He spanked me as he drove into me. “My little jealous beauty. I’m yours, Iris. There’s never been a question. I have been stupid for you since the day we met. Don’t you see that?”
“Yes,please, Ronan.Please.” I was begging for something, but I didn’t know what. Maybe mercy, but I didn’t really want it. He was lost in me anyway, too far gone for mercy, skin slapping skin, grunting near my ear, kissing my spine and nape. Sweat beaded on my forehead. Tears rolled down my cheeks. My legs were quaking from holding me up under Ronan’s relentless pounding. My throat was hoarse from moaning and screaming. And he showed no signs of slowing.
I came again and again until I was delirious and there was a puddle beneath me on the sheets. Ronan’s body was slick and burning hot against mine, only stoking my fire even brighter.
“Meala, I can’t. I need you, beautiful.” His words vibrated into my ear, sounding as frenzied as I felt.
“I’m here now, baby,” I answered. “Give it to me.”
He rode me into oblivion. Hips slamming, fingers thrusting, licking the salt from my skin. He panted against my shoulder, wrapping an arm around my middle, joining our bodies as tightly as he was able to. This felt like more than fucking. This was my lover and me working things out that needed more than words. Clawing at each other to reassure ourselves we were safe and alive. I never wanted it to end, but at the same time, I was desperate to be untied so I could hold him and maybe slap him a little too.
His hips jerked into me a few more times, then his hot seed coated my insides. Ronan collapsed and rolled us to our sides as he jerked and rocked into me a few final times. My eyes started to drift closed, but he pinched my hip to wake me.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he warned.
I rubbed my face against his arm. “I can’t doze off?”
“No.” He kissed my shoulder. “Not until I clean you up and take care of you.”
He carefully pulled out of me, leaving behind an aching emptiness. I didn’t have time to focus on it, because he quickly untied me and lowered my arms. A rush of sharp pain shot through my limbs, but Ronan massaged my sore muscles, rubbing me from my shoulders to my fingertips.
“Are you hurt?” he asked.
“I feel like I’ve been run over a hundred times.”
He groaned, threading his fingers through mine. “I was too rough.”
“You were rough, but it wasn’t too much for me.”
He stilled for a beat, then crossed our joined hands across my chest, holding me tightly in his arms.
“I think you were made for me. God, how did I ever find you?”
His reverential words spread across my chest like hot oil, sinking all the way to my bones. “You kidnapped me.”
He huffed a laugh. “Oh, right. That. You do make me lose my mind.” He buried his face in my neck and took a deep inhale. “I’m going to give you a bath now.”
My body was boneless, and walking sounded like a chore, but I should have known better. Ronan cradled me in his arms and carried me into the bathroom, setting me on a towel on the counter while he filled his oversized tub.
As the water poured from the faucet, he returned to me, bracing his hands on either side of my limp legs. Brow furrowed, he took stock of me, and I returned his watchful gaze. I knew he wouldn’t apologize for forcing me out of my home and tying me up, and I didn’t want him to. He was unapologetic about who he was. His brand of control was vastly different than what I’d grown up under. Sometimes it felt the same, but it wasn’t.
I brought my hand to his cheek, and he leaned into my touch. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you’ll stay with me even though I lost my mind.” He’d lost the anger, replacing it with earnestness. Ronan wasn’t the type of man to fall to his knees and beg, but I didn’t need that. This was enough, the show of vulnerability, his desire for me on clear display.
“I think we both lost our minds. It was a stressful situation. I’ve never dealt with something like this and I hate it so much. I just...I don’t want them to win.”
He smoothed his hands up my legs to rest on my waist and stared back at me with a fierce possessiveness. “You are the only one who will win this. Believe that because it’s true.” I let myself fall against him, and he held me until the bath was full, then settled us both in the warm water. I hissed when it contacted the tender skin between my legs, and Ronan laughed softly. “Did I do that to you?” He didn’t even begin to try to keep the smugness from his tone.
“You know you did.” I tipped my head back, and he didn’t hesitate to accept the invitation, kissing me so softly, I could have melted and fallen asleep under his gentle caresses. It was perfect after the frantic pounding he’d given me.
And I did melt, but I stayed awake as Ronan bathed me and told me about his visit to the police station. The detective was going to look into it, but he wasn’t hopeful. The cameras outside my home only showed a hooded figure in bulky clothing sticking the paper to the front door.
“I paid another visit to Logan before I came back.”
I lifted my head and blinked at him. “Is he alive?”
“He is.” He kissed my forehead twice. “He informed me he has a girlfriend and has no interest in you any longer. He also started shaking the moment he saw me. I hate to say this because he’s the biggest piece of shit alive, but I don’t think he’s who we’re looking for.”