"Come here."
She felt her cheeks warming at the sound of his low, gruff voice. The intimacy of what had just occurred seemed to crash in on her when she looked into Ryan's face and heard his tone.
"Would . .. would you like me to remove your ... jeans first?" she asked uncertainly.
He scowled. "What I'd like is for you to come here, Hope."
She leaned down over his chest and he pulled her into his arms. She snorted and then giggled when he put his face next to her neck and rubbed her lightly with his whiskers.
"Oh, stop!" she shouted, squirming on top of him to get away from the torture. "I'm extremely ticklish."
"I can see that." He swatted her fanny once as she wiggled around, trying to get away from him. Hope jumped like the smack
of flesh against flesh had been a gunshot. Before she had the opportunity to squawk, however, Ryan was already at the business of soothing her with firm, warm lips that curved into a grin. He scraped his front teeth lightly along her nape.
She writhed again on top of his long, hard body, but her restlessness had nothing to do with panic this time.
Ryan groaned and spread both of his hands over her hips and bottom, holding her into immobility.
"I've never known a woman who squirms as much as you do."
Hope gasped when he nipped at the shell of her ear and then placed a kiss on the opening.
He lightly licked at her earlobe and then kissed the entire opening once again. This time the slight suction he applied made warm juice flood from her sex. Hope pressed down on her hips and wiggled, desperate for pressure where she most needed it. "Oh, you make me squirm, Ryan. Don't be mad at me when you're the one who makes it happen."
He chuckled and leaned back onto the pillow, inspecting her. His long fingers began to knead her bottom. "Why would I be mad at the fact that you have such a sensitive little body?" He smoothed both palms over her bottom and parted her thighs. Hope moaned when he penetrated her slit with a long finger. His penis lurched against her hip. "Or that you get so wet from a few kisses and making me come?"
Hope's mouth fell open and she stared blankly as he stimulated her with his finger. A sound of protest left her throat when he withdrew. He brought his finger to his mouth and sucked it, his cerulean eyes never leaving her face.
"So sweet," he murmured after he'd taken his finger from his mouth.
Hope groaned and ground her pelvis against him again, her body moving more sinuously this time compared to her former desperate writhing. If she interpreted Ryan's knowing grin correctly, he knew precisely what she was experiencing. His hands went to the back of her corset.
"How do I get this thing off?" • "There are hooks—" Even as she spoke, however, he popped open several of the fasteners.
"It's like getting off a bra times fifteen."
"What's a bra?" Hope asked, but she wasn't really paying any attention because Ryan had rolled her onto her back. He paused to kick off the remainder of his clothing before he came down on his side next to her with an eager look on his face.
"I'll have my mother explain to you the dynamics of a bra, I think. Suffice it to say it's an abbreviated version of this thing and I'm guessing a hell of a lot more comfortable," he muttered as he removed her stiff corset and tossed it to the side of the bed carelessly.
Hope scowled as he tossed away the garment but she was much more interested in Ryan's casual reference to his mother.
"I meant to ask you about your family. When will I get to meet your mother?"
"Hmmm?" Ryan asked after a moment. She realized he stared fixedly at her bared breasts, a small smile curving his mouth that reminded her of a tiger about to feast—and feast well.
"Ryan. We were speaking of your mother."
"You might have been. I was talking about your breasts. Or thinking about them, anyway."
Hope swallowed as she stared up at him. The secret flesh between her thighs twanged sharply with arousal. Why did the hungry look in his beautiful eyes make her feel as though she was about to be ravished and cherished at once?
Then he lowered his head and caught a nipple between his lips and teeth and Hope thought she began to understand what it meant to be both nourishment and a source of worship to a lover at once.
A lover, she thought as she arched her back, fe
eding him her flesh even as he added fuel to her flaming desire with his firm suck and lashing tongue. She ran her fingers through his thick, soft hair and thought: I have a lover.