He sucked in a ragged breath. “God, Sophia. Look at you.”
The intense longing in his eyes made her physically ache, and her nipples hardened behind the lace. Wanting to give him more—give him everything—she stepped out of her dress and reached behind her to unhook her bra.
“No.” He shook his head and moved closer. “Let me.”
Heat from his body washed into her as he hooked his fingers under her bra straps and slowly pulled them down her arms until she sprang free. “Perfect. So perfect.” He dipped down to kiss the curve of her breast, and flicked his tongue over her nipple before sucking it hard into his mouth.
Moaning, she closed her eyes and arched into him, feeling his tongue rasp over her nipple, while his hands slid to her back and unhooked her bra, releasing her only long enough to let it drop to the floor. An instant later, he has his mouth on her other nipple, sucking on it until she moaned and clutched his arms.
“So soft,” he muttered against her skin as he dragged his mouth up her chest, throat, and jaw, his hands making their way up her back and into her hair. “I can’t get enough of you.”
His voice was so low and sexy, she felt she could come from the sound alone.
“Me, too.” Wrapping her arms around his shoulder blades, she pressed against him, lost in the feel of his hard strength as his arms banded around her, and his mouth finally found hers.
He tasted warm and intoxicating, and she loved the ragged groan she wrenched from his chest when she rocked against him. Without breaking the kiss, he lifted her up and set her on the bed, following her down on the mattress.
She felt deliciously naughty in her panties and sandals, while he still wore his jeans and work boots. Deciding to do something about it, while he continued to kiss her slow and deep, zapping her brain cells, she reached between them to unhook his jeans.
When they broke for air, he stared down at her. His eyes were dark and very, very hot.
“Not, yet.” He kissed a path along her collarbone and down between her breasts, his tongue taking a detour over her pebbled peak while he ground against her.
Need shot out in all directions. She clutched his arms and arched up, but he moved south, dragging his mouth over her ribs, stopping to swirl his tongue into her belly button. His touch was different. Like he was grounded. Stronger. Sure. He nipped at her hip, then kissed her low on her belly, and air shuddered out of her when he hooked his fingers in her panties and tugged them down her legs, his mouth following in hot pursuit.
“So sweet,” he murmured against her ankle as he pulled the lace completely off, then removed her sandals and stood to quickly strip out of the rest of his clothes, and set a condom on the bed.
The sight of him staring down at her, eyes blazing with intense need, made her breath catch. His fingers encircled her ankles and tugged them apart. “You’re so damn beautiful.”
While she melted, he kissed her shin, her knee, then inner thigh, his broad shoulders nudging her wide. His breath was warm on her sensitized skin as he stopped to look his fill.
“Ryder.” She squirmed.
“But…if you could just see…” He bent and kissed an inner thigh, and she thought, higher. He was so close. Then he gently stroked her, and she closed her eyes, lost in his touch. He groaned and placed his mouth on her, teasing her with his tongue.
She moaned and fisted his comforter, writhing beneath him, silently urging him to continue.
“I love how you taste,” he murmured, cupping her ass cheeks to hold her in place during his ministrations. His attention to detail was a gift, because he was hitting spots she didn’t know existed. Quicker than she expected, he had her quivering on the edge.
Then he stopped.
But before she could catch her breath, or complain, he shifted higher, kissing her breast, tugging her nipple into his mouth as his finger unexpectedly stroked her center, then slipped inside.
She cried out, and he sucked in a breath.
“So wet.” He lifted his head and stared down at her, his gaze smoldering and intent. Leaning on his elbow, he continued to watch her as he slowly slid his finger all the way out in an upward angle, then back down.
“Mmm…yes,” she muttered, arching up.
Doing it again, he slid up in a mind-numbingly long stroke, then down in an equally long stroke, then her added another finger.
“Ryder…” Breath caught in her throat. “Love that…”
As if knowing what she wanted—what she needed—before she did, he upped the pace, building the tension until she was ready to snap.
“Sophia. Look at me,” he ordered in a strained, hoarse tone she felt all the way to her throbbing core.
She managed to open her eyes halfway. “Don’t stop.”
He didn’t. The intuitive man brushed his thumb over her center between strokes and that sent her spiraling over the edge.
Crying out his name, she gripped his wrists and bucked into his touch, all while holding his gaze. When she slowed her hips, he slowed his strokes, prolonging her orgasm until she was spent.
When he released her, he bent down to kiss her lips, his gaze still glued to hers. Satisfaction and heat blazed in his blue depths, increasing the quivering in her belly. “That was amazing.”
“No, you were amazing,” she said, kissing him harder. Deeper. Never wanting to let him go.
***
Ryder was ready to burst.
The amazing woman…his amazing woman was hot and willing, and writhing beneath him. If she kept that up, he wasn’t going to last. Groaning, he broke the kiss. “Hold that thought.”
Reaching for the foil packet, he used the time to get his breathing under control. And his body. He wanted to savor the incredible feel of being inside her, not lose it like some damn teenager.
He removed the condom and was rolling it on when her hand joined in and he swore she was trying to make him lose his mind. Her lingering strokes were exquisite, but he wasn’t that strong.
In fact, he was putty in her hands, and proved it when he rocked into her touch, as if he had no control.
Because he fucking didn’t.
Not with her.
Chapter Fifteen
“I need you, Ryder.” She guided him to the promised land, and gazed up at him with a fierce hunger that darkened her eyes to that deep chocolate and navy that he loved so much.
Needing no other prompting, he settled between her legs, but didn’t push inside. Not yet. He entwined their fingers and lifted their joined hands to rest on either side of her face.
“I need you inside me,” she whispered, her voice sexy and hoarse with need.
He dipped down to softly kiss her lips. “I need that too.”
He needed everything. Wanted everything. And wanted to give her everything, too.
With one last kiss, he held her gaze and slid into her. Home. That’s what she was to him. Everything. His world. She cried out his name, and it mixed with his groan, echoing the sound of their mutual pleasure.
“God, Sophia…” He closed his eyes, basking in the feel of her lush heat. “You feel so―always so damn good.” The way he filled her—the way she hugged him—it rocked him to his very soul.
“Ryder,” she whispered on a hitched breath.
He loved how her head arched back and lips parted. Unable to resist, he bent down and captured her open mouth with his, slipping his tongue inside, thrilling at the sound of her moan. Her tongue brushed his as she rocked her hips, doing her damnedest to make him cross-eyed.
Breaking the kiss, he lifted up to stare into her eyes, needing to see she was just as thrown, as lost…as found, as he was in the crazy rush of heat, and need, and want. She wrapped her legs around him and arched up, and he felt himself slipping further inside.
And further in love.
Yeah, he loved her. She did it for him. Understood his moods. His needs. She was open, honest, held nothing back. He loved that about her, too. She got him. She understood and accepted. And, God, tha
t was such a heady feeling.
He could tell she was falling for him, too. It was in her sighs, her kisses, the tender way she sometimes touched his face. The way her face lit up when he walked into the room. It used to scare him, now…it strengthened him.
But right now, the feel of her soft curves trembling beneath him, the way her breasts brushed his chest, how she hugged him tight inside, was all too much. She was too much. He had no strength left. He needed to start moving, to take them to the next level.
“Sophia,” he whispered hoarsely, squeezing their entwined fingers, as he began to move.
A low, sexy sound rumbled in her chest, and she matched his rhythm, apparently lost in the same delirious need consuming him from the inside out.
“Ryder…” Her gaze was open and full of all the emotions he was feeling in her touch.
“I know,” he murmured, letting her see exactly what she did to him, exactly how he felt about her.
He was done talking, he could only feel. Lost in the wave of heat, he locked his elbows, and upped their pace. Damn, she felt good. Her low moans and the way she arched into him stole his breath, and captured his heart.
Freeing her hands from his, she shoved them in his hair, like she needed to hold onto him, needed him to ground her.
And he knew then. Ryder knew that this was what it felt like when it was right.
He slid his arms beneath her and gripped her shoulders from behind. The movement brought them closer, and he slid deeper inside. She cried out and whispered his name over and over as she shuddered and quivered against him in the most amazing, fucking climax that spurred his own fierce release.
Later, after he found his bones and cleaned up, he climbed under the covers with her, and knew everything had changed. His outlook had changed. He’d changed. He wanted her in his life full-time and was willing to commute, or anything else she wanted to make that happen.
The soft, sweet woman in his arms had a little over five weeks before she headed back to New York. He was determined to use that time to help her realize she was happiest with him. God knew, he was with her.
Euphoric exhaustion set in, and he fell asleep to the soft sounds of her breathing, knowing he didn’t ever want to let her go.
***
Sophia hated keeping things from Ryder.
Especially after everything they shared last night, and again that morning before they got dressed and headed into town to work.
As much as she wanted to spend the day in his bed, surrendering herself to a multitude of mind-blowing orgasms, she needed to finish the set of the car so tomorrow she could start on the beauty shop. Besides, he told her he had a kitchen remodel he needed to finish by Friday.
That meant no surrendering or mind-blowing orgasms until tonight, after dinner at a restaurant he told her had a view almost as amazing as the one he shared with her yesterday.
Maybe then she’d tell him about her family. She’d tried, on several occasions, but each time, he either kissed her senseless, and she forgot what she was going to say, or fear got in the way. The fear of him slipping back into that safe zone of indifference and shutting her out.
He hadn’t shut her out this morning, though. A smile tugged her lips. That was why they were running a little late.
“My sister must be here,” he said, parking in front of the theater next to Ben’s truck.
She nodded. “Lea was bringing donuts so we can nibble and chat while I work on the car set. I’m guessing Ben brought her. I think he likes to be with his girls as much as possible.”
“I can relate,” Ryder said, gaze open and warm, causing her heart to catch. “We still on for dinner tonight?”
Smiling, she opened her mouth to reply when his phone rang.
He lifted it from the cup holder where he’d set it, and sent her an apologetic look. “It’s the office. I won’t be long.”
“No problem,” she replied, her pulse tripping while she waited to see if it had to do with the ice cream parlor.
“Hey, Cathy. I’m on my way.” He stilled. “What? We did?” His gaze narrowed before pleasure straightened his brow. “That’s fantastic news. I wonder what happened to make Colarusso back out?”
Sophia knew, and relief helped her breath in some air, while making a mental note to thank her brother.
“I will. Thanks. See you in a few minutes,” he said, before hanging up. “I don’t believe it.” A slight smile curved his lips while bewilderment rounded his gaze. “Colarusso backed out. I got the ice cream parlor job.”
“That is fantastic news,” she said, heart hammering out of control.
This was it. The perfect time to come clean. To tell him about her family, and how she’d asked them to back off and they did. Her family was not unreasonable. They weren’t the enemy. Neither was she. He’d see that. Surely he would.
Her palms were sweaty and they shook, so she entwined her fingers to keep them steady on her lap.
“Guess the New York big shots bit off more than they could handle. Spread themselves too thin.” He shook his head and frowned. “And put honest, hardworking people like me out of business.”
The need to defend her family because too much. “They probably started out the same way.”
His brow rose, then he shrugged. “Maybe, but it’s companies like that that tick me off.”
And everything she was about to get off her chest died on her lips. Maybe it would be better when he wasn’t so worked up.
“Sorry,” he said, reaching out to play with a strand of her hair. “Let’s get back to my question.” Leaning close, he dragged his mouth across her jaw to her ear where he nibbled.
His question, her family, their jobs, how to breathe…everything disappeared into the warm, sensuous fog taking over her mind.
“Mmm…” She fisted his shirt and tipped her head to give him better access. “I like the way you ask.”
He chuckled near her ear. “I like the way you taste.”
She turned her head to give him her mouth when her phone started to ring. Setting her forehead to his jaw, she sighed. “Think we should’ve stayed in bed.”
“We can always go back.” Amusement and heat were evident in his tone.
Her body perked up at the suggestion, but she fished out her phone and did her best to ignore the awareness pooling low in her belly. She glanced at the screen, and frowned. “It’s my dad.” She answered as Ryder shifted back to his seat. “What’s wrong?”
“How do you women do that?” he said. “It’s like a sixth sense or something. I’m calling because you need to come home.”
She swallowed a groan. “If this is about answering phones, I—”
“No,” he cut her off. “It’s about your mother. She’s at the hospital in the emergency room.”
Chapter Sixteen
Sophia’s heart dropped to her knees. “What’s wrong?”
A warm hand covered hers and squeezed. She glanced at Ryder, finding the warmth and concern in his eyes a welcomed comfort.
“She has stomach pains. Apparently she’s had them for days and hasn’t said anything. I married a stubborn woman,” her father huffed. “I told her to go easy on the pepperoncini, but does she listen? No. Now they want to admit her to take out her gallbladder.”
Gallbladder?
Okay, she breathed a little easier. That was kind of routine.
“She keeps going on about a night coat or house shirt, or something,” her father continued in a frustrated rush. “I don’t know what she’s talking about. I need you back here to help me get what she wants, and to help her when she’s home recovering. I won’t be able to stay home. I’ll need to get back to work. And you know how willful she gets. I can’t trust her to overdo it. Someone has to watch her.”
“It’s okay,” she rushed to say, already mentally going over the set schedule in her mind. “I’ll leave in a few minutes and drive straight to your house to grab what Ma needs.” She glanced at the clock on the dashboard. “I should be a
t the hospital by two. What time is her surgery?”
“Don’t know yet.” He sighed. “I’ll call you when I do.”
“Okay. I’ll see you soon,” she said before hanging up.
Ryder gently squeezed her hand, regaining her attention. “You okay?”
She nodded, feeling exhausted and full of adrenaline at the same time. “I have to go home. Well, to my parents’, then the hospital. My mother needs—”
“Her gallbladder out,” he finished for her, slight smile on his lips. “I heard.”
A snort escaped her. “Yeah…my family’s kind of loud.”
Understatement of the year.
“What can I do?” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles.
Her chest warmed, and everything inside her softened. “You’re doing it. Thanks. And I’m sorry. I’ll be gone a few weeks. I’ll need to be there while my mom recovers. Family comes first, right?” She smiled, but he didn’t return it. Not even a flicker.
As if realizing she was waiting for his reply, he nodded. “Right.”
But she got a weird vibe, like maybe he hadn’t quite been there. That he was lost in the past. A bad one.
Trepidation skittered down her spine. She brushed it off. It was just shock from the unexpected call, she told herself.
“What about Phoebe, and the youth show?” he asked, releasing her hand.
“It’ll be okay. I’m sure she’ll understand,” she said. “We’ve already got some of the sets built. And all the instructions are done. I know you and the others will do an amazing job.” A technical director is usually the one who oversaw the construction, anyway. It wasn’t usually the set designer, but Sophia didn’t bother to explain since she was doubling as both for Phoebe. “I trust you take over…if that’s okay?”
He nodded, but his mind seemed far away.
Reaching over, she cupped his chin and leaned close. “Thanks,” she said against his lips. “I’m going to miss you.” It took all her control to keep from blurting out that she loved him. The timing was wrong. She couldn’t just say it and then leave.
Wine and Scenery (Citizen Soldier Book 7) Page 10