Chapter Seventeen
In what Ryane would call a bizarre endless loop of her life, she stopped at the gates to the Los Padres property.
Rather than running to Knight, she sighed and rested her head on the steering wheel. Since they’d met, her situation with this man toggled between euphoric and pathetic. Today, no matter what, it had to end.
The last few days brought her clarity like she never experienced. It was as if she finally broke the surface of the water and saw the world.
Her job, her title, everything to do with any sort of career was a charade designed to keep her busy until she found a man. Her father didn’t believe in her. No matter what she tried to do, he would never see her as someone able to stand on her own. Her relationship with Patrick was pressed right out of any cookie cutter. It was a façade of epic proportions.
And of course, there was her situation with Knight.
Tears heated her eyes.
They talked about the real world. He called her strong. But in the cruel cold light of day, she and Knight were nothing. They were a fake down to their names. A union doomed from the beginning.
In essence, they were nothing.
For both of them, she would be strong one more time, and tell him.
She lifted her head and inhaled, willing the tears away. The second she opened the car door, the fresh forest air swirled around her, a bit of chill, a bit of pine, a clean that only existed in a world free of technology, buildings and commitments. It exemplified her and Knight. They couldn’t even have one conventional night together, not one torrid moment twisting in the sheets, something she could hold on to before they parted. Was it too much to ask for an amazing memory?
The sky deep grey as the sun finished setting, she tiptoed through the trees planning how she would make this quick, to the point and return home. Tomorrow she would renew her quest for perfect office supplies. Tomorrow she would get her dress fitted for the Anniversary Ball. Tomorrow she would do all the things she should have done in the weeks spent trying to find her place with a man she would never forget.
Tonight, when she drove back, she would somehow accept the fairy tale was meant for someone else.
On their first date, golden light greeted her and he created a makeshift dining room in the woods.
The last time she saw him he gave her a living room complete with a cozy sofa and television.
Tonight, her breath caught.
A gorgeous red light met her and among the trees he'd built a bed.
Not just any bed, but a huge bed, one using four trees as supports. Oversized pillows populated the massive mattress and sheer drapery would hide two bodies entwined in passion, keeping the outside and the world at bay.
The music started. The same tune he played for her in what seemed long ago, but this time it was different. Not only was there the guitar, but a piano, and then suddenly a woman’s voice came in, putting the words to the music at last.
I dream of you every second,
Nothing seems complete without you.
I don’t want reality.
I want our fantasy.
And I don’t know what to do.
Only when she touched her cheeks did she realize she was crying.
The melody faded and Knight appeared from behind one of the trees.
“Was that song a hello or a goodbye?” Her voice shook.
“What do you want it to be?” He leaned against the tree trunk.
“What I want and what has to be are two different things.” As if drawn to him, she stepped forward.
“I’ve always found that it’s not the needs that keep me up at night.” His low voice overtook the space. “It’s the ache of the wants that go unfulfilled that haunt me.”
No truer words were ever spoken. Her heart hurt with how she wanted this man. It was a pain that would last long after the wound would heal. She made it to the edge of the bed.
He went to the opposite side, put his hands on the mattress and faced her. “I am in agony.”
“You keep me awake at night.” Beyond her control, the words left her mouth. She never wanted someone like this man.
“And what do you think of?” His gaze took her all in.
Breathless, she swallowed and tried to remember her resolve. “I don’t want it to be you.”
“But it is.” He finished her sentence.
Why couldn’t she walk away? “Tomorrow.” All the plans she made seemed to vanish around him.
“Is hours away.” He spread his arms out. “I have nothing to give you but tonight.”
They stared at one another. Apparently, they were both in the same place. Both ready to walk, but not quite yet.
She climbed up on the bed and crawled over to him until they were less than an inch apart. “One night of fantasy.”
In one smooth, sudden move, Knight took her in his arms and kissed her.
His kiss claimed her. Deep, hard and full of longing, their tongues connected, their tastes combined, and her body took off.
As if she were royalty, something to be cherished, he took her face in his hands and softened his kiss. His lips danced and fluttered over hers creating tingles throughout her.
“I want to worship you like I should have done from the beginning.” He skimmed his lips down her neck, sucking, licking and giving her light nips as he worked his way over to her shoulder.
“Me too.” In order to prevent herself from floating away, and make sure he didn’t disappear, she held on to him almost too tight.
“This time it’s my turn.” His fingers worked the buttons on her shirt. Every bit of skin he exposed, he grazed with his lips.
A dizzy weak sensation swam over her and she leaned back on the bed. The pillows and blankets surrounded her. She was weightless with only Knight and his magical touches and kisses.
He slowly worked down her body, removing both of their clothes along the way.
True to his word, he worshipped her. Once he unfastened her bra, he took ample time doling out attention to each of her breasts, first kissing the tops, then swirling his tongue around her tight nipple and finally taking the needy nub between his teeth.
She arched her back and ran her hand through his hair. The silky strands fell through her fingers. “Knight.”
He answered by kissing down her stomach. After reaching down and removing her shoes, he rid her of her pants and panties and palmed her most intimate spot.
Her already sensitized nerve endings fired off and she squirmed on the bed. “Come here, Knight.”
“Patience, Petals.” He let out one lone laugh. “We have all night.”
“Please.” Suddenly, the night seemed way too short, and she reached out for him. “I want to feel you up against me.”
“I can deny you nothing.” He moved up beside her and covered them with the blanket. Once more, he found her lips and his erection pressed against her, making her want peak. Yes, it was a want, an ache, a pain from having to have him in every way possible.
They kissed and he slipped a finger inside her, causing her to gasp.
“Someone wants me,” he growled in her ear and curled his finger up into her center.
Unable to speak, she simply nodded. With his mind, he managed to reach something within her to cause an undeniable connection. With his touch, he managed to reach something inside her to intensify her arousal to a point she didn’t think possible.
He pressed the heel of his hand to her to give her pressure in all the right places.
“Oh, oh.” All too soon, she could see the edge and fall off it.
“Are you going to come for me, Petals?” He added another finger.
She shook her head. “No.”
“Don’t hold back.” Again, he kissed her.
“No.” She grabbed his wrist and stopped him. “Not until you are inside me.”
“You don’t know how bad I want you.” He moved on top of her. His hair hung down around her, creating a veil to the outside world. “I want to feel you come.”
Finally, he entered her, and she stretched to welcome every inch of him. “Oh.”
Already, she was close to her climax and the second he bottomed out, embedded himself deep within her, she gave into her wants and was wracked with waves of her orgasm. The pain of not having him, the hours, days and weeks spent thinking about him cumulated in this moment of pure bliss of just her and Knight together with nothing but the stars for a ceiling and quiet of the forest as their music.
“Like that, Petals.” He ground his hips to hers.
The euphoria swirled around her and now that she had a taste, she wanted more. In fact, where she thought her need would ebb, it only seemed to increase. “Knight.” She curled her legs around his waist. “Don’t hold back, make love to me.”
“Anything for you.” He thrust into her. Long steady strokes. “You feel so good.”
Steadily her desire built, and she met his every movement. “More.”
“Yes, baby.” He reached back, cupping her backside as he drove into her.
“Harder.” Beneath him, she writhed. Another orgasm was upon her, right there on the horizon. “Please.”
“Damn.” The branches on the trees shook with their lovemaking, as if nature herself was spurring them on. “Baby, I’m there. Come with me.”
Again, she was at the edge, in that space where all that mattered was their satisfaction. All she wanted was to feel Knight let go with nothing between them, and the sheer thought of his orgasm gave her the last push she needed. “I’m there. Fill me, Knight.”
“Oh, God, baby.” He sped up, their bodies colliding, then at last he cried out and slammed into her. His body stiffened and he throbbed within her.
In her fantasies, she dreamed of the warmth that would encompass her when he came. In reality, a heat unlike she had ever known took over her, and with it came her second orgasm, a slow quiver that crested into the most incredible pulses that matched her lover’s.
Neither of them moved, they didn’t speak. In fact, she didn’t know how long they lay there with him still inside her, holding her, and covering her face with kisses.
“Petals,” he whispered in her ear.
They had magic and she wasn’t ready for it to be broken. “I just want to fall asleep in your arms.”
He slid off to her side and held her tight “I’m just going to lie awake holding you.”
Never had she experienced such a connection to someone else on every level. She failed at what she came here to do and didn’t know how she would ever walk away from him. For the first time in her life, her fantasy was a reality. What had she done?