Free Hard Ride, Part 3 by Opal Carew

lightly, sending her hormones into a spin. Then he drew back.
    â€œBetter?”
    She nodded, wanting his mouth on her again. “Now the other one?”
    He chuckled, then gently removed that one. His mouth covered her right away, easing the pain shooting through her. She moaned softly as he licked and suckled.
    Her fingers glided through his hair and she held him tight to her chest. “Thank you.”
    He eased back and settled on the love seat beside her, smiling warmly. “For helping with the pain?”
    She laughed. “Yes. And for giving me that experience. It was incredible.”
    She rested her hand on his cheek and gazed into his warm brown eyes. “You know, you’ve already helped me in so many ways. And now I know I can be with other men, so I don’t have to be afraid of getting on with my life, sexually, once this is done.”
    He slipped his arm around her and drew her close.
    â€œYeah, about that …” He took her hand in his, his thumb stroking her skin. “I told you I have feelings for you.”
    She frowned and pushed herself straighter on the leather seat. “Yes, I remember, but I don’t know why you’re telling me this. It doesn’t change anything.”
    His eyebrow arched. “What do you mean it doesn’t change anything?”
    She drew in a deep sigh and pursed her lips. She couldn’t keep this pretense going any longer. “Shock, I know you’re married.”
    He frowned. “How do you know about that?”
    Her chest constricted. Oh, God, it really was true. Although Steele had already confirmed Shock’s marital status, a part of her had clung to a small hope that maybe it wasn’t true.
    â€œIt doesn’t matter. But I know you’re married, and I know you’ve done these contracts with women before.”
    He frowned. “That’s not true.”
    Her gaze shot to his. Had she heard him wrong the first time?
    â€œAre you saying you’re not married?” she asked.
    â€œNo. I’m saying this contract with you was special.”
    Her heart ached, knowing he belonged to another woman.
    â€œWho’s been telling you these things? It sure as hell wasn’t one of the guys, right?”
    â€œNo, it was … someone else.”
    His eyes narrowed. “Fuck, it was Amy who told you, wasn’t it?”
    She looked down at her hands.
    â€œFuck, of course it was. Amy works at the law firm Yvette and I use. Amy is Yvette’s friend. She probably found out about the contract when I had it drawn up and decided to intervene. She certainly wouldn’t be happy that I’m seeing someone.”
    Liv was a confused. “Because the two of you had an affair?”
    He arched an eyebrow. “An affair? I never had an affair with her.”
    â€œBut she said you had a contract with her and she started to fall for you, and she was devastated when it ended. She said she wanted to warn me that the same thing would happen to me.”
    His hand tightened on hers and his eyes grew intense.
    â€œThat explains why, even though I did everything I could to show you how much I care, you still thought it would end.”
    He squeezed her hand. “Liv, I
am
married. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that, but there was no reason to.”
    She drew her hand from his. “Really? I think that’s a pretty important fact.”
    He leaned back in the love seat and sighed. “I know. I get it. Just let me explain. I met Yvette just after graduating college and we got married about a year later. Not long after that, the truth about my father and brother came out. That they were embezzling from the company. We lost all our shares in the company, and I lost all respect for them. It was tough going, both emotionally and financially, but Yvette stuck by me. She believed in me and supported me while I built a new business.”
    Liv’s heart ached. She sounded like a