Chapter Eight
Rose’s fingers shook so badly, it took three tries to get the key into her door. Having a big, sexy man pressed against her back certainly didn’t make the struggle any easier.
“You second guessing my company tonight?” Ryan brushed the hair from her neck, replacing it with his hot breath and soft, taunting lips. “I don’t have to come in, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to.”
Was he serious? She finally had him back in her life and she’d take every opportunity to enjoy as much of him as she could. Sure, tonight would only be a temporary fix to nine, torturous years of longing, but she wasn’t stupid. Some of Ryan Croft was better than none of him.
“I want you,” she breathed, closing her eyes and savoring the familiar, delicious feeling of being in his arms again. “To come in, I mean.”
His laugh vibrated off of her skin, leaving goose bumps in its wake. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. You call all the shots.”
Mmm, a nice gesture, but… “You sure about that?” she teased, walking them into the condo, his arms still wrapped around her waist. He kicked the door shut behind them. “I might not be the same shy girl I used to be.”
“I’m game for whatever you’ve got up your sleeve, babe.”
“Well, in that case…” She spun in his arms and pulled his mouth down to hers. Instinctively, she prepared for the sweet, progressive kind of kiss they’d shared in the past. She should have known better, though. There wasn’t anything tentative about this older, more virile version of the man she used to love. Ryan’s mouth slid over hers in a deep, all-consuming kiss that took the very breath from her lungs. His gentle, coaxing lips left no part of hers untouched and, before she knew it, he had her turned around and pressed her up against the foyer wall.
She pushed off his ball cap and slid her hands into his thick hair, tugging him down as close as he could get. She needed to taste more of him. Needed more of that drugging caress of his tongue along hers, because there was something about Ryan that had always soothed the restless ache inside of her.
He groaned, shoved a knee between her legs, and pinned his chest against hers, holding her captive against the wall. She didn’t even try to suppress her gasp. Or the way her hand began to immediately roam over every inch of his body that she could reach.
God, he was so hard. So solid and steady and comforting. Any apprehension she might’ve felt about letting this happen again between them melted away like ice in the California sunshine, because Ryan was right for her. Always had been. Tonight felt no different.
“My heart is beating so fast,” she panted when he broke away and leaned his forehead against hers, breathing hard himself. “I never thought this would happen again. You and me…”
He gave a sexy smile and pressed her hand to his own pounding heart. “Definitely happening, babe. You feel that?”
She nodded. “This is so crazy.”
“Is it?” He brushed another wet kiss across her lips and her breasts grew heavy, her nipples hard. “We’ve always had incredible chemistry, Rose. You remember, don’t you?”
Good Lord, yes. “Stay with me tonight,” she whispered. “I want to remember everything.”
He hoisted her up into his arms, a wicked grin on his handsome face. “So do I.”
***
He carried her into the condo, stopping every so often to press her up against another wall while completely intoxicating her with his kisses.
When they stopped in the hallway and he bent to lick and nip at her neck, she went to work, trying ruthlessly to lift his sweatshirt over his head. “I need to feel you,” she begged. “Please.”
He obliged and did her one better by removing the t-shirt he had underneath, too. She groaned, because holy crap. So much skin and so much muscle. So very much muscle. Unable to resist, she leaned in and trailed her tongue along the upper swell of his pecs, loving the way they twitched and jumped beneath her touch.
“Now you,” he rasped, first trying to unbutton her long sweater before he grew impatient and yanked it over her head. It landed somewhere in the vicinity of Janine’s door, along with her shirt and cami. “Mmm, now that’s pretty.” His fingers traced over the black lace of her half-cup bra, before he gave the fabric a tug and set her aching breasts free. His groan of appreciation sent eager chills zipping down her spine, but, in an instant, he warmed her. His hot swirled around one swollen nipple, then the next, tightening the invisible cord of desire that ran from each sensitive peak, straight to the apex of her legs. She squirmed against him, needing more skin on skin contact, but they were both still dressed from the waist down.
“You want something else, beautiful?” he chuckled, flicking one nub with the tip of his tongue while he tweaked the other between his fingers. “All you’ve gotta do is ask.”
“You’re driving me insane,” she said, breathless. “It’s not very ladylike, but I want you inside. I need to feel you like that again.”
His eyes glazed over with such feral heat, she thought she might incinerate right there. Then he put her hands on his belt and the wicked grin that played on his lips put her over the edge.
She tore into the invitation, unfastening him with lightning speed, while he reciprocated and tugged her leggings off. Snaking an arm beneath her butt, he carried her into the bedroom, haphazardly depositing them both on the bed. He loomed above her, his bulky arms on either side of her head, with his thick cock, notched against her damp panties.
“You sure about this?” he asked, his nostrils flaring and his breath puffing against her face in quick, anxious bursts.
She nodded and slid her hand into the back of his boxer briefs, smoothing her fingers along his backside. Good Lord, those cheeks were firmer than they had been in high school. How was that even possible? “As sure as I was the first time.”
He growled and lowered his head to her neck, painting a trail of wet kisses down to her chest and then her navel, not stopping until he reached the thin band of her panties. Even then, he continued moving south, running his tongue along her cleft, just barely teasing her clit through the soaked material.
“So sweet,” he murmured, as his fingers looped into the elastic and tugged, leaving her bare before him. “Jesus, you’re prettier than I remember.”
Before she could respond, his mouth was on her completely. No barriers. Just skin on skin, desire on desire.
She curled her fingers into his hair, her hips lifting off the bed with every lick and caress of his expert mouth. No other man had ever been able to make her feel this way and, until that very moment, she hadn’t understood why. Now, with Ryan’s head buried so intently between her legs, she got it, crystal clear.
Sex with Ryan had never been just sex. It wasn’t just a physical high they chased—it was a desire to connect on a level that far surpassed the basic human need for release. She and Ryan knew things about each other that no one else did. They’d shared more in their three-year relationship than many couples ever did in a lifetime. Partly because they’d shared so many firsts together, but mostly because of trust.
He’d been her best friend and she’d been his, and it didn’t matter that nine years had passed. Ryan would always have a part of her that no one ever could. It was his and only his. Forever.
He slid a finger inside of her and she arched off the bed, stars lighting up behind her eyes.
“Ryan!” she cried, as her sex wound tight, then shattered, convulsing around his fingers and dampening his tongue. He rode out the wave, easing her down, and then he was above her again, his eyes wild while a galaxy-sized grin broke through his stubble.
“Still the best thing in the world, making you come apart like that,” he murmured.
She closed her eyes, smiled, and took a second to catch her breath. “I disagree. The best part is yet to come.”
He chuckled, hurried to the hallway and his discarded clothes, and returned with a condom in hand. Tearing the package open with his teeth, he rolled it on and was back between her legs in record time.
“This part, you mean?” He smiled deviously and rubbed the tip of his cock through her slippery folds. He kept his gaze locked on hers and she tried to stay with him, but the sensations were too much. Her eyes fluttered shut and she moaned, low and hungry.
“Not nice to tease.”
He dipped down and pressed a lingering kiss to her lips. “I don’t know, princess, you seem to like my teasing just fine.”
Reaching between them, she wrapped her hand around his shaft, stroking long and slow. His hips bucked against hers and he grunted, just as desperate as her cry only seconds earlier.
“Who’s teasing now, huh?” She giggled and gave him another torturous squeeze.
He made a throaty sound just shy of a growl and jerked her knees into the air, his thighs pressing against the back of hers. Her laugh turned to a gasp and then another pleading moan as he positioned himself at her entrance.
“It’s been too damn long, baby. You ready for this?” he rasped, his hand shaking as it wrapped around the base of his cock.
She nodded and gave herself over to him as he pushed inside, filling her inch by inch, until she couldn’t take anymore. He was so much bigger than she remembered, claiming every bit of her and awakening nerves she’d all but forgotten.
“Ryannn,” she cried, her fingers digging into his shoulders as he slowly began to move his hips, loving her like only he could. Tears built in her eyes and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do to hold them back.
Being with Ryan again was…too much. And yet it wasn’t nearly enough either.
“I’ve missed you.” She laid her palm against the side of his face and whispered around the emotion clogging her throat. “I’ve missed you so much.”
His eyelashes lowered and he turned into her touch, kissing her hand. “Missed you too, baby. Don’t want this to end.”
But it had to. They lived separate lives now. All they could ever have were the memories…and this one perfect night.
The tension tightened in his face and his nostrils flared with every thrust. She felt him pulse inside of her and the fire built all over again. He reached down and thumbed her clit as his strokes became more hurried, more frantic.
“Come on, Rosie. Fly with me one more time.”
And she did. Hard and fast, riding the high of loving Ryan Croft with everything she had. All the while knowing it would never be enough.