Promise Me Forever (Manhattan Ruthless #2)

by Sadie Kincaid

“I need both of you to consent, mi rosa, because this isn’t going to be a night that either of you will forget. Scarlet might have given you the courage to make it this far, but it’s Amelia I’m going to be fucking. It’s Amelia who will be screaming for more.”

“You are fucking beautiful, Scarlet,” he says, taking in my slight shudder. “I can’t wait to claim every inch of you.”

“When I make you come, I want to hear you cry out my real name. Drake.”

“No need to be shy about it, mi rosa. I love how wet you are, and the feeling is entirely mutual. My cock is so hard, I might come while I’m eating your pussy.”

But just for tonight, I can be Charlie. A guy who has normal relationships with women, who likes to cuddle and spoon after sex, rather than Drake James—workaholic kinky fucker with raging commitment issues.

I find it hard to be around you and not think about the things we did together. I find it hard not to … imagine them happening again.”

“That’s the issue right there, Miss Ryder. Those things can never happen again. Not only because of the company’s image or the legal ramifications, but because I’m not a good man.”

“Yes you are! You might not be a saint. You work too hard, and you talk like you’ve got a stick up your ass sometimes. And you definitely smashed that coffee cup and lied about it, but you are a good man. You care about your job and your clients, you love the shit out of your family, and you’re … well, you’re a good listener. I get that you need to end this, whatever it is, but please don’t do it that way. You are a good man.”

My feelings for Drake are complicated, and I’m not sure I entirely understand them myself. I know I feel more physically drawn to him than I’ve ever felt to anyone and that when things are going well between us, I enjoy his company. And I know that he can be kind, funny, and easy to talk to. But I also know that he can be unpredictable, cold, and dismissive. It’s the not knowing which one I’m going to encounter that makes him dangerous, this constant game of “will the real Drake James please stand up?”

We sit, eyes locked, and I completely lose myself in him. Although we’re not physically touching, I feel the heat of the connection stretching between us, a live wire of sensation that threatens to overwhelm me. I can barely breathe by the end of it, and I wonder if he feels the same or if I’m being crazy. Am I deluded, or is his breathing coming a little faster too? What do I really see in his eyes, and what does he see in mine?

If I could send him a message, if I could cut through the white noise and tell him how I really feel, what would my eyes say to him? I want him so much that I ache with it. I respect him. I like him. I … I love him? Could that be true? Or is this merely infatuation?

love him. I really do. I’ve been trying to deny it, even to myself, but something about this silly corporate game has stripped away my defenses, and I can’t lie anymore. I lov...

I tell Nathan I’m going to rejoin our father and brothers in the dining room. I’m not doing that, of course. I’m about to do something macho and stupid.

“I think the more pertinent question is what the hell are you doing, Miss Ryder?”

“I’m on a date.”

“Yes, I can fucking see that,...

“What does that even have to d...

“It has everything to do with me. If he touches you again, I’m going to send him to the Chicago office. If he’s lucky. I might open an office in Siberia to get rid of him.”

“So you don’t want me, but no one else can have me, is that it? You don’t want to touch me, but nobody else can either?”

“Goddammit, Amelia, I wish that I didn’t fucking want you. Life would be so much easier if that were true. But every second of every goddamn day, all I can think about is how badly I want to touch you. How I want to kiss you and taste you and bend you over my desk and fuck you!”

“We can’t do this,” I whisper.

“You think I don’t know that? You think that every time you walk into my office and I picture you naked in my bed and remember how fucking beautiful you looked when I made you come that I don’t realize how completely fucking wrong it is?”

He kisses me like I’m the oxygen feeding his fire, like he’ll die if he doesn’t consume as much of me as possible.

I have never been kissed like this in my life, not even by him. It is all-consuming and intoxicating, and it might burn me to the ground.

“You want me to stop? Or do you want me to make you come while your date’s checking out the dessert menu and wondering where you are?”

“I’m not here to apologize for ruining your date, because you shouldn’t have been on a fucking date in the first place.” She opens her mouth to speak, but I cut her off. “And it seemed to me like you were enjoying your time with me in the stairwell a hell of a lot more than your dinner with that prick from accounting.”

“Are you listening to yourself? Can you actually hear this horseshit coming out of your mouth? Why shouldn’t I have been on a date, Drake? Why?”

“Because you’re mine, Amelia. Don’t you understand that yet? You don’t get to drive me crazy every second of every fucking day and then go on a date with some jackass who works for me. In fact, you don’t get to go on a date with anyone. Ever.”

“All I can think about is how good your tight cunt feels when I sink my cock into you, like we were made to fit each other. Your smile is the only goddamn thing I see when I close my eyes. You are the air that I breathe. You are everything and everywhere, and I can’t go one more single fucking day without touching you.”

want to do this whole thing with you. Whatever this is. Whatever it looks like. We can keep it a secret or tell the whole fucking world, but just let me have you.”

“You’ve already got me, Drake.”

“Don’t pretend to be coy. We both know you’re a wicked temptress, Amelia Ryder.”

“Sir … I like the sound of that word on your lips. I like how tying you up brings the brat out in you. And I really like the way you look, trussed up and ready for my cock.”

I didn’t think it was possible to be more obsessed with Amelia Ryder, but it turns out I under-estimated my own abilities. Since the night she let me tie her up, I’ve wanted her even more. It takes a certain level of trust to let someone do that to you, to cede control to them, and she did it without question.

“Who do you belong to, Amelia? Let me hear you say it.”

“You, Drake, I belong to you.”

She walked in here full of sass, and now she’s full of my cum. And if I have my way, that’s how she’ll remain every day for the rest of her life.

“You treated me like crap today, Drake. I understand why you were upset, but if you’d told me what was happening, I would have been there for you the way you’ve been there for me. To talk it through and support you.”

“I’m not used to having someone I can lean on like that, Amelia. At least outside of my brothers. It’s no excuse, but I am sorry.”

“It wasn’t just that you shut me out. You embarrassed me in front of your family. You took your pain out on me. I’d do anything for you, Drake, but I won’t be your emotiona...

“Yes, I love you, you infuriating asshole! Believe me, right now I wish I didn’t—but I love you, Drake James. With all my stupid, foolish heart.”

“That’s good to know, Miss Ryder.” He cups my cheek much more tenderly than before while he stares into my eyes. “Because I love you too. More than I’ve ever loved anyone in my entire stupid, foolish life.”

“Why would you think you’re not enough for me? Have I made you feel like that? I hope not, because you are enough, Drake—more than enough. I love you, and I know we haven’t talked what happens long-term, but for me this is it. This is forever. I get that you’re not perfect, but who is? I’m certainly not, and I don’t expect you to be. Please don’t do this. Please don’t throw this away. I can’t imagine my life without you anymore.”

“Yes, I am different when I’m with you, but in a good way. I like the person I am when I’m with you. I’m brave and bold with you. As for the rest—kids, marriage … Have I ever pressured you about those things? Have I even brought them up?”

“You haven’t. But I know you want them. You deserve them. What I don’t know is if I’m the man who can give you that life. I don’t want you to waste your time on me when I might not ever be what you need.”

will always be everything you ever need, Amelia. Whatever and whenever you need it. It will always be me. Your ride or die. The other half of your heart and soul. Forever.”

“I love you, Amelia. With every fucking fiber of my being, I love you. I would give my last breath to make you happy. I promise never to give up on us again, and if you let me, I will spend every second of the rest of my life proving that to you.”

“What happened to you was the kick in the ass I needed, Amelia. I might not be the best at expressing my feelings, but believe me, they’ve always been there. From the first time you smiled at me, I was done for.”

“I think I fell in love with you during our first dance. I love dancing.”

“I know, baby. And from now on, we’re going to dance together...