Page 103 of Easy Reunion
“You were you,” I tell him. Tipping my head back, I give him my whole heart. “Then and now.”
Beneath the morning sky, I hold on as Ry lowers his head and plucks random kisses from my lips, knowing this won’t solve everything buried in his soul. But maybe, just maybe, he’ll take it with him to remember during the nights when he’s away from me.
“I love you, Kels.” His voice is hoarse. “But I think it’s time for you to lose this dress.” My breath catches as Ry smooths his hands up my hips, over my ribs, lifting my dress with him. Within seconds, he whips my dress away from my body, leaving me clad in only a gray lace demi-bra and matching thong.
Pulling back just a bit, Ry moves his hand down my arm and catches the edge of the strap beneath his finger. Dragging the strap down as far as it will go, the cup is barely staying up only by the swirling lace along the edges, catching against my rigid nipple. “Pretty. If you want to keep it that way, take it off,” Ry rasps.
My nipples tighten even further at the veiled threat. Reaching behind me, I flick the clasp before I slowly let the other strap slide off my shoulder. My lips part as I hear the low growl from the back of his throat.
“Let me see.”
I thrust my shoulders back even as I roll them to force the cups from clinging to nipples now aching for Ry’s touch, his lips. Without breaking his gaze, I pull it off one arm before casually tossing it to the side of the bed. “Anything else you want gone?”
Snap. Stunned, I helplessly glance down at the matching thong Ry’s torn as he pulls it from between my spread thighs. “I don’t want to waste precious time, not when I’ve been doing that for weeks,” he explains.
I feel my breath escape me as I catch the bold, unapologetic expression on his face. “If there were a way for you to repeat that move on less-expensive underwear, I’d appreciate it. You tend to tear apart the most expensive pairs,” I tell him tartly, not at all upset.
Judging by the bland tone he uses to reply, he doesn’t give a damn. “So noted,” he says, right before he pulls one of my nipples deep into his mouth. The firm tip is lashed with his tongue, back and forth.
I hold his head close, but not too close. I don’t ever want him to feel trapped where he can’t break away.Have I ever done that before?I think in a panic.
Suddenly I’m on my back, and he’s on top of me, pushing his hips against mine. God, the feel of his cock nestling against my pussy just makes it ready. I’m incoherent with pleasure when a hoarse scream is torn from me as Ry sheaths himself fully inside of me. The full, heavy length of his cock enters me in one thrust, triggering all of my inner muscles to clamp down on him. “Oh, God.”
“Don’t you dare think about anything else when I’m loving you.” He angles his hips back and pushes back into me again. And again. “Only this.” He pushes against me, grinding against my clit.
I don’t reply. I can’t. I’m too busy thrashing beneath the sexual onslaught. Over and over again, Ry pistons into me, erasing weeks of doubt and replacing it with pleasure. But I don’t go over until Ry’s lips cover mine. We’re fighting to breathe, our eyes firmly locked on each other when the overwhelming pleasure begins to race over my skin. It burns throughout every inch of me that’s connected to Ry. From the hair he’s pulling, to the tips of my toes that are digging into the back of his thighs, everything is on fire.
Slowly, we begin to sip at each other’s lips as we both come down from the high we flew to. “The only thing I want is you. Nothing will cause that to change, Kelsey.” He swallows before ducking his head and brushing a kiss against my shoulder. “Knowing you’re here with me means I can go do what has to be done and come back whole.”
“Ry,” I begin, hesitant to bring up the promise I wrung from him from last night but knowing we don’t have much time.
It turns out I don’t have to. Pushing his lips against the pulse in my neck, he whispers, “I promised, baby. Just…bear with me. There’s going to be days I’m going to come home after laying things out and not be able to see through the exhaustion of doing so.”
Tears prick my closed lids, but I refuse to let them escape. Turning my head, I stare into the glorious sunlight as it streams into the windows. I’m blind, but at least the rapid blinking has dried my eyes so when I face the man I love beyond a shadow of a doubt, my face is smooth. “As long as you promise me that if you need me for any reason, you’ll ask me to be with you. Anywhere.”
“Even Savannah?” he asks with a touch of amusement. But I don’t have it in me to joke.
“I’d walk there if I had to,” I tell him in all seriousness. “I’d march down Calhoun Square and up the steps of Forsyth to get to you if need be.”
And somehow I know I would find the strength to do so when he rolls to his back, buries his head in my shoulder, and finally cries.
* * *
Hours later in bed,Ry’s clinging to me as he dozes. Nightmares chase him where I can’t go. This is precisely what I fear. As the day went on, he quietly became more distant as we got ready for bed.
My mind is too full to relax even though it might be the last time I get any real rest until he comes home. Instead, it’s my turn to stare up at the coffered ceiling. I need to take my pain and anger out on my characters, but only the realization that I’ll wake Ry keeps me from slipping from bed to do just that. I’m practically vibrating with my fury, but harnessing my energy to heal Ry? That’s what matters now, I think firmly.
With that, I begin to tremble; Ry knows how I feel. The real challenge is going to be transforming his perspectives about himself.
Because if he doesn’t understand that none of this was his fault, I fear he’ll never be free from the pain licking at his soul.
