Her fingers stilled on his skin. “Do you think I’m the kind of woman who can sleep with any man and move on? I want to get married one day. I’m not a slut.”
He cupped her cheeks, his palms warm. “This isn’t going to work, Ryan.” He let the words hang for a few seconds. “I knew it would be hot, but there’s no future in it. I’m not into sleeping around either.”
“Oh, please. I’m sure you take a woman out for sex.” She pressed closer, steam swirling around them like a veil.
“That’s different.”
“Why? Because you’re a man?”
He shook his head, water dripping from his hair. “No, it’s not that. When I go out with a woman, I’m hoping it will lead to something. If we end up in bed, that’s usually when I know it’s not going anywhere. You need chemistry in a relationship.”
She tilted her head, droplets sliding down her neck. “We have that.”
“But we can’t have a relationship. This is just asking for trouble.”
Ryan sighed, the sound soft. “Okay. I understand. I’ll stay away from you.”
Seth’s lips curved downward. “I just hope I can stay away from you. You make my dick hard all the damn time.”
She glanced down, and his heart hammered as he saw her take in his growing arousal. When she met his eyes again, there was something both gentle and hungry in her gaze.
“Like now?”
“Yes,” he growled, voice husky. “Damn, I wish I had a condom in here.”
Ryan placed her hands on his chest and looked into his eyes.
“I believe you,” she said with a smirk.
“About what?” Seth frowned.
“When you told me no woman has ever kicked you out of bed,” she said, making Seth chuckle. She opened the shower door, sending a wave of steam into the air, and picked up a towel from the rack. She patted her hair dry, shoulders gleaming with water, then paused and looked back at him. “I’ll be in the bedroom.” With a small, knowing smile, she left.
Seth leaned both hands against the cool tile wall, head bowed, chest heaving. He knew he’d never stay away. He turned off the water, grabbed a towel, and toweled himself dry before following her.
****
The light sifted through the slats of the window blinds, bathing the bedroom in a gentle, golden haze. Crisp cotton sheets rustled beneath them as Ryan lay with her head pillowed against Seth’s broad chest, her fingers drifting lightly across the peaks and valleys of his muscles. She let her nails skim the hard curve of his pecs, then traced the firm planes of his six-pack, and slid her hand around his solid biceps, marveling at the way each muscle felt beneath her touch.
“How do you get these muscles?” she murmured, tilting her head to watch the rise and fall of his chest.
“I work,” he replied, voice low and amused.
“Just work doesn’t do that.” Her fingers paused on his skin, as though daring him to expand on the mystery.
“No? Try hoisting eighty-pound bales of hay before sunrise,” he said. “Riding a restless horse that bucks and spins at a moment’s notice, day after day, and wrestling fence posts into the hard earth. Hell, should I keep going?”
Ryan chuckled. “No. I believe you.” She tipped her head back, narrowing her eyes in playful challenge. “What did Cull whisper to you?”
“When?” Seth asked, with a frown.
“The day you told me I should learn to saddle the horse myself.” She raised an eyebrow, waiting.
He sighed. “He told me to calm the fuck down.”
Ryan sat up, tossing a tuft of dark hair over her shoulder as she laughed. “I do like him.”
In a single smooth motion Seth pulled her atop him, then gently rolled her onto her back, his weight warm and reassuring.
