Freed (28 page)

Chapter Twenty-two

Ransom

I
’M READY.
M
EET
in the middle?

Austin whoops loudly in the background while Pete and Stone cheer him on. Even though they stand ten feet away from me, it feels as though they’re a million miles away. Hot damn. I stand kind of frozen for a minute, taking it all in. The past few months have been hell, but they’ve also been heaven. When Denver determined that she needed to get her family back—because, in her words,
How can I be secure in my future when my foundation is so damn shaky?
—I offered to go with her and help her put it to rights. She said it was something she needed to do on her own, of course. I had never met her parents, but what I know, I don’t like. My biggest fear was that she would be rejected, and she would be devastated and all alone. I should’ve known better. Once Denver knew what she wanted and how to get it, she wasn’t going to let anything stand in her way.

The light dims on my phone, about to time out. I press it, needing to send my reply.

I feel a hot breath of air on my neck, and then, “Holy shit! My boy’s about to lose his virginity!”

My head jerks up, and my fist flies out, but Austin’s already a good four feet away. “Asshole,” I retort without heat.

“Now, Ransom,” he chides. “I think it’s sweet. And you waited for a good one. If her bull riding skills are anything to go on, she’ll be up for one wild ride.” He’s bent over with laughter, even slapping his knees with undisguised glee. He really loves it when he gets one on me. I shake my head, fighting a smile.

Pete tackles Austin to the ground before he can get off any more quips about my love life.
Nosey bastard
. I look over those two fools to spot my brother with a curious expression on his face. I pull Denver’s message back up and shoot off my reply. Stepping around the ruckus, I slide next to Stone.

“That true?” he asks, not quite making eye contact.

“Yeah, bro. I mean, I’ve fooled around, but I wanted it to mean something is all. I just hadn’t met the person who meant everything … until Denver.”

He’s quiet for a second. “I think that’s good. Smart.” Yeah, this is awkward. I’m ready to move on, but then he makes it more awkward. “Well, good luck,” he chirps, winking at me and slapping me on the back.

“Fuck.”

I call them all idiots, make arrangements for Stone to get home, and suddenly find myself wishing for a newer truck ‘cause I can’t get to my girl fast enough.

The parking lot is empty, save one cherry-red, pick-up truck with white trim and shiny chrome. My heart feels like it’s going to burst out of my chest. I haven’t seen her in so long, I don’t even know where to start. I want to look at her, feel her, taste her. And all at once.
Slow down, cowboy. You’ve got forever.

There’s a light tap at my window. Ever the eager girl. I open the door and swing my legs out. She steps between them, and without a word, brings my lips to hers. No hesitation, no fear, just pure confidence.

I groan against her soft mouth ‘cause that’s sexy as hell. She bites my bottom lip, sucking it in her mouth and running her wet tongue over it. I let her have her way with me for a minute, not fighting for control and just going along for the ride, until I taste her tears mingling with the unique flavor that is Denver. I know those tears—they are her sweet tears.

Sliding from the truck, I kick the door closed with my foot and push her back against it. I hitch my hands under her thighs and bring her legs around me, diving for her throat with my mouth. Those little whimpers that get caught there and vibrate against my tongue drive me wild. Her legs lock around me, and she grinds her front against mine. Time to move this inside.

Tightening my hold, I start to move toward the building, but then I whirl back around. Denver lets out a screech. “What are you doing?” she gasps.

“Open the truck door. Dash. Grab it,” I demand, nodding my head toward the box waiting there.

She follows my terse instructions and then marvels, “You got me a present?”

“Yeah, baby. Close that door. I need you inside.”

Striding across the parking lot with my woman wrapped around me, I ignore the protests from my body, since I’m just as eager as she is and don’t want to lose her touch.

“You can’t carry me all the way up the stairs, Ransom,” she laughs, as I pull the door open for us.

“Done it before. I’ll do it again.”

Her look turns somber, but there’s a light there too. A precious light that had gone dim for a while—one that I’m happy as hell to have shining on me. “Look how far we’ve come since that night, Ransom. Did you ever think you’d end up with that broken girl you found underneath a staircase?”

“Never thought it. Dreamt it … wanted it. Made it happen,” I grin, knowing full well I’m wearing my
cocky-as-hell
smile as she calls it. It’s not my fault she makes me feel invincible.

Denver buries her face in my neck and starts doing that nipping thing that she likes to do, forcing me to stop and pin her against the wall. I just need to feel her. My eyes roll back in my head. I feel ready to burst already … how will I ever hold out? “Driving me to distraction, little fighter. We’re never gonna make it,” I grind out.

“I always have liked the idea of making you lose control,” she taunts, licking and sucking at my Adam’s apple.

“Ow,” she yelps, when I shift us away from the wall, and with a smack on her ass, tell her to behave.

Once I get her in the apartment, I let her slide down from my arms. “Whatcha wanna do now?” I tease. “Watch a movie?”

“Oh God, Ransom,” she groans, hooking her thumbs into my belt loops and pressing her hips into mine.

I kiss her softly, teasingly, all the way to my bedroom door, promising that’s not the last time tonight she’ll be saying that.

The last time we were this close was kind of a disaster.
Her
last time to do this was definitely a disaster, so I vow I’ll make it amazing for her. For us.

When I promise her that, her eyes shimmer, she cradles my jaw in her hand, and then she blows me away when she whispers, “What we’re about to do—neither of us have
ever
done.” Denver presses her lips to mine and breathes, “Make love to me, John.”

For each article of clothing I remove, I must worship her ten times over with my tongue or my mouth, until we are stretched out on the bed. Naked. Arching toward each other with need and urgency.

The need to come makes me see stars, and I know I need to slow myself down some, so I flip her on to her back and move her hands above her head. “Keep these right here,” I say, kissing her palms. “You touch me, I start over,” I threaten.

“Yes, John,” she murmurs, a playful smile lighting up her eyes.

Damn straight.

I sit back on my knees and take in the sight before me. She’s flushed, her back arching toward me. “You are so beautiful,” I praise, running the back of my hand between her breasts, over her stomach. Her breath gets caught in her throat, her eyes closing. “Eyes on me, baby.”

Her honeyed eyes blink open slowly, cloudy with lust and love. “I love you, Denver.”

Her eyes widen and glisten, revealing all that she feels before she even says it. “I love you, John.” I sink a finger into her. “So much,” she gasps.

When I withdraw my finger, she mumbles a protest. I pop the now shiny digit in my mouth and suck on it, and she trembles all around me. Hitching her legs up on my arms, I ever so slowly lick her sweet warmth from bottom to top. I make a meal out of her until she is coming apart in my arms, and her praise becomes incoherent babbling.

Shifting on the bed, I reach for the drawer, but her words stop me. “If it’s OK … I’m clean, and I’m on the Fort Knox of birth control,” she finishes with a mischievous smile.

“You sure?” She nods. “I want nothing more than to feel you, Denver.”

“Me too,” she whimpers. I fuse my mouth to hers, my tongue thrusting against hers, and slide deep inside that tight heat.
Ah, God. She feels amazing
. I withdraw swiftly, teetering at her entrance for a moment, so that I can sink back in and feel her all over again. The rush. The warmth. The acceptance.

“Feels so good,” I breathe against her mouth.

“
Mmm
… ”

Running my hand down her side, I latch on to her leg and bring it around my hip. I grind myself against her, needing to feel every part of her. “Touch me.”

Her head falls back, her hands raking against my back, and she hisses, “Oh, yes. You feel so perfect inside of me.”

Just to make sure we’re clear, I proclaim, “You. Are. Mine.” Each word reverberates with each push. “Just like I am yours.”

“Yes, yours. Yours,” she promises.

And then every thought flees, and we become actions.

Colliding.

Climbing.

Seeking.

Dissolving.

Loving.

I let her body, and those sexy little sounds she makes in the back of her throat, guide my every move. Focusing on that, on her, ensures I don’t blow too soon. Denver’s hands play at my shoulders, and then she sinks her teeth into the tender skin at my collarbone. When she shudders all around me and calls out my name like a prayer, I can’t hold off my own release. Knowing she’s gone over the edge, I gladly follow her.

Completely destroyed, I collapse on top of her. She hitches her leg tighter around me, like she can’t bear to let me go, and kisses her way up my neck, to my mouth. I can’t stop trembling. I’m not sure if it’s from my release or the emotions this girl makes me feel—probably a little bit of both. “You are amazing,” she marvels. “In every possible way. Was it all you hoped for?” Her husky laugh reverberates through me.

“More,” I say, unable to articulate beyond that. Let’s just say there’s a world of difference between coming in your hand and in the wet, tight heat of the one you love, the one who accepts you, the one who puts you first.

“You did everything just right,” she praises, and there’s a wicked, little glint in her eyes.

“I’m not some fumbling sixteen-year-old virgin, Denver. I
know
how to please a woman.”

Her brow furrows. “Not
a
woman.
This
woman. And let’s keep it that way, shall we?”

“Damn straight,” I promise, and punctuate that declaration with a slap on her ass.

Summoning every bit of strength I possess, I slip from her warmth and fall next to her on the bed, wrapping an arm around her and shifting us to our sides. Her body is a liquefied mass being held together by skin alone, and she molds perfectly to my side.

Even though I am completely sated, my whole being brims with excitement. I want to take her everywhere, show her everything, teach her, watch her grow and bloom. I love feeling like our possibilities are endless, our future wide-open—it’s euphoria at its finest.

After a while, I remember I need to give her something. “Denver, you awake?”

“Wide awake,” she replies sleepily. I laugh, and my body heats up anew.

Leaning in, I kiss the tender skin behind her ear and elicit that little moan I’ve come to crave. I love that little spot. “Want to open your present?”

A tremor of excitement courses through her now, battling with her need for sleep.

“That’s what I thought. Let’s clean up.”

We take turns in the bathroom and meet back up in living room. I pull her onto my lap and slide the little gift into her hands. She savors the package for a hot minute and then rips it open. Her unbridled enthusiasm warms my heart.

“Oh,” she gasps. “It matches your eyes.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed you lose yourself in them quite a bit. And you’re always talking about sea-green. So, I took a chance.”

She blushes, and to me, that is just as charming as her sass. I can’t help but think I’ve got the best of both worlds. “They’ve always been able to see every bit of me, and let me see myself,” she sighs, but it’s a content one. “And they hide nothing about you.” She focuses her gaze on mine again, trailing her fingertips along my temple. “Not to mention, they are too beautiful for words.”

I swallow hard against the lump in my throat, and settle on moving my fingers through her hair until I can trust myself to speak. “And the fact that you never even try to hide from me, little fighter, that … that means everything to me.”

Smiling lightly, she turns her attention back to the bit of sea glass, caressing it, before removing the choker from the box and holding it up to light. The light bounces off it, making it seem otherworldly, and I have a sudden flashback to her saying that very same thing about my eyes. “It’s gorgeous. Perfect,” she praises.

“It’s you.”