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  His grip on my hips is nearly painful, and I know he’s going to leave marks on me. I should care, but instead all it does is ratchet up my desire, and I give in to what he wants. His back and arms flex and strain with his effort, and I feel like he’s a caged beast waiting to be unleashed. Somewhere in the back of my mind I know this is crazy, but it feels too goddamn good to stop him.

  “Ryan,” I whisper, and I let my head fall back against the wall.

  The delicious pressure building between my legs as Captain makes me hump his leg is too much, and I explode. The orgasm rips through me, and I scream with pleasure. I come as I cling to him, and let him use my body the way he sees fit. This wasn’t planned or thought out; he came in and took from me what he wanted. Something about the loss of control is so freeing, and I ride the wave of pleasure and try not to analyze it.

  He licks a place on my neck and it feels tender, like maybe he bit me, but I was too busy climaxing to notice. I don’t really care, now that I’m in blissful paradise. He places soft kisses all the way up to my ear, and I hum in contentment.

  He pulls back a little to look down at me, and those forest-green eyes see straight through to my soul. Leaning down, he presses his lips to mine in a kiss that’s more gentle than I would have imagined. I thought he’d be starved to receive his own pleasure, but instead he gives me that one soft kiss and steps away from me.

  I miss his warmth the second it’s removed, but he reaches out, takes my hand and leads me over to the table. I walk on shaky legs as he sits down and then pulls me onto his lap. The bags of food are in front of us, and he reaches out and opens one, like nothing happened over there against the wall.

  Looking to where we were and then back to him, I open my mouth and then close it again, unable to articulate my thoughts. After a few tries, I finally manage a sentence.

  “You can’t come in here with food and give me an orgasm.”

  He looks into my eyes and gives me his big, straight-teethed, all-American smile, and I want to slap him. Or maybe kiss him. Just for letting me know he can come here and do just that.

  “I got you a foot-long meatball sub some fries and cheesecake. Next time, I’ll feed you first. You’re hangry.”

  My lower half grumbles from being hungry and then clenches at the thought of more pleasure. I slip forward, plop down on the seat beside him and put my feet in his lap. I don’t know why I do it, but he smiles at me and rubs them while I eat.

  “You going to tell me who that guy was this morning?” Captain asks, after we’ve sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes. He hands me a beer from one of the bags he brought and goes back to rubbing my foot with one hand while he eats with the other.

  “No,” I say around a mouthful of meatballs. He waits, and after I chew it up and swallow, I take a drink of the beer he handed me and sigh. “I assumed you already looked him up.”

  “Obviously,” he says, without a hint of apology in his voice.

  “Then what’s there to tell?”

  “I’m curious about what he was to you. What he might want to be to you now.”

  I roll my eyes but try to imagine seeing Captain with another woman. I don’t get to the point where he touches her before I’ve clawed her eyes out. Maybe he’s pretty spot on with the kitten name.

  “He’s an old friend from an old life. One I have no intention of going back to. He went missing from my neighborhood as a kid, and I worried about him for a long time. Seeing him today was good. It answered a question I didn’t know I was still asking.”

  He looks at me and nods as if he understands. “Promise me, Paige. If you see him again, you’ll take me with you.” I start to take my foot from his lap, but he holds it tighter, not letting me go. “I mean it. I’m not going to stop you. I just need to be there.”

  He gives me a long, hard stare, and I can see the need there, but also fear. So I nod and go back to eating my food. I don’t understand all these emotions passing between us. Or what the hell has happened tonight. But I’m pushing it aside and enjoying his company while it’s here. God knows it’s going to be lonely enough when he leaves. With Mallory moving in with Miles, it will seem so empty. I need to have a meeting with Miles about the place here, to see if I can stay. He pays me a salary through his company, but I want to make sure that plans haven’t changed, with Mallory getting married and them having a baby on the way.

  “Hey. None of that,” Captain says, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.

  I look up, and he touches my chin before sitting back and rubbing my feet again. I don’t know how he knew where my thoughts had gone, but he could sense it wasn’t a good place.

  “You got a TV in your room?” Captain takes a sip of his beer, and I’m confused.

  “Why?”

  “Because I want to watch the fight, and you’ve got pink shit all over your living room.”

  I laugh and nod. “Yeah, there’s a little one in my room. But I didn’t ask you to stay.”

  “It’s like getting cheesecake. You don’t have to ask for it to want it.” He winks at me, and my cheeks heat. How does he always keep me off balance? “I’ll let you have some of my cheesecake if you let me watch TV in your room.”

  I think about it for a second and then pull my feet from his lap, standing up so I’m able to look down at him. He’s sitting and I’m still only a few inches taller than him.

  “Fine. But you keep your pants on.”

  His smile is so deliciously wicked, I want to straddle his lap right this second. But instead I pretend I’m unfazed, and snatch the box of cheesecake off the table and stomp down the hallway.

  Chapter Eleven

  Paige

  * * *

  “WHAT HAPPENED TO the pants rule?” Captain asks when I come out of my closet dressed in a long T-shirt. It’s an old school one that I’ve had so long it’s got a few small holes in it, but I can’t seem to part with it. Mal has a matching one. We would wear them on veg-out nights when we would stay home and try not to move from the sofa. We had those nights quite often.

  I’d thought about trying to find something sexy to put on, but I really don’t have much. Besides my shoes, dressing up isn’t really my thing. Until recently, when I needed to look professional for work, I had nothing but workout clothes and club clothes. I’ve tried to pretend that I haven’t been trying to get Captain’s attention, but he seems to like the way I dress. I’ve bought a lot of things with him in mind, but I haven’t ventured into sexy underthings. Yet. I also debated putting on the shirt he’d left here. I wonder if it would turn him on to know I’ve been sleeping in it.

  “I could have on shorts under here.” I reach up, pulling my hair out of my ponytail and letting it fall loosely before shaking it out a little. God, he looks good in my bed. I’d never thought about a bed’s size before, but now I’m happy I only have a queen-size. His big frame takes up most of it, and we’ll have to be pressed together so that I can fit. He didn’t even try to take up only one side. He’s stretched out in the middle, his shoes long gone, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up like always and the buttons around the neck undone, showing off part of his chest. Maybe I should have made a fully dressed rule, because I want to pounce on him. Seeing the little patch of exposed skin turns me on. What would I do if he was naked? Jesus, his nickname for me is starting to go to my head. I want to roll on top of him and rub my body over every inch of his. Just like a kitten.

  “But I don’t,” I finish, as I crawl onto the bed. I go for the cheesecake, but he grabs it first, smiling at me. “Ask Mal about the freshman year food incident and you’ll never snatch food from me again.”

  I narrow my eyes at him, making him smile more. Normally, that look sends most men running, but never once has it worked on Captain. In fact, I think he likes it, because he always smiles when I do it. That only makes me more irritated. Or makes me swoon a little. I don’t know which, and I’m not digging to find out. Never has a man been so easy with me. Nothing I do is ever off-
putting to him. I wonder how long that will last when more of me starts to come out. There are parts of me he keeps finding, no matter how hard I try to keep them hidden. If only I could manage it for a little longer, so I can have a few more of these days to tuck away in my memory.

  Mal is the only person who’s ever stuck around. The only person who’s ever stayed, even when some of my truths came to light, though I did have to fight to keep her. But Captain is different. He’s fighting for me. No matter how hard I push, he stands there, unmovable. I could say that’s even more irritating, but it’s not. Instead it’s giving me a funny feeling I’ve never felt before. It’s settling. A feeling I’ve never had. To think I could have someone who would always be there, no matter what I did.

  “Give me your best shot, kitten.”

  His playful smile warms something inside me, and without thinking, I lunge for him. I catch him off guard, making him drop the cheesecake. But before I can dodge his grasp, he has me on my back with his big body over mine. He’s above me, caging me under him, with my hands pinned above my head, his fingers locked into mine.

  “Maybe if you’re good and give me a piece of you to eat, then I’ll give you a piece of cheesecake,” he teases, before moving his mouth to my neck and taking a small bite. It causes me to wiggle under him as desire spreads through me.

  “I thought if I let you watch the fight in my room, you’d share.” I make no move to try and get out from beneath him. In fact, I try to wrap my legs around him, but he’s so big it’s almost impossible.

  “Fuck the fight.”

  He takes his lips away from my neck, and I see a flash of his deep green eyes filled with desire before he claims my mouth with his. His tongue pushes past my lips in a searing kiss. His normally controlled body shakes slightly and I can feel him fighting to control himself, wanting to pull back from me. Wanting to pull back from where we are going.

  “Don’t fight it,” I whisper against his lips as he starts to do so. “I like it when you let go. Let the perfect gentleman you always try to be slip away for me. I like this dirty, deeper part of you that comes out to play with me. I like that I make it come out.”

  “I promise he only comes out for you, kitten.”

  “Show me. I need this,” I plead, looking up at him. I want him to snap, make the world melt away for me.

  He captures my wrists in one strong hand. His mouth comes back down on mine, and I moan into his mouth, letting him take me and push me further into the soft bed. Something about him makes me want to let go, to not think about anything but getting lost in him. So I do. I drop my legs from around him and let them fall open farther, giving him the invitation to do whatever he wants with me.

  His hand moves under my T-shirt and up my thigh. It trails up slower than I’d like, the torture bittersweet as I rock against him, wanting more. Wanting his hand between my legs. He growls into my mouth, deepening the kiss as his tongue makes love to mine. There’s still a restrained need in his body, and I want him to unleash all of it on me.

  He pulls away abruptly, and I try to sit up, needing his mouth. I have to have it back on mine. I don’t care if I need oxygen. I want to keep kissing him forever. I want to stay in this moment forever.

  “I want to feel all of you.” I yank at my hands, and he reluctantly frees me. I wrap them around his neck, pulling him back to me and taking another kiss. He claims my mouth, and I’ve never been so taken. After we’re both breathless, he breaks the kiss and rests his forehead against mine.

  “Kitten.” He says my name like a prayer, with so many emotions in his voice. I can see him fighting himself, and I want to make him snap. Why do I love pushing him so much?

  I drop my hand from around his neck and go to the buckle of his pants. I fumble with his belt, pulling it free. I go to fling it across the room, but he snatches it from me.

  “Hands on the headboard,” he growls, his tone catching me off guard. “I’ll give you what you want, but you’ll do as I tell you.”

  His words send a thrill through me, all the way down to my toes, and I swear I can feel them tingle. My dirty Captain is coming back out to play. I slowly raise my hands to the headboard. I wrap my fingers around the metal bar and do as he says.

  He flashes a predatory smile as he wraps the belt around my wrists and through the bars. My heart pounds in my chest and my body clenches with want. I have to bite back a moan as I watch him do it. Don’t get me wrong, I always thought sex with Captain would be good, but I didn’t think it would go like this. He didn’t strike me as kinky, but maybe I’m so vanilla myself that I think this is a kink.

  I lick my lips, wondering what he’ll do next. I can’t find any words as I stare at him in anticipation. All too slowly he sits up and looks down at me. He locks his jaw, and I can see all that control he’s trying to hold in as he pushes my shirt up my body, exposing me inch by inch, and I wonder if he is torturing himself, too.

  When I’m fully bared to him, he cups my breasts with his rough hands, and they fill them perfectly. I arch my back for him, loving the roughness of his hands on my smooth skin.

  “Captain,” I moan, begging for more. “Please.”

  “You call me Ryan when I have my hands on you, or I’ll stop.” His thumbs brush over my nipples, then halt as he waits for me to do as he tells me.

  “Ryan. Please. I need more.”

  “Good girl,” he says, his voice thick with need. “I know what you need, kitten.” He slides his hands down my body, making my sensitive skin tingle with every touch. “I wanted to taste all of you tonight, but I can’t. I don’t think I can stop myself if I have a taste. I’d want to cover every inch of you with my mouth and make sure you were covered in my smell. But right now, instead of that, let me give you what I can.”

  “Oh God,” I breathe shakily.

  A whimper escapes as he reaches into his pants. I suck in a breath in an attempt to ground myself. He pulls out his cock, wrapping his hand around it and stroking the long, thick shaft. It’s insanely erotic, watching him touch himself. I grip the bar on the headboard tighter, wishing I could touch him. I have the urge to do that for him.

  My inner walls clench with a need to be filled as he stares down at me, stroking himself. I can feel my panties dampen at the sight, but I can’t look away.

  Suddenly he grips my hips, pulling my ass onto his thighs, opening me up even more to him. He pulls my simple white panties to the side as he glides the head of his cock against my clit, barely grazing it. My whole body jerks at the sensation. He slides his fingers to the lips of my sex, opening it and baring all of me to him. A string of words I can’t understand come out of Ryan’s mouth as I throw my head back, thrusting my chest into the air as he moves back and forth.

  “God, you’re beautiful,” I hear him say, making me look back at his face. His eyes are trained on me as he continues to rub the head of his cock against my clit. Back and forth, driving me crazy, pushing me closer to my climax. I start to move my hips with him, thrusting and grinding, miming sex.

  “Ryan.” His nostrils flare at the sound of his name. His dark green eyes seem darker than normal, and he looks primal. His thighs spread even more, and my legs go with them, opening me impossibly wider as his hand moves to my hip, his fingers digging into me. It’s a possessive hold, so tight I swear I can feel it all the way to the bone, the perfect bite of pain.

  And just like that, the climax slams into me, making me cry out his name. Ryan jerks against me, and the warmth of his release coats me as we both reach our peak together. The heat of his seed on me and his possessive grip stretch the orgasm rolling through my body, reaching heights I’d never thought possible. I explode from every inch of my body, and when it finally ends, I’m exhausted.

  My whole body goes lax and my eyes fall closed. I don’t know how long we stay like this, but I can feel Ryan’s eyes on me the whole time. He’s staring down at me, but I can’t summon the power to open my eyes or ask for my hands to be unbuckled. I’m not sure
I want to be let go.

  His fingers brush against me as he moves my panties back into place, and then he cups me. I feel like I’ve been marked on some unspoken, primal level. His release makes the panties stick to me, and I can’t say that I hate the sensation. I hear him shuffle around for a minute, then my wrists are free. He runs his finger along where my hands were bound, massaging them. Then his mouth is there, kissing them, and it makes me smile.

  When he’s finished, he places his lips on mine in a kiss so soft I melt a little more into the bed, and sleep starts to take me. I would protest when he pulls away, but he takes me into his arms, wrapping his big body around me. His legs tangle with mine, and it’s better than the kiss. Having him wrapped so tightly around me is comforting and safe.

  “Want your cheesecake, kitten?”

  “No,” I slur, because in this moment, there isn’t anything in the world I want more than to fall asleep in Ryan’s arms.

  Chapter Twelve

  Paige

  * * *

  WHEN I WAKE in the morning, I know instantly Captain’s not in the room. I’ve gotten to the point where I can feel him, no matter where he is. Rolling over, I see a note and a little butterfly flaps its wings in my belly.

  Kitten,

  I’m taking Mallory to meet with a wedding planner. Miles asked to walk to work with you this morning, so get your pretty ass up and get to it.

  Missing you

  R

  PS your snore is adorable

  I want to crumple up the note, but at the same time I want to hug it to my chest. How can he be so annoying and sweet at the same time?