by Calista Fox
But her eyes were dreamy and her voice compelling as she urged, “What did you think?”
Ryan never had been one for holding back or playing games. He said, “I thought, ‘There’s a woman I could fall in love with’.”
Her breath caught. Her gaze remained locked with his as they faced each other, her eyes misting. Several long seconds passed until she finally said, “That’s the most romantic thing you could have said to me tonight.”
“Not too cheesy?”
She laughed again, though it sounded a bit strained by emotion. “Good Lord, no. What girl wouldn’t want to hear that? Especially coming from you.”
He kissed her, then muttered, “You’re the only one I’ve ever said it to. And for the record, you are no girl, Ginger. You are sexy and sensational and all woman.”
“You really do say the sweetest things.”
After another tender kiss, his mouth trailed over her floral-scented skin, his lips and tongue sweeping along her neck, his teeth gently nipping from time to time. She squirmed in his loose embrace as his hand moved between them, inching upward to palm a breast.
Ginger’s throaty moan and the tangling of her fingers in his hair heightened his arousal. His cock swelled and his pulse raced. Her back arched, pressing her breast more firmly against his hand. Ryan whisked aside the lace covering her, tucking the material under her full mound as his tongue lapped slowly at her small nipple. It pebbled instantly, and he drew it into his mouth, suckling the puckered peak as his hand shifted and he cupped an ass cheek. He held her against his body as he rolled onto his back.
His fingers slipped under the hem of her nightie and curled around the thin straps of her G-string. Though he regretted not having sneaked a peek at the miniscule panties, he had other things on his mind. Dragging the lingerie down her legs, he let her shimmy out of them when they reached her calves, with a little help from him. Then he grasped the backs of her thighs, guiding her legs apart so she straddled him at the waist.
Ginger undid the buttons on his flap and yanked the shirttail from his jeans. Her slender hands splayed over his chest and her long curls teased his skin as she bent her head and flicked her tongue across one of his nipples.
He groaned, enjoying the intimate touch and her lack of inhibition. Her limited sexual experience didn’t hold her back. She’d already proved she was willing to experiment, with both the things he instigated as well as the ideas that popped into her own head. Ryan liked her daring, adventurous nature as much as he liked everything else about her.
She shifted her attention to his other nipple, making his cock throb. But Ryan’s immediate interest was in pleasuring her. He eased the straps of her nightie down her arms and she worked her way out of them. Then he pushed the top of the lacy bodice to her rib cage. The hem of her nightie had already climbed to her hips when she’d straddled him. His hands massaged her breasts, the thumbs toying with the tight nipples.
“That feels incredible,” she told him. Her palms flattened against his pectoral muscles and she hovered over him, not sitting up all the way.
She rocked her hips slowly and the dewy flesh between her legs slid over his skin, taunting him with the slick folds that rubbed against his stomach.
“You’re making me crazy,” he said in a gruff voice. His hands moved to her hips and he pressed her down onto him as she maintained her sensual rhythm. Feeling her wet pussy lips set his insides on fire and had his cock pulsing almost painfully. But he was still minus a condom.
“You, in turn, make me want to crawl all over you and rub every part of my body against yours,” she said. “It’s sort of overwhelming how arousing skin-on-skin contact is.”
He let out a sharp grunt. “It’s more than overwhelming. You’re inspiring all kinds of wicked ideas.”
“Oh do tell,” she said, a bit breathy. “Because I’m game for anything you have in mind.”
Chapter Six
Ryan didn’t elaborate verbally. Much to Ginger’s delight, he dove right in.
With his hands holding her waist captive, he urged her up his body as he shifted downward until his head was between her legs. She clutched a plump pillow resting against the headboard as his tongue glided over her sensitive pussy lips.
Fire instantly roared through her body. Her fingers curled around the pillow as his mouth pleasured her with his lips on hers, his tongue teasing her clit. His large hands gripped her ass cheeks, holding her in place as he gently suckled the swollen nub between her legs. He elicited throaty moans and erratic pants from her as he licked and sucked, making her mad with desire.
One of his hands moved from her cheek and his fingers dipped into the cleft, slowly rubbing up and down, from the small forbidden hole to her pussy and back up. Ginger’s heart thundered in her chest and her pulse echoed in her ears. Her hips pressed down and she lightly ground herself against Ryan’s mouth. He suckled more sharply and pushed a finger into her wet depths, making her gasp.
He stroked her inner walls as he continued to tongue her clit. Ginger barreled toward orgasm quickly, the sensations strong and tantalizing. Ryan worked a second finger into her tight canal, and it jolted her, but felt oh so good. Her head whipped back on her shoulders as a lusty moan wrenched from her lips.
One of her hands lifted to the top of her headboard, her fingers curling around the smooth wood to steady herself as her body trembled from erotic pleasure.
“Oh God, yes,” she managed to squeak out before the sizzling sensations erupted within her, stealing her breath as she came.
Her inner walls clutched the fingers inside her and she rocked against Ryan’s mouth while the climax peaked. She let out a jagged cry as bliss consumed her.
Endless moments passed as she clung to the headboard and he continued to suckle as she savored the powerful release.
Finally, he withdrew his fingers and she moved away from him, plopping down on the mattress with a heavy, though highly contented, sigh.
“Good grief,” she said as her chest heaved and she lifted plump curls from her damp skin. “Felt as though I came for a week.”
Her legs dangled over the side of the bed where the backs of her knees met the edge. She dropped backward, lying perpendicular to Ryan as her head rested on his cut abs. She tried to get her breathing under control. One of his hands splayed across her midriff as the other swept hair from her temple.
“Enjoyed it, did ya?”
Ginger let out a hearty laugh. “Um, yeah. That should pretty much be a staple in your sexual repertoire.”
“You inspired me,” he told her. Then added, “God, I cannot get enough of you.”
This prompted her to flop over on her side and stare at him. “Make love to me.”
The sound that slipped from his parted lips was primal in nature. A near-growl. “Believe me, sweetheart, I want to. But again…no condom.”
“Is that the only thing holding you back?” she inquired.
“Aside from having honorable intentions with you that I can’t quite seem to stick to.”
With a smile, she sat up and pulled open the top drawer of her nightstand. She lifted a small bag from inside and turned back to Ryan. Upending the plastic bag, she dumped twenty or so foil packets on his torso. Some slid off his body, others dotted his chest and stomach.
“Would you look at that?” she asked in a playful tone. “It’s raining condoms. Problem solved.”
Gripping her by the upper arms, he hauled her down on top of him, the square packages sticking to her skin. “You are too much, darlin’.”
“So is that a yes?”
His grunt was damn sexy. “I wouldn’t want to disappoint you. Nor can I fight this a second longer.” He shifted on the bed, until she was beneath him. Most of the condom packets fell away. He used a forearm to prop himself up as his other hand skimmed her body from breast to thigh. He told her, “I’ve never wanted anyone as much as I want you. From the moment I saw you, I wanted you. Hell, I wanted you in high school, but you were just
so tin—”
She silenced him with a kiss and then said, “Let’s forego the size references. I can’t have you obsessing over that or this is never going to happen between us. And I absolutely need it to happen, Ryan.”
Ginger was out of her mind over him. It wasn’t just his ultimate-hero nature, his kind disposition and his drop-dead gorgeous body that had her hooked. It was everything about him, from the way he smiled at her, to the way he kept her close to him, to the way he said whatever popped into his head, without worrying how vulnerable it might make him in their relationship. He laid his cards on the table every time and he took all of her thoughts and concerns into consideration before he acted.
Yes, he was big and strong and she felt safe in his presence. But she also felt cherished in his arms.
She said, “I know you’re trying to be valiant and take things slow. You don’t want to push me into anything I’m not ready for. And I think you want me to be comfortable with the situation and sure of what we’re doing.”
“I don’t want you to have any qualms about this. About us.”
Her head rolled back and forth on a pillow. “There are no guarantees, especially when it comes to you and me. We’ve got issues we can’t just sweep under the rug. But one thing I’m certain about is how wonderful you make me feel. How breathless and weightless and…I don’t know…lost in lust and mutual admiration. And I’m so crazy about you, I can’t even imagine for a moment making love with you would be a mistake.” A fingertip graze his jaw as she confessed, “Not making love with you would be a mistake. A huge, lifelong regret if I never got the chance to do it again.”
His jaw set beneath her touch. His blue eyes shimmered with so many emotions, she couldn’t read them all. But she saw desire and passion and adoration. He felt things for her, she was sure of it. Significant, soul-deep, life-altering things. Whether they could reconcile their differences—or the way his family regarded her—Ginger didn’t know. But she had no doubt what they felt for each other was real and substantial. It’d started years ago, in high school. It had transcended time and distance. And it thrived between them now.
She didn’t question giving her virginity to him. There was no one else she’d rather be with. Period.
“Take your clothes off,” she said in a steady, confident voice. “Make love to me.”
That he didn’t ask her one more time if she was sure and he didn’t hesitate in the slightest way told Ginger there was something much bigger between them that neither one could escape.
He peeled a packet from her lower belly, just below the spot where the lace of her nightie bunched, and said, “This one will do nicely.”
Excitement shimmied through her. He dropped the condom on the mattress and then scooted away to undress. Ginger stripped off the material gathered around her midriff and crawled under the covers, causing the other packets and the rose petals to scatter, most of them falling to the floor. When Ryan was naked, she admired the view while he cozied up beside her. She instantly reached for him, finding it impossible not to touch him.
Her fingers glided over his chest and she said, “I never dreamed I’d be in bed with such a hunk of a man.”
He grinned at her. “You are very good for my ego, sweetheart.”
“And you are a Godsend for my libido, Ryan Bain.” Naturally, she didn’t miss the irony in that statement. “I’d resigned myself to eternal celibacy” she quipped, “because it was better than faking it or being disappointed. And then you came along…”
He dropped kisses on her temple and across her cheek. “You’re too pretty and much too passionate for eternal celibacy, sweetheart. But I’m glad I came home and found you hadn’t met Mr. Right yet.”
With a smile, she said, “I was holding out for Prince Charming. No other man would do.”
“Well, you get the preacher’s nephew instead,” he teased.
“No. I got exactly what I wanted.” She kissed him softly, then added, “In fact, I think this was what I wanted all along. I just didn’t fully know it in high school. How could I? It wasn’t good timing for either of us, but I always liked being in your company more than anyone else’s. And sometimes I loaded up on the books because I knew you’d be there to carry them. I wanted you to walk me to class. I wanted people to see us together and to wonder about us.” She paused as she considered all of this and then said, “You didn’t go to prom. Why?”
Ryan hadn’t given much thought to that big social event in a very long time, but he had to admit, “Who was I going to take? Dixon Hunter asked you way back in the tenth grade, you said yes and then you kept your word two years later.”
Staring into his eyes, loving how he neither flinched nor looked away when she gazed so intently at him, she said, “You would have gone with me?”
“Yes, ma’am.” His polite, southern response made her toes curl. But his deeper, more intimate tone turned her molten inside when he added, “I never carried another girl’s books to class and I didn’t carry yours because I was afraid you’d tip over. I did it for two reasons.”
Her brow lifted. “And they are?”
“One,” he said as he pushed the hair off her bare shoulder and then trailed his fingers down her spine, “I liked walking with you because it gave us a chance to talk.”
She shivered at the way his fingertips lightly brushed her skin as he reached the small of her back, then dragged his hand back up.
“And two,” his head bent and his lips swept over hers. “I wanted everyone to think there was something between us.”
Her breath caught. “Why would you want that?” she whispered in a ragged voice as exhilaration over his admission got the best of her.
“I was hoping Dixon would back off. Like every other guy did.”
He’d surprised her with that tidbit.
Continuing, he said, “My plan backfired, obviously. At least, when it came to getting Dixon to rescind his prom invitation.”
Ginger suddenly recalled how boys would abruptly end conversations with her and move down the hallway whenever Ryan approached her. She said, “You wanted to be with me, but you knew the whole time we were in high school it was impossible. Because of your family?”
“Yes, but not in the way you’re thinking,” he was quick to say as a frown crossed her lips. “It had nothing to do with whether or not they’d approve of you. At that point, I had no doubt they would. My aunt and uncle had been good friends with your parents when they were alive. It was Jack Wade and his eccentric father—who’d run the article in the newspaper about his wife’s affair with one of my uncle Jonathan’s brothers—that they were all focused on at the time.”
“I’d completely forgotten about that. Quite the scandal. And not long after that, Lydia joined the church and married Jonathan. I remember that stirred up some gossip, since she’d been a bit of a rebel in high school. Something else that had slipped my mind, what with her pious behavior this past decade.”
“Yes, well, since becoming a reformed sinner, they’ve both done their best to control what’s said about them. I’ve never known two people who were more image conscious than them.”
“It’s actually sort of creepy how they obsess over what people think of them and try to make sure everyone believes they’re holier than the second coming of Christ.”
Ryan chuckled. “I agree. Anyway, I moved into their house when they’d only been married for a few years. Lydia was twenty-three. It wasn’t the most comfortable situation. I wanted out of Wilder because I needed a break from them—and what the family name represented, truth be told. The only way I could do it was to get a football scholarship. I had to have the grades to go with the talent, and that meant studying every waking minute I wasn’t practicing or walking you to class. Doesn’t mean I didn’t have anything else on my mind.”
He winked at her and Ginger’s stomach fluttered. Her gaze locked with his again as she asked, “Why’d you chose to come back to Wilder? You could have gotten on with a large poli
ce department in Arizona. Why come back to Texas?”
With a slight shake of his head, he said, “I don’t know. I kept an eye on the sheriff office’s website, hoping to see an opening. A voice in the back in my mind told me to continue looking, because this was the place I should be. I didn’t give up and I almost feel like…it was Fate.”
He kissed her, slowly and sensuously, and Ginger was inclined to agree with him. His arms wound around her and he held her in a tight embrace, her breasts pressed to his chest. She loved the feeling of his hot skin against hers and the way his muscles seemed to surround her, all rigid and masculine. He was sexy and virile and so much more than Ginger had ever dreamed she’d find in a man.
When he dragged his mouth from hers, she sighed happily. “Dixon Hunter never kissed me like that.”
“I don’t even want to think of Dixon kissing you.”
“Believe me, there’s no comparison. In fact, it was so boring, I’d pretty much been okay with not having someone to lie in bed with and kiss—until you showed me what it could be like. I mean, with Dixon… If that’s all there was to it, I’d rather read a book than wonder what the hell he was trying to do with his tongue.”
Ryan snickered. “No one deserves that.”
“You’ve rescued me again,” she said with a dramatic sigh. “This time from humdrum kisses.”
Disentangling himself from her, he reached for the foil packet he’d selected and ripped it open. As he rolled the latex down his thick shaft, anticipation rippled through her.
He said, “There’s nothing humdrum between us. And the way you light me up, I don’t think you’ll be staring at the ceiling, wondering what the hell I’m doing.”
She giggled. “I suspect not.”
His palms splayed over her inner thighs as he parted her legs. Ginger’s stomach fluttered and her pulse raced. One of his hands reached for hers and he positioned her fingers on her labia, spreading her lips as the tip of his cock nudged her opening.
He knelt on the mattress and hooked his strong forearms under the backs of her knees, keeping her legs in a wide vee.
