“Probably. You want me to poll my other lovers?”
A laugh lodged in his throat. “No, please don’t.”
“Okay.” She pressed her palm on his chest and stroked his pecs. “Can we stop talking now?”
Her touch seared his skin, causing beads of sweat to pop out on his forehead. He liked her touch. He liked everything about her—her brown hair fanned out on the floor, her rigid dark-pink nipples, the leg she’d hooked around his waist, the kung-fu grip of her pussy. She looked so fucking hot lying there beneath him, and he had no problem shutting up. In fact, he lost all capacity for speech as he started to move.
Annabelle moved with him, lifting her ass and meeting him thrust for thrust, while her fingernails dug into his back, eliciting little sparks of pain mingled with pleasure.
“I need…fuck,” he swore. “I need to be deeper.”
With a husky growl, he grabbed hold of one of her legs and lifted it up to his shoulder, pushing his cock into her as deep as it would go. Annabelle cried out, a wild throaty sound ringing with pleasure. He nearly came right then and there as he watched her hand slide down her body so she could rub her clit.
Biting her bottom lip, she met his gaze, and then she came.
It was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen, and he wasn’t far behind her, especially when she lifted her head to his shoulder and bit his flesh, still whimpering and rocking beneath him. Ryan let go, shuddering as a burst of pleasure rocketed through his body, nearly stopping his heart. His climax made the world spin, and by the time his shoulders sagged and his chest collapsed onto Annabelle, he felt ravaged and exhausted and so fucking sated.
Under him, Annabelle was breathing as heavily as he was, and he suddenly realized he was probably crushing her. He gingerly rolled onto his side and, wincing, peeled the condom off his still-hard dick, He raised himself up on one elbow so he could peer down at her, grinning at the dazed look in her eyes.
“I guess we can cross number one off the list,” he drawled.
“Oh yeah,” she agreed, still sounding breathless. “That was surprisingly good.”
“Surprisingly?” he echoed in mock anger.
“There was always the chance you were all talk and no action,” she replied sweetly. “Overconfident men usually suck in bed.”
“I do not suck in bed.”
“I know. Like I said, you’re surprisingly good.”
“More like incredibly awesome.”
She gave him a sugary smile. “It’s nice to have a healthy ego.”
He planted a quick kiss on her lips, then pulled back and admired her perfect features. “You really are beautiful, you know that, Annabelle?”
Her cheeks turned pink. “You already got me in bed—well, on floor—so you don’t need to sweet-talk me.”
“I’m not sweet-talking. It’s true. You’re beautiful.”
He figured she’d object again—all she ever seemed to do was object—but instead she smiled shyly and said, “Thank you.”
Those two words were laced with so much wonder that he had to ask, “Hasn’t anyone ever told you that before?”
A tiny frown marred her forehead. “No. My parents, sure, but you’re the first man who’s ever said that.”
“Then the men you’ve dated before are complete morons.” He dragged his fingertips down her bare arm, then rested his palm on her stomach and rubbed the soft skin there. “You’re gorgeous, Annie.”
“So are you, Rick.”
He chuckled. Man, he really liked this chick. Her well of sass never seemed to run dry, and he found himself laughing constantly when she was around. Plus, the mind-blowing sex didn’t hurt.
Next to him, Annabelle shifted, arching her back to form a little bridge with her naked body. “God, my back kills.”
“Isn’t it worth it, though?”
She mulled it over. “Yeah, I guess it is.” She raised herself up on her elbows. “I should probably take off.”
“What’s the rush?”
Discomfort flitted through her gaze. “I figured you had, I don’t know, things to do or something.” She paused. “And it just occurred to me I don’t know a thing about you, except that you live in the building and were sort of involved with Christina.”
“I’ll tell you what—if you stay I’ll tell you every last thing about myself.”
He sensed her reluctance, and an odd spark of panic lit in his gut. He didn’t want her to go. Weird, since they’d only met yesterday. But for some reason, he wanted her to stick around.
“Come on,” he urged. “It’ll be fun. We’ll order some pizza or Chinese, spend the afternoon and night naked, and get to know each other.”
The corners of her lush mouth lifted. “That does sound kinda appealing.”
“It’ll be fun,” he reiterated.
Her smile widened. “How much fun?”
Ryan placed his palm on her thigh and stroked gently. “A lot of fun.”
4
A shrill ringing woke Annabelle up at five in the morning. And it wouldn’t stop. It kept ringing and ringing and ringing, and next to her, Ryan made no move to pick up the phone. Groaning, she buried her head under the pillow. Ryan shifted beside her, letting out a groan of his own.
“Who the fuck is that?” he mumbled.
“This isn’t fun,” she mumbled back. “You promised me a fun sleepover and then stuck me with a five o’clock wake-up call. I’m very unhappy at the moment.”
The phone mercilessly stopped ringing. For half a second.
Then it started right back up again.
Annabelle shot up into a sitting position. “If you don’t answer it, I will kill you.”
Groaning again, Ryan stuck out his arm and began rummaging around for the phone. He finally got it, hit the talk button and lifted it to his ear. “What?” he barked.
Annabelle heard a male voice, but couldn’t make out any of the words. Ryan, however, sat up abruptly, a sleepy grin filling his face.
“Seriously? Now?” He paused. “Okay. Yeah, definitely. We’re on our way.”
“We?” Annabelle demanded, rubbing her tired eyes.
He ignored her. “Huh? No, that’s Annabelle…yeah, long story…she’s kind of strange but—”
“Kind of strange?” she yelled.
“—pretty cool,” he finished. “Yeah…okay, see you in twenty. Tell her to hold it in until I get there because I totally want to see the head when it—hello?” He glanced at Annabelle. “Bastard hung up.”
Ryan got up, suddenly as alert as a guard dog. He moved around the bedroom, grabbing pieces of clothing, as Annabelle sat on the bed, shaking her head in confusion. “What on earth is happening?”
“Shelby’s having her baby,” he said without breaking his stride.
“Who?” She went pale. “Don’t you dare tell me you got some girl pregnant.”
“She’s Garrett’s wife.” He sat on the edge of the bed so he could roll on a pair of socks. “Garrett’s one of my teammates. I mentioned him yesterday, remember?”
She only sort of remembered. She was still having a tough time reconciling the fact that Ryan was a Navy SEAL. In between rounds of super awesome sex, they’d spent all of yesterday talking about their lives. When she asked him what he did for a living, she figured he’d say something like “pro surfer” or “personal trainer” or maybe “gigolo”. A SEAL, she did not expect. Sure, he had the most extraordinary body, all toned and muscled and hard just about everywhere, but she couldn’t imagine him holding a gun, or creeping through the jungle, blowing things up, taking down terrorists…hmmm, okay, it was actually kind of hot when she thought about it.
“His wife is having their baby and Carson says it’ll be any minute now,” Ryan said, jarring her from her thoughts. “I’m gonna be an uncle, babe!”
Although she didn’t know Shelby or Garrett or Carson, Ryan’s enthusiasm was contagious. “God help that baby,” she said with a laugh.
He stood at the foot of the bed wit
h an expectant look. “C’mon, get up. We have to go to the hospital.”
Her enthusiasm faded. “Why? I don’t even know these people, Ryan. I don’t want to intrude.”
“You won’t be intruding.” He waved a dismissive hand. “They’ll all be happy to see you, especially Holly.”
“Who’s Holly?”
“I’ll tell you in the car. Now get up already.”
Annabelle slid out of bed, then paused, realizing she was totally naked. Almost immediately, Ryan’s eyes darkened to a midnight blue, and she could see the arousal in his gaze.
Funny enough, she didn’t feel self-conscious. She’d never walked around naked in the condo she shared with Bryce. Neither did Bryce, for that matter. As their moving-in present, he’d bought them matching robes. To preserve her modesty, she’d thought, but that was before she’d discovered he was a prude.
“I need to go upstairs to get some clothes. I only have my bikini here,” she reminded him.
Ryan offered a wolfish grin. “Wear it to the hospital.”
She snorted. “You wish.”
“I do wish. All my friends would be jealous.”
Laughing, she went over to the chair and picked up one of the T-shirts lying there. “Can I wear this?” Without waiting for him to agree, she slipped the shirt over her head. It hung down to her knees.
“You look seriously cute in my shirt,” he said, then elicited a startled squeak from her by planting his hands on her waist, pulling her close and kissing her.
His lips were so soft, so warm. Annabelle’s toes curled as his mouth moved over hers in a teasing caress. The man knew how to kiss. He knew how to do everything, in fact. They’d had sex three times already, and each time he pushed that thick cock into her, it took her breath away. Not that she was surprised. Just looking at him, you knew he’d be good in bed.
What would Bryce think if he could see her now?
The notion brought a pang of guilt to her belly, followed by a bolt of anger. Screw Bryce. Who cared what he thought. He hadn’t thought twice before hooking up with someone else, so why should she?
“Okay,” Ryan groaned, breaking the kiss. “If we keep doing that, we’ll never get to the hospital.” He gave her butt a gentle slap. “Let’s get a move on.”
“Do we have to?”
“Yep. Don’t worry, Annie, it’ll be fun.”
She didn’t bother to correct him this time, because she knew he’d simply pick another annoying nickname, and truth be told, she was beginning to like it. Nobody had ever called her Annie before. Her mother maintained that the nickname sounded too “common”. Annabelle was a name that screamed wealth and prestige, according to Sandra Holmes.
Ryan waited somewhat impatiently as Annabelle got dressed upstairs, but she refused to rush. She still wasn’t sure why he insisted she come with him. She didn’t know any of his friends, and the birth of a child seemed like a stupidly inappropriate place to bring a girl you’d only known for two days. Yet for some reason, she wanted to go. She liked Ryan. She was drawn to him. And she couldn’t help but be curious about his life.
They left the building fifteen minutes later. Ryan led her to an olive-green Jeep parked at the back of the lot. He didn’t open the passenger door for her, and she resisted making a sarcastic remark about chivalry. Bryce always opened her door, which drove her crazy. She was perfectly capable of opening her own door, and when Bryce did it, there was nothing chivalrous about it. It felt more patronizing if anything.
“So what’s the deal with this Bryce guy?” Ryan asked as he started the engine. “Am I helping you cheat on him? ’Cuz I’m not sure how I feel about that. I do have a moral code, you know.”
She grinned. “Yeah, I’m sure you do.” The smile faded as she pondered his question. She’d told him about Bryce earlier, but mostly skimmed over the details. “I guess Bryce and I are broken up.”
He shot her a sideways look before turning his attention back to the road. “Were you really engaged?”
“Pretty much since we were six years old,” she said wryly. “He officially asked me two years ago. Our parents were thrilled.”
“Your parents aren’t the ones getting married. How did you feel about it?” Ryan asked roughly.
She bit her bottom lip. “I…was happy, I guess. I’ve wanted to marry Bryce since we were kids. I thought he was a wonderful guy.”
“Thought?” Ryan echoed, picking up on the past tense.
To her dismay, they reached a red light, which allowed him to turn his head and study her. His blue eyes flickered with curiosity, and discomfort rose up her spine. The last thing she wanted to do was tell Ryan about Bryce’s parting words, about what a priss she supposedly was.
“He said some mean things before he left,” she finally admitted.
Ryan’s jaw hardened. “What kind of mean things?”
She shrugged and casually glanced out the window. “You know, about me, and our sex life, and…” She gritted her teeth. To hell with it. “He pretty much called me a prude, okay?”
Ryan was silent for a few seconds. Then he burst out laughing.
“It’s not funny,” she said, her cheeks burning up.
“Sure it is.” He chuckled again. “It’s also not true. Don’t tell me you believed him, babe.”
Annabelle didn’t answer.
“Aw, fuck. You did, didn’t you?” He sounded amazed. “Is that why you wrote that list? Come on, Annabelle, you should know better than to listen to some asshole. I just spent the entire day and night with you, and I can assure you, you’re no prude.”
“Um, thanks?”
They reached the hospital and Ryan parked the Jeep. Shutting off the engine, he looked at her and shook his head. “Don’t even think about that ass anymore, okay? Because I know for a fact that you’re the sexiest, hottest, wildest fuck a guy could ever have.”
Despite the lewd words, she found herself laughing. Her heart may have skipped a couple of beats too.
Ryan hopped out to grab a parking ticket from the machine. When he came back, he shoved the ticket on the dashboard, while Annabelle got out of the Jeep and slung her purse over her shoulder. “Are you sure they won’t mind that I’m here?” she asked once more.
“Trust me, they’ll be ecstatic.”
5
He was right. When the two of them entered the large waiting room in the fifth-floor maternity ward, a brunette with bright green eyes and a blue-eyed redhead jumped up and swarmed Ryan and Annabelle like two excited bees. Ryan made the introductions, but the two women kept babbling about how exciting this was and how happy they were for Shelby that Annabelle had a tough time keeping up. The brunette was Holly, and the blond man with the killer smile was Carson, her fiancé. Jane was the redhead, and she introduced Annabelle to her fiancé, Thomas Becker, a man with short brown hair and a body that belonged in an action movie.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to them,” Becker said dryly as Holly and Jane continued to talk Ryan’s ear off.
“She’s only three centimeters dilated,” Holly was explaining. “Garrett came out an hour ago and said the doctor thinks it might be a while.”
“Are Will and Mac coming?” Ryan asked.
“They’ll be here in a few hours,” Carson supplied. “Mac wasn’t feeling well last night, so Will wants to let her sleep a while longer.”
“She’s pregnant,” Holly told Annabelle. “And Will is totally overprotective. He thinks she’ll lose the baby if she sneezes, but we keep telling him to quit worrying. Unless she has a vision of it or something, then he should worry.”
Annabelle was lost again. She figured Will was another SEAL, but all this talk of pregnancy and visions made her head spin. It spun even more when Ryan shook hands with Becker and congratulated him for apparently getting Jane pregnant, though something in the exchange felt…forced. Ryan was smiling, his voice ringing with sincerity, but Annabelle could swear she’d heard a twinge of sadness.
She discreetly glanc
ed from Ryan to Jane, but the redhead was staring up at her soon-to-be husband adoringly and Ryan looked perfectly unruffled.
Huh. Maybe she’d just imagined it.
“Shit, I’m starving,” Carson mumbled. “Anyone want to make a trip down to the cafeteria?”
Ryan and Becker chimed in. Annabelle didn’t have a chance. Her stomach had grumbled the second Carson said cafeteria, but Holly was suddenly gripping her hand. “Bring us some sandwiches or something,” Holly chirped to the men, then tugged on Annabelle’s hand and practically forced her butt into a chair. “Sit with us, Annabelle.”
She found herself sandwiched between Holly and Jane, who stared at her in curiosity. “How did you and Ryan meet?” Jane asked.
“Is it serious?” Holly demanded.
“Um…it’s only been two days,” she said awkwardly.
“But you like him?” Holly pressed.
“Yeah, definitely.” Before they could grill her again, she changed the subject. “How did you and Carson meet?” she asked Holly.
With a grin, Holly revealed that she and Carson had indulged in a one-night stand at a nightclub only to run into each other weeks later at Shelby and Garrett’s wedding. Then Jane chimed in, confessing she’d met Becker in an elevator, where they’d gotten stuck and passed the time by having hot sex.
Annabelle laughed, thinking of her first meeting with Ryan. Unable to stop herself, she told them the story of how she’d woken up to find a total stranger in bed with her. Both women hooted with delight when she finished.
“Oh, that’s priceless,” Jane said. “I can’t believe you threw a lamp at him.”
“He deserves it,” Holly said, rolling her eyes. “I’ve wanted to throw a lamp at Evans since the day I met him.” Annabelle knew Holly was just teasing; the affection in her voice when she spoke of Ryan was easy to pick up on.
“Yeah,” Jane agreed with a grin. “He’s incorrigible. I’ve been tempted to do some lamp-throwing myself.”
“So, have you and Carson set a date?” Annabelle asked Holly.
Out of Uniform Box Set: Books 1-3 Page 32