Dark Sins, page 14
A flush rises in Avery’s cheeks and I grab her ankles and drag her over, right to the edge of the bed. She squeals and I lower to my knees, spread her legs and drag my rough, bristled cheek up an inside thigh. Her body tenses and I place steamy kisses up, up, up. Until I reach her wet core and lick up her folds. A cry rips from her mouth and I suck her clit into my mouth, working the little bud until her hips buck up off the bed.
Avery’s hands dig into the sheets, and she’s twisting and moaning as I lick and suck. I slide one, two fingers up inside her and blow softly. As my fingers move in and out, stroking her, I lean back on my haunches and soak up the rapturous look that moves across her gorgeous face. “Come for me, Ave.”
For a moment she hovers at the edge of her climax, but the slightest amount of pressure from my thumb on her clit pushes her over. “Oh, God, Ryker,” she cries. I revel in the way her entire body seems to roll with pleasure.
Then, I get up, move onto the bed, and shift her onto her side. I grind up against her delectable behind and nip her shoulder. Little hellion rubs her ass against my cock and I’m done. I grab one of the condoms, tear it open and roll it on. My hand grasps the top of Avery’s hip, still laying on her side, and I hold her in place. Then, I slide up into her wet warmth with a groan.
“You’re so fucking wet. For me,” I hiss.
“Only you,” she says, pressing her back into my chest.
My top leg moves over hers, trapping it, and I thrust up hard. I set a ruthless pace and reach around to rub her.
“Ryker, God!” Her voice is raspy, desperate, and she grabs a pillow in her fist.
I need to see those cornflower eyes roll back in an orgasm so I pull out, flip her onto her back and plunge back inside with one, deep thrust. Her nails dig into the backs of my shoulders and I grunt, picking up the pace, slamming into her.
We almost died today. The thought makes me work harder and I tilt her up and sink to the hilt. Jesus Christ. Nothing ever felt so good and I’m on the verge of exploding. “Look at me, Ave,” I say. My voice sounds raw and desperate.
Avery meets my gaze, her blue eyes melding with mine. As we move together, it’s just not our bodies that are in perfect sync. It’s our hearts and souls, too. They have to be, I think, because when I’m inside her, it’s like I see God.
We both scream out at the exact same moment. The orgasm that rocks my body is more powerful than any I’ve experienced before and the normal shudder is like a full-blown fucking seizure that shakes my body down to my toes.
“Jesus,” I hiss and drop down beside her. What the fuck? Why is it so damn intense with her?
Because you love her, a small voice whispers.
No. I can’t afford to love anyone. Not anymore. Especially not someone who is so good and so goddamn wonderful. If I ever lost her, I’d lose my mind.
Enjoy tonight, Ryker. Because tomorrow you have to walk away. You don’t deserve her and you can’t give her what she wants or needs. I’m broken. Avery deserves someone whole.
I roll away from her, go to the bathroom to get rid of the condom and take a few deep breaths, trying to collect myself. Whatever it is between us...it’s too powerful. And, that scares the shit out of me because I am always in control.
Strong, disciplined and focused. Until I smell that sweet sugary smell of Avery’s. Then, I don’t know up from down and all I want to do is kiss her all over. When I walk back into the bedroom, she’s sitting up with the sheet wrapped around her. She slides out of bed and motions for me to follow.
“C’mon, I want to bandage your arm.”
I follow her into the kitchen, pull out a pair of shorts from the duffle bag and slip them on. I’m bigger than Gray so they’re not quite as roomy as I’d like, but they’ll do. Avery glances down and smirks.
“Nice shorts.”
“I can take them off,” I say and sit down in a chair.
“Keep them on. For now,” she adds with a wicked smile.
As she starts to put some antibacterial cream on my shoulder where the bullet grazed, I look down and study her cute toes painted with pink nailpolish. “I miss your little pink slippers with the poof on top,” I say and slide a hand around her waist.
“Ryker,” she admonishes and wiggles out of my grasp. “I’m trying to tend to your wounds.”
“So serious,” I tease and pinch her ass.
Avery jumps with a squeal and swats at my hand. “Will you please behave yourself?”
“For now,” I say, echoing her words.
I sigh and let her wrap my arm in a bandage and then fuss over the endless scrapes. Her fingers trail over the tattoo on my upper arm.
“Luke had the same tattoo,” she says.
“We got them together.”
“My Frogmen,” she says with a small smile.
I like the possessive tone in her voice. Am I hers? Is she mine?
For now, yes.
“Did you guys have funny call signs?” she asks.
“They were cool, not funny.”
“Tell me.”
“Well, you know we had a love for all things Star Wars.”
“Oh, no,” she says and fights back a grin. “Were you Leia or Yoda?”
I reach out and pull her down onto my lap. “You are hysterical,” I say and nuzzle the back of her neck. Then, I nip her shoulder. “Luke was Skywalker, obviously, and I was Solo.”
“Oh, Han,” she says, pulling the sheet up, and straddling me. “I’ll be your Princess Leia any day.” When she begins kissing my neck, my eyes slide shut, and I dig my fingers into her hips.
“Will you put your hair in puffs for me?” I ask on a breathless whisper.
“I’ll even wear the gold bikini.”
I let out a husky laugh and sit back, enjoying the feel of her soft lips moving up along my jaw. She presses butterfly kisses along my cheek, at the corner of my eye and above my eyebrow.
“I think you missed my lips,” I tease.
“I’m getting there,” she says and continues to trail languid kisses down the other side of my face.
Finally, she finds my mouth and the kiss is slow and steamy.
I slide my hands under her, stand up and carry her back to the bedroom. I’ve had enough first aid and it’s time to enjoy the rest of our night.
Our last night together in Columbia.
Our last night together forever.
Chapter Twenty-One
Avery
The flight back to Los Angeles goes way too fast. Way faster than the flight down to Colombia. Every moment sitting beside Ryker, stealing glances at his handsome profile, makes my heart flutter. I flush when I think about last night and parts of my body still ache from the things we did.
Ryker Flynn is everything I ever imagined and more. He’s a consummate lover, thorough and attentive, but there’s something else, something powerful that happens when we’re together. When he’s holding my gaze with those whisky-colored eyes and moving deep inside me, I feel things I’ve never known existed.
I am falling so in love with him, I think. Why even deny it?
And, now that we’re heading back to L.A., I have no idea what he’s thinking or where we go from here. Even though he’s being polite and considerate, I can already feel him pulling away. Those damn walls of his are so hard to penetrate. The moment I think I’m making some kind of progress, they shoot up all over again.
And, that breaks my heart.
But, I’m going to fight for my man. And, I’m going to show him that we are better together than apart.
Ryker is a man who has sacrificed things his entire life. He’s always focused on his work and, in the process, sacrificed his personal life. I don’t get the feeling he’s ever been in love and if you’d ask him, he’d probably say he doesn’t deserve it. Always the martyr.
For once, I want him to start thinking about what he wants and needs. And, I hope, that’s me.
After we land at LAX, we head straight for a taxi since we don’t have any luggage. We both wear a pair of cargo pants and t-shirt from Gray so it’ll be nice to get back home and slip into my own clothes. And I can’t wait to get Liberty back.
We decide to stop at my place first so I can change and then head over to his condo. It’s strange to be home, I think, as I unlock the door. But, I’m glad to be back. The last week has been an absolute whirlwind and my time is all off since Columbia is three hours ahead.
I change into a pair of leggings and a light sweater. Then, I spritz some of my Pink Sugar perfume across me and head back out to the living room where Ryker waits on the couch. “Are you hungry?” I ask.
“Starving,” he says.
“Want to grab some food on the way to your place?”
“In-n-Out?”
“You read my mind,” I say.
We hop in my Jeep, grab some cheeseburgers and animal-style fries from the iconic Cali burger joint and head over to Ryker’s condo. We devour our food then he heads down to his room to change into something that suits him a little bit better. Even though it was kind of cute that his cargo pants were a few inches too short.
Ryker looks much more comfortable in his own clothes when he returns and I pop up off the couch.
“I just called Jax and he, Griff and Harlow are still at the office so let’s head over. Liberty is there, too.”
“Oh, I missed her so much,” I say.
“He said he’s got a couple of new cell phones for us, too.”
Ryker’s condo is super close to the Platinum Security office and we get there in no time. I pull my Jeep up to the curb and we hop out. He guides me over to the front door and opens it for me. A moment later, Liberty comes rushing out of an office, bounds down the hall and jumps up on me. The pure joy on her face is priceless.
“I missed you, baby girl,” I say and Ryker bends down and pets her. I love that he loves animals so much, especially mine.
“You should get yourself a dog,” I say, watching the way he lights up when he pets Liberty. Ryker is the perfect candidate for a service dog, but I know he’d never do it. He’s too stubborn and has too much pride. After everything that happened, I’m willing to bet he never even spoke to anyone about it. Just suffered in silence.
He scratches behind Liberty’s ear. “I will. One of these days.”
“Flynn! Down here,” Griff calls.
“C’mon,” Ryker says and places a hand on my lower back. He guides me down to the back corner office, Liberty trailing behind us.
Griff and Jax stand up and they all do this hand slide and knuckle bump that makes me smile. “Welcome back, bro,” Griff says.
“Good to see you both,” Jax says.
“Thank you for watching Liberty. I hope she was good for you and Easton.”
“She was very good. So much so that we’re talking about adopting a shepherd.”
I rub Liberty’s furry head. “You should. They’re the best.”
“So, fill us in,” Griff says, his bright blue eyes mischievous as he looks from me to Ryker. “Anything we should know?”
I glance at Ryker and feel a wave of nerves kick in. I’m not even sure what’s going on between us, but Griff seems to approve.
“Where should we start?” Ryker asks me.
“How about when we got kidnapped?”
Both Jax and Ryker straighten up. At the same moment, Harlow appears in the doorway. “Did you say kidnapped?” she asks.
I look up and get my first look at Harlow Vaughn, P.S’s super smart computer genius and hacker extraordinaire. She’s gorgeous with her dark brown hair swept up in a ponytail and she possesses intuitive bluish-gray eyes. “You must be Avery,” she says and smiles.
“It’s nice to finally meet you,” I say and shake her hand.
“You, too. Now what the hell? Who kidnapped you?”
“Castillo,” Ryker answers.
“Oh, shit,” Griff says.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Jax exclaims.
“Unfortunately, no.” Ryker starts telling them the story about how we were buying souvenirs at a local market when we got tazed and snatched off the street by some of Castillo’s men. He tells them how we were taken to his compound instead of having to break into it.
“He’s a complete ego maniac,” I say. “He has all these poisonous animals in aquariums and threatened us with them.”
“We’re lucky we made it out of there before he brought out the pit viper,” Ryker says.
“Pit viper?” Harlow echoes with a shiver. “God. This is why I’m a hacker. I can stay safely inside, behind my computer.”
“But, my girl was very brave when she came face to face with the poison dart frog,” Ryker says.
My girl. I like the sound of that.
“That’s because I like frogs,” I say. We share a little smile and I’m pretty sure everyone else in the room notices.
“So, how’d you escape?” Griff asks.
“They called Castillo out and I cut our zip ties-”
“Knife in the boot?” Griff confirms.
“Always,” Ryker answers. “We made it outside, got Avery over the wall and then I ran into a little trouble with an AK-47. But, I made it over and we had to trek through the jungle for awhile.”
“Castillo sent his men after us. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, we went over a waterfall and got caught in a mudslide. That’s when we lost our phones. Oh, and, Ryker’s arm got grazed by a bullet.”
“Jesus,” Griff says.
“We made our way to a small town and called Gray. He let us stay at a safehouse of his and then we flew out this morning.”
“And, here we are,” I say. Liberty presses her long snout against my leg and I stroke her head.
Jax reaches into his desk and pulls out two new phones. He slides them across the desk and we each scoop one up and say thanks. “So, what’s the next step?” Jax asks.
“We need to find her old source,” Ryker says. “The only person other than Castillo who knows Valkyrie’s true identity.”
“He’s like a ghost, though. It’s going to be impossible,” I tell them.
“What’s your old source’s name?” Harlow asks.
“John Miller,” I say. “As if that will help.”
“I’m on it,” she says and stands up. “Soon as I find anything out, I’ll let you guys know.” She gives me a big smile. “And, besides, I like challenges.”
“Thanks, Harlow,” I say.
“Don’t worry. I’ll dig up something. No one can stay a ghost for long.” With a swish of her ponytail, she heads back over to her office.
“I’m glad I hired her,” Jax says.
“Because I told you to,” Griff reminds him.
“Right. Well, either way, she’s exactly what we needed around here.”
When I stifle a yawn behind my hand, Ryker immediately notices. “We should get you home,” he says. “It’s been a long 24 hours.”
I nod and grab Liberty’s leash off the edge of Jax’s desk. “Tell Easton hello,” I say and clip the leash on her collar. “And, thank you again for babysitting.”
“Any time,” Jax says.
“I would’ve offered, too,” Griff says. “But Lexi has a cat. I don’t think Whimsy would approve.”
I laugh. “No problem. I’m going to go load Liberty in the Jeep.”
Ryker nods. “Okay. Be out in a second.”
I give the guys a little wave and head out to my car. Suddenly, I feel like I’m half asleep on my feet. The adventure, danger and excitement from the last few days hits me hard and I’m ready to climb into my bed and go to sleep.
I help Liberty into the car and slide into the driver’s seat. A minute later, Ryker opens the door and gets inside. On our way back to his place, the ride is pretty quiet. Then, I’m pulling up in front of his condo.
I don’t know what to do or say and I tighten my grip on the steering wheel. Finally, I turn to him and he’s watching me closely, his gaze intent. “Thank you,” I whisper. “For everything.”
Suddenly, he leans forward, tilts my chin up and kisses me. It’s soft and sweet. “Goodbye, Avery,” he says. Then, he slips out, shutting the door behind him.
My eyes slide shut and my heart stops mid-beat.
Goodbye, Avery.
His words sound so final. Like everything that happened between us is over.
With a heavy heart, I drive back to North Hollywood and return to my quiet apartment. I change into a nightshirt, wash my face, brush my teeth and crawl under my covers. Liberty jumps onto the bed and curls up beside me.
And, I’ve never felt so utterly alone.
I wish Ryker was lying next to me. God, I miss the warmth of his hard body pressed to mine. I miss his kisses and caresses.
How am I supposed to just continue on with my life as though we never slept together in Columbia? As though I never fell in love with him? As though I don’t want him by my side every day for the rest of my life?
I know he’s pulling away because he thinks it’s for the best. He thinks his demons and the things he’s done in the past make him somehow unworthy of love.
But, that couldn’t be any further from the truth.
I’ve never known a man who deserves love as much as Ryker does. Time and again in Columbia, he risked his life for me. He’s honorable and brave.
I just wish he could see what I see.
It isn’t over yet, I think, and that gives me a flicker of hope. We still have to track down John Miller and find out Valkyrie’s true identity. Only then will my name be cleared.
And, maybe then Ryker can find some sort of peace with his past.
I’ll do anything in my power to help him forgive himself and bury his demons. I know better than anyone what it’s like to live with guilt and blame. But, for the first time in a very long time, I see a light at the end of the tunnel.
I let out a small sigh and reach over to pet Liberty.
I’m going to figure that man out, I decide. I’m going to help him realize that he deserves love and tear down his walls. And, in the process, I only hope he realizes that he cares for me as much as I care for him.
