Faking It To Survive
Chapter 14

Ryan

Waking up and seeing Rose by my side is exactly the kind of pain reliever I need. I grunt in pain when she throws herself on top of me, but her blatant show of affection warms my heart.

“Sorry, sorry.” She climbs off me and straightens up. “I’m just so glad you’re awake.”

“Me, too.” I pull myself up, groaning from the effort. “Would you mind giving me some water, please?” I nod at the glass and pitcher on the table by my bed.

She pours me a glass, and I gulp it down before handing the glass back when I’m done. I watch her put it away.

She really cares. She cares enough to be here with me. Her presence means a lot, whether she knows it or not. Cold, guarded Rose actually cares about me. I struggle to fully believe it.

She faces me, bursts into a grin, and slaps my arm. “Harris really kicked your a*s. I can’t believe you held out as long as you did.”

“Hey!” I protest, but seeing her worried about me fills me with joy. I secretly love it when she reprimands me. I replace it extremely sexy.

She waves my protest away. “You’ll get over it. What did I say about tapping out? You and your stupid pride.”

“Sorry about that. I guess I was trying to prove a point.” I want to erase the memory of my fight against Khalid, but life doesn’t work that way. I’m going to have to face reality eventually.

Rose looks down at her hands. “It’s my fault,” she whispers. “I’m your trainer; I should have known you were struggling. I should have—”

“Hey, hey!” I grab her hand and squeeze, but when she looks up at me, I can’t stop myself. I raise my other hand and stroke her cheek. “Don’t ever blame yourself for my failures. I’m the one who didn’t say anything. I should have talked to you or Travis. You did the best you could, and I’m grateful for that.”

Rose sniffles. “I was just so scared,” she whispers. Her voice breaks, and tears stream down her cheeks.

I don’t hold back. I pull her closer and k**s those tears away. I k**s her beautiful eyes, her cheeks, her jaw, and then I linger above her lips. My heart pounds, fit to burst. Is she going to let me k**s her now?

My lips graze hers, and it feels like heaven. I hear her gasp, and her hand comes to rest on my chest. I want so badly to k**s her, to touch her and feel her. I want to be with her in the most intimate way. I crave it.

I ease in, but at that moment, the door opens as Travis and Trina walk in.

I collapse back on the bed with a g***n. Not another interruption! Will I ever get to be able to k**s Rose?

No one says a word at first. Rose looks everywhere but at the three of us.

Trina breaks the silence by rushing to me and hugging me. “I’m so glad you’re okay!” She pulls back when I grunt in pain.

Travis comes forward and claps me on the shoulder. “Glad to have you back, brother. And before you ask, no, I’m not disappointed. I just think you should have talked to me about everything.”

“Yeah. Sorry.”

“By the way, did you know your girl here punched Harris’s manager?”

Him referring to Rose as my girl makes me feel unbelievably good, but I can’t ignore the rest of it.

“What?” I glance at Rose.

She turns bright red, but she doesn’t hesitate to look me dead in the eye. “He deserved it. He was running his mouth.”

I chuckle at how unapologetic she sounds. “That’s my girl.” I ruffle her hair, and this time, she doesn’t slap my hand off. She just smiles at me in a way that makes my heart skip a beat.

A few minutes later, the doctor comes in to check on me, and later that evening, I’m cleared for discharge. Rose doesn’t leave my side the entire time, not even when Travis threatens to fire her if she doesn’t go home and get some sleep.

When we get back to my apartment, Travis and Trina leave to go to Trina’s doctor’s appointment, but Rose offers to stay. I definitely don’t decline.

I exchange a glare with Travis. I want her here, and I want him and his wife to leave.

“You can take a shower in there if you want,” I tell her when she’s done tucking me into bed.

“Are you saying I stink, Baker?” Rose teases.

I shrug playfully. “I do smell something in here.”

She smacks me, and I laugh.

“I guess I do need to take a shower,” she says, “but I don’t have a change of clothes with me.”

“I have clothes.” I point at my closet. “You can pick any shirt and shorts you want from there.”

She picks a black T-shirt and sweatpants from the closet then heads for the bathroom. She’s in there for a while, and I almost have a heart attack when she comes out, dressed in my clothes.

She has never looked more beautiful, with her dark, wet hair spilling over her shoulders, and her dark eyes looking around for what to do next.

She holds up her folded, dirty clothes. “Where should I put these?”

“On the floor … wherever. I don’t care.”

I drag myself out of bed and wince from the pain. I take the clothes out of her hands and dump them on the chair. “You’re still here, Rose.”

“Yes, I am.”

“Why?” I ask. “Why are you still here?”

Her eyes meet mine, and then she looks away before she says, “Because I can’t seem to stay away from you.”

I let out my breath, realizing I was holding it while waiting to hear what she would say. Hearing her say those words—hearing her admit that she feels the same way I do—the feeling is indescribable.

“Can I k**s you, Rose?”

“Yes,” she whispers.

I don’t waste another minute. I lean in and take her lips with mine.

The k**s starts slow. I take my time exploring her mouth, and my mind goes into overdrive when I taste her lips. Then the k**s gets deeper, faster. We can’t get enough of each other.

I feel my control slipping and pull back with a gulp.

“I might get greedy if we keep going on like this.”

“Maybe I want you to be greedy,” she replies, throwing her arms around my neck.

“Rose …”

“I want more, Ryan. I want to go all the way with you.”

“Are you sure? We don’t have to do anything now—”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

That does it. I don’t know who grabs who first, but we’re kissing again, our arms wrapped tightly around each other. Somehow, this k**s is even better than the last.

I yank the T-shirt and sweatpants off her. Now she’s completely naked in front of me. Knowing she wasn’t wearing underwear when she stepped out of the bathroom makes me even hotter than I already am.

“Hmm, wait …” Rose pulls back. I think for a second that she’s changing her mind. “Can you …? The doctor said you need to rest.”

“I’m totally fine. It’s just a few bruises. I promise.” I drag her closer to me by the waist. The feeling of her bare skin against me and her lips on mine totally wipes out the pain. I hardly feel it anymore.

I raise a hand to touch her, and she shivers against me in delight. My fingers graze her stiff nipples, and she m***s.

I can’t hold back a second longer. I grab her, pull her naked body into my arms, and guide her down onto the bed. I sit at the edge, steer her onto my lap, and devour her mouth while our tongues swirl in an intoxicating dance.

My hands explore her body and settle on her breasts. I squeeze both of them as I pepper k****s along her neck. She quivers and m***s as my mouth closes on her nipple.

I’ve never felt this way with any woman. None of them have ever come close to Rose.

Everything is happening so fast, but I make sure to be gentle with her. I take my time caressing her body and learning every inch of it. I’m just as eager to pleasure her as I am to be pleasured, if not more.

I pick her up and rise from the edge of the bed with her thighs wrapped around me. I lay her down gently and plant a k**s on her forehead before I stand up to pull off my own clothes. Then I stretch out next to her and let my gaze travel over her immaculate, naked form.

“You have no idea how beautiful you are, do you, Rose? You take my breath away.” I trail my mouth across her skin until she whines with pleasure.

“Ryan …” she begs. Her eyes burn up at me with all the hidden meanings of everything she wants to say but can’t.

“Tell me if it’s too much, okay? And I’ll stop. I swear.”

She smiles, but there’s still a hint of fear and doubt in her eyes. “Make me yours, Ryan.” She squeezes her thighs around my h**s, her fingernails clawing at my shoulders as she lifts her h**s to meet mine. She rocks against me, and my manhood slides against her slick heat.

I gasp when she reaches between us, grabs me, and pulls me toward her entrance. I know what she wants, so I reach into my bedside cabinet and pull out a condom.

I roll it on and look up to replace her watching me. Her haunted eyes tell me exactly what she needs, so I bend down and k**s her as never before. Her thighs close around me, and without even trying, I plunge into her, all gentility discarded.

Her thighs clench around me, and her nails dig into my shoulders while her other hand grips my arm for support. I hesitate, thinking I might be hurting her, but she rocks wildly against me and doesn’t hold back.

I try to keep my rhythm slow at first, but when her muscles tighten around me and she screams for me to go harder, I pick up the pace. No one can hear us. We’re all alone. This is just for us.

I grit my teeth, watching her surrender to me. She throws back her head, and her eyes roll before she comes apart in my arms.

I drive in even faster, and she trashes wildly when I bite down on her breast. A few seconds later, I stiffen and g***n before I whisper her name as I climax.