“I know, and I will every day and every night.”
She smiled with genuine happiness that threatened to break his heart. This love thing scared the hell out of him, but the alternative of not having her was unacceptable. He had a lot of learning to do, and he would make sure his sexy angel taught him well.
Chapter Eight
Melanie lay on a towel on her belly and yawned sleepily. The boat rocked gently, and the waves splashing against its side took away every care in the world. Nothing could be better.
“Are you sleeping, angel?” a deep, rumbly voice asked. She could have creamed her panties listening to it. Hell, she’d done that plenty of times.
He sat down beside her on the narrow, cushioned bench, and she did her best to scoot over and moaned. “You’re too big.”
He leaned over her. “You didn’t say that last night.”
She laughed. “Funny.”
“Or this morning, or this afternoon.”
“Okay, okay. I get your point. Somebody thinks very highly of himself.”
He raised an eyebrow at her and reached for the back of her bikini, something she’d worn just for him. They were in semi-private being on his boat with no others nearby. At first she’d thought her curves too generous and her belly so far from flat, but Ryder had looked at her as if she were a holiday meal. Now she let him look all he wanted and even modeled for him.
“Let me help you put sunblock on your back,” he offered. “I don’t want that beautiful skin to burn.”
She smirked. “I already did it, sir. You just want to touch me.”
“Is that so wrong?”
“No.” She submitted to him as he squeezed a dollop of the cream into his hands and rubbed them together. Just as she expected, he moved nowhere near her back but started on her thighs and worked his way up between them. She bit her lip and smothered a moan when his fingers brushed her pussy. “Ryder.”
“I was thinking,” he said, cutting off her protest. “Why don’t you move in with me?”
She brushed his hands away and flipped over, sitting up. “I thought we were taking it slow.”
“Tomorrow is our first anniversary, angel.” He touched her cheek. “That’s slow enough.”
“Boy, when you’re ready, you don’t hold back.”
“Do you doubt my love?”
She lowered her gaze and drew her knees up to wrap her arms around them. Ryder had been devoted, seeing her as often as his schedule allowed. If she made even the smallest peep of dissatisfaction with something, he made it right. He didn’t spout love sonnets, but the man spelled out with his actions what he felt for her.
“Ryder?”
“Yes?”
“Why haven’t you pushed for me to tell you I love you? Does it only matter how you feel about me?”
“Is that what you think?”
“I’m speculating.”
He leaned in and paused an inch from her mouth. She closed the space and parted her lips. His tongue darted between them, and he kissed her to the point that her head spun. She brought hands up to his chest to push him back, and he allowed it.
“When you look at me,” he whispered, “your eyes light up, your lips part, and sometimes if I’ve been away on business too long you tremble when I take you into my arms. If that’s not love, what is it?”
She stared across the lake. A boat sped in their direction and would pass by within a few minutes, she judged. “That could be physical attraction.”
“Is it?”
“No.” She sighed and focused on him. “I’ve been afraid to say it because to me it means I’ve accepted everything about you and the relationship we have right now. When we’re alone together, it’s heaven. When we’re apart—hell. Then there’re the times when the cameras flash and the women try to entice you so they can become your next lover. I’m not jealous, per se. I know you’re into me. I can see that when you look at me, and it feels incredible. It’s just saying those words is a big deal, a really big deal.”
He grasped her ankle and pulled until her leg straightened, and he ran a palm up her inner thigh and cupped her pussy. She moaned and leaned back on her elbow. When he nabbed the string at her hip and tugged, she bit her bottom lip. He grinned. “I’ll convince you it’s time.”
She grasped at the string, but he’d already unraveled it, causing her bikini bottom to slide down, exposing the small patch of hair above her clit. “Ryder, someone will see. That boat…”
“Is gone.” He untied the other string, and soon the bikini bottom lay on the flybridge floor. “I’m going to eat you until you can do nothing else but scream you love me for the world to hear.”