“You’re going to see the kitchen and only the kitchen,” she stated categorically, her eyes boring into his as if wanting to burn two holes into his skull to see his ulterior motives.
She probably knew just as well as he did that he had ulterior motives, but Ryan certainly wasn’t about to tell her he was planning on having her naked in his bed in the near future. He might generally prefer to lay his cards on the table, but he also knew from experience that most women reacted very coolly if you told them upfront that you were solely interested in sex.
So he gave her an irresistibly innocent smile. “Why are you so suspicious?”
Her answer was a grumpy harrumph sound. She slammed the door shut behind him, grabbed one of his heavy shopping bags, and marched down the hall ahead of him.
Her utterly unfeminine behavior, appearing so natural, made him shake his head at himself. He wasn’t into women who reminded him of his own sister, so what was he doing here? But one look at his hostess’s derrière told him that Jordan Esposito was nothing like Kayleigh.
As he followed Jordan into the kitchen, his gaze traveled down her slender back, over her ass, and then further down her shapely legs, before rising again to the bun on the back of her head. His fingers itched to pull it loose, to see her dark hair cascade down her back in all its glory.
Since she still hadn’t said anything as she began to unpack the first shopping bag on her small kitchen table, Ryan stopped in the middle of the cozy kitchen and took a look around. He got the impression Jordan hadn’t been in this apartment for very long. A tower of moving boxes stood against one wall, and the place was sparsely furnished.
“I take it the guy named Asshole on the phone was your ex?”
Her shoulders stiffened, which told Ryan he’d hit the nail on the head.
He set the second bag on one of the chairs and met Jordan’s searing look.
“How did you know?”
He shrugged one shoulder and grabbed an apple from the large bowl on the table. He rubbed the apple on his t-shirt and then took a large bite. “I’m not a cop for nothing,” he said as he chewed.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He ignored her antagonistic tone and gave her a cheerful smile, still chewing on the juicy apple. “Your apartment is filled with moving boxes you haven’t unpacked, there are no pictures on the walls, and you were screaming bloody murder at some poor dude named Gary over the phone. Connecting the dots like Sherlock, I’d say that was your ex on the line.”
Jordan didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she snorted disdainfully.
Only after half a minute of stare meeting stare did she make a face and roll her eyes. “For your information,” she said, “Gary is my ex, yes, but I did not live with the jerk. That would have taken the cake!”
Ryan didn’t want to sound too curious, so he forced his voice to sound casual. “Horrible breakup?”
“Horrible guy!”
“I see.”
Her frown deepened. “Gary’s a cop, too, and he’s probably the most inconsiderate asshole in all of Boston.”
That didn’t sound very promising for his attempt at bedding Jordan, Ryan had to admit. He acted relieved and wiped imaginary sweat from his brow. “Phew, it’s good to know you don’t think I’m the most inconsiderate asshole in Boston.”
“I don’t know you well enough to tell,” she murmured grumpily. “But come to think of it, you might be cut from the same cloth as Gary. He wasn’t ashamed of letting strange women see him naked, either—which obviously happened quite often, though I only learned that afterwards.”
“Sounds like a stand-up guy,” Ryan said sarcastically and continued to eat his apple.
One of her eyebrows rose slowly. “Don’t tell me you think it’s immoral to cheat on someone!” she said incredulously. “I’d have thought you wouldn’t have a problem with men keeping all their options open.”
“Hey,” Ryan protested, sounding outraged, “just because I like being single doesn’t mean I don’t have a problem with men or women cheating on their partners.” To further illustrate his point, he pulled his eyebrows together into a frown. “If I got wind that my sister’s boyfriend was sleeping with other women, for example, his number would be up.”
For a moment, Jordan just stared at him, perplexed. Then she lowered her head and murmured in a voice that seemed slightly choked, “That surprises me.”
“Because you think I’m an asshole?”
She raised her head with a jerk. “I don’t invite assholes into my apartment.”
“But you invited your ex, didn’t you?”
She rolled her eyes in exasperation. He noticed her dense lashes and the almost golden shimmer in her brown eyes, brought out by the bright light of the overhead lights of the kitchen. “Unfortunately, it isn’t always obvious at first glance. But I’ve learned to give self-important cops a wide berth.”
That sounded a little too unequivocal for his taste, and she topped it by wrinkling her nose at him. “Not all cops are inconsiderate assholes,” he informed her calmly.
He didn’t understand why her shoulders were suddenly shaking with suppressed giggling. Had he said something hilarious but missed the punch line?
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing.” She raised an innocent hand and grinned.
Ryan gave her a skeptical look. Her moods seemed more volatile than those of a junkie in rehab.
He crossed his arms in front of his chest and wrinkled his nose. “Should I be worried you’re going to attack me with one of your kitchen knives next?”
“Why would I do that?” she asked through a smile.
Ryan looked at his half-eaten apple. “A minute ago you looked like you wanted to behead someone, and now you burst out laughing like I told you the funniest story you’ve ever heard … Excuse me if I get a little suspicious, but I’m completely at your mercy here in your apartment.”
Her grin was telling. “Oh, I bet you know a thing or two about being at someone’s mercy.”
Ryan rolled his eyes. “Weren’t we going to forget that oh-so-funny episode?”
“Oops, must have slipped my mind.” She sobered up as she nodded and cocked her head to one side. “I’m not myself at the moment,” she went on hoarsely. “My parents don’t want me to be a firefighter, and Gary’s sudden attention is jangling my nerves. We split up eight months ago, and for the most part, he didn’t seem to mind. But the last few weeks, he’s been terrorizing me, calling all the time. He won’t stop bothering me.”
That almost sounded like an apology for her confusing behavior, and Ryan gave her credit for it. Plus, he’d just been given more information about her than he’d ever expected. He was surprised to find he was becoming even more intrigued by her.
He spied the garbage can on his left and threw the apple core inside. “Why don’t your parents want you to be a firefighter? Because you’re a woman?”
Jordan shrugged, took a deep breath, and exhaled loudly. “I guess so.”
Ryan shrugged, too. “Granted, it’s not a classical woman’s job, but given time, they’ll get used to it.”
“Ha!” She suddenly looked even more upset than before as she threw up her hands. “That’s what you think! My dad’s been nagging me for weeks, and he does everything he can to keep me from being a firefighter. Same with my brothers. They’re just as persistent and maybe even better equipped to get on my nerves. And then add my mother, who’s constantly trying to make me feel guilty! Sometimes I just want to scream and yell and pack it all in! And as if that wasn’t enough, now I have to learn how to cook so I don’t make a fool of myself at the station. I bet some of the guys are just waiting for me to screw up.”
She was so worked up she started pacing again, and Ryan watched in fascination. “One over-salted meal isn’t the end of the world,” he pointed out.
She didn’t seem to have heard him. “Jesus Christ! If they weren’t my family, they could just go to hell. I’m a grown w
oman! I’m twenty-five! I don’t need to ask my parents’ permission to leave the fucking house. Did your parents try to keep you from being a cop?”
He was taken by surprise, but he opened his mouth to reply, only to be cut off before he could form the first syllable.
“I want to pack it all in and just run away! Goddammit! I wish I could just …”
She suddenly stopped herself, her hands balled into tight fists, and stood right in front of him, panting. Ryan didn’t know whether to be concerned or confused.
“You wish you could just … what?” he asked warily.
Her expression became thoughtful as she let her gaze travel over his body, and then she gave a determined nod and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Drop your pants.”
Instead, his jaw dropped. “What?”
“Drop your pants,” she repeated.
Ryan’s mouth moved like a fish on dry land. He wondered how he’d gotten into this madwoman’s apartment. Either Jordan Esposito was totally loco, or it was his mind that was slipping right now.
“Did I hear that correctly?” He narrowed his eyes in suspicion and raised both his hands defensively. “Why would I want to take off my pants right now?”
She snorted like an asthmatic walrus. “Why don’t you guess!”
When her eyes fixed meaningfully on his crotch, he took an involuntary step backward. “Is this some sick joke of my brother’s? Or—”
“Jesus!” She pulled the hairband from her bun, causing her hair to stream around her face in soft, beautiful waves. “I need to let off some steam. You came here because you want to sleep with me. Now connect the dots, and you’ll see why I want you to take off your pants, Fitzpatrick,” she lectured, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Ryan still couldn’t believe what was happening. “But—”
She interrupted him by pulling her t-shirt over her head and reaching for his waist. “It’s a one-time thing, just so we’re clear,” she murmured as she started to unbuckle his belt. “We’ll have sex, and then you’ll leave. Neither of us will be offended if the other doesn’t call. Okay?”
Since she was already unbuttoning his jeans, Ryan huskily murmured, “Gotcha.”
“Great,” Jordan said briskly, and then she pulled down his jeans and boxers in one swift motion. She put her hands behind her own back and unclasped her bra. When she started ravaging his mouth a moment later, Ryan was sure he believed in Santa once again. After all, this was exactly what he’d wished for.
***
Jordan lay on her bed panting and stared at the ceiling.
The man who had rolled off her a minute ago was lying next to her, and his breathing sounded like a steam locomotive ready to be scrapped.
For a moment, she closed her eyes, struggling to catch her breath after the phenomenal orgasm that had rocked through her. Her whole body was still humming with it, which was not surprising, considering the lengths the blond detective had gone to ensure her satisfaction. She’d completely lost track of time and couldn’t tell how long she’d been in bed with Ryan Fitzpatrick. Might have been half an hour … or three. They’d raced from her kitchen to her bedroom, torn the remaining clothes off each other’s bodies, and stumbled into bed, where they’d had wild sex.
Jordan stretched, thinking she’d be sore all over in the morning, after all the positions they’d wrestled with, and wrestling deliciously with each other.
It had definitely been worth it.
Another shiver of pleasure zinged through her as she pondered what a good decision it had been to hop into bed with Ryan Fitzpatrick. The man didn’t just look fabulous naked, he also knew what to do with his hands, his mouth, and his penis. Sex with him had been amazing, and it had swept away all traces of the anger and frustration she had felt at the beginning of the evening. Now she felt wonderfully relaxed and couldn’t have explained what had made her so irritable in the first place. She could have fallen asleep right away if the man next to her had left.
Since he was still gasping for air, his chest rising and falling rapidly, Jordan decided to give him a few more minutes before throwing him out. Someone who managed to be this selfless in bed deserved to be given the time to catch his breath before he was told to collect his clothes and go home.
Jordan stretched out contentedly and suppressed a yawn as her thoughts wandered to her still-unsorted pile of laundry, debating whether she had the strength left to tackle that task, or whether it wouldn’t be nicer to treat herself to a hot bath. Since she was sweaty all over and had already determined she would be sore tomorrow, the hot bath easily won. Laundry was a boring chore anyway, one she could tackle tomorrow night.
She almost flinched when a heavy hand was placed on her thigh and stroked her skin with familiarity. Jordan was a little ashamed to realize she had all but forgotten Ryan’s presence in her bed, engrossed as she had been in deciding between laundry and bathtub.
“Shit,” he moaned, still breathing heavily, and slid his trembling fingers across her thigh. “That was fucking awesome! Did you come, too?”
How could he doubt it? After all, she had bitten into his shoulder when she came, afraid she’d taste blood when her orgasm seemed to last forever.
She nodded. “Yes, I did.”
“Good,” he murmured contentedly and rolled over on his side, pressing his sweaty body against hers, obviously about to kiss her.
For a very brief moment, Jordan pondered whether to grant him an after-sex kiss, for his kisses had been amazing, too, and she wasn’t averse to cuddling a little … But her sense of self-preservation was stronger than the need to cuddle with a handsome, athletic, and very capable man.
Casual sex was nothing but a form of sport, good for dispelling frustration, anger, or sadness. Sometimes it even managed to drive away all three of them.
Post-coital kisses and snuggle-fests were not part of the deal.
Therefore, she sat up demonstratively and patted his hip. “I don’t want to be rude or anything, but I need to get up really early tomorrow.”
Apparently she’d shocked him.
When he didn’t say anything, Jordan looked back over her shoulder and down at the man lying in her bed, his blond hair tousled, his cheeks red, and his eyes shimmering like liquid amber, proof of his own physical satisfaction. He looked far too seductive for casual sex. And he probably hadn’t expected to be ushered out of bed so soon after having sex, because she could see the unbridled surprise spreading over his clear-cut features.
Jordan didn’t want to start any drama, so she grabbed a hairband from the nightstand, swept up her hair, twisted it into a bun again, and rose from the bed. She took her robe from the chair next to the bed and slipped it on, tying the sash around her waist. She was aware of Ryan’s eyes on her body, drinking in her nakedness until she covered it up. That was okay; after all, he was still lying in her bed in all his naked glory. But he didn’t make a move to get out of bed.
“You’re not throwing me out, are you?”
His voice sounded half amused and half confused, but she knitted her brows and busied herself with brushing some errant strands of hair from her face.
“Don’t be silly.” Jordan shrugged an indifferent shoulder. “I just wanted to make sure you didn’t feel obliged to play the gentleman and make conversation after sex. If you want to leave I’m not going to hold it against you, I promise.”
That was her polite way of saying he should drag his ass out of her bed and move it.
But Ryan seemed rather slow on the uptake. He rolled onto his back and crossed his hands behind his head. “How about a cup of coffee?”
“There’s a Starbucks on the corner.” Jordan remembered then how dedicated he’d been to fulfilling her needs, so she added a little more gracefully, “But you can use my coffeemaker before you go.”
“Wow.” He gave an amused chuckle. “You can’t wait for me to beat it, can you?”
“Come on.” Carefully searching for the right words, Jordan leaned he
r knees against the bed frame. “We’re adults, Ryan. You wanted sex, and I wanted sex. That’s it. We’re both satisfied and can go our separate ways.”
“And what about the cooking lesson?”
She raised a mocking eyebrow. “Really? We both know you only offered to teach me to cook because you thought it might help you get into my pants. Mission accomplished, don’t you think? I guess I’ll be fine if I buy a cookbook and memorize the recipes.”
“Okay.” He shrugged his broad shoulders and sat up.
Jordan forced herself not to stare too openly at his naked body and turned her back on him as he got up. But since most of his clothes were on the floor in the kitchen or the hall, she still had to watch him pass her in all his glory. Despite their just-finished tête-à-tête, Jordan couldn’t refrain from leering at his delicious ass as she followed him.
While she leaned in the doorway, Ryan slipped into his jeans and buttoned them. Merely looking at the ripple of his muscles made her entire body tingle, even though she’d experienced a massive orgasm only minutes earlier. She would have loved to do it all over again, but since she didn’t want to send any wrong signals, she remained steadfast and refused to yield control to her dancing hormones.
“Is it really okay if I leave now?”
Jordan thought she might have misheard him, since Ryan was wrestling with his t-shirt as he spoke, but as soon as she saw his thoughtful expression and reluctant gaze, she knew she’d heard him just fine.
She frowned in irritation and buried her hands in the pockets of her robe. “Why wouldn’t it be okay if you left now?”
He pushed the hem of his tee down into the waistband of his jeans, briefly revealing a strip of taut skin Jordan remembered tracing with her tongue a short while earlier. “Women tend to be quite offended if you leave right after sex. At least half an hour of cuddling and talking is mandatory if you don’t want to hurt their feelings.”
“I see.” Jordan licked her lips and cleared her throat before asking in mock earnestness, “Would it help if I patted you on the head and asked you about your day, so you’d feel less used?”
All Tied Up (The Boston Five Series #4) Page 7
