Page 138 of A Game of Love and Betrayal

He hadn’t realized he’d spoken out loud. Smiling sheepishly, he continued. When he was halfway down the row of pearls, he sat on the edge of the bed. Brynleigh shifted with him, remaining silent as he worked.

Anticipation thickened the air, growing stronger with each flick of a button. Soon, his every heartbeat seemed to say. Soon, soon, soon.

Eagerness made his fingers move even faster until, finally, the last button fell away. The dress yawned, exposing Brynleigh’s back from her neck to the swell of her ass.

Ryker didn’t have time to appreciate the beauty before him because Brynleigh lifted her arms. The dress fell to the floor like snow falling from a tree.

Ryker’s jaw dropped open, and he breathed, “Fuck.”

His wife was completely bare, her beautiful body on display for him to see.

Ryker had been with his fair share of women, and he appreciated beauty as much as the next person, but he’d never seen anyone as incredible as Brynleigh. Her figure was curvy, her body superbly proportioned as if it were made for him.

He groaned at the striking sight of her, unable to believe this was real.

His vampire wasn’t shy. She barely gave him a minute to adjust to the sight of her before she glanced over her shoulder and raised a knowing brow. “Oh no,” she said coyly. “Did I forget to mention that I wasn’t wearing anything underneath my dress?”

Ryker scrubbed a hand over his face. No, he would’ve remembered if she told him that. He wouldn’t have been able to concentrate on anything else.

“All day?” he asked, apparently incapable of uttering anything but the simplest words. His brain was short-circuiting.

“All day.” She studied him for a moment longer over her shoulder. “Will you pass out if I turn around?”

Possibly. At this point, he wasn’t entirely sure he could feel his fingers. All his blood was rushing to his center.

“I’ll try not to.” He didn’t want to miss a single moment of their first night together.

Brynleigh stepped out of the dress. Shadows slipped from her hands, lifting the garment and placing it over the back of the armchair in the corner.

“Nice trick,” he said, still struggling to find his words.

“It’s not my only one.” Even with her back to him, he heard the smile in her voice. She deftly pulled pins from her hair, one by one, until her golden locks tumbled down her back. She raked her fingers through them, shaking her hair out.

Then, Brynleigh slowly turned around.

Ryker couldn’t help it—he stared at his wife. For one thing, her breasts were level with his face because he was sitting on the bed. It wasn’t like he was actively trying to look at them. They were inviting his gaze. For another, he didn’t want to stop.

His fingers curled around the comforter as he drank in the beautiful sight before him. She was captivatingly alluring in a way that was meant solely for him. He wouldn’t change a single part of her.

After a few minutes passed in silence, Brynleigh whispered, “Say something.”

He pushed himself to his feet, cutting the distance between them in half. Taking her hands in his, he lowered his mouth until it hovered above hers.

“You’re utterly fucking perfect,” Ryker growled.

Brynleigh hitched a breath, her gaze searching his. “Really?”

Maybe his vampire was a bit shy. Interesting. That wouldn’t do at all. The woman Ryker had come to love over the past two months was anything but timid. He wanted to draw her out to play with him.

“Really.” Ryker’s breath skated over Brynleigh’s mouth teasingly. “Can I kiss you?”

She murmured her assent, and then, his mouth was on hers. Like the earlier kiss in the temple, this one was claiming, powerful, and filled with intense longing. Unlike that kiss, Ryker had no intention of stopping.

He poured everything he’d felt since he first heard Brynleigh’s voice into this embrace, letting her know precisely how much he wanted her. One of his hands tangled in her hair, and he pulled her close. The tips of her breasts brushed against his still-clothed chest and hardened.

Fuck, she was so responsive. Continuing to kiss her, he slipped his other hand between them and gently rolled her nipple through his fingers.

She gasped.

---