Claimed by Love (Love in Bloom: The Ryders, Book 2): Duke Ryder Read online

  “So damn sweet,” he said before claiming all that wet heat with his open mouth. He plunged his tongue inside her, lapping up that sweet honey taste, then teased her with soft kisses and thrust his tongue in deep again. She fisted her hands in his hair as her thighs flexed.

  “Duke. God…Duke.”

  He stroked his thumb over her swollen clit as he sealed his mouth over her center, and she shattered against him. He licked, sucked, loved her through her climax, and just as it started to ease, he brought his mouth to her overly sensitive nerves and took her over the edge again.

  **

  GABRIELLA LAY SPENT beneath Duke, trying to catch her breath. The man’s mouth should come with a warning label. After two intense orgasms, she could barely move, but when Duke’s fingers sought her most sensitive spot again and he took her in a kiss that was the perfect mix of rough and gentle, it took only seconds before she was coming apart for a third magnificent time.

  “Baby,” he whispered against her mouth. “I can’t wait another second. I need to be inside you.”

  It was all she could do to reach for his pants and fumble with the button. He grabbed her hand and sucked two fingers into his mouth, swirling his tongue deliciously around them.

  “Ohmygod…” The sight of him sucking her fingers made her want to suck him.

  His eyes narrowed as he pulled them from his mouth and lowered them between her legs.

  Holy. Shit.

  He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her again—hard—thrusting his tongue as if he were thrusting his shaft between her legs, and she nearly lost her mind.

  “Touch yourself,” he whispered.

  Oh God. Could she? She’d never touched herself in front of a man before. But he was looking at her like nothing in the world could ever be as beautiful, and after the way he’d made her feel, she wanted to please him. And herself.

  He settled his fingers over hers, pressing hers into her wet folds. “That’s it, baby. Show me how you like it.”

  She didn’t even try to tell him that he already knew exactly how to touch her. She could see the heat in his eyes as she touched herself, feel the need rolling off of him as he rose to strip off his pants. He pulled off his dark briefs, and her hand stilled. Holy Jesus. The man was hung.

  “Don’t stop, baby,” he said as he stroked himself. Once, twice, three long delicious strokes that turned her on beyond anything she’d ever known. Her limbs trembled as she watched him remove a condom from his wallet and tear it open with his teeth. So hot.

  He came down on his knees between her legs. Her eyes traveled over his broad shoulders, down his muscles, and lingered on the ink on his biceps. She didn’t have more than a second to wonder about the tattoos, because her eyes were drawn to his hands. She could barely breathe, much less remember to move her hand as he sheathed his hard length with one hand and cupped his balls with the other. She’d taste him before he left this island, but right now she needed to feel him inside her. Every blessed inch of him.

  He lowered his mouth and slicked his tongue over her fingers, spreading her juices and making her even wetter.

  “Oh God….” It came out as a desperate whisper, and desperate she was. Just the sight of his tongue laving over her, the heat of his mouth as his tongue circled her clit, brought her right up to the edge again.

  He lifted her fingers and pinned her to the ground with his heated stare as he dragged his tongue up the length of them, then sucked them into his mouth again.

  She squeezed her thighs together, trying to stave off the need to come. She lifted her hips as he came down over her again, settling the head of his cock against her center. He kissed her hard and fast as he thrust in deep in a single stroke. She cried out, and he swallowed it down, the smile on his lips evident even as they kissed. He didn’t screw like it was a race to the finish line, like the other men she’d been with. It took a moment for her body to adjust to his girth, and in that moment Duke slowed the kiss, moaning into her mouth and moving his hips in slow, sensual circles, each time stroking over the special spot that had her panting, clawing. One big hand cupped the back of her head and the other slid beneath her ass, lifting her slightly, until their bodies were aligned so perfectly, not even air could come between them.

  “Feel that?” He pressed shivery kisses to the corner of her mouth.

  “How can…” she panted out, “I not?”

  “Tell me what you feel,” he whispered. “Do you feel the way we fit together? The way you took all of me in, so tight, so perfect? Do you feel this?”

  His penis jumped, and she nearly lost her mind with the sensation.

  “Yes.” She closed her eyes, and he kissed the lids.

  “Open your eyes, baby. I want to see you as we come together for the first time.”

  Lord. His words. His stare. His talented mouth, hands, shaft. She’d died and gone to heaven, right there with the moonlight shining down on them and the ocean spraying over their heated flesh.

  She rocked her hips as he began to move, and they found their rhythm. God, their glorious, perfect rhythm stroked over all the right places. He slanted his mouth over hers again, kissing, licking, sucking her tongue into his mouth in an erotic dance she never wanted to end. Her hands moved over his bunching, flexing muscles. He was the most confident, virile man she’d ever met. Forget overly manicured—the man could wax his entire body and he’d be more of a man than the men she knew.

  “Can I lay your head down?” he whispered against her neck.

  “Yes. Anything.” He could turn her over and do her from behind and she’d be all in.

  “Christ, baby. Don’t say that to me when I’ve got you naked in my arms. You have no idea what I want to do to you, the places I want to take you.”

  Her thoughts fragmented as he guided her legs around his hips and clutched her ass with both hands. The intensity of his stare pierced through her, as if he could see right into her thoughts. She had never explored her darkest sexual fantasies, and she was sure they were nothing compared to what he probably had in mind. The thoughts excited her. His fingers slid between her ass cheeks as he lifted her hips and pounded into her, masterfully taking her right up to the edge.

  “Du—”

  Her words were lost in her pleasure. He buried his face in her neck and sealed his teeth over her skin, bringing a sting of exquisite pain that shot her over the edge with breakneck force. Her body thrust and bucked, and sweat pooled between their bodies as he eased his bite and sucked gently, pressing tender kisses to the sting as he drove harder with every rock of his hips.

  His mouth disappeared from her neck.

  “Gabriella, open your eyes.” It was a command of pure possession.

  Her eyes fluttered open as his powerful hips continued to pound into her. The look in his eyes was pure, hypnotizing seduction. She’d never forget the way he looked at her, the way he spoke to her, touched her. His body moved with the magnitude of a gale-force wind, pulling her under as passion raged through them, carrying them over the edge in a mass of tangled limbs, groans, and pants.

  And when he whispered in her ear, “I can’t hide. Can’t hide my feelings.”

  She knew she couldn’t—wouldn’t want to—either.

  Chapter Thirteen

  DUKE AND GABRIELLA lay beneath the stars as they came back down to earth. She felt so right in his arms, with the sweet cadence of her breath whispering over his skin and the warm press of her thigh lying atop his. Duke ran his fingers through her hair while his mind tiptoed over uncharted territory, trying to decipher the feelings coursing through him. He didn’t want this night to end, couldn’t imagine waking up without Gabriella in his arms.

  When they finally decided to head back to their villas it was nearly two in the morning. The celebration had long ago ended.

  Gabriella was tucked against Duke’s side. One of her hands was splayed over his stomach, beneath his shirt, the other around his waist. He loved having her so close, feeling the warmth of their
emotions binding them together.

  “Baby?”

  “Mm?”

  “I want you to stay with me tonight.”

  She lifted sleepy eyes in his direction. “I don’t know.”

  His stomach plummeted as reality crept back in. He’d been so swept up in them, he hadn’t thought past his own desires.

  “Because of your family?” he asked.

  “Yes, but also…” She shifted her eyes away.

  He curled a finger beneath her chin, lifting her face, and kissed her softly.

  “Also what, baby? What more could keep you from me?”

  “I haven’t…I’ve never spent the whole night with a man before. I’m not sure how I’ll feel when the sun comes up.”

  He breathed a sigh of relief as he gathered her in close. “I won’t push you, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’m disappointed.”

  After walking Gabriella home and checking out her villa, because she didn’t lock the doors, he kissed her good night on the front porch.

  “You’re not upset?” she asked.

  “Upset? How could I possibly be upset after how close we’ve become? After the night we shared?” He pressed his lips to hers again. “Gabriella, I respect you and want you to be comfortable and happy.”

  “Thank you.”

  “There’s no thanks necessary, baby. I want to be your man, and being the first man you stay overnight with is now on the top of my to-do list. But what I failed to tell you, and what you really should know, is that I’ve never asked a woman to stay overnight with me before.”

  “Come on,” she said with wide eyes. “A guy like you? You’re all…passion and heart. I can’t see you not asking a woman to spend the night.”

  “That’s because you don’t know me well enough yet. Risk versus reward. I’ve never wanted to risk any woman becoming too attached to me.”

  She wrapped her arms around him and kissed the center of his chest. “Then why me?”

  “You really don’t know how special you are, do you?” She lifted her eyes to his, and he kissed her again. “When I saw you on the front porch of the welcome center that first day, I was physically attracted to you. You’re a gorgeous woman, and I’m sure you have tons of men vying for your attention. But when you spoke to me, assessing me with your sharp, inquisitive mind, I knew you weren’t just another attractive woman. You were sassy and a little combative, but you were also warm and loving to your niece and to Katarina. And then you became playful, and I was a goner from that moment on.”

  Her cheeks flushed as he tried to explain why he wanted her to spend the night, and he knew he wasn’t doing the depth of his feelings justice, but he had to try.

  “After two days of learning about who you are, your fears, hopes, dreams…I’m hoping you become attached.”

  “Because you find me attractive and smart,” she repeated with a straight face that confused the hell out of him.

  He looked up at the sky, and he realized that for the first time he had no valid reasons for what he felt. There was no data in his head to balance any type of risk versus reward scenario. What he felt came from his heart. When he met her gaze again, she was smiling.

  “I’m not making fun of you.” She pressed her finger to the center of his chest with a flirtatious smile. “I’m—”

  “Weighing the validity of my answers. Christ, I can’t imagine what it would be like to face you in the courtroom.” He covered her hand with his, holding it against his chest. “There are no hard and fast answers. I don’t know why you made my heart stutter, but you did, Gabriella. When I’m with you my focus is on you. Your thoughts, your hopes, your fears for the future of the island, which might not seem like much to you, but it’s a world away from who I usually am. I’m usually ultra-focused on my work. Women have always come after work, after meetings, after my business. I’ve never let a woman who was in any way involved with any of my investments into my life, or into my bed.”

  Her cheeks flushed with the vehemence of his words, but he needed her to hear the truth. He paused long enough to calm himself down, and when he spoke again, it was with all the emotion he’d been trapping inside.

  “Baby.” He gazed into her trusting eyes. “Can’t you feel it? I couldn’t have resisted you if my life depended on it.”

  “Well, technically”—she smirked—“you haven’t taken me to your bed yet.”

  “Not for lack of trying,” he said as he sealed his lips over hers, turning her sassy smirk into a sensual moan that aroused him all over again.

  Chapter Fourteen

  THE NEXT MORNING Gabriella awoke wondering what in the hell was wrong with her. She’d set out last night intent on keeping her distance from Duke, and she’d not only fallen under Duke’s spell, but she’d slept with him. Outside. This was out of the ordinary enough for her, but she’d also believed him when he’d made a promise there was no way in hell he could keep. Not that she thought now, even in the light of day, that Duke would intentionally lie. No, it was obvious that he was too thoughtful, too genuine in his statements and feelings to do that. But she was a lawyer. While he dealt with risk management of what could be, she dealt with the reality of what was.

  And, she realized as she showered and dressed, that she didn’t know what that reality was, exactly. Duke hadn’t been specific about what his visions were for the island, only that they were changing.

  She headed down to the beach to watch the sunrise. She needed some perspective, and the ocean always calmed her. Well, except last night when the sprays of the water had rained over them, cooling her heated skin so every breeze heightened her arousal.

  The sun was just beginning to sneak over the horizon as she reached the main road. It was too early for shops to be open, another favorite time of day. On the island, it seemed every minute was her favorite time of day.

  A cat strolled down the center of Main Street. She slowed to watch the cat and take a good look at the street she knew by heart. When she’d given Duke the tour, she’d veered away from the shops that had been closed for ages. Sometimes it was easy for her to ignore them, pretend they simply weren’t there, but now she deliberately walked down to what used to be Milton’s Hardware. She used to love visiting Mr. Milton at his store when she was young. He was such a Southern gentleman, and always smelled of Old Spice and mothballs. But she didn’t mind; it was his smell. The glass doors were dirty with fingerprints and dust. She shielded her eyes and peered into the empty building. She could still make out the counter to the right, where he used to keep a bucket of lollipops to hand out to kids. Her favorites were the green ones. Rows of metal shelves, once full of tools and paints, stood bare in the middle of the store. But those were things growing communities needed, and not significant enough on an island where more people left each year than visited.

  She walked a few doors down, to what was once the Elpitha Souvenir Shop. New York City tourists were so numerous that the shops not only remained busy throughout the year, but sales of souvenirs had spilled over to kiosks and tables on the sidewalks. Here they couldn’t even keep a single shop open. The beauty parlor slash barbershop next door was still alive and kicking, although the shop was open only on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

  Gabriella looked down at the chipped polish on her toes. Her sandals and feet were already dusty from her walk. As she headed toward the pier, her thoughts turned to Duke, and she sighed inwardly. It had been so tempting to go to his villa last night. The idea of waking up in his arms seemed luxurious in a way that she knew only he could make it feel. She wasn’t by any means a prude, and certainly hadn’t been a virgin, but somehow she’d always kept the morning after as her own, and today she was glad she had—even if part of her wondered if she’d have woken with the same conflicting thoughts if that wonderful man had been the first thing she’d seen. Somehow she doubted that her brain would have functioned that clearly.

  The transition from the hard surface to the sandy beach felt like heaven, and her anxiety inst
antly calmed. The sun rose in the distance, bringing with it a renewed sense of hope that this would all work out. As she crossed the beach, stepping over driftwood and a pile of seashells and pebbles, she knew that there was no way she could keep her feelings for the island and her feelings for Duke separate. The island had owned a piece of her heart for so very long. Duke was quickly seeping past those boundaries, becoming as important as the island was to her. It seemed so fast, but it felt so right. How was she supposed to slow it down?

  “Gabrielaki mou.”

  She turned, smiling at her grandfather’s voice. “I didn’t hear you behind me.” She hugged him, not surprised to see him out this early. They’d had many discussions while they’d watched the sun bloom in the sky.

  “I’m quiet in my old age,” he said in Greek. “May I join you?”

  “I’d like that.”

  They walked to the dock, and Gabriella reveled in this time with him, taking comfort in his familiarity. He wore a maroon button-down shirt she’d seen a million times and leather sandals that looked as aged as his dusty feet.

  The dock creaked as they made their way to the end. Gabriella helped her grandfather lower himself to a seated position on the edge, his feet dangling above the water. She remembered how he used to do the same for her when she was so little that he teased her about fish swallowing her whole. It saddened her that time was passing so quickly, and she was only sharing fits and spurts of time with him as her work schedule allowed. Family meant so much to her. She often longed to see the love in her mother’s eyes as she spoke Greek with her Southern drawl, or to see amusement in her father’s eyes when it was so conflicting to the words he’d spoken.

  “How are things with the investor?” he asked. “Duke.”

  She sighed, thinking of all the things she could say: He’s wonderful, so honest and sweet. So strong and masculine. He makes my heart turn over every time he looks at me. But he promises things he can’t possibly do, even if he wants to.