Ryan's Treasure by Becca Dale Read Free Book Online

to breathe properly. His tongue matched the stroke of his fingers in and out of her channel. When he lifted his head, she gasped desperately for air and sanity. “I’ll only use my hand this time, but I can’t wait to taste you, to fill my senses with the tang of your arousal.”
    She dug her heels into the moss and lifted toward him, pleading for more with frantic cries. Reality narrowed to the seductive whisper of his voice and the cadence of his intrusion. Fire danced over her skin in searing waves, flames licking at something hovering beyond her reach.
    His lips explored the arc of her throat, pausing to nibble the pulse throbbing at the base before wandering back to her lips. The stroke of his touch—steady yet gentle—in her most intimate place, the comfort of his natural, earthy scent, the sexy growls emanating from deep in his throat, all played her senses like the first spring bird song and swept her into the heart of a fire she could not have imagined.
    Desperate, she wrenched her mouth from his, drawing in shuddering breaths. “Ryan! Make it stop.” Suddenly, the band keeping her muscles in check snapped and sent her spiraling out of control. Clutching the solid man above her, she held tight, a lifeline in the wild vortex of flames roaring through her head and body.
    “Shh, just feel, Nadi. Let the pleasure sweep away the bad until only you and I remain.” He gathered her close while she shook and tears coursed down her cheeks. “I’ll always catch you, gorgeous.”
    Ryan’s odd mumblings augmented the feeling of well-being left in the inferno’s wake. The heat receded, and the trembling ebbed away to random quivers. The stable beat of his heart drummed beneath her ear, and his continued assurances echoed in his chest, leaving her with a peace she had never expected nor experienced before. Once reality settled to normal, she smiled and snuggled closer to his warmth. An easy languor drifted through her until her mind grew fuzzy and she relaxed at last.
    His voice vibrated through his chest. She pressed her hand over his heart, fighting the drowsiness pulling her down like a drug. She intended to thank him at some point, even return the favor if she could. But at that moment, with the song of the river in her ears and the cadence of his masculine rhythms in her head, she could think of nothing beyond his promise to always catch her if she fell.
     
     
    Nadi slept with the innocent exhaustion of a child. Her head lolled on Ryan’s shoulder, long lashes golden against pale cheeks. Her lips parted in her sleep, and he brushed a kiss over them simply to taste her. A hint of berries and cream tempted his tongue to seek more, but he shoved the urge aside. She needed the rest. When she murmured, he nuzzled the hair near her ear. “Sleep.”
    Shifting her fully into his arms, he rose to his feet and started back to Jake’s. The dark night spoke with familiar whispers. Birds called, and the wind sang through the upper tree branches while a thousand scents assailed his nostrils. By the time he reached his brother’s house, the ache of desire had eased, driven off by a deeper contentment. The hills and forest around the Sanctuary had become the place he knew best, but never had he felt at home until Nadi came. The pain of choices made in youthful haste never left him, even in the quiet evenings, yet, with a white haired angel in his arms, the loss did not hold its usual power.
    Jake had turned the outside light on and paced the rough-hewn planks. When Ryan stepped onto the porch with his delicate burden, the smaller man reached for her but backed up after a subtle warning growl.
    “Open the door, little brother.”
    “What did you do to her? Why’s she so still?”
    “She’s wiped out. I told you to make her rest.”
    Grabbing the screen door, Jake swung it wide and stepped back. “Did you drug her again?”
    Refusing to dignify the smaller man’s worries, he entered the cabin and headed down the hall to