Wanted (The Dare to Dream Series Book 1)

by Jennifer Kittredge

  Ryan got down on his knees in front of me and took my clit in his mouth. He eased two fingers inside me as he continued to work his magic on my clit. There I was, exposed on this balcony, being ravished by that amazing man. I had never felt so wanted and sexy in my life. I was building right there on the balcony and was so close to coming.

  “That’s it, baby, come for me.”

  Ryan continued his slow torture as I came undone in his mouth. He relished every bit of it and licked up what I gave him. He made his way back up to my mouth, crushing his lips on mine. I could taste myself on him and it was glorious. Ryan picked me up in his arms and brought me to the bed. He set me down beside it and turned me around so my back was to him, then gently pushed me over the bed, so my torso was touching it. I could hear him unzipping his jeans.

  “This will be quick, Kate.”

  He pushed my legs apart with his legs and I felt his cock at my entrance.

  “Here we go, baby.”

  Ryan plunged into me. With every thrust, he was deeper inside me. His finger massaged the entrance of my ass as he continued plunging into me.

  “Oh, my God, Ryan. I’m going to come again.”

  He continued to massage my entrance, and I couldn’t hold on any longer. The sensation was too much.

  “Ryan! I’m coming. Oh, my God.”

  With that, he thrust into me, sending me into orbit. I literally saw stars. Ryan came, too, and collapsed on top of me. He took me in his arms and climbed further onto the bed.

  “You are amazing, beautiful.”

  He kissed me slowly. Our mouths danced together. I felt the desire in me rise up again. “Insatiable,” said Ryan as he laughed.

  After we made slow, sweet love again, we dozed for a little while in each other’s arms. I awoke with Ryan’s arms tight around me. I turned to study his sleeping face. My love for him was growing by the moment. Leaving him would be torture. The mere thought of it made my heart sink. How did I get myself into this? I walked right into this man’s arms, never thinking about the consequences for either of us. There could never be an “us,” there was only this time.

  Thursday, I’d head back to Tampa to deal with my totally fucked-up life. I untangled myself from Ryan’s arms and made my way to the balcony. I needed some air, some time to think. Honest with myself, I knew I would leave Daniel when I got home. There was nothing left between us. There hadn’t been anything between us for a very long time. We merely existed together. Existing was not living. I now knew what living was, and I wouldn’t settle for anything less. I deserved to live authentically, not as a mere shell of myself. I deserved to be truly loved and to feel wanted. To know I was desired and not merely an afterthought to someone

  I’d have to contact a lawyer when I returned, to get the ball rolling. What kind of lawyer would help me divorce the district attorney? I’d have to put out some feelers. What if no-one wanted to help me? Ugh. The mere thought of staying married to Daniel made me sick. He’d never love me the way I needed him to, and I wasn’t willing to settle anymore.

  Chapter Sixteen

  We woke the next morning and lay in bed, talking and making love until it was almost time to check out. We talked about our hopes and fears, our dreams, our children, pretty much everything. Ryan had a way of getting me to talk, which I loved. I wasn’t afraid to show my feelings in front of him, which was something new for me. For so long, I’d walked on eggshells with Daniel. Eventually, we begrudgingly got out of bed, showered, and packed our bags. We checked out and made our way down to the marina. Susie was ready and waiting for us.

  “Mr. Pierce, it’s good to see you again. She’s ready for you, sir.”

  “Thank you, Phil. I appreciate it. I’ll settle up with you later.”

  “Yes, sir, Mr. Pierce. Have a good sail back. The weather is beautiful today. You should be able to get home in good time.”

  “Thanks, Phil.”

  With that, we boarded Susie. Ryan navigated our way out of the marina and into open water. It was an absolutely stunning day. The sun was shining, the breeze was light, and the temperature wasn’t too cold. It was breathtaking, really. I loved cruising along the coast as we headed south, back to Beaufort and stood next to Ryan as he sailed. I was so comfortable around him. Tomorrow would be painful, but I wouldn’t think about that now. We still had some time together. I didn’t intend to ruin it thinking about leaving tomorrow.

  We chatted easily as we sailed. Ryan spoke of Emily and how’d she’d be coming home for Christmas this year. He was thrilled she was coming home for the holiday and secretly happy he didn’t have to step foot in NYC. We both laughed. I wasn’t a city girl. I liked NYC, but after a couple of days, I needed to see the sun, sand, and sky. Being around all those buildings suffocated me. I hadn’t thought about what the holidays would be like, being separated from Daniel. That was something we’d have to navigate as a family. I knew the kids would have a difficult time with all this.

  Enough, Kate. No thinking about this right now. Just be in the moment. I brought my attention back to Ryan. I wanted to soak up every moment I had left with him. We sailed the few hours back to Beaufort and Ryan brought the boat effortlessly into the marina. John was there, waiting for us.

  “How was your trip?” he asked.

  “It was wonderful!” I exclaimed. “Such an amazing surprise.”

  “I’m glad you two had fun. Now, get going. I’ll get old Susie here back in her slip and sorted out.”

  “Thanks, John,” said Ryan as he took our bags off the boat.

  We gathered our belongings and walked back toward The Pub.

  “Will you stay with me tonight, beautiful?”

  “Yes, I’ll stay.”

  “Good, I’ll whip us up something to eat. We can see where the night takes us.”

  “I like the sound of that.”

  We made it to Ryan’s place and dropped our bags inside the door. He made his way into the kitchen.

  “Why don’t you go shower the salt off of you, while I get dinner together?”

  “Okay.”

  I made my way to his master bath and turned the shower on. The warm water would feel good after a day of sailing. I stepped into the shower and let the water roll over me. God, it felt good. These last few days had been more than I could ask for. Ryan was amazing. He was everything I wanted in a man, in a relationship, yet he wasn’t mine to be had. Circumstances and distance would see to that. He’d forget me after a while. Yes, what we had was good— better than good—but there was no way to make it work. The thought of it brought a lump to my throat.

  Get it together, Kate. You promised to be in the moment and not think about tomorrow. I finished showering and dried off. I took my time, found a hair dryer under his sink, and dried my hair. Then, in Ryan’s dresser, I found one of his t-shirts and slipped it over my head. For some reason, I wanted to be as close to him as possible right then, and wearing his t-shirt brought me comfort. With just my undies and his t-shirt on, I made my way back to the kitchen. Ryan had his back to me as he was cooking at the stove. God, he was something else. He cooked, he sailed, he bartended, he made me feel as though I was the only woman on this planet.

  “Hey,” I said as I slipped my arms around him from behind.

  “Hey there, beautiful. How was your shower?”

  “So good.” He turned to me and kissed me on top of my head.

  “I like your ensemble.” He chuckled.

  “I do, too.” I smirked.

  We hugged for a long time and then I peeled myself away from him to get plates for dinner. It all felt so comfortable and normal. Him cooking while I got our plates and silverware ready. I poured us each a glass of wine. We sat on the barstools at the island. Ryan made pan-fried chicken with lemon and capers, a side of asparagus, and small potatoes. It was delicious. I was ravenous after our sail home today and happy to be in his company. We chatted easily as we ate.

  “What time are you heading out tomorrow?” The words brou
ght pain into my heart.

  “Check out is at eleven a.m., so I’ll get on the road then. It’s a seven-hour drive, so I’ll be home by seven thirtyish”

  “I just realized we haven’t even exchanged numbers. Are you willing to do that? I promise you I won’t reach out. But I would like to have it to know you arrived home safely. I’’ leave the ball in your court, Kate. You get through whatever it is you need to get through, and if you want me at the end of it, then you reach out.”

  The lump in my throat was suffocating me. Tears welled in my eyes.

  “This is so hard, Ryan. I honestly don’t want to leave you. If things were different, I wouldn’t hesitate to stay. But I have so much in Tampa that I have to take care of. My kids will need me more than ever once they find out I’m divorcing their dad.”

  “Like I said, beautiful, the ball is in your court. I will wait for you, no matter how long it takes for you to come back to me.”

  “Ryan, you can’t wait for me. Logistically, we are a nightmare. I don’t know how long the divorce will take. I’ll have to find a job and somehow support myself. I don’t even know who is going to take me on as a client, since I am divorcing the District Attorney. I don’t know if he’ll fight me or give in willingly. I have no idea what’s ahead of me, Ryan. Honestly, I’m a little frightened. I’ve never been on my own, so to speak. I left my parents’ house for college and met Daniel shortly after. Some days, I feel as though I don’t know who I am.”

  “Listen, you are an amazing, beautiful woman. You are strong. You have a light about you that makes me smile just thinking about you. You are kind and giving, sexy and alluring. You draw me in with those beautiful green eyes. I can’t ever get enough of you, Kate. You have captured my heart in only a few short days. I will wait for you, no matter how long it takes. And if you decide not to come back to me, then I will be thankful for the time that we had.”

  I sobbed. With my head in my hands, I cried. I couldn’t keep it together any longer. The pain in my heart for that man was too much. How did he capture my heart in such a short amount of time? Ryan leaned over and wrapped his arms around me.

  “Shhhhh, it’s okay, beautiful. It’s all going to work out one way or another. Let’s enjoy our last night together, okay?”

  I nodded, bobbing my head up and down because I couldn’t speak. This amazing man had become so much a part of me. I didn’t want to leave him. Knowing how painful tomorrow would be, I composed myself as best I could so that I could enjoy our time together. I didn’t want to ruin the rest of our time by crying. We had so little time left, I wanted to enjoy every last minute of it. We cleaned up dinner and took our wine to the balcony. Ryan had a balcony off his room that overlooked the river, and the sun was just beginning to set. We sipped our wine and watched it go down.

  “You know, I’ve never wanted to live anywhere else. This place is magical. The people are pure. The landscape is alluring to the eye and the pace is slow enough to really enjoy life. Emily always tells me I need to branch out and go see more of the world. Maybe one day I will, but I will always call this place home.”

  “I can totally see the appeal. When I stumbled upon it last week, I knew it was the perfect place for me to stay. I loved the pace of it. I just had no idea I would find you here. You’ve changed so much for me Ryan. You’ve showed me what it is I want in my life. You’ve made everything I want and everything I don’t want so crystal clear. Thank you. Thank you for this magical time. Thank you for seeing me for who I am. Thank you for making me feel so special and wanted.”

  Ryan lifted my wine glass from my hand and set it down on the small side table. He took me in his arms, kissing me slowly. Our kiss deepened and my need for him escalated quickly. God, how I loved how he made me feel. I couldn’t get enough of him.

  He brought me to his bedroom and slipped his t-shirt over my head. He laid me down gently on his bed, his mouth never leaving mine. Ryan took his shirt off and we lay kissing, skin to skin, for a very long time. Our mouths fit so perfectly. It was me who made the first move. I slid my hand down his torso and unbuttoned his jeans. Releasing his zipper, I slid my hand inside his jeans and took his hard cock in my hands. God, I loved his cock. I didn’t know what got into me, but I pushed him onto his back and climbed on top of him. I kissed his neck, down his chest, to his stomach and made my way to his “V.” Damn, his “V” was hot. I tugged his jeans down his legs, along with his boxers, and there he lay, exposed before me. I took him slowly in my mouth.

  “Ah, beautiful. That feels so good.”

  I sucked and licked him, not leaving a part of him untouched. My momentum built, And I could feel him climbing too. I wanted to taste him. I wanted him to come in my mouth, so I grabbed the base of his shaft and pulled gently up and down while my mouth did the same. He was so close. I could feel his pulse in my mouth.

  “Kate—”

  “I want you to come, Ryan,” I murmured, and he did.

  I let his cum slide down the back of my throat. I sucked the tip of his shaft to get every remaining drop, then made my way back up to his mouth and kissed him. He kissed me greedily as my passion rose. Ryan flipped me over onto my back and climbed between my legs. His mouth claimed my breasts. I could have come right there. I was so wet for him, and I felt the tip of his shaft at my entrance and begged him to plunge inside me. He took me hard. We were both desperate, knowing we had such little time together. Ryan pounded into me, harder and harder as I climbed. I felt the slow convulsions at the base of my belly as I began to build.

  “That’s it, beautiful. Come for me.” I exploded, shooting a thousand rockets of desire into the abyss. Ryan came too, collapsing on top of me. We lay like that for a long time, not saying a word. There was too much to say, neither one of us wanted to go there right now. We were both trying to be in the moment, even though it was painful. We made love and dozed throughout the night. Ryan never let go of me and I didn’t want him to.

  We both woke early and made love again. This was the day all of this would end. The heaviness on my chest was like a boulder sitting on top of me. The pain was deep, and I didn’t know how I was going to say goodbye. We were both quiet this morning. We made love, clinging to each other. No words needed to be said, our body language said it all. At ten, I knew it was time for me to get up and get back to the inn.

  “It’s time,” I said sadly.

  “I know. I’ll walk you back, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  I gathered my belongings. Ryan carried my bag as we walked along the river to the inn. When we arrived, Susan saw us. She smiled and hugged us both.

  “Hey, Mom.”

  “Hi, love, hi Kate. I’ll leave you two to it. Know this, what’s meant to be is gonna be. You two keep that in mind, okay?”

  She hugged me tight. I couldn’t contain my tears.

  “Thank you for everything, Susan. You’ve been so kind to me. I’m going to miss you.”

  “I’ll miss you too, sweet Kate, but I have a feeling this isn’t goodbye forever. Don’t be a stranger, okay?”

  She hugged me again, turned to Ryan, hugged him, and left us to go to my room. I opened the door, breaking down in tears when I saw the sunflowers in the vase by the window. Ryan came up behind me and hugged me. I wept. He turned me to him, hugging me to his chest, and let me cry.

  “This is so hard.”

  “I know, beautiful. I know. You’ve got to get yourself together, though. You can’t drive seven hours like this. I’ll be worried.”

  “I know.” I sniffled. “It’s just…I don’t want to go back. I want to stay here and pretend like that part of my life is over. I want to fast forward to a year from now, so that I can be here, with you. It’s so painful, Ryan. How did you get under my skin in such a short time?”

  I smiled a weak smile up at him.

  “I could ask you the same question, beautiful.”

  I began packing my things aimlessly. I just threw them in my suitcase, feeling like a zombie. The pai
n in my heart was deep. Knowing what I was going home to made the task that much harder. When my bags were packed and it was time for me to go, I couldn’t bear to look at Ryan. He walked over to me and took my mouth in his. Our kiss was desperate. I didn’t want to let him go and so clung to him. Ryan tore his mouth from mine.

  “It’s time, beautiful. You’ve got to get on the road so you make good time.”

  “No, I…I don’t want to go. This is too much.”

  Tears streamed down my face. Ryan stepped toward me and wrapped me in his arms.

  “I know,” was all he could say.

  When I looked up at him, tears were brimming in his eyes. We walked slowly to my car. Ryan put my bags into the trunk and made sure my cell phone was charged and his number was in there. “Text me along the way and when you get home, so I know that you are safe, okay?” he asked.

  “Okay.”

  We stood there for what seemed like hours, hugging. The tears kept falling. I didn’t care.

  “You’ve got a lot in front of you, beautiful Kate. Remember what I said, you are strong, beautiful, kind, and good. Sexy as hell, too. Don’t put up with shit.”

  I laughed, “I won’t. I feel like a different person than I was a week ago. Somehow, I feel stronger. You made me stronger, Ryan. Thank you.”

  “Time to go, sweetness.”

  I clung to him again as he opened my door.

  “Time to go,” he whispered in my ear.

  “Okay.” Tears streamed down my cheeks. “I didn’t think it would be this hard. I don’t want to leave you.”

  “I know. I feel the same, but you have to go. It’s time to claim Kate. Until we meet again, beautiful Kate.”

  He leaned down, kissing me softly, and then helped me into my car. I was sobbing again. The tears wouldn’t stop.

  “Kate, you’re the most amazing person I have ever met. You made me come alive again. Thank you for walking into my life a week ago. Thank you for showing me I could feel again.”