Ryan Reign (New York Ruthless #4)(15)

“Really? Like even invite Sean whatshisface for breakfast or something?” I grin at him.

He glares at me and I press my lips together to stop myself from laughing. “Too soon?”

“Much too soon,” he growls before he seals my mouth with one of his incredible kisses.



After he fucked me for a second time, Shane actually did order all eight desserts from the room service menu, and now we are sitting on the bed surrounded by plates of half-eaten cakes, profiteroles and macaroons.

“Oh, God, I am so full,” I groan and he laughs as he wraps an arm around me. I rest my head on his shoulder and sigh contentedly as he twirls a strand of my hair between his fingers.

“Would you really like me to be more like Erin?” I whisper.

“No! Not even a little bit. And I could happily kick my own ass for giving you the slightest indication that I would.” He rolls on top of me, brushing my hair back from my face as he stares down at me, his face full of emotion. “I love you, sweetheart. But if you ever go near Sean O’Connor again, I will give you the spanking of your life and I will make you watch while I slit his throat.”

I chew on my lip, because his possessiveness is so freaking hot. I love that I belong to him. But the irony of what he just said seems completely lost on him. “You have some pretty stark double standards, you know that?”

“And why is that?” he frowns.

“I can’t even talk to a guy you don’t like, yet Erin is allowed to fawn all over you whenever she wants, and when I bring it up you accuse me of acting like a child,” I challenge him.

“That’s completely different,” he snarls.

“Oh really?” I flash my eyebrows at him. “And why is that?”

“Because you are envious and I am possessive. They are two entirely different things.”

I shake my head in frustration. “You’re going to have to explain that one to me, because they seem like the same thing from where I’m standing.”

He laughs, but not his nice one that turns my insides to jelly. “You think I’m jealous of Sean O’Connor?”

I press my lips together.

“I am not jealous of him, sweetheart. I have no fucking worries that he’s going to sweep you off your feet and you’re going to run off into the sunset with him. It doesn’t even cross my mind that you might want to kiss him, or even fuck him.”

“You’re an arrogant asshole,” I snap.

He tilts his head to one side as he stares at me. “I’m arrogant because I know that you love me?”

“I never said that,” I protest. He’s twisting my words. I hate the way he does that.

“But you are saying that. I don’t worry about you with other men, because I trust you.”

I swallow hard. Damn him and his twisted logic. “So why did you just break Sean O’Connor’s arm and his face today then?”

“Because he touched you,” he growled. “And you belong to me. Nobody touches what is mine. Nobody touches you but me or my brothers. I am not envious of any man, sweetheart, but I told you how seeing you with another man makes me feel. You would do wise to remember that in future.”

I chew on my lip as he glares at me and the fire starts to build between my thighs.

“But the reason you don’t like being around Erin is because you are jealous of her,” he goes on.

I open my mouth to respond but I realize that he’s right, even though I won’t admit it yet. “You think that she’s somehow better than you, or that she has something you don’t.”

I stare up at him, not responding because I have no comeback.

“But she isn’t, and she doesn’t. If the only reason you didn’t like me being around her was because you wanted to scratch her eyes out for looking at me, I wouldn’t give a damn. But you hate her being around me because you think I’m going to fall for her or fuck her.”

“I don’t,” I whisper.

“No?” he frowns at me.

I roll my lips together. Damn his insightfulness. “I worry that you’re going to realize she is right for you, and I’m not,” I admit.

“Fuck, Jessie!” he snaps and I feel like we might be on the verge of another epic fight. But then he looks into my eyes and I see them blazing with fire. “Maybe I don’t tell you this often enough, so listen to what I’m about to say and believe that I mean it with every single fiber of my being. I love you. I would die for you. There is not one single fucking thing I would change about you and I am fucking honored to call you mine. But when you bring this shit up about her, you question my loyalty to you. Don’t you get that? She could lie next to me naked all night long and I wouldn’t fucking touch her.”

“Now I would scratch her eyes out if she did that.” I arch one eyebrow at him and he smiles. “But, I am sorry, Shane. I never thought of it that way. I do trust you.”

“I should fucking hope so,” he growls before he kisses me and I forget what we were even talking about.





Chapter 9





Jessie





The following morning, Conor and I are chatting on the laptop when Shane walks out of the bathroom with a white towel wrapped around his waist, sitting right below his perfectly chiseled abs.