Page 80 of Hate To Love You

I pull out of her and quickly flip her over to her back. Her face is flushed, and her pupils are dilated. She’s desperate for release, and I’ll give it to her. But first, I need to make sure she knows she’s the only girl in my life that can make me feel the way she does.

Before sliding back into her, I lean down, kissing her gently. It’s not rushed, it’s not messy. It’s a slow, deliberate kiss, and it suddenly feels a lot more serious.

Something in the air shifts between us, and when I pull away to look at her face, I can tell she feels it too. My heart is skipping beats, and my breathing is shallow as I let the feelings settle in my brain. These unfamiliar feelings that I never thought I’d have toward another person.

Positioning myself at her entrance, I watch her face as I slowly bury myself inside her. Her lips part slightly as she gasps at the intrusion.

I move in and out of her slowly as I intertwine our fingers above her head. I’m so deep inside her that I can feel my balls as they hit her skin, and the sound makes me want to pound into her faster. But that’s not what I want this to be.

We’ve fucked, that’s what I’m good at. But Gwen isn’t just any other girl that I find at a party and screw to forget about my shitty father or my impending future. Gwen is important, she’s the kind of girl you keep around because you’d be a fucking idiot if you let her go, and she’s exactly what I need.

I bring my face back to hers and kiss her passionately, pouring all of my feelings into it and hoping she can feel them without me having to say anything just yet.

Chapter 39

Ryker

I rub my temples with my hand in attempt to alleviate some of the stress as my father’s grating voice seeps through the speaker of my Escalade. We’ve been on the phone for less than ten minutes and he’s already managed to piss me the hell off.

I don’t know what he doesn’t understand. I don’t want anything to do with The Steele Corporation while he’s in charge. I don’t want to work for him or under him, I want to run it. I want to bring it back to what my grandfather envisioned because it surely isn’t what my father’s turned it into.

As long as my father is CEO, he will keep running it to the ground until my grandfather’s legacy is completely tarnished, and I can’t let that happen. I don’t know how, but I will take over the company one day, and my father won’t have a say.

“Who is Guinevere Sharpe?” my father’s accusatory voice barrels through the car speaker. My jaw tenses and a shiver runs down my spine. How the fuck does he know about Gwen?

My finger taps against the steering wheel repeatedly as I think of something to tell him since I can’t really tell him she’s the girl I’m slowly beginning to realize might just be my entire life.

“No one. Why?” I ask, hoping I sound as nonchalant as I meant to. I don’t need my father to have any more reasons to bitch at me. A girl would certainly be a means for his bitching. Especially because he wants me to marry someone from another Elite family.

Slow down, Ryker. No one said anything about marriage yet. It’s way too early to even think that about that as a possibility. Except, I’m realizing now that Gwen is the only woman I’ve ever even considered marrying.

“Dean Ashby notified me that you’ve been seen with her quite often around campus,” his rough voice sounds irritated. “You need to be focusing on school and the Elite, Ryker. Not some gold-digging whore who’s only with you for your money.”

My blood boils at his dig against Gwen. He doesn’t even know her. How could he make assumptions about a woman he’s never even met?

I want to defend her. To tell my dad to fuck off and to never talk about her like that again. But I have to play this smart. If he knows Gwen and I are involved in any capacity, he’ll try to get rid of her. I won’t let that happen.

“I’m focused, Father. Everything is under control,” I assure him through gritted teeth.

“Good,” he says gruffly. “Your mother is looking forward to seeing you boys for Thanksgiving. You’ll be there, yes?” he asks as if I even have a choice. If I did, I’d stay at the Elite Mansion and avoid home at all costs.

I sigh. “Yes, Father. I’ll be there.”

“Alright. See you soon, Son,” he says, hanging up the phone quickly.

My head falls forward and hits the horn on my steering wheel causing it to blare loudly, but I don’t have the will to move.

A knock on my window brings me out of my post-father phone call funk. I hoped it would be Gwen, but Mason’s face peers in at me instead.

He points in a downward motion indicating for me to roll the window down. Rolling my eyes, I do so reluctantly.

Looking him over, his hair is disheveled, and he appears like he just woke up, even though its one in the afternoon, but our game isn’t until later, so I guess he doesn’t have a reason to be up.

“Dude, do you mind? You’re waking up the entire block,” Mason groans as he runs a hand through his hair.

“It’s one. The only person still sleeping was you,” I grumble.

“Not anymore,” Mason mumbles under his breath. “What are you doing laying on your horn like that?” he asks.

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