Anna laughed, feeling lighter than she had in a long time. “Oh no, whatever would my boss say to that?”
“Trust me, this boss would love it.” With a wink and a grin Ryan tugged her back inside.
Chapter 7
Anna slept soundly that night and awoke from a dream of Ryan’s strong arms holding her, and his luscious mouth covering her entire body with kisses. He had shown her such kindness and affection last night, she knew it was only a matter of time before she gave in to the feelings building inside her. The way he had managed to soothe her panic and help her find her own strength again was incredible. It was such a gift and Anna wasn’t sure he even realized what it meant to her.
A cold nose poked Anna’s arm as it lay on top of her quilt, waking her fully from her drowsy thoughts. Samson whined quietly, as Anna stretched and slowly sat up to see sunlight filtering through a gap in her drapes. She reached down to fondle his soft ears, and he looked up at her with eyes that did a poor job of disguising his need for a visit outside.
“Okay, buddy, I get it. Let’s go.” Anna climbed out of bed and pulled on a pair of warm socks to ward against the early morning chill. She could hear that the furnace had kicked on as it was programmed to do, but this early in the morning, the house was still quite cool.
Anna opened the back door for Samson who took off with a joyous bark to run and sniff around the backyard, before taking care of his business. When he came back inside, she toweled off his feet before she fed him breakfast, then finally went to turn on the coffee machine. As she was about to fill the pot with water, the new cell phone she had purchased yesterday with Ryan chimed with a text message. Her heart thumped with excitement when she saw it was from him.
RYAN: Hey, sweetheart, hope you had a good sleep last night. Let me know if you need anything today.
Touched by his kindness in checking in with her, she responded with what she hoped wasn’t too eager a reply.
ANNA: I slept like a log. Just about to make some coffee, maybe we could take Samson for a walk later today? I’d like to see you.
Chewing on her thumb as she waited for his response, Anna anxiously worried she had come on too strongly by asking Ryan to get together today. Just then a gentle knock on the door startled her as another message came through at the same time.
RYAN:Open up, it’s me.
Flustered, Anna jumped up from the couch, disturbing Samson who was lying across her feet. She nervously ran her hands over her hair, wishing she had time to brush her teeth or put on something other than pajamas and fuzzy socks. Pulling open the front door she saw him standing on her front step, a soft smile on his face, looking as handsome and charming as ever. Two coffee cups were in his hands and he reached one out to her. “Vanilla latte for the lady. I hope it’s okay I stopped by, I really wanted to make sure you were doing alright after everything that happened last night. My text was only to see if you were up already, but I figured with Samson you probably were.”
Anna felt her heart melt a little more as she realized that not only had he been concerned for how she would be feeling but he had also brought her favorite drink. Fleetingly, she recalled Callie saying Ryan had always been a selfish playboy, but the man in front of her was anything but that. He had shown her nothing but kindness, respect, and affection.
“You’re sweet, thank you,” she said as she stepped back to let him in, “just give me a minute to get dressed.”
Before she could get more than one step away Ryan pulled her back toward him and bent down to press a firm kiss to her lips. “I don’t know, I think penguin pajamas are perfect for a cold morning like today.”
Any sense of embarrassment over her appearance disappeared under the wave of heat that consumed her with just that simple embrace. Staring up at Ryan’s face, Anna was about to kiss him again when she stopped and pulled back in horror. “Ohmygod! I haven’t even brushed my teeth! I’ll be right back.” Then she ran up the stairs before Ryan had a chance to respond.
In the privacy of her bathroom, Anna took in a deep breath. Looking in the mirror she was amazed at the flush of arousal she could see on her face. This man was able to spark feelings in her that had been dormant for a very long time. She touched her lips, lost in the memory of his kiss. The strength, the passion, the gentle security she could feel in his embrace was such a potent aphrodisiac it sent a thrill straight to her core. Suddenly desperate to get back to him, she quickly brushed her teeth and twisted her long brown hair into a simple braid. Deciding not to bother getting dressed, she went back downstairs to find Ryan sitting on her couch, Samson curled up beside him.
“I see someone has made himself comfortable,” she teased as she dropped to the couch on the other side of the dog.
Ryan grinned in response. “I swear he just hopped up and gave me these soulful eyes that charmed me. I was powerless to say no.”
“I know the feeling.” Her breath caught as the words slipped out. She might not have meant to say it now, but it was true and she wouldn’t take it back. “You and your eyes have charmed me, Ryan.”
* * *
Ryan felt his heart stop at those words and the sincere expression in Anna’s beautiful hazel eyes. Reality hit him in that instant. This incredible woman was opening her heart to him. He was suddenly torn in two. He felt on top of the world for earning her trust, but fast on the heels of that high was the crashing low of abject fear at letting her down. How could he ignore his past? Ryan was not a man for relationships, for commitment. The idea of hurting Anna, in any way, had him sick to his stomach. It’s not that he was a love ’em and leave ’em guy, hell he was barely a like ’em and leave ’em guy. Ryan simply never let a woman get close enough for any feelings to be involved. So, what the hell was he doing now?
The warm look on Anna’s face made it clear she was oblivious to the inner turmoil Ryan had just gone through. So, pushing his thoughts aside, he tried to focus back on the present moment, and the undeniable pull between them. He gently pushed Samson off the couch, before moving closer to Anna.
She was sitting with her feet tucked up underneath her petite body, looking so peaceful and happy it made his heart ache with a longing to see that look on her face all the time. He tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, bringing a soft smile to her face.
Unable to hold back, Ryan leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to the side of her face. “Anna, I need to tell you something.” He didn’t know where the words were coming from, only that they had to break free. “I’m drawn to you, sweetheart. I know you have been through hell, even if I don’t yet know exactly what that means. The last thing I want to do is push you too fast, but I can’t help it. Something about you feels so right. I can’t explain it, hell I’ve never felt it before, but it’s the truth—this just feels right.” He took her hands in his. “I need you to know, I don’t do relationships, I never have. So, I’m terrified of messing up and hurting you somehow. I’d never want to hurt you, but it might just be in my DNA. The thing is, I know I would feel like an idiot if I didn’t at least try to tell you how I feel.”
Tears pooled in Anna’s eyes, and when one slowly broke free he reached up and brushed it away. He had never been so nervous to hear a woman’s response. The happy emotions that played out on her face was all the reassurance he needed to know his feelings were not one sided.
“Don’t be terrified. I believe that you will never hurt me on purpose,” Anna said as she clasped his hands in her own and pulled them onto her lap. “I’m not very good at relationships either, which is obvious given my track record,” she laughed self-deprecatingly, “but I also know I want to try. With you.”
Choked with emotion, all Ryan could do to respond was hold her face in his hands. His thumbs brushed her cheeks as they sat there, in silence for a moment. Content to just look at each other with hopeful smiles. Then gently, slowly, Ryan leaned in and pressed his forehead to Anna’s and whispered, “That makes me insanely happy to hear.”
* * *
