Chapter 66: Validation ***
"That photo," she said quietly, still rocking on him slow and deep. "The kiss. Everyone’s talking about it. Comments, tags, the whole thing."
Ryan’s hands stilled on her hips but he didn’t pull away. He still kept her right there, connected and looking up at her while she kept moving.
"Yeah?" he said, gentle but steady.
Sophie bit her lip, then let it go. "It made me feel... small. For a second. Like I’m the one who knows you – and suddenly there’s this whole world seeing you with her. Supermodel. Cameras. And I’m just... here. Your assistant. Good for nothing but designing and filings." She gave a small, self-deprecating laugh that didn’t quite hide the hurt. "I know it’s stupid. I know I should have prepared for it. But it still hit me."
She kept riding him through it, slow and intimate, like the conversation and the sex were the same thing right now.
Ryan sat up, wrapping one arm around her back so they were chest to chest, her still moving on top of him. He kissed her shoulder, then her neck, then found her mouth.
"It’s not stupid," he said against her lips. "I get it. I saw the comments too. The way people are losing their minds over it. But Sophie..." He pulled back just enough to look her in the eyes, one hand cupping her face. "Zara’s the public face right now. The cameras, the posts. And you? You’re the inner circle. The one who sits across from me at the kitchen table and helps me build this from nothing. The one who answers my phone while she’s got my dick down her throat and still makes me laugh. The one I trust more than I usually would."
He thrust up into her once, slow and deep, making her gasp.
"You’re not small," he continued, voice low and sure. "You’re important to me. In the company. In this bed. In everything that matters."
Sophie’s eyes softened. She leaned in and kissed him hard, hips starting to move faster again, like his words had lit something back up inside her. "Say it again," she whispered, voice shaky with need.
Ryan gripped her ass with both hands, helping her ride him harder now. "You matter to me Sophie, my favorite girl."
She moaned into his mouth, riding him with new purpose – fast, deep, tits bouncing against his chest.
The bed creaked louder. Sweat mixed with the leftover shower water on their skin. Ryan could feel her getting close again, walls tightening, breath coming in short gasps.
"Come for me," he said, one hand sliding between them to rub her clit in tight circles.
She came hard – back arching, a loud cry ripping out of her, pussy clamping down around him in pulsing waves. Ryan held her through it, thrusting up to meet her, drawing it out until she was trembling and whimpering.
But he wasn’t done.
He flipped them smoothly, laying her on her back without pulling out.
Missionary now, deep and grounded. He hooked one of her legs over his shoulder and fucked her slow but intense, grinding against her clit on every stroke. Sophie’s nails dug into his back, legs pulling him closer, eyes locked on his the whole time.
...
He switched again after a while, pulling out and turning her onto her side, spooning behind her.
One arm banded across her chest, hand cupping her tit, the other between her legs rubbing her clit while he slid back inside.
The position was close, intimate, his mouth right at her ear whispering the same reassurances between thrusts. She came again like that – smaller but longer, shaking in his arms while he kept moving slow and deep.
They kept going. High stamina, no rush. He put her on all fours for a bit, fucking her steady while she pushed back, then pulled her back on top so she could ride him again, slower this time, forehead pressed to his.
They talked between moans – her admitting the jealousy, him reminding her exactly where she stood. Every position felt like another layer of the same promise.
By the time they were back in missionary, both of them sweaty and breathless, the sun had shifted higher in the sky. Ryan could feel his own release building again, tight and hot.
"Come with me," he said, voice rough, hips snapping harder. "One more time. Together."
Sophie nodded frantically, legs wrapped tight around him. "Yes – fuck – Ryan, I’m there – "
They came at the same time – her clenching around him, crying out, him burying himself deep and groaning her name as he spilled inside her.
Pulse after pulse, filling her while she milked every drop. The orgasm rolled through both of them long and intense, leaving them trembling and locked together.
Ryan collapsed half on top of her, careful not to crush her, face buried in her neck.
Sophie’s arms stayed around him. Their breathing slowed together, hearts still hammering.
After a long minute he lifted his head and looked at her. She was smiling – soft, real, no trace of the earlier pout.
"You meant all that?" she asked quietly.
"Every word." He kissed her slow, lazy.
Sophie nodded, pulling him back down so his head rested on her chest. "Good. Because I’m not going anywhere."
They stayed like that for a while, tangled in the sheets, the city humming outside the window like it had no idea what had just happened inside this room. Ryan’s hand stroked up and down her side, slow and steady. Sophie’s fingers played with his hair.
The morning had started with jealousy and tight trousers and a bratty knock at the door.
It had turned into this – a kind of connection that didn’t need cameras or likes or public validation.
That didn’t need the same exact feelings Ryan had for Zara, but was genuine all the same.
For the first time in a long time, Ryan felt like the balance was exactly where it needed to be.