Page 211 of His Virgin Romance Series

I smiled. “I never expected to hear a real apology out of you.”

“I never expected to ever give one,” Ryder admitted.

I looked up at him. “I know you want to act as though you’re cut from stone… nothing can touch you, nothing can hurt you. But I see past all that. You’re not as… ruthless as you appear, Ryder Robinson.”

“Hmm I need to work on that then,” he replied.

I shook my head. “Why?” I asked. “Why is humanity a weakness?”

“I don’t know,” Ryder said quietly. “It’s what I was raised to believe, and it’s a hard belief to shake.”

“You’ve taught me a lot, Ryder,” I said. “But maybe I can teach you something too.”

“You can’t change me, Abby,” Ryder sighed.

“I think I already have,” I said.

I could see all the color in his beautiful hazel eyes. I could see flecks of green and gold. I could see all the colors of autumn. There was nothing remotely frightening about those eyes. I leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips, purely because I wanted to.

We broke away naturally, and Ryder's eyes softened when he looked at me. “I thought we agreed not to go there.”

“When this is all over… we’ll probably never see each other again,” I said. “So until then… why not be together while we can?”

Ryder considered that for a moment, and then his face broke out into a slow smile. “That sounds… very reasonable.”

“Does it?”

Ryder pulled me closer into the curve of his body, and then I felt his hands travel up the skirt of my dress. I felt myself shiver in response, just like I had the night we had slept together for the first time. I was more aware of what to expect this time, but it still felt like the first time. There was all the same anticipation and excitement and wonder.

As he lay me down on the soft earth, I stared up at the leaves of the trees, dangling over us like dancing wind chimes. I should have been self-conscious that we were out in the open. Anyone could have walked right up to us. But at that moment, I couldn’t have cared less. I felt my inhibitions float away as though I’d never had any at all.

Even as Ryder pulled down my panties and slipped inside me, I couldn’t bring myself to care about anyone or anything. Not even Walter Black was important enough to draw my focus or interest. There was only Ryder and I… and the trees.

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