Page 85 of My Bully's Crush: Vol1
“You’re already questioning my methods?There’s the door.”
“Would you calm the hell down?Still so testy.”
“So, we’ve agreed!I’ll be the one to decide whether or not you’ve earned it.Are we clear?”
“OK, so how do I prove that I’ve earned it?What am I supposed to do?’
“You’re asking me?You’re hopeless.How the hell did she put up with you for so long, any damn way?You’re both idiots.”
“That’s just it.Nobody can put up with me other than you.”I tried to evade his hands, but he caught me and pulled me down on the bed beside him.Sneak, I didn’t even see him move or notice that I had walked closer to the bed I was trying to avoid.
“So you just want to come back to me because you’re lonely and no one else will put up with you, not because you’re dying of love for me.”
“Stop it.Stop playing games with me.You know I never said that.”
“I’m not playing games.I’m not the one in here who is the master player.You made an ass of me in front of the whole world, so even if I feel like playing games, you’ll just have to deal with it.And another thing, I’m not putting up with any of your tantrums.”
“What the hell tantrums are you talking about?”I rolled my eyes at him, ignoring his little snit.He hates being called childish or anything along those lines, which was something I liked to throw in his face when we argued.In truth, we were both petty as hell and childish with it, but he’d gone too far.
“We both know you have an anger problem.Why else would you go off in a huff like a little child having a damn tantrum that fucked up my life for five years, you piece of shit?”
“Ok, I deserve that.Go ahead.What else have you got?Give it all to me straight, don’t hold back.Not that you ever did before.”
“I’m not giving you shit, I’m tired, and you need to go.”We both looked at the window where morning light was peeping in.
“So now you’re gonna make me walk the walk of shame.”
“I don’t care what walk you walk.You can fly for all I care.Call your wife or ex-wife, whatever the hell she is, and ask her to borrow her damn broom to fly home on.Bye.”I tried jumping from the bed, but he was too quick, and I found myself under him again.
He made short work of the towel, and my body went up in flames as his heat enveloped me.“Tell me to stop.”The bastard ran his finger down my cleavage before circling a nipple, knowing damn good and well that that is my weakness.
He didn’t give me a chance to reject him anyway, as I felt him slip inside me again.My eyes closed in pleasure, and I wrapped my legs and arms around him, pulling him in deep as I raised my lips for his kiss.
Chapter 48
*Ryder*
As she drifts into slumber, I'm left alone with my tumultuous thoughts.The unease is palpable as I lie there, contemplating my next move.When I insisted Zak and Tyler bring me here, they weren’t exactly thrilled, but they understood my desperate need to be with her.Their reluctance stemmed from the lack of a concrete plan, a fact that was starting to weigh on me.
But I couldn’t come to her once it came to light that Janie and her dad, along with Mary and the others, were planning to not only harm her but take her life.The fear I felt at that moment overshadowed everything else, and all I could think about was getting to her, if only to stand in front of her, protecting her from the danger.
They weren’t planning to rush right out and harm her, but for me, it made no difference; even a second more away from her after hearing that would’ve been too much for me to bear.But as usual, I didn’t think about what came next; I just couldn’t ignore the need in me to be next to her.
Tyler and Zak had offered to have someone else watch her, but that wasn’t good enough for me; I wouldn’t have been any good for anything else had I not been able to take care of her on my own, and thankfully they understood and gave in in the end.
They’d lectured me up one side and down the next in such a way that I wondered what kind of wives they had that held them so in check.At another time and place, I would’ve found their circumstances hilarious, but as the days went by, I realized their actions weren’t because they were whipped or any of the other derogatory terms we use to talk about men who are devoted to their women and children, but they were legit men in every sense of the word.
If nothing else, I’ve learned from them how to be a decent man, husband, and father, and when I think of it, had I done things the way they do in the past, none of this would be happening now.The reality is, it doesn’t take much, just love, that’s all.I realize now that loving someone is way more than the physical and runs much deeper.And putting someone else first has its own pleasure.I’ve also learned never to let anyone else interfere between her and me ever again and to trust the trust I have in her.
She had never given me a reason to doubt her, and yet I allowed others to plant seeds of doubt in my mind.She had always shown me nothing but love and kindness, and yet I had misused it, turning it against her.The weight of my shame is heavy, and my anger at myself is intense.
Once the anger at the people around me had subsided, I realized and accepted that most of the blame lies with me, and as hard a pill as that is to swallow, I had to bear it and look internally for the root of the problem so I could work on it.I have a feeling that had I not been working so hard on myself these last few weeks, those two men wouldn’t have brought me here, no matter what I said.
I’m ashamed and pleased that two complete strangers care so much for her.Ashamed that it took me this long to get it right while these two men who’d never met her, never got to see her greatness up close, were so willing to go to bat for her and pleased that they were that they too had seen what she was worth just by her actions alone.Though I suspect, they know more than they let on, but that’s a whole other story.
I listened to her easy breathing, something I didn’t know how much I missed until now, and the warmth of her body close to mine was a familiar joy I never expected to feel again but would fight tooth and nail, never to lose again in this lifetime.
I was unsure what I expected to happen when I rushed here, but this wasn’t part of it.Knowing Elena, I expected her to give me hell for the next twenty years at least, but I guess I’d underestimated that thing that surpasses the love that we both have for each other.That thing inside of us that had died and withered while we were apart, only to burst into flames and come alive the moment we were close to each other again.