Game For Love: All The Right Moves (Kindle Worlds Novella) (5 page)

She was babbling while he said nothing. Maybe she
should have said good night instead of inviting him. Opening the door, she stepped outside.

“Nice view,” he said.

Over the tops of the trees, the Atlanta skyline rose. “I like being so close to the city, but far enough away that it feels like I’m in the country.”

“Your yard is huge
. Big enough to play a pickup game,” he said. “Maybe I should buy a place out here.”

Her heart beat out a funny rhythm at the thought of Ryan becoming her neighbor.
“I plan on putting a pool in, but I can’t decide where exactly, because I’d have to remove a few trees,” she said, sinking down in the love seat.

Ryan stood there for a moment
before joining her. “But if you put in a pool, you’ll lose most of your yard.”

“That’s the other reason I’m taking so long. I’m still weighing the pros and cons
.” She laughed.

His thigh brushed
hers, and she heard him suck in a breath. Leaning forward, she set her glass down, and then turned to him, tucking her legs beside her. The movement brought them closer together.

She brought one arm up along the back of the couch and propped her head in her hand. “You’re not drinking your tea,” she pointed out.

He glanced from his drink to her. “I’m still weighing the pros and cons.”

“Of drink
ing tea?”

Carefully,
he set his glass beside hers, scooting closer. “No, not that.” He ran his fingers along the side of her neck, and then slid them behind her head. “This.”

And then he kissed her.

Unlike before
, Ryan didn’t give her time to get used the thought of kissing him. Oh, no.

This
time, he took possession of her mouth by slanting his over hers. He nibbled on her bottom lip, sucked on it until she gasped, and then teased the corners of her mouth. There was nothing hurried in his movements, just firm and insistent.
Devastating.

He tasted so good.
Decadent
, like her favorite chocolate dessert. His lips were soft, full, and firm. Her entire body tingled from only the press of their flesh. She was on fire for him. Desire burning bright and hot as he pushed her past the point of insane for more.

Breaking their kiss, he whispered, “Open for me, sweetness.”

Only, he didn’t just mean her mouth because his hand was on her thigh, and it had started to glide up and up, to where she was hot and needy.
Aching.

And it
could only be eased by him.

He pushed up the material of her dress until it bunched around her waist. Suddenly, she felt herself falling
, and then realized she wasn’t falling at all. Ryan was pulling her under him, settling his erection right against her core and rocking.
Grinding
.

“Oh God,” she moaned
, stars sparking behind her eyelids.

“Stay with me,” he murmured into her ear and nibbled on it.

She nearly came off the love seat. “Holy crap.”

He smiled against her skin. “
Let’s see what else you like, okay?”

“All right,” she said, her heart pounding.

One of his big hands came up behind her knee, coasting up her thighs, traveling a route that had his fingers at the edge of her lace panties before she knew it.

She tilted her hips up
to get closer, and he laughed low in his throat. Slowly, torturously, he worked his fingers under the material of her panties.

A harsh groan left him as soon as he touched the most intimate part of her. “
Ah hell, sweetness. I didn’t know you’d be so damn wet.”

Her hips started to move against him without her permission, but there was no way she would stop. “I can’t help it.”

“That’s what a man likes to hear.” The tip of his finger entered her, and then the rest, all the way down to the knuckle. She could feel the rest of his fingers, as they brushed against her. Involuntarily, her inner muscles clenched. “And that’s what a man likes to feel. Damn, baby.”

She sought his mouth again, all at once shy and bold. Another finger
eased in her, and her head fell back. He licked his way up her throat, and then nuzzled her shoulder.

“That’s it. Show me what you look like when you come,” he said, thrusting his fingers harder and faster. His thumb brushed her clit.

“Ryan,” she cried out, and he did it again.

His fingers seemed to curl and uncurl inside of her, and she nearly came undone. “Found your sweet spot,” he said, triumphantly, like making her wild was his ultimate goal. His
number-one play.

She dug her fingers into his wide shoulders
, wishing his shirt was off, and that her bare breasts were pressed against his chest. With that in mind, she began to shove up his shirt, but he grabbed her wrist.

“Not happening, sweetness. I have to keep something between us, because I’m not prepared,” he said. “I can’t be inside of you tonight.”

“But you’re already inside of me,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, and it feels fucking amazing.”
He pinned her wrist against the cushions. “Ready for more?”

All she could do was nod. His dark eyes
glittered, and his face was all harsh planes. He began to move again, his fingers curling and twisting inside of her, while his thumb continued lightly brushing her clit.

He pushed and pushed, not giving her time to recover from each thrust and brush. Suddenly, her body
shattered, and she bit down on her lip to keep from screaming.

“
Beautiful. So damn beautiful,” he said softly. His fingers continued to stroke her, his thumb circling her clit.

A new wave of pleasure rocked her body. “Ryan,” she choked out
, her eyes closing tight.

“I know… let it come to you. I’m here for you.” His voice was dark and promised more pleasure than she could imagine. “You tell me when to stop, gorgeous.”

“Please stop,” she said moments later, after coming for the third time. “I can’t…”

His fingers left her
, and he made a humming sound. “Tastes good, baby.” Had he licked his fingers? The thought made her even hotter, and she whimpered. “Next time, I’m going to put my mouth on you and drink down every drop.”

Oh yeah, he’d licked them. Dazed, she could only lay helpless in his
arms, as he kissed her and held her close to him. She could feel his erection, hot and huge against her.

“I can take care of you, too,” she whispered, struggling to open her eyes.

He kissed her eyes closed. “All about you, sweetness. All about you.”

Ryan repeatedly did burnouts, like a man on a mission. His mission—to work off the amped-up sexual frustration he was currently experiencing, until his arms and legs couldn’t support his weight.

But last night with Ashley had been totally worth putting his need
s and wants second. She’d looked so damn good lying in his arms, had felt so right while they talked about their families. When he’d finally made himself leave, she’d given him the sweetest goodnight kiss he’d ever had, almost as if she couldn’t believe what had happened between them, or the fact that he hadn’t expected anything in return.

He had a feeling she wasn’t used to that. She couldn’t be used to that with
Dean Clark as her ex.

The
selfish bastard
.

Then again
, Ryan wasn’t used to a woman like Ashley. Hell, he didn’t know exactly what he was doing with her. Sure, he was attracted to her, and he enjoyed spending time with her. But, beyond that… he hadn’t allowed himself to think that far ahead.

Ashley, even without her asshole of an ex, struck him as the type of woman who wanted more than just a couple of dates. Well, more than a couple of dates with a football player.

His arms gave out, and the weights crashed to the floor.

“What did the weights do to you, man?” his teammate, Marco
, asked.

“Nothing. Just got a lot on my mind.”

“I heard you were thinking about leaving.”

Damn lock
er room gossips. “You did? Huh. Maybe you could tell me what I’m thinking right now.”

“That it’s a pretty sweet deal to be a free agent.”

As a free agent, he could keep playing for the Avengers while considering other contracts. Dallas had been courting him. Hard. “There are pros and cons to it. You thinking about joining the dark side?”

“Maybe.”

That was Marco. All poking his nose into everything while keeping his own mouth shut.

“Let me know if you want to talk sometime.”

Marco nodded and then resumed doing crunches. “Later, Turner.”

“Later.” Ryan made his way to the shower room, passing a few reporters on the way.

“Heard there’s a new woman you’ve been seeing,” one called out to him.

“Considering women make up fifty-one percent of the population, the odds are in both our favors that happened.”

The reporters laughed, and he flashed them his signature smile so they could get a photo or two.

Usually, his humor
kept them happy. He gave just enough to them that they could spin it, but not enough to have substance. Despite the popularity of the franchise in the city, the Braves were covered more. But nothing got the newspapers going like a political scandal.

And nothing got him going like thinking
about that firecracker of a redhead. After he showered and changed, Ryan headed out to his truck and waited until he was on I-20 before he called her.

“Hey,” came her sweet voice. “What’s up?”
She sounded a little out of breath.

“Is this a good time?”

“Not really.”

“You sound winded.”

“That’s because I’ve been chasing Bluebelle all over the yard,” she said.

He smiled. “What did she do?”

“That dog… what didn’t she do?” Ashley blew out a breath. “She dug up my flowerbeds, tore the cushions off my patio furniture, and ate my clothes not worth mentioning.”

“Not worth mentioning?”
he asked, trying to figure out what she meant.

“You know… unmentionables.
” She sighed thickly. “
Panties
, Ryan. The dang dog went into my dirty laundry and ate five pairs of panties.”

He could stop himself from laughing. “That’s damn funny.”

“Only because she didn’t eat
your
panties.”

“Honey, if sh
e’d been eating my panties, we would be having a whole other conversation right now.”

Ashley huffed. “Fine. If Gunner had eaten your
man panties
, you’d be pissed.”

“I don’t wear man panties either.”

“You know what I mean, Ryan Shea Turner,” she growled into the phone.

Yeah, he did, but he couldn’t resist teasing her a little more, especially since she was going all southern on him. Only his momma called him by his full
name, and that was only when she was pissed.

“I don’t wear
anything at all under my jeans, sweetness.”

She whimpered
. Before he could check to see if she was truly upset at his making light of the destruction Bluebelle caused, his dick got hard. So much for working out his sexual frustrations.

“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings,” he said.

“I know you’re trying to be funny and sexy, but it’s my turn to host book club.
Today.
Like in four hours. I need to impress these women because I recommended a romance novel instead of literary fiction. They kinda turned up their noses at it. So, everything has to be perfect, but now it’s not, and I can’t get ahold of my brothers.” She sounded on the verge of tears. Frustrated tears.

Damn it.

“What about your dad?” He could go help her, but she hadn’t asked him to. She had her pride, just like him.

“He’s on a cruise with my momma.” She sighed thickly. “I need to let you go. I have so much to do
, and no one to help me.”

And there was his opening. Just as he opened his mouth to say he’d be right over to help, she hung up on him.

“Shit,” he muttered.

Taking a deep breath, Ashley surveyed the damaged Bluebelle had caused and considered where she would start first. The cushions had to be replaced. So, that was an easy fix. Although
, she didn’t know if that pattern was still available.

But the yard…
topsoil was everywhere. Flowers lay lifeless in haphazard piles. The dang dog had dug up almost everything. In fact, now that she could take a moment, she realized just how much damage Bluebelle had caused.