Page 115 of Rival to the Billionaire

I pull back and look into his eyes. "Promise me something. Something that you won't break."

"Anything."

"Promise me…that when we start living together, you'll watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Every single week."

"What?" Ryder laughs.

"Or no deal. I don't want a boyfriend who doesn't love Buffy as much as I do."

He bends down and rests his forehead against mine. "I promise. I won't break that promise."

"It's a deal, then." I lean up, my hands on his chest. Our faces are close. So close that our lips are touching.

He pushes back and looks down at me. "I only have one condition."

"What is it?" I ask, my heart thumping fast.

"Tonight, you have to do that thing you did to me last night when we get home."

"What thing?"

He lowers his head until his lips are a breath away from mine. "That thing you did to me that made me so hard all night long. That thing that had me begging to come inside you."

I bite my lip, keeping my smile to myself. "Then let's get home. I'll call a car. No one will see us leave, and we can get home in a few minutes."

"No worries. I brought my bike."

"Ryder…I can't put certain things in, um, certain places when we're both on a bike."

"Okay," he says, his eyes soft on me. "But you better do that thing to me while we’re in the hired car, or this deal is off. I swear to God."

I move up and press my lips to his. "Your demands are crazy, but I'll go along with them."

"I know they are, but I'm crazy about a lot of things."

"Name one."

He smiles. "I'm crazy about how you look in that dress. I'm crazy about how you feel in my arms. And I'm crazy about the perfect way your lips feel on mine." He pauses. "Can I be crazy with you?"

"Of course," I say, smiling. "Crazy together is so much better than being crazy alone."

"Oh, I wouldn't let you be alone," he says, his voice deep. "I'd surround you with so many crazy things that you'd have no choice but to be happy."

"I love that idea." I press my lips to his. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he says, kissing me back. "Now come on, let's go home. I'm going to show you just how crazy I can be for you. And I have a feeling you're going to love it."

I pull back and look at him, my heart swelling with everything I love about him. He's gotten under my skin so deeply that I can't imagine ever being without him again.

And I'm on my way to being the happiest woman in the world.

I hope that I never forget to be grateful for all the crazy things that got me here.

Epilogue

Three months later

RYDER

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