As the spasms of ecstasy subsided, Ryan withdrew his hand and sent her panties floating to the floor. Then he scooped her up and lowered her gently onto the bed, giving her shaky legs a much-needed reprieve.
Jane was grateful. It took all the strength she could muster just to stay standing. If the touch of Ryan’s hand had reduced her to a state where she’d nearly melted into a lusty puddle at his feet, she shivered at the thought of what the rest of his body might be able to do.
As if he could read her mind, he began to release the buttons of his own shirt, quickly revealing his trim and sculpted chest. If it were any other day in the life of Jane Keegan, she would have been mortified to have a man as perfect as Ryan staring down at her naked body. But basking in the afterglow brought on by Ryan’s capable fingers, with the promise of more yet to come, she could forgive the stretch marks on her tummy and the fact that her breasts were not as perky as they once had been, and simply enjoy stolen time with the man who was quickly becoming the center of her universe.
He lifted an eyebrow as he stripped out of his white button-down shirt. “What’s going through that busy mind of yours now?”
She hitched up on her elbows and brazenly allowed her gaze to travel down his chest and come to a halt at his belt. “I was thinking one of us has too many clothes on. Since I’m already naked, that must be you.”
Yup. Jane the vixen is coming out to play.
He chuckled. “If I’d known an orgasm would melt your inhibitions so efficiently, I would’ve tried at the bar on Friday night.”
“I’m pretty sure we would’ve been thrown out. I’m a little loud,” she reminded him, and giggled.
“It would’ve been worth it.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Now, about those pants.”
“Want to help me out of them?”
It wasn’t an invitation she intended to ignore. Fixing her gaze on the package she couldn’t wait to unwrap, she sat up, swung her legs over the edge of the bed, and pulled him forward to stand between her knees.
Ryan relaxed his arms at his sides, clearly waiting for her to explore on her own.
Jane trailed her fingertips up the fabric of his pants to his bare waist. Then she reached higher, running her palms up his warm flesh to the planes of his chest, decorated with a smattering of hair. She drew invisible lines, circling around his nipples before she began a slow descent toward his stomach. Closing her eyes, she drew a heavy breath in through her nose, enjoying the heady scent of fire and midnight. She wasn’t sure one could smell midnight, but she as sure as hell felt as if she did, and it was fabulous. The erotic journey of her hands made a temporary stop at his belt, toying with the buckle, but her inner vixen became bolder. Through the fabric of his slacks, she cupped his hard length against her palm.
Ryan sucked in an audible breath, and the corners of Jane’s mouth turned up in a satisfied smile.
Boxers or briefs? she mused, and felt her own pulse quicken. Boxers, I bet.
Slowly, she unfastened his belt and drew it out of its loops, one by one, before dropping it to the carpet. Next, she unfastened the waistband of his pants, and lowered the zipper of his fly, tooth by tooth, gradually exposing a pair of silky blue boxer shorts.
I win, she thought, and knew that it was true in more ways than one.
Finding the slit in the fabric, she dipped her hand inside and wrapped the fingers of one hand around his erection, pulling him a step closer with the other. With a little squeeze that sent a shiver through him, she released him and slid her hand free so that she could run both palms up and down along his back. Sliding them lower, she slipped them beneath the waistband of his boxers.
Ryan’s groan injected her with the courage to boldly continue her exploration. Her body tingled as she lowered his pants and boxers and let them fall around his ankles. Leaning close and reaching around him, two-handed, she fingered the crease between his backside and his muscular thighs. The move brought her ever so close to where his length stood proudly in front of her, and she found herself licking her lips in unexpected anticipation.
Ryan ran his fingers along her jawbone, gently tipping her face up to meet his fevered stare. “If you don’t take pity on me and take me inside you in the next few minutes, I may not survive, Querida.”
He bent and captured her lips with his, his tongue running along the seam of her mouth, coaxing it open.
Jane buried her hand in his hair and met his strokes with her own tongue.
She supposed she should be hitting the brakes. This wasn’t the conservative Jane Keegan she thought she knew. But something about this magnificent man made her mind turn from reasonable thought. Even if her sensibility dared to protest, her body begged for more.
He urged her toward the middle of the bed, and she moved there willingly, but a shaky breath escaped from her as his knees nudged her legs apart. “Condoms,” she gasped. “Tell me you have them.”
“I wouldn’t let it go this far if I didn’t.” He rolled to the side of the bed and pulled his pants from the floor, palmed the fabric and hastily extracted his wallet. He pinched the sliver of silver peeking from inside and tugged at the foil before dropping his wallet to the floor. Ripping open the square, he rolled the condom on his length. Her hips lifted off the bed as he caged her between his muscled arms. She pushed all lingering doubts out of her head as she wrapped her legs around his hips. If this was going to be her best worst decision, she was going down in a flaming ball of sizzling sex.
He guided his length to the entrance of her heated core, pausing to kiss her.
“Don’t tease me, cowboy.” She lifted her hips and bucked to welcome his thrust as he filled her need.
Together, they moved, finding their rhythm, then quickening the pace as their excitement built. Jane welcomed him deeper, desperate for his touch, his strength, his ardor as he clung to her, driving into her as if she were the answer to all his dreams. Oh, yes. It was her best worst decision indeed, she thought as she tasted the salty sheen on his shoulder. Grabbing a fistful of the bed sheet, she cried out as she fell into a dizzy abyss of passionate completion like none she’d ever experienced. A moment later, she felt his entire body lock in a shudder of pleasure as he, too, found his release.
And then there was peace, a bone-deep peace that swept over her like an ocean wave.
Dazed, she realized it had taken her almost forty years to find out earth-shattering, toe-curling sex was not an urban legend. She lay sleepy and blissfully sore, in Ryan’s most capable arms. Their breathing lulled her to the edge of slumber, until he brought up the subject she’d tried so hard to ignore all evening.
He wrapped his arms around her midriff. “I hate to ask,” his husky voice broke the silence, “but what time’s your flight?”
Damn, he had a sexy bedside voice. “Early. Too early.” She palmed the bedside table, in search of her phone, and checked the display. “My flight’s in five hours.”
Ryan took a deep breath and pulled her into his chest. “Right. Let’s sleep for a little while. You need some rest.”
****
Soft beeps from her phone woke her from the best dream she’d had in years. Jane kept her eyes closed and enjoyed the wonderful sensation of warm hands trailing down her body. She wasn’t dreaming after all.
His stubbled chin tickled her shoulder as he found her ear. “Morning already.”
She took a deep breath, before reaching for her phone. “I have to go.”
He pulled her back. His warm breath blanketed her cheek. “Stay for a few more days, so we can explore where this is going? I want to get to know you better.”
Jane opened her mouth to speak, but he slid the pad of his thumb gently over her bottom lip.
“Don’t say anything now. Think about it. If you feel the same way, meet me at Vine, later. If not … well, if not, thank you for an incredible few days, Querida.” His lips grazed her cheek before he sat up and climbed out of the bed.
She watched him dress, trying to
memorize every inch of him. Then he crossed the room and, with one last glance back at her, opened the door. “I hope you decide to stay,” he said and left, closing the door behind himself with soft finality.
Chapter Nine
Jane paced the lobby, glancing through the glass doors as a cab rolled to a stop. Her fingers fidgeted with the jacket Ryan had left in her room. She considered calling him to meet her in the lobby to claim his jacket, but seeing him again would make another good-bye awkward. She decided it was less messy to send it to the restaurant after she returned home.
At least that’s what she told herself. In reality, she wasn’t ready to part from the physical proof of her passion-filled weekend in San Antonio or the man who captured her heart.
“May I help you with your bag?” The voice interrupted her fast-forward review of the past few days. Startled, Jane nodded and followed the bellman resolutely to the cab.
The driver opened the door and waved his hand. “No traffic this morning. I’ll have you to the airport in no time.”
Jane slid into the cab. The stench of stale air combined with traces of cigarette smoke turned her stomach. Taking shallow breaths, she peered out the window and spotted the sun rising over the top of the Alamo, with the promise of another beautiful day in San Antonio.
Jane pressed the button on the door’s armrest, but the window didn’t budge. “Can you open my window, please?”
“Sorry, window controls are broken, but I’ll send some A/C your way. Give it a minute to cool down,” he said, and shifted the cab into gear.
Jane stared ahead through the smudged windshield, but her head began to pound as she inhaled the offensive air. “Stop!”
“Ma’am? Did you forget something?”
“Pop the trunk. I’m not going to the airport after all.” She handed the cabbie a ten-dollar bill, pushed the door handle, and climbed out.
Stepping up onto the curb, she drew in a long, deep breath of fresh air.
An invisible weight slid from her shoulders. No longer did she need to suffocate, lost and alone, weighed down by the expectations of others. For the first time in Jane’s life, she would do what she wanted, right or wrong.
“Says she’s not going,” she heard the cabbie mutter through the passenger-side window, which was now open. It figured he had lied to her about the window controls being broken. She seemed to be a magnet for deception.
Jane turned to the bellman. “Would you hold my bag for a while?”
“Of course.” The bellman handed her a claim ticket. “Would you like to leave your jacket?”
She looked down at her arm and smiled as she tucked the ticket into her back pocket. “No thank you,” she said and headed toward Vine. Ryan had mentioned his daily routine during the Mission tour. If she were to guess, he’d returned home from his run and was on his way to Vine. It made her smile to imagine his muscles flexing as his feet pounded the pavement, his body aglow with a light sheen of sweat. Jane licked her lips, remembering how she had touched her tongue to the curve of his shoulder as they made love, savoring the faint taste of salt on his skin. Oh yes, Vixen Jane had well and truly come out of hiding, and she wasn’t going away anytime soon.
The shops and restaurants lining the walkways of the River Walk were beginning to open. Shop owners were out setting up tables and watering planters overflowing with flowering greenery. The carved Vine sign came into view as she walked over the same bridge where she and Ryan had first brushed hands. Had that been his advance or hers? She wasn’t sure, but the way his crystal-blue eyes had darkened with a sensual hunger was an indication that he’d felt the same jolt of heat and connection that had raced through her.
Jane slowed her pace as she approached his restaurant, noticing little details she hadn’t seen before, like the flowers that dotted the manicured ivy partially covering one of the brick walls, and the way the wrought-iron light fixtures outside the front doors mimicked the shape of the candleholders on the tables. She ran the palm of her hand along the soft ivy, sensing the pride Ryan had for this place, and how he loved his restaurant and staff. She peeked in the window and spotted Ryan. His back was toward her, but she’d know his broad shoulders and shock of thick, dark hair anywhere. Jane wrapped her hand around the brass door pull when a voice sounded behind her.
“I thought you’d be long gone by now.”
A woman’s sharp voice with a hint of a Spanish accent startled Jane. She spun around, and her gaze landed on a figure she recognized, seated on a bench facing the restaurant, half-hidden behind a cactus plant.
Jane squinted in the direction of the voice. “Maya? What are you doing out here?”
Maya stood. “Waiting for Ryan. His attention is a bit taken right now.” She folded her arms and nodded toward the window. “Haven’t you used up all of the time on your weekend special package?” she spat, pinning Jane with a hostile glare.
“Excuse me?”
Maya pushed out a sarcastic laugh. “I know what my brother does for a living, even though he tries to hide it.”
“Your brother owns and manages this successful restaurant. That’s what he does for a living.”
“Yeah, that and whoring himself to a bunch of lonely women looking for a good time.” Maya raised her eyebrows at Jane as she walked past her, then stopped in front of the restaurant and placed her hands on her hips. “He’d never taken one of his jobs to a family event though. I guess you should consider yourself lucky. Or maybe he just ran out of things to do with you.”
“I’m not sure what you think you know, but you couldn’t be farther from the truth,” Jane said icily, although she knew there was a thread of truth in Maya’s accusation.
“Really? So you didn’t come to San Antonio to get lucky over the weekend? Because that’s Ryan’s specialty, you know.” Maya raised one manicured index finger into the air. “First, he wines and dines them on Friday, leaving them at their hotel door with a hint of what the weekend will bring.” She formed a V with her middle and index finger. “The next day is a ‘get to know you’ activity, balloon ride, Mission tour, a stroll through the market. Something about his damn blue eyes makes them think they’re special. Depending on the woman, there’s a touch here, a kiss there. By that time, they’re usually panting like a bitch in heat.” Three deep-red fingernails flashed angrily in Jane’s face. “Then, on the last day, he goes in for the kill. I hear he has some skills. Aren’t you a lucky lady? I bet you paid big for the Ryan Special.”
“It wasn’t like that.” But, except for the fact that he said he’d refund her money, it had been exactly like that. She wasn’t special at all. She was just another lonely woman in his long line of conquests.
“No? Then what was it like, ‘Jane’? Is that even your real name?”
“Of course it is. And I don’t think your brother would appreciate the way you’re talking about him.”
“Don’t pretend you know anything about my brother. What you had with him isn’t real, and now it’s over. Time to crawl back to your real life and unhook your claws from Reyo. I know what’s best for him.”
“I may not know Ryan like you do, but you’re wrong about a number of things. And I know this—if you keep sticking your nose into his business like this, you’ll lose him one day.”
A shadow of worry floated over Maya’s face for a split second. Then her expression hardened again. “Do him a favor and get out of his life. This career of his has only brought him pain and loneliness. He needs to find someone and have a real relationship, not one formed out of a sick fantasy.”
Jane froze. Was that what their weekend had been? A fantasy? Had she been so stupid to think she could have a relationship with this man? She opened her mouth to defend her position, but the words wouldn’t come. Something else had been bothering her that morning. She had checked her bank balance before checking out of the hotel and was surprised the refund hadn’t been processed yet. Maya was right, and Ryan had played her for a fool.
But he said he wa
nted her to stay. She needed answers. Jane marched to the front door.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Maya demanded.
“Ryan’s in there. Let him clear this up.”
“I wouldn’t do that. See that woman he’s chatting with?” Maya pointed to a woman sitting at the bar. Jane hadn’t noticed her when she caught sight of Ryan. She had long blonde hair that she kept sweeping off her shoulders with a manicured hand. Graceful long legs hung crossed from the edge of the barstool. “She’s Ryan’s next date. They’re going over the details now. She was so excited, she came to the restaurant to see him before even checking into her hotel.”
Jane spotted the black rolling suitcase next to the stool. Her gaze moved to Ryan who sat next to the blonde. He was leaning forward and flashing his you-are-the-most-special-woman-in-the-world smile. Jane couldn’t take anymore.
“Did you think you’d come down here and scoop up your little Boy Toy and cart him back to New York with you, Jane?”
Even if what Maya said was wrong, what type of future did Jane have with him anyway? He wasn’t moving away from his business, and she had her job in New York. Any relationship they’d attempt would be doomed before it even began.
Jane pressed her lips together and turned toward Maya’s angry face. “Please give this to your brother and tell him good-bye for me.” She pushed the jacket into Maya’s hands.
As she began the weary walk back to her hotel, she heard Maya mutter “Good riddance” behind her back.
Chapter Ten
Jane kept her window down after paying the airport parking fee and took a deep breath, inhaling New York’s crisp early autumn air. She glanced at the t-shirt she’d bought for Tyler at the airport peeking from her purse on the passenger seat. Just what she needed, a reminder of her days in San Antonio. Not that she needed a souvenir. That weekend would remain with her forever. Regardless, she’d hoped Tyler would lose the t-shirt before returning home for the summer.
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