“Ryder,what are you doing here? Where are the kids?” I look out the shop window, expecting to see the kids outside, but they’re not.
Ryder takes a step forward. “You alone?”
I nod. “Just finishing up some paperwork I’ve been putting off for far too long. What’s wrong?”
He shakes his head and smiles. “Nothing’s wrong, Gracie. And the kids are with Austin. He splays his palms out across my back as he pulls me closer until our bodies are fully pressed together. “I wanted to talk to you alone. It couldn’t wait. I couldn’t wait.”
My stomach turns, and I brace myself for the news I’ve been dreading. We’ve barely had a chance to begin, and he’s already going to leave. “Okay,” I whisper, trying to keep the tremble out of my voice as I stare into his eyes.
“I can’t leave you. I won’t leave. The last few months with you have made me feel more alive than I’ve felt in…well, forever really. Or at least it feels that way. I’m not ready to throw that all away to chase Austin’s dream. I want to stay here, in Star Falls, and see where this goes. I’m falling for you harder and faster than I ever thought possible, and I’m not willing to walk away from this for anything, including chasing someone else’s dream. I want you. I choose you.”
A warmth fills my chest at his words. A sense of calm washes over me. He’s staying. He’s staying for me. For us. “Really?” I’m dumb struck by his decision.
I haven’t had the best track record with men, and I fully expected Ryder to be no different. Heartbreak has always been the story of my life. I figured love wasn’t written in my cards, and I was okay with it.
Ryder raises a hand to my face, cradling my cheek in his hand. He gazes into my eyes. “I will always choose you.”
His words steal my breath and momentarily stun me. No man has ever said those words to me. No one has ever put me first. No one until now. “I love you, Ryder,” I tell him, wanting nothing more than to have him in my life forever.
He smiles as he strokes his thumb back and forth against my cheek. “I love you too, Gracie.” As soon as the words are out of my mouth, his lips are on mine.
He snakes his arm around my back, holding me tight until there’s no space left between us. The kiss is rough, but his lips are soft.
“I want you,” I breathe into his mouth, needing to feel him inside me, wanting to feel him inside me.
“Fuck,” he growls against my lips, sending goose bumps scattering across my skin.
The dam of restraint breaks as I move my hands to the bottom of his shirt, pulling it upward. Ryder pulls back, breaking our kiss long enough for me to tear the shirt over his head.
His mouth comes down on mine, and he lifts me in the air, carrying me toward the back of the shop.
“What are you doing?” I ask as I wrap my legs around his middle.
“Privacy,” he tells me, kicking open the door to my office and taking me inside.
I don’t say another word as he sets my ass down on the desk, and I rip off my top and bra, feeling more impatient than I have in a long time. “Pants,” I command as I toss my top and bra at his face, watching them hit his bare chest and fall to the floor.
Ryder smirks as he moves his hands to his zipper before yanking his jeans down to his ankles. The way he stares at me as he does this has my body aching for his touch.
“All the way.” I point at his ankles, waving my finger at his pants. “No restraints.”
“Baby, off the desk,” he tells me, raising an eyebrow before kicking off his pants into a puddle on the floor. “Turn around. Hands on top.”
A thrill runs through me at the thought of Ryder taking me from behind and being rough instead of his usual sweet.
I do as I’m told, hopping down from the desk, placing my palms flat on the top, facing away from him, and shaking my ass in an open invitation.
A second later, Ryder’s hands are at the waistband of my leggings, ripping them down my legs. But he doesn’t take them all the way off. “I prefer you restrained,” he whispers in my ear with his front plastered against my bare back.
I shiver, thinking of being tied up and Ryder having his way with me. That isn’t what this was, but my mind drifts there as his mouth finds the tender skin of my neck and his hands explore the rise of my hips and swell of my ass.
I drop my head forward and close my eyes, focusing on every sensation as he touches and kisses my body.
This isn’t slow. This isn’t making love.
This is pure need. Total want.
Ryder’s warm lips and soft tongue blaze a trail across my back to my shoulder. I stick out my ass, rubbing it against his hard cock.
