Page 112 of The Lies We Tell

She’s a greedy girl that way, and I love it.

I run my lips down her neck and over her chest to her nipple. I lick it twice before sucking it into my mouth.

Rose bucks beneath me, her clit seeking the pressure she needs to get off.

I start with a wide, gentle bite then start to narrow it until it’s just her nipple between my teeth. I know how much pressure to apply for it to work for her. Not so hard it hurts, but not so gentle it’s only playful. She loves it as much as I do.

“Ryker,” she gasps as I blow cool air over the red peak.

I repeat the action on her other breast, and this time she groans. “Please.”

I move my fingers to her pussy.

“Fuck, I love how much you love this.” I dip two fingers into her and then rub some of that wetness on my cock. We got tested before we left, and both of us were clear. Plus, Rose has a contraceptive implant. When I ease into her, I thank the universe. Because skin on skin with this woman is everything.

“Fuck, Rose.” I stop, seated deep inside her.

“Mmm,” she says, sighing.

Sex can be a lot of things. It canmeana lot of things. But as I cup her cheek with one hand, as I begin to move, I think this is my favorite. Unrushed. Deep. Intense. When I’m staring deep into her eyes, watching every feeling flicker through them, I feel connected to her on a level I’ve never felt with any other human being.

“Have I told you today that I love you?” I ask.

When she smiles, it’s the kind that shatters my heart while fixing it. “Not yet today, you haven’t.”

I kiss her lips, soft with sleep, and encourage her to open so I can taste her.

Our hips start to move; our breath comes a little faster.

But my eyes stay on hers.

And hers stay on mine.

Even as her cheeks grow pink, even as I feel her come around my cock.

Even as I come deep inside and bite down on the idea that I can’t wait for her to carry our kids. That I want to feel her stomach swell with a child of our own.

Perhaps the best bit of not using condoms is the ability to stay in the moment with her. To not have to move and clean up, but to simply come down from the high together.

“Morning,” I say, and kiss her again.

“That will never get old,” she says. “Unlike you.”

I can’t help but laugh, and the action causes me to slip from inside her. “Careful. You want another fifteen spanks?”

“Not right now. But ask me later.” I untie her wrists and place a kiss to the underside of both of them.

“Want some juice?” I ask.

“Please,” she says.

I push the mosquito net to one side, place my feet on the cool white tiles, and pad to the kitchen. The sun is hitting the lush garden outside, and it makes me think of Rae. I haven’t checked in properly in a few days. And when I have caught her, she hasn’t been able to stay on long for one reason or another. When I asked her about it, she told me to stop being so nosy about her private life. There must be a guy on the scene.

I dial her number, and when she answers, she’s sitting in a place I don’t know. Wood panels line the walls. It’s a cabin or something.

“Hey, Raester,” I say, and step out into the garden. She looks tired. And then I think of the way I woke Rose up.

“Morning, Ike.”