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However much she wanted to give in to her feelings for Ryker, Jenna had no choice but to fight them. Garrett might know exactly where she was. She forced herself to break from his embrace and got to her feet. “I need to go.”
She reached for her bags, but Ryker stood as well and grabbed her hand before she could lift one of the hold-alls.
“You’re not going anywhere, Jenna. I mean it. I don’t want to hear another word about it.”
She shook her head. “I’m frightened. I don’t want to get you or Mikey in trouble.”
He pulled her back against him, and she pressed her face against his chest. His hand ran up and down her back in a soothing caress. “Let me worry about me and Mikey.”
Ryker’s hand moved from her back, trailing up her neck to stop to stroke her cheek with the back of his fingers. Jenna lifted her face from his chest, her eyes filled with tears. He studied her face intently, and his fingers moved from her cheek to trace the outline of her mouth. His thumb dragged across her lower lip and she opened her mouth slightly, instinctively teasing the tip of his thumb with her teeth and tongue.
Ryker gave a sharp inhale of breath, his gaze growing darker.
His hand cupped her cheek once again and he leaned into her, his lips claiming hers.
He kissed her, deep and hard and hungry. She returned his fervor, her arms around his neck, their tongues dancing and breath fast and heated. Ryker’s hands reached down, cupping her ample backside and pressing her harder against him. Excitement spiked inside her, making her heart race. She could feel that he wanted her, the hard length of his arousal pressed into the soft folds of her stomach and she stood on tiptoes, wanting to feel him against the softest, most intimate part of her. Ryker sensed what she was trying to do and lifted her higher, so they ground together as they kissed, like two horny teenagers.
One hand left her bottom and slipped beneath her t-shirt, reaching upward to cup her breast, his thumb skirting over the lace-encased nipple. Jenna gasped, her body responding, her nipple tightening and crinkling, sending a jolt of pleasure downward, between her thighs. It had been a long time since anyone had touched her there and it ignited a fire inside her, a deep need, a craving to be with him. She fought at his t-shirt, lifting it up and pulling it over his head, amazed at her own brazenness. At the sight of his naked torso, she wanted to weep. Where Garrett had always been strong, but pale and wiry, Ryker had the sort of body she fantasized about. The sleeves of tattoos that ran up both arms stopped at his shoulders. His perfectly formed chest was naked from tattoos with the exception of a pair of birds which flew from his left pectoral. Nubs of silver were embedded in both of his nipples and with a moment of dizziness, she realized his nipples were pierced. Her gaze dropped lower, down the lines of his abdominals, to the dip of his navel and the line of dark hair which disappeared beneath the band of his jeans. The jeans sat dangerously low on his hips and she could see the jut of his hip bones protruding from the top and the dark shadows of more tattoos.
Holy hell. Ryker Russo was sexy.
Not only was he sexy, he was kissing her.
Losing the ability to think rationally, she reached for the button of his jeans, wanting them off his body so she could reach the prize that had become so obvious beneath the material. He did the same, popping the button on her jeans as they continued to kiss, tasting, biting, nibbling, as if they wanted to devour each other.
The jeans were tight, so she helped him pull them down, and then toed the item off and onto the floor. His jeans also hit the floor, leaving him wearing only a tight pair of black Jockey shorts that left very little to the imagination.
He reached behind her back and unclipped her bra, then tried to pull her shirt up, lifting the material over her stomach.
Instantly, she snapped back to reality. She reached down and pushed his hand away.
Ryker blinked in surprise. “What’s wrong? I thought you wanted this?”
She looked at his half-naked body, the flush of heat high in his cheeks, the fullness of his lips from them kissing for so long. “I do. I want it more than anything.” She glanced away, feeling stupid standing there, half-dressed, but with no other choice. If he saw what was beneath her shirt, he’d run a mile. “I just want to keep my shirt on.”
He stared at her, his brow furrowed. “Why would you want to do that?”
She shrugged, but her cheeks burned with shame. “I’m not confident with my body. I thought you knew that.”
He stepped in, closing the gap between them again. He reached out and touched her cheek. “Jenna, I have no idea what you see when you look in the mirror, but it certainly isn’t the same thing I see.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m talking about the incredibly beautiful, sexy woman who is currently half-naked in my bedroom, and who I would really like to get fully naked so I can get her into my bed.”
His hand slipped back up the inside of her shirt. She flinched, wondering if he could feel the change in texture of her skin as his hand slid higher. Her bra was still undone, and hung from her breasts. Ryker’s hand easily slid beneath the wire and lace, to cup her breast. He gently pinched her nipple between his thumb and forefinger and squeezed. Jenna couldn’t help herself. She let out a moan and dropped her forehead to his shoulder. She wanted him so badly, and he seemed to want her, but she didn’t know what to do.
With his other hand, he tugged at her shirt. “Let me take it off. You’re gorgeous. Every part of you. You have no need to hide yourself.”
Pulling his hand away from her breast, she said, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She had two choices; tell him the truth, or walk out of here now.
She couldn’t bring herself to walk out. If he wanted to leave, she’d at least give him that choice.
Jenna took his hand and pulled him to sit on the bed. She lifted her feet onto the bed, her arms wrapped around her shins as she hugged herself, creating a type of subconscious barrier between them. Ryker twisted to face her, concern etched across his expression.
She took a deep breath and began. “You know I told you Garrett was put in jail because he’d been drink-driving?”
Ryker nodded.
She continued, “I was in the car that night. I didn’t want to get in. I tried to stop him from driving, offering to drive us home because I knew he’d had too much to drink, but he got mad and pushed me inside and drove off. He was going too fast, and a deer ran out in front of us. Somehow Garrett managed to keep control of the car, but we skidded into the opposite lane. A massive truck came around the bend just as we came to a standstill, and it didn’t see Garrett’s car in time. It ploughed right into the side of us.”
Ryker was staring at her, his blue eyes wide. He reached out and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. “Jesus Christ, Jenna. You must have been terrified.”
She nodded. “When Garrett forced me into the car and was driving too fast, yes, I was terrified. But I don’t remember much after the accident. I didn’t regain consciousness for three days. I needed to have four different operations, the first to remove the organs that were too badly damaged to repair, one of my kidneys, my spleen and one of my ovaries. After that, I had another couple of operations to try to repair the skin and tissue. The metal of the car door basically sliced me in two, and there wasn’t enough savable skin to stitch me back together, so I needed grafts from other parts of my body.”
She wanted to cry. Ryker was looking at her with a pale face, tension in his neck and jaw. She thought he might be about to throw her out, but instead he got fully up onto the bed with her, knelt in front of her and pulled her into his arms. She found herself with her cheek against his bare chest, her arms around his waist, while he held her and kissed the top of her head.
He released her and sat back on his haunches. His eyes were glassy with unshed tears and she realized with a jolt that he was upset for her.
“I’m so sorry you had to go through that,” he said, his voice tight. “I hate that you had to experience such pain. It makes me furious, especially knowing the asshole who did that to you is out there somewhere, still making you afraid.”
“It’s the reason I’m so paranoid about germs,” she admitted. “It’s not because I’m OCD—or at least, it didn’t start that way, though I probably have a touch of it now. It’s because it’s dangerous for me to get ill. With only one kidney and no spleen, I’d end up back in hospital if I got sick.”
Ryker nodded. “I understand.” He lifted an eyebrow. “Is this also the reason you won’t let me take off your top?”
She bit her lower lip and nodded, casting her eyes down in shame. “I have scars from the accident. They’re horrible and I don’t want you to see them.”
He looked at her intently, obviously considering his words. When he eventually spoke he did so softly. “Jenna, if you want to keep your t-shirt on, because that makes you feel better, then that’s fine with me. I’ll take you, clothes or no clothes. I’m just happy to be with you. But if you think you’re comfortable enough with me to stay here in my bed and have sex with me, I would really love it if you let me see your scars. They’re a part of you now, and no part of you could ever be ugly.
Her stomach turned at the idea of showing him the part of herself she hated the most. “I don’t know, Ryker.”
He pulled her back into his arms and tugged her down so they lay side by side on the bed. “You don’t need to make a decision now. Just stay here with me, okay?”
She gave a small smile and nodded. Ryker reached out again to touch her cheek, and then he was kissing her again, his mouth warm and firm against hers. Every part of her body relaxed and softened as his kiss grew deeper, his hands raking through her hair. Their legs tangled together, and she quickly discovered he still wanted her. And she wanted him, too.
I’ll show him, she decided. If he no longer found her attractive, she’d know soon enough.
With her heart thumping, she broke the kiss and reached to the bottom of her t-shirt. He understood what she was about to do, and pulled back slightly, giving her space. Taking another deep breath to settle her nerves, she pulled the t-shirt up and then awkwardly over her head, yanking her bra off with it.
Naked, except for her panties, she lay before him.
She was so conscious of the way her breasts squashed together, of the rolls of fat pressing against the mattress, of the expanse of her backside. But more than any of that, she was aware of the thick, twisted red and white scar that ran from the mid-point of her back, around her waist, to end right above her groin.
Ryker didn’t run. Instead, he moved in toward her again and lowered his mouth to her neck, teasing her skin with tiny nibbles, kisses and flicks of his tongue.
Jenna squirmed in delight.
He moved lower, his face level with her breasts. He took the huge mounds in his palms, gently massaging while he buried his face in their soft pillows. His lips found one of her large nipples and he took it into his mouth, grazing her pebbled flesh with his tongue and teeth. Her fingers laced in his thick, soft hair, her eyes slipping shut. His hand ran lower, his fingers trailing over the raised scars without so much as flinching. He reached the band of her panties and slid beneath. His hand moved down, between her thighs, and she opened up to him, allowing him access to her soft, wet heat. He lifted his mouth from her breast and stared into her eyes as he gently pushed a finger inside her.
Jenna gasped, biting her lip.
Ryker smiled and turned his attention back to pleasuring her. He worked his way down across her stomach, planting feather-light kisses on the red and white scars she had hated for so long. With every kiss and caress, he healed her heart just a little more.
He slipped his finger from her body and pulled her panties down her legs, leaving her completely naked. Then his face was between her thighs, his breath heating her most sensitive flesh, his tongue pressing against her, licking her open. Jenna spread her legs, allowing him access and he pushed his tongue inside her, making her moan and grip his hair in her fist.
Her back arched against him, all thoughts of how conscious she was about her body vanishing from her mind. Using both his fingers and tongue, he built her higher and higher, desire coiling low and deep in her belly. Her breathing grew ragged and punctuated with moans of pleasure. Every muscle in her body tensed as she knew the inevitable was about to break. His tongue moved to her clitoris, his flicks firm but fast. His fingers pushed deep inside her, and she convulsed against him. He brought her to her peak and then she tumbled over the edge, her orgasm racking through her body in waves, powering through her again and again.
He left her breathless, her chest heaving, her skin pink and damp with perspiration. He crept up her body, a wicked grin on his face.
“Oh, wow,” was all she could manage.
He grinned again. “We’re not done yet.”
She reached out to him, tugging the shorts he still wore down his thighs, freeing him. Ryker helped lose the underwear, lifting his body so she could pull them down his legs and then he kicked them away. Her palm met with his hard length, her fingers wrapping around his girth. His skin felt hot and silky smooth, and she moved her hand up and down, watching his expression for his reaction. His lips fell slack, his eyes closing. He grew even harder, if such a thing was possible, and she swiped her thumb across the top of him, a bead of his desire moistening her skin.
“We need to be safe, she said, sudden anxiety kicking in.
His eyes opened. “Yes, of course.” He reached across her into his bedside drawer and pulled out a condom. Quickly, he ripped it open and sheathed himself, then he lowered his head to kiss her again.
Jenna could taste her own desire on his tongue, and something about the intimacy of that taste fired her senses all over again. With Ryker positioned above her, she wrapped her thighs around his, pressing the heels of her feet into his hard ass, and bringing their bodies together. His hardness pressed against her wet heat, meeting only the slightest of resistance before sliding deep inside her.
“Oh, God,” she gasped as he filled her completely.
Ryker grabbed both of her hands and pinned them above her head against the bed. He pulled back out of her, as far as possible without leaving her body and then thrust back in, hard, drawing another cry from her throat. She lifted her hips to deepen his strokes. Her breasts jiggled and bounced as he drove into her, again and again. Her stomach wobbled, but the sound of their flesh hitting was one of the most erotic sounds she’d ever heard. For once, her body wasn’t something to hate. Instead it was a vessel to both give and receive pleasure, and she didn’t care about the extra pounds or her scars, all she cared about was Ryker inside her.
Their movements grew more frantic and he let go of her hands and buried his face in her neck. She reached around his body, her fingernails digging into the tensed muscles of his back. His breathing was loud in her ear, turning into almost angry groans. Her climax built once again and she closed her eyes to focus on the wave of pleasure that gripped her body.
“Oh, Jenna,” Ryker gasped. “Ah, fuck, Jenna.” And he gave a final thrust, and held himself deep as her inner muscles clenched against him.
They came down from the high of their climaxes, their heart rates and breathing slowing to match the others.
Sated and together, they fell asleep wrapped in each other’s arms.