Empty Net (Madison Howlers Book 3)

by Camellia Tate

  “I suppose in a way I am, yeah,” Naomi nodded as if nothing had happened. “Do you need me to promise not to steal your iron or have you not got a new one just as a precaution?” she teased.

  Ryan raised an eyebrow, then gave in to the laugh building in his throat. “I have got a new iron,” he promised. Leaning closer, Ryan could smell Naomi’s shampoo, and her perfume. “You can steal it, if you want,” he offered, “I’m sure you’d be worth the hassle of getting a new one.”

  He reached out, his thumb brushing across Naomi’s cheek as he turned her head towards his. “Can I -” Before Ryan could finish, his intercom buzzed. Ryan didn’t bother to bite back a groan.

  “Well, I suppose we do have to eat,” he said. “I ordered a selection. You should be able to find something you like. Are you okay here while I go get it?”

  After she’d assured Ryan that she was fine, he left to get the food. He returned laden down with plates. He hadn’t exaggerated when he’d said he’d gotten a lot of things so Naomi could choose. Once it was all laid out on the coffee table, Ryan realized it was probably enough to feed his whole team. But there was definitely choice!

  Naomi laughed, but also agreed to try a bit of most things. In the end, Ryan couldn’t regret it. Not when he’d learned that Naomi was a fan of things that were a little bit spicy. It seemed like good knowledge to have.

  “You’ll have enough leftover for days to come,” Naomi commented once they were done. Ryan boxed everything up, stacking the boxes so he could carry them all at once.

  After he’d transferred the food to the fridge, he walked back into the living room. Naomi was just kicking her shoes off. He watched as she pulled her legs up and leaned into the couch. “Thank you,” Naomi added, smiling softly in the general direction of Ryan.

  He sank down on the sofa, close enough that his thigh pressed warmly against Naomi’s. “You’re very welcome,” he promised. “I’ve had a good evening.”

  Ryan had. He wasn’t remotely ready for it to be over. He brushed a hand over Naomi’s arm, up to her shoulder, then pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “Do you want to stay?” he asked. He hoped the answer was yes. “I’d like you to,” he added, in case there was any doubt.

  The way she moved into his touch, shifting on the sofa so she could be closer to him, made Ryan think the answer would be yes. He hoped the answer would be yes. Naomi smiled again, giving a small nod. “Yeah, I’ll stay for a while.” She didn’t specify how long a while might be. That was fine with Ryan.

  Her hand brushed over his arm and up to Ryan’s neck. He knew what was going to happen before it did. His breath still caught when Naomi leaned in to kiss him.

  Eagerly, Ryan brought his other hand to Naomi’s waist, fitting their torsos together as well as he could. Naomi’s breasts brushed against his chest. Even through all their layers of clothes, it was enough to make Ryan want.

  He didn’t rush. Instead, he kissed Naomi softly, nibbling at her lower lip until she had to part her lips to draw in a breath. Ryan used the opportunity to slide his tongue over her lips. He didn’t quite deepen the kiss, instead giving Naomi only a taste, teasing her. He pulled back, though not far, curious to see how Naomi would react.

  She ran her tongue over her lower lip and Ryan’s eyes followed it almost fascinated. Then, Naomi smiled. It made Ryan’s stomach flip. He couldn’t remember the last time that had happened. If it had ever happened.

  “I can hear you thinking,” Naomi informed him. Before Ryan could reply, she moved in closer, catching his lips with hers once more. This time, Naomi’s tongue ran over his lower lip. Ryan parted his lips. She took it for the invitation it was, licking her way into his mouth.

  Ryan’s hands moved, pulling Naomi closer. The little noises she made, not quite moans, sent heat racing through his body. He wanted to see what else he could do to make her react. He toyed with the hem of her shirt, lifting it enough to expose her soft skin to the air of the room.

  He moved slowly, giving Naomi plenty of time to stop him if she didn’t want to go this far. He was pleased when she didn’t, when she shifted to allow Ryan’s hand better access. He brushed his fingers over her stomach, following the curve of her waist until he reached the lacy fabric of her bra. Swallowing his own moan, Ryan smoothed his hand over the swell of Naomi’s breast.

  She reacted by pushing her body more into Ryan’s touch. A soft moan fell from Naomi’s lips. She kissed him harder. Ryan’s other hand slid down to Naomi’s waist and she took it as an invitation to move in. Easily, Ryan pulled her atop him, letting her straddle his legs. The kiss seemed to get harder and faster. Finally, Naomi pulled back. Her breath was coming in soft gasps.

  “Will you promise me another date?” she asked.

  It wasn’t a question anyone else had ever thought to ask. They might have hoped for another date. If they knew Ryan’s reputation, they might have worried there wouldn’t be one after he’d gotten what he wanted. No one had ever simply asked him if he would promise. It was… appealing. Straight-forward.

  “Yes,” Ryan answered, easily. He ran one hand over Naomi’s thigh, pausing to give her ass a firm squeeze. She felt amazing. Ryan leaned in, mouth sucking at the skin exposed by Naomi’s neckline. She arched her back, pushing her breast more against Ryan’s palm. He groaned. “Do you want to move this to my bedroom?” he asked.

  There was no hesitation in the nod that Naomi gave.

  “I do,” she confirmed.

  When Ryan lifted her, with a great deal of ease, Naomi laughed. It was a surprising sound given the situation. Ryan wasn’t used to women laughing when he was about to be very intimate with them. Before he had time to worry that he’d done something wrong, though, Naomi’s lips were on his once again.

  Distracted by the kissing, Ryan was pleased with himself for managing to get them both to the bedroom without running into a wall or dropping Naomi. He lowered her onto the bed carefully, his body enclosing hers.

  Naomi’s hands tugged against the hem of Ryan’s shirt, pulling it up until they had to break the kiss so she could get it off completely. As soon as she had, Naomi reeled him back in, her teeth grazing over Ryan’s lower lip sharply.

  Ryan gasped, his body surging against Naomi’s. He felt her legs wrap around him, locking him in position as he ground against her thigh. He wanted more. Naomi’s tongue danced over his lips, hot and sweet. Ryan moaned into her mouth, opening his lips to tempt her to deepen the kiss.

  When she did, Ryan’s hands moved to her hips, sliding under the material of her top. Her skin was soft and smooth, like silk under Ryan’s fingertips. He held himself over her, just far enough that he could push her top up higher.

  Her breasts looked incredible, gently rising and falling under the lace of her bra. Ryan swore under his breath. He waited only long enough to pull Naomi’s top the rest of the way off, then kissed down her throat and between the valley of her breasts.

  A quiet moan fell from Naomi’s lips as she arched her back. Ryan’s hands slid down Naomi’s sides, exploring how soft her skin was. His mouth was hot against Naomi’s breast, pressing a kiss against the material of her bra. It made her give a sharper, almost keener moan.

  Her fingers scratched against Ryan’s back, sending a shiver of pain through him that made him grind against Naomi’s body. The pleasure mixed with the sharpness of her nails. Whatever sound he made encouraged Naomi. She scratched a hand down his other side, too.

  There were way too many clothes. Ryan didn’t lift his mouth from Naomi’s breast, his tongue teasing her through the lace. As she arched up to meet him, his hands slid behind her back, fingers finding and opening the clasp with practiced ease. He tugged the material away, giving a groan of satisfaction the moment he had his mouth around the bare skin of Naomi’s nipple.

  He could hear her breath catch, the sound sending a scorching heat through Ryan’s body. His hands moved lower, over the soft skin of Naomi’s stomach, until he reached the fastening of her pants. He waited, h
is stillness asking the question his mouth was too busy for.

  The way Naomi shifted, turning her hips towards Ryan, was a good indication. “Come on,” she urged. That was all the encouragement Ryan needed. His fingers worked the fastenings open quicker than they ever had, pulling Naomi’s pants off.

  As he moved the material out of the way, Ryan’s fingers brushed over the sticker on Naomi’s hip. A sticker hiding her soulmark. He paused suddenly. Naomi must have felt it, but she also misunderstood the reason. Not that she could have guessed the reason.

  “Yeah, so maybe I was hoping this would happen, I don’t normally bother with the sticker,” she admitted, before wiggling against Ryan’s touch. “Gonna help me out of the rest of the clothes, or are you just going to stare?” she teased.

  Ryan swallowed, then pushed the corners of his mouth up in a cocky grin. Naomi couldn’t see it, but Ryan wanted to be sure she’d hear nothing but good mood in his voice. “You’re worth staring at,” he told her. It was true. When he could tear his gaze away from the sticker, Naomi looked incredible. The scrap of lace between her legs barely concealed anything. Her rose-pink nipples were just begging for Ryan’s tongue to swirl around them.

  He hooked his fingers in the waistband of her panties, dragging them down her legs with a low groan. Naomi was hardly the first woman with a soulmark Ryan had gotten naked with. It didn’t usually bother him.

  He didn’t usually think about how one day they were going to meet the right man. The man that wouldn’t be - couldn’t be - a man like Ryan.

  Needing the distraction, Ryan kissed his way up Naomi’s legs, his mouth hot against the soft skin of her inner thigh.

  “Fuck,” Naomi swore, her breath catching in her throat. Hearing her swear was unexpectedly hot. Ryan wanted to know if he could make it happen again. How far he could push her and how loud he could make her.

  She parted her legs to welcome Ryan between them, one of her hands stroking over his shoulder. He felt her nails again, pressing into his skin. It wasn’t hard. Certainly not hard enough to leave a mark. But it was hard enough to feel. Ryan had to swallow a groan of his own.

  “You sound good,” Naomi breathed. Ryan could feel the heat vibrating off her.

  He grinned, mouth still pressed against Naomi’s skin. “I bet I can make you sound better,” he boasted. Ryan had no doubt that it was true. Naomi already sounded so good that his pants were feeling far too tight. Ryan hadn’t even started yet.

  He didn’t wait, dipping his head to kiss his way between Naomi’s legs. He groaned at the taste of her against his tongue, thrilled at the way her hips bucked in response. Ryan’s hands spanned across her hips. He didn’t really hold her down. He could have, but Ryan liked feeling how she pressed her hips up to get closer to him.

  “You taste good,” he teased, looking up only long enough to see the expression on Naomi’s face. She looked incredible, flushed and eager. Lowering his head once more, Ryan growled against her. “I want to be inside you.”

  The first ‘yeah’ that Naomi tried to give caught in her throat. She had to pause.

  “Yeah,” the second one was followed by a nod. “Fuck, yeah.” One of her hands tightened around Ryan’s upper arm so she could pull him up. Her fingers slid across Ryan’s stomach until they hit the waistband of his pants and she almost whined. The sound made Ryan give an unexpected chuckle.

  Laughter really wasn’t something that Ryan associated with sex. And yet, Naomi seemed perfectly happy with it.

  “Turn over,” she told him, pushing against his hips so he would. Then, Naomi’s fingers returned to his pants, finding the button and zipper. While undoing them, Naomi leaned in to press a line of kisses against Ryan’s lower stomach.

  He swore, lifting his hips up to help Naomi drag his pants off. He watched as she pushed them from the end of the bed. Her hands and mouth returned to Ryan’s stomach. She nipped playfully, drawing more sounds of appreciation as the pain and pleasure mingled in Ryan’s veins.

  His cock was tenting the material of his boxers. Naomi couldn’t see that, but her hand brushed carefully over him. Ryan moaned as she squeezed his length through the material. “Going to help me get naked?” Ryan asked eagerly.

  Naomi’s answer was wordless, a kiss pressed against the deep V of muscle rising from Ryan’s hips. She tugged at his boxers and Ryan lifted his ass so she could drag them off.

  Finally naked, he reached for her, pulling Naomi back up so he could kiss her. Reaching out, she wrapped the fingers of one arm around his bicep for balance. Ryan could feel her touch along the edges of the sticker he wore. He had to push down a rising tide of guilt.

  There was no soulmark under Ryan’s sticker. He wore it just in case, for moments like this or in the locker room. A sticker would be expected, so Ryan wore one. It meant he didn’t have to answer any awkward questions.

  It had never bothered him before. Not even when other women had seen it and remarked on it.

  Pushing his feelings aside, Ryan lost himself in another kiss.

  Naomi’s body felt amazing against him. It was easy to focus on that. Now that they were both naked, Ryan stroked over Naomi’s back until his hand reached her ass. He gave it a squeeze, earning a moan from Naomi that was muted against his lips.

  “Condom?” Naomi asked, pulling back only slightly. It gave Ryan the opportunity to lean in and run his tongue over her neck, nibbling against her earlobe. That, too, earned him a moan. Ryan filed it away as a place to remember to give extra attention.

  Grinning, Ryan shifted under Naomi just enough that he could reach the drawer of his bedside table. He tugged a condom from the box he stored there, running a hand down to stroke his fingers along his cock.

  It hardly took a minute to roll the condom on. Ryan pulled Naomi back on top of him, teasing her earlobe between his teeth in a way that made Naomi actually shudder against him. Ryan wanted more of that.

  “Do you want to… check, that I’ve put it on?” Ryan asked. He wasn’t sure how this worked. Asking hardly seemed like it would break the mood any worse than assuming and potentially getting it wrong.

  “Sure, if you’d like me to,” Naomi replied. Before Ryan had any chance to say anything else, her hand was wrapped around his cock. Her fingers tightened in a way that made Ryan groan, his head pressing into the pillows.

  “Fuck,” he moaned. Naomi, honest to God, smirked at that.

  “Feels on,” she teased. Then she led him between her legs. If Ryan had thought her touch felt great, it had nothing on how good being inside her felt. Naomi took him in slowly. Ryan had to grip his free hand against the sheets not to thrust up.

  When she began to move more steadily, soft moans fell from Naomi’s lips. She leaned down to seek Ryan’s mouth out with her own, her tongue licking its way inside.

  Ryan’s hands gripped her hips, feeling the way she rode him. He moaned against Naomi’s mouth. His palms slid slowly up her body, over the curve of her waist and up until he had each breast cupped in one large palm. Naomi’s nipples hardened against him. Carefully, Ryan dragged his hands back down, letting his nails graze across Naomi’s back.

  Squeezing her ass, he lifted his hips, thrusting up into her. She gasped into their kiss. Between them, they found a rhythm, rising and falling together. Ryan had to pull away to suck air into his lungs as he bucked harder and faster. “Naomi!” he cried out. Her body seemed to tighten all around him.

  Naomi’s breath caught but she carried on with the same steady speed. Ryan’s hands gripped her hips tighter. He was sure that unless she changed the pace, he wasn’t going to last much longer. Naomi didn’t seem to care. Her palms pressed flat against Ryan’s chest as she leaned back.

  Her naked body looked so beautiful. She was so close, too. Ryan could tell from how the muscles in Naomi’s body tensed. Her cries of pleasure increased, getting louder and louder as he thrust up, meeting her body.

  Finally, her nails dug deeper into his skin, Ryan’s name on Naomi’s lips as she
came.

  “Oh God!”

  The mix between watching Naomi come and the sharpness of pain Ryan felt at her nails against his skin sent Ryan over the edge. His hips slammed upward and his climax hit him hard.

  Naomi didn’t stop, her hands so soft and warm against Ryan’s chest. He pulled her to him, claiming her mouth as the last of his orgasm shuddered through him. “Fuck,” he breathed, making Naomi chuckle against his mouth.

  He didn’t want to let go. He shifted, only enough that he let Naomi join him on the mattress. Pressing his body against hers, Ryan ran one hand down her back. “You want to stay?” Ryan asked, a smile curving the corners of his lips. “Unless you have important iron-stealing that you need to get to, of course.”

  “I can’t stay all night. Dougie’s going to get jealous,” Naomi commented. She pressed in closer to Ryan. “But I can stay for a bit,” she promised, tilting her head up so she could seek out his lips again.

  This time the kiss was softer and slower. It was different from what Ryan was used to. He was really very certain that he liked it. “And then, I’ll take the iron with me,” Naomi added, making Ryan give a surprised laugh.

  It was nice, lying beside Naomi in the dim light of his bedroom. Ryan listened to her breathe, occasionally brushed a hand across her skin or felt her tuck her body closer against his.

  When he had to get up to help Naomi find her way out, Ryan wished he could have kept her there longer. As Naomi reminded him, he’d promised her another date. Ryan went back to bed in sheets that smelled like her perfume, wondering what she would plan for them to do.

  In the days that followed, Ryan couldn’t keep Naomi off his mind. Even on the ice, unless he was very careful, his thoughts would drift to her, wondering what she was doing. He sent her texts frequently, and her replies would make him laugh in ways he wasn’t used to.

  It was a long time since Ryan had felt this interested in a woman he’d already gone to bed with. He wasn’t used to the excitement bubbling up inside him whenever he thought about her. He couldn’t help wondering if she was feeling the same way.