Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 162003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 810(@200wpm)___ 648(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 162003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 810(@200wpm)___ 648(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Brighton
Over the next few weeks, Nicole and I worked on expanding the foundation’s programs to benefit multiple age groups. I was five and a half months pregnant and growing bigger every day. Ryland still worked a lot, but he said he was restructuring things within the company so it wouldn’t be this way forever. Whatever he was doing, he’d seemed more stressed than usual.
I knew Alex Burton was still on his mind, but other than to say he was looking into it, he’d been pretty tight lipped about the whole situation. It was Ryland’s way of feeling like he was protecting me, so I didn’t fight him on it.
Other than the time Nicole and I were shopping, I hadn’t seen the guy in the fancy suit following me again. I figured it must have been a fluke and washed my hands of it. Mick went everywhere I did, and I was coming to know him well. He really was just a giant teddy bear, all rough on the outside and soft on the inside. Still, I had no doubts he could do some damage if someone ever did try to hurt me. I grew to like his presence despite the fact that he’d pushed our car off the highway on a night not too long ago.
At one point, he apologized for it, saying that if he’d known I was in the car, it would have never happened. Of course, that didn’t make me feel any better about Brayden, but it was clear by Mick’s expression where he stood on him.
I still hadn’t heard from him either, and it was making me anxious. I didn’t know what he was up to back in Chicago, but I worried it wasn’t good.
Norma and I visited once a week, and she seemed to be doing well too. She was still in the rehab facility, even though she’d already been there for a long time. Her counselors said that in her situation, the longer she stayed, the better chance she had of making it sober in the real world. And since Ryland could afford it, he had no qualms whatsoever about indulging this.
He’d even made an effort to visit her with me, and I was over the moon with happiness every time he did. I knew it wasn’t easy for him. The longer we were together, the more I understood why. To him, a mother would do anything to protect her children. He had a hard time understanding where Norma was coming from since his mother wasn’t anything like her. But even so, he seemed to be warming up to her surly personality.
And besides, seeing the two of them attempt to find some common ground during a conversation was quite entertaining for me. They were worlds apart, but they made it work. For me.
Even though there were still some very real concerns in the back of my mind, everything was going well. I only hoped it would last.
***
I woke to Ryland’s lips on my throat.
He kissed soft trails up to my jaw while his hands deftly roamed my naked body. A glance at the clock confirmed he was very late for work.
“Don’t you have to go?” I pouted.
“Not today,” he answered. “I took the week off.”
“You did?”
He hummed his answer against my skin before finding his way to my lips.
“I want to take you somewhere,” he murmured.
“Where?” I arched into him, already drunk off his touch.
“I haven’t figured that out yet,” he replied. “Where would you like to go?”
“You mean like… away from California?”
“Yes.” He gripped my chin and captured my gaze with his. “I want to spend some time away with you.”
I smiled and ran my hands through his dark hair. I hoped our son looked like him.
“Love that smile, baby.” He dragged his thumb across my lips, and they parted for him the way they always did.
I sucked him into my mouth, teasing the pad of his thumb with my tongue. Ryland rumbled and closed his eyes, his hips already working against mine.
He was so hard I expected him to push straight inside of me. But instead, he kissed his way down to my breasts. They were swollen and sensitive, and when he sucked my nipple into his mouth, I was already close to coming undone. His fingers found their way between us, and I rode his hand impatiently before he even had a chance to get started.
“Frisky this morning?” he smirked.
“It’s the hormones.” I tugged on his hair and shoved my breast back into his mouth where it belonged. “Oh, God.”
“Fuck, Brighton,” he murmured between mouthfuls. “I could suck on these all day.”
I would gladly let him. Lately, the slightest touches from him would set me off. But he’d been so busy with work it was hard to find the time to connect like this as often as I wanted. When I had to go without for a couple of nights during the week, I felt like a fiend by the time I finally got it.