Always His (Crazed Devotion #1) (22 page)

I
lay in bed next to Ryker, trying to muffle my laughter with my hand. It had been almost three weeks since he moved in, and for the last two he lay down each night, talking to Tori through a walkie-talkie from a set he’d purchased for the two of them. It was honestly the cutest thing.

I could hear her giggles through the wall that separated our bedrooms as Ryker did his best impression of Anna from the movie
Frozen
. They played out the scene where she tried to get Elsa to come out of her room and play, which always led to them singing the song from the movie.

It warmed my heart when he spent time with her doing the little things. He didn’t need to buy her extravagant gifts or take her on trips; all it took to win her heart was him showing her just how much he loved her. And he did that every day, without hesitation or expectation of getting something in return.

Each night I lay next to him and listened as the two of them share this moment together, I only fell deeper in love with Ryker. He made us both so happy.

“Someday can we build a snowman?” Tori asked. “One like Olaf?”

“We don’t get much snow here, sweetheart, but one day I’ll take you and your momma to a place that does.” He looked over at me and smiled. “And the three of us will build the biggest Olaf we can.”

“Promise?” her sweet little chipmunk voice asked hopefully.

“I promise, Peanut,” he confirmed, using the nickname I’d used for her since she was born. “It’s time to go to sleep, sweetheart. I gotta get up early for work and you and mommy are spending the day at Nana May’s baking cookies for the fundraiser.”

Each year we helped with the fundraiser for the teen center in town. This time they were having a carnival and bake sale, and we had a long day of baking ahead of us with Elle, Liz, and May. When the three of them were trapped together in one room, there was never a dull moment.

“I love you,” Ryker told her.

“I love you too,” she responded, and my heart felt like it skipped a beat. “Don’t let the bed bugs bite,” she added with a little giggle.

Ryker chuckled along with her laughter that filtered in through the walkie-talkie in his hand. “I’ll see you tomorrow night, sweet girl, and if you can hide a few of those cookies and sneak them home for me, I promise I’ll share.”

I poked him in the side, and he covered my hand with his, lifted it, and brought it to rest on the center of his chest.

“You got it.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at her response.

They shared another quick good night before he placed the device on the bedside table.

When he turned back to me, he continued to roll over until his large frame hovered over mine.

“She’s amazing,” he said, lowering his chest to mine carefully so as not to put his entire weight on me.

“You’re amazing,” I said in response. I combed my fingers through the back of his hair and pulled him closer, arching my neck just enough to reach his lips in a teasing kiss as I wrapped one leg over his hip. A deep groan escaped him when I suggestively rotated my hips, causing friction between us. “Do you still need to get some rest for work tomorrow?” I asked as I looked up at him.

“I’ve always got time for this,” he assured me as he dipped his head and began kissing along the side of my neck. “You are the best form of distraction.” He pressed another kiss along my collarbone with a gentle flip of his tongue. “And tomorrow when I can barely function due to lack of sleep, I’ll still be smiling, remembering this moment right here.”

He cupped my breast as he began lowering himself, kissing and taunting me with his skillful mouth. Something that feels as good as Ryker’s hands should be illegal. He made me lose track of my thoughts. It had always been that way, before and now.

Only now, everything was so much more intense.

I was lost to the feeling of his mouth as he sucked at the sensitive skin along my jaw and neck before bringing his lips back to mine for yet another kiss. He was teasing me, and just when I was at the point of begging, he dipped his head low and his mouth covered mine. Arching my back, I gripped the sheets at my sides as he sucked on my clit and trailed a finger along my slick folds. I tried not to moan loudly for fear of Tori hearing me, but it was torture.

The moment his finger slid inside me, I bit my lower lip to stifle my groan of pleasure.

“So fucking wet,” he purred before his mouth covered my pussy once more. I could already feel that familiar tightening in my stomach, and I knew it was only a matter of time before I reached my peak. And when it hit, I curled my toes and bit down harder. Oh my God, it was heaven. No, forget heaven, it was nirvana.

My hips bucked against his mouth as I rode out the mind-blowing pleasure that ripped through me. It was like an out-of-body experience as he gripped my hips to hold me in place while he continued to feast on me, dragging out the most amazing torture I had ever felt.

The moment his mouth left me, I whimpered.

“I need to be inside you,” Ryker said as he moved up my body to place his erection at my entrance. “I can’t promise you slow,” he whispered as he began to slide inside.

“I don’t want slow,” I confessed, and he closed his eyes tightly as if fighting off the need for release.

“So fucking good,” he groaned as he seated himself deep, giving his hips one last thrust to go just a little deeper. I had no time to prepare myself as he pulled back and slammed into me once again. This time, there was no hope of holding back the cry of pleasure that escaped me.

Ryker covered my mouth with his, swallowing my moans as he continued to drive into me over and over.

It was so damn good, explosive.

“Wrap your legs around me,” he directed, and I immediately did as he asked, opening up for him more.

“Oh yeah,” he said before he bit my lower lip. “You always feel so fucking good.”

Good
didn’t even begin to explain the way I was feeling right now.

I woke up to the sound of Ryker opening the closet door. “Is it time for you to leave already?” It felt as if I’d just closed my eyes and now he was up getting dressed for work. Then again, the round of slow, sensual lovemaking that followed our fast round of sex could definitely explain my loss of time.

He didn’t respond as he moved across the room and sat on the bed at my side. When he ran his fingers through my hair, the way he was looking at me made my heart race.

“What?” I asked, because frankly I was growing a little nervous.

“When you gonna marry me?” he asked.

“Um . . .” I was a little surprised by his question. I don’t know what I was expecting him to say, but it wasn’t that. “I guess we haven’t really talked about a date, have we?”

He only shook his head as his gaze continued to scan over my face while he waited for my answer.

“When do you want to get married?” I asked.

“Now, later today. Tomorrow,” he said with a smile. “As soon as possible. I don’t want to wait any longer, sweetheart. I’m ready to be your husband. I’m ready to grow our family and start our lives together.”

Well, my big, strong ex-Marine and man of my dreams had gone all mushy on me.

“Let’s get married next month,” he added before I could respond. “Pick a date, any date. I just want to marry you.”

I nodded and swallowed past the burning sensation at the base of my throat. “Okay,” I whispered. “The first Saturday.”

My answer seemed to please him as he leaned over and kissed me, smiling against my lips.

W
ho knew so much was involved in planning a wedding? I mean, in my eyes you only needed four key things: loved ones, a preacher, and a bride and groom. But apparently those things were simply small items in a large pool of others.

Flowers? Come on, they were just gonna die. And a church? Hell, I would have been perfectly happy with an outdoor wedding. The reception was easy at least, because we settled on Lucy’s. But everything else was a crazy mess of deadlines and stress.

Once my mom knew we had set a date, her head began to spin. She, Nana May, Nicole, Elle, and Liz were on a whirlwind ride of crazy. Those women seemed so tiny and polite, but give them two people to marry off and a date and they made that show about crazy brides look like a walk in the park on a sunny day. I sat back and watched as they swarmed our apartment, barking off demands. Judging by the look on Tori’s face and the way her little head kept twisting from right to left as she watched the scene, she too was dumbfounded. But through it all, Nicole couldn’t stop smiling, and that alone made this entire ordeal worth it. If my baby was happy, I was fucking ecstatic.