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“This is still one,” he says.

His cock presses against my entrance, teasing me at first. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, pressing my breasts against him as he enters me.

I was so close before that feeling him inside me, pushes me over the edge. Chills shoot through my body as my orgasm crashes over me. Ryan holds me tight as my body writhes against him.

I throw my head back as I catch my breath, and Ryan kisses my throat before our mouths meet. I want more.

“Ready for two?” he asks.

“Yes.”

CHAPTER 33

Ryan

ONE WEEK UNTIL RYAN’S BIRTHDAY

"It's about time. I've been waiting for you to show up."

I turn around to find Carina's mother standing there. She has the same evil look in her eye, except this time, there is an added annoyance to it.

“Hello, Sarah. Wish I could say I’m surprised to see you. What do you want?"

"You know what I want. I think I've caused enough drama in your world for you to see that I mean business."

"You tried blackmailing me last time, but that didn't work. You think I’m afraid of you?”

I think about her threat and how she's standing across from me with her arms folded confidently, and I realize something.

"It was you, wasn't it? You're the one who texted me and gave me Alex’s address."

“Nice of you to catch up. I was beginning to think you’d never figure it out. I didn't expect you to run off with her, but from what I know about the two of you, it'll never last. She is too hung up on black-and-white truth or lies. There’s no gray with her. Meanwhile, I'm all gray. You don't want to lose your inheritance now, do you?"

"It's clear that not only do you not know me, but you don't know your daughter either. She's not as naïve as you think. And I'm not as money-hungry as you need me to be."

“Well, very soon, those men up there are going to ask you the one question that you haven't been able to answer positively for the past five years. And I know that you don't want your whole world to change. So you can say whatever you'd like, but you need me. Right now, you don't know if you can trust Carina. She was just involved with your brother to take you down. She's exactly the kind of woman you've been trying to protect yourself from."

"And you’re somehow better?"

"Yes, I’m better. Because I'll make a deal with you. I'll marry you with the prenup. We’ll stay married for as long as you need to, and then when the time comes, you and I will go our separate ways. You pay me the amount we agree upon from the prenup, and you’ll never hear from me again.” She pauses dramatically as the corners of her mouth rise and crinkle her eyes. “You want to continue your little thing with my daughter, that's fine. I really don't care. She's the ignorant one who still believes love is actually a thing. I know what it really takes to make the world go round.”

She pokes at my tie, then cocks her head to the side.

"You can push back, you can tell me that it'll never happen, but trust me right now, I'm your best bet for keeping your inheritance.”

"No, you're not. I can still ask Carina to marry me. We could get married tomorrow. There’s still a few days before my birthday.”

I’m in shock at how she’s behaving, but it's making me understand why Carina sees things so clearly. I'm waiting to see Sarah’s reaction.

She tilts her head to the side and grins before she starts to laugh.

"The thing is that you haven’t asked her. If you’re so sure of her, then you would've asked her already. But you haven’t.” She shrugs and wrinkles her nose. “So you can stand there and act so calm and declare your love for her. But something is holding you back."

As much as I hate to admit it, she's right. Why haven't I asked Carina to marry me? Why did it take so long for me to tell her how I feel? I have no doubt that I love her, but what is holding me back?

I step around Sarah and continue walking towards the building. I can hear her following me, her footsteps tapping behind me on the pavement.

I had spent the past week telling Carina about my family, about my past. Telling her things that I never told anyone else before. As I walked to the building that I had walked to once a month for the last five years, I realize that my reason for not asking her to marry me has nothing to do with her. It has everything to do with me.

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