Chapter 40

"God damn, I love you so much."

Hearing those words come out of Ryder's mouth shocked me. I kept replaying it over and over in my head.

I opened my mouth to speak but he stepped forward and held his hand up. "I know that you don't believe in love, and that I don't have a clue about it, but I know that I mean it. And I don't want to pressure you into saying it back, but I just wanted to let you know that that's how I feel."

There was a moment of silence before I smiled.

"I love you."

His face lit up and he grinned the widest I'd ever seen him smile. "You're serious? Because if you're shitting me right now Ruby I'll-"

I placed my finger on his bottom lip and pulled on it a little bit. "Shut up and kiss me." Then, pulling him by his shirt, our lips connected.

It felt like a thousand fireworks were exploding in my head. His lips moved in sync with mine and he explored my mouth with his tongue. He was everything to me, and I wasn't afraid anymore.

I snaked my arms around his neck as he pulled me closer. I moaned in the back of my throat and could feel his smirk on my lips.

I love him.

His kiss was the best of the best. It was filled with hunger, lust, and passion. I felt the same exact way.

He lifted me up by the waist and placed me on the island counter top. Kissing my neck down to my collarbone, he bit lightly and I moaned softly.

"Ruby," he said breathlessly in between kisses. Oh how I loved the way he said my name.

After we broke for air, I rested my forehead on his and took shallow breaths, trying to calm my rapidly beating heart.

"I love you so much." I said, kissing him again.

He held my face in between his hands and looked me straight in the eye. There was a vulnerability there that I had never seen before.

"I love you more." He said.

I shook my head. "Prove it."

He grinned and kissed me again fully on the lips, leaving me breathless once more. He parted my mouth with his tongue and it was Ryder's turn to moan. I smiled against his lips.

Then Ryder did something with his tongue that felt so unbelievably amazing and incredible.

We broke apart and I looked at him with wide eyes. "What was that?" I asked, out of breath.

He smirked and pecked my lips. "Me. Loving you. Completely." He said.

I bit my lip and grinned. Shaking my head slowly, I smiled and admired his gorgeously amazing face.

"I think you're hiding something from me..." I accused suspiciously.

A frown creased on his face. "What?"

I stroked his cheek with my fingers. "I think that you're secretly a Greek God."

After realizing that I was joking, he chuckled and shrugged. "Greek Gods have nothing on me."

I kissed him again and giggled. I tasted a hint of the iced tea we had been drinking. "You're still the same big-ego guy I met a couple months ago."

He tilted his head to the side.

"Is that a bad thing?" he asked.

I shook my head and leaned against him. "Nope. Not at all."

●●●