Chapter Twelve

 

 

Clint was handsome and funny and sexy.

Almost as handsome and funny and sexy as Ryan.

The bartender placed a beer in front of Clint, and as he swigged that and she sipped her cosmopolitan, he swiveled his stool around so that they were both facing the mechanical bull arena.

He smiled at her and said, “Have you ever ridden one of those?”

Annie’s eyes widened as she watched the next rider get on the bull. The last one had been sent flying end over end after five seconds.

“No way,” she said.

“I used to ride the real ones for a living, before I got too old and broken down.”

Annie laughed. “Old? You can’t even be thirty yet.”

“I just turned thirty last month, as a matter of fact,” he said, winking at her. “In bull-rider years, that’s ancient.”

“Really? How old were you when you started?” she asked, genuinely interested. At the very least, Clint was taking her mind off Ryan for a few seconds.

“I was about eight when I started riding the sheep out at my uncle’s ranch—mutton busting. I did my first rodeo at ten, and that was getting a bit of a late start. I reckon I’ve had just about every bone broken in my body at one time or another in my twenty-year career. It ain’t a comfortable life for a young’un. If I was still doing it, it’d probably kill me. I was always too tall for it, too. My legs took a lot of the beatings.”

“So how old were you when you retired?”

“Twenty-seven,” he told her with a grin. “Early retirement is sweet.”

“Wow. So what do you do now?”

“Sit in bars and talk to pretty girls,” he said with a laugh. “Can’t beat that.”

“Nice. But there’s got to be more to your story than that. You just don’t want to tell me.” He was hitting on her, but it wasn’t creepy. He was interesting. She liked him. She glanced over at Ryan again. This time he was looking at her and their eyes met. There was something in his expression, like he was trying to tell her something, but she couldn’t figure it out.

Probably just reminding her telepathically to be careful.

“You’re more perceptive than most. I actually own a cattle ranch in Montana now. My brother and I saved all the purses we won in rodeos and later on in the bull-riding circuit, and we put it all into cattle and land. I just needed a few days away, so here I am.”

“I’ve always heard that it’s beautiful in Montana.”

“The most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. Everything is wide open. I could never live in a place like this, with all these people just stacked on top of one another. But it’s fun for some excitement—like meeting gorgeous women like yourself. Where are you from?”

“California,” she told him. She glanced down the bar at Ryan again. He laughed at something his companion said.

“Ahh, that’s too bad.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Annie asked. She’d heard what he said. She just didn’t know what he was talking about.

“I had high hopes for you and me getting better acquainted tonight.”

“And something changed your mind?” she asked.

“The guy at the end of the bar. The one you keep gazing at.”

“Ryan? He’s just my friend. I was only making sure his night is going okay, that’s all.”

“Hmm,” he said.

“Hmm what?” Annie said. The man seemed like he had more to say and, emboldened by the drink she’d had, and probably the champagne she’d had earlier, Annie wanted to know what it was.

He took a sip of his beer. “How long have you been in love with your friend there?”

“What?” Annie tried to laugh, but it came out as just a strange little strangled sound. “He and I have been best friends for years. I’m not in love with him.”

Clint chuckled. “You trying to convince me? Or yourself?”

“Fine.” Annie knocked back the rest of her drink, then furrowed her brows. “What makes you think I’m in love with him?”

Clint smiled softly, then quietly said, “Your whole face changes when you look at him. I thought you were the prettiest girl in the room when I first saw you, but when you looked at him… There’s nothing prettier than a woman in love.”

Annie looked at Ryan again, then back at Clint. There didn’t seem to be much reason to go on denying it. Instead, she shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. He doesn’t feel the same.”

“You’re sure wrong about that, doll.”

Annie motioned to the bartender for another drink. “Why would you say that? Can’t you see him surrounded by women down there?”

“Yeah, they want him alright.” He nodded to the bartender to bring him another beer as well. “But you see the way his jaw is clenched? He’s talking to them, puttin’ on as good a show as you are. But when you’re not looking, he’s picturing himself rippin’ my head right off my shoulders.”

Annie glanced down the bar again. Ryan, who’d been looking in her direction, quickly turned away. And back toward Blondie.

“I honestly don’t think so,” she said. “He—he admitted he’s thought of us hooking up at times. But if he had deep feelings for me, I think he would have said something by now.”

“Because you’ve said something to him about your feelings, right?” Clint lifted the cosmo the bartender set down, and held it out to her. Then he lifted his beer and did a quick toast. “Answer me this, beautiful girl in love, what prompted the two of you to come to Vegas together and then sit on separate ends of the bar?”

Annie felt her face go hot. She put her mouth against the rim of her martini glass and sipped long and hard. Her mouth was dry as a bone.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it,” Clint told her.

“I’m just a little embarrassed to tell you,” she said. If not for the second cosmo, maybe she never would have said anything. But her inhibitions were just low enough that she suddenly opened her mouth and began to talk about…everything. She told him about the list and about Ryan following her to Vegas to “protect her.” Then she put a hand to her cheek. “You probably think I’m pathetic, don’t you?”

“I think you’re amazing.” He took another long pull off of his beer. “Has he kissed you yet?”

Annie flushed bright red as she thought about the kiss…and the phone sex.

“So you’ve done a little more than kiss,” he teased. “Take it from a man who knows the inner workings of another man’s stupid brain, he’s into you, Annie. And the way he’s into you? It’s more than occasionally thinking about you two hooking up. He just hasn’t admitted it to himself yet.”

“You really think so?” She leaned closer to him, barely whispering the words. Maybe he was right, Annie realized. Ever since Ryan had found her naughty list, there was plenty of evidence to support what Clint was saying.

Ryan had kissed her in San Francisco. And that kiss, even as brief and close-mouthed as it had been, had been so hot, so intense. Then he’d called her and had scorching, mind-boggling phone sex with her. Then he’d followed her here to Vegas. She’d initiated the kiss on the gondola, but he’d definitely kissed her back.

Annie stole a quick glance Ryan’s way. The women still looked interested, but Ryan just looked sad. At least it was a step up from how he’d looked when she’d told him she was sticking to her plan—like she’d shoved a knife in his chest.

What if Ryan really does have feelings beyond friendship or the occasional sexual fantasy for me?

“God, if only it were true,” she said.

“I’d bet my last purse on it,” Clint said.

Annie smiled ruefully. “Please don’t. Because even if you’re right, even if we’re soul mates, I’m obviously a big chicken. And so is he. We have a wonderful friendship. We could lose that if we didn’t work out.”

“Maybe so,” Clint said. “Or maybe you can just go for it and it will work out.”

She imagined throwing herself at Ryan. Imagined him rejecting her. Gently. With pity in his eyes. But it would be rejection, nonetheless.

“You ever hear of a guy named Lane Frost?” Clint asked her.

“Sounds familiar,” she said.

“Ever seen the movie 8 Seconds?”

“Oh yeah!” She tapped on his forearm as recognition shot through her brain. “Luke Perry played a bull rider who got killed. That movie was so sad.”

“Yeah, it was. I was a kid when Lane was on the rise, but he was my hero. He used to have a saying that was pretty popular with the rodeo crowd. He’d say, ‘Don’t be afraid to go after what you want to do and what you want to be. But don’t be afraid to be willing to pay the price.’”

“In other words, if it means enough to me to be with Ryan, I’ll have to risk losing my friendship with him to make that first move?”

He tapped his glass against hers again with a clink. “Something like that, darlin’. You want another drink or are you going to take some risks?”

“Would you mind doing me a favor?” she said.

“Sure. What can I do for you?”

“Do a shot with me?” she said. “And make it sexy? I want to see how he reacts.”

Clint grinned and asked the bartender for two tequila shots. “I reckon you’re pretty enough to get punched in the face over.”

“Ryan wouldn’t do that,” she said.

“Never underestimate a man in love,” Clint told her as the bartender set up their shots. “Is he watching right now?” he asked her.

“Yeah, he’s watching,” she said.

She caught Ryan’s gaze, faked a smile, and gave him a quick thumbs-up.

“With your permission, ma’am?” Clint held out his hand and she placed her hand in his. She sucked in a breath when he licked her wrist.

Grinning, he dashed some salt on her moistened skin, then licked again. He picked up the tequila, downed it, then bit into a lime. “We’ve got his attention now, pretty girl. Ready to drive him over the edge?”

Annie nodded. Knowing she had to go for it, Annie licked Clint’s thick wrist, then dashed salt on it. He grinned at her, then put a wedge of lime between his teeth. Taking a deep breath, she licked the salt off his wrist. Drained her shot. Then leaned in and slowly took the lime from his mouth. Clint resisted a bit, keeping her close for several prolonged seconds. When Annie sat back up and took the lime out of her mouth, she glanced over at Ryan.

He looked pissed. Stone faced. Lips tight. Nostrils flaring.

“What’d I tell you?”

“Y—you might be right. You should be charging for your psychic services,” she told Clint with a smile.

“Ain’t no need for a psychic where love is concerned. You just have to know what to look for.”

“So what now?” she said. She was really talking out loud to herself. Trying to gather some courage to make her move. “Should I tell him you shot me down?”

Clint laughed. “You are something. You don’t need my permission for that, but if it’ll help you, you go right ahead. It will make me look awfully stupid. I’d have to be crazy to walk away from someone as pretty as you.”

Annie blushed. “You are a really nice guy. You’re handsome, and you know so much about love. Why are you all alone?”

With a smile still on his face, he said, “You have enough on your mind tonight, darlin’. I’m gonna drain this beer and walk away, leaving my reputation in the toilet. I wish you nothin’ but good.”

Annie watched him do exactly what he’d said he was going to do—finish his drink, drop enough bills on the counter to cover both of their drinks, then turn and walk away without a backward glance. He was so nice that she had to remind herself to lose the smile and look like she’d just been rejected. She took a deep breath.

“One more shot of tequila, please.”

The bartender promptly poured her another, and she downed it. Then she plastered a sour look on her face and stood just before Ryan appeared by her side. “What’s wrong?”

She had a good buzz going, so she hoped her words wouldn’t slur. “I’m just not good at this. Can you help me get back to my room? You can come back down afterwards.”

Ryan took her hand and led her out of the bar so quickly that Annie almost got dizzy. When they stepped into the elevator, Ryan asked, “What happened? Do you want to talk about it?”

Annie forced another sad look and shrugged. “I’m not sure what else to say. I tried so hard with that guy, but he shot me down. I’m just so humiliated.”

“He had to be crazy or gay,” Ryan said. “You were the prettiest woman there.”

Annie still wasn’t ready to come right out and tell him how she felt, but she needed to get him alone. She needed to know if he wanted her as badly as she wanted him.

When they got inside her room, she turned to him and said, “You can go back down now. I’m sorry for dragging you away from your admirers.”

“I don’t have any desire to go back down there, Annie. I want to be here with you. I want to make sure you’re okay. I don’t want you feeling bad about yourself because some brainless dick walked away from you in a bar.”

Annie kicked off her heels and sat on the bed. “Maybe it’s not a matter of my looks. Maybe I’m boring. I have no idea how to turn a guy on. I’d probably clear a room during a game of strip poker.”

Ryan shook his head with a shaky laugh. “Any man would be throwing his ante down on the table in a heartbeat for an offer like that. Come on, Annie. Don’t let one creep get you down.”

“I’m not. I guess tonight just reminded me how dull I am. The phone sex with you…that was my first time doing that…ever. I’ve never played strip poker, and maybe it’s because I’m so boring no one ever thinks to suggest it.”

His face creased with concern. “You’re being ridiculous. You’re not boring.”

She peered into his gray-green eyes. “Have you ever played?”

He shrugged. “Well…sure…but not lately.”

“See? Everyone’s played but me…”

“Tell you what,” Ryan said as he walked to the desk. “How about we play a little game? I’ll critique your technique.” He pulled out a deck of cards.

Annie had to really force herself not to smile now. She was better at this than she’d imagined. But since Ryan was what was motivating her, she shouldn’t be so surprised.

“Strip poker?” she said, sounding unsure when really she was dying to rip his clothes off. “We’ve never seen each other naked. Won’t it be weird?”

“I hardly think we’ll be traumatized. You’re a nurse, remember?”

“Well, yeah. And I supposed you’ve seen so many naked women, there’s nothing I have that would make an impression.”

“You always make an impression on me, Annie. And I’m not going to lie. You strip in front of me, and I guarantee you I’m going to get hard. I’m going to want to fuck you. But nothing will happen unless you want it to happen.”

His words made lust and anticipation zing through her.

Do you want it to happen? she almost asked. But she held back. No sense spooking him at this point when he was virtually handing himself to her on a silver platter. Besides, his words had made lust and anticipation zing through her.

I’m going to want to fuck you. But nothing will happen unless you want it to happen.

Oh, she wanted, all right. And soon he’d have no doubt that was the case.

“You won’t cheat, will you? I’ve never played before.”

Ryan grinned and put his hand over his heart. “No cheating, you have my word.” But he held one hand behind his back as he said it.

Annie smiled and said, “Let’s see the other hand.”

Ryan pulled it out. His fingers were crossed. He had a silly smile on his face.

“It’s a good thing I already know how to play poker then,” she said.

“How many items of clothing do you have on?” he asked.

“Do shoes count?”

“No.”

“Then three,” she said.

“Damn! You’re almost there, and we haven’t even started. Let’s see, I’m wearing a shirt, pants, boxers and socks.” He bent down, kicked off his shoes, and pulled off his socks. “Now we’re even.”

They both moved to the small dining table and sat across from each other. He started to deal the cards.

“So for every hand you lose, you have to take something off, right?”

“That’s the plan,” he said.

She picked up the cards Ryan dealt her and tossed two aside, facedown. Ryan looked at his, grinned and put one facedown on the table.

“Two?” he asked her.

“Yes, please,” she said.

“Okay, and dealer takes one,” he said. He had a gleam in his eye, and Annie knew he had something good. She laid down her three queens. He had a straight flush.

“You’re sure you’re not cheating?” she said.

“Just lucky,” he told her. “Take it off.”

Annie stood up and pulled the little black dress over her head. She was standing in front of Ryan now in her lacy black bra and panties. He looked like his eyes were about to pop out of his head. Lifted a hand as if to touch her, then quickly dropped it.

“Wow,” he said. “I hope my luck holds.”

Annie giggled. She was having fun, and she was turned on, but she was nervous as heck. “This one is my hand, I can feel it,” she said.

Ryan dealt them each another five cards. She noticed that he was having a really hard time keeping his eyes off the swells of her breasts above her bra. Her nipples were hard as pebbles, pressing against the thin material of her bra. Maybe she should forget the card game and strip for him right then and there.

“How many?” Ryan asked her.

“I’m good,” she said with a broad grin.

Ryan grinned back and said, “Dealer takes one.”

Annie placed her cards down. She had an ace-high flush. Ryan had two pair.

“Strip,” she said, feeling more confident all of a sudden.

Ryan unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off. Annie shivered at the sight of his chiseled form. She’d seen his broad, naked chest and the corrugated leanness of his flat abs before, but she hadn’t been sitting nearly naked across from him then. He was all rippling muscle and right now he seemed larger. More dominating. Incredibly male.

“I think we’re going to have to make this more interesting. Slow it down a bit,” Ryan said.

“How are we going to do that?” she asked.

“How about the winner can either make the loser remove an article of clothing or he can ask her a personal question that she has to answer?”

“Or he has to answer. I can handle that,” she said. “Can you?”

So Ryan dealt, and again, Annie had the winning hand. “I have lots of questions, but I think I’d feel much more comfortable if you were in your underwear with me. Can you take off those tight jeans, please?”

Ryan stood up and unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans. He looked Annie in the eye as he said, “You know, I often go commando. You caught me on a good laundry day.”

Annie laughed and said, “For the sake of the game, I’m glad.”

When Ryan won the next hand, Annie felt a tickle of anticipation in her belly. He looked over her almost-naked body and licked his lips. “Have you ever been tied up?”

“Like…been busy?” she said with a sly grin.

“Like with leather or silk,” Ryan said in a sexy, husky voice.

“Not in real life,” Annie said. She was flirting, trying her best to entice him. From the look on his face, it was working.

“So, you fantasize about it, do you? In these fantasies, who’s the one tying you up?”

“Huh uh,” she said. “You got one question, asked and answered. Deal.”

Ryan shuffled the cards and dealt. Annie knew from his smile that she was in trouble. He had another straight.

“Hmm…” he said, staring at her breasts. Annie could almost feel the heat from his stare. “Who’s the one tying you up in your fantasies? Kyle?”

“Kyle? Who is—” The memory of her blurting out that name before they had phone sex came back to her. She needed to eliminate any mistaken belief on Ryan’s part that she wanted any man but him. “There is no Kyle. I made him up.”

He looked stunned. “Why?”

“Don’t you know?”

“I’m hoping I do. But I need to hear you say it.”

Annie looked up at him. For the first time since she’d fallen in love with him all those years ago, she was going to admit to him that he was the object of her fantasies. Her pulse was racing, and she could hardly breathe as she said, “Because when you asked me who my fantasy man was, I was too scared to admit it’s you.”

He swallowed hard enough to hear. “So you want me?”

“For years. Since we first met, actually.”

He inhaled sharply. “That long? How come you never told me?”

She glanced away. “For the same reason you didn’t tell me you’d thought of having sex with me. I was too afraid it would mess up our friendship.” She took a deep breath and met his gaze. “But now I’m willing to take the risk. Because I don’t really think it’s much of a risk at all. Not anymore.”

“You don’t?”

She shook her head. “We mean too much to each other. No matter what happens, we’ll always be friends. You’ll always be a part of my life.”

He was breathing faster now and his eyes glittered with some fiery emotion that was far more complex than mere lust. “But there’s always a risk, Annie. We made a pact in high school, remember? To never let sexual chemistry jeopardize our friendship. What about that?”

Was that all it was between them as far as he was concerned? Sexual chemistry? She felt her confidence deflating. “I didn’t want to make that promise. You’re the one who asked for it.”

He stared at the deck in his hand before he began shuffling the cards.

“Do you remember what happened before I asked you to make that promise?” he asked.

“We were studying. And talking about that other couple…friends who were no longer friends…”

“Right. And you said you understood why Suzanne Miller took the chance with Peter Horace. That he was handsome. Smart. That he had it all.” He finally looked up at her. “I thought you were telling me you wanted a shot at him.”

She sucked in a breath. Oh God. How could he have thought? Hadn’t he been able to tell how much she was into him? “He was all those things. But I didn’t mean I wanted to go for him. I guess…in my own lame way…I was telling you that I’d take the chance with you. Ryan, I wanted so badly for you to notice me as more than a friend. Why couldn’t you see that?”

His mouth twisted. “I’m not smart. Not like Peter Horace. Not like your ex, Daniel. Not like you.”

“That’s not true, Ryan Hennessey.”

He shrugged. “I’m not a rocket scientist. I’m okay. But I’d never get into med school.”

She swiftly stood, then just as swiftly sat down, her face flaming, when she remembered she was in her underwear. Ryan definitely remembered though given the way he was looking at her breasts.

“Neither would I. I’m a nurse, not a doctor, remember? You’re the most incredible guy I know. You’re very smart. You’re stunningly handsome. You’re everything.”

His mouth curved upward. “Careful or you’ll have my head as big as a house.”

“I wouldn’t care. Besides, you’re huge all over.”

He looked at her with a gleam in his eyes. Something like predatory intent. “You do know you haven’t seen me all over, don’t you?”

She blushed. “It’s one of my biggest regrets.”

He cocked a brow. “Is that so?”

“Weren’t you listening when I said I want you? In case I wasn’t clear, I’ve thought about having sex with you in every way imaginable. I’ve thought about what your—your d—dick looks like. How it would feel. How it would taste. Now what do you say about that?”

He looked dazed, his expression taut. “I’d say I’m afraid you’ve had too much to drink and don’t know what you’re saying.”

“I was a little tipsy when we left the bar. But I swear, Ryan, I’m completely sober. I know exactly what I’m saying. And what I want to be doing. Do you want me to tell you?”

He laughed shakily. “You have no idea.” He held up the stack of cards, and his hand wasn’t quite steady. “But we’ve got a game to finish, remember?”

Before she could answer, he dealt again.

She could barely see the cards, but she ended up winning the hand.

He smiled slightly as he waited for her to tell him what she wanted.

Keep this simple. Keep this about sex, she told herself. That’s something he’ll understand. Talk about the emotions later. “Have you ever had sex in a public place?”

“Yes,” he said.

“Where?” she asked.

“Weren’t you the one who said, ‘Asked and answered’? I’ll deal.”

Ryan dealt the next hand, and Annie won…again.

“Okay, where?” she said.

“In the bathroom at a club downtown,” he said.

“Eww.”

“You disapprove?” he asked.

“Completely,” she said. “Do you know how germ-infested those places are?”

“Wasn’t actually thinking of that at the time. Haven’t you ever had sex that made you forget where you were? Who you were?”

“No.”

“That’s a damn shame.” Ryan dealt again. “Maybe I can do something about that for you.”

Okay, that was both putting it all out there and at the same time teasing her until she wanted to scream. She didn’t want to dance around their desire for each other anymore. “Why does there have to be any maybe about it?”

Their hands were both crap, but Ryan won with an ace. “Take something off,” he said with a mischievous grin.

Annie hesitated. Did she really know what she was doing here? Was this really just about sex for Ryan?

Even if it was, she decided, she needed him naked. At least she’d have the memory of the physical intimacy between them. But she was torn about whether to remove her panties or her bra. At least with the panties, the table would cover her nakedness. She slipped her fingers into the elastic, then hesitated. She grabbed her dress, lying nearby, and tucked it underneath her so her bare ass wouldn’t be touching the leather chair. Then she maneuvered the underwear down her legs. Ryan didn’t take his eyes off her.

She flung the panties at him, and they ended up draped over his shoulder. “Done.”

“You’re blushing,” he said. Then he bent slightly at the waist and turned his head sideways in a dramatic attempt to see her lower half.

Annie closed her legs tightly. “Stop it!”

He was still laughing at her as he dealt the next hand.

Annie won with a pair of jacks.

She was ready to explode from the sexual tension in the room. She wanted to move things to the bed but stayed where she was. She waved at his boxers. “Take them off, mister.”

Ryan didn’t hesitate. He stood and looked directly into her eyes as he slid the boxers over his hips and let them drop to the floor. Annie willed herself not to look down, but she was only human. Her eyes dropped below his waist, and her mouth went dry. He was fully erect, even bigger than she’d imagined, and all Annie could manage was, “Hmm.” She supposed that was better than yummy and gimme gimme, which is what she really wanted to say.

Ryan laughed again. “Hmm? You really know how to hurt a guy.”

“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way…”

Ryan struck a centerfold pose. “So tell me what you really think.” He turned to the left and then the right. As she drank in the sight of his naked body and got hot all over, his teasing made things seem almost natural. When he was finished clowning around, he got a pillow off the bed and carried it over to his chair.

Annie hadn’t uttered a sound or moved a muscle. She was too mesmerized by the sight of Ryan’s powerful muscular frame. Sleek smooth skin with just a light dusting of hair. Narrow waist, lean hips, and long, muscular thighs. Tight buttocks and a powerful length of magnificent flesh rising from his groin. He looked like a Greek god, streamlined, strong, and sinewy.

She cleared her throat and strived to maintain her cool. “What are you doing?”

“Not crazy about sitting my naked butt in that leather chair.”

“Um, then use your shirt, because I’m not crazy about sleeping with a pillow that has your ass cooties all over it.”

Annie wasn’t expecting the pillow to be launched at her head. When it struck her in the side of the face, she was knocked back and almost fell off the chair.

“Fuck, Annie! I’m sorry!” Ryan moved closer to see if she was okay.

Annie kept her head down. When he bent toward her, she swung the pillow with all her strength, smacking him upside the head.

Everything happened fast after that.

Ryan lunged at her, and Annie tried to get up and run, but he caught her around the waist. Lifting her off the ground with one arm as she squirmed and giggled, he threw her down on the bed. He stretched her arms out over her head and held them down with one hand.

His hard cock pressed against her thigh. She saw the heated desire in his eyes, too, but she also saw something else.

Uncertainty.

“I have one more question,” she quickly asked.

“What’s that?” he asked.

“Have you ever been tied up?”

“You know me like no one else. You know everything about me. What do you think?”

She shifted, rubbing against his shaft, relishing the way he hardened and lengthened even more. Desire pulsed so hard between her legs she was momentarily incapable of speech. Finally, she said, “I think you’ve thought about it. You’re too sexual not to. But you’re also a big, bad, buff fireman. Given how you’ve always kept the women in your life at a distance—”

“You mean every woman but you.”

“What?”

“You mean I’ve kept every woman at a distance but you.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” she said. “Not anymore. But the question is, do you want to keep me at a distance right now? Or will you give yourself to me, Ryan? Truly give yourself to me?”

His expression grew wary. “Just what are you talking about, Annie? What is it you want from me?”

Your heart. Your soul. Everything you are. The thoughts barreled through her mind before she could stop them. But she was too much of a coward to say them. Ryan seemed attracted to her. Seemed to be enjoying the little game they were playing. That was more than enough for now.

“I want you to let me up,” she said softly.

He did so. Immediately.

She straddled him, grabbed his wrists, and pinned them over his head. “And now I want you to let me tie you up.”

Ryan took a swift breath. She could tell by the look on his face that he was torn between his hard cock and the worrisome thoughts that were going through his head. Worries that probably echoed her own. What if they took this too far? What if they lost something precious and could never get it back? But as much as Annie still worried about that, she wanted more. She’d wanted more for a long, long time. And whether it was because of Vegas, Melina words about risk, Clint’s words that Ryan loved her, or the sight and feel of Ryan himself, naked and tempting and utterly gorgeous, she was finally ready to reach out for what she wanted.

No, she was ready to demand it.

“I’ll take your silence as a yes.” She stood, noting how Ryan’s gaze immediately zoomed in on the juncture of her thighs. “Lie back on the bed.”

For a long time, he didn’t answer. Just continued to stare where she was growing wetter and wetter by the second. Eventually, she shifted, hoping he liked what he seeing. That he didn’t mind the neat patch of hair between her thighs.

But she was being ridiculous. He was fully aroused, his cock spearing up towards his belly. As she watched, he wrapped his fist around himself and pumped until a bead of come formed on the head of his cock.

She whimpered.

His gaze shot to hers. “You sure you want to tie me down? Because I can’t think of anything better than having my hands all over that sweet body of yours.”

Oh God. That sounded good. But right now she had something else in mind. Annie put a hand on either side of her lace-clad breasts, pushed them together, and said, “Would you like to see these?”

Ryan licked his lips and nodded, his expression now tight. Almost desperate. Annie turned away from him, catching a quick glimpse of his reflection in the mirror. He looked confused.

But he also looked hungry as he stared at her bare ass.

She pulled open the dresser drawer and stared at the unopened roll of bondage tape that Paige had given her. The idea of binding Ryan with tape seemed harsh, a little too down-and-dirty. So unbelievably naughty. Right now, she wanted to give him an experience that was edgy yet still soft. Bold but still feminine. Right now, she wanted him to see her that way.

She took out two pair of knee-high stockings. With a smile, she turned back around. Unsure where the sudden surge of confidence came from, she said, “After I tie you up, I’ll show them to you.”

His eyebrows shot up. “You’re serious?”

“Deadly serious,” Annie said. “This is Vegas, and I’m here to be naughty. Be naughty with me, Ryan. Isn’t that why you really came here?”

She walked toward him, stopping less than two feet away. He reached out for her, but she shook her head and took a step back.

He frowned. “Annie?”

She unrolled one stocking, held it tautly between her two hands, then snapped it like a belt. As Ryan stared at her, she could see the wheels in his head turning. It was a stocking, and he was a strong man. He was probably thinking he’d be able to break free the second he wanted loose.

“Tie me up, baby. I’m yours.” He stretched out on the bed and raised his arms above his head.

Annie took his right arm first and wrapped the stocking around it, tying it in a tight knot, but leaving enough slack that it didn’t cut off his circulation. Then she wrapped the other end around the thin headboard and tied it securely. The whole time, Ryan watched her, his hard cock twitching.

She tied his left arm next.

“I thought you were going to lose the bra.”

“Patience. I’m not finished.” Annie had practiced this fantasy in her head so many times, it felt completely natural when she pulled his left leg out toward the side of the bed and tied his ankle the same way that she had his wrist. She did the same to his other leg.

When she was done, she straightened, studied him for several heart-stopping moments. Ryan Hennessey was sprawled naked on the bed. Her bed. She reached behind her back to unhook her bra. She let it fall off of her and slide down her arms.

Ryan inhaled sharply, staring at her breasts, nipples swollen and standing at attention, as if she’d just revealed a treasure beyond anyone’s imaginings.

“God, Annie, you’re gorgeous,” he said.

“Not too skinny?” Or too small? She’d been a C cup before she’d lost the weight and now she was a B. A full and pert B cup, but still…

“I told you I loved how you looked before. But I love you like this, too. I love your face. Your tits. Your legs. Everything about you.”

She shivered at the honest emotion in his words. His desire emboldened her. Standing at the foot of the bed, she looked down at him, bound, eager, helpless, and hard as a rock.

She walked to the side of the bed as Ryan’s eyes followed her. Once there, with the lights of Sin City shining through the big window in the background, she massaged her breasts and tugged on her engorged nipples. “I used to imagine your lips right here where my fingers are. Mmm, I liked thinking about what it would feel like for you to suck and lick and even nibble on them. But it hurt to think about it, too. Because I didn’t think it would ever happen.”

“You were wrong. I’m right here, baby,” he said. “I’ve been waiting for this, too.”

“I need to make sure you want it as badly as I do.”

As she spoke, she slid one of her hands down her newly flat stomach and over her pubic mound. Ryan’s groan sounded like a strangled cry. Highly aroused, she slid her hand down farther, taking her swollen clit between her fingers. God, she couldn’t remember a time when she’d been so wet.

She swirled around her clit with her fingers, loving how he licked his lips as if imagining his tongue where her fingers were.

His cock rose up and away from his body, as if trying to reach her all on its own. Locking her gaze with his, she brought her hand to her mouth, tasting her own juices.

Annie had never done anything this bold before, and the thrill was indescribable. Ryan’s groans were sounding more frustrated, and he looked relieved as she crawled up the bed to straddle his waist. She gloried in the feel of his hot skin and taut muscles against her inner thighs. Felt herself tremble with the need to raise her hips and impale herself on him. But she wasn’t quite ready to stop administering her special brand of torture. Rubbing her wet pussy back and forth across his lower abdomen, she hissed at the pressure of his cock against her ass.

“Oh God, Annie…you’re going to kill me,” he gasped. “We need to stop. Get a condom before I lose it completely.”

Hearing him so desperate for her only egged her on. Leaning forward, she rested the tips of her fingernails against each bound wrist and then dragged them lightly down his arms. When she got to his shoulders, she trailed her nails across his chest, skimming his nipples lightly, causing him to shiver. “I brought condoms, but we don’t need them. I’m on the pill. And I’m clean. You?” she asked, even though she already knew the answer.

As part of his job, Ryan got tested regularly. In addition, she knew he wouldn’t leave something as important as his health to someone else. “I’m clean, too,” he gasped. “I’ve never been with a woman without protection.”

“That’s all I need to hear.”

“You sure, Annie? I don’t want you to feel pressured—God, Annie.” He moaned when she leaned over and licked his nipples before gliding her tongue up to his neck, across his jaw, and finally to his lips. He sucked at her mouth like a starving man, and as she felt her breasts and aching nipples brushing against the hard flesh of his chest, the fire in the pit of her belly burned so hotly that the soft kiss she’d intended turned into a full-on assault. Ryan slipped his tongue into her mouth, and she greedily took it, tightly wrapping her lips around it and sucking it in. He lifted his hips up off the bed, bucking against her as they kissed.

She pulled back to say, “I’m ready for this. If there’s anyone I trust in this world, Ryan, it’s you. And I’ve waited so long to be with you. I don’t want anything to be between us. I want you bare. Inside me. Filling me up when you come.”

“I want that, too,” he said. “So bad.”

“Then you can have it. But only if…” She paused for effect.

He looked absolutely desperate as he gasped, “What?”

She mock pouted. “Did you mean what you said in the gondola? About the kiss only ranking in your top five?”

She was smiling, trying to tease, but his expression remained intense.

“That kiss was the best fucking thing that’s ever happened to me. Until now.”

His gaze never wavered. The honesty of his words shined brightly, filling her with joy. “Good answer,” she whispered a split second before she captured his mouth again. Shifting, she reached between her legs to where his throbbing cock lay. Gently, she ran her fingernails across the shaft, down across his balls, and then back up to the tip. As she let her hand move up his body once more, she lowered her hips so that her core rested snugly against his erection.

She rubbed herself along the length of him, loving the erratic sounds of his inhales and exhales. She let out a breathy moan of her own. She was aching for him, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep this up much longer without taking what she needed.

Ryan slid his hips back and forth and pulled against his restraints. Annie had read somewhere that men often underestimated the strength of nylon stockings. His tugging only served to pull the knots tighter.

“God, Annie! I need you, baby, puh…leaze…!”

She smiled, but instead of letting him enter her, or keeping up the sweet friction, she shifted her body down his thighs, slithering almost like a snake, until she was kneeling between his legs. She lowered her lips so close he’d feel her breaths. He squirmed and moaned and begged until she finally gave in, parting her lips just enough to allow the head of his cock to slip between them. She sucked gently while flicking her tongue against him. Then she took him deeper and deeper into her mouth, slowly taking in each glorious inch until she could feel him at the back of her throat. She paused. Hummed.

Choked slightly when he thrust himself even deeper.

“I’m sorry…sorry,” he gasped.

She shook her head and pulled back slowly, dragging her tongue along the underside of his cock as she did. She relished the sounds of his groans and deep moans as she continued to suck him, gaining momentum until she felt him swelling between her lips. When she completely released him to study the results of her work, he groaned painfully.

Grinning in amazement at the sensual thrall she had him in, she flattened her palms and ran her hands up his thighs to his pelvis, just skirting the area where his cock danced, desperate for more attention. She didn’t give it to him. Not yet. She slid her palms back down to his thighs, allowing the sides of her fingers to brush softly against his balls.

“Please, Annie…”

“Please what, Ryan? Tell me what you want.”

“I want you, baby. So fucking bad.”

“I’m right here,” she said.

He started to say something else, but his words turned into a cry as she took his cock back into her mouth, pumping it in and out. She looked up at him as she sucked, wanting to see the pleasure she was giving him reflected on his face. His gray-green eyes were almost completely covered by heavy lids. His lips were parted slightly, and his ragged breaths told her all she needed to know—he was more than enjoying what she was doing to him. The tender flesh between her legs throbbed. She had never wanted to be fucked as badly as she did at that moment.

She wrapped her fingers around the base of his cock and began pumping him with her hand as she increased the suction and speed of her mouth. His hips moved as much as they could. Erratic. Frantic. Reluctantly, she backed off, reducing the pressure and the speed of both her mouth and her hand.

“No. God. Keep going,” he groaned.

“I will. I promise,” she said. She continued to gently caress him until she’d pulled him off the ledge.

Annie lifted her mouth and gave his cock one last pump before releasing him. He actually whimpered at the loss of contact. Annie was as desperate as he was now. She climbed back up his body, pulling her knees even with his hips, and settled on top of him so his cock pressed against the outside of her core. She’d waited so long for this moment, to have him poised at her entrance, that making the move felt surreal. She bent forward, not pressing her lips to his yet, just allowing her face to hover a millimeter above his. She wanted to see his face, the look in his eyes when it happened at last.

She lifted her hips slightly, and she was so wet, so ready for him, that Ryan’s cock slipped inside her. He thrust up, filling her completely.

They kissed as he continued to thrust upward, and she ground downward in what seemed like the most perfect rhythm ever. Annie finally understood what the term “pure ecstasy” meant. No, she more than understood it. She was living it.

When she broke their kiss, Ryan opened his eyes and smiled at her. He didn’t speak, he just gave her nipples a hungry look and ran his sexy tongue along his lips. She pushed herself up so that he could reach one, and she let out a heavy gasp as he sucked one into his mouth. Her body quivered as Ryan ran his tongue around the outside of her nipple and grazed it gently with his teeth. Annie let him work on one for a while and then adjusted her body so that he could suck in the other.

“Oh Ryan, that’s so good. Oh fuck! It feels so good.”

When Ryan took a break for air, Annie sat upright. She pressed her knees into the mattress and pushed herself up so that he nearly slipped out. Before he did, she slowly sank down and squeezed him tight with her internal muscles, causing more satisfied noises to escape from his chest. She repeated the action a few times, delighting in watching his fists clench as he grew even more desperate for her.

She put her hands behind her and rested them on the tops of his thighs. She used the leverage to quicken her movements. His gaze dropped so he could watch himself plunge in and out of her. Keeping the rhythm going, she reached down, rubbing her clit, circling it with her fingers, doubling her own pleasure, and sending Ryan into fits of strangled moans.

He thrust his hips up harder, as hard and fast as his restraints would allow him. Sliding her hands under his shoulders, she molded her body to his, pressing herself against his chest until her breasts were crushed against him. She sucked on his bicep as she continued to work her hips back and forth and up and down.

Her own moans had turned into whimpers, and the noises he made were driving her crazy. She was close, and she knew he was, too. She rested her lips against his ear and said, “Come with me, Ryan.”

His body tightened from head to toe, and with one shout, calling her name, he came. The muscles of her pussy clenched around him, and she covered his mouth with hers, swallowing his grunts and groans, whimpering along with him as the waves of pleasure crashed over them both, drowning them in ecstasy. It seemed to go on forever, and even as she experienced nirvana, Annie knew exactly who they were, where they were, and what had brought them to this point. Everything, all the heartache and pain and self-doubt, she’d relieve it a hundred times over to be able to have this moment in Ryan’s arms.

Once their trembling had passed and their breaths steadied, she lifted her hips. They both moaned as he slipped out of her. Gently, she kissed his throat, right over his pounding pulse.

In the past, she might have interpreted their continuing silence as a bad thing, but for some reason she didn’t. Instead, their lack of words felt reverential. Silent acknowledgment that they’d just professed all they needed to with their bodies.

He kissed her temple and she cuddled close to him for a long time, almost falling asleep and only rousing when he shifted beneath her. A quick glance confirmed that despite still being tied, he was about to doze off himself. Forcing herself to move, she got to her feet, kissed him gently, and whispered, “I’ll be right back.” Unable to keep herself from smiling with pure joy, she staggered to the bathroom to grab a small pair of scissors from her makeup bag, then released him from his bonds. Immediately, he pulled her into his arms. She buried her face in his neck, breathed in their combined scent, and with a final sigh of contentment, fell asleep.