Denver rolled her shoulders as she walked down the hallway. The little ball things were no big deal. She felt slightly fuller, but then again, her pussy had been well abused all night.

Okay, so maybe abused wasn’t the right term. Ryan was all about mutual enjoyment.

She slid her fingers around her wrist where her skin was still a little raw from tearing at the cuffs. Even soft cuffs could leave a mark evidently. Beyond that, everything he’d done had been about her pleasure. He’d wrung it out of her with a mastery she didn’t really want to study too closely.

Memories from her days with her ex were tripping her up. He’d been controlling. Not just controlling, he’d been overbearing and obsessive. He wanted to know where she was at all times, and while the sex had been thrilling at first, it had eventually become more about fear and pleasure-withholding than mutual satisfaction.

She didn’t want to ever go back to the girl she’d been with him.

Marco had made her believe that making him happy was most important. Forget her own needs. Pleasing him had been her whole world.

Even if sex didn’t feel or mean the same thing with Ryan, instinct and years of protecting herself couldn’t be denied.

Letting go with Ryan was the scariest thing she’d done in too many years to count.

Not that she really had a choice. He took her out of herself and deposited her onto another plane. One that had no defined edges or rules. At least any rules that she could understand.

And she was pretty sure Ryan liked leaving her moored on his particular island. The worst part was she couldn’t deny just how amazing it was with him. But God, just the idea of dragging him into her fucked-up past made her chest constrict.

Denver hurried down the hall and gasped when she lengthened her stride. “Fuck.” She dragged in a slow breath as the little balls shifted and tugged on one another before settling back where he’d put them.

Okay, maybe today would be a little more interesting than she’d thought.

Placing her hand on the doorknob to Elle’s room, Denver jumped as the door opened for her. “Hey.”

Elle glanced at Denver’s outfit. “And where did you go?”

Denver looked down at her bare legs. “Vending machine?”

“Uh huh.” Elle played with the telescopic handle on her bag. “Did that vending machine have a name?”

“No, but he gave good chocolate.”

Elle snorted. “I bet. Want me to wait for you?”

“Nah, go ahead.” Denver slipped inside the room and swallowed a groan when the little balls shifted.

“Must have been damn good chocolate.” Elle shook her head. “I’ll see you downstairs.”

Denver desperately needed a shower, but she wasn’t sure how that was going to work with her little friends. She didn’t really have time either, so she cleaned up best as she could. Then she learned just how much muscle control was necessary to put on jeans.

By the time she left the hotel room, a fine sheen of sweat dotted her chest and she’d created a list of revenge tactics for Ryan.

Was there a guy equivalent to these damn things? Evidently a little Googling would be in order.

She stepped into the elevator and a bellow from the hallway had her slapping her hand over the sensor to keep it open.

Lauren’s huge blue eyes peered around the corner. “Oh, thank God. The bus can’t go anywhere without you.”

Denver grinned. “Pretty much. Where’s your other half?”

“Already downstairs. I was on the phone with my folks.” Lauren rolled her eyes. “They aren’t exactly on board with my current project.”

Denver tried not to laugh. Her own mom was pretty traditional. She was all about appearances, and from what Lauren had told her, their mothers could be on the same panel of charities. Denver could only imagine how thrilled Lauren’s parents must be about their daughter writing an in-depth—pun intended—book about the female orgasm.

“When you’re getting accolades for your research, they’ll sing another tune.”

“I don’t want to think about my parents and my research, thanks. There is a level I will not stoop to, and that’s it.”

Denver let her laugh free. “Not even for the good of the book?”

“Nope.”

She slung her arm around Lauren’s shoulders. “Conversations with you are never boring.”

The doors opened and they rushed off.

Bad move. So much. Denver drew in a slow breath.

“You okay?” Lauren’s huge blue eyes went even wider.

Denver swallowed hard. “Oh, yeah. Just a rough night last night.”

Lauren’s eyebrow spiked. “How rough?”

“Get your mind out of the gutter, girl.” Even if it thoroughly belonged there. Denver resisted the urge to bend at the waist and beg for mercy.

“Hard to do that when I’m in constant research mode. Speaking of, I really need—”

Denver held up a hand. “No and no. I am not answering any more questions about my solo time in the front of the bus.”

“You must have thoughts up there at the very least. Aren’t you bored?”

Denver sighed. “No. I’m never bored.”

Okay, maybe that was a teensy lie. More like sixty-forty on a really bad day. The road was usually soothing to her. Even the monotony was a comfort. And when she wanted interaction, she opened her curtain and listened. She even participated a lot of the time. It was a pretty sweet gig.

Denver followed Lauren out of the hotel and each step across the parking lot was eye-crossing. Two SUVs were waiting for them. Ryan waved from the one reverberating with a bass-line that made her head throb. Elle waved from the other, so she climbed in with her. Lauren followed. Apparently it was going to be the girls versus the guys on the race to the bus.

Even their driver was a girl and evidently secretly wanted to drive for NASCAR. Denver was fairly sure she’d put fingermarks through the upholstery by the time The Egg came into view.

“Are you sure you’re all right? You’re a little pale.” Elle patted her leg.

“Yep. Just used to being the driver.” Denver hoped that was a good enough explanation for her reaction to the damn ben wa balls.

Were they supposed to move around this much?

“Ahh, car sick.” Elle took out a stick of mint gum. “This helps.”

Rather than arguing, Denver took the gum with a smile. Minty fresh breath definitely went with shaking thighs. “Thanks.”

The speedbumps about killed her as they finally pulled up behind the bus. The boys rolled in right behind them even with their Danica Patrick wannabe driver at the wheel. Lauren and Jules were torturing Randy in the third row of the SUV. Lo’s penchant for invasive questions made for a lot of laughter, especially since most of them made Randy blush and stammer.

While they were distracted, Denver took the opportunity to head for the bus. Even with a head start, Lauren, Jules, and Elle caught up. Drunk on too little sleep and too much excitement, they were a flock of magpies chasing each up the stairs.

By the time Denver got to the stairs, the steep incline of the three steps seemed a little daunting.

Lauren paused and turned to look down at her. “Sure you’re okay?”

“Peachy.” She could do this. It was a simple matter of one step at a time. She wrapped her fingers around the railing just as a familiar scent rolled over her. She knew it well because she’d bought it for him as a joke. The guys had been making fun of the Johnny Depp commercial for Sauvage cologne since the day it had come out.

The problem was, the way Ryan wore it was no joke. Crisp spice and heat.

“Ryan,” she said on a low growl.

“I know, I know. We’re a secret.” His voice was a rumble. His fingers slipped into her jeans pocket. “I have a little something for you.”

“I know, I’m wearing it.”

His nose brushed her ear. “You sound a little frustrated already.”

She elbowed him.

He laughed. “Just hit play.” Then he was gone. Up the stairs like a shot, leaving her suffering on the blacktop.

“Bastard.” She stuck her hand into her pocket and found the earbuds. She generally wore one earbud and played her own playlist on her phone, but Ryan knew that. Why the hell did he think she needed a new pair of buds? Then she felt the slim MP3 player.

She couldn’t concentrate on that right now. She had to get on the bus and get it moving. They had a schedule to keep and the trip to Rochester was a monotonous one. Especially when the day was bleak and gray.

A spear of lightning cleaved the sky and thunder rolled over the city. Just what she needed, to drive through a storm. Maybe they’d be lucky and they’d drive out of it. She took the first stair and her body didn’t betray her this time. Okay, she could handle this.

She dropped into her seat like usual and everything shifted and eased. She could definitely handle this. She pulled her microphone down. “Ladies and pervs, it’s time to get this show on the road. Everyone aboard?”

“Missing one,” Elle said from the back.

She checked her gauges and itinerary. “Tie all the things down you don’t want rolling around. West, that’s a clue for you today.”

Jules laughed. “Lo has been starting up her toy collection. Don’t think they hit ropes yet.”

“Yet is the important word,” West said.

Denver rolled her eyes and twisted in her seat. Looked like she and Ryan were the only ones with that particular fun bag.

Jules dropped into her beanbag chair with a magazine. “She’s going to need a trunk like Ryan soon.”

Lauren sat up. “Did you know it’s a tax write-off? Research.” Her grin was wide as she clapped.

Denver shook her head and faced forward. Mal and his beefy shoulders came into view. He looked over his shoulder once before climbing the steps. Her eyebrow spiked. “All good?”

Mal only grunted and moved through the living space and to the bunks without a word.

“Hello to you too.” She closed the door. She set her course on the dash GPS and set her maps as a backup under her thigh. She didn’t foresee any problems. The trip out through central New York was boring and flat, but she liked her options just in case.

The bus held a low hum of excitement and laughter. The night before had been a high point of the miniature tour. Add in their field trip to The Velvet Vault and there were smiles all around, her own included.

She pulled out into traffic and maneuvered her way down the winding hill that led to the interchange of all the major byways in Albany. The roads were crap and potholes were plentiful. Every time she rolled over one, her seat rocked, thanks to the bus’s exceptional shocks. The shift of her hips on the cushioned seat normally didn’t faze her. In fact, she didn’t think twice about bouncing around thanks to city driving.

Until today.

“Holy shit,” she whispered. Or make that whimpered. She clenched as her hips rolled thanks to one cracked and frayed road after another. As she made it to the on-ramp, her tires hit the rumble strips thanks to a very narrow row of cones on her left side.

“Sorry,” she called out when Jules and Lauren shouted their dismay.

They could just shut up. They didn’t have a pair of little balls bouncing around in their girl parts, for fuck’s sake. She gritted her teeth as her muscles involuntarily tightened around them to keep them in place.

She bounced her head against her headrest as they came to a complete standstill in traffic. Morning rush hour was so inappropriately named. But at least no movement meant she could calm down a little.

Her jacket pocket buzzed and she pulled her phone out.

Ryan: Put the player’s earbud in one ear and press play. Tell me when you do it.

She bit her lip. No way should she be listening to his crazy instructions while she was driving.

Ryan: Make sure your phone earbud is in too.

She quickly typed back to him. Figured that he’d try to get her in trouble.

Denver: Hey, how about knowing my surroundings? Can’t be cut off, buddy. One ear has to be available for traffic.

She wiggled in her seat a little. Already she was far too stirred up. She was sitting stationary, dammit. She shouldn’t be this wired.

Ryan: Hmm. Why do you have to be all logical? Play the songs through your speakers.

Good thing she had an auxiliary port on her stereo.

No. Don’t listen to him. There’s no reason to follow his sick little games.

Who the hell was she kidding? Her freaking nipples were tingling at the thought of what he had planned.

She pulled her cord out of the cup holder beside her. She glanced at the queue. There were only a handful of songs on it. They’d created more than one crazy playlist over the last few months. This was tame for him. Of course, he had to choose a few of her favorite singers. It really sucked being with someone who knew you too well.

Was that really what they were? Together?

She blew out a breath. She couldn’t think about that right now. For once she just wanted to live in the now and damn the consequences.

She plugged in the cheapie player and thumbed back a quick text.

The low, primal drumbeat filled the front of the bus. She flicked over her curtain and tacked the Velcro to keep it closed.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Not a text buzz either. What the hell was he doing?

She tucked her earbud into her ear. “Hello.”

“Just had to close me out, huh?”

“You’re the one who wanted music, buddy.”

“I like knowing you’re sitting up there listening to what I put together. Especially when I know you should be sufficiently warm by the end of it.”

She could hear the smile in his voice and, dammit, the timbre of it was even lower than usual. She swallowed. “Just what do you think this is going to accomplish?”

“Oh, you’ll see.”

“I don’t get off on the dirty talk. I thought we established that the other night when I told you to shut the hell up.” She kept her voice low, knowing everyone on the bus could hear her if they really wanted to. And the band was nosy. Especially Lo and Jules. They got bored a lot.

“Who needs to talk dirty? The music will do it for me. Those low drums should rumble right through your thighs and up…” He trailed off. “Or are you wet for me already?”

She gritted her teeth. He knew damn well enough that percussion instruments were a weakness for her. Watching him onstage when he brought out the large standing drums pretty much killed her.

“Drums always do it for me. Better be careful with Mal around.”

It was easier to tell him Mal made her nuts. It was good for him to work for it.

He growled in her ear. “Mal doesn’t make you come your fucking brains out. He doesn’t get to hear that husky purr in the night when you’re so far gone, words are useless.”

She drew in a slow breath through her nose. She hated how in tune he was with her. The fact that he could tap into her darkest corners scared the hell out of her.

“You don’t have to admit it. I knew the first night when we looked out at the city from the rooftop and I buried myself so goddamn deep into you. I knew, Colorado. It’s always going to be you.”

He couldn’t know. They were just friends. They’d only been together a handful of times. Sure, it was good, but she’d had good sex before.

Lies.

Lies.

She clenched her teeth as her hips slowly rocked in time with Sully Erna’s hypnotic voice. Add in Ryan’s smoky purr in her ear and the damn ben wa balls inside of her and she was going to go right out of her ever-loving mind.

“Are your hips rocking to the beat? I’m listening at the same time as you are. I’m going to rock into you just this slow. In and out until you’re nothing but one big frayed nerve. Then, when you soak my dick, and you will, only then will I touch your tight little clit.”

She sucked in a breath as the song changed to an achingly romantic ballad. The Sting song was sexy and soft, but the sandpaper-rough version by the band Ryan had selected made it so much worse.

“Do that hip thing you did last night while I was driving into you. The little circles as you pushed back on me. The one where my cock touched every inch of your perfect pussy.”

She tightened her fingers on the steering wheel. “The traffic is letting up. I have to drive.”

“Little circles, Colorado. No one will know but me. I’m in my bunk with my curtains closed.”

“If you’re jacking off while I’m wound as tight as a fucking spring, I will kill you.”

“Man, I love when you get into threats. That means you’re ready for me.”

He wasn’t wrong, which pissed her off all the more. “You are an asshole.”

“You love it.” His voice lowered to a mere whisper. “You’re probably so wet I’ll have to peel away those pretty cotton panties you wear. What color are they today?”

“Eat me.”

“Oh, I will. I’m going to swallow down every drop of that slick slit the minute we take a break today. Now tell me, what color?”

The song entered a slow, epic acoustic solo and her hips followed the light Spanish guitar. Her walls rippled around the stupid little invasive balls. How could she have allowed him to freaking put them inside her?

She accelerated as traffic started passing her in earnest. Jesus, this was so stupid. She wasn’t paying attention.

“All that noise in your head? Let it go, Den. This is just us. I just want to make you feel good.”

“Good?” Her whisper was almost a shout. “I’m going insane up here.”

“It’s going to feel so good when I get in there. When I replace those little balls. I can see your lips now. So swollen and wet. So pink and perfect. And when I slide in there, you’re going to go off so goddamn quick. I’m going to have to hold you down on my lap.”

“I hate you so much.” She sawed her palm up and down the leg of her jeans. All she had to do was slip her fingers inside. She could just finish off with a flick of her fingers. No one would know.

“What are you doing?”

Did he have a goddamn camera up here? She glanced at each corner of the front.

“Den? You better not be touching yourself.”

“Do you have a camera up here?”

“No. But that’s a good idea for next time.”

“There will be no next time. I’m going to murder you.”

She concentrated on the horizon line. The endless flat road of the thruway and the stark gray skies. Anything but the music and his voice. “Why did you pick such slow songs?” she finally asked.

“I don’t want you to finish. I just want you ready for me.”

“You just want me crazy.”

“Maybe. It makes us even.”

“No chance.”

He laughed. “Just don’t touch yourself. That’s only for me.” The laughter faded out of his tone. “Your pussy is mine.”

She swallowed. “It’s mine, buddy.”

“No. It became mine the first time you let me inside you.”

Her spine stiffened. She wouldn’t be owned. Not ever again.

“It’ll be my tongue inside your pussy, scooping out that perfect honey-flavored cream. Your skin is so soft and golden, and your scent. God, it’s all I want in my head all damn day. Do you know how crazy it makes me? That I want to be balls deep inside you every moment of the day?”

“Sounds like a personal problem.”

He growled in her ear. “Yeah, go ahead and be flippant. That’s your tell every damn time, Colorado. You know exactly how I feel, because you do too, or it wouldn’t make that smart mouth of yours go off.”

She wanted to shout back that he was wrong, but he wasn’t. Again, the worst part about him knowing her so freaking well.

“And for lying to me, you’ll take my cock deep in that smart mouth of yours before I give you any relief.”

Flashes of her ex intruded on the moment. Of her curled up, left alone in his room.

No.

She shook her head to clear it. She wouldn’t ever be put in that position again.

Pushing the boundaries during sex was one thing. But outside of bed, the lines always blurred.

It was happening again. Or it would unless she slammed on the brakes.

She hung up on Ryan and flicked out the earbud. Signs for the next exit, as well as how long until the next rest stop, made the decision for her. She downshifted and made her way from the middle lane to the exit. She didn’t have it in her for another thirty-five miles to the next rest stop, so the exit would have to do.

Five miles and she could walk it off. She could remove these stupid things and go back to normal, goddammit.

She turned off his player and switched the music to her pop playlist before slamming her phone into the holder on the dash.

Her phone buzzed again, but she didn’t answer. A slew of texts came through, but she didn’t answer them. He could hold his ass.

Her body was one freaking big frayed fuse and she let the anger draw away the pure horniness she’d been enjoying a moment before. Right now, she didn’t want anything to do with Ryan Waters.

She pulled down the microphone. “Bathroom and stretch break. I need a snack.”

It was late morning and the traffic had let up enough for her to easily change lanes and pull into a strip mall.

A theater, electronics store, and three eateries would keep the animals entertained. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough parking for the bus except along the back. Usually the long walk was exactly what she needed, but the idea of that many steps to get these damn things out of her made her want to cry.

And she didn’t cry.

“Colorado.” His voice was behind her, but she didn’t turn.

She slapped open the doors and took off across the parking lot. Her only focus was on the doorway to the theater. She could use their bathroom and get herself back to normal. She’s been turned on and left hanging enough times that she could take it. Just not with the stupid things inside her.

Her pussy trembled and her thighs quivered in reaction. Just walk faster. Get it done. She lengthened her stride and broke into a light jog. It was the only way to keep her thighs together without looking like she had a load in her pants.

She was going to kill him.

As she got to the doors, he hooked an arm through hers.

She looked at him in shock. “Are you for real right now?”

He frowned down at her. “Definitely.” Then he dragged her over to the ticket booth.

“Get your hands off me.” She said it out of the side of her mouth because she didn’t want to create a scene. She just wanted space.

“Oh, no. We’re finishing our conversation. I need to know why you went from loving what I did to this.”

“Guess I just don’t like games.” She lifted her chin.

“No. That’s not it.” He dragged her into his chest. “I can feel how hard your nipples are through this shirt. I know you want me.”

“You have a sex toy doing the work for you, pal.” Her voice was low, but she knew he could hear her. The way his nostrils flared and the flex of his jaw was proof enough. He was mad, and now that made two of them.

The ticket agent came to the window before Ryan could answer her. He let her go and glanced up at the board and asked for tickets to the lone action movie in the lineup.

She crossed her arms over her traitorous nipples. “We don’t have—” She shut up when he gave her a look.

They so didn’t have time for a damn movie. They only took thirty on their driving breaks.

“Coming?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “No.”

“Oh, I think you will. And unless you want me to make a lovely little scene that John Hughes wished he would have written, you’ll follow me into the theater.”

“You wouldn’t dare. I’ll just scream.”

“How about you scream in the movie theater instead? Just wait for the gunfire to mask it. Unless you’re a chicken.”

“Low blow, Waters.” A dare was half the reason they’d gotten into trouble on the trails earlier in the tour.

He hauled her against him and her breasts tingled again as his fingers slid along her lower back and dipped into the little gap in her jeans. “I’ll make you feel so good. I promise.”

“After you punish me?”

He frowned down at her. “What?”

“Think back half a second, Ryan.”

His gaze dropped to her mouth and she couldn’t stop herself from licking her lips.

With his other hand, he slid his thumb along her lower lip. “You mean when I said I’d make you take my cock here in this lush little mouth first?”

“Yeah, punishment.”

“Oh, baby, you know it’s only punishment for me. As much as I love your mouth—and tonight I’ll show you just how much—the way your pussy gloves my cock is what dreams are made of.”

She swallowed. She hadn’t thought of it that way. Just the denial. Always the denial—like Marco.

She closed her eyes.

Where Ryan liked to push her boundaries, he never left her in a helpless pile of tears. He never held back her pleasure at the end of the night. He never used her body like a fuck toy for his own pleasure.

His grip changed and he cupped her face with his long, strong fingers. His green eyes were full of questions, and so damn open she had to fight back tears. “Whatever is swirling behind those gorgeous dark eyes isn’t about us. You know that, right?”

She turned her head away. Ryan always saw too damn much.

He urged her to look at him again. “Colorado.” His voice was soft and gentle. Not the sexy one that had twisted her up for miles with his outrageous orders; no, this was his other voice. The one she could never quite hold herself safe against.

She slowly opened her eyes again and let him see her. She couldn’t say the words. She wasn’t sure she’d ever say them to another soul on this planet. Some wounds were too deep to show. It was far easier to cover them up with smartass comments and bravado. The defense mechanism had served her for the last five years.

She saw the resignation settle on his face, but then he slowly smiled. “Let me make you feel good.”

“We don’t have time for a movie.”

“I only need twenty minutes.”

“Way to go, Flash.”

He laughed. “Tonight, I’ll make sure you’re well taken care of. This will just take the edge off.” His hand slid a little farther into the back of her jeans. “I know you need it.”

“I can live without it.”

He pushed her hips closer to his zipper. “I can smell how wet you are.”

“Jesus, Ry.” Her cheeks had to be red as cherries.

He lowered his mouth to her ear. “It smells like heaven. I want all of it coating my dick. It will make this eternal drive more bearable.”

“It’s only four hours.”

“We have an early show tonight, remember? College campus. I’ll play tonight with you all over me.”

She looked over her shoulder and saw Elle and Molly walking toward the bagel shop next door. She pushed him forward to the door of the theater. “Which one are we in?”

“Theater nine. In the back.”

Where the second-string movies went to die. He dragged her down the hallway with his long gait.

“Ryan,” she said, far more breathlessly than she liked.

He turned and walked backwards, his smile widening. “Problem?”

She narrowed her eyes. “No.”

He led her into the darkened hallway just inside the door. It was the first movie of the day and there was no one down at that end of the theater. He crowded her against the wall for a moment, pressing his knee between her thighs until his thigh bumped the seam of her jeans.

She gripped his soft cotton shirt, her fingers slipping into his hair at the nape of his neck.

The rough carpeted wall scratched at the strip of skin between her jeans and the little hoodie she was wearing. The pressure of his thigh…God. She dragged his mouth down to hers to muffle the groans trapped in her chest. She could feel the vibrations of the movie previews coming through the wall. Add in Ryan’s rhythmic pulses against her seam and she was about ready to scream.

All she needed was a few more rubs and the friction might be just enough. Her heart was beating so fast she couldn’t hear the room around her, just the rush of blood.

Then he was gone.

He pulled her off the wall and behind him into the darkened room. She whimpered and said a small prayer when the explosions for the new Star Wars movie masked the sound.

A flash of a grin over his shoulder told her she wasn’t that quiet. Damn him.

He climbed the steps and she resisted the urge to bawl right then. Every step made the stupid balls shift inside her. She clenched every muscle she had, but she had to admit she was getting a little tired from wearing them.

So much for all those Kegels.

“Sadist,” she growled as she followed.

He dragged her down to the farthest corner and flipped up the cup holder-slash-chair arm of the seat between them.

“Handy,” she muttered.

“Oh, you’ll like it in a minute.”

She tried not to think about how many people had been in this same corner seat. If she thought too much about any of this, she’d bolt.

She sat next to him and tried not to look too closely at the outline of his cock as he sprawled out his legs. She wiggled in her seat, seeking relief.

Her hips were moving of their own volition at this point. She needed him so damn bad. He filled her perfectly. Just the right amount of length and girth. She closed her eyes as she remembered how full she’d been when he slipped into her. Stretching her just right.

“Don’t you dare come without me.”

Her eyes flew open. “Then take care of me.”

He raised his hand to cup her cheek and again his thumb smudged across her lower lip. It felt swollen from his kiss, and the roughness of his almost beard-length scruff.

The same buzz that felt so good between her thighs last night.

“If these were reclining seats, you’d be riding my face right now.”

She let out a shuddering breath. “Yes.” Her hips lifted.

“You need it bad, don’t you?”

She nodded. Pride was out the damn window. She needed to come or she was going to tear her hair out. No, actually, she’d take chunks out of him at this point. She took a calming breath and reached for his buckle. Before she could drag down his zipper, his cock was pushing up and out of his cotton boxers.

Hot and so damn hard. He wanted this as much as she did. Maybe. She wasn’t sure anyone could be as strung out as she was right now. She dragged at her own zipper as she palmed his shaft and squeezed.

“Fuck.” He blew out a hissing breath. “Wait.”

“Fuck waiting. You’re going to get inside me right now.”

He laughed and shrugged out of the plaid shirt he wore over his concert T-shirt. “Stand for me, baby.”

She looked around for one of the movie theater attendants. She’d been to enough movies to know they checked for just this sort of thing. Oh, sure, they also watched for people sneaking in, but they were much more interested in people making out.

They were the only ones in the entire place.

God.

She stood, but instead of letting go of him, she held on to the headrest and kept stroking his length. Their gazes were locked as she found the bead of liquid at the tip of his cock.

She tried to ignore the maddening slickness of her panties. The flickering lights of the movie were harsh on his face, throwing his angular features into shadow.

With each flex of his jaw and bob of his Adam’s apple, she navigated him further from the one in control. For once, she’d have him at her mercy.

He peeled down her jeans and the air kissed the backs of her thighs as her jeans bagged down to her knees. But he’d left her underwear. His fingers slid between her legs and her knees nearly buckled in reaction.

“Fuck. So wet, Den. Soaked.” His pupils were blown wide.

She wiggled until her jeans were down around her ankles and she finally had room to move. She crouched in front of him and groaned as her inner wall muscles quivered. This wasn’t the smartest move for her right now, but she wanted to see him go crazy. Wanted to know he was as on fire as she was.

She braced her forearms on his thighs and covered his silky head with her mouth.

His fingers went right for her hair and she hummed around the tip, taking a little more when his grip tightened.

“You don’t have to. I—God, Denver.”

She took him deeper. When his grip gentled, she reached up and tightened his fingers. She liked the little licks of pain. The soundtrack of the movie behind her was club music with a crazy beat she couldn’t help but mimic. Swallowing him another inch, she hollowed out her cheeks until she got a hint of salt. She looked up at him and dug her nails into his belly as she slowly pumped him with her hand while she watched him watch her.

She lifted his heavy length and licked along the underside of his shaft. She used the flat of her tongue for the first swipe. The vein throbbed against her tongue. So fucking hot. She dropped her hand between her legs and he reached down and grabbed it.

“Only my mouth, my cock, or my hand goes there.”

She lightly dragged her teeth along his length.

He hissed out a breath. His taut belly quivered in reaction. “Evil woman.”

She grinned and flicked her tongue around the head of his cock. “Takes one,” she said, and resumed her slow licks.

Keeping the pace this leisurely killed her. She wanted to climb on and let him fuck her stupid. Her back ached from bearing down on the little balls inside her.

He twisted her hair into a rope and pushed her lower onto his length. She stared up at him as she took him deeper. Her eyes shimmered with tears, but she didn’t break their locked gaze.

Panic started to rise up. Memories chased pleasure, but the look on his face drowned them out. There was only need on Ryan’s face. No calculation, no cruelty.

Her nose brushed his skin as she took almost all of him before pulling back for a breath. She swiped the back of her hand across her mouth and he dragged her up against him. His cock was trapped between them, wet from her and his pre-cum. She was close to a sob when his mouth covered hers. Her name was a muffled groan between kisses as his hand slid between her legs and under her panties.

He swore against her mouth. If she hadn’t been so close to screaming, she’d be embarrassed at how wet she was.

He dragged her panties to the side and she shuddered as one long finger slipped inside of her. He found the little loop and pulled the ben wa balls out of her before stuffing them into his pocket.

She buried her face into his neck as she ground herself against his hand helplessly.

“I know, baby. I know.” He pushed at her clothes, flipping down the tank top she wore under her zippered hoodie. He wasn’t gentle.

They were so beyond gentle at this point.

There was nothing but rough hands and mouths as he sucked her nipple and trapped the tip with his teeth. He shoved two fingers inside of her and still, it wasn’t enough. He tugged her nipple, her skin stretched to its limit and throbbing with each relentless pass.

She ground her pelvis against his palm, aching for relief. She threw her head back and rode his hand. She was so wet that all he did was slip around.

“More. I need more.” Her shoe clattered to the floor as she pulled her foot free. Desperate for an end to her torment, she widened her knees so she could get more of him inside her. “Ryan. If you don’t get that cock inside me right now, you’re going onstage with a bald spot.”

He laughed as he wrestled out a condom. She took it from him. With shaking fingers, she rolled it down the length of him.

Ryan yanked her panties to the side until there was a tearing sound. They were far too sturdy, but he moved them enough to get inside her. She was going to wear some elastic burn along her panty line for days, but she didn’t care.

The tip of his cock was finally there.

She sat up astride him and took him deep in one long stroke. She threw her head back and could have wept. “Thank you, God,” she said aloud.

Quiet theater? Screw that.

He gripped her hips and owned their rhythm. “Fuck. Ride me, Den. Ride me.”

Her body was strung so tight she couldn’t breathe around it. But he was right there. His hands keeping her steady as she rolled her hips again and again, taking him deeper. She reached for his shoulders to stabilize herself and each thrust pushed her closer and closer to what she needed.

The friction, the darkness, the all-day tease, the anger and worry living inside her, all of it coalesced into a bright, shredding release. He rose up to meet her, one hand clasping the back of her neck to hold her mouth against his. And he swallowed her cries.

Her whole body shuddered and tensed, and she was so damn afraid a wall was waiting for her, but he held her tighter and flicked his thumb between them in just the right combination of circles until her world went bright white then fucking purple as something exploded on the screen behind her.

He brought her face to his neck as he jerked under her and a guttural groan echoed through her chest. His groan.

For her.

She collapsed against him and couldn’t stop the sob.

His arms came around her. “Shh. Denver, shhh.”

He didn’t ask her what was wrong. She couldn’t have answered him if he did. He just held on to her. His lips brushed against her temple, against her cheeks as he kissed away her tears. She lay her cheek against his chest, her heart racing along with his. As his heartbeat slowed, so did hers. Until finally there was only one heartbeat synced together.

Theirs.

She’d never allowed herself to stay this close to someone after sex. One and done was so much easier, especially when she’d never known any different.

What she had known before didn’t resemble this in any way.

Finally, she pulled away and repaired her clothes. She couldn’t look at him. It had been too much. Sex wasn’t supposed to be that intense.

“Colorado.”

“We need to get back. People are going to know…”

“They’re not stupid, you know.”

Her shoulders slumped. “We don’t have to toss it in everyone’s faces either.”

“What? That we had a quickie at the movies?”

She jammed her foot into her sneaker. “If I hadn’t been so wound up, I wouldn’t have done this. It’s a theater, for God’s sake. The floor is sticky.”

He laughed as he pulled on his button-down shirt. “So much derision in so few words.” He tugged on her hair until she turned to him. “We don’t have to talk about—”

“Good, I don’t want to talk about anything. Can we just go?” She looked around to make sure she wasn’t leaving anything behind. Anything to not look at him.

“You can talk to me. No matter what, okay?”

She pressed her lips together. “Yep. Got it.” The sooner she got out of this theater and back on the bus, the better. Driving. There were finite rules of the road and the only emotions were of the flipping-the-bird variety.

So much safer.