Page 22 of Branded Mine

The endearment nearly undid me. He settled between my spread legs, and I couldn’t stop myself from looking down at him. Ryder was built like the rest of him—thick, hard, and intimidating enough to make my breath catch.

Even like this, there was something undeniably powerful about him, from the broad muscles of his chest and shoulders to the strength in the thighs braced between mine.

My gaze lingered on him for another second before traveling back up the hard planes of his body. Jesus. The man looked carved out of all the rough, unforgiving things, and suddenly, I was very aware of exactly how much bigger and stronger he was than me.

His cock hung heavy between his thighs, thick and long, the flushed head already glistening. A slow bead of pre-cum welled at the tip and slid down the underside.

Ryder wrapped one big hand around himself and gave a few deliberate strokes, eyes locked on mine the entire time. He gathered the slick fluid with his thumb, then leaned forward, pressing that same thumb against my lower lip and smearing the slickness across my mouth.

“Open,” he murmured.

I parted my lips and licked the precum from his thumb, slow, gaze pinned on his, tasting the salt of him. Ryder’s eyes darkened as he watched, that quiet intensity settling over him like a second skin.

“That’s it. Clean it off.”

He pressed his thumb deeper in my mouth, and I sucked, swirling my tongue around the pad of his finger until every last trace was gone. A rough sound rumbled in his chest. He pulled his hand free then gripped my jaw and tilted my face up so I had no choice but to meet his stare.

“Good girl.”

His body lowered down over mine, heavy and hot without crushing me, surrounding me with his warmth and strength. I felt him press his huge cock against me, and my breath caught, anticipation tightening low in my stomach.

But Ryder didn’t rush. He stayed there, holding himself above me with his arms flexed on either side of my body, his eyes locked with mine as if my reaction mattered more than anything else.

“Look at me.”

I did.

“Keep looking at me.”

His hand slid beneath my thigh, lifting it higher against his hip as he slowly began pressing forward. The thick head of hiscock nudged against my pussy then pushed inside, opening me wide.

The first burn of that stretch made my lips part on a shaky breath. He stopped almost immediately, buried only an inch deep, and held there while my body clenched and fluttered around the intrusion.

“You good?”

“Yes.” I shifted beneath him, needing more. “Don’t stop.”

Something darkened in his expression, and he pushed deeper. So slowly I felt every inch of him filling me, my body gradually opening around his thickness until the sensation bordered on too much.

I pulled against the belt again, instinctively wanting my hands on him, and Ryder lowered his mouth to mine.

“Easy,” he murmured against my lips. “I got you.” Then he pushed the rest of the way inside.

A broken moan tore from my throat as my body tightened around him. Ryder groaned, the sound deep and strained, and buried his face against my neck. But he didn’t move. He stayed completely still, one hand gripping my thigh while the other braced beside my head.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Lila.”

I could feel the tension running through his entire body, the restraint it took for him to remain still when I could feel how badly he wanted to move.

I turned my face toward his. “Ryder.”

“So fucking tight.” He lifted his head, his eyes finding mine again. “You okay?”

“Yes.”

“You sure?”

I nodded, then deliberately rolled my hips beneath him.