Second Chance Temptation

by Elizabeth Lennox

  Ryan laughed, hugging her close. “I wore you out, huh?” Even as he said that, he felt his own body relax. He wouldn’t nap. He never slept during the day. But maybe he’d just close his eyes for a moment and hold Cynthia while she slept. He felt her leg slid over his and smiled before drifting off into a deep, sated sleep.

  With a gasp, Cynthia sat straight up, looking around. She was alone. The sunshine spilled in through her bedroom windows. She had a blanket thrown over her and she smelled coffee. He must have just left, she thought. Rushing over to the window, she watched as Ryan’s Jeep pulled away.

  For a moment, she was devastated. He’d left her? After last night, he’d just…

  She noticed the note by the coffee maker and sighed with relief.

  “Thanks for last night,” she read out loud. “I didn’t want the gossips to see my Jeep parked outside until we had an understanding.” Cynthia smiled, a warm sensation filling her at both his thoughtfulness as well as the hope that there would be an “understanding” between them.

  Nothing significant, she told herself, as she poured herself a cup of coffee. But it would be nice to repeat last night. She could definitely handle another night like that.

  The buzzer at her back door sounded and Cynthia looked at the clock. “Deliveries!” she gasped. With a spurt of energy, she raced to her bedroom and pulled on some clothes before rushing downstairs.

  “Sorry!” she yanked open the kitchen door to the beer delivery guy. “I was asleep,” she explained, pushing her hair out of her eyes.

  “No problem, Cynthia,” the delivery guy replied as he tilted the handcart down, pushing several cases of the local brews into the kitchen. “You doing okay?’ he asked, peering curiously at her after unloading the cases and handing her the invoice.

  “Absolutely,” she replied, counting the boxes on her kitchen floor to compare that number against the invoice. She signed quickly, and handed the clipboard back to the man. “Why?”

  “Well, you’re always waiting for me when I drive up and you look a bit flushed today. I’m just…you’re not coming down with anything, are you? I mean, lots of people are. It’s just…you’ve never gotten sick that I know of.”

  Cynthia laughed, feeling glorious today. “Oh, I’ve been sick, but my colds have never been too bad. But I am sorry for being late. It won’t happen again.” She crossed her fingers after saying that, hoping that it was true. Or hoping that she wouldn’t be late, but that last night would happen again. And again. And again!

  Goodness, she wanted to call Ryan right now and ask him to come over. She didn’t even care if the whole town saw his Jeep in her parking lot! How crazy was that? After her father’s humiliating departure, she’d worked hard to keep her name out of the gossip passed around in the small town. But after last night…she didn’t care! Not even a little! Let them talk! She’d just laugh, and throw herself into Ryan’s arms again.

  For the rest of the day, she walked around in a happy daze, going through the normal routine of getting The Bull Frog open for business while smiling like an idiot. Annie arrived a few hours before opening to help out, sweeping and cleaning, pulling the chairs down from the tables.

  As she walked over to unlock the doors, she frowned quizzically over her shoulder at Cynthia. “Okay, what’s going on?’ she asked, one hand resting on the door, the other on her hip.

  Cynthia looked up from stacking the clean glasses behind the bar. “What do you mean?”

  “You’re smiling and humming. You’re in too good of a mood and it’s irritating.”

  Cynthia stared at her friend and co-worker. Technically, Annie was an employee, but they’d worked together for so long, Cynthia hadn’t ever pulled the “boss” card. Besides, Annie was about twenty years older than Cynthia and the customers adored her. Without Annie, this place couldn’t run.

  “I’m not allowed to be in a good mood?” she asked, using a clean towel to polish the glasses.

  Annie snorted inelegantly. “You’re always in a good mood, honey. This is…you’re freaking me out,” she grumbled, then turned to unlock the door as their first two customers walked in, immediately followed by a large group of hikers, both men and women who laughed and stomped their hiking boots clean on the rough carpeting right outside the doorway.

  And so it began. Wednesday nights weren’t busy, but The Bull Frog was only one out of two places to buy a drink and some greasy appetizers. It was also less formal than the hotel right outside of town, and easier to get to from the various rental cabins spotting the mountain roads.

  About nine o’clock, Ryan walked in. As soon as he came through the doorway, Cynthia felt the air shift and looked around. Their eyes clashed and her stomach tightened with the heated promise in his eyes.

  Purposely, he walked over to her, bracing his hands wide against the wooden bar top and leaning in close. “I want a repeat of last night,” he murmured, his eyes promising more of the same.

  “I do too,” she whispered breathlessly.

  “Good. I’ll hang out over in the corner,” he put some cash down on the bar. “Can I get a beer?”

  She laughed, excitement tingling through her as she nodded. “You can get a beer,” and she grabbed a glass. “But there is no way I’m charging you for it.”

  He winked and took the beer mug, settling into the corner of the bar, leaving the cash beside her. When he sat down, his eyes followed her and she blushed, trying to remember that she had other customers.

  “Now I get it,” Annie commented softly as she stepped behind the bar, pouring a pitcher of beer for the table by the window.

  “What?”

  “Why you’ve been walking around all night with that silly grin on your face,” she replied. “I’d be smiling too if a guy like that wanted me!” And she walked away, chuckling at her joke.

  Cynthia’s eyes moved back to Ryan’s, but he was watching Annie. For that brief moment, Cynthia let her eyes linger, enjoying just looking at him. He was such a handsome man. So strong and powerful. She remembered the way his muscles felt under her hands last night and sighed, thinking about how much she wanted to do it all again tonight.

  The slow curl of his lips told her that he was thinking along the same lines and…his eyes dropped lower. Suddenly, Cynthia was painfully aware of her aching nipples. She sighed, pulling her eyes away and reached for the sweatshirt she wore during the times when the bar wasn’t warmed by the crowd.

  “You go girl!” Annie muttered as she passed by, having cleared several of the tables. Annie hurried into the kitchen and Cynthia heard her running the glasses through the dishwasher. The other customers stood up, waving goodbye as they headed out.

  It was just the two of them now.

  Ryan stood up and walked over to the bar. “What do you do to close up each night?” he asked.

  “You don’t…” she started to say, but his eyebrows shot up and she stopped, a smile forming as she realized that his help would get the closing process completed faster.

  “The tables are already cleaned. I just need to put the chairs on top of the table and sweep.”

  “I’m on it,” he announced.

  With Ryan’s help and her determination to finish quickly, the bar was cleaned up and everything put away in record time. Annie didn’t linger tonight either. As soon as the last glass was put away, she grabbed her purse and headed out. “You kids be good!” she said as she locked the door and pulled it closed behind her.

  Ryan flicked the light switch, leaving them into darkness.

  “Did you have a good day?” she asked, holding her breath as she backed away from him. But she smiled, excitement building as he walked towards her.

  “I installed windows and some guys came to install the foundation for the addition.”

  “That sounds like significant progress.”

  He nodded. “It is. Now my place won’t be ten degrees at night.”

  She laughed. “That’s definitely progress.”

  “Are you goin
g to keep backing away from me?” he asked.

  She stopped, suddenly realizing what she was doing. “I’ve stopped.”

  His eyes heated up and, like a flash, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in close. “I missed you today,” he growled a moment before he kissed her. Cynthia kissed him back, not even coming up for air as he lifted her off her feet. She simply wrapped her legs around his waist and held on. With every step he took, her body rubbed against his, the denim increasing the friction slightly. The charge lit up her body in new ways and she wanted clothes gone. His and hers! Fast! She tugged at his shirt, wanting it off but she wasn’t strong enough so she gave up on trying to get it out of the way and slid her hands underneath. When her fingers found warm skin, she sighed with happiness.

  “Cyn, I can’t…!” he growled, shaking his head as he pressed her back against the wall. “Can’t wait, honey!” he told her and set her down on the first stair leading up to her apartment. He divested her of her shirt, then her bra, then his mouth was there, tormenting her breasts as he pushed her jeans down, then lifted her out of them as he carried her up the rest of the way to her apartment.

  They didn’t make it to a bed. Instead, he sat her down on the small kitchen table, unzipped his jeans and held onto her hips as he pressed eagerly into her. “Damn, Cyn!” he groaned. “You feel…!” he looked down at her and realized what he’d just done. Pulling out, he muttered several expletives as he pulled a condom out of his back pocket. Rolling it down, he glared at her as she chuckled.

  “You’re not helping,” he groaned when she slid her hands up and down his chest, her thumbs skimming teasingly over his flat, male nipples.

  “Do you need help?” she asked, her tone feigning innocence.

  “Your cooperation would be much appreciated!” he snapped. Finally, it was on and he grabbed her hands, putting them up on his shoulders as he gripped her hips and pressed into her heat again.

  Cynthia was about to say something, but at his invasion, words were lost. She couldn’t say anything as she shifted and stretched, loving every moment of him coming into her like this. “More,” she whispered, arching her back, taking all of him finally.

  He started moving slowly, but the tension had been building for too long. “Faster,” she whispered, lifting her hips up even as her hands moved to his arm, pulling him against her with every thrust.

  “Yes!” she cried out when he started moving exactly as he had last night. With every thrust, he pressed against that nub, over and over again. Exactly right and she leaned back, arching into his thrusts until…!

  “Oh Ryan!” she cried out, closing her eyes as the waves hit her. She was vaguely aware of him thrusting several more times, each thrust increasing her pleasure further. And then she heard his growl and…he stilled, his arms tightening as his release poured through him.

  When it was all over, he lifted his head, breathing hard as he looked down at her. “This is crazy,” he commented.

  Slowly, she released his arm, stretching her fingers out. “I agree,” she sighed and collapsed against the table. Looking up, she realized where they were and started laughing.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked, pulling the band out of her hair, releasing the braid so he could run his fingers through her blond locks.

  “We’re on my table!” she gasped, still laughing. That amusement only increased when he looked around, the stunned expression on his features telling her that he hadn’t realized where they were either.

  “Good table,” was all he said before pulling out of her. He walked over to the kitchen trash, tossing the condom out before turning back to her. “Think you’re going somewhere?” he asked, watching her look around for something to cover herself with. Her clothes were on the stairs, possibly even downstairs in the bar.

  “Um…I wasn’t…” she squealed when he walked over and tossed her over his shoulder, fireman style. “Ryan! What are you doing?!” she laughed, pounding his back, as he ducked into her bedroom. “You can’t…”

  He flipped her over and Cynthia landed on her bed and the laughing began again. “Nice caveman tactics,” she teased.

  He stood up and pulled his jeans off. She lifted up onto her elbows and watched, enjoying the spectacle.

  “Part of my SEAL training.”

  “Really?” Cynthia was intrigued. “Why would you need to…?”

  “Hostage rescue,” he nuzzled her throat. “Now, let’s try that all over again, but slower, shall we?” and he lowered himself until he was hovering over her. “A lot slower!”

  Chapter 13

  Cynthia stared at the plastic strip, willing the news to be negative. She was a week late but…perhaps she’d miscalculated. She wasn’t particularly vigilant about her cycles, mostly because she didn’t need to be. They were regular and usually her body gave her signals that her period was coming. A backache, a few cramps and Cynthia knew that the next day, it would arrive.

  But she’d felt nothing. Not a thing! No cramps. No backache. Nothing!

  While perched on the toilet seat cover, she pulled up her calendar on her phone. Flipping back through the weeks, she tried to remember what had been happening during her last period. Surely she’d been doing something significant. But looking back, she realized that all of her weeks had been pretty much the same.

  Until Ryan had come back to town.

  Flipping further back, she looked at the previous month and…froze.

  She wasn’t two weeks late. She was six weeks late!

  “Oh no!” she whispered, her whole body going numb. “Six weeks? That’s impossible! I can’t be six weeks late!”

  She flipped again, looking for some clue that she’d had a period during the previous month. Ryan had arrived back in town about seven weeks ago. And yes, she’d had her period the week before. Which meant…!

  Looking at the stick, she blinked as she registered the very vibrant plus sign in the small window of the pregnancy stick!

  “No!” she whispered frantically, shaking her head as if that might banish the positive sign on the plastic strip. “Please, please no!”

  She’d driven all the way to the Denver suburbs to buy the test, not wanting anyone in town to know. There were many advantages to living in a small town and she loved this community, but no way did she want them to know that she was pregnant! Even buying the pregnancy test at the local shop down the street would announce to the world that she suspected she was pregnant and…

  Can’t really say that she suspected anymore when the confirmation was staring her in the face.

  “No!” she whispered again. “This can’t be happening!”

  Standing up, she stumbled out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. But as she tried to make herself a cup of tea, she fumbled the kettle because her hands were shaking so badly.

  The phone rang, causing her to jump and spin around, almost tripping over herself as she reached for her phone. Looking at the caller, Cynthia sighed with relief when she realized that it was her mother calling from Florida. She couldn’t handle talking to Ryan right now, not sure what she could say to him. They hadn’t talked about the future. In fact, they’d avoided all conversations about any kind of a future, even going so far as to not commit to the spring festival being held next week in the next town over. Neither of them wanted to talk about what might happen in the future.

  In Cynthia’s mind, he was here only for a short period of time. He could move on to another assignment with the National Park Service, but her life was here in Minneville. Her job, her friends, her work…everything was here. She couldn’t just pick up and leave like he could.

  “Mom?” she asked when she pressed the answer button.

  “Honey, are you…?”

  “Mom, what’s wrong?” she asked, the panic over her recently revealed pregnancy banished as her mother’s scratchy voice came over the line.

  “I’m fine, honey. I just have a cold. I’m calling to check in with you.”

  Cynthia rela
xed slightly. Looking around, she spotted the box from the pregnancy test laying in the middle of the hallway. She must have kicked it out from the bathroom when she’d stumbled a few minutes ago.

  “I’m doing well, Mom,” she lied. She wasn’t well. She was pregnant!

  More coughing and Cynthia’s mind started working frantically. “Mom, that doesn’t sound like a cold. What’s going on?”

  Her mother laughed softly. “Oh, well, I’m getting old, dear. It takes my body a bit more time to recover from a virus. But don’t worry about me. I’ll be good as new in a few days.”

  Cynthia was skeptical. “How’s the weather in Florida these days?”

  “Sunny and beautiful. Now that hurricane season is over, everyone relaxes a bit.”

  “I can imagine,” she replied, but then another coughing fit, worse than the last one, took over the conversation. Cynthia waited until her mother could breathe again before speaking.

  “Mom, I’m closing the bar and coming to take care of you. This is more than just a cold. Have you been to the doctor?”

  “No need, dear. The doctors can’t do much for me when it’s just a virus. But I’d love to see you, dear. I spoke to Eve yesterday. She said she might call you about coming out to the mountains again. She’s looking for a new challenge and I told her the mountains were the perfect opportunity for her.”

  Eve laughed. “She never did get up to the top of the mountain when we worked at the ski resort. And during the summers she worked here with us, she’d never get close to the edge of the rocks. She hates heights.”

  “Well, you know Eve. She’ll probably be calling you, ready to explore the Rockies with her new camera.”

  Cynthia laughed, relieved to have something to think about other than her mother’s cold or…ugh!

  Another coughing fit and her mother sighed. “Honey, I’m going to go lie down for a while. I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”

  Cynthia said goodbye, knowing in her gut that that something was wrong.

  A moment later, her phone rang and Cynthia smiled as she answered Eve’s call. “Hey there! I was just talking about you with my mom!”