“You’re funny,” he said, setting the page he’d been reading in the pile and moving on to the next.
“Thank you,” I said. Now I wanted to pace again. I just couldn’t stay still. How he could be so calm when thinking about sex was beyond me. Or maybe he was too focused on the letters and not even thinking about that. I sure was. Now that I was alone with him again, it was all I could think about. Sure, I’d spent a lot of time on those letters, but I wouldn’t give them a second thought if I tackled him right now and we got down and dirty. I’d take sex over letters anytime.
“I’m thinking that maybe I can’t finish these tonight,” he said, still reading. “Besides, I’m pretty sure if I don’t kiss you and do a lot of other things in the next five seconds, it might kill me.” His voice was totally calm, but I finally noticed that he had the stack of letters he hadn’t read yet strategically placed over his lap. Ha. He was totally hot for me.
“Okay,” I said again.
“I don’t want okay,” he said, finally setting the letters back on the coffee table. He’d gotten through about half of them. “I want you to want me. I want you to want me so bad you can’t think of anything else.” He got up from the couch and took a step toward me.
“I do want you. I’ve wanted you even before I met you. Lucah said he had a brother and . . . it was like I knew. I can’t explain it exactly. And then I saw you and I really knew.” I had no idea if I was making any sense, but I couldn’t explain it any other way.
“I knew, too. I thought it was just that you were so beautiful, but it’s so much more than that. It’s . . . everything.” He took another step.
“It is. Everything,” I said. Now neither of us were making any sense.
“I want you to kiss me,” I said.
“What else do you want?” He stopped with barely a foot of space between us.
“I want you to take off my clothes. Slowly. I want you to kiss me everywhere. And I mean everywhere. I want you to take off your clothes and let me do the same to you. I want all of you. Every corner and curve. I want my tongue all over you and inside you and I want to learn how you taste. I want to know every single part of you.” I’d been pretty adventurous in my sex life before Ryder, but that was nothing compared to what this would be.
“I just want you to love me,” I said.
He smiled slowly. “Done.”
And with that, his lips were on mine and there was no more waiting. No more second-guessing. No more questions, only answers. Only yes, yes, yes.
His lips were soft but insistent, and the kiss hit me like a tidal wave. I’d been waiting so long for this that it was like taking that gasp of air when you’ve been underwater for so long that your lungs hurt. I drank him in, needing more, not getting enough. His beard was rough, but it added a little bit of sour to the sweet. I loved it.
Pulling him close, I wrapped my body around his, clinging to him like a life raft in the ocean. He was my anchor.
And then his tongue slid into my mouth, testing, tasting, teasing. I let him take possession of me, and it was the most freeing moment I’d ever had in my life. I’d never given in to another person like this. Never. But this was right. He was right. We were right.
His hands fluttered over my face and neck and started working at the straps of my dress, tugging them over my shoulders.
Our lips parted and my eyes snapped open.
“Where do you want me to kiss you?” he asked, his eyes burning into mine. It took a second for me to be able to form words again.
“Everywhere,” I said, my voice a husky whisper.
“No. Tell me. I need directions. Specific directions.”
Oh, it was going to be like that? I grinned.
“I want you to kiss my lips and then my neck. Here.” I pointed to my favorite spot to be kissed. I had the feeling he’d discover other spots I liked that even I didn’t know about yet. Not a lot of the men I’d been with were good at taking their time and making sure I was fully satisfied. I probably shouldn’t have been with some of them, but hindsight and all that. You don’t know how the car drives until you get behind the wheel.
“And where else?”
I pulled the top of my dress further down and stroked my collarbone.
“Here.”
“Oh, there? I think I can do that. But first, there’s something in the way.” I’d never resented clothes so much before. I loved clothes. But right now, I wanted to burn my entire wardrobe for standing in the way of my skin and Ryder’s lips.
Carefully, almost too carefully, he undid the zipper of my dress then pulled it over my head. I hadn’t worn anything spectacular under it, because I definitely didn’t think this would actually be happening right now. Still, my bra and panties were cute and matched. I never left the house without a matching set of underwear on.
Ryder tossed the dress behind him and just stared at me. No, that wasn’t the right word. His eyes devoured me. I felt unbelievably sexy and unbelievably vulnerable at the same exact time.