Ryan's Love - C.A. Harms Page 0,38

was everything I had ever wanted, and if I could have stayed in that moment with him forever, I would have. I had never felt so treasured in my life.

He kept his eyes locked on mine, even when I felt the familiar tingle in my stomach. And when I reached the point of ecstasy and my back arched off the bed, his stare still stayed on me.

“You are so amazing,” he whispered as I gripped the sheets at my sides. “Unbelievably beautiful. I feel like my heart is going to beat out of my chest when I’m with you.” His mouth hovered over mine, and I could feel his breath on my lips. “I love how you make me feel every time you look at me. You give me back so much of the man I’d thought I’d lost.”

He covered my mouth with his, and I knew in that moment I was in love with Ryan Sawyer.

***

A faint ringing filled the silence of the darkness. Ryan was spooned behind me, his arm wrapped around my waist and his leg thrown over mine. I tried to shift to my back, but he tightened his arm around me and pulled me closer.

It sounded like a phone ringing, but it had finally stopped.

I cuddled back into Ryan just as the ringing began once again. I nudged him with my shoulder, and he groaned in protest. “I think your phone is ringing.”

Attempting to wake Ryan was like trying to wake up the dead; he did not budge. I pushed a little harder, and he released his hold on me, rolling over onto his back.

“Woman, you’re gonna wear me out.” He chuckled, peeking out from under the arm he had resting over his eyes.

I smiled in return, remembering how we had eventually passed out after our last round of sex. “I wasn’t waking you up for that. Your phone is ringing.”

He looked to the other side of the bed and was just about to reach for his phone when the bedroom door burst open and light poured in. I clutched the sheet to my naked chest, and Ryan sat up straight in bed.

Noah filled the open doorframe, and Bailey stood a few feet behind him. Both of them looked terrified.

“Olivia’s been in a car accident.” Noah’s voice was laced with panic. “They convinced Jackie’s parents to let them walk to the ice cream parlor. They gave them an hour, and when they didn’t return, her parents went looking for them.”

“Is she okay?” Ryan began scrambling for his clothes, not caring he was completely naked and his brother and Bailey could see him. “Tell me she’s okay, Noah,” he demanded while placing one leg into his jeans, followed by the next one.

“They were with Charlie,” Noah continued. Ryan’s body tensed at the mention of the name. “They were out on Willow Grove, and he took the bend entirely too fast.” I began to shake as I imagined what he was describing. “He flipped the car, and it rolled into the ravine.”

Ryan sat down on the edge of my bed with his head hung low. His shoulders shifted as he took in a deep breath. “Please, Noah, just tell me my little girl is okay. I can’t lose her too.”

His words made my throat feel as if it was constricting and cutting off the air I needed to breathe.

“Jackie was able to call 9-1-1, and we got them. They’re at the hospital. All three of them are banged up pretty good, but they’ll be fine.”

Noah’s reassuring words seemed to bring Ryan back to life. His back began to shake as he sobbed into his hands, the emotional roller coaster he had just experienced hitting him hard.

Noah came forward and helped him from the bed, then led him toward the hallway. “I’m sure he’ll call ya later,” he said to me as they left.

I sat in my bed, still clutching the sheet to my chest. My heart was breaking.

Bailey followed behind them, and once she’d locked the front door, she joined me in my room. “Are you okay?”

I nodded and grabbed my tank top off the floor before turning my back to my best friend. After I slipped it on over my head, I began searching for my panties.

“Do you think I should go be with him? Or do you think it isn’t my place?” I felt horrible for not offering him support, but I worried my presence would only make things worse.

“I don’t know. I mean, I