Page 49 of Return on Love

“I’d love to,” I say, noncommittally.

“She’s leaving in a week,” Ryan interrupts. “Not sure when, if at all, she’ll be back.”

“Noooo. Eva!” Jen says, climbing down from Emily’s lap and walking over to me. “You can’t leave. I have to show you my game.”

“I’ll try to visit, and if I do, I promise I’ll come and see you. Okay?”

Jen nods. We leave soon after but my heart is heavy. I already love Jen.

“Don’t mind Jen. She’s only a kid. Doesn’t understand that work is important, that you have friends and a whole other life in LA,” Ryan says as we drive back.

I scoff. What life do I have in LA? Lily, sure. Work, of course. But other than that, nothing. Is work the only important thing in life? Back in high school, I wanted to travel to all countries, read a lot of books, pen my thoughts. I wanted to go to the top of Burj Khalifa, see the Taj Mahal, take a cruise on the Nile, maybe even climb Mount Everest. I’ve done nothing. Sure, I’ve visited Dubai for work, but didn’t have time to take the elevator to the viewing deck in Burj Khalifa. I’ve been to India for meetings, but didn’t have time to visit the Taj Mahal. All I’ve done after grad school is work and waste time on trying to build something which lacked foundation with Bob.

“Do you want to come over to my place for a bit?” Ryan asks after some time. “I mean, for Max, y’know. The poor thing has been alone all day. He’d like to meet you.”

I smile, not taken by his flimsy excuse, but I play along. “I’ve missed Max. I’d love to meet him again.”

Max jumps all over Ryan and me. The cute little dog hasn’t forgotten me. We’re barely inside when Max brings a ball and throws it at my feet. I roll my eyes. “I’ve done enough babysitting for a day, Max!” I say and hear Ryan chuckling.

“So, I see you’re okay with just letting me handle all your baby responsibilities?” I ask. Only once the words are out of my mouth do I realize how silly that sounds.

“I can’t help it if they all love you more than me. That’s your punishment for being so cute.”

I feel myself blushing, but I don’t want him to see it, so I turn around and run out to the garden with the ball. Max is following close on my heels. I’m tired within twenty minutes of play. Yeah, I know. I’m not an active person. I’m not proud of it, but that’s just the reality of life. Don’t run. Don’t go to the gym and I definitely don’t play with hyperactive dogs.

I’m huffing and puffing like the big bad wolf when I go back inside and plop down on my chair. Ryan hands me a glass of some kind of citrus drink. I take a sip.

“It’s refreshing,” I say, and then take another. “Wait, is this lemonade?” I see him smiling and realize that’s what it is. I’m so used to him making exotic things that I find even the humble lemonade exotic.

“It’s the best thing to rehydrate. Gets your electrolytes back on track immediately.”

He’s changed into a T-shirt and shorts and I can see his perfectly carved calf muscles. He notices my eyes moving all over his body, taking him in, because he has to turn around and adjust his shorts a little.

“What’d you like to have for dinner? I have chicken breasts and fish fillets.”

I walk up to him and entwine my fingers in his. What is he doing to me? I was never so forward. Bob always complained that I never initiated sex and here I am, being all slutty.

“What if we just order in? That’ll give us some time to… y’know, talk about the company and the projections.”

He smiles and gives me slanted look. “Perfect idea.” He walks over to the table where he’d flicked his phone when we entered and places an order for Chinese. Then he struts over to me, holds me by the arm and reels me to him. We’re standing toe to toe, our bodies barely touching. I can almost feel the air between us vibrating with the tension. “We have thirty to forty minutes before they deliver. Would you like to discuss on the couch or in the room? We can complete the discussion we started earlier in your apartment.”

He leads me to his bedroom. It’s an enormous room with a gigantic bed, like really I-can-play-on-it large. And the sheets, oh my God. They’re even softer than the ones he’s put in my apartment.

His T-shirt is off. I can see his abs and then my eyes fall a little lower and I can see the big bulge against his jeans. He lifts me off my feet and plants me on the bed, as if I was weightless. He kisses my forehead, my cheeks, my neck. With gentle movements, he lifts my blouse over my head and kisses my breasts through the lace. My nipples are so hard that they can probably pierce a rock.

He unhooks my bra and removes it almost reverently, then cups my boobs with his hands and stares at them for a while. “You’re going to kill me,” he whispers. I’m not sure if he’s saying to me or the boobs, but we’re all okay with it.

He kisses my breasts and I lurch up towards him. He sucks at them while he removes the rest of my clothing. His gaze settles on my face as his hands explore my back and my thighs. He pulls me and I’m flat against him, his chest crushing my breasts.

“I’ve wanted to do this ever since I held you after the party.” He says, nuzzling against my hair. “God, Eva. You do something to me.” He kisses me again, his hands holding and pressing my ass close to him.

Just when I think it can’t get better, he goes down on me. All I can do is moan as his lips roll around and lick my opening. I really don’t think I’m going to live through this. If an excess of pleasure could kill, I’d surely die today.

He pauses and looks up for an instant. “Delicious,” he says, and he’s back at it. I don’t think I can hold off any longer.

“Ryan, I think you should be inside me now, because I don’t think I can control anymore.”

He kisses me and puts his fingers inside me, playing around. “There’s nothing I want to see more than your happy, angelic face.” With a loud moan and spasmodic movements, I’m filled with pleasure that I’ve not experienced in a long time.

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