The Hooker and the Hermit

“Yes, please, Mr. Fitzpatrick.” My breath hitched; my body was on fire and fighting the bonds. I needed him, his bare skin. I needed the contact and his silky heat. I was so empty.

“Then you’ll be mine. Say you’re mine, Annie.” I heard his zipper and then the soft sound of his pants falling to his knees. The bed depressed behind me, between my spread legs.

“I’m yours; please, I’m yours.”

I felt him grip the waistband of my panties just before I heard the distinct sound of his tearing them in two. I felt the head of his erection against my entrance, and I tried to push backward. He chuckled, though it sounded strained.

“Tell me I’m yours.”

“I—I’m yours.”

“No….” He moved himself so that his thick head drew a circle around my clit, spreading my arousal over both of us.

I groaned, arching my back until it was almost painful.

“No, say, Ronan, you are mine. Say it.”

“Ronan, you are mine; you are mine.” I swallowed the last word then bit my arm, needed to feel something. This limbo between sensual teasing and full-on fucking was making me crazy.

He pushed into me then, and I whimpered. He felt amazing, necessary. Ronan leaned forward, and I felt his chest—still clothed in his suit—against my back. For some reason, the fact that was I bare to him except for the skirt around my waist and he was still mostly dressed made me even hotter.

I could barely move except for tilting my hips back to meet his thrusts. He surrounded me, pinning me down, hovering over me, filling me. I didn’t last long, and I came with a strangled cry, saying his name, saying please and oh, God and yes.

“Perfect, my perfect girl. I love the way you come on my cock.”

I felt him lean away before I was quite finished, fitting one of his hands between my stomach and the mattress and lifting my hips. He fit the vibrator between my legs, dancing and tapping it against my clitoris, as he pumped in and out.

Then I came again, and it hurt so very, very good. It rocked me—it was an explosion of white heat and stars under my skin, streams of ecstasy and pleasure and pain rushing through my veins. It felt wild, blazing hot, and uncontrolled; and I had no choice but to abandon myself to it, my bound hands gripping fistfuls of the comforter, turning my face into the mattress to stifle my loud cries as tears leaked from the corners of my eyes.

I hadn’t recovered, tremors still wracking my body, as Ronan collapsed on top of me with a strangled groan of his own, my name on his lips.

Our heavy breathing mingled. I felt the thudding of his heart against my back. It matched mine.

I loved him.

I loved what we’d just done.

I wanted to do it every day. I wanted to wake up with him every day, see him, touch him, hear him laugh, listen to his stories, be shocked by his dirty mouth every single day.

He was worth losing my anonymity. I wanted to share everything with him.

I had to tell him the truth.

I was going to tell him the truth.

I just didn’t know how to tell him the truth because I didn’t want to lose him.

Chapter Twenty

@RonanFitz: My girlfriend is so pretty.

@Anniecat: @RonanFitz Hush now.

@RonanFitz: @Anniecat Come back to bed, love.

*Ronan*

All I wanted to do was lock myself away in the hotel suite with Annie. Unfortunately, the more people became aware that I was in the country, the more shit I got asked to do. Honestly, it was exhausting having to meet and greet and be sociable when all I wanted was to tie Annie to my bedpost and tease her body until she begged for release. But such was life. I wanted to get back on the team as soon as possible, and smiling for the cameras was the only way to speed the process along. When we went outside, we always had an audience of at least thirty photographers. It felt like living in a goldfish bowl.

We were on our way back from our final engagement, a charity dinner, and the organizers had hired a limo to take us to and from the hotel. It was only six thirty, but we’d shown our faces; and as eager as I was to be alone with Annie, I also wanted to sleep for at least ten hours. So, an early departure it was. She checked out the drinks cabinet and reclined back on the long seat, emitting a weary little sigh.

We stared at each other for a moment, smiling in contentment. I didn’t think I’d ever get over her smile. Her face. She was in my dreams and my thoughts. I was completely overrun by this woman, and there was nowhere else I’d rather be.

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees and letting my eyes trail down her body. She looked just as exhausted as I was.

“What’s wrong, love? Is the day having trouble with what the night got up to?” I teased.

She let out the most adorable yawn I’d ever seen and pretended to scowl. “You’re a stupid sexy slave driver, Ronan Fitzpatrick. And my wrists hurt.”

I chuckled. “That’s Sir Ronan Fitzpatrick to you. Come here—I’ll give them a rub.”

She stuck her tongue out at me and grabbed a small bottle of liquor from the drinks cabinet to examine the label. I gave her a reprimanding look before she finally crawled across the seats and into my lap. I took a deep breath and wrapped my arms around her tight. There was a thoughtful expression on her face before she said quietly, “I like being here with you. You seem, I don’t know, more yourself in this country than you did back in the States.”

“It’s got nothing to do with geography, Annie. It’s just you. Being with you makes me calmer than I’ve ever felt. Being inside you feels like home,” I said, whispering the last part huskily.

I saw her shiver at my words before she brought her nose to mine and nuzzled. The affectionate gesture made my heart squeeze. God, how I loved her.

Taking both her wrists into my hands, I started to massage them, noticing that I had been a little bit rough with her last night. I’d have to learn more control. Normally, I was the definition of controlled in the bedroom, but with Annie I tended to lose it a little. It was like I’d been waiting my whole life for the ideal partner, and now that I’d found her, it was impossible to hold back.

By the time we arrived at the hotel, Annie was resting her head on my shoulder, her body limp and relaxed as I soothed her with my fingers. I’d be content to stay like that for hours, and I felt the urge to tell the driver to do another loop of the city; but we both needed sleep. And yeah, sleepy sex with Annie before we both finally drifted off also sounded appealing.

Thankfully, there were only a handful of photographers hanging about when we left the limo. I led her to the lift, and we stood facing each other as other people got on and off. I couldn’t stop smiling at her, telling her with my eyes all the things I planned to do with her when we got to our room. There was only one more floor until ours, and finally we were alone in the elevator. She gave me that look I love, the one where she glances up at me from beneath her lashes, and in the moment I felt too full of emotion. I was so in love with her I was drowning, and the overflow of water came out in my words. I barely even had to think about it. I just said it. I knew it was what I wanted. She was all that I wanted.

“Marry me.”

She stared at me, eyes growing larger by the second as my words hung in the air.

“What?” she whispered, and before I could hesitate, I slammed my hand on the button to stop the lift and got down on one knee. Taking her hand in mine, I said it again, eyes blazing, heart hammering. “I love you, Annie, and I want you to marry me.”

“You’re…you’re…get up, Ronan.”

“Not until you answer me,” I said firmly, seeing a thousand “yeses” written all over her face, but not a single one of them left her lips.

Her entire body began to shake, and I stood, taking her face in my hands and kissing her cheeks, her nose, her chin, her eyelids, every part of her that I adored.

“I think I need to sit down,” she said just as the lift creaked into movement again. Someone had obviously overridden my command to stop it. I took her hand in mine and led her off, eyeing her the whole time and trying to read what she was thinking. I’d just put my entire self out there for her, and her hesitation was killing me with every second that passed.

When we got to the suite, everything looked normal at first. I opened the door with my keycard, and Annie stepped in, slipping off her shoes and coat. I noticed a couple of cushions had been strewn on the floor, and the drawer to one of the desks had been pulled wide open.

“Oh, shit!” I heard her shout as she entered the bedroom. I was heavy on her heels and found her standing with her hands to her mouth in panic. The place was trashed, our suitcases open and clothes tossed everywhere. Every single drawer and the closet were wide open, too, and it looked like someone had tried to break into the safe but had been unsuccessful. There was a massive dent in the metal, but it remained shut tight. That was a relief because that’s where I’d stored Brona’s sex pictures.

Once Annie had taken a moment to collect herself, she dove forward, frantically searching through her things and muttering panicked expletives to herself. I picked up the phone and immediately made a call down to reception to inform them of the break-in. O’Hare sounded absolutely appalled by the news, and I got the feeling this sort of thing didn’t happen here often. It was a five-star hotel, and I knew the security was top-notch.