by Mari Carr
He was used to her adorable, cat-who-ate-the-canary grins, so he was surprised when she hit him with the most seductive eyes he’d ever seen.
“Take me, Ryder. Hard.”
He gritted his teeth, trying to find the strength to resist her, to call her to task for telling him what to do.
It was useless. He’d been a fool to believe he could ever control Darcy.
He lifted her legs, placing them over his shoulders, then he guided his cock to her and thrust inside with one swift, hard motion, burying himself to the hilt.
Darcy gasped and winced—fuck, he kept forgetting she was relatively new to this—but both reactions were fleeting. She tilted her hips so that he sank in even deeper.
“Hold on,” he whispered.
And then he released the reins, gave in to all of his darkest desires. He took her hard and fast, pounding inside her even as she came again…and then again.
After her third orgasm, he withdrew, untied her hands, and flipped her to her stomach, drawing her up on her hands and knees before driving back inside.
Darcy screamed. She was so tight and hot and wet.
And his.
She was fucking his.
His grip on her hips tightened when he realized her ass was still pink from his spanking. Though he didn’t think it possible, his cock thickened even more. He spanked her as he thrust. Over and over.
Darcy arched her back, moved backwards to meet his inward thrusts.
Through it all, she begged for more. “God, Ryder. Yes! Fucking hell. Harder.”
He gave her everything, unable to deny her.
As her fourth orgasm struck, he was there, spilling inside her, his climax so intense, it almost hurt.
Darcy’s head dropped to the pillow beneath her as he remained in place, still kneeling, his cock going soft inside her.
He didn’t move. He couldn’t.
“Darcy,” he whispered.
“Doggy style,” she said, not bothering to lift her head from the pillow. “Big fan.”
Ryder laughed, falling to the bed beside her. He was out of sex shape, muscles too long unused, twinging. “You’re killing me, Buttercup.”
“So what time should I be in your office tomorrow morning?”
He lifted his hand and brought it down on her ass hard, just once. And then, because he was a fucking fool, he said, “Eight o’clock, Ms. Young. Sharp.”
Chapter Thirteen
“Ryder?” Darcy said, when he appeared in her mom’s kitchen as she finished scooping out the melon balls. Sunnie, Yvonne, and Kelli had just finished putting the rest of the nip-petizers on the table and people were starting to show up for Bubbles’s Boob Voyage party. “What are you doing here?”
He crossed the kitchen and gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek as he snuck a melon ball from the carved-out watermelon bowl. “You invited me.”
“Yeah, but—”
“Never been invited to a party to say goodbye to a woman’s boobs. Thought I should probably take advantage of the opportunity.”
Darcy laughed. “A wise decision. Who knows when we’ll get to throw another one of these?”
“If it was anyone other than you saying that, Buttercup, I’d agree. But I feel like the chances of this becoming something your family does…even for perfect strangers…seems high. Especially after looking at that table of food. The bowl of Mounds was a nice touch.”
Darcy laughed. “That was my idea.”
“Of course it was.”
“What’s that?” she asked, pointing to the gift bag in his hand.
“I brought Bubbles a present.”
“Seriously? Who are you and what have you done with Ryder Hagen?” she teased. A week had passed since Ryder had taken her to his bedroom after the football game and opened her eyes to an entire world of—fuck-me-now—amazing sex.
While she’d begged him all week to follow through on his butt plug promise, Ryder insisted that they slow things down on the sex front. According to him, she was still too new to sex and he didn’t want to rush her into anything she wasn’t ready for.
Which was bullshit. Because she was ready for everything.
Every. Fucking. Thing.
Of course, it was hard to get pissed off at him for wanting to take his time and do things right because it convinced her that—while they still hadn’t said those three little words—Ryder genuinely cared about her.
Neither of them referred to their dating as a trial run anymore. Instead, they appeared to just be going with the flow.
She’d been at work at eight on Monday morning, and they’d blown their “we’re professionals” mantra out of the water, ruining their vow to eschew workplace hanky-panky. While he hadn’t initiated her into anal sex, he’d convinced her that sixty-nine truly was the greatest number in the universe.
He’d gone to happy hour with her and Brooklyn on Wednesday, and afterwards they’d gone upstairs to her room for a quickie before he headed home to have dinner with his family.
Friday at work, he’d bent her over his desk on her lunch break to give her another taste of doggy style, which was indeed her favorite position thus far.
“I can assure you, it’s me,” Ryder said.
“Day drinking, then? Get an early start?” she asked.
Ryder laughed. “I’m completely sober.” This time when he leaned in for a kiss, he skipped her cheek and went straight for her lips.
They parted at the sound of a wolf whistle from the doorway. “Don’t stop on account of us,” Bubbles said, entering the kitchen with Darcy’s mom. “My girl parts are dusty, it’s been so long. I’ll have to live vicariously through you two.”
“We wondered what was taking so long with the melon balls,” Mom said. “So…is this Facebook-official yet?”
Darcy rolled her eyes. “Wow, Mom. That’s not embarrassing at all.”
“You’re twenty-four, chica,” Bubbles said. “Being embarrassed by your mom should be second nature to you by now.”
Darcy didn’t bother to disagree or point out that Bubbles was usually an active participant in anything and everything her mom did to embarrass her. It was a well-known fact to all of them. Not that Darcy would trade her mom or godmother for any other women on the planet.
“I suppose, um, congratulations are in order on your…upcoming surgery,” Ryder said, clearly out of his element. Just the fact that he’d shown up on his own made her so happy. And hopeful.
“Oh, bebe. It’s long overdue. Look at these tits,” Bubbles said, pointing at the girls. She’d really pulled out all the stops with today’s party outfit, making sure the main attractions were spotlighted.
Ryder, whom Darcy had always thought fairly unshakable, actually flushed a little as his eyes drifted to Bubbles’s shirt before he quickly looked away again, trying to be polite despite the open invitation.
“Very…um…impressive,” he finally said.
Somehow Bubbles had managed to find an extremely lowcut sequined, zebra-print shirt that revealed no less than six inches of cleavage. Darcy figured chances were good they’d all get an eyeful of an escaped nipple at some point during the day, and there was no question in her mind every partygoer would be invited to “lift” one of Bubbles’s tits to feel their weight.
“They’re heavy as a dead donkey. Been carrying these girls around for too long. My back aches something awful these days,” Bubbles explained.
“I’ve told her for years she should consider getting them reduced,” Mom said.
“And as I told Riley,” Bubbles continued, “these beauties were my moneymakers for a long time. Seemed disrespectful to just chop them off.”
Ryder glanced at Darcy, confused. “Moneymakers?”
“Bubbles used to be a hooker in Vegas,” Mom quickly explained. “And I’m not going to lie, it was her tits that first drew me to her. They’re magnificent.”
Darcy was fairly certain that was the exact moment Ryder regretted his decision to come to the party, but sh
e was sure as hell glad he had, because she would remember—and laugh her ass off over—the dazed expression on his face for the rest of her life.
“Um,” he said, but it was too late.
Mom and Bubbles were on a roll, both aware they had Ryder on the hook. Once they landed a fish, the Bubbles and Riley show was unstoppable. Darcy leaned forward, against the counter, to get a better view of Ryder’s face.
“Offered Riley and Aaron a threesome for free, but you know Darcy’s dad.” Bubbles shook her head as if the decades-old memory was still a huge disappointment to her.
“It’s that Boy Scout mentality of his,” Mom said. “Never did manage to break him of that, did we, Bubbles? Though it wasn’t for lack of trying.”
Ryder looked at Darcy as if he expected her to be scandalized by the fact her godmother was a former hooker who tried to hook up with her parents.
“I’ve heard this story a million times,” Darcy explained to him.
Ryder opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He needed to find his voice soon because, really, all his astonished silence was doing was giving Bubbles and Mom more time to play with him. They were like two cats toying with a mouse.
“Tell him about your doctor’s appointment, Bubbles,” Mom urged.
“Mom, I’m sure Ryder doesn’t—”
Bubbles started as if Darcy hadn’t said a word. “Well, I went to my regular doctor for a checkup. Make sure the hoo-ha and everything else was functioning okay. Hadn’t gone in a couple years.”
“Five years,” Mom added. And she’d nagged Bubbles about that every single day of four of those.
Bubbles ignored the nag this time too. “Anyway, I’m sitting on the exam table, naked as the day I was born, with that paper gown over me.”
“Paper gown?” Ryder asked.
“I’ll explain later,” Darcy murmured.
“And my doctor came in and asked if I had any concerns. I mentioned how I was thinking about a reduction. You know how doctors are.”
Ryder shook his head.
Mom jumped in to respond. Primarily because she couldn’t stand not being the storyteller. “She didn’t give Bubbles a straight answer. Fifty percent one way, fifty percent the other. Gave her pros and cons and told her the decision was up to her. Hate when they don’t just give you a straight answer. Anyway—”
Bubbles waved at Mom to hush. “Dammit, Riley. It’s my story. Anyway…that conversation ends and the doctor tells me to lay down on the exam table for the titty squeeze.”
Ryder looked at Darcy again.
“Breast exam,” she amended.
“Jesus Christ,” Ryder whispered as Darcy fought overtime not to laugh.
“So the doctor lifts the paper gown,” Riley said.
“And there’s this honest-to-God gasp,” Bubbles said, grinning. “Don’t you know that doctor looked me dead in the eye and said ‘I one hundred percent support your decision to get the reduction.’”
“One hundred percent,” Mom said gleefully.
“I looked at my doctor and said, ‘You couldn’t see what I had underneath that paper gown, could you?’” Bubbles continued.
“And the doctor said no,” Mom added with a laugh, even though she hadn’t even been in the damn exam room. “Of course, she would have known if Bubbles bothered to go see her regularly.”
Bubbles was laughing as well. “So then the doctor says, ‘God has been very generous with you.’”
“And Bubbles said, ‘No, he hasn’t,’” Mom finished.
Bubbles slapped Mom on the shoulder as they reached the punchline. “And then the doctor said, ‘Well, there’s an argument to be made for that as well.’”
Mom and Bubbles were laughing loudly at this point, and Ryder joined them, though Darcy wasn’t sure if it was the amusing story or their reaction or maybe just horror over his current situation that drove it.
“What’s going on in here?” Pop Pop said, walking in. “I hear laughing.”
“Mom and Bubbles are telling Ryder the doctor story,” Darcy said.
Pop Pop grinned, even as he shook his head. “Sorry to have missed it. That’s a good one. Glad to see you here, Ryder,” he added, shaking Ryder’s hand. “We missed you and Clint at Thanksgiving. Darcy here says you took her to a Ravens game last week. Box seats.”
Darcy rolled her eyes. Her grandfather had been very impressed by that tidbit.
Ryder smiled. “Perk of the job. Would love it if you joined us there for the next home game.”
Pop Pop’s eyes widened, and Darcy’s heart skipped six full beats, knowing exactly how much that invitation would mean to her grandfather.
“I would like that very much indeed, son. Thank you so much. Well, how about that? Box seats. I need to go tell Paddy I won’t be at the pub for the next game.”
Pop Pop left quickly, and Darcy knew it wasn’t just Padraig her grandfather was going to tell. She was pretty sure it wouldn’t take him five minutes to tell the whole family he was going to be in box seats at a Ravens game.
“That was really nice of you,” Darcy said.
“So,” Bubbles said, eyeing the bag in Ryder’s hand. “Did you bring Darcy a present?”
Ryder shook his head and held it out to Bubbles. “No. It’s for you. I wasn’t sure,” he glanced back at Darcy, “if this was one of those occasions that called for a gift.”
Bubbles’s eyes lit up as he handed her the festive gift bag. “Damn, chica. This one is a keeper.” Even though there was an entire table of presents out in the dining room, Bubbles tossed the tissue paper out and reached into the bag, laughing loudly as she pulled out what looked like a coloring book and a pack of colored pencils.
Mom peered over Bubbles’s shoulder as she began flipping through the pages and started laughing as well. “I dibs the one that says, ‘We never talk anymore. I like that.’”
“Let me see.” Darcy grabbed the coloring book—and cracked up. Every coloring page contained an insult. “Oh my God. It’s perfect!”
Ryder shrugged. “Yvonne said you’d be laid up for a couple of days after your surgery. Thought that might help you pass the time.”
Darcy was speechless as Bubbles and then her mom hugged Ryder, proclaiming it a wonderful gift, before they walked out of the kitchen to rejoin the party.
Ryder glanced her direction and frowned. “What? What’s wrong?”
“I…”
Darcy stopped short, overthinking the fuck out of everything. It had been on the tip of her tongue to tell him she loved him, but…what if the timing was wrong? What if it was too soon? What if it pushed him away? She didn’t want to screw up one second of this day because everything was so damn perfect.
“I’m glad you came,” she said instead, too loudly, too stupidly.
He laughed. “I thought it sounded like fun, but now I’m not so fucking sure. What the hell did she mean by paper gown? And you knew your godmother was a hooker in Vegas?”
“She wanted to be a stripper,” Darcy said, as if that made a single bit of difference.
“Ooookay.”
“But she can’t dance. Now the joke is maybe she was just too top-heavy all along and after the reduction, she’ll become a Rockette.”
“Darcy,” he said.
“Yeah?”
“Your family is insane.”
“Tell me about it,” she joked. “You know…for someone who says they don’t like crowds and noise, you seem to keep putting yourself in the thick of it with my family.”
“Not sure why they seem to be the exception. There wasn’t a lot of laughter in my house when I was growing up, so I guess I told myself I preferred things that way. I was obviously wrong.” He paused for a moment, his face suddenly serious. “Your Pop Pop called me ‘son’.”
Darcy didn’t know how to reply to that. Didn’t even know how to think about that. Ryder had mentioned that his family wasn’t close, but he hadn’t gone into great detail or told her why. “Is that okay?” she asked.
Ryder nodded, and Darcy tried to read his expression. It looked like he was…touched. And his smile returned tenfold. “Yeah. Yeah, it is.”
“I think you might have just made his year with that invitation to the football game.”
Ryder’s grin faltered a bit. “I’m sorry I never issued it before. I knew he was a big Ravens fan. Not sure why I didn’t think of it.”
She gave him a kiss on the cheek. “It was very sweet of you.”
Ryder reached for her before she could pull away and gave her a much longer and less sweet kiss. There were times—like now—when Ryder kissed her with so much passion, she struggled to breathe.
“Damn. Get a room.”
Ryder and Darcy parted as Oliver peeked his head in.
“Sunnie told me to come get you two. We’re about to start playing Pin the B-Cup on Bubbles.”
“We’re on our way,” Darcy said as Ryder shook his head and chuckled.
“How long do we have to stay before I can steal you away to your place? Bubbles wasn’t the only one I bought a present for.”
“I’m supposed to stay and help clean up afterwards, dammit. Hang on.” She closed her eyes, thinking hard.
“What are you doing?
“Trying to remember if I have any blackmail on Sunnie or Finn that I can use to get out of it.”
Ryder wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “I’ll help you clean up. That’ll make it go faster. Then it’s you and me all night.”
“All night?”
He nodded. “Cleared it with Leo before I headed over here.”
Darcy didn’t even bother to hide her delight.
Best. Day. Ever.
Chapter Fourteen
Darcy giggled as Ryder hastily pushed her into her bedroom, tossed his overnight bag down, then closed and locked the door behind them.
“Don’t get me wrong. It was a great party, but I never thought we’d get here,” he said as he pulled her shirt over her head, his quick actions to divest her of her clothing, backing up his words.
“Me, either.”
It appeared she was anxious to get him undressed as well, considering they were both naked within seconds. Their time alone was precious little, so when they managed to get somewhere private, clothing was typically the first thing to go.
