Dare to Love (19 page)

He traced the line of the chain and diamond drop hanging from her delicate neck, and her nipples puckered at his touch. He could have her on her back, hands gripping the headboard as he fucked her wearing nothing but his necklace.

He could. But that wasn’t what he wanted from her.

He shed his jacket then unbuttoned his shirt and dropped it to the floor. She reached out a hesitant hand, placing her palm over his heart. In that instant, he accepted that she owned him. He didn’t want to fuck her into submission, he wanted to make love to her. It seemed there were still firsts for him, after all.

With none-too-steady hands, he unbuttoned his pants and slid off his trousers and briefs, ridding himself of those as well. Then he lifted her up and dropped her in the center of the bed, coming down on top of her, his body aligning with hers.

He braced his hands on either side of her head. “I don’t want anything between us. I want to feel all of you when I slide inside your slick heat.”

Her eyes dilated at his graphic words.

“I’m on the pill, but I never have sex without protection,” she said.

He was disappointed, but he understood and reached for the nightstand drawer.

“I meant, I’ve never had sex without it before.”

Her words stopped his forward movement, and he came back to her, resuming his earlier position, his thick cock gliding over her feminine heat.

“I’m safe,” she continued. “And I know you wouldn’t be asking if you had any doubts about yourself.”

“I would never put you at risk.”

She nodded. “Then I don’t want anything between us either.”

He released a long-held breath. She’d given him a gift he didn’t take lightly. “I’ve never not used one before either,” he assured her.

“I know, Mr. Always in Control.” She grinned, her pretty blue eyes glittering with laughter.

“Minx.”

She wound her arms around him. “
Your
minx.”

He groaned at her words, raised himself up, settling his erection at her entrance. He watched her expression as he eased inside her by increments, not wanting to miss out on one second of this first time. As her body opened, accepting his thick length, taking him in, wet heat slowly enveloped him.

“Oh, Ian, I
feel
you,” she murmured in awe.

“I feel you too, baby.” And he hadn’t been prepared for the emotions flooding through him.

Oh hell, now he knew why they called it making love, he thought, gliding all the way home. So damned good, he thought, his entire body in sensory overload.

Her body clasped him tight, gripping him and connecting them body, heart, and soul. His heart slammed harder inside his chest, beating out a rapid rhythm, screaming ownership and possession of this woman who’d been different from the very first. He stilled, giving himself a second to catch his breath and calm the fuck down. If there’d been any lingering doubts or question of the depth of feelings she inspired, they were gone with this one act.

Before she questioned him, he collected his thoughts and began to move, gliding in and out of her slick sheath. She bent her knees and raised her hips, encouraging him, giving him more depth for each thrust. He picked up rhythm, and she moaned, arching into him each time he drove harder inside her.

Their bodies already had their own rhythm, but skin to skin, everything was elevated, bigger, more, including her cries of pleasure. Faster, harder. He broke into a sweat, braced his arms, and powered into her.

“Yes. Oh God, right there.” She arched again, and he made sure the head of his cock hit the same spot inside her.

“Come, baby. I’ve got you.”

Her body stilled and clenched, and she convulsed around him, crying out with each pump of his cock.

“Ian!” She screamed his name, triggering his own hard, fast release.

He came, spilling himself into her, opening his heart and gutting him at the same time.

*     *     *

Riley woke up because her stomach was grumbling. She rolled to find Ian watching her in amusement, his lips twitching with a grin.

“Something funny?” she asked.

“I like watching you sleep. Listening to you? Not so much.”

She punched him in the arm. “You made me leave the party before dinner,” she reminded him. “I’m starving. And craving ice cream.”

He rolled his eyes and laughed. “Luckily for you, I keep a stocked freezer for the girls. My sisters,” he added quickly when she raised her eyebrows in question.

“Feed me?” she asked.

He leaned over and kissed her hard on the lips. “Only because you asked so nicely.”

He slid out of bed, perfectly comfortable in his nudity, and headed for the kitchen, returning with a large tub of ice cream and one spoon. “Hope you like chocolate swirl.”

“Mmm. Works for me.” She scooted back in the bed, sitting up as he turned on the bedside lamp and settled in beside her.

“You’re not having any?” she asked, holding out her hand for the spoon.

He shook his head and laughed. “We’re sharing.”

“You’re a mean man, making me share my ice cream.”

Ignoring her complaint, he popped off the top and placed it on the nightstand before settling in beside her. He dug into the tub and held out the spoon for her to eat.

He fed her, alternating one for him and one for her until they’d had their fill. This was the most relaxed she’d ever seen him, and she understood that something had changed tonight.

Not something, she thought. Everything.

It was as if once she’d verbally committed to him, the walls he’d kept between them had crumbled. Her heart swelled with emotion and the knowledge that somehow she’d captured this man for her own.

The rest of the night continued the same way, with them holed up in his apartment, sharing food, making love, and shutting out the outside world.

Until Sunday morning, when Ian went downstairs and returned with the morning paper. He drank orange juice; she sipped her coffee. She was looking into the back of the sports section that completely covered his face from hers.

“So this is how it’s going to be now? You ignoring me for the morning paper? That didn’t take long,” she joked, reaching for another section of the paper to keep her busy while he read.

“This from the woman who can spend half an hour looking through the apps on her phone?” he asked lightly.

She grinned, still enjoying this lighter, happier Ian.

She flipped through the lifestyle section, pausing at a black-and-white photograph. “It’s us!”

The picture had been taken as they exited the limo, Ian obviously holding her protectively. She smiled at the stern expression on his face.

“You’re not upset this time?” he asked.

She shook her head. “It’s not like everyone doesn’t know about us now.”

She’d called Alex earlier this morning, as promised, and assured him that Ian wasn’t upset, things were good, and he no longer had to worry about her. Ian had been by her side, and she’d chosen her words deliberately, wanting him to know she meant what she’d promised him.

He would come first.

Her cell rang, and she glanced down. “Alex,” she murmured.

Ian met her gaze, his expression bland. Whether it was a controlled look or not, she appreciated how hard he was trying.

“I’m sure my sisters will be next once they’ve seen the paper. They love gossip,” he muttered.

She answered the call. “Hi, Alex,” she said into the phone.

“I take it you’ve seen the paper?” he asked.

“We’ve seen it.”

“I hope your father hasn’t. The last thing you need is to be a public spectacle, and that’s what being with Ian will do for you.”

She frowned. “Don’t start.”

Ian met her gaze with a hard one of his own.

“I have to go. I’ll talk to you soon.” When she hung up, she forced a smile. “He saw the picture. He’s worried it’ll provoke my father somehow.”

“There’s a simple solution for that.”

Wary now, she raised her eyebrows. “What would that be?”

“Move in here.”

And things had been going so well. Had she expected Ian to change overnight? As long as he was being reasonable and compromising, she reminded herself.

“That’s ridiculous. And premature.” She’d planned to go home tonight. To take a long bath in her own tub, to play her music, and to gather her thoughts about this intense, emotional weekend.

She rose and walked to the sink to rinse out her coffee cup.

He came up behind her and bracketed his big body around hers, pressing against her, his erection thick against her backside. “I agreed to be reasonable and to back off outside the bedroom, but not when it comes to your safety.”

“A couple of heavy-breathing calls and one phone message don’t mean I’m not safe.”

“You’re safer here. With me. And for once, I think Alex would agree with me.”

She turned, only to find her front pressed against his. “That may be true, but it doesn’t make you two right. He hasn’t threatened me.”

“Yet.”

“I need to go home tonight. We have work Monday, I need to get my clothes, and I already told you I can’t be seen coming to work with you in the mornings.” She eyed him warily, really hoping he wasn’t going to turn this into a fight.

He let out a frustrated groan. “Okay, answer this one question for me, and then we’ll decide together. Would you put it past your father to lay a hand on you?”

He had her, and she knew it. She hung her head, her shoulders dropping in defeat. “No.”

He braced his hands on her shoulders. “Listen to me. I’m not trying to run your life. I’m not even trying to get you to move in here just because it’s what I want.”

Her stomach did a flip at the admission.

“I’m doing it for your safety.”

“Never mind that you get what you want in the end.”

He grinned. “That’s just a side benefit. Can you deny that apartment building of yours is too easy to get into?”

“No.” She hated that he was right. Not because being here with Ian didn’t appeal to her but because it did. She wanted them together for the right reasons, when they were both ready.

Riley had spent too many years on her own, rebuilding her ego and her belief in herself after the time her father had spent tearing her down. Giving into Ian was something she’d prefer happened slowly, at her own comfort level. Instead, her bastard father was forcing her hand.

“Let me drive you back to your place. You can pack your things and follow me back here in your own car. Tomorrow morning, nobody will know where you’re arriving from.”

She blinked, startled at his concession. “I really thought—”

“I was pushing my own agenda,” he finished for her.

She averted her gaze, embarrassed. She figured he’d pulled the danger card and then she’d have no choice but to drive to the stadium with him, allowing him to put his stamp all over her at work.

“I may not have given you any reason to trust me, but I said I’d compromise. And I’m doing it.”

She heard the hurt in his tone. “You are. I’m sorry I’m such a bitch,” she said.

“As long as you’re
my
bitch.” He grinned, swatted her on the ass, and walked away, leaving her with her mouth open in surprise.

THIRTEEN

R
iley arrived at work on Monday morning to find Dylan wanted them to take a quick trip to Manhattan to check out a city hotel owned by the same company as the place in Phoenix. Forty-eight hours, in and out. She agreed to head home and pack.

She called Ian first, knowing he’d appreciate the gesture. Although he was in a meeting across town, he took her call immediately. He wasn’t pleased they’d be apart so soon after she’d moved in, but he didn’t ask her not to go or interfere. He couldn’t leave the meeting he was in and instead insisted she take a car service to her apartment, charge it to the company, and make sure the driver walked her up to her door and waited for her to return to the car. He didn’t want her alone.

She didn’t argue, not wanting to add pressure to his day. She already knew how difficult he found it to let her go on these trips, and she understood so much more now, especially since many of his father’s business trips had been a cover for time with Savannah and his
other
family.

While away, Riley made sure to call him often, and though her room was full of flowers, Dylan had no complaints about phone calls from Ian.

In other words, Ian was living up to his word. In return, she picked up souvenirs, silly things like a miniature Empire State Building and an
I Love NY
hat just to show Ian she thought of him too.

She arrived home Wednesday morning, heading straight from the airport to work.

Angie greeted her with a smile and her messages.

“You’re amazing,” Riley told the other woman.

“Thanks! Let me know if you need anything.”

“I will.”

“Oh! There’s a package for you on your desk,” Angie added.

“Got it!” Riley said as she entered her office.

She parked her small travel suitcase in the corner and flopped into her chair. “Home sweet home away from home,” she muttered, kicking off her shoes beneath her desk.