Page 52 of Tangled Hearts

“You aren’t even looking at me,” I scoffed.

“I don’t need to, when you’re thinking about bad things you get this adorable pout and that crease,” he chuckled.

I wasn’t pouting, but as soon as those words conjured in my mind, my lips had moved into a pout.

“I like your pout,” he said, running his hand down my back. “It makes me want to bite it and lick it to soothe the pain.”

My body shivered as my thighs clenched, imagining him doing just that.

“Ryder, don’t say things if you don’t plan to deliver,” I said, attempting a sultry voice when all I heard was a breathy one.

When he didn’t respond, I grew nervous that I had ruined our playful banter. Shame blanketed me in a cloud. I had gone too far, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he got up and left me… again.

“I’m sorry,” he said, making me tense for the rejection. “I have been so worried about Serena and me that I have been a complete asshole to you. You didn’t deserve that kind of treatment from me, it wasn’t fair to you.”

I didn’t know what to say.

“I—”

“You don’t have to say anything or even forgive me if you don’t want to.” He sat up bringing me with him so we were face to face. “Being so close to you, but too stubborn to be with you was a hardship I deserve to endure. I feel like I will go crazy if I don’t touch you. I crave your kindness, your soft smiles and your touch. I thought I could live in a world with you and not mate you, but I was wrong. You are the sun in my galaxy. I rotate for you; I’ll orbit around you in hopes of getting close to you even if it's just for a moment. I know when my days are dark, you’ll always be the light that shows me home. You're the slice of heaven I've been waiting for.”

“Ryder,” I whispered.

“You don’t have to say anything,” he said, pulling me closer, but giving me a moment to decide if I wanted to come to him. Who was I kidding, being without Ryder had been getting harder and harder. I got as close to him without sitting on him. “I just want to apologize that it took me so long to get here. I don’t deserve you, Heaven, and I don’t know if I ever will, but please let me try and show you how much you mean to me because you are everything to me. In every lifetime it will be us.”

I shivered, remembering those words said by Soren and Gray. I knew in my soul we were all destined to be together. Our tangled hearts beat for one another in every lifetime. It was always us.

I didn’t think about it. All I wanted and needed was Ryder and my mates. I straddled his legs, wrapping my arms around his neck, bringing him closer to me.

“In every lifetime,” I whispered against his lips, before I kissed him.

It was soft and unsure at first, just like our first kiss, until it wasn’t. Ryder licked the seam of my lips, and I opened for him. My toes curled as the rush of emotions and pleasure burned through me.

I ran my hand through his hair pulling at the strands, eliciting a groan from him that made my thighs clench. He growled, kissing my cheek making his way down. He sucked on my neck hard enough to leave a mark, appeasing the side of me that wanted everyone to know I was his.

He licked his mark, making me gasp as he kissed further down my neck and onto my shoulder.

“More,” I groaned. “I want… I need more.”

“Tell me what you want,” he said, resting his forehead against my shoulder. “Tell me to stop or tell me to keep going. I need to hear you say it.”

“You, Ryder. I need you.” I kissed his ear. “I need you inside me.”

He growled, pushing my shirt up.

“I want you to kiss me more and I want you to make me yours,” I said, pulling him in for a kiss as I pushed his shirt up.

“Heaven, you better know what you're asking because once I start, I won’t be able to stop,” he said, stopping until we were both looking at each other.

His honey-colored eyes were full of desire, only cementing what I needed.

“Fuck me, Ryder,” I growled.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, pushing me onto my back.

He leaned over me, capturing my lips in a kiss, settling his weight over me until I felt his hardness against my core, rocking his hips into me. I gasped at the friction.

“Goddess,” Ryder said, with a harsh breath against my lips.

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