by Cathryn Fox
Melody raced her hands through his hair, and when he lifted her shirt enough to expose her bra, she made a whimpering sound.
“Sit up,” he growled, and when she did he tore her shirt off and removed her bra. Her breasts spilled free, her nipples so pink and hard he damn near lost his shit then and there. She swallowed, and the sound filled the room as she dropped down onto her pillow. Ryeland went back on his heels, eager to just look at her.
“You are so beautiful,” he murmured. Jesus her breasts were so full, so perfect. But it wasn’t just her body he liked. It was her.
“Rye…” She reached for him and he fell over her again, his mouth wrapping around one pert nipple as his hand closed over the other breast, stroking, massaging, kneading her flesh. Her nipple swelled even more inside his mouth, and he clamped down gently, grazing her with his teeth.
“Oh, my God,” she cried out, her hands clutching his shoulders and urging him on.
He sucked deep and swirled his tongue around her hard peak to ease the sting of his bite. She moaned louder and cupped her breasts, offering him more. He sucked in a sharp breath and tried not to tumble over the edge.
Fire burned through his blood as he indulged in the sweet taste of her, sliding his hands and mouth over her skin. Christ he wanted her, wanted to tear his pants off and fuck her long and hard, but he wasn’t that greedy adolescent who took without thinking. Not anymore, and definitely not with her. Tonight was about Melody and he wasn’t going to forget that, no matter how much blood had left his brain to settle deep between his legs.
He licked her other nipple, making a slow, leisurely pass, then blew on the wetness his tongue left behind. Goose bumps formed on her skin, and she visually quivered, which made him the happiest goddamn guy alive.
“Oh, God, Rye,” she cried out.
He shifted his body and reached for the button on her shorts, dying to bury his face in the heat between her legs. “I need you naked, baby,” he said, sweat collecting on his brow. “I need to taste you so bad.”
With her chest rising and falling rapidly, she lifted her hips, letting him unzip her shorts and pull them off. Her lace panties quickly followed, and he tossed them away, taking a long moment to gaze at her nakedness.
As he teetered on the edge of sanity, he shook his head, his hair falling into his eyes. “Melody…Jesus, Melody.” He brushed his hair back and tried to remember how to breathe.
“What?” she asked, her voice a hesitant whisper as she tried to cover herself with her hand, like she was suddenly uncomfortable under his hungry gaze.
“Don’t.” He pulled her hands away and pressed them into the mattress at her sides. “Don’t ever cover yourself. Not with me.”
“But…you’re staring,” she said quietly.
“That’s because you’re so beautiful and I can’t believe I’m here with you.”
“Rye, you don’t—”
“Yes, I do,” he said. “I’m not lying, Melody. I told you I’d never lie to you.”
Honest to God, she made him feel the way no other girl ever had, and he couldn’t believe that she was his, spread naked beneath him, opening herself up to him like this. His glance met hers again and his body burned hotter, loving the way she was gazing back with need, desire…trust. He cleared his throat, rattled by the things she made him feel. His gaze shifted to the apex between her legs, his brain so rattled it took effort to think.
He lightly stroked her thighs. “Open for me.”
She widened her legs, and when he saw how wet she was for him, the way her pussy glistened so invitingly, he groaned, his cock throbbing so hard against his jeans he was about to rip them open and finish himself off in two quick strokes. Yeah, he was that hot for her.
Clenching down hard on his jaw, he reached out and swirled his finger through her slick heat, circling the pad of his thumb around her clit, coming closer and closer, but never quite touching.
“Please, Rye,” she begged, her fingers biting into his shoulders as she shifted her hips, trying to force his hand to the spot that needed it most.
He grinned, wanting to tease her longer, to make her as crazed as she made him. Her hips came off the bed, but he pressed on her gently, forcing her back down. She was practically trembling from head to toe when he pulled his hand away.
She whimpered, but it turned in to a moan when he gripped her legs and spread them. The sweet tang of her arousal filled the air and as he drew it into his lungs, it fueled his need.
He settled between her legs and ran his tongue over her thighs, taking pleasure in the taste of her skin. He moved higher and when he reached her pussy, he widened her lips with his fingers and shot her a glance. She was up on her elbows, desire swimming in her eyes as she watched him.
“You want this, baby? You want my mouth on you?”
“Yes, please…” She cried out and fisted the sheets.
“Good.”
With single-minded determination, he lowered his head and gave a long swipe with his tongue before his mouth pressed hungrily against her clit. Her breathing hitched and a moan sounded as she fell back onto the bed. He slowly slipped one finger inside her. She was tight. So damn tight.
He stroked deeper, and as her pleasure resonated through him, he took full possession of her body. He greedily drew her clit into his mouth, and her body spasmed as he found the bundle of nerves inside. She rocked against him and moaned as he lapped at her clit and pumped a little quicker.
He could feel the tension building insider her, her pussy growing slicker with each stroke.
“Rye,” she cried out, her voice sounding tight. “Please…” she begged, but he wasn’t quite ready to take her over. He wanted to spend the rest of the night playing with her, tasting her, pleasuring her. Her hips rocked and as he indulged himself, he took her higher and higher, wanting this to be so good for her.
“I feel…” she said, and a moan replaced her words. “So good.”
He sucked harder, the soft blade of his tongue lashing against her clit as he inserted another finger.
“Oh, my God, that feels so good.” He pumped deeper, harder, and knew she was so damn close. “Don’t stop,” she cried out.
As tension escalated and her breathing grew more erratic, he applied more pressure to her clit. He stroked and rubbed, then shot her a glance, ready to take her where she needed to go.
“Ride my face, baby.”
She made a whimpering sound and lifted her hips, grinding her sweet pussy against his mouth. She rode his face furiously as he pumped into her, and in no time at all her body responded to the dual pressure.
“That’s it, Melody. Come for me.”
Her muscles tightened and contracted around his finger as he continued to lap at her clit. She cried out his name, her body shuddering and surrendering to the onslaught of pleasure. She released in his mouth and he changed tactics, licking gently to draw out every delicious pulse of pleasure, all the while ignoring the way his body was screaming at him to impale her, to drive into her hard and deep and take what he needed.
He drew a breath to center himself, and when she finally stopped spasming, he dusted a soft kiss over her pussy, soothing her sex until her breathing returned to normal. With her passion receding, he slid up her body and settled on top of her. He pushed her damp hair from her face, and the warm, satisfied way she looked at him nearly stopped his heart.
“Rye, that…that…”
“Should we add amazing to the list?” he asked, teasing as he came to her rescue.
She laughed. “Yeah.” Her gaze moved over his face. “What about you?” she asked, her lips going to his neck, her lashes fluttering against his skin.
He inched back, desperate to get his head on straight. “Not tonight, baby.”
She placed her palms on his cheeks, her hands still trembling from her orgasm. “Rye?” she asked, confusion written all over her face. “You don’t want me to touch you?”
“Yeah, baby, I do. You have no idea how muc
h I want you to touch me, but tonight was for you, Melody. Just for you.”
She looked at him long and hard, then gave a slow shake of her head. “Who are you?” she asked.
“I’m the guy who wants to do right by you.” Even if it meant sporting a pair of blue balls.
Chapter Thirteen
“What the hell is the matter with you?” Jaelyn asked as she plopped herself down on the bed.
“Nothing,” Mel said and tugged her unflattering green work shirt on over her head. “And shouldn’t you be getting dressed?” She pointed to her alarm clock. “We work in twenty minutes.”
Ignoring the time, Jaelyn continued to glare at her, then shrieked, “Oh, my God! You had sex. You had sex with Ryeland.”
“Shhh…” Mel said, unable to stifle the giggle rising up from her throat. “And, no, I didn’t.”
Jaelyn did that head-bobbing thing. “Like hell you didn’t.”
Mel bit her bottom lip and pretended like she was in deep thought. “Well, then again, maybe I did. I guess it depends on how you define sex.”
“Tell me everything,” Jaelyn said, her eyes going wide. “Everything!”
Mel dropped onto the bed beside her friend and stared up at the ceiling. She told Jaelyn exactly what happened, and how Ryeland, after giving her the best sex of her life, had left to take a cold shower.
Jaelyn rolled onto her side and propped herself up on her elbow. “What the hell? You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“No, I’m serious. He said it was about me, not him.” Mel gave a contented stretch of her body, muscles that she hadn’t used in a long time aching pleasantly.
“And you didn’t touch him?”
“No.”
“Did you want to?”
“Oh yeah.”
Jaelyn’s hair flared as she gave a bewildered shake of her head. “Jesus, who is he anyway?”
“Funny, that’s what I asked.”
“Why the hell can’t I meet a guy like him?” She threw herself back down. “The guys I sleep with care only about getting their rocks off. It’s never about me.”
“Yeah.” Mel nodded, her thoughts going back to Trevor, but then she quickly put him out of her mind, refusing to let him drag her down when she was flying so high—perhaps even dangerously high—with Ryeland.
“Uh, oh,” Jaelyn said quietly.
She turned her head to see Jaelyn staring at her. “Uh, oh. What?”
“You’re crazy about him.”
Mel put her hands over her face. “I know,” she said, her words muffled as a quiver moved through her. “I really do like him. He’s so nice and thoughtful, and he’s so…I don’t know, Jaelyn. He’s just…unbelievable,” she said, reaching for the pillow. She hugged it to her chest and rocked on her bed. “He’s insanely funny too.”
Jaelyn pushed herself up to a sitting position and crossed her legs. Mel followed suit.
“So you two are an item, then?” Jaelyn asked, her voice serious.
“I don’t know. I guess. Yeah. He did say he was my boyfriend.”
“What happens at the end of the summer?”
“I haven’t thought too far ahead,” Mel said.
“But you always think ahead. It’s what you do.”
“Maybe I don’t want to this time.” She shrugged. “Maybe I just want to enjoy this right now, and how he makes me feel.”
Jaelyn went quiet for a moment, then made a face. “You still know what you’re doing, though, right?”
“Yes,” Mel lied. Truthfully, she was so caught up in Rye, she had no idea what she was doing. Yes, they were different people who came from different places. Not only that, she had secrets about her father, that night in the hotel so long ago, and he had a family who hated her and wanted to control his future. But for the first time in her life, she felt important, cherished, like someone really cared about her as a person and not what they could get from her.
“I mean, you were the one who said it could never work out, right?” Jaelyn said quietly.
“But it is working, Jaelyn.” She buried her face in the pillow. “It’s actually working.”
“I just don’t want to see you hurt, you know, when vacation season…” She let her words trail off, like she couldn’t bring herself to remind Mel what happened every year at Stone Cliff.
Mel jumped up, not wanting to think about where this relationship could go, or more importantly, where it couldn’t go at the end of the summer. “Come on. I don’t want to be late.”
She followed Jaelyn to her room and waited while she dressed. They walked outside and Mel couldn’t help but look around. Honestly, she’d gotten so used to Ryeland always being there for her it felt odd not to find him perched on the bonnet of his car waiting for her, legs crossed at the ankle and looking so damn sexy. But he had tennis practice with Suzette, and Mel had insisted he go.
Fifteen minutes later they walked into the dining room, ready for another shift, but tonight Mel didn’t mind the hard work because she’d be meeting Ryeland afterward and that gave her something to look forward to. As soon as they entered the busy dining room, Judith barked out her instructions, and Mel was soon lost in her work.
The dinner rush eventually died down but Mel’s sigh of relief was short lived, because as the crowd cleared, she caught sight of Justin Beechcroft at the bar. Great. Just what she needed tonight. He ordered a beer from Tim and watched Mel walk across the room as he tipped it to his lips.
Working to ignore him, she pushed into the kitchen, and found Jaelyn collecting her order. “Justin’s here,” Mel said.
“Yeah, I saw him. What’s up?” she asked when she saw how agitated Mel was.
“I don’t know. I just don’t like him.”
“Ignore him.” She waved a dismissive hand. “You’re off in an hour.”
She helped Jaelyn with her trays and went back to check on her tables. An odd, nervous sensation settled in her bones, and every time she turned around she found Justin staring at her. On her next trip to the kitchen, he called out to her.
“When are you off?” he asked.
“Soon.”
He dropped his empty bottle onto the bar top and dug his heels into the metal bar circling the foot of the stool. “You want to do something?”
That stopped her in her tracks. What the hell? “I’m meeting Ryeland.”
He made a noise, something that sounded like a laugh and a cough. “He’s not the guy for you, Mel.”
Her stomach tightened, but she didn’t want to show a reaction in front of him. She breathed past the anger. “That’s where you’re wrong.”
“I’m not wrong.” He pushed off his stool and when he came closer she noticed the red lines in his eyes. “If you were mine, I wouldn’t be off fucking around with Suzette.” He tugged on a strand of her hair that had fallen from her ponytail and she jerked away from him. “I’d be off fucking around with you.”
She took a shaky breath, hating how much he could rattle her and dredge up old, painful memories. “You should go,” she said.
“Come with me.”
She swallowed hard and strived to keep her composure. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
Tim caught her eye from behind the bar and telegraphed her a message. Justin looked at her, then Tim, then back at her. “I’ll catch up with you later, Melody,” he said, his sly grin making her feel nauseous.
“It’s Mel,” she responded.
“That’s not what Ryeland calls you.”
Before she could respond, he left the restaurant and she grabbed the edge of the bar to support herself.
Tim came over. He’d only started working at the bar a few weeks ago and she didn’t know him all that well, but he was nice, and very protective of all the servers. She heard he used to be a bouncer, and from the way he was built, she guessed he was probably very efficient at his job, seeing as one look from him was enough to scare Justin off.
“What was that all about?” he asked
�
��Nothing,” she said quickly. “Just a friend.”
“That didn’t seem like a friendly conversation.” He tossed his dishrag over his shoulder. “You want me to talk to him?”
“No,” she said quickly, not wanting to draw any more attention to herself. Like the Montgomerys, Justin Beechcroft and his family were also very important people around here. “Everything is fine.” She stole a glance at her watch and plastered on a smile. “And it’s my quitting time.”
She took off her apron and tossed it into her locker, debating on whether to tell Ryeland about what had happened with Justin. After giving it a considerable amount of thought she decided against it. There was enough tension between the two guys as it was, and she didn’t want to add to it, or bring him any more trouble.
She slammed her locker, said a quick goodbye to Jaelyn, and hurried outside to see Ryeland. She just somehow knew that being in his arms again would make everything all right again.
Her heart fell when she raced through the front doors and didn’t find him standing there. Following the lit path, she made her way to the parking lot and looked around.
When her glance came up empty, she tried to shake off the uneasy feeling. Old, hurtful memories were quick to surface, but she reminded herself Ryeland was not Trevor. He wasn’t the kind of guy to ditch her after getting what he wanted from her. She pulled her phone from her back pocket but found no messages from Ryeland. She turned toward the road and began the short trek to her place.
A few minutes later a vehicle slowed beside her, and she turned to see Ryeland’s Jeep. He slowed, and rolled down the window.
“Need a lift?” he asked, that lopsided grin of his doing the most delicious things to her.
“I live right there.”
He gave her a playful wink. “But I’ve got candy.”
She laughed and her heart lightened as she slid in next to him, and the next thing she knew he had his hand around her head and was drawing her mouth to his. He kissed her deeply, and she melted like a summertime Popsicle. She touched him in return, her hands sliding over his arms as they steamed up the windows. Her body grew hot, achy as he deepened the kiss, his hand sliding around her back. There was no awkwardness between them after last night’s intimacies. In fact, there was a new closeness. She honestly had no idea what she was doing with Ryeland or where things could go from here, all she knew was that he could leave her heart broken at the end of summer if he left without looking back. Unnerved by that thought and wanting to only think about the incredible way he made her feel, she pushed it from her mind. She moaned into his mouth as his warm, familiar scent curled around her. Their tongues tangled, and she touched his face. God, he tasted so deliciously sweet, like cinnamon and sugar. Candy.