He bit his teeth into my thigh, driving his fingers into me with no mercy in sight.

The moment his tongue returned, I flew apart.

“That’s one.” I felt his smug smile turn into tender kisses on my skin. He pulled me flush to his chest, sucking my neck below my ear. “Five more to go.”

Oh shit. I should have never challenged him.

“Stand up,” he ordered. Ryan pressed his chest to my back, wrapped an arm across my chest, and, with a quick leg lift, pushed back inside me. His other hand snaked down to where we were joined. Holy hell. Standing jackhammered sex. He was on fire, taking me with him into the flame.

He bent me over the couch. Wet fingers started rubbing and pinching over my sensitive skin.

A few more moments of this and I’ll be over the edge again. “Don’t stop,” I ordered breathlessly.

“I’m close,” he growled. “Come with me.”

Knowing I had this man wound so tight he was exploding was my undoing. This one hit harder than the first. On a curse and a gasp, I cried out from the surge of pleasure. He was slamming me so deep, prolonging my mind-blowing orgasm, dangling me on the precipice of pleasurable pain.

His hands dug into my flesh as he found his release, groaning with each pulse.

We ended up collapsed on the couch. Both of us panting and spent. His hand was so soothing, running from the back of my head and down my spine as I lay on top of him.

“This is a comfy couch,” he snickered while tempering his breathing.

I grunted. So was his chest. “I’m ready for a nap.”

“Oh, no. No sleeping. We’re just taking a rest. We still have to test the shower and the bed and that dining table over there. And you still have four more orgasms to achieve.”

I grinned so wide it hurt.

Ryan’s cell rang again. It was still light out but I didn’t care. I was mostly under the covers, naked and entwined around the love of my life, balancing on the edge of bliss and unconsciousness. My entire body felt as if my bones had disappeared somewhere between the fourth and fifth orgasm. He managed to take me to six.

He kissed my forehead. “Are we taking any calls yet?”

I managed a nod. “I’m done.”

“For now,” he added, kissing my hand that was still laced in his.

I wondered if he could feel my eyes roll on his chest.

He fished his cell out of his pants pocket. “That was my mother again. I’ll call her later. I can’t do mom convos after four hours of sex.”

I quickly became acutely aware of how many muscles were needed to muster a tiny laugh.

As he was toggling through his texts, his phone chimed again. “Boy, we’re popular.”

I had turned my phone off earlier; I was surprised he answered his.

“Hi, Marie. No, it’s okay. Wait. Slow down. I can’t understand you.” He sat up suddenly. “Yeah, she’s right here. Hang on.”

The second I heard her voice, the way she said my name, I knew something terrible had happened.

“What’s wrong?”

Marie sniffed. “Hey, listen. I don’t mean to bother you but would you mind if I borrowed your car?”

Odd. “Yeah, sure. Take it if you need it. You know where the keys are. Did your car break down?”

I heard her faint, humorless chuckle. “No. I, uh, no longer have one.”

Ryan was staring at me.

“Gary came here today. He took my car back, Tar.”

I stared back at Ryan. “What do you mean Gary took your car back? Like repossessed it?”

Marie blew her nose and tried to talk through angry tears. “Yep. He said since it’s in his name, it’s his.

Whatever. It was a piece of junk anyway.”

“Why is he being such an ass?” Ryan asked.

I held up a finger for him to wait. “He can’t just take your car, Marie. I don’t care whose name is on it.”

“That’s marital property,” Ryan added.

Desire to kick Gary in the balls was overwhelming. “You need to see an attorney . . . now.”

“I know. I have some calls to make,” she said sadly. “This was the final straw.”

I wanted an answer to Ryan’s question. “Marie, why is he being like this? I mean, he’s becoming spitefully cruel.”

She scoffed. “Tell me about it. Taryn, I saw him with her. I went over to his work to confront him and he was leaning in her damn car. And then I went over to my house to get some of my stuff and my key wouldn’t work. He changed all of the locks on the house, Taryn! He said since I’ve never appreciated anything he’s ever done for me that I can try going without.”

Ryan nodded his chin at me, wanting to know what was going on.

I shook my head adamantly. “Marie, he cannot just lock you out of your own house.”

Ryan’s eyes opened wide with shock from hearing my side of the conversation.

“You know, I’ve been trying to figure it out. Ever since he went out that one night with his bachelor buddies in January, we’ve been fighting. Right after that he started getting mysterious phone calls and texts and shit. Telling me to mind my own business whenever I asked about them. He was never like that, Tar. Never.”

“Did you flat out ask him why he’s being like this?”

“Yeah, I did,” she sighed. “But he never answers the direct question. He just throws it up in my face about how he’s sick of me doing this shit to him, whatever that means. At first I thought it was because we weren’t spending enough time together, but when I am home, he’s out in the garage working on something, ignoring me,” she scoffed. “He’s dredging up shit that happened years ago.”

“Oh man,” I groaned.

“Whatever. Anyway,” she breathed out, sniffing. “Enough about that. How are you? I’ve been really worried about you since you left Paris.”

There was no way I could think of my petty problems. “Do you need me to come home? I’m coming home. You shouldn’t be alone. I’ll see about getting a flight—”

“No you will not,” she said, cutting me off. “You and Ryan need this time together.”

“But—”

“No, I’m good. You stick to the original plan and I’ll see you when you get home in a few weeks,”

Marie insisted.

After we had said our goodbyes, Ryan nudged me, frowning. “How is she holding up?” One look was all I needed to give him. I could barely contain the tears and rage within myself. “He repossessed her car?”

I nodded. “Came into the bar and demanded the keys.”

“I can’t believe Gary’s being such a prick.” Ryan gave me a consoling rub. “Seems out of character.”

“I can. They’ve been fighting and I’m sure she’s said some things she might regret. But now he’s trying to prove a point by stripping away everything he’s ever given her. God, I need to do something. She has the keys to my car so she’s got a way to get around, but still.”

“She needs to hire a good attorney is what she needs to do. He can’t do shit like that. And I tell ya, if he’s fucking around on her, then I want nothing to do with him. You know how I feel about that.”

Ryan snuggled next to me and I rested my head on his shoulder. “I need to go home soon. I can’t strap her with running the pub while her life is crumbling. I want to be with her when she goes to the lawyer.

It’s important to me to be there for her. She’s my best friend.”

He sighed. “I know.” He laced our fingers together. “She’s got my support, too. Whatever she needs.

You know we can afford it. After all, I do owe her a huge debt of gratitude. She helped me see things clearly when I wasn’t.”

I knew just by his expression that he was referring to all that she had done to keep him and me together, even when it seemed that we’d never get over our trust issues. Should I be doing the same for her? Trying to patch things up between her and Gary before they became irreparable? One thing was for sure—I’d pay for an attorney before I’d let Gary do more damage.

“Tar, tell me the truth. The way he’s acting . . . did she cheat on him?”

My head popped off his shoulder. “No. No, never. I suspect it’s the other way around.”