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She smiled and caressed my cheek, the bracelet sparkling as she moved. “Something very good did come out of it, Ryan. You.”
My heart nearly melted. How I loved this woman. I pulled her to me in a soft embrace. “You’re wonderful,” I whispered in her ear. “Please keep the bracelet.”
She pulled away. “If it means that much to you, I’ll keep it. But honestly, when would I wear it? It’s certainly not appropriate for work.”
“You’ll wear it tonight,” I said. “You’ll wear that bracelet…and nothing else.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Ruby
Oddly, I had gotten used to stripping for Ryan. He seemed to like me naked while he kept his clothes on. Truth be told, I liked it too. Part of me felt vulnerable, yes. Very vulnerable. But laced within that vulnerability was an innate feeling of power.
There was power in being a woman—a power in femininity—and I’d hidden my femininity for so long that I’d never experienced it. I’d spent my life building a strong body and a strong mind, all the while ignoring my femininity. I hadn’t missed it. At least I hadn’t thought I had.
Until now.
I peeled my clothes from my body until I stood naked, only the sapphire bracelet adorning me. My nipples pebbled as Ryan stared at me, the bulge growing beneath his jeans.
Power.
I had this power over him.
And I liked it. I liked it very much.
Every other time I’d been naked with Ryan fully clothed, he’d attacked me, made me come, and then thrust into me without bothering to disrobe himself. Not this time, though.
He kept his distance, though I hungered for him to come and take me, make me his.
I stayed quiet for a few moments, looking at him, but then had to say something. “What are you doing?”
“You’ve stripped for me so many times. I figured I owed you the same courtesy.”
My breath caught when he tugged open a button of his shirt, and then another. With each new inch of bronze skin exposed, my heart fluttered a little faster. I ached to reach out and touch him, feel his flesh beneath my fingertips, but I held back, mesmerized by his movements, the striations in his muscles, the rustling of his garments as he discarded them.
Ryan Steel was so beautiful. So magnificent. His shirt hit the floor, and he raised one leg and discarded one cowboy boot, and then the other. Slowly he unbuckled his belt and unsnapped his jeans. Over his muscular hips the clothes went until they reached his ankles. He kicked them off, toeing off his socks as well.
Ryan Steel stood before me, naked and glorious, his cock springing forward in its magnificence.
I stood, unmoving, gawking at him, resisting the urge to reach toward him, run my fingers over his taut flesh, grab his hard member and bring it into my body.
I inhaled.
The vanilla musk scent permeated the air, but something else was mixed in. Ryan. His earthy masculine aroma mingled with mine. I inhaled again, letting the odor penetrate the most inner layers of my body.
He came toward me then and lifted my wrist, staring at the expensive bauble I wore.
“You’re so beautiful. It’s perfect.”
I looked down. The sapphires were midnight blue against my pale skin, the platinum shiny and silver.
“I never imagined I could pull off anything like this,” I said. “I never imagined owning anything so perfectly beautiful.”
“It’s not beautiful,” he said, caressing my forearm. “You are.” He pulled me to him.
Our lips met softly at first, sliding over each other’s in a smooth caress. I parted for him, and he delved his tongue into my mouth, searching. I met him, returning his kiss, savoring the slowness and the softness. We didn’t often kiss like this. Normally we were ferocious with each other. Not this time. This was a gentle kiss. A kiss not of lust but of comfort.
Comfort I craved.
