“Pfft. You made it clear to him that you’re a pain in the butt.”
Studying me, London took a bite of the banana and swallowed. “He couldn’t find anyone better than you, Ava. I’m trying to do the guy a favor.”
I softened at her compliment. “Well, thank you, I think. But you should have faith in me that I can get a guy without any help from you.”
“So you are interested,” she accused, her brilliant blue eyes watching me intently.
I sucked in a breath and shot her a huge grin. “He’s so sweet. You should’ve seen him on our way to dinner, offering me his elbow like the perfect gentleman. I think I could seriously fall in love with him.”
“Just make sure he’s worthy,” my sister warned. “I don’t want to see you get hurt again.”
“I’m a tough girl, London.”
“You’re a tough girl with a fragile heart,” she amended.
I sat on the couch beside her. “You can’t take a shot at love without taking some risks. Now that I know what it feels like to have my heart shattered, maybe when I find someone who can put it back together again, I’ll love him that much more.”
“Maybe,” she agreed, “but before you sign on Ridge’s dotted line, make sure you read all the fine print.”
I laughed at her analogy. “If only guys came with a disclaimer.”
She grunted. “There’s not enough paper in Creekview to print out a man’s disclaimers. But,” she breathed out and clicked her tongue, “Kelsey and Brandy seem to think that Ridge has the qualities of respectable boyfriend material. According to them, he’ll just need a gentle nudge…or maybe a really strong shove.”
“Stop conniving,” I warned as I flipped on the television.
“We’re not conniving.”
“Seriously, London. Stop. Y’all have introduced us, albeit in a not so honest fashion. Now leave well enough alone. Either we’ll hit it off or we won’t. What are you doing here, anyway?”
“Mom and Dad wanted me to pick up the carpet cleaner if you’re finished with it.”
I raised my eyebrows at her. “And that couldn’t wait until the next time I came over?”
“Okay. So maybe I was just wondering what was going on.”
I frowned at her.
“Well, Kelsey said it’s hard to get any information out of Ridge.”
“Stop conniving,” I repeated my words from a moment ago.
“Geez, can’t a girl come and see her sister without a reason.”
“I’m going to show him some houses tomorrow,” I said, knowing that was the kind of information she wanted. A tiny thrill shimmied through my body at the thought of seeing him again.
“Yes! I knew it!”
“It’s business. Not a date.” I ran my hands through my hair.
London jumped up from the couch and kissed me on the cheek. “It’s good to see you perked up for a change, Ava. I’ve got to go, though. The girls are waiting. Promise me you’ll call me tomorrow and tell me how it went.”
“London, did you hear what I said? It’s just business.”
“Promise me.”
“All right,” I caved. “I’ll call you tomorrow night.”
And with that, London waved and rushed out of my apartment, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
I got ready for bed. It wasn’t overly late, but since I planned on getting up early in the morning to go running before work, I lay down in bed.
As I waited for sleep to claim me, I conjured an image of Ridge in my brain in his crisp suit and styled hair, and I compared it to images of him at the lake. I thought of the kindness he had shown me, like helping me into the lake, opening doors for me, and offering me his arm. I thought of the kisses that we had shared at the lake, and I wanted to experience that closeness with him again. As I finally dozed, the last thing I remembered was thinking about him the night we went skinny dipping. I visualized his wet, sculpted chest, and I imagined him stepping onto the bank in all of his naked glory.
***
Ridge was late picking me up. It was nearly five o’clock when he rang my doorbell.
When I pulled the door open, I was surprised to find him standing there looking quite disheveled compared to the previous day. He wore light gray suit pants, but his jacket was missing. His red, silk tie was hanging loosely around his neck, and the top button of his black dress shirt was unbuttoned. He was rubbing the back of his neck with his palm when he looked up at me.
He looked tired, but he immediately smiled. “Arr,” he growled. “Thar she be, me comely wench.”
I liked the possessiveness of his words, even though I knew he was only joking. But I was so stricken by his appearance that my pirate comebacks failed me. “Are you okay?”
I motioned for him to come in, and he walked into the living room.
“We’ve been in meetings with the big wheels all day. I would’ve called once I realized I wasn’t going to make it in time, but there was no opportunity. So besides all of that, I got up early to go swimming, went into work early, and now I’m just beat.”
“Can I get you something to drink?”
“Nah. I’m fine.”
“Have a seat on the couch,” I said. “We can reschedule if you want to. I couldn’t schedule any of the houses until six o’clock, anyway. I could call their agents right quick and let them know we won’t be able to make it.”
He lowered his tall frame onto the couch and moved his head in a circular motion as if he were trying to loosen up his neck. “No, let’s keep the appointments.” He looked at the time on his phone. “That gives us a half hour until we need to leave, doesn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Let me just rest a minute, and I’ll be good,” he said, his palm massaging his nape again. I rose and walked to the back of the couch. “Here,” I said, gripping his shoulders and kneading his flesh. “Let me help.”
“Oh,” he groaned. “That feels so freakin’ good.”
My fingers slid on the slick fabric of his shirt. “Why don’t you take that off?” I suggested.
“Why, sweet Ava, are you trying to get me naked?” he asked as he unbuttoned his shirt.
His question reminded me of my thoughts of him in the lake, and heat rushed to my face. He peeled his shirt off. “It seems to be working,” I teased.
“Well, the word is that men find you irresistible, so I can’t imagine it not working.”
I squeezed him extra hard.
“Easy, tigress,” he cooed with laughter in his voice.
I softened my grip, my fingertips rubbing across his tense muscles. My thumbs stroked his nape rhythmically as my fingers curled around each side of his neck.
He sat in complete silence as I rubbed and stroked and petted with only an occasional groan of approval. I liked the feel of his muscles beneath my fingertips. I liked knowing that I was giving him pleasure. I closed my eyes, remembering the way I had kissed his neck, and my fingertips instinctively reached for the outline of his Adam’s apple.
“It’s almost five-thirty,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I guess we should be going.”
My eyes flew open, and just like that, the magic of the moment was over. “Yeah,” I agreed. “We probably should.”
He pulled his shirt back on, and it hung open as he tucked his hands in his pockets. “Thank you.”
I could see the chiseled outline of his pectoral muscles, and I looked away. “No problem.” I picked up my purse and the stack of properties that I had printed for him.
He seemed even tenser now than he was when he first arrived. He reached for the papers, and I handed them to him. Instead of looking at them, he tossed them on the end table and took my purse from me, setting it on top of the papers.
I squealed in surprise when he quickly closed the distance between us and brought his lips down urgently on mine. He tasted of spearmint, and I melded into his body as his tongue teased my mouth. One of his hands pressed against the small of my back as the other held the nape of
my neck firmly. He pulled back and pressed his forehead against mine. “Damn, Ava. What is it about you that makes me want to lose control?” He slid his hands to my hips.
The encounter excited me, and I took his moment of pause as the perfect opportunity to make a move of my own. It was my turn to tease him, and my lips longed to kiss his Adam’s apple again. I pushed the fabric of his shirt over his shoulders, exposing his chest to me. I wove my arms around his waist and brushed my lips across his pectoral muscles, climbing upward to his neck. I kissed his skin slowly as my tongue teased him.
He backed me against the wall and kissed me, trailing kisses from my mouth down to my neck. He gently sucked my skin before moving lower, his lips finding my exposed collar bone in the opening of my V-shaped neckline. I gasped as my breasts tingled with anticipation.
He pulled away, both of us panting heavily.
“If we don’t go now,” he breathed huskily, “I’m afraid we won’t make it.”
I nodded, already missing the heat of his hands on my body. What would happen if I told him that I didn’t want to go?
He pulled his shirt back onto his shoulders, and I reached for the buttons, wanting to be close to him. Slowly, I buttoned them up one by one. When I was finished, I smoothed the fabric of his shirt across his chest. “There you go,” I whispered.
He caught my hand in his and brought it to his lips, tenderly kissing my palm. “I’ve always been an extremely disciplined person, Ava. But there’s something about you that makes me want to be carefree, and I’m not sure if that’s a blessing or a curse.”
I stroked his cheek. “Everyone needs someone who makes them lose control, someone whose touch they crave, someone who can submerse them in the moment and make them forget.”
He wove his fingers in my hair and touched his lips to mine one final time before he pulled away altogether. “You ready?”
I nodded, even though I wasn’t ready. I didn’t want to break my connection with Ridge, terrified that once the moment was gone, he would be, too.
I didn’t know what had happened to Ridge to make him immerse himself in the need to overachieve, but I planned to find out. And I planned to be his organization in a world of chaos, his comfort when he was surrounded by heartbreak, his relaxation when stress overtook his body. I wanted to be his answer, no matter the question.
Chapter 9
Ridge
I was sold on the first house that Ava showed me. It was a modest, newly remodeled, three-bedroom home that was a little over a decade old. The rooms were all decent sizes and the master bedroom had an attached bathroom. A nice deck at the rear of the home led to a relatively new, heated inground pool. While I hadn’t originally thought much about a pool, I quickly assessed all of the advantages, which included swimming laps, relaxing poolside, and having kick-ass parties with girls in skimpy bikinis. Throw in the fact that it was heated, and my down payment was practically oozing out of my checkbook.
Had she pulled out an agreement, I would have made an offer on the spot and been very much relieved that house shopping was over, but Ava insisted that I look at all the houses that she had scheduled for the evening in an effort to ensure that the first house really was the one.
While the other houses were nice, it was house number one for me. The lot was larger, and a tall fence enclosed the backyard, offering more privacy than the rest. Since it was newly remodeled, I wouldn’t have to spend weekends peeling off old wallpaper or replacing out-of-date fixtures. That fact alone was enough to sell me on the property because my schedule was way too busy to accommodate more projects.
“Are you sure you don’t want to look at any more properties?” Ava asked as we walked back to my car after touring the last scheduled home. “I could do some searching online tonight and schedule more tomorrow.”
“What are you trying to do to me, woman?” I teased as I opened the passenger side door for her. “House shopping ranks right up there with bamboo shoots under the fingernails and the rack.”
“It’s not that bad,” she protested as she sat in the passenger seat.
After closing the passenger side door, I walked briskly to the driver’s side. “The only thing keeping it from totally sucking is that I have a really hot babe showing me the properties,” I said as I slid into the leather seat behind the steering wheel.
Inserting the keys in the ignition, I glanced at her as her line of vision flickered out the window. She turned back to me, her gaze falling to the gear shift. “Think how hot I’d be if I tied you to the rack.”
Curling my index finger under her chin, I tilted her face upward until our eyes met. “That’s my sweet Ava. Always thinking of ways for a man to reach his demise.”
“Oh, I wasn’t thinking about killing you,” she said softly.
“No?”
She shook her head.
“Then what were you thinking about?” I could think of several things I might enjoy while being tied up—all involving one very naked Ava.
Rosy color crept into her cheeks, but she didn’t look away from my eyes. “Tickling your feet with a feather.”
A bark of laughter erupted from me as I cranked the ignition. “You are definitely going to be the death of me,” I mumbled to myself as I backed out of the driveway.
Ava smiled at me sweetly.
“So you want to go to my place and write up an offer on the first house?” she asked.
“Yes, I want to seal the deal."
When we arrived back at Ava’s apartment, she pulled the appropriate forms out of her briefcase, and I quickly signed off on an offer.
“Since we work for the same realty company, I’ll send a quick text to let the selling agent know that I have an offer, and I’ll give him the documents tomorrow morning when I get to the office.”
She quickly texted the message and received a response almost immediately.
“Okay, you’re all set. All we have to do is wait and see if the sellers accept your offer.” She walked into the kitchen. “You want a drink?”
“I’ll take some ice water. So, when do you think we’ll hear something?”
“We’ll give them twenty-four hours to respond, but most likely, you’ll hear something tomorrow morning once the agent has a chance to talk to his clients.”
Ava set my water on a coaster on the end table. “There you go.”
“Thanks.” I took a long sip, and I could feel the icy trail as the water traveled to my stomach.
“So what were you saying about tickling me with feathers?” I asked as Ava dropped down on the couch next to me.
Her laughter tinkled in the air as I wrapped my arm around her neck and playfully tugged her against my chest. “You wanted to torture me?”
I tickled her until she could barely breathe, and she alternated between giggling and sucking in air as she tried to grab my wrists and stop me.
Facing me, she crawled into my lap, her knees on each side of my legs, and made a vain attempt to tickle me in return.
As she wiggled in my lap, her fingers searching for a funny bone, she suddenly stopped and looked at me with wide, vibrant blue eyes.
My hard-on strained against the fabric of my slacks, and I knew the moment she felt it.
Neither of us laughing any longer, I reached out and cupped the back of her neck, pulling her to me as my lips sought hers.
My other hand gently squeezed the side of her waist as I pressed her against my lap. When I felt her fingertips tug at my shirt, I helped her, giving one swift yank, which immediately untucked it.
As her tongue delved into my mouth, she quickly unbuttoned my shirt and tugged it over my shoulders. Her palms brushed across my chest, and an involuntary groan escaped my mouth as her movement rubbed against the throbbing time bomb in my pants.
She pulled away, arching as she threw her head back, her golden hair spilling around her shoulders. I grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head, revealing her delicate, black bra, the swell of her breasts rising u
p past its lacy edge. Cupping her breasts, I watched her face to see her reaction, and she thrust her chest into my palms as her eyes remained closed.
I took a deep breath, willing myself to remain calm as her response to me nearly drove me to the brink. Shit, I couldn’t remember the last time I wanted a girl as much as I wanted her. Maybe never.
Skimming her soft skin as I ran one hand around to her back, I deftly unhooked her bra. My fingertips reached for each shoulder as she held her arms out, so that I could remove the black, lacy fabric.
Glancing at her face, she watched me as my eyes dropped to her voluptuous breasts, her nipples hardening at my touch as they begged me to take them in my mouth.
In one quick flip, I had her pressed beneath me on the couch, my hips between her thighs.
I drew one of her nipples in my mouth and her soft moan was nearly my undoing. Tracing the rosy circle with the tip of my tongue, she squeezed my shoulders as her hips rocked forward.
Hell, what was I doing?
I needed to be thinking with my brain, not my penis. Ava had already been shit on by one man. As much as I truly adored her, I didn’t know what she needed from our relationship and I didn’t know what I was willing to offer, but the one thing that I refused to do was use her for a booty call.
I carefully disengaged myself from her and rose into a seated position on the opposite end of the couch.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
I grabbed her ankle and gave it a playful tug. “Nothing’s wrong. I just think we need to slow things down.” I scooped her bra out of the floor and held it out to her. Obediently, she put her arms through the straps, and I moved behind her and fastened it in place.
“I’ve been undressed by a man, but I can’t say that I’ve ever been dressed by one,” she whispered.
A smile tugged at my lips as I picked up her shirt and handed it to her.
“Did I do something wrong?” she asked.
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