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“Mm-hmm.”
His arm tightened around her. “At least nod to let me know you’re okay.”
She did. Then she suddenly sat up, breaking his embrace. Flattening her palms on his rib cage, she said, “That was simply too fantastic to even begin to describe. Except…” Her teeth clamped down on her lower lip, worrying Ryan.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” she was quick to reassure him. “I just felt… I don’t know…” She shook her head as her lips twisted in contemplation. Then she stared down at him and said, “It was almost like…a click. Inside me.”
Ryan’s grin returned. He sat up and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Ginger Monroe,” he said in a teasing voice, “did you just fall in love with me?”
Her giggle was girlish and innocent, and absolutely adorable.
“Your ego is clearly overinflated without any help from me.” Her arms snaked around his neck and she kissed him. Then she whispered against his lips, “Yes, I think I did.”
“Well, damn,” he said, hearing the thrill in his voice. “Doesn’t that just make me the luckiest son-of-a-gun?”
She laughed again. He recalled her saying he made her feel breathless and weightless, and that pleased him, because making her laugh and stealing her breath had him feeling pretty light and airy himself.
Ginger suggested, “Why don’t we not say anything in an official capacity prematurely?”
He got her drift. He’d told her earlier he’d taken one look at her and had deemed her a woman he could fall in love with—and he’d meant it. He felt it still. More strongly than he’d ever imagined. And yes, he’d fallen a bit in love with her tonight too. But she had a point about not loosely throwing out the “L” word.
“This is moving quickly,” he said. “I get where you’re coming from. But I will tell you, you’re not rowin’ in this boat alone.”
She smiled at him and it melted his heart. “Thank for you saying that. It’s good to know.”
He eased back down onto the mattress and she slowly lifted off his lap and scooted off the bed. As she disappeared into the bathroom, he thought he truly was one seriously lucky man.
She returned to bed and he used her restroom, then slipped between the sheets next to her. There’d been just a hint of blood on the condom he’d used, and that put his mind at ease, knowing it hadn’t been too painful or messy for her.
Though he did tell her, “I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re sore tomorrow.”
“There you go with that ego again,” she mocked. “Thinking you’re so huge I won’t be able to walk for a week.” He eyed her with a lifted brow and she laughed. “Okay, yes. You are huge. And it’s true, I probably won’t be able to walk for a week. My inner thighs already feel like I’ve worked them out a bit too strenuously. But it’s a good kind of burn.”
He wasn’t particularly thrilled to hear that.
Catching his apparent scowl, she said, “Would you stop? I thoroughly enjoyed the workout.” She wagged her brows at him and asked, “How long before you’re ready to give it a go again?”
His tension ebbed. “You really are a dynamo.”
Her body cradled against his, her head resting on his chest as he draped an arm over her shoulders. While her fingertips grazed his abs, making his muscles bunch, she said, “I can’t imagine why couples would ever leave the bedroom.”
Ryan liked her enthusiasm. “Not every couple has the kind of chemistry we do.”
“I guess you’re right. I mean, I can’t imagine Jonathan and Lydia even having sex.”
“Well, they did, of course. When they first got married. They really wanted children. But after three years, nothing happened and…she kicked him out of her bedroom.”
“What?” Ginger’s head lifted from his chest as she glared at him. “Are you kidding me? I thought that was one of the best things about marriage. Doing what we just did and then cuddling under the covers together. Who would pass this up?”
Coaxing her back into place with the hand on her shoulder, he said, “It’s not always like this, Ginger.”
“Are you telling me there were times you didn’t want to stay the night after making love to a woman?”
“There were only two other women, so don’t get hooked on any notions. And, yes, I was perfectly happy to leave afterward—they didn’t mind. I wasn’t a schmuck. Both women were friends and I’d never intended anything permanent with either one and vice versa. It was more, you know, scratching an itch. Nothing like this.”
“Hmm.”
