by Jen Talty
10
After the tow truck pulled away with Ryan’s SUV, Jared jogged up the path, then shook like a dog on the back porch. Soaked to the core, he had only one thought, to slide into the hot bubbles next to Ryan, with vanilla scented candles burning in the background.
“Why the hell not.” He kicked off his shoes and raced up the stairs, with his blood boiling over with lust. The door to his bedroom wasn’t locked and he could already smell her soapy rose scent.
Glancing around the room, he peeled off his soaked shirt, then rid himself of his binding jeans. Hopefully the bathroom door wasn’t locked, even though he’d have to give her a good lecture about safety.
His heart pounded against his chest. The door slipped open and he peered in. She lay in a tub full of bubbles. Her arms stretched out along the sides of the tub and one leg lifted, exposing her knee. The foam hid the rest of her as it sloshed about in an exotic dance.
As he tiptoed across the bathroom floor, he tried not to laugh. This would be a lesson he enjoyed.
Just then, her hand shot up, making a fake gun, and one eye peeped open. “Don’t move or I’ll shoo…shit…you’re naked.” She jerked in the tub, sending water to the floor. Her eyes were wide with shock.
He stepped into the warm water and settled down, enjoying the way she tried to arrange the bubbles over her naked body. “People generally take their baths that way.” He dunked his head under, then came up for air. “Thank God my parents like things big.”
“This isn’t a public hot tub.” She scowled, holding her knees to her chest.
“It’s definitely private, but it does have jets.” He reached to the side in search of the buttons, pushing them to start the bubbly effect.
“Oh, good Lord.” She jumped. More water sloshed out onto the floor.
“Now that’s nice,” he whispered, pulling her to his lap. “Did the jet get your rump?” He smoothed his hand over the soft curve.
“Something like that.” She wiggled, but seemed to settle herself nicely against his thighs. “This isn’t a good idea.” The bubbles melted across her chest, allowing the tight pink nubs to blossom in the cool air.
“Maybe not,” he said between ragged breaths. Raising his hand, he tilted her chin. “But it’s not a bad one, either.” He stopped breathing the moment her heavenly eyes caught his. Desire and passion and so much more lured him closer to giving in to his worst fear. Caring about other humans and putting their existence before your own only caused the kind of pain that changed your soul.
“This is crazy.” She snuggled into his lap, letting her body relax in his arms. “Nothing can ever come of this.”
“I know.” He brushed his thumb across her lower lip. “We shouldn’t, but I want to.”
A slow smile spread across her face. “Yeah, I can tell.”
“You’re a very bad girl.”
“So spank me.” Her soft hands ran down his chest, tortured his nipples, then glided across his twitching stomach.
His vision blurred and everything around him faded in the background. She rolled her legs and straddled him. He cupped her face with trembling fingers, and assaulted her mouth, nearly missing. Her tongue lashed out catching his while she gently massaged him into madness.
Grabbing her thighs, he stood and stumbled out of the tub. He snatched a towel and began to wipe the bubbles dribbling down her soft, supple body. When he finished down by her feet, he worked his way back up her body with his mouth. Her hands roamed his head and shoulders, then finally she reached for a towel and started to dry his wet skin.
Unable to maintain his control, he tugged her to the bedroom, then pressed his body against hers as he dropped them both to the cotton sheets. “You’re incredible,” he murmured against her pearly skin. “More passionate than I imagined.”
“You imagined?” She spoke softly.
He tilted his head and looked deep into her amazing eyes. “A few times.”
Her face flushed, giving off a sexy glow. “When?”
“When what?” He scowled, annoyed he’d admitted such a thing.
“Just curious.” She wrapped her legs around his body, grinding her hips against him. He rolled his eyes to the back of his head.
“I love it when you do that.”
“You like to talk, too, don’t you?” He forced his eyes open and adjusted his body as he reached for the condom beside the bed.
“Sex doesn’t have to be silent.”
“Thank God for small favors, Miss Noisy.” He repositioned himself on top of her, spreading her legs and entering her inch by glorious inch.
“I’m not…oh, God.” She moaned, tossing her head back. Her breath was heavy and long. “Yes.” She tilted her hips, then shifted sideways. Her body seemed to know the exact way to touch him, respond to him, and drive him mad.
He lowered his mouth to her perky breast, sucking in her taut nipple. Her moans grew louder and her breath faster. Fingers dug into his back, then slid down to his ass and heaved him closer, forcing him fully inside.
Her hips swiveled and rocked, then repeated the motion. She cried out his name over and over again until her body shivered, sending a burst of adrenaline through his shocked system.
“Ryan,” he moaned, giving into his deepest passion. Never before had he been so lost in the moment, in the desire to feel connected to another soul, that he lost all sense of sound reasoning.
She squeezed her legs tight around his middle, then dropped them and her arms to the side with a loud sigh. “Who knew?” Perspiration beaded against her glowing skin.
“Certainly not me.” He brushed her damp hair aside and studied her face. The content smile on her lips let him know once again he’d thoroughly satisfied her. But this time it disturbed him.
“Oh, come on, Jared.” Fingers pressed into his waist. Slowly she glided up his spine. “I’m sure you’ve had mind-blowing sex before.”
“Nope.” He kissed her nose. “The best I ever had.”
Her cheeks flushed. “How sweet.” She cupped his face, smacking her lips against his. “And that was great, but—”
He hushed her with his finger. “I care about you. Hell, I like you a whole lot, but I’m taking that transfer.”
“I’d hate you if you didn’t.” She narrowed her eyes.
He swallowed, unable to reply immediately. He’d expected her to try to talk him into staying in Lake George, giving a relationship a try. Feelings he didn’t understand, didn’t have words to describe, circled his mind, creating chaos. He hadn’t had a relationship since Lisa, and he didn’t want one now.
“I guess you won’t have to hate me then. But I do need to talk to you about something.” He scooted up the bed, ripped down the covers, hoisted her next to him, then drew the blanket back over their naked bodies.
“Oh, for crying out loud. I can move myself.” The feather pillow formed to her head as she raised the covers, swishing the air and sending her intoxicating feminine smell across the room. “You figure out what happened to my car?”
The muscles in his neck tensed. “Sort of, but that’s not what I wanted to talk about.”
“I don’t understand.”
Rubbing his aching chest from the sudden onset of heartburn, he cleared his throat. “One of the condoms broke last night.” A sudden rush of fear swelled in his mind.
“Shit,” she whispered and held up her fingers and began to count.
“Just one broke.” He gave her a puzzled look. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to figure out where I am in my cycle.” The sparkle in her eyes faded.
“Bad?”
She counted a few more fingers, then said, “Shouldn’t be a problem. Does that happen often?”
“Broken condoms?” he questioned, raising a brow.
“Well, it’s never happened to me before.”
“If it happened often I would’ve had a vasectomy long ago.” He shivered. Curling the covers in his hands, he wanted to reach for a bottle of good ol
d Southern Comfort. Maybe being with her wasn’t helping after all.
“I think it’s great you know exactly what you want from life. I’m still not sure.”
“Huh?” He turned to look at her.
She lay on her side, elbow digging into the pillow and her head rested in her hand. The covers draped across her curves, but left part of her perfect breast exposed. She looked confident and determined.
“I thought you wanted it all.” He blinked. The pressure of moving and her problems must be getting to him. “The husband with a stable job, two point five kids, and a white picket fence.”
“You left out the dog.” She laughed. “But I’m not sure anymore. I love my job and I’m not willing to give it up for anyone, at least not anyone I’ve met yet.”
“Having it all would include keeping your job.”
“If you had a wife, you wouldn’t want her to work.”
Here we go, he thought. She’s going to bring up him staying anyway. “I won’t ever have a wife again.”
“It was hypothetical.” She adjusted herself higher on the bed. “It seems I know only two types of men: the boring, no fun, mousy guy who asks me how high to jump, or control freaks like you and Pat. I want an equal.”
He chuckled. “Good luck with that.”
“Exactly. Although, I think Penny found a good one in Chuck.”
“He’s a good guy, but he’s of the controlling variety.” Feeling uncomfortable about the topic, he settled down into the softness of the bed, then turned off his light. “I’m sure you’ll find what you’re looking for someday, babe.” He rolled away, unable to take her in his arms.
“You’re really worried about that condom, aren’t you?”
“It would complicate things.” Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to ignore the comfort her roaming hands offered him. Never in his life had any woman ever made him feel so many conflicting emotions. “But we can’t do anything about it until we know for sure.” He sucked in his breath waiting for her to attack.
“This is true.” She sighed and molded her body against his, wrapping her arm round his middle and shoving her leg between his. “I should get my period by the middle of next week. If I don’t, I guess we’ll have to deal with it.”
Deal with it? Cold perspiration beaded at his brow. Had she implied not having it? And how could she be so calm? Didn’t she care one way or another? A dull ache began to throb at the base of his skull. He couldn’t believe the Ryan he knew would ever consider having an abortion, but he couldn’t consider being a dad, much less the occasional weekend dad.
Unable to push her away, he clamped down on her knee, then covered her hand and pressed his lips against her fingertips. It seemed no matter what he said or did, she just wouldn’t go away.
And right now he didn’t want her to.
The following morning, Ryan had successfully put on a forced smile and kept her manner light and carefree in front of Jared. She couldn’t let him know how she really felt about the possibility of being pregnant. Not that she knew how she felt, other than scared shitless.
Now, sitting behind her desk, she closed her eyes, trying to keep the butterflies floating about her stomach from leaping up her throat. With her forefinger, she patted the sensitive, puffy skin under her eyes, annoyed that Jared had been able to fall asleep and snore the night away while she tossed and turned.
Rubbing her temples, she let her head dip forward. She still had a ton of paperwork, and then she needed to check on all the details for the upcoming golf tournament. The buzzer on her phone rang out, making her jump. “Yes, Cheryl.”
“There is a Lisa Stillman here to see you.”
“Ohhh, okay. Send her in.” Ryan swallowed, unable to force a coherent thought. Hearing footsteps, she rose from her desk, then greeted an unsmiling, very mature looking Lisa. Nothing like the Lisa she remembered. “Mrs. Stillman,” she said, deciding formalities were best.
Lisa’s cold fingers slid into her hand, shook once, then pulled away.
Ryan stood still, ignoring the urge to recoil and hide under her desk. “What can I do for you?”
“First.” Lisa stripped off her gloves, finger by finger before stuffing them into her purse and eyed the chair next to Ryan’s desk.
“Please, sit down.” Ryan wedged herself behind her desk and squeezed her shaking knees.
“Thank you.” A very stiff, doll-like Lisa crossed her legs at her ankles and rested her purse and hands on her lap. The woman screamed Stepford wife.
“My husband will be hosting a big horseracing event, and I need to book suites for the guests.”
“How many rooms, and when do you want them?” Without shaking on the outside, Ryan opened her desk drawer and pulled out the scheduling and reservation papers she needed.
“June ninth through the thirteenth. I’ll also need meeting rooms, a dinner, and I’d like to set up several rounds of golf.” Lisa dug into her purse and pulled out a sheet of paper, handing it to Ryan.
Ryan tensed every muscle in her body to keep from looking like she was suffering from some dreadful disease as she took the yellow sheet in her hands.
“I’ll want the best of everything, and money isn’t an issue.”
Ryan pressed the paper down on her desk, skimming over the details. Focusing on the task at hand, she shuffled some forms around, checked the booking schedule on her computer, then turned her head. “I can accommodate you. If you’d like, we can take a tour and I can show you a few different style rooms. I’ve got two meeting rooms to choose from, and we could even go meet the chef. I’ll need a deposit.”
“Just don’t disappoint me,” Lisa said, not looking at Ryan. “Give me the best of everything, and keep the food to my specifications, and we’ll make it through this process like I don’t despise you.” She handed Ryan a credit card.
The credit card fell from Ryan’s fingertips. She snapped her head toward a scowling Lisa, whose eyes were cold and loathing.
“If I could have avoided this meeting, I would have. But this is what my husband wants.” Lisa leaned over, picked up the credit card, and placed it on the desk.
Blood drained from Ryan’s face, fear cutting off her ability to think on her feet. With trembling hands, she ran the credit card through the machine.
“And since I’m here, you’d best tell Jared to call off his bloodhounds. If he wants to know something about my life or my husband’s, he can ask himself.” Lisa stood and smoothed out her bleach blond hair.
A sudden rush of adrenaline coursed through Ryan’s body, replacing the sullen child with an angry woman. “If you want to give Jared a message, call him yourself.” Ryan ripped off the printed credit receipt, grabbed a pen, and handed it to Lisa, glaring at her. “I’m not his personal secretary.”
“Whatever,” Lisa muttered, signing the receipt. “If you do anything to undermine me or ruin this for my husband, I will have your job.”
“If you’d prefer, I can have someone else handle all the details, and we won’t need to have any contact. But if you still want me to handle this, you will treat me with respect or leave my office.” Staring Lisa dead-on, Ryan squared her shoulders.
Lisa took a step forward and leaned in. Her face contorted as if she’d just eaten a lemon. “You’re the reason my son died, and I’ll never forgive you for that.” Her eyes shifted toward the hallway, then back. “I’d like nothing more than to make sure you suffer the same pain, but I guess you’ll get your due when Jared breaks your heart into tiny pieces.”
“Impossible.” Ryan took the credit slip and thrust it toward Lisa. “I feel sorry for you.” She hit the intercom button. “Cheryl, please show Mrs. Stillman around the hotel.” Ryan continued to glare at Lisa. “If you have any other questions, please either call my assistant or email me.”
“You haven’t changed one bit, you still don’t know your place.” Lisa slipped on her white gloves, then with a tilted chin, met a wide-eyed Cheryl in the hallway.
“Bitch.” R
yan slammed down her fist on her desk, knocking over some papers.
“A little pissed?” Tom said.
She jumped, stubbing her toe on the bottom of her desk. “Damn it, you scared the crap out of me.” She wiggled her nose at the overdone aftershave assaulting her senses.
“Are you okay? You look a little pale.” His slimy hands rubbed up and down her arms.
“I’m fine,” she said, stepping away from him. He was proving to be a roller coaster ride. One minute angry with her because of all the questions, the next minute hitting on her. The guy just couldn’t take a hint. Then again, according to Penny, Ryan was too nice and never made guys understand when she just wasn’t interested.
“Wasn’t that Lance Stillman’s wife?” Tom leaned around the door to look down the hall. “She’s got to be twenty years younger than him.”
“I think she’s twenty-eight or so.” Ryan rubbed her butt, then scooted back behind her desk. “What do you need?” She pulled out a folder, labeled it, then filed all of the paperwork for Lisa, ignoring the prickly feeling Tom gave her.
“I want to apologize for my outburst.”
She lifted her lids like she was peering over reading glasses. “Okay.” The shifting of his weight from one leg to another made her skin crawl, not to mention the way his eyes scanned her body like he was taking a mental picture of her or something. “Apology accepted.”
As he shoved one hand in his pocket, he waved the other one in the air. “So, could I talk you into going out for a drink with the gang? Say, your brother’s place?”
“Not tonight.”
“But that’s not a no, right?” He smiled, looking like a pathetic dog begging for food.
Her brother had always told her persistence was a good thing, but in this case, her brother was wrong. Dead wrong. “It’s still a no, Tom.”
“Can’t blame a guy for trying.” He turned on his heels, then marched proudly out of her office.
