The silence stretches, tension thick enough to choke on for a few torturous moments, before Carter nods, squaring his shoulders. “I’ll figure something out.”
It’s not the answer I want, but it’s progress.
Broadway pushes off the counter, stretching his arms over his head. “Well, if we’re quite done here...”
“For now,” Carter agrees. “There’s still Jax to discuss, but that’ll wait. Get some rest,” he tells Bianca. “I want you both inScarletttomorrow night.”
They shuffle out of the kitchen, and less than a minute later, I close the door behind them. The condo immediately feels lighter, the stormy cloud Carter brought with him gone.
Bianca’s still at the breakfast bar, massaging her temples as if she wants to erase the past thirty minutes.
“You okay?” I ask, standing in the kitchen doorway.
She lifts her gaze, lips curving into a faint smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “Getting there.”
I watch her for a moment, my chest tightening, heart swelling three sizes. She’s here, safe, mine, but the weight of the morning still clings to her like a second skin.
“Come here,” I say, holding out a hand.
She hesitates for a beat before she moves. Once her fingers lace with mine, I tug her closer.
“You’re safe. He’s not getting anywhere near you again.” I curl my finger under her chin, forcing her to look at me. “I promise. You’ve been through hell. Tell me what you need.”
Her breath catches, and the tension in her shifts, morphs into something other than fear and exhaustion. Something I crave every minute of every day...desire.
“You,” she says, the word dripping with intent. “I needyou.”
My control snaps like a cable under too much tension. I grip her waist, pull her flush against me, and take her mouth in a deep, greedy kiss. She melts against me, her fingers tangling in my hair, body pressing into mine like she can’t get close enough.
We’ve kissed a hundred times this past week, but this kiss is different. More urgent, more consuming. Tinged with the feelings that hit me straight in the gut when Arthur said she’d been taken.
Feelings so strong they knock the breath clean out of my chest and make my heartrate soar.
I haul her up and sit her on the edge of the counter. Her soft gasp hits my ears when my hands slide beneath the hem of her t-shirt—my t-shirt—and skim along her bare thighs.
“Ryder,” she breathes, a mix of plea and demand.
“I’m here, baby.” I grip her thighs, pull her closer, and kiss her harder, my teeth grazing her bottom lip before latching onto her pulse point.
She’s beautiful like this—head thrown back, cheeks flushed, eyes hooded with lust. And she’s mine.
She grips the hem of my t-shirt, tugging until I break away long enough to let her pull it over my head. It lands on the floor and Bianca’s dainty fingers explore my chest, her touch leaving a warm trail in its wake.
I dip my hand between her legs. I push her panties aside and dip two fingers into her pussy, groaning at how tight she feels. “Still getting there?”
“Getting closer.”
“Good girl. I promised you five orgasms, didn’t I?”
She shuts me up with a kiss, trembling all over when I curl my fingers, dragging them over her G spot. A string of breathless moans, gasps, and incoherent words fill my ear while she tries kissing my neck.
I love those little noises she makes.
“Take your t-shirt off,” I demand, inching away so she has room to follow the order.
She wastes no time, yanking it over her head. Her boobs spill out, candy-hard nipples begging for my touch. I dip my head, sucking one into my mouth, my fingers pistoning in and out of her faster. She floods my hand, her orgasm building, so close it perfumes the air.
“Oh God, I... I—”
