Love Online(61)

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had the liberty to moan as loudly as I wanted. And there was nothing hotter than the guttural sounds Ryder made as he fucked me.

His arms wrapped around me tightly as he continued to pound into me, his frantic breaths in sync with his thrusts. Everything else in the universe faded away.

“Am I hurting you?” he asked, breaking me out of my trance. He slowed down for a moment, and that small break felt like torture.

I shook my head no, then arched by back and bucked my hips, grinding harder against his body to show him. When I tightened my muscles around his cock, his breaths became even more ragged. He gently bit my neck as he continued to fuck me into oblivion.

“So fucking good,” he rasped. “I feel like a fucking animal with you…can’t get enough.”

Despite how rough this was, I felt one-hundred-percent safe. I had fully surrendered, and that had most definitely never happened to me before.

My eyelids were heavy as I bent my head back. He placed his hand around my chin and stuck his thumb in my mouth. I sucked on it as he watched intently.

My orgasm suddenly rolled through me. As I cried out, his body began to shake. He groaned in ecstasy, and I felt a rush of heat as he came hard, balls-deep inside of me.

Ryder moved in and out of me slowly long after we’d both climaxed. I could feel myself revving up all over again, wanting more.

After a few minutes of holding me against the wall while his breathing calmed, he finally pulled out and put me down. “That was…wow.”

Still breathing heavily, I nodded, unable to find words.

Ryder grabbed a sponge and squirted some shower gel into it. He began to wash me gently. As he placed it between my legs, I could feel his semen spilling out of me, gathering between my thighs.

Teasing me with the sponge, he whispered in my ear, “I love seeing my cum drip out of you.”

His words made my nipples stiffen. I was most definitely ready for a second round.

He squeezed out the sponge a few times before reapplying the soap and handing it to me. “Will you wash me?”

“I would love to.”

From top to bottom, I ran the sponge over his gorgeous body, appreciating every muscle, every groove on this beautiful man. I pumped some shampoo into my palm and rubbed my hands into his head. He closed his eyes to enjoy the feeling. When I’d finished, he opened them and put shampoo on his own hand to return the favor.

Ryder massaged the suds over my scalp with his large hands. I could have let him do that all night; it felt so good. After he rinsed all of the soap from my hair, he held me under the water again, kissing my head over and over. I’d never felt so cherished in my entire life, and I found myself in tears.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m just really emotional right now.”

“Can I tell you something?” he asked, taking my face in his hands.

“Yes.”

“My mind has been going in circles the past couple of days, thinking about a lot of shit—things I’d do differently with my father, other random thoughts. As I found myself lamenting my loss, I thought about you—how your father was never in your life, how we’re both in the same position now, not having either of our parents around. I was fortunate to have my father as long as I did. But you live with the loss of a man who’s still walking the Earth. And even though you don’t talk about it, I know that hurts you. The moment I realized the meaning behind your stage name, I figured that out. You’re just strong and don’t show your vulnerable side.”

He caressed my cheek. “Anyway, I do have a point to all this.” He kissed me softly. “My point is, wherever he is, your father has no idea what a beautiful, kind, precious human he created. And that’s a damn shame for him. Because you are undoubtedly his biggest accomplishment, and he doesn’t even realize it.”

The water rained down on us, washing away my tears as he continued.

“You’ve brought me so much happiness, and you coming here to L.A. is literally what’s keeping me sane right now. You’re precious to me, Eden. I hope you know that.”

He’d rendered me speechless. He was right. As much as I’d never let my father’s abandonment define my self-worth, there was a shadow of hurt that never really went away.

The urge to tell Ryder I loved him was strong, but I wasn’t going to be the first to say it, even though I wanted to.

I settled on, “You’re precious to me, too.”





CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR




* * *





EDEN




The funeral was even harder than I’d anticipated. The strength Ryder had shown the day before seemed nonexistent now. The finality of it all seemed to hit him today.

He bawled when they lowered the casket into the ground, and that was really hard to watch. All I could do was rub his back, but no words would comfort him.

After the burial, Ryder had organized a lunch at a fancy restaurant in downtown L.A. for family, friends, and the closest business associates. He didn’t have a lot of relatives because his father was also an only child. Some cousins from his mother’s side were there, along with some of his good friends, including Mallory, who’d stuck around for the meal, much to my dismay. Aside from whispering a couple of things to Ryder here and there, she’d kept her distance. But her eyes were always firmly planted on him. I could tell it was killing her not to be the woman by his side.