Page 10 of Healing Bonds

He pushed me back so that he could look into my eyes, his big hands settling on my hips, his blue eyes… haunted. His mouth was moving, answering my question, but all I could focus on was how much I wanted to go back to kissing him and forget all about him ever leaving me again. He jostled me, and I watched his mouth form my name, jerking me back to the present. I blinked. His lips quirked in amusement.

“Listen to me, spitfire. I don’t ever want to go back. I wantus. I want a life with you.”

“Are you sure?” I asked him, hating myself for questioning him. But I couldn’t live with myself if he truly wanted to go back but was only staying because of me.

“In case you forgot, I just asked you to marry me, baby.” Leaning forward, he brushed our noses together, and I could no longer contain myself. Closing the small gap between us, I sought out his lips again, a sigh of relief escaping me when, finally, I no longer felt like half of my soul was missing.

His lips were soft and gentle as opposed to their assault from earlier. He nipped lightly at my bottom lip, asking permission, even though he knew I was all his. “I don’t want gentle. I want you,” I whispered, opening my eyes to meet his darkening ones.

“Are you sure?” His hands squeezed my waist, pulling me closer to his hard body. I couldn’t contain my moan. He fit so perfectly against me—like two puzzle pieces. “It’s our first night together in a year, Ames. Can you handle this after everything you just went through tonight?”

“I need you, Ryan. Please don’t make me beg,” I pleaded. He shook his head, his eyes stern, his body rigid under my touch.

“Amber, I’m asking you one more time—are you sure?” His fingertips dug into my hips, and his cock pressed against my belly. Clearly, he wanted this as badly as I did. Why did he keep hesitating?

“I’m all yours, baby.” In a flash, his hands were under my legs, hauling me up onto the counter. His lips were no longer gentle. His tongue slipped into my mouth with urgency and tangled with mine, taking control when I tried to play with him.

“Ryan,” I panted when he gripped my red hair and yanked my head back, attacking my neck. His other hand slipped under the dress I’d fallen asleep in, sliding up my thigh until he skimmed the lace between my thighs. I shivered, sucking in a sharp breath, my hips arching toward his hand, desperately seeking what I needed.

“That’s it, baby,” he rumbled, sucking at the skin of my neck. Marking me.God. “Say my name, spitfire. Tell me what you need.Beg me.”

Fuuuuck.

I gasped when he released my hair and yanked down the zipper on my dress. It fell from my arms and pooled around my waist. He groaned before leaning me back so he could feast on my breasts, his tongue swirling around my nipple. I whimpered, my eyelids fluttering shut. I shivered, clutching at his broad shoulders, my nails biting into his skin.

“Beg me,” he growled against my skin before he moved to my other breast, giving it the same undivided attention he gave the first. I whined when hejustskimmed over my clit through the lace covering me.

“Ryan, please,” I begged, so lost in him, I couldn’t even bring myself to be embarrassed. “Please, please, please touch me. I need—” I sucked in a sharp breath when he slid the lace to the side. But he didn’t go any further than that. A broken sob ripped from my throat. “Ryan,please,” I cried.

He yanked my dress down my legs before dropping it to the floor. My lace panties went next, and then he was shoving my thighs apart and crouching between my legs, burying his face in my heat. I cried out his name, falling back on the counter. I braced myself on one elbow, the fingers of my other hand sinking into his hair, holding him against me.

His tongue was pure fucking magic as he flicked it over my clit before wrapping his lips around the tiny bundle of nerves. I moaned, my eyes rolling back in my skull. When I tentatively rolled my hips against his face, he groaned, his hands clenching my hips, encouraging me to take what I needed from him.

So, I did. I rode his face like a woman starved, and he ate me out like a man on death row getting his last mean—savoring me and taking his time. My belly tightened, and warmth pooled in my veins before a full body shiver wracked through my body. I sobbed his name as I came, my world exploding around me.

He surged over me, taking my lips in a hard kiss that wreaked havoc on my senses. I could taste myself on his tongue, and I moaned, tugging him closer. He fumbled with his pajama pants, shoving them down just enough for his cock to spring free. Resting the heels of my feet on the kitchen counter, I lifted my hips and spread my legs wide, encouraging him to take what he wanted from me.

We both moaned as he sank inside. He sucked at my bottom lip, a low, sexy groan crawling up his throat as he eased out and pushed back in. Our bodies moved together in sync in a dance as old as time. My hips rose to meet each of his thrusts, our mouths a tangled mess. He braced one hand on the wall by my head, his other hand gripping my thigh. I gasped when he pushed it further back before his pace increased, his hips slinging back and forth, a man on a mission.

“Ryan. Ryan. Baby—fuuuuck,” I cried out, my vision whiting out as I came, each of his thrusts making his cock glance across something delicious inside of me, his pelvic bone bumping my clit with each stroke inside of me.

“Goddamn, spitfire,” he moaned before his hips fell off rhythm and he spilled inside of me, marking me as his. “I waitedso fucking longfor this.” He pressed his lips to mine, our kiss slow and lazy, both of us cum drunk and sated. His heart hammered against my chest, matching the quick tempo of my own.

“I love you,” I whispered, cupping his cheek, the diamond ring on my finger glinting in the low light of the kitchen.

Turning his head, he pressed a kiss to my palm. “You’re my entire fucking world, Amber.”

Chapter Four

CELINE

SIX MONTHS AGO

In the last five years, Ace had only become more handsome and sexier with age. In my opinion, a man aged like fine wine, and this handsome man of mine had matured into my favorite drink of choice. He had grown a beard in the last year, the black stubble making his tan skin seem darker and more alluring, and he had gotten more tattoos. He also spent hours in the gym we created in our house.

The new, rugged look made me crave him all the time, and most mornings, when we got out of bed to go our separate ways for work, I didn’t want to let him go, always giving him a long, lingering kiss to remind him of what would be waiting at home that night.

Lucky for me, I had married my best friend, and even though in the beginning things had not been easy, I wouldn’t want to spend my life with anyone else. There were a lot of petty fights in the first year that could have easily been avoided had we learned how to communicate our feelings better, but I considered myself lucky to have Ace in my life.

---