Page 10 of Custodian

He had assumed Max would simply climb on and begin rocking his world, but his lover clearly had other plans. She kissed him, gently pushing against his chest until he lay flat against the surprisingly comfy sand at his back. She then surprised him by straddling his waist backward, affording him a perfect view of that amazing arse of hers – and the incredible ink gracing her back. As Max ran warm, soothing hands over his legs and thighs, he traced the black and white tattoo covering her entire back. The artwork was truly remarkable – Max’s very own rendering of the main character in her graphic novel series – The Reluctant Royals.

The female assassin was as beautiful as she was fierce-looking, and Ryker knew Max had created her – Sabre – as a means of catharsis. He had now read everything Max had ever written and he knew Sabre was everything Max wished she could have been when she was younger and on her own; strong, honourable, loyal, and invulnerable. Max had once told him that Sabre was there to watch her back. It still brought a twinge to his gut when he thought of that lonely, lost girl Max had been before she had stumbled across him and their Order. So alone and afraid that she believed her characters would be her only proof that she ever existed. The thought was almost laughable now. Max’s true legacy was unfathomable.

Intelligent thought fled after that as Max proceeded to reduce him to a writhing mass of need on the ocean bed. How she maintained enough presence of mind to keep the elements stable and under her command while she was engrossed with making love to him, he had no idea. And he couldn’t say he really cared as she finally began to lower herself onto his rigid shaft. Despite the fiery inferno of desire raging through his body, he forced himself to stay still as she lowered herself excruciatingly slowly.

“Fuck, oh fuck. Yes!” Max cried, head thrown back in abandon.

Max’s foul mouth had Ryker releasing a strangled laugh. It had taken him and the Order a good few months to finally give up on trying to clean up her somewhat profane mouth and decidedly dirty vocabulary. Max swore a lot and he knew to most it probably wasn’t the most attractive trait for a female to have, but it was just part of who she was. She loved words – was damn good with them. She was an author, after all. Besides, his mouth was just as bad and sometimes situations just needed a good fucking swear word.

Max began to rock, taking him in and out of her body at a leisurely pace. Her breasts bounced with every movement, turquoise eyes glittering with lust and challenge and enough heat to flay him alive. He placed his hands on her hips – but didn’t grip them – content to let Max do her worst. Or best, rather. But it turned out, his tenuous control was pathetically easy to snap. A simple clench of tight inner muscles was all it took to have Max flat on her back in the blink of an eye. Ryker lifted her legs high in the air so her ankles rested on his shoulders, as he pushed back into her, pounding fast and furious. He chased after his own orgasm relentlessly, but he wasn’t selfish about it. No way would he leave his woman behind.

Reaching between their sweaty, labouring bodies, he sought out the source of her pleasure. He swore when she clamped around him, stronger this time, before arching her back as her orgasm barrelled through her. Max didn’t hold her pleasure back – those days were long past – and she screamed out her desire, her breath catching in her throat. Ryker let out his own roar as he came inside her, his pumping hips and continued hardness pushing the limits of her orgasm so it bordered on painful. He knew because he was feeling the same thing. Breath coming in harsh gasps, Ryker barely had the presence of mind to roll to the side so he wouldn’t squash his love.

“We totally crushed that. High five,” Max wheezed out, holding her hand up.

Despite his exhausted and satiated state, Ryker laughed, raising his hand high enough to give her a companionable slap before grinning at her.

“What?” Max asked.

Ryker shook his head, “Nothing. It’s just you. You are so awesome.”

Max snorted, stretching languidly and causing his idiotic body to stir once more, “I could have told you that.”

“I know you could. But it loses a little something when you say it yourself,” he informed her.

Max rolled her head to look at him once more, “I’ve never found that to be true.”

Her words caused him to snort out another laugh, “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

Max simply shrugged. “What can I say? I have a healthy self-esteem.”

Ryker smiled, managing to move enough to peck her swollen, well-kissed lips. “I love you,” he informed her, as he did at every possible opportunity.

He saw her melt a little, oceanic eyes becoming misty. “I believe you,” Max answered. “And I love you too,” she then whispered.

And wasn’t that a special kind of miracle? Ryker thought. To not only have someone to say those three little words to, but to also have that someone believe them? It may have taken Max a while to say those words back to him, but it was now a daily occurrence. Ryker knew she had felt hesitant to say it even when he could feel her love for him pulsing brightly through the bond. It hadn’t bothered him – well, not too much, he admitted. Just knowing that Max had felt them had been more than enough. The idea of making herself vulnerable and opening herself up to rejection had been particularly terrifying for her. Luckily, he’d had her largely figured out by then and had let the initial big moment pass with nothing more than an ‘okay’. The smile he’d received had told him he’d nailed it. It had been a perfect moment in time for both of them.

Movement to his left caught his eye and he barely refrained from screaming hysterically.Please, Mother, I beg you. Don’t let it be.Out loud he said, “Babe? Please tell me there isn’t a great white shark watching us have sex beyond that wall of water.”

He saw her dark eyebrows rise in surprise before she rolled her head to the side, “It’s just Bruce.”

Ryker’s sigh sounded long-suffering even to his own ears, “Just Bruce,” he repeated. “My life was so boring until I met you.”

Max grinned at him, “You’re welcome.”

FIVE

Lark whistled as he made his way out of the bathroom in the gym. He had just showered the sweat from his body after indulging in a dance session.An extended dance session, he thought, a little smugly, looking toward Ivy who was already showered and dressed and sitting on a bench waiting for him. He winked at her, preparing to push his arms through the sleeves of his black tee. Ivy’s answering smile was slow and hot, as if she too were remembering their workout. He puffed out his chest a little, inordinately proud of how he had put his flexibility to good use.

The door banging behind him had Ivy up off the seat, sickle in hand in the blink of an eye. Almost immediately, she relaxed, sitting back down and Lark knew Beyden must be behind him. Although Ivy was making good progress with the other members of the household, some discomfort and hesitancy remained. Lark wasn’t worried. Time would ensure Ivy became a part of the team – a part of thefamily.

“Hey, man,” Lark turned and smiled before tugging his shirt on leisurely. Beyden was one of the few who had seen the myriad of scars crisscrossing his back. Not that it would have mattered if it were anyone else. Lark was pretty sure he was over hiding the evidence of his brutal childhood from his new family. He had always told himself he had no real problem with the scars – that he wasn’t embarrassed or shamed by them. The only reason he hid them was to spare his friends feeling any discomfort or awkwardness. But now that he had Ivy and she spent a good portion of every night caressing, licking, and kissing his scars, he realised he had been hiding an important part of himself from his team. They already knew everything about him and they accepted and loved him just the way he was. And an integral part of making him the man he was today, was his upbringing. No – there would no longer be holding things back for the perceived sake of others. He knew they would hurt and rage for him but he also knew he would not see embarrassed gazes or uncomfortable shuffling. Ivy had proven that and put those final fears to bed.

Beyden didn’t answer as he walked over swiftly. Lark was beginning to feel concerned when Beyden quickly swiped out his foot, hitting Lark’s ankles and bringing him crashing to the ground. Less than a second later, Lark found himself flat on his back with Beyden perched heavily on top of him.

“Dude! What the hell?!” He huffed, trying to push Beyden’s considerable bulk off his body.

“I thought we could have a chat, you and I,” the amber-eyed Spaniard said, casually making himself more comfortable upon Lark’s chest.

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