“Listen, Toby, I don’t know what you want me to do. I’m on leave, remember?” Pacing the living room with my cell phone to my ear, my strides were stiff and my lips twisted into a grimace. The receiver crackled, and I clenched and released my free hand a few times before my supervisor’s voice reached me through the line.

“Sylvia, please- just check a few things for me. This temp is horrible, and I can’t wait for you to get back to fix all of this. Please, for the love of God, do this, and I’ll extend your leave four days.” My body halted at that offer, and I bit down on my bottom lip as my brows came together. Four extra days of paid leave… I didn’t need the money, but the time would be nice.

Especially considering how complicated things were getting between Ryan and I.

“... Fine. E-mail it to me. I’ll return it to you  before Monday.” I felt so defeated with that admission, going against my promise not to do any work no matter how much Toby begged. Hanging up before he could say anything, I heaved a sigh as my gaze narrowed on my phone. “Idiot- stupid! I’m such a sucker…”

“I would hope so, Sylvia.” A squeal burst from my mouth at the deep, teasing voice, and I whirled around with my phone clutched to my chest. My eyes widened on Ryan as he sat lounging on a couch, his legs spread and his body slouching heavily. Once again, he wasn’t wearing a shirt, and for a moment his tattooed chest distracted me.

But then I remembered he’d said something, and my wandering gaze fixed on his face to harden into a glare.

“Not that kind of sucker, okay? Didn’t anyone ever teach you to knock?” Crossing my arms over my chest, my cheeks heated at the mental image Ryan had created. Slowly shaking his head, his beard picked up as he smirked, only spreading the heat from my face to other places.

“Nope. But that’s beside the point. I’m not opening the bar tonight, so I was wondering if you wanted to hang out? We can make dinner tonight, watch some movies. It’ll be fun.” Arching an eyebrow, my eyes narrowed as Ryan’s smirk stretched into a grin. “And if you want to make out and cuddle, I’m not opposed to it.”

“Right. Why aren’t you opening tonight? I thought you needed every night during the summer.” Even to my own ears, I sounded bland and unimpressed, but my chest constricted all the same. My heart pounded a little harder at the girlish notion that maybe Ryan wasn’t opening because he specifically wanted to spend time with me. It was a naive thing to think, I knew, but it was abdomen clenching regardless.

In the chair Ryan only shrugged, lifting his muscular arms and sliding his fingers behind neck to cradle his head.

“Nah, it’s fine. You’re much more pleasant company than a couple dozen drunk people and a sister that never stops complaining. So, what do you say?”

For a moment I thought it over, and Ryan waited patiently. There was a war going on inside me, and I knew that feeding this attraction I had for him wasn’t going stop. I acknowledged that. As long as I was here, he would be on my tail in all his muscular, bearded glory. That wasn’t a terrible thing until I had to leave. This place was more of a vacation than a death sentence, and at some point, I had to return to reality.

But what was the point of a vacation if there wasn’t any kind of sexy fun?

“Okay. I was just going to make pizza again.” Smiling at the brightening in Ryan’s face, for just a second my mind turned to economics. Down in Maine I rarely cooked even though I liked to. I wasn’t anywhere near Todd’s level, but I was far from bad. My job meant eating dinner on time was nearly impossible, and if it got too late, I didn’t eat at all.

Here, with nothing else to do, I found out how much could go on a pizza besides cheese. Buying food, especially in bulk, was surprisingly affordable. Even after two weeks of pizza, I wasn’t tired of it yet.

“Great. Because I have this -” Jumping up to his feet in one swift, fluid motion, Ryan pulled a DVD out of his back pocket. He had the energy of a five-year-old, and the sight made me laugh as he came up to me. “It’s supposed to be a good movie, but watching it alone is boring.”

‘To Be Won’ was the title, and I squinted slightly as I tried to remember where I’d seen the poster before.

“Oh- that’s the one about the guy that goes to war and becomes a political prisoner in a concentration camp.”

“Yeah, but Lucy doesn’t like looking at that kind of stuff. So, you like gory, gritty movies, Sylvia?” Humming absently, I reached up to run my fingers through my hair.

“They’re alright. I’ll watch pretty much anything, but the really scary ones - hauntings and psychological horrors - I can’t watch those.” For the first time, I glanced at the rather large television that took up a good portion of the wall to the right of the back doors. The sleek, black device had collected dust and probably never been turned on for actual use. There were no cable boxes or game systems, just a DVD player that sat on an otherwise empty entertainment stand.

It was the only television in the entire house.

“What did you want on your pizza?” Refocusing on Ryan, I could taste the curiosity against the back of my throat. He was watching me, his eyes scanning my face as the movie hung limply down by his knee. The boyish excitement was gone from his face, replaced with an intense concentration that made the fine hairs by my temples and ears stand up.

Blood filled my cheeks, and my chest grew tighter with each second of silence that passed. Ryan’s touch on my face sucked the air from my lungs, and his thumb brushed heavily over my bottom lip. The soft skin was chapped and dry, and his expression twisted into displeasure before he released my chin. With an arduous slowness, he brought his finger to his own mouth to drag his tongue softly along the pad. A delicate shiver slipped down my spine at the picture he’d painted, and my eyes widened when he moved back to me.

“Your lips will split, Sylvia.” My lungs stuttered in a gasp as Ryan rubbed my bottom lip gently, massaging his saliva into my skin. The concern in his tone made my heart jump into my throat, and my toes curled against the carpet. He could’ve kissed me, should’ve kissed me, but he didn’t. His thumb was rough and callused, but the look on his face bordered on worship.

“I hope I can make this a good night for you.” Murmuring, Ryan’s hot breath flowed down my nose, and the sensation made me blink. Such a tiny, fast action was enough to break our moment, and I stiffened when his fingers crept up to grip the left side of my scalp. “Are you ready for a good night, Sylvia?”

My mouth opened but no words flowed out. The useless clump of cells I called my brain refused to work, and I could only stare dumbly as my abdomen twisted behind quivering flesh. Holding my hair firmly, Ryan pulled lightly to draw another gasp from my parted lips. My hips jerked slightly when his muscular arm slithered behind them, and heat pooled between my legs as he plastered himself against me.

“... I like it margarita style with chicken.” Ryan’s nose trailed down my cheek, his beard tickling my jaw as my eyes drifted shut. Thin, moist lips touched my neck, and my hands had a mind of their own as they wrapped around his bulging biceps.

I like it margarita style with chicken. Those simple words, whispered so roughly, bounced around in my skull. My eyelids popped open as an even more intense heat rushed through my veins. Digging my nails into Ryan’s arms, a hiss slithered out from between my teeth as annoyance forced it from my chest.

“Ryan! That’s not funny! I thought you-” Cut off by a slight chuckle, I pushed Ryan back as he turned in twinkling eyes to mine.

“I do mean it, Sylvia. But I want this to be a good time. Taking you on the couch in the heat of the moment isn’t nearly as romantic as dinner and a movie. And besides, I told you I’d give you all the time you need, but I’m not going to put you on a clock. Believe me when I say you’re worth the shade of blue my balls are turning.”