For3ver (24 page)

He stayed there while I came down, softly licking and kissing the ball of nerves that were heightened to maximum pleasure. When I was completely relaxed, he started kissing up my stomach, back to my mouth. He swiped his hand over his mouth before leaning in and kissing me so tenderly I thought I could burst into tears again. 

  "I love you," I panted, kissing him, not getting enough of his mouth. 

  "Mmm," he groaned, letting me kiss my taste from his lips. "I love you, Ryley." 

I stopped kissing him so I could look into his face and he frowned, I think seeing the tears. But when my face split into a huge smile, he laughed. 

  "That was so intense," I told him, wiping the sides of my face. "I've never cried like that." I giggled, not feeling an ounce of embarrassment because if anything, he should have taken pride in my tears. 

  "So those are happy tears?" 

  "Ecstatic tears." I laughed, kissing him. 

When I nudged him back, he didn't move. 

  "Not yet. You can explore me later. Right now, I need to be inside you. I need to get closer to heaven, Ry." He softly kissed me, making me tremble in anticipation. 

I knew the next part was only going to solidify our love. 

CHAPTER 17

LIAM

When I saw her tears I was scared shitless and almost leapt from the bed to call the therapist. Then she smiled, that amazing Ryley Reynolds smile, and I knew they weren't tears for the reasons I was thinking. I wanted to bury myself in her, and I was going to, but I knew I'd have to take that slow. 

  "You on top?" I asked, not really wanting it that way, but I didn't want her to feel pinned down under me. 

She knew my apprehension and she still shook her head no. 

  "Make love to me." Her fingers softly caressed my cheek while she stared into my eyes, easing my anxieties without saying it. 

I was going to suggest a condom, something I didn't want, but when she reached down and positioned me, I knew she wasn't worried about it either. I didn't know if that meant there was a potential for more children, or if she was on the pill. I was hoping for the first option. 

Her eyes went to my chest and I stopped, just short of entering her.  

  "Ryley," I softly said, waiting for her attention. "Look at me, baby." I kissed her. "Keep your eyes on my face." 

Nodding, she kissed me again and then went back to looking me in the eyes. I moved slowly, delving into the wetness that I wanted to slam into and make her scream in pleasure. While I sunk farther and farther, I smiled at her.

  "I love you, baby."

  "I love you," she breathed. 

  "Tell me again." My balls ached I was lowering into her so slowly, but I wasn't going to push it. 

  "I love you, Liam." She grinned and I pushed farther. "Oh GOD," she moaned, arching into me, pushing me farther. 

  "Tell me one more time." 

  "I love you, Liam," she cried out, moving the rest of the way to close the gap between our bodies. 

  "Fuuuck," I moaned, not sure I could do it slowly, but I was determined. "Nothing has ever felt better than this, Ryley Anne. I swear to you when I say you bring me closer to heaven, I mean it." I closed my eyes but only for a second because she was holding my gaze again. "This should have been us so long ago, baby, and I will spend our lifetime making that up to you." I sunk inside her again. "Goddamn, Ryley," I grunted, gritting my teeth. "I love you so much it fucking hurts." 

When she moaned again, I started to build a slow rhythm, and when she closed her eyes, I touched her face, softly kissing her jaw. 

  "Look at me, baby, tell me you want this." 

She grabbed my face while my hips rocked, covering my cock with her wetness that I couldn't wait to taste again. 

  "I do, Liam. I want this, and you, and a lifetime of making up for what we lost. You're all that matters." She kissed me. "I promise you." She paused to moan and let her eyes float closed. "No one has ever made me feel like you do," she said, looking into my eyes again. 

  "And no one ever will, baby, I promise you when I say what we have will never end." 

  "I know." She started moving her hips, sliding her fingers to my hair. "You're all I ever needed." The words never sounded so good and I pushed a little hard, delving a little deeper. "Liam," she gasped and I saw her face start to light up. "Liam," she did it again and a smile struck my face as I pushed just a little harder. 

  "Watch me, baby. Look at me, Ryley, let me see those beautiful, blue eyes," I told her when her eyes started to close. 

  "Oh GOD, yes." She trembled. 

  "I love you." I smiled, kissing her. "I love you," I told her again as I watched her face twist and felt her pussy start to clench. "I've always loved you and always will." 

  "Liam," she whimpered and I grabbed her thigh, lifting her leg slightly and drove deeper. 

  "You gonna come, Ryley?" 

  "Yes, yes, yes," she whimpered, nodding her head, fighting her eyes to stay open. "Oh GOD, yes. Liam! I love you!" she screamed, squeezing around me tightly as she trembled under me, her fingers digging into my sides to make sure I wasn't going anywhere, and I wasn't. 

When she let out a small laugh and wiped her face, I saw the tears again and all she did was nod, wearing a huge grin. 

  "Knocked it out of the park?" I asked, grinning right back; she laughed and kiss me. 

  "Grand slam, baby." She laughed against my lips.  

  "Double header?" I quipped and she laughed harder. 

  "I think it's time for me to score." She pushed at my chest and I flipped to my back, taking her with me. 

She squealed and laughed, putting her head to my chest. "Give me a second," she breathed, still slightly panting. 

I stroked her hair, wondering if we were in the clear for future intimacy, but I didn't expect it to always be like that. Anything could trigger her terrible memories; I would just do everything to make sure it didn't happen. 

When her hips began to rock I thought I was going to explode right then. Her hands went to my chest and she moaned so sweetly I had to squeeze my eyes shut not to come. 

  "Fuck, Ry." I grabbed her hips. 

  "You want to come?" she teased me. 

  "Yeah, baby, but not yet." I sat up, wrapping my arms around her, pulling her against me and sinking deep. 

  "Oh GOD." She gasped and I chuckled. "Liam, if you keep that uu— u-u— Oh GOD." 

  "What, Ryley?" I chuckled. "If I keep that up?" I did it again, pulling her harder this time. 

  "Don't stop, please." 

  "Then look at me," I told her, ready to come when she was. "I want to come together. I want you focused on me when you make me come." 

  "Okay," she agreed, nodding, having a hard time keeping focus on me because her orgasm was looming. 

  "Okay?" I couldn't stop grinning. 

  "Yes, yes, okay." She nodded, biting into her bottom lip. 

I dipped my head to suck on her nipple and her head fell back as she screamed, not giving me warning to her orgasm. Squeezing around me so tightly, she kept her hips gyrating, milking my orgasm from me. And as it barreled through me, I looked into her eyes that were swimming with tears, but her smile was beaming as she trembled in my arms. 

  "I love you, Ry, forever," I moaned, emptying myself into her with an intense grunt as I thrust once more, hard and deep. 

  "Forever, Liam," she moaned, dropping her head to my shoulder. 

I couldn't talk because I was panting for air, trying to calm the buzz in my stomach from that orgasm. 

  "Shit," I finally panted out, squeezing her full ass, loving how her flesh let my hands mold to it. 

  "Did I knock it out of the park?" She giggled. 

  "Grand fucking slam." I laughed, flipping her to her back and laying on her chest. 

We both needed time to recoup, and while we did, she studied all my tattoos, ending with the ones on my lower stomach, which just so happened to stir what was just south of them. Initial worry started to fill me because I only wanted to be intimate when I knew she was ready for it each time and I didn't want her to see my body being so weak against her, making her feel pressured. But when she looked up at me and grinned, I knew she had recouped long enough too, and then her tongue was sliding up my shaft, promising she was ready. 

***

Waking up with her naked body wrapped around me was the best fucking feeling in the world. We were up all night, exploring each other's bodies in ways I had only dreamed of. She was sleeping soundly, curled into me. The sunlight from the bay window across our room was glowing in, telling me it was probably almost the afternoon. Ry was sleeping so soundly I took the time to appreciate her body. Every curve that she didn't have growing up, every dimple, even the tan lines were sexy. I could've stayed in that bed all day, enjoying the woman I'd been in love with my entire life, but I had something more pressing I needed to work on that day. 

Reaching over to grab my phone was tricky. I didn't want to wake her; she looked exhausted when we finally fell asleep. I had a message from Anna, asking when we wanted her to drop Able back at home, and a few messages from work that could wait. Shooting Anna a quick text, I pulled up Mrs. Reynolds' phone number and text her. 

Before we left Tennessee she made sure to pull me aside when Ry wasn't around. 

 
"I know how much your family meant to you, Liam. I know how much my family means to you also. Especially now. Take this," she says, handing me a box. "When you are ready, Dale would sure like to know. We know it's going to happen, it should have happened a long time ago. We love you like our own son, Liam. You have meant the world to Ryley her entire life and I can't express how happy I am to see you two together again." She wipes the tear away from her face and pulls me in for a hug. I didn't realize leaving them would be this hard, but she sure is making it harder with all this emotional talk. 

  "What's in here, Mrs. Reynolds?" I ask looking at the box that's tied shut with two strings. It's not any bigger than a shoe box, and it's light. 

  "Open it when you are ready, Liam. Not before." She smiles, patting my shoulder, then walks away to give her family a hug goodbye. 

I smiled at the memory, remembering the confusion that was running through me. Of course I opened it the first chance I got. The note from Gage was still intact, and reading his handwriting was hard, it just brought back too many memories that I had pushed away. Then I opened the small box that sat next to the note and knew exactly why she used her words so carefully. I had to be ready. It was my grandma's ring, an heirloom passed down from her grandma, and I still remembered when it went missing how devastated she was. It had been Gage all along. He knew from the start we were meant for each other and he did everything in his power at the time to make sure I had the ring. He shouldn't have stolen it, but the whole thing took my breath away the first time I opened it. It really put me in a funk until I had the chance to call her and tell her my plan. 

As much as I would have liked to propose to Ryley on that tire swing back home, as much as it would have been amazing to start the rest of our lives where our lives together started, I couldn't do it. I didn't want to go back there. Call me an asshole, but Wisconsin was our home now, and she was adjusting so well to living up there, I would've hated for a trip back to Tennessee to set her back in her healing. 

So I did the next best thing I thought of. I brought her parents up to us. Patiently waiting, they were at a hotel across town, prepared for that night. Mrs. Reynolds was over the moon excited to travel up to see us, and Mr. Reynolds (though he didn't show much emotion) gave a brief hug and pat on the back when I picked them up from the airport the prior day after work. Ryley was completely oblivious to the whole thing, which was going to make the night even better. 

  "Hey, you." Her morning voice was sexy as hell, even better when accompanied by a nude stretch across my bed. Fuck, that woman was going to drive me insane and didn't even know it. 

  "Hey. How'd you sleep?" I knew the answer. She slept the best she had since she got there. No nightmares. 

  "Amazing, thank you." Her sweet as sin smile directed at me stirred more parts that morning that had otherwise been taking a break.

As much as I would've loved to relive the night before all over again, Able was on his way back and I had a proposal to make sure was on track. 

The entire day I was worried she was going to find out about the evening events. My phone was exploding with messages and I eventually had to silence it and throw it in my pocket so she didn't get curious. I didn't think she'd be the type to go through my phone, but I didn't want to chance it that day and ruin everything. Any other day would have been fine for her to pry, but that needed to remain a surprise. I also had to keep her away from the back patio all day, which was extremely difficult. Able was a big help, vying for her attention all day and wanting to play downstairs. The times she was upstairs, I was on high alert, but she never wandered toward the doors. 

Around dinnertime, she started moving around the kitchen, trying to figure out what we were going to eat. Her beauty stunned me. It was like the house was built for her, the way she floated around the kitchen, treating it like she had lived in it her whole life. Her hair was gathered low on her neck, jeans fitting perfectly, and a loose top made her even sexier, hiding her curves underneath, and after the prior night, I knew every curve well. 

  "Wanna take a walk?" I asked, knowing she was always a sucker for walks on fall nights. She stopped looking for food and put her hands on her hips wearing a smile. 

  "Now?" Her eyebrows pulled together in curiosity. 

  "Yeah, come on. Dinner can wait." I held my hand out, not giving her an option. She called for Able and he came barreling down the hall. 

We walked out the back door and I immediately smiled, seeing that everything was done as perfectly as I'd hoped. Every tree that lined the walkway down to the lake had multiple lit lanterns hanging in them. There were lanterns lining the path, lanterns filling the patio, and at the end of the path, the gazebo by the lake was lit with white lights and lanterns. Each tree also had one envelope hanging from it for her to open. I heard her gasp next to me and tighten her grip on my hand.