She hums around me, the vibration adding another layer to the overwhelming sensations, and I know I'm not going to last much longer if she keeps this up.
But then she pulls away, the ice cube apparently melted, and climbs back up my body with a wicked smile.
"We're not done yet," I tell her, flipping her over so she's beneath me and reaching for the strawberries.
I feed her one, watching the juice stain her lips red, then follow with champagne that I pour carefully across her breasts so I can lick it off.
She laughs, the sound breathless and happy, and I realize this is what I've been missing.
Not just the sex, though Christ knows that's incredible. But this. The playfulness, the connection, the way she looks at me like I'm everything she's ever wanted.
I position myself at her entrance again, we both go still for a moment. She's so warm, so tight, and when I push inside, she fits around me like she was made for this, for us.
"I love you," I tell her as I start to move, the words torn from somewhere deep in my chest. "I love you so fucking much, Mia."
For a heartbeat, her eyes cloud over with fear, maybe, or the memory of how badly I hurt her before.
My chest tightens. Did I just ruin this perfect moment?
But then her expression softens, and she reaches up to touch my face, her thumb tracing my chin scar like she used to.
"I love you too, Ryder," she whispers, her voice breaking at the smile that slowly spreads across her face.
The words knock the air from my lungs. I've waited so damn long to hear that again. Years of empty hotel rooms, of meaningless hookups that left me feeling hollow, of staring at the ceiling wondering if I'd made the biggest mistake of my life when I walked away from her.
Eight years of her name catching in my throat every time something good happened because she was the only one I wanted to tell.
Eight years of seeing her face in crowds, in dreams, in the quiet moments between games when my guard was down.
And now she's here, underneath me, those three words hanging in the air between us like the most precious gift I've ever been given.
My heart hammers against my ribs so hard I wonder if she can feel it. The emotion wells up so thick in my throat I can barely swallow.
"Say it again," I whisper, needing to hear those words one more. Needing to believe this isn't just another dream I'll wake up from, alone and aching.
"I love you too," she whispers back, wrapping her legs around my waist to pull me deeper.
But this time is different. Slower, more intense, every thrust deliberate and deep.
I lean down and kiss her deeply, desperately, moving inside her with renewed purpose.
This time, I'm not letting go.
Chapter Sixteen
Mia
When I wake up, the evidence of last night's adventures is everywhere.
An empty champagne bottle lies conquered on the nightstand, the cork nowhere to be found. Chocolate-smeared strawberry stems litter the silver tray like casualties of our indulgence, the memory of his fingers pressing the sweet fruit against my lips making my stomach flutter.
And then there are the unmistakable red splotches staining the once-pristine white sheets. Red juice showing exactly where he fed me berries while hovering above me with that devastatingly perfect smile.
The hotel housekeeping is going to need therapy after this room, but the warmth spreading through my chest tells me it was worth every penny of the inevitable upcharge.
I love you, Ryder.
Those three words that finally escaped last night. I'd buried them beneath anger, fear, and self-protection, pretending theydidn't exist. I've said those words to Ryder a thousand times in my dreams, but last night… that was real.
