by V. K. Sykes
“Ryan, before we go back inside, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for all the work you’re doing, for being so great with Christian, for dinner last night, and for giving me a wonderful day. I actually felt relaxed for once.”
“Relaxed? Try comatose.”
She gave a husky little laugh. “Well, yes, that too. Anyway, it was a very special day.”
Ryan clenched his fists so he wouldn’t give in to the temptation to pull her into his arms and kiss her stupid. “A special woman deserves a special day.”
Instead of replying, she went up on her tiptoes and leaned forward, resting her hands on his chest, and kissed him softly, fleetingly, on the mouth.
“And you’re a special man, Ryan,” she said in a funny, breathless voice.
For some reason, she stayed in that position, staring up at him.
This close he could see her beautiful face perfectly in the fading light, her eyes wide and her lips parted in unconscious welcome. If she’d glanced away or turned, Ryan was sure his self-restraint would have held. If she hadn’t just stood there inviting him to do something, he wouldn’t have pulled her tight against him and kissed her with every shred of lust and longing he felt for her.
Morgan froze as he claimed her lush mouth. Her hands were wedged between their bodies, primed and ready to push him away. Even in the midst of a kiss that blasted through him like lightning, Ryan expected to get shoved or maybe even slapped.
But it didn’t happen. Morgan’s rigid hands slowly relaxed until they slid down his torso and around his back. At the very same time, she moaned and let him fully in. He went hard in an instant, almost staggering under the passion arcing between them.
Sweet Mother of God.
The kiss was everything Ryan had thought it would be. Every bit as perfect as he’d fantasized since that night last year—the night he realized how badly he wanted to taste her lips, sample all the glories her body had to offer. It had been a long time coming and was all the more thrilling for the delay.
Ryan doubled down on the kiss, tipping her jaw up and adjusting the angle for a deeper taste. He slipped his other hand under her tank top, loving the feel of her baby-soft skin under the roughness of his palms. And Morgan was into it too. Man, was she ever. Instead of breaking away, she pressed herself against his thigh, breathing out a whimper. Now he was so damn hard he could have driven shingle nails with his dick.
He clamped his other hand on her gorgeously rounded ass and pulled her tight against him. Morgan moaned with the sweetest sound of hunger he’d ever heard, and his own burn of desire raced through his blood. The kiss was wet and silky and so hot that he wanted to ease her up against the closest tree and do her right there. Ryan felt like he’d waited forever for this moment, and every cell in his body urged him to take her.
Take what rightfully belonged to him.
The crazy intensity of that thought almost jolted him out of the moment. But Morgan pulled him back in when she hooked a leg around the back of his thigh and snuggled in close. Her sharp nails pressed into his back, and he could feel her hands shaking. When she nuzzled his mouth, then bit down gently on his lower lip, Ryan was lost. He didn’t think he could pull back from her if a fucking military parade marched down the beach behind them.
Instinctively, he lifted her off the ground, cradling her against him. Morgan broke free from the kiss, clutching at him to keep her balance.
“What . . . what are you doing?” she stuttered.
He swooped in to nuzzle a brief kiss across her parted lips, walking her a few steps over to the small stand of trees just off the path.
“I just want you to be comfortable.” He stopped under the shadow of a tall birch, putting her down and gently pressing her back against the smooth bark of its trunk.
Morgan huffed out a breathless little laugh. “Comfortable for what? Ryan, we shouldn’t be—”
“Shhh, babe,” he said.
She stared up at him, her gaze heavy-lidded, her mouth trembling just a little bit. Even in the deep shadows under the trees, he could read her uncertainty. Sense how vulnerable she was. His brain told him to pull back, but the rest of him wanted to soothe away her worries and the months of sorrow, making her forget everything but the fire burning between them. Stepping away from her now seemed impossible.
Ryan didn’t even try. “Just relax, Morgan,” he murmured. “Let me take care of you.”
He could tell she was wavering on the knife-edge of retreat. Every muscle in his body went tight, urging him to charge ahead. But he forced himself to go slow and give her time to come along with him.
He moved a hand to stroke up her slender neck and then curled his fingers around her delicate, stubborn jaw. Ryan loved her jaw. Loved the way it defiantly tilted up when she had the bit between her teeth, ready to battle any obstacle that stood in her path. When he tipped her jaw up and traced his thumb along her full lower lip, she let out a tiny sigh. The hot whisper of her breath drifted over his fingers, and then her eyelids fluttered shut. She opened her lips in silent invitation.
Ryan took it—took her mouth in a demanding, forceful kiss. He went deep, craving her taste, wishing he were deep inside her body at this very moment. Soon he would be, and his need for her had his body vibrating with tension.
She was right there with him. Morgan snaked her hands up between them and wrapped them around his neck. She went up on her toes, pressing into his chest, all the while devouring him with a hunger that matched his own. His erection throbbed, already aching for release, and he couldn’t help nudging against her, letting her know just how much he wanted her.
Through the thin fabric of her tank top, he could feel her nipples go hard. And as much as he wanted to keep kissing her, to drink his fill of her after so many long months—years—of waiting, Ryan couldn’t wait to explore. Morgan had a gorgeous body, slim and strong, with killer curves in all the right places. He couldn’t wait to show her what he could do once he got her stripped naked.
He eased back. Her whimper of protest changed to a moan of satisfaction when he feathered kisses across her cheek to her ear, then down the long line of her neck. Her skin was warm and smooth, tasting faintly of coconut suntan lotion and salt, and the heat of the long summer day. He licked down to the hollow at the base of her throat, her rapid pulse fluttering under his tongue. When he kissed down to the swell of her breasts, she clutched at his shoulders. For a heart-attack-inducing moment, he thought she would push him away. But instead she arched up and angled her head back, lifting herself to meet his caresses.
When his hands slid down to the hem of her top, she shivered. “Ryan, please,” she groaned, her voice so soft and full of hunger he thought he might explode on the spot.
He rubbed his cheek across the rigid tip of her nipple, poking against the fabric of her top. “What do you want, babe?” he murmured.
“I want . . . you.”
The broken whisper pushed him over the edge. He dropped to his knees on the soft grass and pushed her shirt up around her neck. Even in the near darkness, her skin gleamed pale and smooth, her breasts perfectly framed by a bra that barely contained her generous curves.
“Damn, you’re gorgeous.” He leaned in and rasped his tongue across one of her nipples through the barely there material of her bra, loving the feel of the stiff point under his tongue. Morgan jerked a bit, her fingers digging into his shoulders. When he sucked on her, she let out a moan and seemed to collapse against the tree at her back. Ryan slid his hands to her waist and followed, keeping his mouth on her breast. But he wanted more, he wanted it all, so he reached up and hooked his fingers into the bra cups and pulled them down.
Her beautiful breasts popped free and, for a moment, all Ryan could do was stare as they quivered right in front of him. She was gorgeous, and nothing could have prepared him for the mind-blowing intensity of how much he wanted her.
He cupped both breasts in his palms and leaned in, taking her in his mouth.
&nb
sp; “Ryan!” Morgan choked out, biting back what sounded pretty close to a startled shriek. Her fingernails dug in again, this time no doubt leaving marks on his skin.
For several deliriously fantastic moments, she let him play with her. Ryan’s hands joined the game, stroking as his mouth went from one breast to the other. Morgan’s hands cradled his head as she held him against her chest, her breath coming in fractured sobs.
And still it wasn’t enough. Not even close. He needed to be inside her—right now—as deep as he could go, with her long legs wrapped tight around his hips as he pounded into her.
So hungry to get her naked that he could barely think straight, he broke free and pulled her bra back up. He quickly came to his feet, pulling her shirt down at the same time. Morgan staggered, and he had to grip her upper arms to keep her from tumbling.
“Let’s get out of here,” he rasped. “Go someplace we can be alone.”
The B&B was too small for them to have sex in either his guest room or Morgan’s bedroom, which was right beside Sabrina’s. Maybe they could head down the beach, find some soft sand, and do it under the stars?
Hell, yeah.
It sounded perfect—Morgan, naked and writhing beneath him on the beach under the darkening night sky. It was every guy’s summer fantasy coming to life. He’d been having it about her for years.
But then she froze under his hands. He felt the change in her, the stiff set to her muscles, the sensual fog obviously clearing from her brain as she realized what they were about to do. What they’d almost done.
He had to repress the urge to curse long and loud.
She slipped her hands between their bodies and pushed, stepping away from the tree trunk. “Oh, God, I can’t believe this is happening again.” She took another step away, straightening her clothes with hands that visibly shook. “Ryan, this is insane. We cannot do this.”
“Morgan, you were doing exactly what you wanted to do.” He almost growled with frustration. “And the same goes for me. You can only hold back a raging tide for so long.”
Okay, it was a dumb cliché, but he was a guy and he didn’t do feelings. Still, he hoped it conveyed what was going on inside him. Sure, maybe it was a simple lack of self-control. Or maybe it was just acknowledging reality.
Finally.
Morgan fussed with her clothes for a moment longer. “Yeah, well, tides come and go whether you want them to or not,” she said, her voice a little shaky. “And they can drag you under and kill you too. So, extending your very apt metaphor, giving in doesn’t sound like such a great idea.”
And now it’s time for a very cold shower. “So what was that all about, then? What just happened out here?”
She folded her arms across her middle. “Chalk it up to some kind of hormonal hysteria. I guess that’s what can happen if you have sex like, about, never.”
Yeah, that was a bullshit answer if he ever heard one. “That’s it? It was just some crazy hormonal thing?”
She looked away. “You’re the one who keeps talking about chemistry,” she said defensively.
Definitely cold shower time. “And you’re really sure you don’t want this?”
Morgan flapped an agitated hand. “It’s not a matter of what I want or don’t want, Ryan. Lord knows I wish it was as simple as that.”
That answer didn’t tell him much.
Ryan waited her out, hoping for more. But when the silence stretched out, Morgan refusing to look at him, he finally nodded. “Okay, I’m not going to push. Nothing’s going to happen between us until you’re ready. So what happens from now on is up to you, Morgan.”
Morgan’s shaky legs barely kept her moving ahead, and it wasn’t just from physical exhaustion. Ryan had just completely rocked her world, skewing it right off its axis.
It had been incredibly stupid to offer up that little peck of friendly thanks, even though at the time it seemed natural and right. What she hadn’t counted on was her inability to move away from him and his almost instantaneous, passionate response. He’d seized the moment, that was for damn sure, and her resolve had gone totally AWOL.
As for her body? That had gone boneless when he gripped her in his brawny, protective embrace.
Lost in that moment—okay, several long minutes—of stunning pleasure, Morgan had forgotten where she was or maybe even who she was. Because she wasn’t that girl who threw caution and modesty to the winds, ready to do it up against a tree, only a few dozen yards from a house full of people. Thank goodness she’d been able to snap out of it and make her clumsy exit.
Morgan stopped for a moment when she reached the back porch. She let out a shaky sigh as she fluffed her hair, smoothed her top again, and prayed she looked relatively normal instead of like a sex-starved maniac. How were she and Ryan going to keep working together, living together, when it seemed like every look or fleeting touch set off an explosion?
At least Ryan had told her that everything would be up to her from now on, which gave her some degree of control over the situation, no matter how laughably small. Sex might just be sex for him, but Morgan knew it couldn’t be that way for her. She already cared about Ryan far too much to have a casual fling, content to let the emotional chips fall where they may. There was simply no way she could check her heart at the door before she crawled into Ryan’s bed—the episode under the trees had made that unmistakably clear.
Through the screen door, she could see Sabrina leaning against the island counter, her thin arms crossed tightly over her faded blue Seashell Bay T-shirt. She shot Morgan an angry glare. “Well, it’s about time.”
Morgan opened the door and crossed to the refrigerator, yanked out a carton of orange juice, and poured herself a small glass to keep her blood sugar from crashing. She was in no shape for this discussion.
“Dammit, Morgan, I was really worried,” her sister said. “You shouldn’t be out on the water when it’s nearly dark. It’s too dangerous.”
Morgan drained the juice in one long swallow and turned around as she heard Ryan come in the front door. She put a finger to her lips so Sabrina wouldn’t start an argument while he was in listening range.
“I called you just so you wouldn’t worry,” Morgan said after he was upstairs. “Not that you needed to fret. I wasn’t exactly making a transatlantic crossing.”
Her sister swallowed hard. “I saw what you and Ryan were doing out there, Morgan. It . . . it upset me.”
Crap, crap, crap.
Morgan had thought it was too dark outside for anyone to make anything out at such a distance. Apparently there had been enough twilight for her eagle-eyed sister.
She managed to feign a casual shrug. “Sweetie, it was just a kiss to say thank you for taking me on a fun little outing in his kayak.”
Sabrina took two steps forward and put her hands on her hips, riveting Morgan with her eyes. “Morgan, I didn’t see everything, but I know what a little thank-you kiss looks like. That sure as hell wasn’t it.”
Morgan’s cheeks burned with heat. Part of her wanted to tell her sister to mind her own damn business. She wouldn’t though. Ryan’s arrival had been a huge upheaval for Sabrina, one she’d barely started to get used to. Now she was probably thinking his presence posed an even greater threat.
“Really, it isn’t something you need to think about,” Morgan said in what she hoped was a normal voice.
“Are you going to have sex with him?” Sabrina snapped. “Because that’s exactly what it looked like to me. Am I going to hear Ryan slipping into your room in a few hours? Because I’ll be lying awake all night thinking about that.”
Sabrina could be brutally blunt. Fortunately, Morgan was used to it. Her sex life was none of Sabrina’s business, but her sister’s poor impulse control sometimes led to thoughts spilling out unfiltered and hurtful. She always regretted it soon afterward.
“Do you seriously think I’d have sex with my sister listening through the wall?” Morgan said with a teasing grin she hoped would break the ten
sion. “That would hardly be fun for anyone.”
A flush crept up Sabrina’s neck. She pursed her lips and remained silent.
Morgan thought her sister might be too embarrassed to admit she’d gone too far. “Sweetie, please don’t read anything into what you just saw. And please try not to stay awake worrying about it, because I am not going to have sex with Ryan tonight.”
When Morgan closed the gap, holding her arms open for a hug, Sabrina angrily shook her head and took a step backward.
“Not tonight,” Sabrina said. “Does that mean you will another night?”
Morgan felt her patience slide away. God, she was so tired of handling everything. Tired of trying to keep her emotions in constant check. “Sabrina, if you want to keep talking about this, fine, we’ll talk. In the meantime, please stop making false assumptions, and stop throwing accusations at me. It’s very unfair.”
Her voice had risen in pitch to the point where Sabrina’s eyes widened. Morgan almost never spoke to her sister in a harsh tone.
Tears started streaming down Sabrina’s pale cheeks. “I’m sorry, Morgan. It’s just that I’m . . . scared. Really scared.”
Disgusted for losing her temper, Morgan pulled her sister into her embrace. This time Sabrina didn’t resist.
Her sister sniffled and dug in close. “I’m scared about . . . about everything.”
Including losing Morgan, so much so that a kayak ride was cause for worry. Throw a hot guy into the mix and disaster loomed.
“I know, darling. I’m a little scared too. We’re both still trying to find ways to cope without Dad. But we’ll get through this together. I promise we will.” She pulled back a bit, making Sabrina look at her. Her sister’s teary, scared face just about tore Morgan’s heart in half.
“Listen to me,” Morgan said. “I will never, ever leave you. And I will do everything I can to save this place.”
“Promise?” Sabrina asked with a big sniff.