She frowned, as if trying to puzzle out his game. “What—”
He kissed her to chase away the lost look on her face, to add to the good memories she seemed to so desperately crave, to give her something of the present to focus on. At least that was the excuse he told himself. The truth was he’d been thinking about kissing her nearly nonstop ever since he’d taken out that goddamn traffic light.
So much of Bri was held in reserve, as if she were shielding herself from something. Her mass of gorgeous dark hair seemed to always be down, bangs a blunt edge that brushed her black-framed cat-eye glasses. Her clothing was strategically loose, conveying comfort without looking sloppy, but effectively hiding the body he wanted to memorize with his hands and mouth.
And those lips—the same lips softening against his own right now—were the devil’s own temptation, with their marked Cupid’s bow and full bottom lip that begged to be nipped. Ryan gave in to the temptation to do just that, and she gasped, her hands going to his shoulders as she swayed against him.
It was all the invitation he needed.
He sank his hands into her hair, angling their mouths so he could plunder hers. She tasted of wintergreen, so fresh and clean that he groaned. While he was distracted with relearning her lips and tongue, Bri started her own exploration, her hands drifting from their perch on his shoulders to his chest. He wanted to strip off his shirt so he could feel her fingers against his skin, but Ryan contented himself with stroking his tongue against hers. They already walked such a fragile tightrope. He wasn’t going to do anything to risk her doubts creeping in to put a stop to this.
But when she slipped her hands beneath his shirt, fingers brushing over his stomach, a shiver worked its way through his body, all the way down his spine to his cock.
That level of reaction from a single near-innocent touch almost made him pull back. What the hell was he getting himself into? Then she hooked the top of his jeans with one hand while she palmed him with the other and he decided he didn’t care. He held perfectly still as she stroked him, his muscles actually shaking from the need to yank her against him and rip off their clothes.
Bri broke away, kissing along his jaw and down his neck. “You need to tell me what cologne you use. I’m going to sue them.”
His laugh cut off when she unzipped his pants and took his cock in her hand. “God.”
She jerked back. “Did I hurt you?”
No, but she might if she stopped doing what she was doing. Ryan took her hand and maneuvered it back to where she’d been. “I like it when you touch me.”
“And I like touching you.” She cupped him more firmly, sending pleasure sparking through him.
He kissed her again, but this time he let himself return her touch, pushing up her skirt until he could get to her skin beneath it. He moved his hand up her thigh and pressed his palm against the thin barrier of fabric shielding her from him. She moaned and any plan he had of taking this slow and teasing her disappeared in a puff of smoke.
With a groan, he slipped his hand into her panties and, finding her already wet, slid a single finger into her. Her hand spasmed on his cock, and she began touching him with renewed fervor. The way she explored him was the most exquisite torture he’d ever experienced. Her fingers danced over his skin, thumb dragging up the underside and then circling the head.
He wanted inside her. Wanted it so bad he could barely hang on to the reason why it wasn’t a good idea.
Ryan dropped to his knees, already mourning the loss of her hands on him, but he wanted—needed—to taste her again. From the way she eagerly lifted her hips so he could slide off her panties, she wanted the same damn thing.
Seeing her spread out for him made a deeply hidden part of Ryan roar to the forefront just like it had on the porch. He wanted to follow through on his threat to ruin her for other men, so that no one could even come close to making her feel how she felt with him. Only him. He wasn’t proud of the possessive feeling coursing through him, but he wasn’t going to deny it. He wasn’t going to deny a damn thing when it came to Bri.
He dragged his tongue over her, savoring her taste just like he savored the feeling of her nails dragging over the back of his head, urging him on. Already, she rocked against his mouth, whimpers turning into his name chanted over and over again.
This was perfection. They didn’t need to talk. All they needed was the language created between two bodies. He sucked her clit into his mouth, using his lips and tongue to drive her crazy, until she went rigid and screamed his name.Fuck. A man could get used to giving a woman that kind of orgasm. He licked his lips and lifted his head to tell her just that.
Then the goddamn smoke detector went off.
Chapter Eight
Bri should be doing something other than staring stupidly at Ryan while he hurried to open windows and fan out the smoke curling from the oven. She should help or…something. But since she wasn’t certain she could stand without falling on her face, she settled for shoving her skirt down to cover her nakedness. Her panties had been thrown…somewhere…and she was in no position to search them out. Even the ear-piercing shriek of the smoke detector wasn’t enough to snap her out of her post-orgasm haze.
She’d always read about women who got themselves into trouble because they were thinking with their bodies instead of their minds, but she’d never understood before. Now she did. With the way Ryan made her body feel, she could forgive him any number of sins as long as he kept touching her.
Knowing that should have terrified her. Ryan didn’t like her. He’d made that abundantly clear, even though he never hesitated to kiss her like he wanted to memorize her taste. Not to mention all the orgasms.
The memory made her legs shake all over again.
She couldn’t get over the strangeness of the whole thing. Growing up, boys mostly left her well enough alone, other than when they thought a few well-placed compliments would make her more inclined to do their homework. After she graduated from college, the only use most men had for her was to ask where to find the hunting and fishing section of the library. And yet here was Ryan, a walking fantasy with his good looks and impressive shoulders, bringing her to orgasm every chance he got.
The smoke detector made one last trill and then fell into silence. Ryan turned from the window and gave her a sheepish grin that had her heart beating too hard. “That kind of ruined the mood, huh?”
She wasn’t sureanythingcould ruin the mood between them. “I guess catching things on fire really is a running trend with you.”
His jaw tightened and she had a second to wish she could take her words back, but Ryan surprised her. He took a deep breath. “Less so than rumor would have you believe.” He grabbed hot pads from a drawer and opened the oven door, which promptly released a cloud of black smoke. “Shit. Guess we’re not having corn bread with the chili.”