Everything seemed to be going according to plan, and true to Ryland’s word, he’d cut back his hours at work. But as soon as everyone left that night, he dropped a bomb on me.

  “I have to go back to Chicago tomorrow,” he said.

  I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms. “No.”

  “Brighton.” He sighed. “It really is just business this time. I swear.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “Come here.” He patted his lap.

  I frowned and walked towards him slowly, and once I was within reach, he tugged me onto his lap. Taking out his phone, he pulled up some emails along with a schedule.

  “I have a meeting with Robert Burton,” he said. “About the shareholders of my company. It’s important, and I can’t put it off any longer, otherwise, I wouldn’t go.”

  “Robert Burton, as in…”

  “Alex’s father.” Ryland nodded.

  “What does he have to do with your shareholders?” I asked, remembering how Matt said the Burton family was involved in some bad business dealings.

  Ryland’s expression clearly told me he didn’t want me involved in this. It only made me more determined.

  “It’s complicated, Brighton. He’s trying to strong arm some of my shareholders. He’s using underhanded business tactics, and I won’t stand for it.”

  “But he’s dangerous,” I protested. “Matt told me some of the things he’d been involved with.”

  “Don’t worry.” Ryland gave me a soft kiss on the lips. “I’ve got it handled, baby girl.”

  I didn’t like that he was dealing with the Burtons one bit. It scared the hell out of me, but this was his company. I knew he wouldn’t just let whatever they were doing slide.

  “Promise me you’ll be careful,” I pleaded.

  “Always.” He gave me a reassuring smile.

  “And you’re going to take Mick with you.”

  “No.” He shook his head. “Mick stays with you. That’s his job.”

  “I can have Matt and Nicole come stay while you’re gone,” I said. “I’d much rather he was with you.”

  “Not gonna’ happen,” he smirked. “You don’t need to worry about me, Brighton. I can take care of myself, okay?”

  I frowned but nodded. There was no point in arguing with him when he was like this. He was stubborn as hell.

  “And while we’re on the topic.” He reached into his filing cabinet and pulled out a folder. “I need your signature on a few things.”

  “Okay.” I glanced at the paperwork in confusion before I realized what it was. If I wasn’t worried before, now I was terrified.

  “Life insurance?” I squeaked.

  “I just want to have everything in order,” he explained. “It’s just a precaution.”

  I shook my head and crossed my arms. “I don’t want to sign these,” I protested. “That makes it seem like it could really happen.”

  Ryland reached up and trailed his fingers along my jaw. “Baby girl, this is important,” he said softly. “If anything ever happens to me…”

  “Which it won’t,” I cut in.

  “It won’t,” he assured me, “but if it did, I need to know that you and the baby will have everything you need, okay? Everything in my will has already been arranged, and this is the last step. Consider it something to help me sleep at night.”

  I still didn’t feel comfortable with it, but I decided to indulge him just so I didn’t have to think about it anymore. I scrawled my signature across the documents quickly and then shoved them away.

  “One more thing.” He pulled a piece of paper from his desk with a picture of an SUV. He’d been looking at them forever trying to decide on the safest one to buy. “This is the one I want to get. Okay?”

  I didn’t want to tell him he was scaring me. It felt like he was wrapping everything up. Like he really thought something might happen to him
.

  “We’ll get it together,” I said. “When you come back from your trip.”

  He nodded.

  “Promise me,” I demanded. “Promise me that this is all just a precaution like you say, Ryland.”

  “Come on, baby.” He pulled me up and wrapped his arms around me. “Let’s go to bed. Before I have to leave tomorrow.”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Brighton

  There was a churning feeling in my gut that I hadn’t been able to rid all morning. Ryland had been gone for six hours, and I hadn’t heard from him. Not even a text.

  It wasn’t like him.

  There was something about this business trip that had me biting my nails, and it wasn’t just Robert and Alex Burton. I didn’t have a good feeling about any of this, and I wasn’t sure what to do about it.

  I paced anxiously across the back porch, cell phone clutched in my hand as I waited for Ryland to respond to one of my many worried texts. He didn’t leave me hanging like this. Ever. I knew something was wrong.

  My cell phone rang, and my heart swelled with relief. But then I saw that it was Nicole.

  “Hello?” I answered.

  “Brighton, have you seen the news?”

  My hand trembled as I walked into the house and looked for the remote. “What news?”

  “Turn on Channel 7,” she said.

  I flipped through the channels and saw a photo of Ryland and Alex Burton plastered across the screen, along with a scrolling headline beneath.

  Alex Burton and Ryland Bennett strike business partnership

  What does this mean for the future of technology?

  Rivals unite as one…

  “No,” I whispered. “That isn’t right. Ryland would never make a deal with him.”

  “That’s the same thing I thought,” Nicole murmured. “Something weird is going on.”

  “I haven’t heard from him since he left this morning,” I croaked. “I’m really scared, Nicole.”