Lying in Bed

by Jo Leigh

  It was impossible to think when he kissed her like that, when her body wanted so badly to let him in.

  When he reached underneath her blouse to caress her skin, she jerked her head back, the sensation dizzying. Ryan didn’t give her a second to adjust. His mouth moved down her neck, licking, nipping, his low moan a rumble that was felt more than heard.

  “Wait, Ryan, wait. We can’t.”

  “No, shhh, no. We can. It’s over, and we’re done and I can’t stop thinking about you, haven’t stopped since I was inside you.” He lifted her blouse, the silk slipping up her back and her bra, until it was over her head.

  She could stop things right now. If she didn’t let go of her grip on him, he wouldn’t be able to finish undressing her. Not without a struggle, and there was no way in hell he would do that to her, no matter how frantic he seemed.

  When he straightened, when he finally met her gaze, his desperation was written on his face and in the tension that strained his muscles. He’d been through so much. Not just what had happened all those years ago, but today. He’d laid himself bare in front of her, the most private confession she’d ever heard.

  She wanted him so much her body ached, even as she understood what a risk it was. If she gave in... No, if she chose to be with him one more time. This was her heart she was playing with. He’d be fine, he’d go home and everything would go back to normal. She couldn’t say the same.

  It was just turning dark outside, the room filled with shadows and quiet, except for their heated breathing. All she had to do was say no.

  Instead, she released his polo shirt, and his shoulders sagged with relief. When he lifted her blouse off, he moved carefully and he never turned his gaze away.

  She was the one to reach behind and unhook her bra, letting it fall to the floor.

  “Oh, Christ,” he whispered right before baring his own chest and pulling her close once more.

  She sighed as her nipples pressed against him, as his arms tightened around her. She leaned into him, abandoning any pretense, thrilled insensibly by the small noises Ryan made as they drowned each other in kisses. He maneuvered them until her legs hit the side of the bed.

  He broke away and cursed. “What idiot put a suitcase there?” Looking as if it hurt, he released her and dispatched the wretched thing, his clothes leaving a trail from the end of the bed to the wall.

  When he turned back to her, he stopped, lips parted on an inhale as he studied her, starting with her naked breasts but returning to her face. “I don’t want to make a mistake here,” he said. He flexed most of the muscles she could see from his arms to his jaw. Her own wince surprised her, but only until he whispered, “I’ll just get...” as he picked up her blouse from where she’d let it drop.

  She took it back and tossed it on the seat of the leather chair. Then she put her arms around his neck and brought her mouth close to his ear. “Take me to bed, Ryan Vail.”

  His lips were on hers so fast it was like magic, and he was fiddling with the buttons on her slacks, not having much success. Covering his hands, she said, “Let’s make this simple. Strip.”

  The laugh wasn’t a big one and his attention stayed on her as he toed off his loafers and slipped out of his jeans.

  God, he looked good in those black boxer briefs. She loved how obviously he wanted her. But then she was being pretty obvious herself with her body blush and hard nips.

  She made a little show of taking off her panties. They were the palest pink, a match to the bra that was somewhere else. He finished removing his socks, and when he stood up tall and oh, so erect, she wanted to do everything.

  * * *

  THE ROOM WASN’T CHILLY, but his skin was so hot that a shiver shot down his spine. Or maybe that was from looking at Angie, so beautiful it made him throb. What had been a mad rush to have her, to lose himself inside her, had become something else. Part of him wanted to throw her down on the bed, take her hard using every trick in his large arsenal.

  Instead, he pulled her close again, taking a minute to savor that stunning body rubbing against him. She felt better than anything. If he could package the sensation, he’d be the richest son of a bitch in the world.

  “Oh...” She turned the breathy word into a hum while she ran her hand slowly over his chest.

  “Did anyone ever tell you you’ve got amazingly soft skin?” he asked.

  “I think you might have mentioned it. A couple of times.”

  He sighed before he caught her bottom lip between his teeth and gave it a little tug. After he let it go, he lapped at that tempting flesh and found himself drowning in the taste of her.

  Finally she pulled back. “We gonna do this standing up?”

  “We could try,” he said. “But I think we’d have to be closer to the wall. Leverage.”

  Her laughter was as addictive as every other single thing about her. “Let’s not get carried away. I’d hate for you to break something important just before we go home.”

  “That’s a deal.” He took her hand and helped her lie back, no clever moves, no showing off at all. He simply paid attention, holding back the covers even though he’d have preferred doing it on the comforter. But Angie had goose bumps and she seemed to like having the covers available.

  When he settled himself beside her, they rolled together so easily it shocked him. He wasn’t sure what was happening here. He should be putting as much distance between them as possible, racing for home and his real life. If not that, then applying his go-to recipe for fixing what ailed him by burying himself in someone new, a mystery to be solved in the span of an evening.

  He’d broken every rule with Angie. He’d let her in where no one was allowed. Thank God this was it. That they were going back to where things made sense. But for now, for the few hours they had left together, he wanted to stop thinking so damn much. Let it be.

  “This is...”

  “What?” he asked.

  She shrugged, then kissed his shoulder. “Nothing.” She looked up at him. The room was filled with the gold of the sinking sun, making her look tanned and sexier, if that was even possible.

  After a kiss that made his cock harder than it had any right to be this early in the game, he started a systematic, highly detailed deconstruction of one Angie Wolf. By the time he reached his destination, he wanted her to be a quivering mess, begging for release. Which he would give her, all in good time.

  If he made it that far, himself.

  It was her long, graceful neck that lured him in to start. Using his lips, tongue and a hint of teeth, he got the party in gear. She tasted like honey and smelled like the beach. By the time he was nibbling his way across the divide between neck and shoulder, she’d bucked her hips twice as she squeezed his flesh wherever she could grab. It was her soft whimpers that made his cock jerk, though, that and knowing he was safe for the rest of the night.

  * * *

  ANGIE MOANED AS RYAN’S fingers entered her, a prelude, but delicious on its own. He was all over her and she’d never dreamed she’d ever actually feel ravished, but she did, as if he was taking her apart and putting her back together piece by piece.

  The desperate noises she couldn’t hold back were the same for pleasure as want, and how did that even work?

  His finger pumped, which had her lifting her hips even as he pinned down her back. His lips were on her right nipple, sucking and flicking to beat the band, and then his thumb came into play right there, steady as he pushed and licked and made her thighs tremble.

  In one shocking moment, he abandoned her completely but before she could do more than cry out, he’d flung the comforter back. “I need to see,” he said, then he went straight back to killing her with wicked bliss.

  Her hand was in his hair, mostly running through it, but when he did something noteworthy, which was about every other second, she tugged. The first time it happened, she’d felt terrible about it, but the second time the way his body jerked and his low moan told her he not only didn’t mind, bu
t that he liked it.

  Ryan switched his attention to her other breast and the sweet torment made her moan. Gorgeous, too much, and not nearly enough. His thumb, though, had most of her attention. It was the slow circle with the perfect pressure that was doing her in.

  She tugged again, actually lifting his head back until their eyes met. “My thighs are two seconds away from meltdown, and I’m going to come and you won’t be in me.”

  His slow grin was as full of mischief as his dark eyes. “I won’t be in you yet.”

  “I can’t hold on. You’ll be sorry, because I’ll be worn out.”

  “You’re a long distance runner, sweetheart. I know what you can do.”

  Her legs gave out. Dislodging his hand just as she was starting the wind up. “I warned you.”

  “I think,” he said, easing his head and hair away from her relaxed fingers, “that I’m going to make you come three ways tonight.”

  “Huh?” she said, eloquent as ever.

  “First,” he whispered, after a quick kiss goodbye to her right nipple, “with my mouth.”

  She watched him slide over, all strong limbs and flexing muscles, until he was between her legs.

  “Then, with my fingers.” He paused for a hello kiss to the very top of her sex before he maneuvered her legs over his shoulders.

  “After that—” he met her gaze again, more predator than mischief maker “—with my cock.”

  She let her head drop to the pillow. There was no response to what he’d said. None. She thought about laughing, but she didn’t want to waste the energy. If his objective was to wring her out like a wet cloth, well, he was going about it the right way.

  “Fine,” she said, her hands flopping up near her head. “Do to me what you will.”

  His chuckle was the kind that sent all kinds of shivers directly to the good parts. “I intend to.”

  * * *

  IT WAS SOME UNGODLY HOUR, and she was tapioca and overly sensitized at the same time. She couldn’t move and could barely catch her breath. He was beside her, gasping away. Where his hip touched hers felt as if they were melting.

  He’d done it. All three. In that order. Like a magic trick because she wasn’t one of those multiorgasmic women the magazines were so impressed with. Three times. Holy crap. Shouldn’t there be an award or something? At the very least one of those parchment paper certificates, signed by the Commissioner of Amazing Sex.

  Her head was only half on the pillow, there were at least two spots she didn’t want to sleep on and, if she’d had the wherewithal, she’d turn on the air conditioner.

  It occurred to her that while this part of the sting had certainly ended with a bang, tomorrow would begin a very different operation. They were heading back to normal. To being on the same team. Sleeping in different places. Acting like FBI agents.

  Which would all look much simpler once they were dressed. Especially in her own clothes. With her sturdy, two-inch heels and her slightly baggy work suits. She’d get back to running her regular routes, dive into the post-assignment paperwork which was an achingly familiar slice of boring that felt like home.

  Ryan and her? She turned her head far enough to see his eyes were closed and his body seemed completely relaxed. He deserved a rest. Not just from the sex, but for stepping so far outside his comfort zone. All week, actually.

  No, the two of them wouldn’t pick up where they left off. Not possible, not after what they’d been through. If it had just been sex, that would have been one thing, but they’d been intimate. She’d been closer to Ryan than she’d been with any other man in her life.

  You didn’t just walk away from that with a tip of the hat.

  She couldn’t imagine what it might be like, because of their jobs, because of so many things, not the least of which was working in the same office on the same team.

  But then, one of them would probably be shipping out to Washington, D.C. If the blackmail text came through. If there wasn’t someone more qualified, or more on the Deputy Director’s radar. If it wasn’t her, she was going to put in for a transfer to cyber crimes, so that would help.

  She’d miss him. More than she could have imagined. It might have been a lot of role-playing and spy stuff, but he’d been incredibly open with her. She knew him now, seeing with such clarity that it wasn’t the length of time that mattered, but what was shared that made people...close. He must know her, as well. Somewhere in this long, strange week, he’d changed from being an occasional fantasy to a man she cared for. Deeply.

  * * *

  RYAN OPENED HIS eYES AND stared straight up into the dark. He wanted to wake her again, bury himself in her body, in her pleasure and his own.

  What he didn’t want was the twisting sick feeling that was eating him alive. The memory of what he’d said to her burned inside him like a flare before the flash.

  What the hell had he done?

  15

  A SHAFT OF SUNLIGHT brought Angie from dream to foggy awareness. Memories of the night came first. She wallowed in how it had felt to have Ryan’s arms wrapped around her, the way he’d kissed her insensible, how her muscles had tightened in those last few seconds before release. Stretching her legs now brought an unexpected ache to her calves and thighs. She was in damn good shape but she was tempted to skip her run and soak in that sadly unused whirlpool tub.

  Ryan wasn’t next to her, which was a shame, but she knew he was in the bathroom. Must have heard something during the foggy part. Ah, there was a gurgling message from her stomach, angry at her for not eating dinner last night. God, she was starving.

  The hell with yogurt and bran, she wanted something decadent. Eggs Benedict or French toast. Hash browns.

  Where was he? Opening her eyes, finally, she got her watch from the bedside table, shocked that it was 8:20. So late she’d probably have to choose between the soak and the meal, and a run was out of the question.

  The bathroom door opened. Ryan was already dressed in jeans, although not the worn ones, and a slate-gray short-sleeved shirt. His hair wasn’t even wet, so he must have showered a while ago. He was staring at his cell phone until she cleared her throat. She grinned, looking forward to his good morning, wondering what he had in store for her.

  “Hey,” he said, giving her a glance and a smile that felt like an absent pat on the head.

  She must have interrupted something important for him to act so dismissively. It shouldn’t have disappointed her. Certainly not this much. They weren’t on vacation, and if he’d gotten a message from Gordon or Jeannie, his behavior was entirely appropriate.

  “You hungry?” she asked, watching him scroll through messages on his smartphone.

  “Sure,” he said, not even giving her a glance this time. “Go ahead and call room service. I’m trying to book the soonest flight out.”

  “What’s the rush? Let’s have something wonderful for breakfast.” She grabbed her sleep shirt from the floor and slipped it over her head.

  Ryan looked her way, but didn’t meet her eyes. “I just want coffee.”

  “Did something happen?”

  He lowered the phone and went to the patio window to stare outside.

  With every step her insides tightened. What the hell was going on?

  “I just want to get back to L.A.,” he said, his voice as expressionless as the glimpse she’d had of his face. “Get started on the next part of the case.”

  “Okay,” she said, not meaning it at all. She wanted him to look at her, to have the man she’d slept with look back at her. Things had happened between them that couldn’t just vanish into nothing.

  The only thing she could think of was that he was having a delayed reaction to the intimacy exercise yesterday. She’d known at the time that it was way out of his comfort zone, so, yeah, it was understandable that he was freaking out a bit, but to treat her like a one-night stand? No, that was just...no.

  If that was the case, and she honestly couldn’t come up with anything else, then he was probabl
y embarrassed, which made her ache inside. Did he think she was going to tell anyone about what he’d said? That she would mock him for revealing so much of himself?

  She walked over to him, even though he’d gone back to hiding behind his cell phone while keeping his back to her. She rubbed his arm, gently, the way she’d touched him yesterday. He’d found comfort in her then, and she hoped he’d feel it now.

  Instead, he tensed.

  “Hey,” she said softly. “If this is about the thirty-four minutes, don’t worry about it, okay? I consider what you told me privileged information. I’ll never say a word about any of it. I’m just really honored that you trusted me enough to open up.” She laughed a little, feeling her face heat. “For what it’s worth, I thought you were amazingly brave.”

  Ryan took a step away from her, glancing at her once more, but only for a moment, and she couldn’t tell if he was angry or embarrassed or what. “Look, nothing I said yesterday was about me. It was the job. That was all made up bullshit designed to make it look like I’d do anything to keep you. My personal life is just that. Personal. Sorry if you got confused.” He paused, keeping his eyes averted. “About any of it.”

  Angie stood very still, trying to calm the surge of emotions so she could think. No way he’d made all that up yesterday. No way. The best actor on the planet couldn’t have pulled that off.

  And what the hell did he mean by any of it? Was he dismissing that they’d had amazing sex, that they’d made a real connection? Good God, she knew they wouldn’t be strolling into the office holding hands.

  But for heaven’s sake, he couldn’t even look at her. That body language in a suspect would signal guilt from a mile away. He was deflecting, that’s all. He’d crossed every boundary he had for himself, and now he was trying to reclaim control the best way he knew how.

  It was sad, and it was a lie, but it made her feel like an utter fool. She’d done it again. Let herself believe that he was someone other than the notorious Ryan Vail. God, she was an idiot.

  But she couldn’t deny that the overwhelming sensation right now was hurt. Deep, stabbed-in-the-back hurt. He had a right to his feelings, including shame and anger and whatever, but she felt slapped in the face, which she didn’t deserve.