Unbeautifully (Undeniable, #2)(26)

Years passed, it seemed, before Ripper spoke again.

“You’re a liar,” he said quietly, watching me closely. “I don’t get it and I’m thinkin’ that you might actually be on drugs or maybe you took a blow to the head recently, but either f*ckin’ way, baby, you ain’t hatin’ on me. Not at all.”

I felt my entire body deflate with painfully embarrassing defeat. Why was he doing this to me? I’d done nothing to him.

“You actually want it again,” he continued, smirking. “Don’t you?”

My voice was a hoarse whimper. “Stop making fun of me.”

His amusement vanished and he shook his head. “No, baby, I’m not. I’m tryin’ to figure out whether I’m gonna slap some sense into you or f*ck the shit outta you.”

My mouth fell open. Now, what did that mean? God, he was so confusing.

“Shit,” he muttered, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Shit, I shouldn’t have said that…” He trailed off, mumbling a rainbow of curses.

His hand dropped listlessly from his face and my stomach fluttered nervously. Ripper had just admitted that he wanted me again.

He wanted me.

And I wanted him.

Judging by the look on his face, he wasn’t going to say anything else. Whatever happened next, if anything, was going to have to be on me. He was purposely leaving himself open, vulnerable, to what I wanted.

I just needed the courage to jump way out of my comfort zone and make the next move. Something I had never, ever done before.

If I didn’t take advantage of this opportunity, I doubted I was ever going to get another chance like this one.

Oh my god, I couldn’t do this.

Anabeth could do this, but I couldn’t.

I didn’t know how. What did I say? How did I say it?

I wiped my sweating hands on my pajama pants and swallowed hard.

What would Anabeth say?

Ha. What wouldn’t Anabeth say?

“Fuck me,” I blurted out breathlessly.

Ripper’s nostrils flared and I didn’t waste time waiting for his answer. I jumped down the last two steps and grabbed his shirt.

“I want you,” I whispered, closing my eyes, just breathing him in, letting the leather and cigarette smoke and the light undertone of soap-scented skin fill my nostrils.

“Fuuuuuck,” he groaned, pulling away, pushing me backward. “I…shit…your old man…baby, I—”

“He won’t find out,” I said quickly, slapping his hands away and returning to my position pressed firmly up against him.

Even as he hesitated, his hand lifted, hovering near my cheek. Making the decision for him, I leaned into his touch, feeling both exhausted and relieved. What I’d said had taken every ounce of my willpower.

He stared down at me and I stared up at him, knowing the exact moment he made up his mind. His hard, tormented expression eased infinitely as the tension holding his body captive instantly evaporated.

“Jesus,” he whispered, running his thumb along my mouth, tugging it open, gently stroking my bottom lip. “Why can’t I say no to you?”

My breath caught. Oh my god, was it going to happen? Were Ripper and I going to happen again?

His hand moved, sliding slowly back over my cheek, my ear, and then his fingers were gliding through my hair and his other hand was traveling down my spine, mesmerizing me into thoughtless submission, making me half delirious with this single-minded need.

Then his hand was moving up my side, along my ribs, sliding over my breast. He brushed his thumb across my nipple and…

All over my body, nerve endings were flaring to life. I wanted this; I wanted this suddenly so badly, my body had begun to ache for more of him.

“We do this,” he growled softly. “Means you’re in my bed and no one else’s, yeah?”

The trapped air shuddered through my lungs and exploded into my quivering stomach.

He wanted more…after this? Or…he wanted only me? Or he wanted me to be with only him while he did…what? Is that what that meant? God, I really needed to start asking some of these questions out loud so I didn’t just stand there staring at him like some sort of speechless freak. But then again, did I really care what he meant? This was what I wanted, right? I wanted him and this and I wanted it right now and everything else was just details that could be worked out later. Or not, because at this precise moment I didn’t care about the details but instead about the hands on me, all over me.

“Ripper,” I whimpered, arching my back, pushing my flesh into his hand. “Please—”

His mouth crashed down on mine and, oh my god…his tongue and my tongue and… Oh god, oh god, oh god…

Suddenly, Ripper was pulling away from me and turning around. I panicked, feeling confused and worried until I saw him pull his cell phone from his leathers and bring it to his ear.

“Yo… Yeah, I’m here now…yeah…yeah…she’s packin’, Prez…f*ck…yeah, I know what the f*ck lockdown means, I’m gonna get her there.”

Prez. He was talking to my father.

I winced, feeling like we’d been caught red-handed, that somehow my father would know what we’d been doing.

“Danny!” Ripper hissed. My eyes shot to him. He was holding the phone away from him and gesturing wildly to the stairs. Oops. Whirling around, I bolted up the stairs, burst into my room, and quickly changed out of my pajamas and into a short pink sundress and my cowboy boots. After throwing some clothing and makeup into my shoulder bag, I checked my reflection, smoothed my hair, and darted back down the stairs.