Page 104 of Point of Contention

A house in the countryside and vacations in the South of France.

I wanted it all, the whole fucking thing.

I hadn’t even realized I wanted those things, had never dared to acknowledge them. I’d never allowed any of my alliances to blossom into anything more, never let a woman into my life the way I’d let Rylan in.

Hell, she’d practically pushed down the door.

Before her, my life was consumed with Reed Publishing—from continuing my mother’s vision to building the kind of household name that would withstand the test of time—my eyes had always been on the prize.

And now, as Reed Enterprises hung in the balance, my future at the helm teetering on a frayed tightrope, theprizeshould be securing my position. Taking over my father’s empire. My eyes should be securely focused on stepping into the old man’s shoes and ruling a kingdom I deserved to inherit.

Yet all I could think about was spending the rest of my life in bed, tangled up in the sheets with Rylan.

It was dangerous, the way I felt about her. The way she made me want something else.

Somethingmore.

It was a threat to my very future, and yet I was unable to ignore it.

Beside me, Rylan stirred, stretching her arms—

“Ah,” she moaned, then sucked in a breath, the sound muffled against the pillow.

I turned onto my side and propped my head on my hand to look down at her. Bathed in the soft purple light of dawn, the sight of her stole my breath. The pale skin of her ass was mottled with redness and bruising from our time in the Rabbit Hole last night. Branded.

Claimed.

She rolled over slowly, her face pinched with discomfort, but as she settled onto her side facing me, she opened her eyes and smiled. “I’m sore.”

“Yeah,” I said, inching closer to her. “Bruising can be significantly worse on day two.”

“Mm,” she hummed, then stretched out along the length of me. My gaze flicked between the teardrop at her throat and her sleepy gaze, the similarity in color truly impressive. She draped her arm over my waist and trailed her fingertips over my back, then down my side to my hip. Stopping at my hip bone, she spider-walked her fingers down until she could wrap them around my cock, then she gave it a slow, lazy stroke and it jumped in her hand.

I sucked in a breath as she tightened her grip and pumped her fist again.

“Good morning,” she murmured.

“Good morning, yourself.”

“It feels early.”

“It is.”

She frowned. “Why are we awake?”

“So you can do that.” I motioned to my cock between us, swelling in her hand.

“Mm.” She nodded. “Fair enough.”

I rolled onto my back and folded my hands behind my head. “I have a meeting today. Early, because of time zones.”

“How are things going at work?” She eased her hand over the head, curling it around in a slow circle, then stroked back down the length of me.

I grunted as she squeezed. “Do you want the quick answer or the honest answer?”

“Honest.” She sat up slowly, wincing as she jostled the bruises on her ass, then she climbed on top of me and settled herself over my cock. She rocked her hips, sliding her folds over my length, moaning at the friction she created between us.

Closing my eyes, I admitted, “I’m dangerously close to losing Reed Enterprises.”

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