You Before Me (16 page)

Ryan sits up. “Thunderstorms are one
of the best things in the world. You have to enjoy them while they
last.”

Without permission, my eyes wander
over her body. Oh, God. Her jeans are stuck to those legs I love so
much, and her shirt isn't hiding anything, her nipples straining
against her bra and t-shirt. Her lower lip trembles from the icy
cold rain, proving she's freezing. Ryan's eyes do some roaming of
their own as she absentmindedly licks her lips. Maybe rain isn't so
bad. No thought occurs as I finally pick her up, hauling her over
my shoulder, and head into the house. Ryan laughs.

“I said you wouldn't melt!”

Just as we step over the threshold,
lightening strikes, sounding too close by for comfort. I bend over
to set her back on her feet.

“I was about to come in, you know,”
she says with her hands propped on her hips, looking entirely too
hot. “You didn't look like you would have gone for my idea of
racing to the road and back. Running in the rain is a lot of fun,
Gabe. Although, you throwing me over your shoulder was hot and so
much more fun.” She smiles wickedly.

That's it. I have to have her. There's
no holding back anymore. She wants it, and good God if I don't. I
don't answer. I can't. Nothing will come out. Oblivious to my
turmoil, Ryan bends over to pick up her bag.

“Better go change.”

I watch her hips swing as she walks
away. My feet, knowing what I want, begin to follow her. She hangs
her bag on the door to my bedroom and peels off her shirt first.
Her back tattoos on display until Ryan turns to face me.

“Could I have a towel for my hair? I
would just throw it up, but I forgot to bring a
scrunchie.”

“No.”

“No?” She questions, confused as I
continue to stalk towards her.

“No,” I repeat, coming to a stop in
front of her. I cup her cheeks and immediately kiss her briefly.
“We're going to have sex. That okay with you?”

Ryan's surprise quickly fades, and she
nods. I pull her lips back to me, finding her tongue, and sucking
it into my mouth. There's a soft sound as her shirt falls from her
hand and onto the floor. She bunches the hem of my shirt in her
hands and lifts, breaking our kiss for a moment. My shirt slips
from her fingers when I kiss her again. Grabbing her hips, I hoist
her up, her legs wrapping around my waist, and walk to my bed to
lay her down.

I lick and suck up all the remaining
droplets of rain along her neck, across her shoulders. Ryan's body
moves, and I realize she's removing her bra while I kiss her
collarbone. Her breasts come free. Each one falls towards her arms
a little from their weight. She's a pure seductress. I've never
wanted anyone as much as I want her right now. My mouth descends on
her breast, and I tug the nipple between my teeth, causing Ryan to
shiver beneath me, her hands starting at my shoulders and running
down my back.

I suck so hard when I pull
away a
pop
sounds. As I kiss down and across to the other, I order,
“Unbutton your pants.”

Her fingers fumble with the button and
zipper as I roll my tongue around her nipple, biting down gently. I
grab her hands and hold them down on either side of her head as I
hover over her. Lust is back full force in her eyes. She watches
me, waiting for my next move, and I linger for a moment. With my
hands gripping her possessively, I run them down her arms to her
sides and then down her sides, kissing the dandelion on her
hip.

Her breaths are soft pants of
anticipation, mingling with the rain pounding on the house. I slip
my fingers underneath the waistband of her jeans.

“Lift your hips.”

She does, and I yank them down, the
task extra hard thanks to them being wet. I'm seriously having to
peel them off her. The air is sucked from my lungs when I see she
isn't wearing any underwear. I glance at her as she sits up on her
elbows to watch me, and she smirks. Her pants sit at her knees as I
move off the bed to take off her shoes and socks before finally
removing them completely. She's completely captivated
me.

“There's a box of condoms in the
drawer,” I say with a nod to the small table next to my bed. “Get
it.”

While Ryan reaches over for that, I
take off my pants and boxer briefs. She rips the packaging, holding
the ultra-thin condom in her hand. Her eyes never leave my erection
as I get back on the bed, lying down next to her. Without a word, I
take her hand and pull it towards me. Knowing what I want, she
straddles me.

“Put it on,” I tell her.

She doesn't hesitate. Her touch nearly
drives me over the edge as she rolls the condom down my shaft.
Those green eyes flick up at me, waiting for me to tell her what to
do next. I like being in control, but I would like for Ryan to
think she's the one in control. I sit up, curl a finger under her
chin, and pull her to me. I press my lips to hers, my hands
reaching for the back of her thighs to tug her upwards just a
little. That's all Ryan needs from me.

Her hand reaches down between us,
taking my cock, and moving up and down twice before she guides my
tip to enter her. Ryan lowers herself on me, a guttural groan
erupting from her throat. God, she feels so good. Drops of water
drip from the tips of her hair onto my chest, and she leans down to
lick them off quickly. She braces her hands on my chest, moving her
hips with the guidance of my hands. Ryan's slow at first, but once
she finds a rhythm, she rides me hard and fast. Her breasts bounce,
and I leave her hips to grasp them.

“Oh, fuck,” she breathes. Her back
arches as she tightens around me. Not yet, Ryan, I think with a
sudden urge to see her back and those tattoos beneath
me.

I grab her hips hard, so she can't
move. She looks a little dazed as if she's lost in sex. I lift her
off me, my hard cock swaying as I set her down next to
me.

“Hands and knees, Ryan,” I
demand.

She falls forward onto her hands, her
breasts swinging from the movement. She already has her knees apart
and waiting. I get off the bed and walk to the end, reaching
forward to grab her hips, and pull her back. A yelp of surprise
escapes her. With my fingers at the base of my shaft, I tease her
by pushing in with my tip, pulling out and slipping further past
it. By the third time, she moans almost angrily.

Over her shoulder, she says, “You
really are a damn tease, aren't you?”

I chuckle, my tip barely inside her
when I swiftly push all the way in. The comforter bunches under her
grip, and she cries out. Ryan constricts around me. My fingertips
curl into her skin on her hips as I tightly hold her in place as I
begin to thrust, pulling out slowly, but driving in hard. Her
tattoos on her back look lovely, a perfect view. Ryan starts
pushing backwards against my thrusts, causing us to crash into one
another.

The pressure builds, and I lose
control as I bury myself into her repeatedly. Ryan gets tighter and
tighter before she screams out with her climax, pulsing around me,
and I come. My energy drains in my legs as we fall forward onto the
bed, utterly and happily spent.

Ryan

I can't believe we just had sex. It
was even better than the first time, and I loved that he was in
control most of the time. It's different than what I'm used to, but
I really liked it. Gabe got up to throw away the condom awhile ago,
and now we're still lying in bed. I'm on my stomach, and his
fingertips gently glide over my back tattoos as if it's a road and
he needs to go down each one. Then I feel his lips press a kiss to
my shoulder blade, right where my hummingbird should be. I look
over my shoulder at him to see that his eyes are completely
captivated by the path his fingers are on. For some reason, that
causes me to laugh softly.

“Gabe, you act like you've never seen
a tattoo,” I tease.

His eyes flick up to me, but then
return to my back. “It's not that. I'm simply fascinated by yours,
and I'm just now getting the chance to appreciate them.”

“Why don't you get one?”

His hand stops and lies flat on my
back as he places all of his attention on me. Gabe's eyes ever so
slightly widen. He almost seems to be considering it, but then he
shakes his head. “My mother would never let me in her house
again.”

I roll over, his hand coming to lay on
my stomach now. He glances at my exposed breasts for a moment.
“You're worried about your mother?” I question with laughter in my
voice, lifting an eyebrow at him.

Those skillful lips fall in a frown.
“I care about what she thinks, Ryan.”

“So you're ready for her to meet
me?”

Gabe looks at me with contempt, his
lips in a stubborn line, which clearly tells me he isn't. I'm happy
about that. After meeting his father, I rather not meet Gabe's
mother. Before he can come up with an excuse, I
continue.

“I think you should go with me to get
my next one, and you should get one too.”

“I don't want one.”

“Really? You've never ever wanted to
get a tattoo or are you hiding behind your mother's
rules?”

“I'm twenty-five,” he starts in
rebuttal.

“And a goody-two shoes. C'mon, Gabe.
Get a tattoo with me.” The more I thought about it, the more I
wanted him to have one. He would be even hotter with
one.

His now dry curls shake with his head.
“No. I don't want something on my body forever if you break my
heart.” Gabe smiles to soften his blow, but it doesn't bother me
one bit.

“I don't want you to get anything
related to me, Gabe. Jeesh. Tattoos are supposed to mean something
to whoever gets it. All you would have to do is think of something
that is so important to you that you want it to decorate your
body.”

“Are you saying my body needs to
improve?” He smirks.

“Are you avoiding my
question?”

“Roll back over, Ryan. I wasn't
done.”

I laugh at his disregard for my
question, but I do as he wants. “There's more than those two, you
know that, right?”

“Yes.” He kisses the center of my
back, his fingers moving over my skin once more. This time, he's
touching the pink seahorse. Gabe adds, “But these are my favorite.
Tell me why you got them.”

For a moment, I hesitate. This is
Gabe, though, and I trust him. I go over in my head what I want I
want to say, trying to find words to fit what these tattoos mean to
me. Memories swirl around me from the images inked onto my body.
Feeling ready, I begin to tell Gabe the story behind each of
them.

“They are all related to my
grandmother, now that I really think about it. She was the only
grandparent I'd ever known, and she was an amazing person. When I
was little, she was the one to teach me how to make wishes on
dandelions, and I loved it. She used to tell me that after I made
the wish, the seeds blew away so my wish could be granted. I'll
still do it if I see one.

“My grandmother took me to the
aquarium once. I thought the seahorses looked a little odd compared
to most of the other fish we saw. They were beautiful, though. Just
different. When I told her, she laughed. I'll never forget what she
said either. She told me that it's the differences between all life
that makes it beautiful.

“And the hummingbird is in memory of
her. She died when I was eleven and absolutely loved hummingbirds.
She had little figurines and paintings all over her house, and a
bunch of hummingbird feeders outside. That was my very first one.
As you've seen, they piss my parents off, so that's a
bonus.”

And then reality comes
crashing back down. His father hates me, and Gabe had to witness a
public shaming by my mother. My mother who doesn't have a clue that
my hummingbird is because of
her
mom, my grandmother. She doesn't know that they
are all tied to my grandmother, but she should have at least known
about the hummingbird. That should have been obvious. What she said
about my tats today is probably why Gabe asked in the first place.
I bury my face into the pillow, feeling Gabe shift next to
me.

“Hey,” he starts quietly, pulling some
of my hair away in an attempt to see me. “Remember what I said.
Ignore them.”

I turn my head so only one eye is
looking at him. He's so sweet.

“C'mon. You can help me make supper.”
Gabe kisses my temple, his beard scratching my skin, before getting
out of bed. I roll over and watch his bare ass walk across the room
to his dresser. He's too yummy with those strong legs, bubble butt,
and broad, muscular back. Gabe's body is too perfect. A tattoo
would tarnish it, I decide.

“You didn't say I would have to help,”
I tease.

He glances over his shoulder as he
steps into a pair of gray pajama pants. “Did I forget to mention
that part?”

“Yes, you did.” I toss the sheets
aside and walk over to where my bag is still hanging on the door. I
can feel Gabe watching me, so I add, “Don't get distracted again,
Officer. I'm starving.”

He chuckles behind me. As I'm pulling
out my pjs, he slaps me hard on the ass and then whispers huskily
in my ear, “I won't. Hurry up.” Then he walks passed me and down
the hall like nothing just happened.