“Man, all this emotion… sure makes me hungry!” joked Ryan. “But seriously, Tanya, I want you to be happy. No more doubting yourself. I want to see that spark in those eyes again… All right?”
Tanya smiled. “It’s a deal,” she said, grabbing a napkin and folding it across her lap. “Now, shut up and let’s dig in!”
From that point forward, the conversation flowed easily between them. As they reduced the platter of ribs to a pile of bones, they were talking, flirting and laughing the whole time. Ryan had such a dry wit, Tanya noticed – a deadly combination mixed with those hazel eyes of his. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so much fun. And the whole time, she swore the chemistry between them was only getting stronger and stronger.
“Lord have mercy,” said Ryan, as he put down the remnants of the very last rib onto the plate. He let out a deep sigh. “That was amazing.”
“I’ll say,” Tanya agreed. “This place is just as good as I remember! Why, I haven’t…”
Just then, she trailed off instantly, and all the color drained from her face. Oh, my God, she thought to herself, staring past Ryan out to the front door of the restaurant.
“What’s up?” he asked, looking concerned. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Worse,” she groaned.
It was Warren.
Chapter 3: A Barroom Brawl
“Duck down,” said Tanya urgently. “I don’t want Warren to see us.”
“Who’s Warren?” asked Ryan, even as he tried to slouch down in the booth.
But it was too late. Warren had already seen them, and as soon as he’d locked eyes with Tanya, a wide, sinister smirk appeared on his face. She groaned again.
“It’s my ex-boyfriend,” she said. “He’s a real jerk. I’ll handle this.”
He sauntered over to the booth where they were sitting, in the jerky, half-cocked gait that Tanya recognized all too well: it meant he’d been drinking. And as he got closer to their booth, the reeking stench of booze on his body told her that he’d had more than just a few drinks.
“Well, well, well,” he said, that sarcastic sneer still on his face. “If it isn’t my long-lost love! How’s the new apartment treating you, Toots?”
She absolutely hated when he called her Toots. And it was a sore subject to bring up her ‘new apartment,’ too; they both knew all too well that she’d had to take a major down-grade after moving out of the home they’d shared together.
“You’re drunk, Warren,” spat Tanya. “Business as usual for you, I guess.”
He had that wild-eyed look about him that comes from a little too much liquid courage. She was inwardly terrified at what sort of drama he’d cause, or what sort of embarrassing things he’d start to say if given the chance. She had no idea how to control the situation. She looked at Ryan frantically, but all he offered in return was a quizzical glance before Warren started running his mouth again.
He seemed to have just noticed Ryan, and his eyes lit up even more. “And who’s this lucky guy!?” he exclaimed. The grin on his face looked to Tanya like pure, unadulterated evil. She had no idea how she’d put up with this creep for so long.
“Hubba hubba, baby!” he said, turning to Tanya again. “I guess you wasted no time getting back to your old routine, sleeping around all over the neighborhood.”
Her mouth dropped wide open in shock. “What are you even talking about?!?” she sputtered. Just then, Ryan stood up angrily in his seat.
“That’s about enough out of you,” he said to Warren. “Now if you’ll excuse us, we were just leaving.”
Ryan was a good two inches taller and quite a bit more muscular, but Warren was undeterred. “I don’t think so,” he said, his voice rising in volume. “This little two-timer’s coming home with ME.” A few of the nearby diners had turned to look at the commotion. The waitress had come over with the bill, but she now held back hesitantly as she watched the scene unfolding.
Ryan calmly stepped out of the booth and held out his hand to Tanya. “Come on,” he said, “we’re going.”
She stood up, but immediately had to jump backwards as Warren made a drunken, lurching grab for her arm. He missed badly, and stumbled into the back seat of the booth. “No, babe, come with me!” he cried, and stood up to grab for her again.
He never got the chance. In a smooth motion, Ryan stepped between Warren and Tanya, and grabbed him by the wrist as he reached for her. “That’s enough, buddy.” Warren looked surprised by the intrusion, and tried in vain to shake his warm out of Ryan’s firm grasp.
“Lemme go,” he said indignantly, struggling to get free. “Lemme go!” After a second or two of this, he cocked his left arm and tried to throw a wild punch. It landed harmlessly on Ryan’s chest.
Ryan looked at Warren the way you might inspect something stuck to the bottom of your shoe. “Alright, you’re done,” he said calmly. In the next moment, he’d suddenly turned Warren around and pushed his arm up under his shoulder blades. “Let’s go.” He marched him towards the front door of the restaurant, where two police officers happened to be standing.
“Officers,” he said, “This man tried to assault my girlfriend. I think he’s had too much to drink.”
The policemen only had to take one look at Warren to confirm what Ryan was saying. “Yeah, we saw this guy walk in just now,” one of them said. “I knew he looked like trouble.”
Suddenly, Warren started yelling maniacally. “Tanya, you good-for-nothing, worthless loser!” he cried. “I never loved you! You ugly tramp! You filthy slob!”
“All right,” said the police officers, “that’s it!” They pushed him to the ground and threw a pair of handcuffs on his wrists. They hauled him up to his feet, and pushed him out through the door.
“Thank you, sir,” said one of them to Ryan. “We’ll take it from here.”
As they walked outside, the whole restaurant started cheering. The waitress came over again. “Dinner’s on the house!” she said to Ryan. “Thank you so much!”
“It was nothing,” said Ryan. He wasn’t smiling, because he noticed that Tanya was still standing over by their booth, shaking uncontrollably. He ran over to her and took her in his arms.
“Shhh,” he said. “It’s all right. He’s gone now.”
She was so shocked with adrenaline that she couldn’t say anything for the moment. She just grabbed onto Ryan and held on for dear life, letting the stress of what just happened slowly ebb away from her.
When she could finally speak again, she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She looked up into Ryan’s tender eyes. “I can’t believe that just happened.”
“I can see why you left him,” he said. “That guy was a total dirtbag. He must have treated you like crap.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” she replied. She was still shaking with anger, but feeling incredibly relieved that Ryan had been there to step in and handle the situation. She looked up at him again. “Thanks, Ryan,” she said. The words felt insufficient to convey all the gratitude she felt. She paused a moment, letting a quick smile flash across her face.
And then, without even thinking about it, she leaned up and kissed him gently on the lips.
As soon as their lips made contact, it was like the world around them disappeared. The kiss felt so natural, so right – to say they felt “sparks” would be a huge understatement. Ryan’s soft lips felt heavenly against her own. All thoughts of what had just happened fled instantly from Tanya’s mind. All she could think about was kissing him again… and again.
Finally, he pulled away, the look in his eyes serving as confirmation that he was feeling just the same as she was. “Not here,” he said. “It’s too public.”
He took her by the hand, this time giving it a light squeeze as he led her out the door of the restaurant. It was getting late now, and the parking lot was deserted. As soon as they were outside, he pushed her up against the wall and kissed her again – harder this time, with a passion that surpri
sed her.
“Ryan,” she gasped. It was all she could think of to say. Somewhere, deep within her, all the unfocused desire she’d been suppressing for so many months was rising up all at once. She needed him, now. As they continued to explore each other hungrily, she grabbed his strong back and dug her fingernails into his shoulders, clutching him closer to her. He responded in kind, making a low noise of pleasure as he pressed his lips into hers. Things were heating up fast now. But just then, the door opened, and an older couple walked out of the restaurant.
Tanya and Ryan instantly stopped what they were doing, and turned to face the couple in total surprise. “Good evening!” called Ryan, waving gregariously. She shrieked with laughter. Again she felt like a teenager, caught making out against the wall of a building. She grabbed his hand, and together they ran back to his car.
“Where am I taking you?” he asked, as they climbed in and buckled up.
She paused to consider. So far, the night was going better than she could have imagined. She realized she didn’t quite care where they went next – all she wanted was to feel Ryan’s lips against hers again.
“Surprise me,” she said, planting a last happy kiss on his cheek.
4: Hot Bodies on a Cold Night
When they arrived back at the gym parking lot, Tanya didn’t even attempt to contain her disappointment. “I thought we were going to go, like, somewhere else,” she said. “You know, like a bar. Or your place.” At that last suggestion, she grinned flirtatiously.
He smiled back at her. “Surprise,” he joked. She mock-pouted in response, and he laughed.
“But seriously, Tanya, I think we should call it a night. I’ve had a fantastic time with you, and believe me, it’s tempting to invite you back home with me. But I still think it’s best if we take things a little more slowly.” She nodded, knowing he was right but still disappointed that the night seemed to be coming to a close.
But Ryan didn’t let her stay that way for very long. He leaned over and put his arm around her.
“…However, that being said…”
He kissed her, with a suddenness that took her by surprise and left her breathless. If she hadn’t been sitting, her knees would have buckled. She couldn’t get over how sexy he made her feel; every time they touched, it sent electric shocks shooting up and down her body. And there were those butterflies again, circling her stomach like they needed to escape. She was ravenous for him, insatiable. She grabbed his face in her hands and brought him closer to her, feeling with all her body an intense need to have him, now.
Instantly, the sparks between them flared up again, and she saw in his hungry eyes that he longed for her as well. She rubbed her hands down the back of his neck and let them come to rest on his broad shoulders. He lightly bit her lower lip, eliciting from her a surprised gasp of pleasure. He teased his tongue between her teeth and, feeling no resistance from her, began languorously exploring her tongue with his own. The arousal simmering within her was in danger of boiling over. It felt like they were made for each other, like their bodies formed two halves of a whole.
Still kissing her, he brought his hand up under her arm and pulled her closer to him, caressing her curves with his hand as they embraced. Wherever he touched her, there was a lingering after-shock of pins and needles. She felt a growing wetness between her legs, confirming what she already knew: she was going so turned on she could hardly stand it.
Assertively, she took charge of things, grabbing his hand and bringing it to rest on her inner thigh. He didn’t need any further instruction: he began rubbing and massaging her through her jeans, causing small moans to escape her lips. A man hadn’t touched her like this in months, and all the pent-up desire was rushing through her at Ryan’s command. He brought his hand just up to the edge of her groin, but stopped teasingly short of going further. She bucked her hips closer to him, trying to grasp at the pleasure he was tantalizingly holding just out of reach. The feelings were too much to handle; her mind was going blank with desire. Unthinkingly, she brought her hand up to her breast and pushed at her hard nipple with the heel of her hand, moaning as she felt the sweet, gratifying sensation of her touch.
He knew exactly what she wanted, but was intent on prolonging this achingly sweet torture. He released his mouth from hers and brought his tongue down below her chin, licking softly at the softest spot on her neck and making her squirm in delight. He moved still lower and took a small bite of her neck, making her eyes shoot open at the intense pleasure. He made a low, sexy growl of approval at her response. He brushed his hand gently over her crotch, causing shivers to explode down her legs when he passed over her clit. He began rubbing her there, gently at first, then harder and faster as he moved his mouth up the side of her neck. She could feel his hot breathing in her ear, driving her even wilder.
She was acting now like a woman possessed, fueled only by the lust within her loins. She yanked down her shirt to expose her left breast, which spilled out of her yellow bra, and she pushed his head down to it in a smooth motion. He took her breast into his mouth and began sucking it expertly, flicking her hard nipple with his tongue. The way he was doing that, it almost felt as if he were going down on her. The sensations were that intense. She was bucking wildly now, unable to control herself. As her moaning picked up in volume and speed, he increased his own efforts, bringing her steadily closer to the orgasm building within her. “I’m gonna come,” she gasped through gritted teeth. He growled in response, sending thrilling vibrations through the nipple he held in his mouth.
That gravelly, sexy growl was enough to send her over the edge. She grabbed a fistful of his hair in her hand, clutching him to her breast, as the orgasm reached the tipping point. At the peak of her ecstasy, she cried out – just once, a sharp exhalation of pleasure that pierced the air around them. The orgasm was deep, intense, and long, sending aftershocks all through her body long after the initial burst was over. She realized she’d been squeezing her eyes shut involuntarily; as she came gently back to earth, she opened them, looking around her in a daze.
He gingerly brought her breast out of his mouth, and raised his eyes up to meet her own, pulling her shirt back over her breast delicately. Her glassy-eyed smile told him everything he needed to know. He kissed her again, looking almost as pleased as she was. “Holy crap,” she said out loud, when she regained control of her voice.
Almost instantly, she realized something else. “Hey, I didn’t get to make you come,” she said, reaching now for his crotch. As she grabbed hold of his cock, she got horny all over again – it felt big, thick and hard, straining against the material of his pants. She gave it a slow, preliminary rub, and he groaned in pleasure. But he put his hand on top of hers the next moment, as if to stop her before she started.
“You’ve had a long night, Tanya,” he said. “I don’t want you doing anything you might regret.”
“Nonsense,” she said. “I want to do this.” She tried to keep going, but again his firm hand stopped her.
“Listen,” he said adamantly. “Not tonight, okay? I just… it just wouldn’t feel right.”
Way to kill the mood, she thought to herself. “Why the hell not?” she asked aloud. “I mean… it works, right?”
He chuckled. “Oh yes, it works. But I don’t want to take things any farther than they’ve already gone. I probably shouldn’t have done what we just did, but you’re just so sexy I couldn’t help myself. But I have what you might call a… bad track record, with love. It’s something I promised myself I’d work on, and that starts by not taking things any further tonight.”
She was flattered, but persistent. “Ryan, I know we just met, but… I don’t know, it feels like I’ve known you forever.”
He looked at her briefly, a strange smile on his face, and then turned away to stare out at the night sky for a moment. When he spoke again, a certain melancholy had crept into his voice.
“Trust me, Tanya, there’s a thing or two you don’t know about me.”
She grabbed his face with her hand, pulling him back towards her. She stared intently into his eyes. “Ryan, of course I don’t know everything about you. Of course I’m not sure. My life’s been so upside-down these days, I don’t think there’s much I am sure about. But one thing I do know is that this is the best night I’ve had in a long while. And I have you to thank for that.” As she spoke, she felt herself filling up with emotion. It was so true; she couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this happy.
Ryan smiled. “It was the best in a long while for me, too.” But still, he was insistent. “Let’s say goodnight, Tanya. I’ll call you tomorrow.” He leaned in for one last kiss – the sweetest kiss of the night so far.
As their lips parted, she couldn’t resist getting one last teasing admonition in.
“You’re missing out, you know,” she whispered. “I give great head.”
He sharply sucked air in between his teeth. “Damn,” he said. “You’re quite the little temptress, aren’t you?”
All She Wants for Valentine's Day: A Contemporary Erotic Romance Story (All She Wants #3) Page 2
