Hot Finish (8 page)

“I’m here for moral support,” Imogen said, giving Ty a kiss on the cheek as she moved around the campfire. “Suzanne needed some help delivering her client.”

That was obvious. Nikki was trying to climb up Jonas’s lap, but kept sliding down his legs. Finally Jonas put a big hand on her tiny butt and hauled her up onto him, holding her firmly in place.

Ryder stood up. “Hey, Suz, have a seat.”

She gave him a weak smile. “No, thanks. Now that Jonas has Nikki, I’m going to head home.”

“You just got here. You don’t really want to turn right around and head back do you?” Meaning he didn’t really want her to turn around and head back. Ryder was drinking in the sight of her, her legs long and naturally muscular, her ass high and perky in those close-fitting jeans. Not that he had anything other than stupid small talk to say to her, but he still wanted her to hang around awhile.

The other girl who had stumbled up behind Nikki had plopped herself on Evan’s lap. He looked equal parts horrified and turned on. Ty was kissing Imogen on the neck and she was laughing and trying to push him away. Nikki and Jonas were making out, aggressive little sounds of pleasure coming from the bride-to-be.

Yeah, there were half a dozen reasons he didn’t want Suzanne to head out, not the least of which was that he didn’t want to be left lone man out in what was quickly turning into a love fest around the fire.

“No, trust me, I really do want to leave.”

He gave her his most charming smile. “If you leave me here alone with all of them, I will cry, Suzanne.”

“You’ve never cried once in your entire life.”

Actually, he’d cried twice in his lifetime. The first time was the day Suz had miscarried their baby. The other was the day she walked out of their house and didn’t come back. But she didn’t know that, so he just said, “I’m going to start.”

“Whatever,” she said, but she did plop down into his empty chair. “I’ll tell you what, Ryder, I don’t mean to complain, but this is a hard way to make a living. I’m a wedding planner not a designated driver.”

“You did the right thing. Jonas can handle her.”

He turned and looked at Jonas, who was managing to contain a wobbly and giggling Nikki.

“How many drinks did you have, honey?” Jonas asked her.

“Three. But I haven’t eaten since yesterday. I think they went straight to my head.”

“Nikki, you have to eat,” he told her in a gentle voice. “It’s not good for you, and you look amazing the way you are. You’d look amazing at any weight, you know.” He looked around her at the crowd. “Did we bring any food that isn’t junk food?”

“I sent a vegetable tray with Ty,” Imogen said. “Where is it, Ty?”

“In the cooler. I’ll get it.” He fished around in the second cooler and emerged with a plate full of carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli. “Here you go, Strickland.”

While Jonas coaxed Nikki to eat a carrot, Ryder studied Suzanne. She looked exhausted. Even in the dark night, with only the light from the lanterns and the fire, Ryder could see the dark circles under her eyes. He squatted down next to her. “Has all week been like this?”

Suzanne started to wave her hand, but then she just gave a nod. “Pretty much. This girl is running me ragged.”

“At least we got our court date ironed out,” he said, then immediately regretting bringing that up.

Her eyes narrowed and her voice was suspicious. “Yeah, at least there’s that.”

They sat in what Ryder was pretty sure was an uncomfortable silence. A glance over showed Evan was trying to back up in a chair that wouldn’t allow him to go anywhere, while Nikki’s friend groped his jock. He kept moving her hand away from his jeans, but she always managed to find her way right back. The girl had awesome reflexes if she could pass in that tight of a space.

Nikki held a half-eaten carrot in her hand as she kissed Jonas enthusiastically. Imogen and Ty were snuggling in his chair, talking quietly.

“Well, this is somewhat awkward,” he told Suzanne.

“If you think this is awkward, you should have been in the car when Nikki was describing Jonas’s penis to us in great detail.”

Ryder felt his skin crawl. “Damn, am I glad I missed that.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t think we heard an ounce of truth, because if you listened to that girl, Strickland is as thick as a jar of pasta sauce and as long as a garden hose, both of which I’m pretty sure are physically impossible. If he was packing the way she claims, he couldn’t climb in the car to drive.”

Ryder was momentarily stuck on the image of a penis as thick as a jar of pasta sauce, but then he said, “Well, I guess it’s sweet she’s bragging about him, in a weird, creepy sort of way.”

“I can’t figure those two out,” Suzanne said, hands reaching up to adjust the loose bun she’d put her hair in. “I mean, what do they see in each other? What do they talk about? How do they ever make decisions? But I guess we all have to admit they do seem happy together.”

“So, did you ever brag about me?” Ryder asked before he could stop himself. Not that he was insecure or anything, but it would be nice to hear confirmation that he was no slouch.

But given the look on Suzanne’s face, he was seeking reassurance from the wrong source.

CHAPTER
SEVEN

SUZANNE
gave her ex-husband an incredulous look. He was really asking if she had run around bragging on his dick size. Men were unbelievable. “Of course. I even took out a newspaper ad, then posted it all over the Internet.”

“Ha, ha,” he said petulantly.

He was hunkered down on the ground next to her, and Suzanne studied him. Ryder didn’t look like he was in much of a better mood than she was. He was still damn cute though, despite the goofy striped knit hat he was wearing to combat the cold. Hands in the pockets of her vest, Suzanne sighed.

“Are you really asking me if you were up to snuff?”

“No, of course not. I was joking.”

Sure he was. “You have nothing to worry about. Your penis is very pretty and more than enough to make any woman happy.”

How many women it had made happy in the last two years she didn’t even want to contemplate. Not that she’d been celibate, but just thinking about him making love to another woman got her back up. Drivers had bimbos throwing themselves at them all the time, and she was sure Ryder had partaken a time or two, or twelve. Thinking that he might have enjoyed sex with some chick ten years her junior more than he’d enjoyed it with her stuck in her craw.

“Pretty?” he said in horror. “Wow, thanks, Suz, that’s what every man wants to hear. You make it sound like I should slap a bow on my dick and take pictures of it.”

“I’d pay money to see that. Not that I have any money. But I’d dig in the couch cushions for change for a glimpse of a pink bow around you.”

“It’s not going to happen. My pretty little penis is staying naked in my pants.”

“I never said it was little.”

“Just pretty.” Ryder picked up a stick and hurled it into the fire, where it collided with a log and sent sparks popping and flying.

Lord save her from men and their fragile egos. “What should I have said? It was daunting?”

“Never mind. I’m sorry I brought it up.”

“Me, too, because I feel like you’re trying to ask me something, only I don’t know what the question is.”

“There’s no question.” Ryder had his hands dangling over his knees and she wondered how he could keep his balance like that. The man was definitely in better shape than she was.

“No?”

“No. I know the answer. Sex between you and me was explosive. It was hot and wet and exciting, every single time. My body belonged inside your body and we drove each other wild.”

Suzanne could honestly say she hadn’t expected him to say that. Holy sexy . . . Sucking in her breath she stared at Ryder, his expression smoldering and intense and determined. Her nipples had hardened beneath her vest, and her inner thighs were tingling. The man spoke the truth. They had driven each other wild, and just thinking about it now was doing interesting things to her insides.

She didn’t know how to respond, her thoughts were jumbled and confused, the only thing coming through with any clarity was the fact that her body was one hundred percent aroused by Ryder’s words. Her girl bits were saying they knew exactly how to talk to Ryder.

“If we were alone, I’d kiss you again,” he said.

That wouldn’t be a bad thing.

“I would make you so hot, so desperate for me, you wouldn’t be able to walk away this time.”

Oh, really? He’d had her at the description of their love life. She’d even been leaning toward the kiss. But then he ruined it with that last part.

Suzanne tamped a lid on her libido and stood up. “Well, this is me walking away. There is no kiss and I’m out of here.”

Arrogant son of a bitch. Telling her that she wouldn’t be able to walk away. Please.

“What?” Ryder leaped to his feet. “Why? Where the hell are you going?”

“I’m going home.” Suzanne fished in her pocket for her car keys. “I’m tired and this is pointless. I brought Nikki here safe and sound and now she’s Jonas’s problem.” A glance over showed Jonas didn’t look like he minded the burden in his lap, given the way his hand was making inroads on Nikki’s inner thigh. “As for me and you, it’s pointless to even talk about our sex life. That’s over and done.”

“You’re not really driving all the way home are you? If you’re tired, just stay here.”

Ryder reached for her arm but she dodged it. “Imogen, I’m heading home. Are you staying or riding with me?”

Imogen looked to Ty. “Am I staying or going home?”

“Hello. Staying.” Ty made a face like it wasn’t even worth a question, his arm snugly around her shoulders. “Thanks for driving on up here, Suz. Are you sure you don’t want to stay?”

Nikki and Jonas were still making out, and at some point Evan and Nikki’s friend had disappeared, presumably into his tent. “At Camp Get-It-On? Sweet of you to offer, but no thanks.”

“I’ll ride home with Suzanne,” Ryder said, heading toward one of the tents. “Just let me grab my duffel bag.”

And who exactly had he asked if that would be okay? “No, you’re not.”

Ryder stopped in midstride. “You’re not driving back alone.”

“I’m a big girl. I can manage.”

“You’re tired. I’m going with you.” Ryder gave her a stern look, one that irritated the shit out of her. “Give me two seconds to get my bag.”

As if. The minute he entered the tent, Suzanne waved to Imogen and Ty and whirled around to head to the driveway.

“Suzanne . . .” Imogen was pushing herself out of the lawn chair. “I’ll go with you.”

“I’m fine. Stay with Ty.” She gave her a friend a look that said to drop it. Imogen knew her, and knew when she said it was fine, it was. If there was one thing Suzanne could say with certainty it was that she always spoke her mind with her friends.

Imogen nodded and sank back down. “Alright. Text me when you get home so I know you’re safe.”

“Of course. Have fun.” She was just starting down the path when Ryder reemerged, bag in hand.

“Damn it, Suzanne, wait for me.”

You know what? She just didn’t feel like it. It was childish and petty, but she was exhausted and fed the fuck up with her week, her bank account, and her life.

So she walked faster.

Beeping her car unlocked, she jumped in and started the engine.

Ryder tried to get in the passenger door but it was locked. Suzanne put the car in reverse and took her foot off the brake so that it started to roll. Ryder pounded on the window. “Let me in.”

“No!”

“Suzanne, I swear to God, I’ll jump on the hood of your car if you don’t stop.”

He wouldn’t do that. “I’m not stopping.” Suzanne glanced behind her and gave the gas pedal a slight push to emphasize her point.

The pounding impact had her whipping her head around and slamming on the brakes. He’d done it. Holy shit, he’d actually done it. Ryder was on the hood of her car, struggling to hold on to her wiper blades. “What the hell are you doing! Are you crazy?”

His face was only a foot in front of hers, even though a sheet of glass separated him. “Unlock the goddamn door.”

The expression on his face was so scary, Suzanne didn’t even hesitate. She hit the button, not wanting to be responsible for him falling off the hood of her car and being run over when she starting driving, which she was going to do. Damn, he pissed her off. Of all the nerve, leaping on her car to prove a point, which was a stupid point to begin with.

“You have sixty seconds to get your butt in this car or I’m hitting the gas, and I don’t give a shit what I run over on you. Your pretty dick is going to lose its place in the penis pageant after it’s had an SUV roll over it.”

She held the brake, seething, and fairly certain she and Ryder had reached a new low in their relationship as he hopped into the car and glared at her. Stomping on the gas, she flew backward, braked, then went into drive and peeled out down the gravel road, all while his door was still in the process of closing.

“You wouldn’t run me over.”

“Don’t test me, buddy.”

“Why are you so pissed? I just didn’t want you driving home alone. Can’t I even express concern for you?”

“Concern is nice. Meddling is not welcome. I don’t need you telling me what to do.”

“I wasn’t telling you what to do!”

Suzanne’s wheels spun a little on the gravel and she slowed down. Just a little. It was a thirty-minute drive home and that was about twenty-nine minutes too long. Whatever patience she’d had for the day was used up on Nikki and she did not want to do this with him. “Whatever.”

The road was dark and she was shaking, she was so annoyed.

“That’s it?
Whatever
. Oh, that’s classic Suzanne. And you say I don’t finish what I start. You never share your emotions. Ever.”

That was it. She couldn’t fight with him and drive at the same time. She slammed on the brakes and threw the car into park. “You want emotion? I’ll give you emotion. My life sucks, okay? Aside from the money for Nikki’s wedding, which I can’t use until after the thing is over and done with, I have exactly two hundred and twelve dollars to my name and the gas and electric bill are due next week. I realize I’m lucky that I have a condo and a car, but neither one of them were paid for by me. You gave them to me. I’m thirty-three years old, I’m single with no money, I have no children, and I’ve done nothing, not one thing, that I can consider a success. Aside from my charity work, there is nothing I am proud of in my life, and I can’t even do that anymore because I can’t afford to. I’m a big, fat failure. How’s that for emotion? You like that?”

She pounded the steering wheel in frustration. “Does it make you feel good to finally get me to break down?”

He didn’t say a word and she was afraid to look at him, knowing she would see pity on his face. But she was so spitting mad, she couldn’t bring herself to regret her outburst. She would tomorrow, for certain, but for right now, she still had a thing or two to say. “So as for your concern, you can keep it. I don’t need your emotional or financial charity. I’ve been taking care of myself since I was eighteen years old, and I’ll figure this out, too. I’ll survive Nikki and I’ll make something out of this goddamn wedding-planning business if it kills me.”

Then she sat and waited for him to tell her he was sorry, that he felt bad, the sympathy dripping from his voice, making shame ooze out of her pores.

But he didn’t. Instead he just said, “I have no doubt that you will make something out of it. You are a strong woman, one that I’ve always admired. Generous, determined, a survivor.”

Suzanne glanced over at him, wary. He didn’t sound like he was feeling sorry for her.

“And you’re also the sexiest, hottest goddamn woman I’ve ever met in my life.”

Nope. No pity there. That was razor-sharp lust. Suzanne could practically smell the testosterone rolling off him, and steam might as well have escaped his nostrils, he sounded so raw and aroused.

Oh, boy. She had a sudden feeling she was about to get that kiss he’d been threatening her with earlier.

She opened her mouth to say something, anything, she wasn’t sure what, but she was right about that kiss. There was no time to spit out a single word before Ryder was on her like stink on pigs. In one rapid motion, he had just eliminated any and all space between them and he was kissing the bejeezus out of her.

Suzanne did manage a startled squeak, but that was it. Then his mouth was covering hers, his tongue making teasing little inroads inside hers, his hands in her hair, gripping her tightly. It was the kind of kiss that didn’t start out slow and burn steadily. It exploded with the first touch, a hot, wet, anxious kiss that collided her frustration and passion with his, and when he started pawing at her vest to get it off, she was neither surprised nor opposed to the idea.

Goose bumps had popped up on her flesh, a shiver of desire rushing down her spine, and every inch of her body jumped on the happy bandwagon. The kiss just went on and on, their breath jagged and eager, her hands reaching out to grip his sweatshirt, to drag his sexy self closer to her.

If she had wanted him earlier in the week, she had to have him now, and there was no thought, no brakes, no reality other than him on her and how goddamn good that felt. Suzanne moaned when he kissed her neck, the tip of his tongue trailing across her bare flesh, hands sweeping down over her breasts and tweaking at her nipples. Leaning forward in her seat to get closer to him, she slipped her hand onto the front of his jeans, finding his erection with the ease of familiarity, regardless of how much time had passed since she had touched him there.

The sharp catch of breath he gave as she stroked emboldened and satisfied her. Ryder had the right of it. Sex between them had always been amazing, and she was going to get herself some of that right now.

“Thank you. Now make me hotter.”

Ryder didn’t even bother to stifle his groan at both Suzanne’s words and the way she could go up and down on him with just the right amount of pressure, driving him wild even through his jeans. A quick study of her eyes, glassy with desire, her posture, open and abandoned, her voice, sassy and laced with arousal, assured him she wasn’t going to change her mind this time.

He wanted her in the backseat, where they could have more room to maneuver, but he was so hot for her, it seemed like a ridiculous waste of time. Popping the snap on his jeans, he took down his zipper, and let his erection bound free. If she were going to call a halt to this, now would be the time.

But he knew immediately she wasn’t going to do anything of the kind because her eyes lit up in a way that had him gritting his teeth. When she bent over him, Ryder gripped the door handle on the car and considered himself very, very fortunate that Nikki couldn’t hold her liquor.

That first touch of her soft, warm lips over his erection had him moaning. “Suz . . . God.”

“I don’t care what you say,” she murmured, her breath dancing across his flesh. “I still think it’s awfully pretty.”

“Call it whatever you want,” he said, and he meant that most sincerely.

“Mmm,” was her only answer before she flicked her tongue over the tip of his shaft, then slid her mouth fully over the length of it.

The hot, wet slide had him closing his eyes and white-knuckling the door handle. She gave one slow pull back, then she picked up the pace, up and down, her hand gripping the bottom of his cock, her saliva creating a slick surface for her mouth and her fingers. Ryder thought it might be the closest he’d ever come to dying from pleasure, it was such an unexpected jolt of ecstasy. It was only a minute or two before he simultaneously couldn’t take it, yet wanted more.