Third Chance by Ann Mayburn, Julie Naughton Page B

release beneath him, thrusting herself back and triggering his own release. Pleasure speared through his body and now it was his turn to cry out, to grind himself against her lush buttocks while he pinched her clit, startling a scream out of her and another ball-draining massage of her contracting pussy.
    His orgasm seemed to go on and on as he emptied himself into her, loving how she now purred and rubbed against him, as affectionate as a kitten.
    When Ryan could breathe enough to speak, he growled out, “Fucking magnificent.”
    Emma laughed, her chest still heaving as she occasionally shivered. “Indeed.”
    Moving slowly, Ryan gently pulled out, then went to get some baby wipes from a nearby drawer. He’d ended up putting a package of them in every room of the house, because Emma loved to fuck him whenever and wherever the urge struck her. Her spontaneity was awesome, but he hated having to trek across his big house and upstairs to get what he needed to care for her. This was another ritual in their relationship, an action of servitude that he loved to give to her. Caring for her made him happy. It was as simple as that, and more importantly, he knew it meant a lot to her as well.
    Made her feel loved.
    After wiping himself down, then tending to her, he gently turned her around and gave her a slow, deep kiss that involved a lot of tongue. When they broke apart, he studied her face, glad to see some of the shadows haunting her gaze had disappeared. The way Emma looked up at him, as if he was the most important man in the world, made Ryan’s love for this woman surge.
    “Ready for dinner, honey?” she whispered while running her fingertips over his jaw.
    While Emma was a modern, independent woman in every way, she seemed to really enjoy taking a more traditional approach when it came to meals. She enjoyed cooking for him, setting the table with fresh flowers, and in general taking care of his needs when it came to eating. Not that Ryan minded — it was an amazing experience for him to come home to a house filled with the smells of good food and a beautiful woman waiting for him with a kiss and a smile. She’d make a great wife when she was ready to wear his ring.
    His body didn’t want to move, but his stomach growled. “Yeah. Then after you can be my dessert.”
    The light, relaxed tone of Emma’s giggle made Ryan smile, and as he followed her into the kitchen, he knew he could never live without her in his life.
    * * * * *
    Later that evening, after Emma was in bed and exhausted after hours of rough and kinky lovemaking, Ryan sat in his study with the door closed and called the only person who could help him with Emma’s increasing fear of going outside.
    “Hello,” Moira said in her cultured purr.
    “Hey, Moira. I need your help with something.”
    “Hold on a second.” She spoke to someone before a few moments of silence. “Is Emma okay?”
    The worry in Moira’s voice had him sitting up in his chair. “No, no, she’s okay. Well, kind of.”
    “What’s going on?”
    After going over the increasing signs of Emma’s growing paranoia, he sighed. “I don’t know what to do to help her.”
    “I can’t believe the bitch didn’t tell me what was going on with her. Shit. So you think she faked being sick to get out of going to her parents last weekend?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Double shit.”
    “Exactly.”
    “That stubborn bitch. We need to get her out of the house so she can see that she’s safe, that you’re safe. I wouldn’t be surprised if she were more worried about you getting hurt than herself, but I can completely understand how she’d feel violated by being spied on.”
    Once again a pang of guilt moved through him as he thought about his own spying on Emma while she’d been at work. “Emma said that Chris is a therapist. Do you think he’d talk with her?”
    “Of course.”
    “Do you think she’d actually go see him?”
    “Hmmm, probably not. He’d be more than happy to come to