“Are you close again?” he asked.
“Yes, yes, please.”
“If I touch your clit, will you come again?”
“Yes.” I writhed on the bed, desperate for friction. “Please.”
“Someday,” he said. “We're going to practice some self-control. See how many times I can take you to the edge, but not let you go over.”
“Not now, please.” I looked up at him. I didn't think I could stand it if he didn't let me come.
He laughed again, a low sound, all man. “No, my love, not now.”
He wrapped his lips around my nipple and slid a finger between my lips, easily finding my clit. Two strokes across the top of the swollen nub and he bit down on my nipple.
“Fuck! Rylan!” I cried out his name as I came again.
He let me ride out my orgasm as he moved down the bed and climbed between my legs again. My eyes fluttered open as I heard the familiar tearing sound of a condom wrapper. I didn't want to miss this. I licked my lips as he rolled the latex down his cock. At some point this weekend, I fully intended to have that in my mouth again. Right now, I had something else in mind.
I kept my hands where they were, but I spread my legs further apart.
“Eager, are you?” he asked as he stroked himself.
“Only for you.”
He dropped so suddenly that I made a sound. Or I would've if his mouth hadn't been on mind, his lips hard and demanding. His tongue thrust into my mouth, curling around mine and drawing it back into his mouth.
Damn, that man could kiss.
He pulled back before I was ready for the kiss to be done, but then I felt his cock brushing against me.
“Look at me.”
My eyes flicked up and met his. He reached above us and, a moment later, I felt his hand close around both of my wrists. He watched for a moment, waiting to make sure I was okay. My pulse was rapid, my chest tight, but I wasn't regretting a moment of this. For the first time in my life, I let my guard down and let someone see everything I was feeling.
Rylan's eyes darkened and he leaned down to kiss me again, this one full of all the things that we were both feeling but couldn't say, the kinds of things that there weren't any words for. When he pulled back, he didn't go far, just enough so that he could see my face as he slowly pushed his way inside me. He moved slowly, but without stopping, a relentless force molding me around him, stretching me to fit him perfectly.
As he came to rest inside me, his body stretched out on mine, he spoke in a soft voice, “I love you, Jenna Lang.”
He'd started to pull back when I spoke, “I love you too.”
His entire body shuddered above mine and he squeezed his eyes closed, a look of pure concentration on his face. I knew that look. He was fighting for control. With all of his experience and all that he'd done, four words were nearly his undoing.
His eyes stayed closed as he withdrew, then opened as he paused. His gaze was intense, almost unbearable. With his eyes locked on mine, he surged forward.
“Ah!” The sound tore out of me as my body arched against his.
His grip on my wrists tightened as we moved together. My fingers flexed as he drove me into the mattress, every stroke going deep. I wanted to scratch, to dig my nails into his flesh.
“Close your eyes,” he said. “Feel me.”
I did as I was told, crying out as he picked up the pace. As he rode me, I gave myself over to the sensations coursing through my body. I'd experienced sexual pleasure before, though none as great as what I'd felt with Rylan. This was something completely different. I opened my eyes and found his above me. This was everything I'd always been afraid of, everything I'd told myself was forbidden.
I'd fallen in love and told him.
As our bodies moved together, my walls were down, everything about me laid bare.
“Come with me, love,” he said. “Come with me.”
I was close. His cock was rubbing against me in all the right places and ways. My nipples were bullet points against his chest. The feel of his fingers around my wrists only heightened things. Everything in my world was narrowed down to the two of us, where our bodies joined, the places our skin touched. I could feel the explosion hovering just below the surface, and with every stroke, it grew closer. His body was straining, fighting for my pleasure before he took his own.
And then it was here, white heat flooding every cell. I called out his name, struggling against his hold, desperate for some way to release the energy inside me. Instead, he held me down, forced me to feel it, to feel every moment of pleasure coursing through me. My muscles tensed and my pussy contracted around his cock.
“Fuck, Jenna!” He buried his face against the side of my neck as he came. “I love you. I love you.” His breath was hot against my skin as he repeated it over and over again.
He let go of my wrists as he wrapped his arms around me. I grabbed onto him, holding him to me, taking comfort in the weight of him. I squeezed my eyes shut, unable to process the enormity of what I was feeling. I could feel the world graying out around me, and I didn't fight it. I knew it was okay. He would stay with me. He would keep me safe.
I wasn't sure when I passed out or even how long I was out, only that when I came to, Rylan and I were under the covers and my robe was wrapped back around me again. He was right next to me, but not touching me.
“Are you okay?” he asked as my eyes opened.
I shook my head and alarm flashed across his face. “You're too far away.”
Relief immediately replaced concern.
I pulled off my robe and tossed it onto the floor. “I want to feel you against me.” I turned and scooted back against him. “Will you hold me?”
His arms circled me, but his embrace was still tentative.
“It's okay,” I said. “I know I'm safe with you. Hold me tighter.”
He wrapped his body around mine. He nuzzled beneath my ear. “I've wanted to do this from the moment I met you.”
“You're not mad I've made you be so patient?”
“Jenna, love, you're worth waiting for.” He kissed the top of my head. “I'd do it again in a heartbeat to know you trust me.”
“I love you.” It was getting easier to say and I meant it more each time.
“And I love you,” he said. “Now sleep. We have all weekend together with no interruptions.”
“I like the sound of that,” I murmured. Exhaustion was getting ready to take over. I could feel it in my bones.
For once, I didn't fear sleep or what would come after. Tonight, I'd be safe from the nightmares because I was with him. He would protect me. The man I loved. As long as I had him, I was safe.
But even as sleep claimed me, I couldn't quite ignore the little voice that asked me how long this would last. How long until he realized that I didn't deserve him and he left me. I wouldn't dwell on that, I decided. I would live for every moment for as long as I was with him, no matter how short that might be.
– THE END –
The Pleasures series continues in His Pleasures, the next book in this box set.
His Pleasures
A Rylan Novella
Pleasure Series Book 1.5
By M.S. Parker
Prologue
Rylan
I still couldn't believe it. Jenna Lang – the tough tattooed tech, the strongest and most amazing person I knew – was sleeping in my arms. I'd been intrigued with her from the first moment I'd seen her.
At first, I'd assumed it had been an admiration of her intelligence and skill at her job, but as that first night progressed, I'd seen that there was so much more to her than that. Her strength covered a vulnerability that made me want to protect her.
My arms tightened around her as I thought about how close I'd come to losing her tonight. No matter what she said, I still blamed myself for Christophe. My stomach twisted at his name. Rage flamed in my gut as I thought of the things he'd taken perverse pleasure in seeing her do.
I brushed back a strand of her hair and let my fingers trail along her cheekbone, just above the cut that bastard had given her. Most people looked at her and all they saw were the tattoos, the piercings and, of course, the bright blue hair. I had to admit, even I'd found myself caught off guard by the outer package. Now, it was just another one of the things that made her so amazing.
And I loved who she was.
I hated what had happened to her. I hated it so much that I wanted to hit something every time I thought about all the people who had hurt her. Hit and maybe worse. I wanted to beat the shit out of Christophe, but I had a feeling if I saw any of the men who'd abused her, I'd want to do more than just knock out a few teeth.
I closed my eyes and pressed my face against her top of her head, breathing in the scent of shampoo and soap, both mingled with smell that was uniquely her. I loved the way she smelled and I felt my body responding. If she hadn't needed her sleep, I would've woken her and made love to her until we were both too tired to speak. We had all weekend though and I could wait until morning to be inside her again.
Heat flushed through me as I thought back over the last couple hours. While I wished the circumstances that had brought us to this point had been different, I couldn't deny that the time that followed had been among the best in my life. I closed my eyes, picturing her face when she put her hands in mine and told me she trusted me.
The rest of the memory followed.
The taste of her, like nothing I'd had before, and the sound as she came apart around my tongue. I'd felt her muscles trembling under the soft skin of her thighs. When she'd told me to stop, I'd been terrified I'd hurt her. The thing I wanted more than anything was to protect her, to make sure no one ever hurt her again, and the moment I'd seen her tears, I'd thought I'd failed. Then she'd said she was too sensitive after having four orgasms and I'd been unable to hold back the surge of pride I'd felt. Pride that I'd been able to make her feel something good from an act that had once caused her such pain.
I shifted and my hand brushed against the side of her bare breast. I cupped the firm flesh and she stirred, a frown appearing on her face.
“Shh,” I whispered. I pressed my lips against the top of her head. “It's okay. I have you.” I kissed her temple. “You're safe, my love.”
Slowly, so very slowly, her body relaxed against mine.
“I love you, too.”
The words still echoed in my mind. I'd told her I would wait for her to say them, and I'd meant it. Hearing her response as I was above her, inside her, had almost made me come right there. I'd always prided myself on my control, and I hadn't finished prematurely since I was a horny sixteen-year-old groping my girlfriend in the back of my dad's car. And yet, four words from this blue-haired beauty had almost done it. The memory made my cock harden, but I didn't try to will it away. Instead, I let myself remember…
Her pussy was tight around me as I told her to close her eyes. Mine stayed very open though. I wanted to see every emotion as it crossed her face, every minute change, every shift.
She was so beautiful that each time I saw her, my heart ached. As I thrust into her, determined to give her every last bit of pleasure I could, I watched her face. Watched as, impossibly, she became even more beautiful. I tightened my grip on her wrists, ever aware of how precious it was that she trusted me with this.
When she opened her eyes and I saw that the pale gray had darkened to the color of a sky just before a storm, my chest tightened. For the first time since I'd met her, there were no walls, no barriers. I could see everything she was feeling, all of the things she couldn't put into words. I understood every one, because I was feeling them too.
“Rylan,” she murmured my name as she rolled toward me. She pressed her face to my chest as she snuggled more tightly against me.
I ran my hand up and down her back, feeling the scars beneath the angel wing tattoos. It had been a long time since I'd slept with a woman in my arms. I'd had lovers over the years, but in the last four years, none I’d allow to stay. It had been sex, nothing more. Nothing like this. In fact, only one had ever come close, and even Lara had never made me feel like this. She'd been the only long-term relationship I'd had... and things had ended beyond badly.
Chapter 1
– Four Years Earlier –
I was still in a daze as I walked into the hotel and booked a room. The desk clerk smiled at me and asked if I was here for the skiing. When I didn't reply, the smile faltered and I knew he was chalking me up as some rich kid asshole, but for once I didn't care.
Only the most expensive room was left and I took it. Why not? I was doing well – more than well if I was honest. After what I'd just seen with my own eyes, I deserved a bit of a splurge. Besides, what was the point of being a self-made millionaire if I didn't spend money on the things I wanted?
I still didn't understand what had happened. I'd known Lara Roache since she was seventeen and we'd started dating when she turned eighteen. Even though my sister and my best friend both told me it wasn't a good idea, I'd asked Lara to move into my apartment after just eight months.
We'd celebrated our two-year anniversary last week and I'd already started looking at rings. I figured an engagement at Christmas, then a year or two to plan the wedding. We'd still be fairly young to get married, but not crazy young.
I was already in the elevator when I realized I hadn't brought any clothes with me. All I had was the laptop bag I happened to have when I'd walked out of my place. It was a nice apartment, but lately we’d been looking into buying a house. After all, if Lara and I were going to get married, we’d wanted a place where we could raise a family.
I gave a bitter laugh and was thankful no one was in the elevator to hear. There was always the off chance someone would recognize me, and the last thing I needed was some tabloid story about how I was losing my mind or speculating why I was checking into a hotel.
I scowled. If it hadn't been for my partner, Curt, talking me into doing that interview with
People
for their “Hottest Under 25” article, no one would know who I was and I could've stayed in Fort Collins. Since the article's release a few days ago, everywhere I went, people talked to me. Never again. I'd told Curt he would be the public face of Archer Enterprises from here on out, and nothing short of death was going to change that.