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

  “He was okay?”

  “Better than okay. But how are you, baby? I was sad that you left. I think you would have gotten a kick out of seeing how confident David was by the end.”

  She dropped her eyes to his chest, feeling guilty for taking off but knowing she’d had to. Every second she’d watched him seeded him more deeply into her heart.

  “I had work to do. I’m leaving tomorrow morning to prepare for a case.”

  “Tomorrow? I don’t have to be back until Tuesday. I was planning on trying to meet with your grandfather again tomorrow, and talking to a few more business owners, but I was also hoping we’d have most of the day together.”

  She fought the urge to tell him she’d delay her flight, which was really, really hard to do. “It’s a big case. I’m leaving around eight so I have time to prepare.”

  “I understand.” He lifted his eyes to the back patio, where her laptop and papers were spread out on the table. “I’m interrupting. I should let you go.”

  Her heart was beating fast. She didn’t want him to leave. He was giving her the space she needed after all. He was so darn good! Screw work. She didn’t want a distraction. She wanted Duke. She wrapped her fingers around his and held on tight, holding his gaze. “I’ve done enough for tonight. Do you want to stay? Have a glass of wine?”

  His lips quirked up in a sexy, relieved smile. “There’s nothing I’d rather do.”

  She didn’t let the debate in her head dissuade her. How could she when her heart was telling her that she needed one more night with Duke? A few more hours to hear his voice, to feel the heat rolling off of him and her insides burn.

  He helped her gather the wine and glasses from the kitchen, and on the way outside, Duke picked up two candles and a lighter that she kept on the mantel. He flicked off the outdoor light and her nerves went a little crazy.

  She gathered her papers, feeling his presence behind her as he set the candles and wine down, then wrapped his arms around her from behind.

  “I missed you so much today.” His warm breath whispered over her neck, sending a shiver down her spine.

  She closed her eyes, reveling in the heavy thumping of his heart against her back, the way his hands splayed across her stomach, sending heat through her core. When he pressed kisses to her shoulder, she leaned in to him, wanting more.

  “God, how I missed you, baby.” He pressed a kiss to the back of her head.

  She turned in his arms and clutched his shirt, fighting the urgency inside her, the desire to tear his shirt right off. He gripped her hips tight, like he was never going to let her go—and God help her, because even after just a few short days, she wished he never would. One look at the smoldering flames in his eyes brought back the fantasies she’d had all afternoon of being crushed beneath him again.

  “I missed you, too.”

  A silent war appeared in the twitch of his eyes. “You can do this, Gabriella. You can separate us from my upcoming negotiations.”

  “Can I?” Oh, how I want to.

  “I have no doubt that you can do anything you put your beautiful mind to. The question is, Do you want to?”

  His fingers splayed over her hips as he lifted her easily onto the table, pushed her legs apart, and settled his powerful hips against her core. Lord. How was she supposed to think like this?

  He pressed his lips to her forehead, her cheek, the edges of her mouth, setting every nerve on fire.

  “It’s your call,” he whispered in her ear before trapping her lobe between his teeth and sucking it sensually.

  She closed her eyes, not wanting to think. Not wanting to decide, because what her heart wanted and her grandfather had asked of her conflicted so badly. He dipped his tongue in her ear, rocking her body with heat. She fisted her hands in his shirt, arching against him as his talented tongue explored a path down her neck. He nibbled, then stroked his tongue over the sting, before returning his heated breath to her ear.

  “I want to make love to you in a bed, Gabriella. In your bed. But I want so much more than tonight.” He licked the shell of her ear, then tipped her chin up with his fingers, and holy cow, the passion in his eyes reeled her right in.

  “I want mornings. I want to know everything about your life, not just the sexy…” He pressed his lips to hers. “Mind blowing…” He stroked his tongue over her lower lip. “Ravishing side.”

  “Yes…” It came in one long whisper. “I want you, Duke. I want you so bad.”

  He sealed his mouth over hers in a hard, hungry kiss as he lifted her into his arms, and her legs wrapped around his hips. He carried her inside, never breaking their connection, and set her on the edge of the bed. He reached over his shoulder, tugging off his shirt, pulled his wallet from his back pocket, and tossed two condoms on the bed. Two! Her eyes zeroed in on the grooves between his abs. She leaned forward and dragged her tongue over them. She reached for him, and he led her hands to the button on his pants.

  Thank God.

  “Take them off,” he said in a commanding, powerful voice that she wanted to obey.

  Her fingers were shaking so badly. He covered her hand with one of his, then cupped her face with the other, leaned forward, and kissed her again, hard at first, smothering and demanding and so delicious she went damp. Just as quickly the kiss turned slow and loving, to a series of intoxicating, drugging kisses. When their lips parted he didn’t move away. He was so close, his eyes nearly black with desire.

  “If I’m too aggressive, tell me. I get carried away with you. I want all of you, Gabriella.”

  “You’re not. I’m…I love this side of you.” Her head was spinning, her body was humming, and she wanted more. More of his dirty talk, more of his touch, more of his heart.

  He pressed another tender kiss to her mouth. “Okay, baby. You tell me if I cross a line. Don’t worry. I don’t have a secret dark side that wants you to submit to my every whim. Only some of them.” He searched her eyes again and said with a wicked grin, “You hold all the strings.”

  Ohmygod. She’d never heard anything sexier, never felt so desired.

  “Take them off,” he said in a steady voice as he released her hand, which he’d trapped at his button.

  She tore open the button and ripped his zipper down, feeling empowered, emboldened by his desires. She tugged his pants down his thick thighs, leaving him in his black briefs, the tip of his erection peeking out over the waistband. She licked her lips, wanting to taste him, to pleasure him like he pleasured her. He toed off his shoes and took his pants the rest of the way off.

  “Everything,” he said.

  She glanced up, and the sight of his predatory stare spurred her on. She was so hungry for him, to feel the weight of him on her tongue, the thickness stretching her lips. Her hands shook as she pulled his briefs down his legs and his erection sprang free. She didn’t wait for direction—couldn’t wait another second to taste him. The first slick of her tongue brought a guttural moan as his head tipped forward, his eyes glued to her. She licked him from base to tip in one slow stroke, wetting his shaft on the sides, then took him in her hand. She stroked him as she licked the bead glistening at the tip, and his essence burst in her mouth.

  “Baby.” He reached down and stroked her cheek, bringing her eyes up to him. “I love watching you.”

  She kept her eyes trained on him as she worked him with her hand and swirled her tongue over the swollen tip.

  “Suck me, baby.”

  She gripped his hips and moved his cock to her lips, then glanced up at him, feeling in control and sexy as hell as she opened her mouth and guided him in. He groaned again as her lips circled his shaft, and she dug her fingers into his hips, moving him in and out of her mouth.

  “That’s it, baby. Take me deep.”

  She moved one hand to his shaft as she worked him with her mouth. He rocked his hips, though she could see restraint in his jaw, feel it in the tension rolling off his body. She knew he was holding back, and she didn’t want him to. She
wanted to know she could shatter his resolve as wildly as he shattered hers.

  She rose to her feet and said in a commanding voice she didn’t recognize, “Take my dress off.”

  “You have no idea how hot you are when you say that to me.” He lifted her dress over her head and tore her bra right off, breaking the clasp. The sting of material as it tore against her skin amped up her arousal. She’d never done this before, never had anything but missionary, boring sex, and she didn’t want to stop. Everything he did, from the feral look in his eyes to the way he was tearing her panties off, made her ache for more of him. More of his strength, his passion.

  “You’re so beautiful, baby.” He reached for her, and she dropped back down to the bed, tugged his hips closer, and licked his balls. He fisted his hands in her hair and growled. Holy hell, that noise! She needed him, needed this. She licked his balls again, then lifted them and licked the tender skin beneath.

  “Holy Christ. Gab—”

  She sucked his balls into her mouth, laving them with her tongue as she worked his shaft. Every pleasure-filled moan told her she was touching him right. His jaw clenched, and he was barely breathing. She knew he was struggling to remain in control.

  “Do it, Duke.” She wanted to say the F-word, but she was having trouble getting up the nerve. Her whole body was shaking. She was so wet between her legs, so ready, and he hadn’t even touched her yet. She threw caution to the wind. “Fuck my mouth. Let me taste you.”

  “Baby?” His hands stilled. “This is so much more than fucking.”

  She felt the truth in her entire being. Being with Duke was like an out-of-body experience, where she was watching herself fall for a man, touch a man, in new, exhilarating ways, and she didn’t want to stop.

  She guided him into her mouth, circling the base with one hand, while clutching his ass with the other. Her eyes were glued to his as he began thrusting into her mouth. Every thrust brought the tip to the back of her throat.

  “So fucking sexy.”

  She pulled away. “Don’t hold back. I want this, Duke. I want you.”

  “I don’t want to hurt you,” he said so carefully she wanted to thank him.

  “You never will. I trust you.”

  “Relax your throat baby.” He stroked her hair. “Close your eyes and relax, and if you need me to stop, tell me.”

  She closed her eyes, knowing he’d take care of her. He pushed in slowly, caressing the sides of her face as he began moving faster, harder. She gripped the backs of his thighs, wanting more, wanting to taste his seed.

  “Baby, I’m not going to last.”

  She didn’t want him to. She pressed on the backs of his thighs, letting him know, and then his hands fisted in her hair, and he thrust in hard, pistoned his hips again and again. His thighs went rigid, and the next thrust brought a hot stream of come to the back of her throat.

  “Gabriella—”

  She let him give everything he had, and she took, took, took. When the last of his release left his body, his hands brushed over her cheeks again. He lifted her up to her feet and sealed his mouth over hers. His pungent taste lingered on her tongue, in her throat, and the thrill of knowing he tasted himself made the kiss that much hotter. He clutched her ass, slipping one hand between her thighs. She was so ready, so sensitive, she nearly came apart.

  **

  DUKE LAID GABRIELLA on the bed and came down over her, still recovering from the intensity of his orgasm. Her body was flushed, her eyes hazy with desire, and as his chest brushed over her sensitive nipples, she gasped.

  “So sexy,” he said, unable to keep the sentiment locked away. He brushed her hair from her forehead and whispered, “Are you okay?”

  She nodded. “More than okay.”

  “Don’t ever feel like you have to do anything you don’t want to with me, okay? I want to experience everything with you, but not at the expense of your enjoyment.” It had taken a Herculean effort not to thrust into her mouth as hard as his body craved, but he didn’t want to take a chance of hurting her.

  “I never knew it could feel this good. Just being with you brings a new level of pleasure.” His hand slid over her ribs, up her breast. He rolled her nipple between his finger and thumb. He was hard again, ready to feel her heat surrounding him.

  “Oh God, that feels good.” Her eyes fluttered closed, and she trapped her lower lip between her teeth.

  Duke sucked that lip into his mouth, and seeing her so close to the edge stoked the fire within him. He claimed her mouth in another demanding kiss, pulling a series of sexy moans from her lungs. He kissed a path straight down her body, unable to curb his desire to taste her for another second. Splaying his hands over her inner thighs, he spread them wide and brought her knees up so her feet were flat on the bed. He licked and kissed one inner thigh, dragging his teeth across her sensitive skin. She fisted her hands in the mattress, and he moved to the other thigh, enjoying the view of her glistening promised land.

  “You’re so wet, baby, so beautiful and ready.”

  She moaned, and he sucked her inner thigh into his mouth, laving her skin with his tongue, as if he were kissing her mouth.

  “Duke.” She breathed hard, reaching for his head. “I need you.”

  “Oh, baby, you’ll get me. Don’t you worry.”

  He slicked his tongue over her wet, swollen sex. She tasted sweet, so damn sweet. He pressed his tongue to her clit and sank two fingers inside her. She gasped and her thighs trembled, but he kept them trapped as he devoured her center. She arched against him as he loved her with his fingers and mouth. Her head thrashed from side to side as her hot channel tightened around his fingers.

  “That’s it, baby. Let go.”

  “Duke,” she cried out as he continued moving his fingers in and out at a quick pace, while his mouth kept her at the peak.

  “Ohgodohgod. So good,” she cried.

  Duke moved up her body, sealing his mouth over one of her nipples, while rubbing his hard length over her sensitive nerves. He pinched her other nipple just hard enough to make her hips buck and her breathing hitch. Her fingernails dug into his back as he ground his shaft against her in slow, sensual circles. The friction was almost too much for him to bear, and when she arched back, he knew she was close. He used his teeth to tease her nipple, and she cried out in long, indiscernible noises that nearly pulled him over the edge, too. He lifted his hips, pressing the head of his shaft against her swollen, hot center. He had to feel her, even if just for a second. Had to be inside her unsheathed and feel all that warmth, tight and wet, surrounding him.

  He stayed there as she came down from her climax, the head of his shaft drenched at her opening. She gazed up at him with trusting eyes. He knew he shouldn’t ask, not when she’d told him she needed space. Not when she’d made arrangements to leave the island, which was a huge fucking signal about that space. But just as he couldn’t stay away from her tonight—he’d had to see her, had to kiss her, had to touch her—he was powerless to keep his greedy thoughts to himself.

  “Baby.” He touched his forehead to hers and gazed into her eyes. “I feel so much for you. I can’t get close enough to you. I cannot wait to feel all of you, with nothing between us.”

  “Yes. God, yes.”

  Her answer slayed him. Silence hung between them for a beat as he debated. He shouldn’t have asked, because now that he had her consent, he knew it wasn’t enough. He needed more.

  He reached for the condom, and confusion filled her beautiful eyes. He cradled her face in his hand. “When you trust me completely, when you no longer need space and a clear head, because you trust that my head will be clear enough for the both of us, when you realize I never break a promise, especially to you, then we’ll indulge. Then you’ll really be mine.”

  She groaned with frustration. “But—”

  He shook his head. “I shouldn’t have asked. I’m sorry. We both know you’ll wake up tomorrow and overthink us again. I don’t ever want to be the guy yo
u wish you hadn’t done something with. When you’re sure, we’ll know, and until then the anticipation will only make us that much closer.”

  “God,” she whispered. “You do know how to make a girl crazy.”

  He sheathed his erection and settled his hips over hers. “Baby, you’re the only woman I ever want to drive crazy. And just the thought of feeling your heat wrapped around me without protection has me so fucking hard.”

  “You have such a naughty mouth. I like it.” She leaned up and licked his lips.

  “I love that dirty mouth of yours. When you were sucking me…”

  He gripped her ass, lifted her hips, and pushed just the head of his shaft inside her.

  “Seeing my cock go in and out of your swollen lips, baby. That was unfuckingbelievable. I can’t wait to feel you come around me, to feel your body pulsing with need as I—”

  Overwhelmed, he sealed his mouth over hers and thrust in deep, and he didn’t slow down. Gabriella clawed at his back, tearing through his skin and leaving a scintillating burn. He slid his fingers between her legs from behind, coating them in her wetness, before bringing them to the tight pucker of skin and teasing her tightest opening.

  “Duke,” she panted out. “God, that feels good.”

  He sealed his mouth over her neck and sucked as she gasped and panted, pressing her ass down against his finger. He took the hint and pushed just the tip of his finger in, capturing her cries of passion with his mouth. Her tongue stroked his as her body trembled, climbing the peak toward release. He lifted her hip with his other hand and drove in deep again, stroking over the spot that stole her last shred of control. Seeing her come undone for him, feeling her inner muscles pulse so tight around him, was too much, and he followed her over the edge in his own mind-blowing release.

  Gabriella lay beneath him, her eyes closed, her body glistening with a sheen of perspiration. Duke took care of the condom and then tucked her body against his. She felt so good in his arms, so right, and though he’d come there tonight wanting to take a walk or just spend time with Gabriella, somehow he knew they’d never be able to resist each other. The connection between them was too strong, too real. He could control most everything in his life, but he was quickly learning that where his heart was concerned, he was merely the vessel that carried out its plan.