Who knew a whisper could hold such heat. Anna’s eyes drifted closed as Ryan’s lips softly touched each corner of her mouth before settling on the middle. He slowly increased the pressure, and she felt herself opening to him. As their tongues danced together, Anna’s hands entwined themselves in Ryan’s hair, holding him close. She could feel the scorching touch of his hands running along the side of her body through the thin fabric of her pajama top and was consumed with a yearning to feel his hands on her skin.
As if he was reading her mind, Ryan slowly inched his hands underneath her shirt. At the first brush of his hand against her breast, Anna gasped, breaking their kiss. His hand froze, and she opened her eyes to see Ryan looking intently, worriedly, at her face. What he said next, couldn’t have been sweeter.
“Are you okay with this? I meant it when I said I didn’t want to push you too fast.”
The earnest concern in his voice was like cupid’s arrow shooting straight at her heart. She marveled at how this beautiful, sexy man was so focused on her feelings instead of his own needs. Wanting to show him, not just tell him, exactly how okay with everything she was, Anna reached down and pulled her shirt off without a word. There was no mistaking the lustful darkening of Ryan’s eyes at the sight of her bare breasts. Desperate not to give in to her nerves, Anna reached over and tugged at the bottom of his shirt. He didn’t miss a beat before pulling it over his head, then grabbed Anna and pulled her toward him as he leaned back to recline on the couch, ending with her on top of him, pressing her breasts into his muscular chest.
“You’re in control, Anna.”
“Then kiss me, Ryan. Kiss me everywhere.” Her breathy words took Anna by surprise, but then again, he did take her breath away.
As their mouths crashed together again, Anna’s hands ran up and down the ridges of muscle on Ryan’s back. His hands were around her waist, all it took was a slight shift in position and suddenly he was grasping her hips and pulling their bodies even closer. She could feel the hard length of his obvious erection straining between her legs, and an answering tingle went straight to her core. A moan escaped her lips, as he trailed kisses along her neck.
In a swift move he flipped them over, so that she lay on the couch cradled between his arms. Her heart was beating so strongly she was certain that he could hear it, but he gave no indication of that when he traveled down her neck to her chest before capturing one of her breasts in his mouth. He gently teased the nipple into a stiff bud, bringing whimpers of pleasure from Anna. She barely recognized the wanton woman she was becoming under his touch.
“God, Anna, I love how your body responds to me.” Ryan pressed open-mouthed kisses to the space between her breasts before moving over to the other side and lavishing it with similar attention.
“It’s so good. I’ve never felt this before.” She gasped as he gently bit down. “Don’t stop. Please don’t stop!” Anna moaned at the sensations coursing through her. Her eyes fluttered closed as he moved down her torso, reaching down to slide her pants down her legs. Her hands found his head and twisted in his hair, holding him to her.
“I need to taste you, Anna. Please let me.”
Ryan’s voice held a desperate, pleading note that Anna had never heard from him before. Unable to formulate words to express just how much she wanted that, she let her legs fall open beneath him, telling him with her body how ready she was. When the cool air of the morning hit her naked body, she sucked in a breath at the feel of him nuzzling her inner thighs.
She should have been embarrassed. Anna was far from a virgin, but she had never let another man be this intimate with her. She could count the number of orgasms she had experienced in her life on one hand, and she’d never felt like a sensual woman before. Yet here and now, under Ryan’s touch, she came alive with erotic pleasure.
When his tongue stroked her folds with its wet heat, her hips lifted off the couch as she screamed at the tantalizing sensation. Ryan’s strong hands wrapped around her hips to hold her in place as he tasted and teased her, whipping her into a frenzy. His tongue darted in and out, caressing her in a way that was new and wonderful. It seemed like mere seconds before she was cascading into an intense orgasm. He continued to suck and kiss her core, soothing it as she came down from the high, before slowly working his way back up her body, and stretching out beside her. When Anna opened her eyes at last, Ryan was leaning over her, a satisfied grin on his face as his fingers lazily stroked up and down her side.
“Yes, ma’am, you are welcome,” he said with a wink, eliciting a laugh from deep within Anna’s heart. This man had just brought her higher than she had ever been, had held her as she all too rapidly crashed over the edge of pleasure, and now was making her smile and relax just as quickly.
“You’re ridiculous,” she teased, reaching up to caress his face.
“Nah, just really invested in your happiness. Making you smile, making you laugh, making you orgasm, those are pretty much my top three favorite things to do now.”
“I’m not complaining about that list at all.”
Ryan leaned down to nuzzle Anna’s neck. “Can we move this into your bedroom, sweetheart? As much as I want to claim you on every goddamn surface in this place, you deserve to have our first time be a little more special.”
Anna pushed at his naked chest, and they both rose off the couch. As she took his hand to walk up the stairs toward her bedroom, she turned and looked over her shoulder coyly, embracing her newfound confidence, infusing her voice with it. “You’re sounding pretty romantic for someone who doesn’t do relationships…”
Anna regretted the words as soon as they came out. Even though she meant them teasingly, she didn’t miss the slight flash of pain in Ryan’s eyes. Before she could take back what she said, the pain was gone. With a devilish grin he tugged her back against his chest, wrapping his arms around her bare stomach, his fingers dancing dangerously close to her still wet core.
“What can I say, you inspire me to change.”
The pang in Anna’s heart was sudden and unexpected, as she realized how desperately she wanted that to be true. She honestly believed that Ryan would never intentionally hurt her, but she also wasn’t fool enough to believe a playboy could be reformed just like that. However, knowing that still didn’t ease the longing deep inside.
Chapter 8
Ryan could barely keep his desire in check as Anna’s naked body swayed in front of him. His hands and mouth burned to taste and feel every inch of her. But alongside his desire was the doubt born of his longstanding doubts about love and relationships. He vehemently wished he could break free of the fears and insecurities inside his mind. He wanted nothing more than to quiet the insidious voice that warned him away from love, away from commitment. The voice that sounded so much like his dad.
For a man who was barely around during Ryan’s childhood, he’d certainly left his share of scars. Ryan had seen enough pictures to know how similar he was in appearance to his father. He had heard enough stories of the legendary Carlisle charm, to recognize that his own behaviors around women likely mirrored those of the man who had contributed half of his DNA. The fear of hurting someone the way his father had hurt his mother was enough to keep Ryan running far and fast from any sort of real relationship with a woman. His friendships with Callie and Reagan were the only meaningful connections he had formed with a woman, other than his mother, in his entire adult life. And now, one woman was rewriting every definition, every belief he ever had of himself.
Anna with her lustrous hair that was soft as silk in his hands. Anna with her moans of pleasure. Anna who had dug her way deep into his heart so quickly he had not realized she was there until now. For her, he wanted to be romantic. He wanted to be in a relationship. But damn, was he terrified of hurting her.
Pushing away these consuming thoughts, Ryan forced himself back into the present. He stood in Anna’s bedroom, watching her delicate movements, confident in her nudity, as she turned on a soft light and pulled the blinds closed. The bleary morning outside faded into a warm cocoon. He could smell the fragrance he had begun to associate with her, a soft citrusy scent.
Ryan unbuttoned his jeans, pulled out the condom he had stashed there earlier and placed it on the bedside table. When Anna turned toward him, he was gratified to hear her breath catch at the sight of his naked body. He knew his erection was jutting out proudly, seeking her heat. Ryan was determined not to rush things. He wanted to cherish Anna, make her feel safe and ensure she found her release before he took his own. That didn’t stop the raging fire inside of him that shouted for him to just fucking claim the woman in front of him.Tame the beast…Those words that Jake had spoken weeks ago came back to Ryan in that moment. Never had the statement been truer than in this instant. Anna was taming him. And he didn’t mind at all.
He walked toward her, gently pushing her backward until her legs hit the bed, and she sat down. The gruffness in his voice was foreign to him, laced with emotion. “Lay back, sweetheart.”
