Unbeautifully (Undeniable, #2)(70)

“Please, Ripper,” Danny whispered. “Don’t leave me again.”

He didn’t answer her; instead he released her arms and grabbed her waist, heaving her up against him. Carrying her, he strode across the lawn, unapologetically meeting the gazes of everyone who was staring. He didn’t care anymore. He was done being a *. He was done being angry. He was way past done wishing.

He would deal with ZZ.

He would talk to Deuce.

But first he was going to take back his woman.

Once inside the club, he headed straight to his room where, once inside, the door locked behind him, he set her down on the bed and stood over her.

She said nothing, just stared in disbelief at him, heavy tears streaming down her cheeks, her chest rising and falling with deep, harsh breaths. He fell to his knees in front of her, the longtime pain of missing her, needing her, still radiating inside of him, making him incapable of standing one second longer.

“Danny,” he choked out, looking away. “I’m sorry, baby, I’m—”

He jerked, surprised, as she leaned forward to press her lips against his neck, and a shudder tore through him. Unwittingly, his eyes closed.

“No talking,” she murmured.

He felt her hands on his biceps, her nails digging in his skin as she gripped him tightly, and then something soft and warm brushed across his lips. Again, he felt her kiss him.

She let out a tear-filled, shuddery breath. “I’ve missed you so much,” she admitted in a small voice that made his heart swell. “I’ve never stopped thinking about you, I think about you all the—”

He didn’t let her finish. His eyes flew open and he was on her. Shoving her backward, he bore down on her and cupped the side of her face. Tilting her head to the left, preparing to kiss her, he stared down at her perfect sweetheart features. Big blue eyes, a cute little nose, and wide, perfect pink lips, parted slightly as she breathed in and out…waiting for him.

The way she always had.

…And he kissed her.

And kissed her.

Fucking kissed her.

Kissed the f*cking shit out of her.

Kissed her the way he’d been wanting to kiss her since he’d left her.

“Fuck,” he muttered in between kisses. Suffocating, nearly violent kisses that were growing harder, even more demanding.

Ah, god, he was touching her now and she felt just as good as he remembered, soft and smooth skin molded tightly over beautifully toned muscles.

“I want you,” she breathed out, her words barely audible over the pounding of his heart.

He squeezed his eyes shut. “Yeah, baby,” he rasped and slid his tongue back into her mouth.

He kissed her again, harder, his hand fisting tightly in her hair.

Her fingernails bit into his neck. “I love you,” she cried softly, breathlessly, but no less demanding. “And…I want you now…right now.”

? ? ?

“Oh god,” I breathed. This was actually happening. Ripper was home, I was in his room, on his bed, and he was nearly inside of me.

“Need you baby,” Ripper rasped, pushing my legs further apart. “Need you so f*ckin’ bad.”

“Yes,” I whispered, arching my hips for him. “Please…”

“Fuckin’ love that,” he muttered. “Missed that.”

“Love…what,” I panted.

“You beggin’ me, baby,” he whispered, teasing me with his tip. “You beggin’ me for my cock,” he continued, pushing inside of me.

Oh god, it was so good, so all-consuming, filling me to the brim.

Which was why, when I burst into tears, I hadn’t a clue as to why.

They weren’t just any tears; they were an ugly, unstoppable, body-wracking waterfall of hiccupping, breathless sobs.

It was suddenly too much. Me. Him. Dorothy and Jase. ZZ. The club. Everyone and everything. Too much pain and sorrow, years of it, one tragedy after the other, too many bad memories of wasted moments spent yearning, wishing, and aching for something I’d thought I’d lost forever. Too much effort spent trying to fill the hole inside of me, a hole that had grown too big, too deep, and no matter how many new moments and memories I tried to shovel inside of it, it remained forever empty.

Now he was here. I was in his room, in his bed, and he was inside of me.

How had this happened? ZZ had been down on one knee in front of me, asking me to marry him and now…

It didn’t make any sense.

Did love make sense?

Oh god, it was all too much.

But like most things involving Ripper and me, they were always impulsive, messy, and confusing, giving new meaning to the term whirlwind romance.

Hasty, impetuous, we were like lightning and tornados in a flurry of both excitement and agitation, making rapid, rash decisions, feeling, only feeling, never thinking, all the while heading face-first into a churning whirlpool of turmoil and not caring who we hurt along the way.

It was too much.

I was aware of Ripper leaving my body, felt the warmth of him disappear, and I cried even harder, the loss of his touch stirring up more unwanted memories.

Then he was back, slipping his hands underneath me, picking me up and cradling me against his chest. I burrowed into him, gripping him as hard as I could, sobbing even harder, unaware of anything but the naked pain that I’d tried for so long to ignore, that had all at once broken through the surface and found it had nowhere to go.