by Croix, J. H.
Ryan’s low chuckle warmed me, spinning around my heart like a lasso.
“I almost did. But once you explained…” He paused, shrugging his shoulders. “I knew you were telling the truth, so I didn’t see any reason to call the police.”
His thumb kept teasing the skin on my wrist, and I felt a flush break out along with goosebumps. Heat suffused me. When Ryan was focusing his attention on me like this, it felt as if we were all alone in the world. The people and noise around us receded into the background.
Impulsively, I leaned up and brushed my lips across his. A little shock passed through my body at the point of contact.
“Don’t you dare tell me that’s my one kiss,” he murmured.
“I didn’t say only one kiss.”
My belly felt funny, and I was tingling all over, a sense of joy fizzing in my veins.
“No, you didn’t. But I was fully prepared for you to set a limit.”
Although desire had overridden most of my common sense, I was dimly aware we were in a very public location. Without that awareness, I probably would’ve flung myself into his arms and wound myself around him like a vine.
With his searing gaze on mine, I shook my head. “More than one.”
Chapter Seventeen
Addie
It felt like hours and hours by the time we left the function. Ryan didn’t leave my side for the rest of the evening. Although much of the night involved being polite and smiling and nodding along as various people sought Ryan’s attention, I enjoyed myself. For one, I did love to dress up. But more than that, I enjoyed being with Ryan.
I couldn’t say what I’d expected, but I certainly hadn’t expected Ryan to be so attentive, and so focused on my needs. Considering this was a fundraiser for a charity, and apparently he was one of their largest donors, it wasn’t as if he could blow off his other responsibilities. Yet somehow, he managed to make me feel as if I were the center of his attention even when he was talking to others.
He either had his hand on my back, coaxing me in whatever direction we needed to go, or he had my hand clasped in his firm grip. I managed not to drink too much champagne, but I had just enough to take the edge off of my nervousness.
It was also a boon that the charity in question was something I genuinely felt passionate about. With Barnable a rescue, and my awareness of the acute problems faced with animal shelters being overcrowded in so many areas, I could actually talk about the issue without difficulty. While some teased that getting a rescue was a form of virtue signaling, I called bullshit on that.
There were far too many animals who needed a home, and I was happy to get behind the cause. I recalled Trixie’s comments about how she knew Ryan through their work on this board together, and I couldn’t help but wonder a bit about it. Ryan kept quiet about his involvement and simply played the role of another businessman showing his face at a society function and donating money.
“I think we’re clear to leave.” The feel of Ryan’s gruff whisper as he leaned close to my ear once again sent goosebumps prickling down that entire side of my body. My heart did a little pitter-pat, and my belly executed a quick flip when I looked up into his eyes.
“We are?”
“If we don’t leave soon, I’m likely to kiss you senseless and take that dress off you right here in the middle of this ballroom.”
I sputtered a cough as my eyes widened. “Okay then. I’m ready whenever you are.”
Ryan had such a powerful effect on me. He scrambled my usual sassy, teasing attitude, forcing me to reach for it so I didn’t look too much the fool. As he escorted me out of the room with his hand warm on my back, sending heat radiating in spirals through my entire body, he slipped his phone out and made a quick call.
“Smitty, meet us out front. We should be on the sidewalk in just a few minutes.” He nodded in reply to whatever Smitty said on the other end before slipping his phone back in the inner pocket of his jacket.
“Thank you again for coming tonight,” he said as we moved through the cluster of people in front of the doors.
Glancing up, I replied, “Of course. I did tell you we would have dinner again.”
Ryan stopped, his long stride pausing. As his eyes searched my face, he said no more before he resumed walking. He raised his hand as we paused near the coat check, and in another moment, he was holding my jacket for me to slide my arms in. After the jacket settled on my shoulders, I felt his hands squeeze lightly before he leaned down and dusted two hot kisses on the back of my neck.
Each kiss felt like a drop of hot lava on my skin. Sparks skittered outward, as electricity sizzled down my spine. My knees actually felt weak, and all he’d done was barely kiss the back of my neck. I was in so far over my head it wasn’t even funny.
Someone’s elbow bumped me as they walked by, and Ryan straightened. He shifted to stand on my other side, effectively shielding me from the crowd bustling around us as he shrugged into his own jacket.
His gaze swept over my face. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. It’s crowded, and somebody bumped into me. No big deal.”
I swear, the man almost growled when we were jostled again.
“I’m sure Smitty is waiting,” I added.
Ryan let out a laugh under his breath and slid his arm around my shoulders. “I’m sure. Let’s not make him wait too long.”
In another moment, he was holding the door open for me. The cool winter air was a balm to the heat building inside of me as we stepped out of the crush of people and into the winter night.
“The snow stopped,” I said as I looked up toward the sky.
“I thought it would,” Ryan replied.
He was already guiding me through the people crowded on the stairs. In another moment, he was holding the car door as I slid into the backseat. The car was an understated black sedan. I didn’t doubt it was luxurious, but it certainly wasn’t showy. If anything, I’d guess Ryan preferred it to be as low profile as possible.
“To Ms. Castille’s place?” Smitty asked with a glance at us in the backseat once Ryan had closed the door on his side.
“Please. Straight there.” Ryan slid his gaze to mine in the semi-darkness. “Unless you have a request.”
I shook my head. “No, thank you. Home is perfect.”
At that, Smitty tapped a button and the divider between the front and the back rolled up. I didn’t know how to describe what happened in the seconds that followed except to say it felt as if a match was lit. The thrumming of desire that flashed to life the moment Ryan and I were alone in the backseat was like flint to stone.
The space felt tiny and crowded by the desire racing through me. And yet, when I looked across the seat toward Ryan, the space between us felt immense, a chasm so great I almost feared to cross it.
The crucible of our attraction rose before me. I’d never felt a need so great. It felt as if my entire body was filled with sparks colliding with each other and creating more heat. Fire spun through my veins, and my arousal was slick between my thighs.
All we were doing was sitting there. The car hadn’t even pulled away from the curb yet. There was a crush of traffic on the street, and I distantly heard the sound of the blinker clicking from the front of the car.
The silence between us was heavy, weighted with an intensity I’d never experienced. When my eyes met Ryan’s in the shadows, I knew he wasn’t going to make a move. It was on me to act on the need spinning like a storm inside of me.
With blood rushing through my ears with every resounding beat of my heart and my breath coming in shallow pants, I reached across the seat between us, the leather cool under my palm.
Ryan’s hand curled over mine, and he watched me quietly. He gave such a subtle tug I wouldn’t have recognized it if I weren’t so hyper-aware of everything in this moment, most particularly him. I uncrossed my legs. The sound from the silk of my dress was audible as fabric shifted.
“Come here.” Those two words fell from Ryan’s lips in
a gravelly but soft command, like velvet spun over steel to soften the power behind the words.
There was no question I would grant his request. I wouldn’t quite call it an order, but his words appealed to the primal desire rushing through me.
He exerted no further pressure on my hand. I tried to corral the storm spinning inside of me, but I couldn’t. So, I did the only thing I could. I turned toward him and slid across the seat until my thigh bumped against his. Then, everything happened so fast.
Ryan released my hand, his palm sliding up my spine to angle me in his direction. With his other hand lacing into my hair, he whispered my name right before his lips crashed into mine.
There was nothing graceful or measured about this kiss. It was as if we clasped hands and jumped from a plane together. We were spinning with nothing to anchor us as we held onto each other. With our mouths fused, and our tongues tangling, we let the storm of need tug us right into its center.
I lost all sense of time and place, savoring the strength of Ryan as he pulled me into his lap. My knees straddled his hips with my dress sliding up my thighs. I let out a satisfied moan at the feel of his arousal pressing against my core.
Ryan abruptly tore his lips from mine, his head leaning back against the seat with a pained growl. It was then I noticed the car slowing, and heard the sound of the blinker again.
“You’ve ruined me, Addie,” he said flatly as he lifted his head, his eyes piercing mine.
Barely able to catch my breath, I stared back at him, acutely aware of the hot press of his length against me. The car slowed and came to a stop.
“We’re here,” he murmured. “Let me walk you up.”
I heard the sound of the divider between the front and back begin to move, and I scrambled off Ryan’s lap. By the time Smitty turned to glance over his shoulder, I hoped the darkness hid how unsettled I was.
“I’ll walk home from here,” Ryan said.
I barely heard Smitty’s comment and managed to tell him good night. Moments later, we walked up my front steps. The sound of the door clicking shut behind us echoed through my body. I was attuned to everything.
Sensations were still spinning through me from our heated kiss in the car, and it felt as if my nerve endings were on fire. I glanced up toward Ryan, and my breath caught in my throat. I couldn’t exactly say my pulse had slowed down much, but it instantly raced again.
His eyes searched my face. After a long moment, while my heart beat madly inside my chest, he asked, “Shall I go then?”
“No.” That single word slipped out in a raspy whisper.
Just then, the sound of Barnable’s claws clicking on the hardwood floor alerted us to his presence. Ryan spoke first. “Hey there, buddy,” he said, dropping his hand from where it had been resting on my back when he knelt down to greet Barnable with a few scratches behind his ears.
Considering that my dog was my very best friend, and I was one of those people who measured the quality of others by their kindness to animals, it said something that my disappointment at the loss of Ryan’s touch overrode the fact that I was pleased Barnable liked him.
With a mental shake, I leaned over, trailing my fingertips over Barnable’s back and murmuring a greeting as Ryan straightened.
Satisfied that we both greeted him, Barnable turned and trotted back down the hallway. Now that he was comfortable in the house, his preferred napping spot was on the dog bed in the kitchen.
Ryan and I stood in the entryway. I turned to face him again. “Would you like something to drink?” I asked because it was the only thing I could think to say.
Ryan held my gaze as heat radiated from my core, suffusing my entire body. He shook his head slowly. “There’s only one thing I want.”
His tone held a promise—a naughty, dirty promise.
“What’s that?” I heard myself whispering.
He stepped closer, lifting a hand to tuck my hair behind my ear, his fingers sliding into the strands as he cupped the back of my neck. “This.”
That single word was like a match dropping into the kindling of desire between us. His lips brushed across mine, and we tumbled back into another hot, deep, and overwhelming kiss. We picked up right where we left off in the car.
Except this time, there was nothing to interrupt us, nothing to calm the storm.
By the time awareness flickered, my back was against the wall by the stairs, and every inch of Ryan’s hard, muscled body was pressed against me as he devoured my mouth.
My head fell back against the wall as I gulped in deep mouthfuls of air. I was hot all over and so driven by need I could barely tolerate it. Opening my eyes, I found his intense gaze waiting.
Without thinking, I reached for his hand where it was pressed against the wall beside my shoulder. Lacing my fingers into his, I turned and led him up the stairs. I didn’t know where I meant for this to go, but I knew it couldn’t stop now.
Chapter Eighteen
Ryan
I didn’t even know how we got there, but I found myself standing at the foot of Addie’s bed with her dark eyes pinned on mine.
She had this ridiculously tall bed. At the moment, she was sitting on it with her dress rumpled around her hips. Her index finger curled around my belt, and she pulled me toward her.
“Kiss me again,” she said her words a husky command that I had no choice but to obey.
Kissing Addie was pure heaven. Her soft, plush lips were mobile, and her tongue was a sensuous tease. When I stepped into the cradle of her hips, I could feel the heat of her core against my achingly hard cock. I cupped one of her breasts in my palm, savoring the little hitch in her throat as I teased her nipple to a tight, ruched peak through the silk of her dress.
Usually, I was in control when it came to women and sex. Sex was often a calculated interaction. Nothing, absolutely nothing, with Addie was calculated. Trying to restrain the lust driving me was like trying to hold a storm at bay with my own hands.
My palm slid up her thigh, and I couldn’t hold back a low growl when I reached the top of her stockings and felt her silky bare skin. I should’ve known she was the kind of woman who actually wore a garter with her stockings.
I didn’t know how it was even possible, but another shot of blood swelled my cock even further. I dropped a hot trail of kisses down the side of her neck, delighting in the sweet tang of her skin.
Addie’s hips shifted, and a soft moan escaped. “Ryan,” she gasped as I teased my fingers over the silk between her thighs. Satisfaction jolted through me to find the silk was drenched. Considering I was hanging on to my control by a frayed thread, it was a relief to discover perhaps she was as deeply affected.
Her hips bucked into my hand, and she gasped my name again, this time her tone bordering on angry. Lifting my head reluctantly, I paused to look at her. With her breasts rising and falling rapidly with every breath, I could see the wild beat of her pulse in her neck. Her dark hair fell in a glossy tumble around her shoulders, and her lips were swollen and pink from our kisses.
“Yes?” I murmured as I took a moment to lightly squeeze one of her nipples.
Her eyes opened, her gaze heavy-lidded as she stared at me with desire and a hint of annoyance flashing in the dark depths. “You’re teasing me,” she gasped just as I stroked my fingers over that damp silk between her thighs again.
“So?”
Addie’s eyes flashed again right before she shifted and reached between us to drag her palm brazenly over the hard ridge of my cock. My breath hissed between my teeth.
Much as I wanted to be buried deep in the heart of her, there was a part of myself—one I admittedly didn’t recognize—that didn’t want to rush this, that wanted to savor Addie for the gift she was.
“Let me take care of you,” I whispered.
As we stared at each other in the dim lighting of the bedroom, I saw something flicker deep in her gaze, a hint of vulnerability and surprise. Addie’s teeth sank into her bottom lip as I hooked a finger over the
edge of her silk panties and teased into her slick folds. As I watched, she dipped her chin slightly. Although she didn’t say a word, somehow I knew that was her acknowledgment of my request.
I wanted to watch her fly apart. I dipped my head briefly to dust hot kisses along the neckline of her dress, pausing for a moment with a last kiss right where the silk dipped down to a V in the valley between her breasts. I lingered for a moment, breathing in her scent and loving the subtle arch of her body into mine.
I finally sank a finger knuckle deep into her core. She cried out sharply, her entire body tensing as her hips arched to meet the motion of my hand. Another finger joined the first, stretching into her tight, silken channel.
I watched as her eyes fell closed, her body arching and flexing as I slowly fucked her with my fingers. I’d never in my life gloried in the pleasure of a woman the way I did Addie’s at this moment.
I waited, savoring every little sound that fell from her lips. When her channel pulsed around my fingers and her scent drifted to me, I gave in and leaned down to let my mouth join the action.
Addie’s sharp cry was pure pleasure. She tasted tangy and sweet, and I loved how she rocked into every stroke of my tongue as my fingers pressed deeper and deeper. I only teased my tongue in a circle around her clit when I felt her channel begin to ripple around my fingers. She cried out roughly, her hands falling back on the bed as she climaxed.
I felt as if I had run a marathon simply through the act of bringing her to her release. I was beyond the point of aching with need for her. Yet, I was determined not to give in. Not tonight.
No matter what, Addie would know I wasn’t in this solely to meet my own needs. My heart was thrashing in my chest, its beat a drum of recognition of just how much I wanted her. I straightened, wrestling to quell the need tying me up in knots.
When Addie’s eyes slowly opened, immediately catching mine, everything stopped for a moment. An intense emotion gripped me, a mix of what I could only imagine might be love and an intense protectiveness. I didn’t quite think I was in love with Addie just yet, but I knew I wanted her more than I’d ever wanted anyone.