Chapter 32: Chapter Thirty-Two

Madison fought to catch her breath as Ryder slowly peeled his fingers from in between hers and pushed himself off her. He rolled onto his back and draped his arm above his hand, his chest heaving just as hard as hers.

“Holy shit,” she said with a soft laugh.

That was the most intense sex she’d ever had in her life. Her body still tingled, and she wouldn’t tell him no if he wanted to go for round two right now. Though, she wouldn’t object to a few minutes of rest, either.

“No kidding,” he said, breathless. Then, he eased out of bed and sauntered into the bathroom.

God, he had a great ass. Everything about him was perfection. When he reappeared a moment later, the condom was gone, but Ryder was still naked, save for the hungry smile he wore for her. Crawling on the bed, he captured her lips in a passionate kiss that fried her ability to form a coherent thought.

“So, who won?” he asked, a wicked glint in his eyes. “Did I prove that I can finish what I start?”

“It wasn’t bad,” she said, failing miserably to hide her grin.

“Not bad?” He laughed. “Do I need to try again?”

Her body instinctively moved in an effort to get closer to him, and she snaked her arms around his neck. “Give me a few minutes.”

“Mm-hmm. That’s what I thought.” He winked, placed a lingering kiss to her lips, then moved to climb beneath the blankets.

She wasted no time curling up next to him, head on his chest. Being with him like this was so right, and she’d stay here like this forever if she could. “So, we have to be at my parents tomorrow at six for dinner,” she said.

“Okay.” He trailed his fingers up and down her arm, leaving goose bumps in his wake. “Speaking of dinner… Will you go with me Sunday night? My brothers and their girlfriends will be there, and possibly a couple of their friends.”

“Yes,” she said without hesitation.

“Madison,” he said firmly, and her heart sank.

“What?” She kept perfectly still, not wanting to move for fear that they were on the brink of an argument that would end with one of them sleeping on the couch. And, she was too scared to see whatever might be in his expression.

He placed his hand under her chin and tilted her head. So much for not looking at him. “I want you to go with me because you want to. Not as a pity date, and not because you feel like you owe me.” His gaze was intense and unflinching.

“I want to go with you,” she whispered. She’d never wanted anything more in her life, and that was a terrifying realization.

Brushing hair from her face, he caressed her cheek. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. She’d never know a man who could be as gentle as Ryder. Even when they were going at it hard, he still managed to touch her with a tenderness that blew her mind.

Madison cleared her throat and pulled away from his touch. She sat with her back against the headboard, the sheet blankets tucked around her body. “We need to get our story straight,” she said, needing the distraction from her thoughts. “Heather asked me a bunch of questions tonight that I had no idea how to answer. How we met. How long we’ve been together. How and where you proposed. I was able to deflect, but I’m sure other people will ask the same things.”

“You didn’t tell her anything?” he asked.

“I told her the truth about how we met, that I dropped a book on your head, but that was it.” Madison twisted the ring around on her finger, loving the way the diamonds caught the light. She hoped whenever she did get engaged for real, her fiancé would buy her something equally as beautiful.

Ryder sat up, reached over and took her hand, nudging the ring with his thumb. “You really like this, don’t you?”

“Well, it is pretty. And shiny,” she said.

He laughed. “It really does look good on you.” His voice was low and raspy, and a shiver wiggled down her spine.

Slowly, she turned her head to meet his gaze, and her breath caught. There was no humor in his expression, no teasing. Just pure truth. And a hell of a lot of desire. “Whoever ends up getting this ring for real is going to be one very lucky woman,” she said, slipping her hand from his.

“One year,” he said.

“What?”

“How long we’ve been together. One year.” He shrugged. “That’s believable, right?”

“I guess.” She once again fidgeted the ring. It was becoming an unconscious habit.

He draped his arm around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder. “If you could tell a guy exactly how to propose to you, what would you tell him? What’s your dream proposal?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about it,” she said.

“Oh, come on. Every girl thinks about this. You have to have some idea of how you’d want it to happen,” he said. His fingers flitted up and down her back, and he pressed a tender kiss to her forehead.

“I’d want something simple. Just me and him. Something intimate and personal. He’d totally surprise me, of course, and he’d speak from his heart about how much he loves me and can’t imagine his life without me. He’d make it impossible for me to say no.” She sighed and snuggled closer.

He tightened his arm around her. “Then that’s exactly what we’ll tell people.”

“Okay,” she said, her voice raw from the surge of emotion threatening to bring tears to her eyes. “What about you? How would you propose to the woman you wanted to marry?”

He was silent for several long moments, and she risked a glance up at him. His eyes were dark, and his expression was twisted with concentration. “I guess that depends on the woman I’m proposing to. I’d do something that I knew would make her happy, something that would make it impossible for her to say no.”

She playfully nudged him, and he chuckled. “Are you spending the day with your brothers tomorrow?”

“Yeah, Xander made plans. But I’ll be back in time for dinner with your parents.”

“I’m going shopping with Heather. I need to buy some new clothes. My stepmother will throw a fit if I show up at her house wearing anything I packed.”

“I’ll make sure to get a suit tomorrow,” he said around a yawn. “I’ll need one for the wedding, too.”

Pressing gently against his stomach, she pushed herself up so she was face to face with him. “Thank you for doing all of this for me,” she whispered.

“You’re welcome.”

And that was all he said. No jokes or teasing or demands for any type of repayment. Ryder Collins was the embodiment of perfection, inside and out, and if she didn’t find the courage to tell him how she really felt about him, she’d end up losing him.

Gaze locked with his, she brushed her lips over his, and he let out a throaty groan. The sound enveloped her, and she moved the blankets enough so she could straddle him. His cock twitched beneath her, and lust pooled between her legs.

“I want you, Ryder,” she mumbled against his lips and rotated her hips, causing his dick to become instantly hard.

“Then take me.” His tone was demanding in a sexy, take charge sort of way. “Because I’m all yours, Madison.”

Damn right he was, and she was going to make sure he didn’t forget that.

****

Madison stood by the bed and watched Ryder sleep. He was on his stomach, blanket barely covering his bare ass. Her gaze lingered on the indentation on his lower back before slowly roaming back up to his face. He looked so peaceful, and she hated to wake him, but she didn’t want to leave without telling him, either.

Sighing, she sat on the edge of the bed. “Ryder,” she whispered, rubbing her hand along his bare arm.

“Hmm.” He snuggled deeper into the pillow.

She leaned down and brushed her lips over his cheek. “Ryder.” She moved to kiss his temple. “Hey, I have to go.”

“What?” He flopped over onto his back. “You’re leaving?”

“Yeah, Heather’s on her way to pick me up. I told you last night I was going to spend the day with her, remember?”

He rubbed his face and yawned. Then he reached for her. She kneeled on the mattress but refused to get any closer because if she did, she’d end up just as naked as he was. And she did not have time for that.

“How long before she gets here?” he asked, his voice thick with sleep and incredibly husky.

The sound grated on her like soft velvet. She suppressed a shiver. “Ten minutes,” she said, raking her fingers through his messy hair.

He groaned, his eyes momentarily closing. “I can work with that,” he said, and then, before she could react, he yanked her down onto the bed with him. Flat on her back, he positioned himself half on her, half on the mattress, and there was no mistaking his intentions. His erection poked against her leg, his flesh thick and hot and ready for her.

She opened her mouth to protest, but he silenced her when his tongue eased between her lips, stealing her breath with a kiss. Arching into him, she brushed her fingers across the back of his neck, eliciting a deeper groan from him. Would she ever get tired of hearing him do that? She doubted it.

“Ryder. I don’t have time for this. Heather will be here any minute,” she said with very little conviction. She didn’t want to leave any more than he wanted her to.

Seeming to ignore her protest, he dragged his lips across her jaw until he reached that spot behind her ear. “If you want me to let you go, I will,” he said, his voice even huskier now.

She moaned and tilted her head.

He smiled against her neck. “That’s what I thought.”

With a deep breath, she attempted to wiggle away enough to get some space so she could think clearly. “Ryder.” She laughed. “C’mon. You know we don’t have time for this.”

He moved his mouth back to hers, and then he quickly flicked open the button on her shorts. A second later, his hand slipped down the front of her shorts and into her panties. He applied exactly the right amount of pressure to her clit, and then began a torturous tease of tiny circles between her lips.

All it took was one touch to make her admit defeat. She gasped and spread her legs wider to better accommodate him.

“So wet,” he groaned low at her ear, then nipped at her lobe.

She reached between them and wrapped her hand around his cock. His hips jerked forward, and he moaned like her touch was the best thing in the entire world. “We have to be quick,” she said, her breaths coming harder and faster.

“Madison, honey.” He peered down at her. “You literally have your hand wrapped around my dick right now. You can feel how hard I am. You really think this is going to take long?”

Smiling, she squeezed his shaft, then released him. Since they’d started sharing a bed, he woke up hard every morning without fail, and since they’d started having sex, they’d put his early morning erections to good use. She’d been crazy to think this morning would be any different.

Grabbing the waist of her shorts and panties, she wiggled out of them. She’d barely gotten them off when her phone rang. Ryder raised a brow, waiting to see what she’d do. Madison fumbled to get her phone and answered it.

“Hey, Heather. I’m sorry. I overslept this morning. I’m gonna need like, fifteen minutes. Just wait for me in the lobby.” She ended the call and dropped her phone to the floor. “Clock’s ticking,” she said to Ryder.

With a sexy, challenging grin, he climbed on top of her, spread her legs with his knees, and then easily slid into her. She flung her head back and welcomed him inside of her. Their combined moans of pleasure echoed around her, a perfect song to the feelings tearing through her. Every time he touched her or kissed her or smiled in that way that said they knew things no one else did, she fell for him a little harder.

Ryder crushed her mouth with a kiss that was as fervent as his thrusts. She trailed her hands across his shoulders and down his muscular arms, loving how they rippled with the effort of holding himself above her.

“Fuck,” he groaned. “I’m so close.”

She could feel him swelling inside of her, and she instinctively tightened around his cock. There was nothing hotter than Ryder when he was in the throes of passion, that moment right before he came.

Then, he suddenly shifted, putting his weight into his left forearm and reaching between their bodies with his right hand. He rubbed her clit as furiously as he slammed into her.

“Oh, God. Ryder!” she cried out, unashamed. Her hips bucked, and her body writhed from the overload of sensations.

“Come for me, baby. Please,” he begged. “I’m not gonna last much longer.”

And she gave him exactly what he wanted, too. Every muscle in her body tensed, her face went numb, her toes literally curled, and then she plunged over the edge. Her moan was low and wailing as she came harder than she ever had in her life.

A moment later, Ryder jerked against her, his grunts bordering on painful as he came inside of her. He gave one final push, completely burying himself, and then he stilled. He dropped his head to her shoulder, and she stroked the nape of his neck.

“You completely unravel me, Madison,” he said in between gasps for breath. “All it takes is one touch, and I lose my damn mind.”

“Is that a bad thing?” she asked.

“It is when I get so caught up in you that I keep forgetting to wear a condom.” He pushed himself off her enough to gaze down at her. “I’m sorry. I promise I’ll be more aware next time.”

“It’s okay, Ryder. I’m on birth control, and I haven’t been with anyone in a very long time, so I’m clean.” If he only knew a “very long time” meant literal years… “Besides,” she said with a shrug. “I kinda like how you feel inside of me without a condom.”

“Kinda?” he asked around a laugh. “Guess I need to try a little harder.” He winked, eased out of her, then rolled onto his back.

Madison’s cell phone rang again, and she laughed. “Heather’s gonna kill me.” She got out of bed, snatched her shorts and panties from the floor, and rushed into the bathroom before Ryder could talk her into getting back into bed with him.

She did her business, put her clothes back on, fixed her hair, then returned to the room. Ryder was no longer in bed. He now stood near the coffee pot, back to her. He’d put on a pair of boxers. She moved in behind him, slid her arms around his stomach, and peppered his back with tiny kisses.

“That’s not going to get you out of this room any quicker,” he said, glancing at her over his shoulder with a wicked grin. He turned and wrapped his arms around her.

She sighed with contentment and rested her cheek on his chest. “I know. I really should go before she gets too mad at me. I’ll be back later.”

“Promise?” He caressed her cheek with his thumb, that familiar look of desire burning in his eyes.

“Promise.” She licked her lips, then gave him another kiss. “Probably around four-thirty so we both have time to get ready and head over to my parents.”

“Okay.”

She released him and took a step back, knowing if she didn’t put some distance between them, she’d be tempted to shed her clothes and climb back into bed with him. She gazed at him, wondering how the hell she’d managed to get a guy like him interested in her.

Her stomach twisted and butterflies flitted in her chest. Did she really need to go shopping with Heather? Couldn’t she just stay here with Ryder? The feel of her cell phone buzzing in her pocket was the only answer she needed.

“Have fun today,” Ryder said.

“You, too, but not too much.” She laughed. “No strippers.” She pointed at him, trying to give him a stern look, but her mouth twitched into a smile.

“Trust me, you don’t have to worry about that.”

With a nod, she walked out of the room. Her heart was heavy as she took the elevator down to the lobby. Spending the day in bed with Ryder was a hundred times more enticing than shopping with Heather. But she’d made the trip home specifically for Heather’s wedding, and Madison couldn’t ignore her cousin.

Stepping out of the elevator, Madison walked toward the lobby. Heather sat in one of the large, comfortable armchairs. When she saw Madison, she stood and smiled. “Hey! I was starting to wonder if you were going to ditch me.”

“Sorry. I was up late last night. Overslept this morning.” She forced a yawn.

Heather tilted her head, grinning. “You were totally having sex this morning, weren’t you? That’s why you’re late.” She laughed.

Madison rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide her smile.

“So, where is he?” Heather rose up on her tiptoes and glanced around. “I thought for sure I’d get to meet him this morning.”

“He’s still in bed.”

“Mm-hmm.” Heather’s tone dripped with disbelief. “I’m starting to think this guy isn’t real.”

Madison playfully shoved her cousin. “Oh, he’s real. Trust me.”

“Well, at least I’ll get to meet him at dinner tonight. I was shocked when Gina called to invite me and Will, and I was going to say no, but Mom insisted I had to go.”

“What?” Madison said a little too loudly. “You and Will are having dinner at my parents tonight, too?” Her stomach knotted.

What were her father and stepmom up to? Why had they suddenly decided to invite Heather and Will? And why hadn’t her stepmother bothered to tell Madison? It was bad enough Ryder had to meet her parents, but now he had to meet her ex, too? At least at the wedding, Will would be too occupied to bother with her or Ryder. She needed to warn him, give him the chance to back out.