Page 74 of Ring Me

“Maya, fuck... Maya, Maya...” He called my name between each thrust. It changed in my ears. “My wife, my wife...”

At the altar we'd spoken our vows for an audience. I'd shed tears, laughed nervously, all through each sentence written for him. But in the darkness of his bedroom, nothing but sweat and breath between us, we spoke our true vows. This wasn't a performance. It was a shredding of the last remnants of anything holding us back. He knew me as I was—down to my bones. And I knew him.

“I love you,” I groaned, my hips rising to meet his. I'd been a giant knot of pleasure with no where to go—then I came, the release so massive I went limp. He kept pounding me, making up for my worthless muscles with his wild lust.

He kissed my ears, my temples, whispering against my skin so softly I heard nothing but a frantic rumble. His cock expanded in me. “My perfect wife,” he hissed. I heard that clear as a bell.

His seed filled me up, spurt after spurt of thick, wet heat. I had a crazy thought I blamed on my over-stimulated brain. This idea that his essence was swimming up me, through me, creating somethingnewas we laid there hours after becoming man and wife.

But that was stupid.

That wasn't how pregnancy worked.

And still... I loved the idea.

Conner propped himself above me on his hands, his prick buried inside me still. His forehead was damp from exertion. The way he smiled at me made me blush—I cupped the nape of his neck, dragging him close for a long, tongue tangling kiss. “I love you,” he murmured.

“I love you, too.”

He cringed as he slid his semi-firm cock free, but he stayed between my legs, on top of me. “Now that it's too late for you to run off, I have something to say.”

“Haha, very funny. Like I'd run away fromthis.” I kissed his chest, smiling to ease the mood. He didn't smile back. My nerves began to itch. “What do you need to tell me?”

“The day I proposed to you. The first time.” His fingers tenderly dragged a curl of red hair from my forehead. “Do you remember how you whisperedNeptuneto begin the scene?”

I swallowed loudly. “Of course I do.”

“You said something else first.”

Conner watched me closely, like he could see each thought as it flashed behind my eyeballs. I knew what I'd done that day. “It was a mistake,” I whispered. “The waitress behind you was distracting me.”

“A man's heart is fragile, Maya. And never more so than when he gets on one knee and offers himself up to a woman.” He planted a kiss on the corner of my mouth. It was lighter than a snowflake. “That day, I asked you to marry me, and before you began our roleplay... you saidyes.”

“I didn't mean it, though.”

“I think you did. I took your answer and I gripped it tight. In my soul, all that time you insisted we were a fake engagement, everything inside of mescreamedit wasreal.”

My hands slid down his broad back, following the indentation of his spine. His silky skin brought a comfortable distraction. I didn't know what to say... or what to feel.

“Conner,” I said slowly.

“Yeah?”

“I tried to think it wasn't real, up until it was, because it was safer that way. I was terrified of being hurt.” He crushed his weight on top of me, making it hard to talk, but I did my best. “Thing is, Iwashurt. Fucking crazy hurt. And I wouldn't have been if, on some level, I didn't think our engagement was real from the beginning, too.”

“That makes me so happy, Maya.” His face was buried in my hair—he inhaled the scent of me. His final admission... his last secret... took the rest of my energy away. I was bone-tired and it was glorious.

“Itwasa mistake,” I reiterated, closing my eyes as sleep began to claim me. “But what a happy mistake it turned out to be.”

****

THE WEDDING GIFTS WEREstacked around the living room. Aubrey had delivered them early this morning. She'd knocked gently, saw I was half-asleep in my satin robe, and had moved quickly to bring everything inside before making herself scarce.

I wasn't mad that she'd woken me up. Buuuut, Iwasextra pleased that she'd brought a box of doughnuts over for breakfast. I chewed a maple-log as I looked at the shiny presents from the wedding.

“Are those doughnuts?” Conner asked from the bedroom door.

“Mmf,” I giggled, stuffing the last of mine between my lips. He walked towards me slowly. He was dressed in nothing but black briefs—I stared at his muscles as they swayed like ocean waves.

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