Bri was so desperate, she was about to start begging. Again. How could he sit here andtalkwhile she was going out of her mind? She squeezed his forearms one last time, digging in her nails a little bit more, and barely resisted screaming in his face,Then do it!
The only warning she got was Ryan changing his grip and then he was moving, sliding out of her and back in again. Despite his bold words, he kept the pace torturously slow, his hard length rubbing on places she hadn’t even known existed, building a steady pressure in her core. She moved, using the swing to meet his thrusts, chasing the feeling. It was different from last time, spiraling through her with every stroke. “Ryan…”
He let go of one hip to pull her up until her mouth brushed his. “Say my name again.”
This new position had her clit grinding against him, sending shock waves of pleasure through her. She clutched his shoulders, trying to get closer to achieve that kiss, but he kept himself just out of reach. “Say my name, Bri.”
“Ryan.” She moved against him, desperate to reach that point of no return. The feeling was only intensified by his hands on her skin and every muscle tense against her. And then the world disappeared as she buried her face against his neck and screamed.
He twined her hair around his fist before she had a chance to recover and pulled her head back to look into her eyes. She felt owned in that moment, as if he saw down to the very foundation of her soul. The shock in his eyes didn’t make her feel better about what he must have seen. He shuddered, holding her in a near-bruising grip, drawing out his orgasm until he dropped his head to her shoulder.
Which is about when she processed exactly what she’d just done.
She’d just had sex with a near stranger on her front porch. Judging from her one and only other sexual experience, she should be feeling a toxic mix of self-hate and embarrassment for letting things get so out of control. Instead, all she felt was a strange sort of languid satisfaction. She wanted to stretch and rub against him, dragging as much of her skin as she could against his. With a sigh, she opened her eyes…and looked right into Ryan’s familiar deep blue ones.
Oh my God, I just slept with Drew’s brother.
The very same man she’d been fighting with not half an hour ago. She’d gotten out of that SUV planning never to see him again, and ended up getting naked with him on herporch swinginstead.
Drew and Avery were never going to let her live it down.
Suddenly the only thing she cared about was getting away from him. “So, um… Thanks for that.”
He frowned. “That’s the best you’ve got?”
Frankly, at this point she was surprised she could talk at all. She pushed at his chest, her body giving a cry of protest when he backed up. It was just the cold getting to her. It had nothing to do with wanting to tackle him to the porch and start this whole process over again. She snatched her clothes up and dug her key out of her purse, trying to ignore the fact that he was standing behind her, as completely naked as she was.
Ryan may have been good-looking and his touch may have made her thought processes short out, but they were totally incompatible. And he was leaving soon. Even if she were interested—which she most definitelywasn’t—it wouldn’t be more than a fling.
Bri wasnotthe kind of woman who indulged in flings.
Then again, she’d never considered herself a candidate for one-night stands, either.
She stepped into her house and forced a smile. “You know, the town was right about you. You really are a fire-starter.”
And then she slammed the door in his face.
…
Ryan stared at the closed door, half-convinced he was missing something. No way in hell had he just had his mind blown by this woman, only to have her pat him on his head and leave him alone on the front porch. He glanced down.
Alone andnakedon her porch.
Both the interior and exterior lights clicked off, leaving him in near-complete darkness. Fucking fantastic. He yanked on his clothing and marched out the porch door, cursing himself for being an idiot. The only reason this entire mess had happened was because she caught him off guard. And, holy shit, had she caught him off guard. He hadn’t expected her to rise to the challenge he’d issued, and he sure as fuck hadn’t expected his reaction to it—to any of it.
It was probably a blessing she’d run off, because he wasn’t sure he’d have been able to control himself enough to walk away, no matter how much his attraction to her didn’t make sense.
Good riddance.
Ryan slammed his Suburban door and cranked the engine. He’d be lucky if this didn’t hit the Wellingford gossip mill by morning, one more clusterfuck to add to the already-stellar reputation he couldn’t escape. “I hate goddamn small towns.”
The trip back to his brother’s house didn’t take nearly enough time, but if he didn’t show up there would be hell to pay. Drew wasn’t exactly known for minding his own business, being the town sheriff and all, and Ryan wouldn’t put it past him to call Bri to get the whole messed-up story. With his luck, she’d spin it to sound like he took advantage of her—the exact opposite of what actually happened.
He should’ve had something stronger at dinner. Beer was not enough for this shit.
Ryan headed for the front door, but nearly turned around when he registered that all the lights were on. Great. Exactly what he needed. He took a fortifying breath and pushed open the door.
Drew and Avery had his brother’s game console hooked up with what looked likeDDR—Dance Dance Revolution—and Ryan was so ashamed he even knew what that was to begin with. They stood side by side, feet flying over the arrows on the pad they’d set up on the ground. It was a throwback from when they were all kids, always trying to one-up one another and finding weird-ass games to accomplish it. He’d thought they’d have grown out of it while he was gone, but obviously that wasn’t the case.