Burn Into Me (25 page)

I’m suddenly aware of his warm hand touching my cheek, his muscled chest barely brushing against my breasts, his cologne mingled with his clean masculine scent surrounding me.
 

“You
can
do something.”

I slide my hands up his chest, relishing the feel of the bumps and ridges of his firm muscles. He’s only a fraction of an inch from me, and the air between us seems to crackle. My breasts feel heavy, my nipples peak, and a quiver shoots up between my thighs.
 

“Take me to your bedroom,” I breathe.

“Are you sure?”

I nod, and in an instant, I feel the floor taken away from under me. Encircled in his strong arms, I am pressed against the hardness of his chest. An untamable fire courses through my body, causing me to curve my arms around his neck and yank his mouth down to mine, my tongue greedily exploring its dark secrets.
 

He opens a door, and when we step through it, the muted sound tells me this is his bedroom. He puts me down softly, carefully, never ceasing to kiss me. Somewhere deep inside I am expecting the familiar panic to kick in. But I am so drunk with desire for him, I only think of one thing.
 

I want him.
 

I need him.
 

I need him to make me forget.
 

Ryder

All the pieces of the puzzle fall into place.
 

I know why Elle is so guarded, why she acts so tough, and why she didn’t want me to make love to her in a bed. It has triggered memories; horrific memories that she wants to forget.
 

But now she is underneath me on my bed, and she is not stopping me. Instead, she is pulling me closer, kissing me deeper. She needs this, just as I need her.
 

I want to taste her, consume her, devour her. But at the same time I want her to know that I’m nothing like that animal, that monster who did that to her. I want her to know how much I care for her, how much I respect her. I want her to enjoy it, to enjoy us. And I want to give her some new memories that will change her feelings about making love on a bed.

I move away from her lips, trailing light kisses into her neck.
 

“Trust me,” I say in her ear.

She nods. “I do.”

I spin her around until she is lying on her stomach. I unzip her dress, pressing kisses on the phoenix tattoo on her back as it is unveiled, inch by inch. In one pull, her dress is off. All that is left on her is a lacy black thong. I take the flimsy lace between my thumb and my finger and trace it all the way from her hips to the middle of her back and down all the way, between the cheeks of her perfect ass.
 

God, she is so wet for me. And I’m so hard for her.

I push the thin band of the thong to the side, intending to prime her for what’s to come, but she wriggles beneath me, getting up on her knees, her creamy ass up in the air.

“Ryder, just take me,” she begs.
 

There’s nothing I would rather do, but I just manage to hold back. “Not so soon, beautiful.”

All of a sudden, she spins around, her eyes darkened, her hair tousled sexily around her shoulders.
 

“Now,” she growls.

Her hands shake as she fumbles with the buttons of my shirt. Her face flashes with frustration, and she grabs onto my shirt forcefully and rips it apart, making its buttons fly all over the bed.
 

I grin. “I guess I didn’t realize you wanted it so badly.”

Her gaze is fixed on my pants. “Still too many clothes.”
 

And only when she unfastens them and shove them down my hips, she lets out a sigh.

“That’s better.”

We gaze at each other for one charged moment, full of lust and want. And then I dive in—I close in on her breasts, cupping them, stroking them, kneading them, while crushing my mouth to hers. She wraps her fingers around my rock-hard dick, squeezing me, and both of us let out a moan.
 

“I want to feel you in me.” Elle gives me another squeeze, but I take her hand away. I have other plans for her.

“Patience, beautiful.”
 

My mouth is on hers again, pushing her down the bed until she is lying on her back. And when she is, my tongue finds a path down her throat, lingering for a moment in that sensitive, hollow spot at its base before continuing down to her breast. I suck in a breath when I notice that she has changed her nipple piercings to silver rings with a small diamond at the bottom.

The tip of my tongue finds one side of the ring, and I let it follow it round to the other side before I take her taut pierced nipple into my mouth and start sucking on it. Moaning loudly, Elle lets her head fall back when my tongue starts playing with the ring, flicking it up and down and moving in and out of the opening. I move to the other breast, giving it just as much attention.
 

My hands take over from my mouth while I kiss my way down to her flat stomach and her belly button, lightly sucking the piercing and swirling my tongue around it. I slide away, heading down towards my destination. Her hands tangle in my hair when I take a first taste of her.

“You taste so sweet, beautiful.”

Lifting her legs and resting over my shoulders for better access, I flick my tongue in and out of her until I find her most sensitive spot. She arches against me, wanting more, and I slide a finger in, then another one. My mouth sucks her taut bud, my tongue circling it and flicking it until she screams out my name, and I feel the explosive spasms around my fingers.
 

I make my way back up, kissing her navel, her breasts, her throat, and finally, her parted lips.

“Mmm, I can get used to this,” she says, with hooded eyes.

“You better. Because there’s a whole lot more where that came from.”

“Show me. Come inside me.”

Elle’s face is flushed with desire when I position myself at her entrance. I push myself in slowly, feeling her snug and tight around me, and when she closes her eyes, I thrust inside her to the hilt, causing her to open her eyes, moaning, “Ryder, yes.”

I gaze deep into her brown eyes, and an intense feeling washes over me.

“Elle, you’re incredible. I can never get enough of you.”

And in that moment, I realize she has become my whole universe.
 

Elle

Who would have thought I’d ever be able to do this on a bed? But when I’m with Ryder, everything else falls away—there’s only him.
 

He’s buried deep inside me, deliciously filling me up, and he looks at me with his dark, intense gaze. Three words whirl through my mind, perching on the edge of my lips:
I love you
. But before they are able to voice them, Ryder’s lips press to mine, and I’m swept away in the hunger of his kiss.
 

Finally he starts moving, and I pull him closer, meeting him stroke by stroke. Ryder’s thumbs finger my nipple piercings, and I feel a renewed desire coursing through me. His thrusts become faster, harder, until he is pounding into me, claiming me, making me his. My muscles clench—I’m so close. And when he groans, “Come with me. Now,” I feel him growing inside me, and I come apart in a million pieces.
 

Ryder collapses on top of me, and I relish the feeling of his weight on my body. With his arms tightly wrapped around me, he rolls on his side, taking me with him. We lay side by side, our faces inches away from each other.
 

“That was amazing. Thank you,” I say.

“Hey, you have nothing to thank me for. If anything, I should thank you. For letting me into your life. You mean a lot to me, you know that?”

“You’re everything to me,” I say, my voice breaking.
 

Ryder cups my cheek and kisses me softly, tenderly. When we break apart, I take his hand, weaving my fingers with his.

I say, “I’m ready to tell you who—who did it to me. When I was fourteen. But do you promise you won’t act on it?”

He nods. “I promise.”

I take a deep breath. “It was my uncle. He visited us for the Chinese new year.”

“How long did he stay for?”

“Two weeks. But he only raped me once, just before he left.”

He furrows his brow. “Don’t say ‘only’. He should never have touched you.”

“Since then I haven’t been able to sleep in that bed. I’ve been sleeping on the floor. I’ve been having nightmares for years. And this is the first time—you know…”

He puts his finger against my lips. “Shhh, you don’t have to say anything. Just know that you’re safe with me. Always. From now on, I’ll be there for you. I’ll be there to protect you.”

He pulls me tightly against his body, and we both close our eyes.
 

And just before sleep claims me, I whisper, “I’m yours.”

Elle

I am about to open the front door when a low, velvety voice sends a tremor to my core.

“Before you walk out that door, do you realize you’ve forgotten something? Something very, very important?”

Furrowing my brow, I spin around. Wearing only his tight boxer briefs, Ryder is leaning against the wall. My eyes caress his glorious body, on display for my pleasure only—broad shoulders, rock-hard chest, washboard abs, and narrow hips, not to mention the considerable bulge straining against his briefs. I inhale sharply. The sight of him makes me salivate, mirrored in the dampness between my legs. I can’t think straight. Every cell in my body craves his touch, craves to touch
him
. What he was saying to me earlier is far from my mind, until he arches a brow, which jogs my memory.
 

I pat my bag and my pockets. “Forgotten? What do you mean? I’m sure I’ve got everything.”

He crooks his finger. “Come here.”
 

I take a few steps to close the distance between us, and as soon as I’m within reach, he hauls me against him and kisses me roughly, hungrily, until we are both breathless.

“You forgot my goodbye kiss.”

A wide grin appears on his face, and I can’t help but smile back at him, swatting him on the shoulder. My hands cup the rough, unshaven sides of his face and draw him towards me for a brief kiss. In response, he slides his hands under my top, pulling down the straps of my bra.

“Ryder, come on. I really have to go. I’ll be late for work.”

Leaning over, he nuzzles my neck. “Mmm. Once more. You still have time.”

“No! You’ll just have to wait till tonight,” I say, shoving him away from me.

“In that case, make sure you’re here early tonight. And wait for me in bed.”
 

Without breaking my gaze, he reaches out to the table beside him and presses a plastic card in my hand, curling my fingers around it.
 

“Stay with me, beautiful.”

I swallow hard. Am I ready for this?

Ryder’s four words whirl through my mind on my way to work, and every second of my half-day shift today. They must also be the reason I wear a grin on my face that I am not able to wipe off, for my co-workers and regulars keep on commenting on my radiance and cheerful mood. Was I really that sullen and grumpy before this?

Fingering the key card in my pocket, I think back to the roller-coaster ride that has been the past few days. Ryder and I have been inseparable ever since the disastrous Thanksgiving lunch. The next day we mostly stayed in his oversized king bed, apart from occasional bathroom visits—ending up doing the wet version of what we did in bed—and opening the front door for home delivery we ordered from his laptop.
 

A warm breath in my ear woke me up early the following morning. “Come on, get dressed. We’re going out.”

“Mmm…where are we going?” Still half asleep, I blinked at Ryder, who was dressed and ready to go.

“It’s a surprise. Get up, beautiful.”

I wondered what he was up to when we got into the car—a huge Land Rover SUV this time. Only after heading north on the I-87 for three hours or so, I had a suspicion of where we were heading.
 

“Are you taking me to the mountains?”

He grinned. “That’s where you’ve always wanted to go, right?”

“Yeah, but isn’t it really cold up there? As in, snowing? I sort of expected to go hiking there one day.”

Squeezing my knee, he said, “I’ll take you hiking next time. Even if we have to go to the other side of the world, where it’s summer now. Don’t worry, beautiful. You’re going to love the snow, too.”

And to my surprise, I did. It was my first time to try snow sports like skiing and snowboarding, which I enjoyed, despite the many falls. But what I really got a kick out of most were the snowmobiles. After a bit of practice, I felt confident to race with Ryder, and even managed to beat him a couple of times. It was absolutely awesome. When it got dark, we picked up take-out from a local pub, which we ate in front of the fire of our cosy log cabin, in the middle of the snow-covered forest.
 

It had been an amazing, magical weekend, one that I’ll never forget. And what it had made it so wonderful wasn’t the fun activities. No, it had been one very special person. A person who has captured my heart, a person who I can’t live without. It is completely crazy, but in the span of only a few weeks, Ryder has become my everything.
 

I grasp the key card in my pocket, its edges digging into my skin. I’ve made my decision—I’m going to move in with him.
 

I’m still lost in thought when the owner of the café hands me last week’s wages check, which I failed to pick up on Friday. Clearly, it had been a good week. The amount on the check is higher than I expected, and I am thrilled to have enough for paying overdue rent, with a little left over. Despite my protests, Ryder picked up the tab in the past few days. I know the money doesn’t mean anything to him, considering he has a bucketload of it, but I still have my pride. I don’t want to feel as if he is paying me off for my services.
 

After I finish up at the café, I cash in my check for a money order and head home to knock on the door of my landlady downstairs, who is subletting her apartment to me. I’m thankful to Shirelle for hardly increasing my rent over the years; I wouldn’t have been able to stay put otherwise. Usually I manage to pay the rent in time, and on the occasions that I have not, I have never let it slide as late as this month. I am surprised she hasn’t called me up on it; she’s had no hesitation to do so in the past, even when I was only a few days late.