It Started with a Bang by Piper James

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Anabelle

My heart was pounding against my ribs, beating faster and faster as Ryder told me the truth. And there was no doubt in my mind he was being honest. I could see it in his expression. His body language. The pleading gleam in his eyes.

I’d allowed my anger and hurt to control every one of my decisions, and I’d pushed him away without even considering that Ryder had only been trying to protect me from Jaxson’s machinations. Just as he’d done since the day I met him.

An infinite number of questions swirled through my head, but one stood out, demanding to be asked. And answered.

“What do you want, Ryder?” I asked.

“I want you.”

Those three simple words stopped my heart, and my palm flew up to massage my chest over the spot. I sucked in a shuddering breath, blinking back the tears that tried to spill over.

“You do?” I asked, my high-pitched voice cracking with emotion.

“Belle,” he said, taking a few tentative steps toward me, “when I agreed to this crazy scheme of yours, I thought it would be fun. A break in the monotony. And, as long as I’m being honest, I thought I’d bring the poor little rich girl down a few pegs.”

His kind smile took the sting out of the words, and I found myself smiling back. I knew he’d misjudged me in the beginning, thinking I was some spoiled princess trying to outwit Daddy. That was what I was trying to do, but it wasn’t for the reasons Ryder had assumed.

“But as I spent more time with you, I realized I really enjoyed your company. You brought things into my life I hadn’t even realized had been missing—fun, laughter, peace. Then we slept together, and…it was the best night of my life, Belle.”

“It was for me, too,” I whispered, earning a small smile.

“It was like we were made for each other,” he said, taking slow, measured steps toward me. “I’ve never been as happy as I was here with you, and it didn’t take me very long to realize I was falling in love with you.”

I staggered backward, and Ryder froze. Of all the things he could’ve said, that was the most shocking. His eyebrow twitched as I stared at him with wide eyes, trying to read the truth. Finding no deception in his features, I licked my lips and took a deep breath.

“You’re in love with me?”

“I am,” he said, his voice confident. He pulled the divorce papers from his pocket and held them in the air. “And signing these gutted me.”

“You don’t want to end the marriage?”

I knew my questions were redundant, but I wanted to be sure there were no more misunderstandings or miscommunications. And I needed a minute to get the excitement surging through me under control. If he wasn’t saying what I thought he was saying, I was going to be devastated.

“I don’t,” he breathed. “I love you, Belle, and I want to give this thing between us a real shot.”

My feet were rushing forward before my next breath. I slammed into Ryder, my arms circling around his neck. I buried my face in his chest, reveling in the feel of his arms tightening around my waist. My tears soaked his shirt as he pressed kisses to the top of my head and whispered words of comfort into my hair.

Ryder didn’t take Jaxson’s offer. He didn’t betray me. He only lied to protect me from the hurt my father’s backstabbing actions would cause.

He never wanted to leave. Because he loved me.

My mind was whirling, a chaotic tornado of thoughts flashing one after another. The joy I felt on our wedding day. The peace that had filled me, living here with him by my side. In my bed. His charming grins. The little things he did to take care of me, even when I didn’t think I needed it. The way he made me laugh. The feel of his body moving over mine, making me feel complete in a way I’d never felt before.

The pain I’d felt when I thought Ryder had betrayed me. The despondency I’d been living in ever since, feeling an intense loneliness from which I could find no relief. I’d missed him, deep down in my soul.

As Ryder’s affectionate whispers continued to wash over me, I stiffened in his arms. He froze, and then pulled his head back to look into my eyes.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” he asked, his gaze darting back and forth between my eyes.

I shook my head, swallowing against the lump in my throat as my eyes burned with a fresh wave of tears.

“Nothing,” I choked out before clearing my throat. “Nothing is wrong. Everything is right.”

“Then why are you crying?” he asked, brushing a thumb over my cheek.

“Because I just realized…I love you, too.”

His mouth pressed against mine in answer, his tongue pushing through my lips to taste every inch of my mouth. His fingers slid into my hair, using his grip on the strands to tilt my head to a better angle. My hands fisted in his shirt and yanked him closer, and the hand not in my hair moved from my back down to my ass, squeezing hard.

His lips trailed across my jaw and down my neck, whispering words of love between kisses. I tilted my head back to give him better access, and he took full advantage, licking and nipping the column of my throat. His hard cock pressed against my belly, and suddenly, my clothes felt too tight. Too restricting.

As if he sensed my thoughts, Ryder pulled back and whipped my shirt over my head. His tongue licked down my collarbone as his fingers plucked at the clasp of my bra. My own fingers pulled at the waistband of his athletic shorts as the other hand slipped inside to grasp his steely shaft.

The breath hissed out of him at my touch. My bra’s clasp gave way under his fingers, and he pulled the straps down my arms far enough to release my breasts. He sucked one nipple into his mouth, swirling his tongue around it twice before paying the same homage to the other one.

He started moving, backing me toward the couch before spinning us around. He continued to suck and lick my nipples as his hands unfastened my shorts and pushed both them and my underwear down to my ankles. Then he released me, stripped out of his clothes, and sat down on the couch with his arms spread wide.

Stepping out of my shorts and panties, I let my bra slide the rest of the way down my arms and fall to the floor. I straddled Ryder’s lap, and his arms went around me, pulling me tightly against him as we kissed again and again.

“I love you,” he whispered as he guided his cock toward my opening.

“I love you,” I moaned back as I slid down onto it.

We took our time, me riding him slowly as his hands and mouth worshipped every inch of skin they could reach. He showed me how much he loved me with every caress. I chanted words of devotion in time with every buck of my hips.

It was the single-most erotic and fulfilling moment of my life, and I marveled at the idea that this was just the beginning. Ryder wasn’t going anywhere. He was committed to me and to this marriage. It wasn’t a sham anymore. It was real, and it was ours.

My relationship with Ryder may not have started in the traditional way—it started with a bang when I rammed into his truck in that parking lot—and it only got weirder from there as I cooked up my harebrained scheme to outwit my father. But I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

As we came together, and I collapsed against his chest, his breath ruffling my hair and his heart pounding in my ear, I knew I was right where I was meant to be.

In Ryder Perry’s arms. For now, and forever.

‘Til death do us part.