Page 102 of Candygrams

“We ain’t stopping, sweetheart. We might slow this down, drag it out to make the pleasure last but it’s too late to stop what’s going on. I can’t stop needing you, even if I wanted to. And I don’t think you can either.”

“But it’s not enough, Rip. The needing. What happens when that need goes away? When you find someone else you need more than me?”

“Sweetheart, when I don’t have you, it’s like I can’t think clearly, I can’t focus, I can’t even breathe. The time I was away from you…all I did was go through the motions. I was a fucking shadow. A shell. That kind of need doesn’t go away, Tandy. It doesn’t dampen or become less, baby. Yeah, it might change but that doesn’t mean it’s going to stop. I know you think I’m going to get bored or find someone else new and shiny but that’s not going to happen.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Baby, do you know why they call me Rip?”

“Because your name is Ripley.” I fight down a giggle thinking of Rip as anything but Rip.

“Because when I want something, when it’s important to me, I’d rip a motherfucker apart to get it and keep it. And I always keep what I go after. I would come for you even if you never feel about me the same way I feel about you, I’d still take care of you, be there for you, and try every day to make you fall in love with me.”

Whoa! What now?

My mind shuts down and I have to blink a couple of times before I can think again. Did he just imply…?

“Are you saying what you think I want to hear?”

“I’m saying…what I’m feeling right now, what I feel for you every time I look at you, every time you tell me no or that I’m wrong, every time you smile and laugh, every single fucking day. And it’s alright that you don’t feel the same way I do. All I’m asking is for you to give me a chance.”

“You…how do you feel about me? I need to know. And I need you to say it plainly.”

“I love you, Tandy. I love you and I love who you are, and who you will become. I love how smart you are, how sweet and kind. I love how you are with your family and especially with your younger relatives. I love you and I really want this to work between me and you. I want it -need it- so badly I’m going to put in the work, whatever it takes, to make you realize, to make you understand, how I feel about you.”

“Why? Why me? You…you could have anybody you wanted.”

“So could you, baby.” I try to pull back, but I’m trapped between the bed and the solid chest pressing against me. I'm not going anywhere. “You don’t even realize but every mother fucker who's seen you has had to be threatened off you.”

“Yeah right.” Now I know he’s just bullshitting me.

“You know that first day you came to practice and sat in the stands?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you remember how I sacked Banner that day?” I nod for him. I remember he nearly killed him and even the coach was wondering what the hell happened. I heard some of the other guys talking about how odd it was as they were leaving the field. “It’s because he was going to ask you out. Fucker was talking about how sexy you were. He’s lucky I stopped when I did.”

“What? No. I’m sure…it was just to get under your skin.”

“Baby, any one of those bastards would give an organ just to be with you.”

His eyes sweep over me, all the way down to where he is lying between my legs, and I start to believe him. Slightly. Does he really think I’m…sexy? Is this really happening? Or do I just want it so badly I will believe anything if it lines up with what I so desperately want? Am I delusional because I want Rip so fucking badly?

Chapter Twenty-Three

Rip

“You’ve got to realize how many people I’ve had to tell to fuck off, baby. You have that good girl look that makes a man want to find out if he can make you bad. That sweet-as-candy personality that begs a man to see if he can make you melt.”

I look down at the soft mounds that tempt me so sweetly under her sweater and my mouth starts watering. I’ve only brushed against the underside of them while we talked because I want her to be clear-headed, but I want my mouth on her. I want my head to rest there when I lie down at night. I want to wake up to the sound of her heart beating just under my ear. But I’m pretty sure I’m too heavy for that so instead I’m going to wrap her in my arms and hold her to my heart every night. All of that might sound cheesy but it’s also completely true.

“That…I’m sexy? Oh yeah, this shapeless sweater I’m rocking and the bags under my eyes are super sexy. Or how about the messy bun? Is it the messy bun that’s doing it for you?”

I let out a growl and nip at her ear.

“That knot on the top of your head only makes me think of taking it down and running my fingers through it, or how your hair will look after I spent all night fucking you. And I hate to tell you sweetheart, but you are going to need a bigger sweater if you want it to be shapeless because I have been checking out these amazing tits you have under here from the time I first saw you in it. Shapeless they are not.”

I run my hands up under the sweater in question, pull it over her head, and toss it behind me. Her tank underneath is white, and I can make out the outline of her hard nipples as they grow even harder under my stare.

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