“Well, he isn’t fucking getting them back,” I mutter. “We’re keeping them.” And by we, I mean me. I’m keeping them. Because she will not be handcuffing me to the bed again, but I will absolutely be cuffing her to the bed whenever the hell I want.
She laughs quietly and then sighs. “I’m going to miss you.”
Fuck.
I drag her on top of me, thrusting my hand into her hair to crane her head back. Her gorgeous eyes meet mine, sadness lurking in their depths. I fucking hate that I have to leave her at all. Had I known I’d fall head over heels in love with her, I never would have planned to go back. I would have done shit completely differently.
But I can’t go back and change it now.
“I’ll miss you, too, sunshine,” I murmur. “But we can do this. It’s only thirty days. And then you have the rest of your life to drive me crazy with that smart-ass mouth of yours.”
“Fine, but I’m getting a dog while you’re gone.” She thinks about it for a minute. “And maybe some chickens, too.”
“You want chickens?” I smile at her, brushing my thumb across her bottom lip.
“No. But I kind of want to see you chasing chickens all over the place in your ridiculously starched button-downs every day. I think it’ll be a lot of fun for me.”
I growl and roll her beneath me, making her squeal with laughter. “Twenty-eleven.”
“Ryker!” she laughs. “That’s not even a real number!”
“Trust me, sunshine,” I breathe, prowling down her gorgeous body. “You’ve earned every damn one of those spankings so far.”
“Yay for me,” she whispers.
CHAPTERNINE
FRANCESCA
It’s only one month. Thirty days. Seven hundred and twenty hours. Forty-three thousand, two hundred minutes. Okay, I’m making it sound worse than it really is, but I’m going to miss MHM. I shortened his name to initials since it’s hard to scream Mr. High and Mighty at the top of my lungs while a spectacular orgasm tears through me.
“I can’t believe it’s almost time for your flight.” I stare out the huge wall of windows and watch the jet that’s going to take him to Washington DC taxi up to the gate. I’ve barely slept the last two nights. Instead, I lay awake throughout the night, memorizing the feeling of Ryker holding me close. “And I can’t believe you bought a whole ticket to Washington DC for me just so I could accompany you all the way to the gate.”
“Believe it, sunshine.” Ryker ignores all the people milling through the busy airport and pulls me into his arms. “I’d take you with me if you didn’t have school.”
I’m not going to lie. I’m tempted to say to hell with school and get on the plane with him. In fact, I’m not sure how I’m going to survive two million, five hundred, and ninety-two thousand seconds without feeling his strong arms wrapped around me. Or his warm palm coming down hard on my ass cheeks. Taking a deep breath, I tell myself to stop moping and enjoy the last few minutes I have with Ryker before he leaves.
“Well, the ticket agent did think you’re a total asshole for buying me a coach ticket when you’re flying first class,” I remind him. The outraged ticket agent glared daggers at MHM the entire time we stood at the counter, and I’m pretty sure I heard her mumble, “Dickhead,” under her breath as we walked away.
“As long as you know I’m a big softy.” Ryker rubs his nose down the vein pounding on the side of my neck before biting down gently.
I sneak my hand between us, glad he’s wearing a long raincoat that hides my movements. Giving his cock a squeeze through his dress pants, I wiggle my eyebrows at him. “You might be big, but you’re definitely not soft.”
“I fucking love you,” he growls against the side of my throat. “You better be a good girl while I’m gone.”
“I’m going to be too busy finishing up the semester and moving my stuff into our new big house to get into any trouble.” I lay my head against his strong chest and breathe in his woodsy scent, trying to memorize it. Over the last two days, I’ve been sneaking his t-shirts out of the dirty laundry so I’ll have something that smells like him to sleep with while he’s gone.
A disembodied voice comes over the speaker to announce pre-boarding, and my eyes fill with tears. “I’ll call you every night.” Ryker’s strong arms squeeze me tight. “You better be lying in our bed thinking about me.”
“I’m going to be thinking about you every single second you’re gone.” I’m blubbering like an idiot in the middle of the busy airport, but I don’t care what other people think. “I love you.”
When they call for the last of the pre-boarders, I expect Ryker to step away from me, but he only pulls me closer. “I have a confirmed seat. Hell, I have two confirmed seats,” he jokes and kisses me to within an inch of my life. His cock thumps against my stomach, torturing both of us. When a passenger walks by and clears her throat, letting us know it’s getting a little too hot and heavy for public, we slowly pull apart. But not too far.
We stand with his strong arms wrapped tightly around me while the gate area slowly empties around us. I’m not going to argue. Heck no. I’ll take all the time I get with him before he leaves for thirty freaking days.
The voice overhead calls for all last-minute passengers, and I stand on my tippy toes to kiss his bearded chin. “I love you. Be good in DC and hurry up to get back to me.”
“I promise.” He smiles down at me before giving me one more kiss, then turns to walk away. I give him one last watery smile when he turns to wave before disappearing down the jet bridge.