“Don’t touch me. I don’t even want to see you.”
He gave her a measured look. “Who’s the liar now, Shawna?”
“You’re pretty confident. How do you know—” His fingertip brushed her lips, and she broke off her tirade with a gasp.
“That’s how I know,” Ryan said.
Shawna blinked rapidly and swallowed. “I hate the way you make me feel. Hate it.”
“You think I like this?” Ryan asked. “You think I like being obsessed with you? I hate it, too. I hate this power you have over me. The only thing I hate more is being without you.”
Her bottom lip quivered. “You hate being without me so much that you left.” She pushed him hard. Her shove did little to move him, but he stepped back anyway and braced his back against the wall.
“I did that for you. To give you time to think.”
“You left me.” She pounded his chest with her fists.
He didn’t stop her because he understood she needed to get it out. He took the blows, standing there, looking down at her. “No.”
“Yes.” She stopped punching him and stepped back, chest heaving.
“No.”
“Yes.” She came at him again, but this time, instead of attacking him, she grabbed his head and slammed her mouth over his.
It startled him at first and he froze, but it didn’t take him long to recover. When his senses returned, he wrapped his arms around her and drew her up on her toes with a firm hold. He pushed her into the opposite wall, holding on tight and devouring her mouth, dragging groans of pleasure from her.
“Over a week,” he said against her mouth. He was already out of control, the way she always made him feel. “For over a week I haven’t seen you. I haven’t touched you. I haven’t smelled you.”
He latched onto her lips again, his tongue pushing its way between them to steal her sweetness. Shawna guided his hand under her dress, and Ryan slid it across her bare derriere. She moaned, and he grew harder hearing those breathy little noises she made.
When his fingers went in search of the heat between her legs, she pushed away his hand before it reached its goal. “Wait.”
The tip of his thumb lined the seam of her lips to silence her. Her eyes darkened to a sultry hue, and her lips parted for him, exposing her irregular breathing.
“We can’t do this here. Not like this,” she said in a shaky voice.
“Then stop me.” He tasted her lips again. They were bruised and swollen.
“I can’t,” she whispered.
“I can’t stop, either,” he whispered back.
Can’t. Not won’t, but can’t. There was a certain inevitability about it. A resignation to an inescapable fact. Incapable. Unable to do otherwise. Can’t. He kissed her again, his muscular body straining against hers while prodding her lips to yield to the press of his tongue.
Her ears buzzed from the manner in which he now used both hands to shove her dress up over her thighs to her hips. The lightweight fabric pooled across his forearms before he slid his fingers slowly, torturously, beneath the flimsy sheer panties she wore.
One hand found its way between her legs and her body sang under each masterful stroke. His fingers slid between the folds, coaxing more moisture from her and playing with her pebbled clit in such a way that made her thighs tighten and her legs shake from the sensual power of his touch. He’d become considerably harder and longer as their kiss deepened and their caresses became more frantic. She could feel every solid inch of him and her stomach clenched in need.
His mouth traveled down her throat, the tip of his tongue licking the soft skin at the top of her bodice. Her fingers tunneled into his satiny dark hair, anchoring him to her. She sighed with satisfaction at being so close to him again. Thousands of invisible needles of desire pricked the surface of her skin where the coarse stubble on his chin and jaw grazed the swollen crests of her breasts.
The zipper on her dress lowered and the top fell away. Ryan paused for a moment, his harsh breath showering the exposed skin with warmth.
“Please,” she whispered, cupping her breasts and offering them to him.
They were extremely sensitive and the tips tightened to stinging peaks. She was so far gone she no longer cared about where they were; she wanted relief. He obliged, but barely, choosing only to flick his tongue across one dark peak. She begged him for more, pleaded. Finally, he covered the nipple and areola with his mouth, sucking until she helplessly moaned into his hair as she clutched him.
He lifted his head so his mouth could devour hers again. Then her neck. Then her collarbone. Kissing, nipping, sucking.
He dragged her underwear past her knees. She stepped out of them while he undid his pants. After slamming down the lid on the commode, he sat down and fit a condom over his distended shaft.
Legs trembling, Shawna stood before him.
What had happened to her? Who had he made her become? This wanton with no inhibitions. Hot sex the first night they met, against the wall in an alley, and now this. Anytime, anywhere Ryan wanted her she was accessible to him.
He tugged her hand and pulled her between his legs. His eyes bored into her as he waited, letting her make the next move. It was her decision how far they would go.
Slowly, she lifted her skirt, and his nostrils flared as he watched her movements. The material gathered around her thighs and she climbed on, sinking onto his turgid flesh, letting his heat fill her. A tortured groan filled the small enclosure. Shawna had no idea if the sound came from him or her, but it embodied everything she felt inside—a need for him that was borderline painful.
Arms wound around his neck, she writhed on his hips in sweet agony. More kisses, breathless, hungry. Ragged breaths expelled from their lungs with the urgency of their desire. His hands tightened on the flesh of her bottom and her moans became louder as she edged toward release.
“Wrap your legs around me, love,” he said, his voice dark and low. “Let me get in there good.”
She did as he instructed, crossing her ankles high on his back. He leaned forward, swelling, going even deeper. “That’s it,” he rasped, his jaw tight. “Ah, you feel so good. I missed you.”
She couldn’t tear her eyes away, caught in his gaze, their connection deep and profound.
With his hand braced against the wall and one strong arm supporting her back, Ryan shifted them into a forty-five degree angle. He surged inside of her. The shoes slipped from her elevated feet and clattered to the floor, but it didn’t stop their frenzied pumping.
Her head fell back as she abandoned herself to the sexual rhythm. The ceiling light swirled with each thrust of his hips. She felt the gentle rasp of his tongue as it took turns on each of her nipples before he sucked one between his lips. The sensitive flesh throbbed with each protracted pull of his mouth, and she closed her eyes to savor the fiery sensations he ignited across her skin and through her veins.
Suddenly, her whole body exploded like a series of grenades had been detonated. Crying out in a strangled voice, Shawna’s entire body tightened around him like a vice. The aftershocks rippled through her in a powerful wave.
Ryan crushed her against him. His hand fisted at her back as he climaxed right behind her, letting loose a primal groan into the curls swept to the side of her head.
Their harsh breathing couldn’t drown out the sound of high heels on the tile, and the door swinging shut penetrated the afterglow. Someone had just left. They’d been so entrenched in their lovemaking they hadn’t heard anyone enter.
Shawna placed her feet on the floor as Ryan straightened on the seat. She gently brushed the damp hair from his temple and ran her fingers along the back of his neck and upper back. She rubbed his shoulders, pressed her nose to the collar of his shirt and closed her eyes. He smelled so good. A mixture of sweat, cologne, and man.
“I missed you, too,” she whispered. “I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about. We both said things we shouldn’t have. Nothing matters but right now.
We’ll keep the past in the past.”
She kissed his rough jaw. “Don’t leave me again.”
“I won’t. I promise.”
Chapter Twenty-one
Although Shawna wanted to slink away from prying eyes, she and Ryan agreed they owed Jerome and Jessica the courtesy of an in-person goodbye.
They did what they could to fix their clothes, but she had no doubt anyone who took a look at them would know what they’d done in the bathroom stall. Their clothes were wrinkled and their faces flushed. And no matter how much she tried, nothing she did could revive her limp curls.
If their general appearance didn’t tip off the average observer, Ryan’s hand fastened around hers provided another clue. It was a territorial move, and it made a statement that she may have arrived with someone else, but they were leaving together because she was his. Not that she minded. Her fingers curled tightly around his, too, staking her own claim as she stayed close to his side.
Their eyes searched the room. Shawna spotted Jessica and they walked over to say goodbye. Ryan offered his friend cab fare, which she declined. She made a remark about not having to be concerned about getting a ride home and then suggestively cast her eyes in the direction of one of the attorneys standing near the window speaking to two other people. The man lifted a corner of his mouth in a flirtatious smile at her before resuming his conversation.
Ignoring the elevated brows of Gabe Benson—whose eyes didn’t miss the handholding—Ryan and Shawna said goodbye and thanked him for his hospitality. They waited around for a while and searched a few other rooms, but they never did see Jerome again.
After some prodding, Shawna agreed they should leave. Jessica promised to let Jerome know they were gone whenever he made an appearance.
Outside in the chilly air, Ryan removed his jacket and draped it over Shawna’s shoulders. “You’re not dressed for this weather.”
“I’m a woman. I’m used to suffering for fashion.”
He shook his head, and it made her happy to see the lazy smile back in place. “Where to?”
“My place,” she suggested.
They climbed into the truck and she slid across the seat to rest her head on his shoulder. “I can’t drive like this,” Ryan complained good-naturedly.
Shawna wrapped her arm around his chest. “Figure it out, because I’m not moving.” Now that he was back, she resolved to stay close to his side.
“Demanding woman,” he said, putting his arm around her. He squeezed her tight, relishing the feel of her in his arms. Then he kissed the top of her head and pulled out of the parking lot.
****
Ryan and Shawna drifted in and out of sleep, whispering to each other and telling silly jokes. The last time he had awakened her with his erection prodding her thighs and his hands cupping her breasts. When they finished with a short, passionate bout of lovemaking, they’d fallen asleep with him still inside of her, their bodies curled into a semicircle.
The dull whir of a telephone caused Shawna to wake up. She nudged Ryan with her elbow. “That’s your phone.”
He didn’t like having his sleep disturbed. He rolled away onto his back with a groan, and she immediately missed his warmth and the intimacy of their connected body parts.
The vibrating phone continued to buzz and he hopped off the bed to grab it from his jacket pocket. “Hello?”
She watched his naked silhouette against the window, wondering who could be calling at this hour. She heard him curse, say a few curt words, and then end with, “I’ll be right there.”
Shawna sat up and turned on the lamp beside the bed. “What’s wrong?”
“Someone broke into the shop.” He started putting on his clothes.
“Oh, no. Did they take anything?”
“Fortunately, no. The police arrived in time to stop them. Two teenagers, they said.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” she asked.
“No, it shouldn’t take long. They rammed their truck through the front entrance, so the police need me to come down there to secure the building and answer some questions.”
“What would they want in your workshop?”
“They may have planned to steal some of my tools, machinery, the computers, or the software I use for my design work. It could be anything.” He slipped on his second shoe and walked over to her side of the bed.
Shawna pouted. “Hurry back.”
“I will.” He cupped her face and gave her kiss.
When his mouth lingered, she started to giggle and pushed him away. “Go.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot what I was supposed to be doing.” With one last kiss, he rushed out the door.
After he left, Shawna slid down into the bed to catch some sleep until he came back. Thinking about the next day, she realized she didn’t have any food to make breakfast in the morning. She looked at her cell phone screen to check the time. Despite the hour, the store a mile or so down the road would be open. If she hurried, she could pick up a few items before they closed.
She made a mental list while she dressed and left the house shortly after Ryan. When she returned, she had a plastic bag with eggs, milk, juice, and bread.
She made her way slowly up the steps onto her dark porch. With her head bent, she wriggled the key into the doorknob and unlocked the door. Now the deadbolt. She twisted it to the right and pushed once. It didn’t budge. She really needed to get this fixed. She twisted and pushed again. Nothing. Come on, come on.
She was about to push again when someone grabbed from behind. With a cry, she dropped the plastic bag filled with groceries, and it landed on the porch with a thunk as large hands spun her around and pushed backward. Her head hit the door so hard she saw stars.
“Cheating slut.” Cheating? It was Jerome, and he smelled like he’d downed a bottle of vodka. “Not good enough for you? I’m an attorney, but you’d rather be with a damn furniture maker?” he asked.
Shawna shrank back against the door. He didn’t touch her again, but he didn’t allow her to move, either. He crowded her with a menacing posture.
“Answer the question.”
“I don’t know what you’re—”
“Did you have sex with him?” he sneered.
Unsure how to answer, her heart started a wild thumping. “I don’t know what—”
“Don’t lie. I know you did.” His heavily slurred speech frightened her. She didn’t know what he would do in this state, and he had the advantage in size and strength.
She slipped a hand inside the open mouth of her purse, careful not to make a sudden move and draw attention to her action. She didn’t have pepper spray, but she had menthol mouth spray somewhere in there, which she planned to turn into a weapon to defend herself if she needed to.
“One of the paralegals said she heard two people having sex in the bathroom,” Jerome continued. “Since you and Ryan were missing, it didn’t take a genius to figure out who were the culprits. Then you left together.” He shook his head and laughed bitterly. “I can’t believe how long I’ve waited for you. I’ve helped you lug groceries, I helped you change a flat on that raggedy car you drove. When it gave you problems, I volunteered to take you anywhere you needed to go and never took a dime from you for gas money. I thought you were special. I thought you were a different kind of woman. I treated you like a queen and put you on a pedestal, but women like you don’t appreciate a man like me.”
Shawna remained silent, worried that anything she said would set him off. She could count on one hand the number of times she’d asked for any of those favors, and he’d refused to take money from her. He’d always been there to help and she’d accepted, but he’d had an ulterior motive all along.
Her fingers found the spray and she thumbed off the cover.
“Two years,” Jerome said, holding up two digits. “And you let a man you barely know fuck you in the bathroom at my company’s office party like a whore. While you were there with me, you fucking slut.”
“I’m n
ot a—”
“You’re a slut!” he said louder, getting in her face.
She held her breath and angled her head away from the stench of his mouth, tightening her fingers around the vial. Fighting back the tremors that threatened to overtake her, she found her voice. “Step back.”
His face twisted into an ugly snarl. “Don’t worry. I’m not foolish enough to harm you. I value my career and won’t jeopardize it over you.”
He dipped his head to look her in the eye. “You think he’s going to make a commitment to you? Men don’t make commitments to women who are easy.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Shawna said in a small voice.
“I know exactly what I’m talking about. What you did was disgusting.” He laughed shortly. “When he dumps you, don’t call me because I don’t want another man’s leftovers. And I don’t like sluts and that’s what you are—a filthy slut. I refuse to dirty my hands with you.” He looked at her with disgust, as if she was something nasty.
Then he turned around and walked off the porch.
Chapter Twenty-two
Ryan returned to Shawna’s house, whistling as he went up the walkway.
Boarding up the building had taken longer than expected. The teens had broken in the double doors, and the impact of the crash caused structural damage to one wall. He’d had to call one of his employees who lived nearby to help him.
He ran up the steps and took out his phone to call Shawna to let him in when he noted the plastic bag near the door. He picked it up and dialed her number.
“Hi, I’m outside. So are your groceries,” he added with amusement. “You’re too young to be this forgetful already.”
“I’ll be right there.”
Hearing the sullen tone of her voice, he became instantly alert. “What’s the matter?” he asked sharply.
“Nothing. I’m coming down to get you.”
Moments later, Shawna let him into the dark entryway. Seeing her shapely form outlined beneath the silk robe should have captured his attention and spiked his libido, but it didn’t. What caught his attention was her lack of response to his arrival and how she avoided looking at him.
The Blind Date Page 11