Second Chance Christmas, page 14
His nostrils flared. “I was waiting for you to ask me to. For you to put your desires first.”
There was a somersaulting inside her chest. “So if I ask you to kiss me, you will?”
“If you ask me to kiss you, I will. I’ll also do a whole lot more than that if that’s what you ask. So be very sure about what you want, Janey.”
He let out a long-suffering groan when she licked her lips. Her nerve endings began to dance. She couldn’t think over the racing of her heart.
“Stop making a list of ‘why not to do this’ in your head, Jane. It’s one night of both of us scratching an itch that’s been nagging us for a week now. It doesn’t have to be anything more. Go with your gut. Or . . . lower. But please make a decision soon because I’m fucking dying here.”
She hiccupped a laugh. Could it be that easy? Her body had been screaming for this since the moment his fingers found their way beneath her sweater earlier. She doubted Ryan would be a dud like her conference fling. And it had been so long . . .
“Jaaaane,” he moaned against her lips.
Seconds later, she was in his lap, her mouth swallowing his groan of gratitude. His hands gripped her bottom, pulling her body closer against his very hard one. She arched against him, frustrated with the layers of denim between their bodies. He punished her bottom lip with his teeth before soothing it with his tongue. Cool air hit her back when he tugged her sweater up and began deftly releasing the clasps of her bra. It was her turn to moan when his fingers slid beneath the silky fabric to graze along her pebbled nipples.
“Too many clothes,” she breathed against his warm neck.
“Mmm.” He tugged arms from her sweater and her bra, lifting them so he could shimmy the sweater over her head.
Her clothes brushed past her ear when he tossed them aside. She ought to care where they went, but then his lips replaced his talented fingers on her breasts, and she lost all sense of reason.
She threw her head back. “Oh, my, God!”
His fingers splayed on her waist, keeping her upright while his mouth continued to work his magic on her very neglected breasts. She squirmed against his hard ridge, and he tore his mouth away with a violent curse. His eyes were dark with desire when he finally looked at her.
“Tell me what you want,” he demanded, his raspy voice giving her bare skin goosebumps.
“I want you naked.” She was surprised how quickly and directly she uttered the words.
One of those slow, wicked grins spread over his face, and her panties were instantly wet. Her breath caught when he reached one hand behind his head and yanked off his sweater. She had to bite her lip to keep a loud moan from escaping, but he must have sensed it because he laughed.
“Go ahead,” he coaxed. “You can touch all you want. In fact, I insist.”
He guided one of her hands toward the pectoral muscle covering his heart, stopping just short of his skin. Beneath her palm, she could feel the heat radiating off him. She flexed her fingers, then gently pressed her hand against his pulse. His wasn’t as unaffected as he’d like her to think because his heart was stampeding like a herd of horses. She sighed as she let her fingers wander along his hard muscles.
“So much better in the flesh,” she whispered.
He leaned forward, resting his forehead against her bare shoulder. “Been dreaming of me, have you, Janey?”
She gnawed on her bottom lip to keep from laughing at his arrogance. His lips found the ridge of her clavicle bone. A shiver raced up her spine when he dragged his tongue along the length of the bone. She scraped her thumbnail against his nipple in retaliation. He pressed his erection into her core, and her sigh of pleasure sounded very much like a wail.
“Maybe you like looking at me while you get off?” he teased before he traced the shell of her ear with his tongue.
She stilled in his arms. Mother of God! How had he guessed?
“You . . .you . . .” Words failed her. She buried her face in her hands. There was no way she could look him in the eye ever again. And she was half-naked and fully aroused on his lap!
“Hey,” he said softly as he pried her hands from her face. “Don’t be embarrassed. From what I’ve heard, after that magazine spread, I star in many anonymous women’s X-rated fantasies.”
Her shoulders slumped in mortification. She directed her gaze at a point somewhere behind his shoulder. He sighed.
“That came out wrong,” he continued. “Give me a chance to explain. I did the shoot because I needed quick cash to help my mom out last year. All my money was tied up in the same crazy investment hers was.” His face grew hard before he shook whatever else he wanted to say off. “But Gavin beat me to it by taking the sexy contractor gig on the Home Restoration show.”
He chuckled to himself. “We both kind of exposed ourselves, I guess. What I meant to say before is I didn’t do the spread to get more attention from women. Not that kind of attention, anyway. Most guys would be flattered, but I’m not. It doesn’t give me some kind of thrill if that’s what you’re thinking.”
If only she’d wake up and discover this was just another one of the sexy dreams she’d been having about Ryan. She tried to slide off his lap, but he held her firm, pressing her body back against his.
“But I like the idea of you fantasizing about me, Janey,” he whispered against her ear. His hands released her waist to gently slide up and down on her back. “Someone I know and respect.” He kissed his way along her jawline. “I like the idea of bringing you some joy. That you’re taking some time for you. With me.”
She shuddered in his arms at his last words, and then her mouth was fused with his again. He took over with a tender but demanding kiss, his tongue dancing with hers. His fingers tangled in her hair, anchoring her to him. One of them moaned, she wasn’t really sure who because she was so lost in the sensual fog swirling around her. Her nipples ached where they were brushing against his bare chest. The heat was building to a crescendo inside of her.
“Ryan,” she pleaded.
“Tell me what you want, Janey,” he commanded. “Tell me, and I’ll give it to you. All of it. All night long.”
The promise within his words had her release threatening to burst. She shook her head from side to side when he took a nipple between his teeth.
“Please. I want it all. I want sex. I want sex with you.”
She felt him smile against her skin. “You’re going to have to be more specific than that.”
“I don’t know exactly, Ryan,” she moaned. “It’s been a long time for me. I’m not picky.”
This time it was him who froze. “Wait, like, how long is a ‘long time’?”
“Argh!” She pounded on his shoulders. “Does it matter?”
“Yeah, actually, it does.”
She couldn’t believe he was serious, but when she met his gaze, there wasn’t any pity in them. He looked at her like he was trying to solve one of the algebra problems she used to quiz him on.
“Years,” she whispered finally.
He continued to study her for a long moment. Just when she thought he might back out, the corners of his mouth turned up in a cocky grin. He placed his hands under her bottom and stood up from the chair. She dug her fingers into his scalp to steady herself.
“In that case, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover tonight, Janey. And for that, we’re going to need a bed.”
RYAN COULDN’T REMEMBER a time when he’d enjoyed being naked with a woman more. He was a red-blooded male who appreciated sex as much as the next guy, but lately, the act had left him feeling more lonely than satisfied. But tonight, rolling around in bed with Jane, he felt alive again.
Happy.
Needed.
The way she reacted to his touch, his kisses, hell, even to his words, aroused him beyond belief. But it fulfilled him even more. Even her battle to take over the proceedings had him laughing.
“For someone who’s in a hurry to end her long sexual dearth, you sure are putting up a lot of roadblocks, Janey,” he teased.
“I don’t want you to turn on the light,” she repeated, slapping his hand away from the lamp beside the bed.
He chuckled because he knew he was going to win in the end. The light from the hallway illuminated their naked bodies on top of the bed they hadn’t even bothered to turn down. But Ryan wanted more. He wanted all of his senses to have a front-row seat to the glorious curves and porcelain skin his hands and mouth were currently exploring in the semi-darkness.
“Why not?” he murmured against the tender area beneath her breast.
“Because . . .” Her breath caught when he flicked his tongue over her nipple.
“I thought we talked about being more specific.” He moved over to give her other breast equal time.
She dug her fingers into the comforter, but the move did nothing to ease the writhing of her hips.
“Because,” she cried out. “Because I’m-I’m old. And you’re used to young and-and, perfect.”
Ryan swore viciously, causing Jane to shudder beneath him. All these months, he’d allowed the media and everyone else to draw conclusions about his private life, never bothering to dispute them. Figuring he didn’t care what other people thought.
He’d figured wrong.
He crawled back up her body and flicked on the lamp with a look that dared her to defy him. Pushing up on his forearms, he stared down into her beautiful but now wary face. He reached a finger over to smooth out the worry lines creasing her brow.
“Listen carefully Doctor Jane Upton Sheffield. You are perfect. You’re smart. Kind. An amazing mom. A great friend. As a matter of fact, anyone who puts up with my sister Kate must be a saint.” He kissed the tip of her nose.
“But—” she whispered.
He silenced her with a finger to her lips.
“You’re also sexy as hell,” he said. “You have no idea how often I’ve lain awake this week dreaming of these lips. What I want to do to them. And what I want them to do to me.” His finger moved to her neck. “And the gorgeous curve of your neck.” His lips followed his fingers. “I lost count how many times I got hard just thinking about tasting you here.” He dropped his hand lower to skim the top of her breasts. “And here,” he practically groaned.
She let out a breathy moan when he dropped his hips back down to meet hers, his erection throbbing between them.
“This is how sexy I think you are,” he whispered. “This hasn’t happened for me in a while.”
He hadn’t meant to admit that to anyone. Ever. And he’d probably lose his man card for doing so, but this was Jane. For some reason, he wanted to tell her everything.
And, this was her night. He’d do just about anything to make her happy. To make her feel like the desirable woman she was.
“Those ‘perfect’ women you’ve seen me with aren’t what I want. You know why?”
She slowly shook her head from side to side.
“Because they aren’t real.” He lowered his mouth toward hers. “They aren’t you.”
His lips met hers in a fierce kiss. Cupping her face between his hands, he angled her mouth so he could plunder it with his tongue. Her hands left the comforter and were gripping his back. She kissed him with the same urgency that matched the need building in his own body. Her fingers traveled lower until they were digging into his ass, pressing him in closer to the place parts of him most wanted to be.
But he needed to make this last. To make this good for her. He tore his lips away.
“You’re real, Janey,” he breathed against her neck.
Her fingers found their way into his hair, her nails likely leaving tiny crescent marks on his scalp. He could feel the breath sawing through her lungs beneath him. Nipping at her chin, he moved lower on her body.
“Your job is to lay back and enjoy,” he told her.
He brushed his lips along her dewy skin as he scooted lower down her body. Her hand moved to cover her belly, but he batted it away. He traced the faded white linear marks along her stomach with his lips.
“Don’t ever be ashamed of these,” he admonished her. “These are a badge of honor. Proof that you gave the world a gift of an awesome son. He may grow up to cure cancer or walk on Mars. Or hit the cycle in a baseball game. Be proud that you carried and nourished him here.” He kissed her belly button. “Right here.”
Her body began to tremble when he moved lower. Nudging her legs apart, he sank down between them, inhaling her essence, her desire. The scent made his balls grow even tighter. When he pressed an open-mouthed kiss to the inside of her thigh, Jane nearly bucked off the bed.
“Hang on, Janey, because I’m about to bring the good stuff.”
She might have said something, but Ryan wasn’t listening. He was too busy tasting. He flicked his tongue back and forth inside her. Her nails were back to torturing his scalp as she filled the room with her breathy moans and gasps. It was music to his ears. He’d always made sure to take care of the women he was with, but tonight, it was as if he was experiencing all of this for the first time.
Her climax was just as earth-shattering for him. Not only because of the pride he felt at being the first one to give her such pleasure in a long time, but because of the joyous laugh that followed. The sound hit him square in the chest, stunning him with its intensity. He wanted to do it again to her, to feel that laugh again, but he had a greater need. And he feared if he didn’t get inside her soon, he might embarrass himself.
He made his way back up her body, where she greeted him with a rapturous smile. With her hair fanned out around her head like a corona, a pink flush to her skin, and swollen lips, she was more beautiful than any woman he’d been with before. Something shifted painfully in his chest.
“That was amazing,” she panted. Her grin turned impish. “But I remember there being more.”
“Oh, there’s more.” He nibbled her neck. “So much more.”
He jumped off the bed to retrieve a condom from his wallet, hissing as he rolled it on. She reached out a hand, beckoning him back to the bed. He dropped his wallet on the nightstand, accidentally knocking over a picture frame. When he bent to pick it up, he was greeted with the image of a smiling Jane wrapped in the arms of her late husband. It was as if the guy had just kicked him in the gut. Sweat began to break out on the back of his neck.
Jane leaned over and snatched it from his hands, setting it back in its place, facedown this time. She laced her fingers through his and drew him back to the bed. That wary look was back in her eyes.
“You asked me what I wanted, and I want this,” she whispered. “I want more. I want you.”
Ignoring the warning bells going off in his head, Ryan shoved the ghost of her late husband out of the room. They were just scratching an itch, after all. It was just sex. Nothing was ever going to come of this. Nothing except for some pretty intense pleasure, his body was screaming. And being the competitor that he was, Ryan was suddenly determined to give Jane so much pleasure she’d forget she ever had sex with anyone else before him—especially her late husband.
“You’ve got me,” he said as he inched inside of her.
“Ohhh,” she moaned as her eyes fluttered closed.
The clutching heat surrounding him caused the last thread of Ryan’s composure to snap. He rocked his hips, filling her to the hilt as he began to move. Her hands were everywhere, his shoulders, his hips, his ass, spurring him on. She wrapped her legs around his waist, gasping with pleasure when they found a rhythm. He whispered words of encouragement in her ear, naughty words that had her grinding against him in a frenzy.
He could feel her racing toward another climax. With a satisfied grunt, he reached a finger down between them and stroked once, twice, until she came apart beneath him, practically wailing his name. It was music to his ears. Burying himself deep inside her with a powerful thrust, he swore wildly when he came with ecstasy so intense that it left him gasping for air.
A few long moments later, he rolled onto his back, clasping her hand between them. They both stared at the ceiling, trying to regulate their breathing.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
The tender way she said it made his chest tight. He should be thanking her. Profusely. Because he was pretty sure that might have been the best sex he’d had in his life. Not that he wanted to ponder that too deeply. This was Jane. Sexy, sweet Jane. He’d promised her simple and uncomplicated. One night of scratching an itch. It couldn’t be anything more because their lives were on very different trajectories.
“Any time.” Apparently his mouth wasn’t listening to his brain.
She rolled over him, letting her hair skim his chest. Her kiss-swollen lips turned up in a smile. “Any time?” She arched an eyebrow at him.
He fisted his fingers in her hair and gently guided her lips down to his. “I’m here for you whenever you want me. For whatever you want.”
Ignoring the alarm bells ringing again inside his head, he proceeded to prove it to her.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
JANE WOKE THE following morning, tugging at the sheet for warmth. Ryan McAlister may be an All-Star lover, but he was also a champion blanket hog. Careful not to wake him, she used her foot to drag an afghan up over her exposed skin. As she snuggled into its warmth, she studied the complex man sleeping beside her.
His body could only be described as a work of art. All of the McAlister men were handsome, but Ryan’s chiseled physique elevated him to a different status. And, oh my, what he could do with that body was also of a different realm. Her skin grew warm just thinking about the way his talented hands aroused her body with the same finesse he employed on the baseball diamond. She understood now why a woman would crawl out on the balcony of a high-rise apartment in the hopes of reaching his bedroom.
His sandy hair was, as usual, a mess. She bit back a grin remembering how she’d likely made it that way. His stubborn chin was relaxed in sleep, making him look more self-assured than the man who liked to hide behind a cocky mask. She’d caught glimpses behind that façade this past week, and she’d been pleasantly surprised by the sensitive, caring man he genuinely was.
