Page 71 of 500 First Editions (The Romantics #3)

AUTUMN

LITTLE FLAMES AND DANGEROUS THINGS

“I’ve been a little busy trying to love you the way you love me.”

R yan’s eyes widened. “Wills . . .”

I closed my eyes as he braced himself over me and tucked his head in the crook of my neck. “I’m sorry I didn’t try harder before.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t give you a chance to,” he said as he kissed his way up my neck.

“I was so afraid of you walking away that I didn’t give you a chance to walk with me.

I made it too easy for you to leave when things got hard because you weren’t in it in the first place.

” He kissed behind my ear, making me shiver as he inhaled deeply.

“I missed you so fucking much. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Shep as soon as I found out.

” He kissed my temple, then my forehead.

“I was trying to control the moment too much instead of just talking it out.”

“I know. And I forgive you,” I said as I pecked his chin.

Ryan cocked his head. “You know?”

“I talked to Lisa. She told me about what happened when you went to her house and she gave you the envelopes.”

“Have you read them?” he asked.

I nodded. “All of them. Many, many times.”

Ryan rolled to his side, but didn’t let me go for long. Before I could blink, he was pulling me into his chest. “How are you feeling about it all?”

I melted into his arms and closed my eyes. It had felt like ages since he held me like this. The ache inside eased instantly. “Shocked but not surprised, I guess.”

“Have you talked to your mom?”

“Yeah. Once.” I let out a shaky breath. “I think it’s going to take me a while to get over it. And I told her that.”

“I’m proud of you,” he said as he wove his fingers through my hair and cradled the back of my head.

“I talked to Amber and Greg, too.” I nuzzled closer, seeking the safety I always felt in his arms.

Ryan tightened around me. “How’d that go?”

“As good as could be expected. I’m not putting any pressure on myself to figure out what the future with them looks like right now.” I found his hand and laced our fingers together. “This is the only future I care about right now.” I looked up and met his eyes. “Did you open the book?”

Ryan nodded. “You didn’t have to put me in the dedication. All you had to do was unblock me so we could have this talk.”

“I wanted to,” I said. “I wrote that book because of you. It’s . . . kind of about us. But if readers ever ask, the answer is that it is a hundred percent fictional.”

His responding laugh was warm and rich. “Your secret is safe with me.” He pressed his lips to my forehead. “I can’t wait to read it.”

“Fair warning, it’s completely unedited. The real version is with my editor. You have the first draft. I had one copy printed. It’s the only one that exists.”

Ryan pushed away just enough to look me in the eye. “I thought you didn’t let anyone read your first drafts?”

“I don’t.”

“But you gave your first draft to me.”

“You’re not just anyone.” I pressed my lips to his in the softest kiss.

“You’re disciplined beyond belief. You’re passionate, and you go after everything you want in life without hesitation.

You have the best sense of humor. You always put me at ease or brighten a bad day.

You’re easygoing and are always up for an adventure.

You’re level-headed and even-tempered. You have this .

. . this hunger for knowledge. I love the way you want to learn everything and anything.

You love people. You love helping them become the best versions of themselves.

I know that because I feel like I’m the best version of myself when I’m with you.

You’re a somewhat questionable driver, but driving to Kansas with you was the most fun I’ve ever had on a trip that should have been sad.

You love with your whole heart and don’t hold anything back. And most of all, you’re mine.”

Ryan’s mouth tugged up in a smile. “Was that ten things you like about me?”

I bit my lip to keep from laughing. “Maybe.”

“Willow Winslet.” Ryan rolled me onto my back and pinned me down. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to Ford Method me. The deliveries to the house—those were the five senses. Blair Dalton’s podcast . . . You set that up so I could shine. You even got to know my mom.”

I lifted my brows. “Is it working?”

“Very much,” he said as he wedged his knee between my legs and pushed them open.

“Then let me tell you two more things,” I gasped as he looked me dead in the eye and cupped my sex in his palm.

“Go on,” Ryan said as those beautiful eyes turned dark.

“You show love with your words and actions. But you receive love by spending time with people.” I whimpered when he squeezed my breast, kneading it in his hand. “And physical intimacy. Definitely that one.”

A low growl rumbled from his throat. “Big on physical intimacy.”

“Says the man who told me the Ford Method has nothing to do with sex.”

“It doesn’t,” Ryan said as he yanked down the low-cut neckline of my shirt, exposing my breast. “But you and me—we have a lot to do with it. Because you’re it for me.”

The words on my tongue died as soon as he latched onto my breast and sucked. I arched my back and writhed, desperate to get closer to him, but I couldn’t. Ryan had trapped my wrists above my head, and had wedged his body between my legs, stopping me from squeezing my thighs together for relief.

“God, I missed you,” Ryan murmured as he buried his face between my breasts and nuzzled against the soft swells.

The scrape of his stubbled jaw felt incredible. The roughness sparked the rush of goosebumps racing up my neck.

“We can skip the foreplay,” I whimpered as he sucked my pebbled nipple between clenched teeth, teasing it with a mix of searing pain and overwhelming delight. “Fuck me. Right now.”

Ryan’s responding chuckle was dark and devious. “Skipping the foreplay is never an option, cupcake.”

“Ry—” I pleaded as heat boiled in my core.

He groaned against my throat as he kissed from pulse point to pulse point. “I’ve missed the way you say my name. Say it again.”

“Ryan,” I whispered as he sucked on my throat.

The pressure against my wrists released. He grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head in one fell swoop.

“Bra off,” he snapped as he made quick work of taking off my jeans.

I didn’t have to be told twice. Ryan shucked off his gym shorts and pulled off his t-shirt. “There’s my pretty girl,” he said with rumbling reverence as he lazily thumbed a nipple. “Missed you so much, baby.”

“Touch me, please,” I whispered.

His smile widened. “Atta girl. You remembered that you were supposed to beg.”

“Ass,” I grumbled.

“Touch you . . .” Ryan mused. “Like this?” He slid down the bed as he left a line of kisses from my sternum to my pelvis.

I shook my head.

“Or maybe like this?” he asked as he pushed my knees wide and bit the soft skin of my thigh hard enough to leave a mark.

“Closer,” I begged.

“Hmm.” He traced the gusset of my underwear, just shy of where I wanted him most. “Here?”

“Closer—”

Ryan’s fingers grazed my pussy as he wrapped his fingers around the middle of my underwear and tugged. Hard. I screamed as the tight fabric pinched and teased my clit.

“So fucking wet already,” he said as he slipped a finger into my entrance as I caught my breath. He pulled hard again, demanding another cry from my lips.

“Please—please fuck me.”

Ryan tugged my panties to the side, exposing my pussy. “Your cunt looks so pretty when it’s puffy and dripping for me.”

Heat flooded my cheeks as I watched as he studied my most intimate parts. Slowly, he put my underwear back into place and squeezed my sex.

“But—” I stammered. “Please?—”

Ryan grabbed the hips of my underwear and yanked. “I can think of a few more ways to get you ready for me.”

I squeezed my legs together, rocking side to side as he eased off of me to take his boxers off.

“Uh-uh. Legs open,” he snapped, grabbing my ankles and tugging me down until my ass was barely on the edge of the bed. He squeezed my thighs and pushed them apart, then landed a harsh spank square on my pussy.

I keened, arching off the mattress as blood and endorphins rushed to ease the sting. Ryan gripped my hips, flipping me to my stomach in one smooth motion. He yanked upward, pulling my hips and ass up as my chest and shoulders stayed planted on the mattress.

“You’re so fucking perfect, Wills,” he said as he parted my folds and teased my clit.

My legs trembled as he brought me to the edge of orgasm in seconds.

“Don’t come yet.” His voice was gentle this time, but it was laced with a warning I didn’t dare disobey.

His free hand smoothed up and down my back, making me bow my spine deeper.

I pushed my ass toward him as I basked in his touch.

That hand traced a line down my back and hips, then between my cheeks.

I tensed as his finger circled the puckered ring of muscle.

“Is this mine?”

“Yes,” I choked out as he prodded and teased it.

“Are you mine, Willow?”

“Yes,” I whispered.

“What about Autumn? Is that part of you mine too?”

I nodded. “I’m all yours.”

Ryan’s other hand moved from my clit to my pussy as he sank two fingers deep inside of me. “Promise?”

“I promise.”

“Good girl,” he soothed before pulling his hands away entirely. Cool air was my only companion for a moment before I felt his mouth lapping and sucking at my pussy.

“Ryan,” I begged into the sheets. “Please fuck me.”

He licked one long line from my clit to my ass, then broke away. “Yes, ma’am.” And then I was full.

I nearly choked at the intrusion as he pushed in slowly and settled deep.

“Is that what you needed, baby? You needed my cock inside of you to feel better?”

“Yes,” I cried out as I clawed at the sheets.

His hands were warm, but firm as he held my hips steady and set a pace that had me careening toward bliss once again. “Don’t worry, beautiful. I’ll give you what you need. I’ll make you feel so good.”

Each thrust was like a match sliding across the striking surface, blooming with smoke and sparks.

The room was silent except for the erotic melody of our grunts and desperate pants.

“Ry,” I whimpered as I felt myself easing closer and closer to the point of no return. “I’m close.”

He pulled out and flipped me to my back before I could say another word. “I want to see you when you come. Let me see you. Please,” he begged.

I nodded as he hooked his arms beneath my knees, keeping them up and wide as he slid back inside of me again.

“You’re like nothing else, Wills,” he whispered between thrusts. Ryan held deep and ground against my clit, making those sparks catch into little flames.

Little flames were dangerous things. Little flames could create wildfires.

And that’s exactly what we had.

What I felt for him couldn’t be contained. I wanted him to ravage and destroy me, leaving eternal marks on my soul that meant I could only ever belong to him.

“Ry.”

“I feel you squeezing my cock, Wills. You’re almost there,” he soothed. “Let it happen. I’ll catch you.”

I tried to hold out, not wanting it to end. I was scared that, when we crashed, those little flames would be snuffed out.

“You can do it. I’ve got you,” Ryan whispered as he pulled my legs to wrap around his hips and leaned over to rest his forehead on mine. “Come for me.”

I went silent as the orgasm crashed into me. Those little flames licked up into an inferno—sucking all the oxygen from the room.

Ryan came with a grunt, spilling into me before collapsing on top of me.

“Shhhh,” he said as he cradled my head under his chin. The steady thrum of his heart was the most calming sound. “Feel it all. I’m not letting go.”

That was the promise I needed.

Life is scary and unexpected. But I had someone at my side, keeping me safe so I could keep my heart open to feel it all.