Seized by Love (Love in Bloom: The Ryders, Book 1): Blue Ryder (26 page)

“Look at the numbers. It’s all in there. I earn a lot from the show. I’d have to take on a second career to earn that much.” She felt weird knowing that he was going to see how closely she tracked all of the information. At first she’d tracked the views and income just to see if there was a pattern, but then she’d begun picking apart the shows and sort of obsessing over it, tweaking each episode to the point where she could expect a little bump with each one. She worried that he might think she cared about it for the wrong reasons. The show had become such a big part of her life that she
did
care about it doing well.
For Maddy
. It was all for Maddy. “I’m going to wait upstairs.”

She left him poring over the ledgers. He came up a short while later with the ledgers under one arm and sat beside her on the couch. He laced their fingers together and brought hers to his lips for another tender kiss.

“May I sit with you while I finish? If we’re going to be in this together, I have a few questions.”

She nodded, hoping the questions weren’t going to be too painful. He leafed through the ledgers, asking questions about statistics and how she’d come up with a few of the ideas she’d had to boost views. He went through the books for a long while, and when he finally set them aside, he rubbed the back of his neck with a serious look in his eyes.

“Lizzie, you’ve created a viable business, not just a webcast,” he said with a look of incredulity.

“Enough to help Maddy, at least.” She leaned back and pulled her legs up on the couch beside her.

He picked up the financial and stats ledgers and set them on his lap again, motioning for her to come closer.

“You’ve tracked and evaluated everything, from the best times to broadcast to the types of things that increase your ratings—facial expressions, comments, and hand movements.” He flipped through a few pages and pointed to one of the graphs she’d created. “You’ve stripped down your shows minute by minute, evaluating every last thing and equating it to dollars and cents.”

She felt her cheeks flush. “I’m a little anal. I guess my business and marketing degree paid off after all, huh?”

“Babe, you’re brilliant.” He flashed a flirty grin that made her heart soar. “As far as anal goes, well, we can explore that later.”

She gave him a playful shove, and he laughed, pulling her into a hug that filled her with relief. Maybe they really would get through this together.

“I don’t know for sure, but I’d bet you could sell the rights to your show for more than you can make over the next two years by continuing to do it yourself.”

“No way.” She laughed. “Talk about a pipe dream. It’s a rinky-dink little webcast.”

“No, it’s not a rinky-dink little anything. If it is an option, would you want to consider it? If you could get the money you need for Maddy? It would obviously give me peace of mind, knowing Maddy was taken care of and you weren’t putting yourself out there nearly naked, but I don’t want you to walk away from this because of me.” He searched her eyes, and she knew he’d see the hope she felt swelling in her heart.

“You’re serious? If that’s really an option, I would do it in a heartbeat. Every time I do a show, I hope it’s the one that will make enough money for me to stop. Do you really think it’s worth a shot?”

“I think it’s worth taking it to Duke, who knows more about valuing businesses than anyone I know. If anyone can figure this out, he can. And he can clue us in on behind-the-scenes stuff that we’d—
you’d
—need to consider.”

She squeezed his hand. “
We
. I like
we
better.” Inhaling a breath full of renewed hope for more things than she cared to take stock of for fear of jinxing them, she said, “But what if it doesn’t work? I can’t lose you twice, Blue. That would be too hard. I need to know that if we can’t figure this out, then you’ll still want to be with me even if I continue doing the webcast, because I’m not going to stop if this doesn’t work. Otherwise—”

He tugged her in close, and she felt the beat of his heart, sure and steady, against her own. “I’m not losing you again, Lizzie. I may not like knowing half a million guys are ogling you, but that’s
my
issue. And it’s something I’ll work on. Make no mistake about how much I want to be with you. I adore you. This is just a test of strength, for both of us. I’ll support whatever you decide, one hundred percent.”

He pulled back, and his eyes turned serious. “What I care most about is that from here forward, there are no secrets between us. Because when you first told me, I felt like I’d been betrayed, like I was reliving Sarah Jane all over again.”

His confession stung, but she understood his feeling of betrayal and pushed past her own pain to explain. “I never meant to hurt you. I wanted to tell you, but selfishly, I wanted more time with you before I did.”

“I know, babe. Don’t you see? It really was—is—my issue, and I understand that now. Yes, you probably should have told me sooner, but either way, my pride got in the way. I’m sorry I reacted so harshly, and I know you could never be that type of person. You’re an incredibly unselfish woman who does for others at her own expense. I was a little slow on the uptake. Not only do I see things more clearly now, but I’m in awe of you and the selfless things you do.”

Lizzie dropped her eyes, feeling unworthy of such a compliment. Blue lifted her chin as he’d done so many times before, his eyes boring into her.

“I’ve honestly never met a person who does so much for others, and I’m sure I’ve only witnessed a small part of your generosity. This whole thing might have started as something you did to dig yourself out of debt, but how much of yourself have you put into this for Maddy? How much of your life have you put on hold in order to do it? That’s inspiring, regardless of what you’re wearing—or
not
wearing,” he said with another teasing smile.

When his lips touched hers, the defenses she’d been clinging to for so long subsided, and a powerful sense of relief swept through her. She clung to that relief, and to Blue, as they kissed their differences away and he loved the doubt right out of her.

SUN STREAKED THROUGH the curtains in Lizzie’s bedroom, casting a hint of warmth across Blue’s legs. Even with all the turmoil of the last two days, he had no doubt about his feelings for Lizzie. They were both learning, trying, and yes, it was painful and difficult. The situation between them tested everything Blue had always believed about love and loyalty. But it also made perfectly clear how deeply he loved her and that he would do anything and everything to prove to her that he was with her for the long haul.

The sadness in Lizzie’s eyes last night had destroyed him, and he’d wanted to drive straight to her parents’ house and shake some sense into her father—but Lizzie needed him more than her father needed a swift eye opener. Lizzie was the same person he’d raised—all the morals and ethics he’d taught her were soundly ingrained, which was precisely why she was doing the webcast. Hopefully her father would figure out how incredible his daughter was and come around quickly.

He turned onto his side and wrapped an arm around her, tugging her in closer.

“How’s my girl?” He kissed her cheek.

“Mm, better now.” She turned to face him. Her half-lidded eyes were sleepy and sexy, with an undercurrent of worry. “Are we okay? I mean, really okay?”

“We are.” He pressed his lips to hers. “We hit a rough patch, but we made it through.”

A sweet smile spread across her lips as the worry slipped away. “
A rough patch
that kinda sucked.”

“It more than sucked, but we’re not going there anymore.”

She pressed her lips to the center of his chest, sending a shock of arousal through him. “I like the sound of that.”

Her hands played over his chest, and the sensual look of seduction in her eyes awakened every inch of his body. The edges of her lips curved up as she brought her tongue to his nipple, sending heat thrumming through him.

“Mm, you like that,” she said playfully, dropping one hand between his legs and stroking his hard length. Her lips blazed a path down the center of his stomach as she clutched his hips, outlining each of the muscles on his abs with her tongue and driving him out of his mind.

“Wish I had whipped cream,” she said in a husky voice as she lifted her eyes to his.

“That can be arranged.”

Their gazes held hot and heady as she dragged her tongue up his eager arousal, swirling her tongue over the wide crown and licking the bead at the top with a lustful moan. Blue fisted his hands in the sheets to keep from taking her in his arms and burying himself deep inside her.

She lowered her mouth and took him in deep, drawing a groan from his lungs. She stroked and sucked, licked and taunted, then pressed her hands flat against his inner thighs as she swallowed every inch of him, taking him right up to the edge of release.

“Lizzie—”

He shifted up on the pillow, watching her as she loved him with her hand and mouth. It was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. His adrenaline spiked as she tightened her fingers around his shaft and did something with her tongue that shattered his self-control. He had to have her
now
. He lifted her more roughly than he’d intended and lowered her onto his throbbing erection.

“Ah, Lizzie,” he ground out. “You feel so good.”

She was slick with need. He was hard as steel. When he took her breast in his mouth, her head tipped back with a moan, and the tiny gasps and sexy sounds she made nearly did him in. With one arm around her waist, he shifted her beneath him so he could take her harder, deeper. His hand slid to her hips, gripping her so tightly he worried she’d bruise, but when he loosened his hold, she pressed on his hands.

“Harder. It feels so good,” she pleaded, heightening his arousal.

Their bodies moved together, thrust after glorious thrust. He felt her legs tense as she clawed at the mattress, and urgency overtook him, quickening his pace, deepening his thrusts. Her eyes came open and the world fell away. He was lost in the feel of her lush curves, the breathy sound of her voice as she cried out his name, the pulsing of her heat around his shaft. Her nails dragged over his back, marking him with exquisite pain. He’d been lost to her since the very first moment he saw her, and now the blissful look on her face, the flush of her skin caused by their love, sent him spiraling into ecstasy as they rode the peak of their heat. He’d never felt so alive, so in love, and as his mouth captured hers, he knew that all he ever wanted—all he ever needed—was right here in his arms.

***

EVEN WITH BLUE above her, all his muscles glistening with their deliciously earned sweat, a gratified smile on his lips, and the look of love in his gorgeous blue eyes, Lizzie still wanted more. More of his strength, more of his love, more of
him
.

She still had a few minutes before she had to get ready for the day, and as he lowered his lips to hers, she could think of no better way to spend it than making love with him again. His chest pressed against hers as their tongues fell back into their hungry rhythm—and then reality clawed its way into her head and she realized she’d forgotten to edit the webcast that was supposed to run today.

Her eyes flew open. “Oh no,” she said into his mouth.

“That’s not exactly the reaction I was hoping for.”

“I forgot to edit today’s video, and I have to be at work in forty minutes to meet the supplier.” She wiggled out from under him. “I’m so sorry. I want to make love with you again and again, but…” She pushed to the edge of the bed, and he wrapped an arm around her from behind.

“Blue, this isn’t funny. It takes me over an hour to edit each video.” She tried to stand, and he held her in place.

“I said I’d be here for you, and I meant it. Tell me what to do with your supplier, and I’ll go meet him.”

Her heart nearly stopped. She whipped her head around and was met with a genuine warm smile that reached all the way to Blue’s eyes.

“But you have your cottage to work on.”

“And I have a cabin to live in. There’s no rush. I told you I’m here for you, and I meant it. Tell me what to do.” He sat up next to her.

His body heat seeped into her skin from shoulder to hip. Sitting naked was hardly fair. She wanted to push him back on the mattress and have her way with him again, not edit a stupid video. She smiled at the thought of climbing on top of him.

He tipped her chin up with his finger, his smile turned sinful, his eyes filled with desire—and she realized she was staring at his formidable erection.

“You keep looking at me like that and neither of the things you need to get done are going to be accomplished.”

The way his eyes traveled over her body sent heat snaking through her and tangled her thoughts into a very naughty web. In the space of a second he moved over her—
and into her
—capturing her mouth, filling her body, and silencing her thoughts. They moved urgently, kissing, clawing, and thrusting toward release.

She opened her eyes long enough to see him suck on his fingers.

“Everything you do turns me on,” she said, breathless.

A devilish smile curved his lips seconds before his mouth found hers again. His hands moved beneath her bottom, his fingers spread her cheeks, and—
Oh God
—his wet finger teased her tightest hole. She arched up, willing him on. She’d never done this before, but with Blue, she wanted to.
Oh, how she wanted to
. She wanted to do everything with him. He teased and his hips thrust, and to her surprise she felt herself trying to maneuver her body so he’d slide his finger into her, but he kept up the incredibly sensuous torture, bringing her up, up, up to the verge of release.

“Blue,” she begged. “Please.”

“Please what?” He lifted one of her legs, trapping it between his arm and chest as he continued the exquisite torture down below.

She pulled him into a kiss, embarrassed by what she wanted. He kissed her so passionately that it sent shudders through her body, and she no longer just wanted that finger inside her bottom. She craved it. This was
more
, and she wanted it all.