In Bed with Mr. Wrong (3 page)

Chapter Three

It was her whispered “please” that did him in. Ryan might not have been with anyone
in a pathetically long time, but the women he
had
been with were nothing like Bri. They smiled and flirted and played the game. He’d
enjoyed it—enjoyed them—but all those experiences paled compared to this one. Bri
didn’t play games, nor did she mince words. She did not like him, plain and simple.

But that changed the moment she’d kissed him. In his arms, the prickly little spitfire
flipped a switch and went soft and sweet, her body seeming to beg for his touch the
same way she’d begged aloud. It made him feel ten feet tall, a primal part of him
rising to the fore and roaring its triumph, despite the fact that five minutes ago
he’d been ready to shove her into her house and bust ass driving away from there.
Now he was drunk off her, as if he’d downed half a fifth of whiskey during their date
instead of one beer.

He couldn’t get enough.

He didn’t want to.

Ryan skimmed his hands over her nipples and stomach, her skin so soft and smelling
of some type of flower he couldn’t name, and down to the band of her skirt. It was
so long its excessive fabric got in the way. He wanted the damn thing off. Wanted
her naked. Her shaking hands undid the hook at the side and helped him slide it away.
He nearly laughed at the absurdity of her white cotton panties being the most erotic
thing he’d ever seen, but he was too distracted by his need to taste her there.

When he pressed his mouth against the fabric, her entire body went taut. As if he’d
hooked her up to his car battery and revved the engine. “
OhmyGod.
” She sounded so shocked, he almost stopped, but then a moan slipped free. “Oh my
God
.”

Ryan started to lift his head, but she grabbed his hair and towed him right back to
where he’d been. “Don’t you
dare
stop.”

Well, hell, there wasn’t much arguing he could do with that, so he yanked off her
goddamn panties. Her hips moved against his lips as little sounds slipped from her
mouth, urging him on. Deciding this was no time for taking it slow, he zeroed in on
her clit.

She went wild beneath him. “Oh, oh,
holy oh sweet Jesus oh my God.
”

It was only when she stopped shuddering that he rested his forehead against her stomach,
his cock so hard he was cursing himself a thousand times over for wearing these stupid
slacks.

“Wow.”

The sheer wonder in her voice made him glance up. Bri looked shell-shocked despite
her half-closed eyes. This woman, so soft and wanton, was nothing like the buttoned-up
priss he’d been on a date with all night.
He’d
done this to her. He looked at her disheveled hair and now-crooked glasses, and ran
his hands over her thighs, his satisfaction nearly a match for hers. Her lips were
plumped and practically begging for another kiss, so he didn’t bother to resist giving
her one. She moaned against his mouth. “I want to feel your skin against mine.”

That, he could do. He dragged off his shirt, and she responded by immediately running
her hands down his chest. “Oh my.”

While he was all about her appreciation, he was more worried about how damn good she
felt against him. Ryan licked her neck, earning another shiver. She let her head fall
back to rest on top of the swing, giving him better access. “I need—”

“I do, too.” He shifted, freeing up one hand to push a finger into her. She was so
goddamn tight, clenching around him even as she rolled her hips to take him deeper.
He cursed. “I can finish you like this. It doesn’t have to be sex.”

She gasped when he crooked his finger inside her. “Do you have condoms?”

Was this one of those catch-22 questions? He couldn’t think enough to worry about
it. “I have one in my wallet.”

“At least you’re doing something right tonight. Get it.”

“Bri…”

“Please don’t stop.
Please
.”

“I’m not going to stop.” Not until she was coming around his cock.

Ryan undid his slacks and wrestled them off, all without taking his mouth from her
neck. With the death grip she had on his shoulders, he would have had to fight her
off to do so anyway. Once he was as naked as she was, he tore open the wrapper and
rolled the condom on. Holy shit, this was really happening. He kissed her as he positioned
himself between her legs, notching his cock against her entrance. Slow. He had to
go slow or he was going to hurt her.

Too bad Bri hadn’t gotten that memo. She grabbed his hips and used the momentum of
the swing to shove him deeper, sheathing him to the hilt. Before he could recover
from the shock stealing his ability to speak, her eyes went wide. “That feels so good,
Ryan.”

Hearing his name on her lips rocked him to his core. He grabbed to keep her still.
If she kept moving like that, he was going to lose what little control he had left.
Apparently she didn’t share his concern because she dug her nails into his forearms.
“God, I didn’t know it could be like this.”

With her skin reflecting the dim porch light, her breasts shaking as she tried to
move on his cock, her eyes defiant behind the glasses she’d somehow managed to keep
on through all this… It took a full five seconds to register her words. He was the
only one to ever make her lose control.
The only one
. Ryan tipped up her chin until she met his gaze. “You didn’t know it could be this
good? I’m just getting started. Forget setting your panties on fire. I’m going to
ruin you for any other man.”

…

Bri was so desperate, she was about to start begging. Again. How could he sit here
and
talk
while she was going out of her mind? She squeezed his forearms one last time, digging
in her nails a little bit more, and barely resisted screaming in his face,
Then do it!

The only warning she got was Ryan changing his grip and then he was moving, sliding
out of her and back in again. Despite his bold words, he kept the pace torturously
slow, his hard length rubbing on places she hadn’t even known existed, building a
steady pressure in her core. She moved, using the swing to meet his thrusts, chasing
the feeling. It was different from last time, spiraling through her with every stroke.
“Ryan…”

He let go of one hip to pull her up until her mouth brushed his. “Say my name again.”

This new position had her clit grinding against him, sending shock waves of pleasure
through her. She clutched his shoulders, trying to get closer to achieve that kiss,
but he kept himself just out of reach. “Say my name, Bri.”

“
Ryan
.” She moved against him, desperate to reach that point of no return. The feeling
was only intensified by his hands on her skin and every muscle tense against her.
And then the world disappeared as she buried her face against his neck and screamed.

He twined her hair around his fist before she had a chance to recover and pulled her
head back to look into her eyes. She felt owned in that moment, as if he saw down
to the very foundation of her soul. The shock in his eyes didn’t make her feel better
about what he must have seen. He shuddered, holding her in a near-bruising grip, drawing
out his orgasm until he dropped his head to her shoulder.

Which is about when she processed exactly what she’d just done.

She’d just had sex with a near stranger on her front porch. Judging from her one and
only other sexual experience, she should be feeling a toxic mix of self-hate and embarrassment
for letting things get so out of control. Instead, all she felt was a strange sort
of languid satisfaction. She wanted to stretch and rub against him, dragging as much
of her skin as she could against his. With a sigh, she opened her eyes…and looked
right into Ryan’s familiar deep blue ones.

Oh my God, I just slept with Drew’s brother.

The very same man she’d been fighting with not half an hour ago. She’d gotten out
of that SUV planning never to see him again, and ended up getting naked with him on
her
porch swing
instead.

Drew and Avery were never going to let her live it down.

Suddenly the only thing she cared about was getting away from him. “So, um… Thanks
for that.”

He frowned. “That’s the best you’ve got?”

Frankly, at this point she was surprised she could talk at all. She pushed at his
chest, her body giving a cry of protest when he backed up. It was just the cold getting
to her. It had nothing to do with wanting to tackle him to the porch and start this
whole process over again. She snatched her clothes up and dug her key out of her purse,
trying to ignore the fact that he was standing behind her, as completely naked as
she was.

Ryan may have been good-looking and his touch may have made her thought processes
short out, but they were totally incompatible. And he was leaving soon. Even if she
were interested—which she most definitely
wasn’t
—it wouldn’t be more than a fling.

Bri was
not
the kind of woman who indulged in flings.

Then again, she’d never considered herself a candidate for one-night stands, either.

She stepped into her house and forced a smile. “You know, the town was right about
you. You really are a fire-starter.”

And then she slammed the door in his face.

…

Ryan stared at the closed door, half-convinced he was missing something. No way in
hell had he just had his mind blown by this woman, only to have her pat him on his
head and leave him alone on the front porch. He glanced down.

Alone and
naked
on her porch.

Both the interior and exterior lights clicked off, leaving him in near-complete darkness.
Fucking fantastic. He yanked on his clothing and marched out the porch door, cursing
himself for being an idiot. The only reason this entire mess had happened was because
she caught him off guard. And, holy shit, had she caught him off guard. He hadn’t
expected her to rise to the challenge he’d issued, and he sure as fuck hadn’t expected
his reaction to it—to any of it.

It was probably a blessing she’d run off, because he wasn’t sure he’d have been able
to control himself enough to walk away, no matter how much his attraction to her didn’t
make sense.

Good riddance.

Ryan slammed his Suburban door and cranked the engine. He’d be lucky if this didn’t
hit the Wellingford gossip mill by morning, one more clusterfuck to add to the already-stellar
reputation he couldn’t escape. “I hate goddamn small towns.”

The trip back to his brother’s house didn’t take nearly enough time, but if he didn’t
show up there would be hell to pay. Drew wasn’t exactly known for minding his own
business, being the town sheriff and all, and Ryan wouldn’t put it past him to call
Bri to get the whole messed-up story. With his luck, she’d spin it to sound like he
took advantage of her—the exact opposite of what actually happened.

He should’ve had something stronger at dinner. Beer was not enough for this shit.

Ryan headed for the front door, but nearly turned around when he registered that all
the lights were on. Great. Exactly what he needed. He took a fortifying breath and
pushed open the door.

Drew and Avery had his brother’s game console hooked up with what looked like
DDR
—
Dance Dance Revolution
—and Ryan was so ashamed he even knew what that was to begin with. They stood side
by side, feet flying over the arrows on the pad they’d set up on the ground. It was
a throwback from when they were all kids, always trying to one-up one another and
finding weird-ass games to accomplish it. He’d thought they’d have grown out of it
while he was gone, but obviously that wasn’t the case.

Though he tried to slip down the hallway while they were distracted, Avery let out
a whoop. “Ryan’s home!”

Shit. He’d wanted to shower before he had this talk because he could still smell Bri
on his skin and it was driving him nuts. But it wasn’t like he could tell
them
that. He glared at his brother. “You’re an asshole.”

Drew shut off the game and dropped onto the couch. “What’d I do?”

Avery snagged the beer out of his hand and took a long drink. “Don’t just lurk in
the hallway. Get in here and tell us the dirty details. Were we right? You two hit
it off like apples and oranges, didn’t you? When are you seeing Bri again?”

Drew rolled his eyes. “Kind of hard to get the story when he can’t get a word in edgewise.”

“Hush, you.”

Since they were about to devolve into bickering, Ryan should have made his escape.
Problem was, he had to have this conversation sooner or later, so he might as well
do it while they were partially distracted. “I’m not seeing her again.”

They stopped talking and turned to face him. Drew frowned. “Why not?”

Avery shoved her long black hair back into a ponytail like she was about to throw
down. “What did you do?”

“How the hell do you know it was
his
fault?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Probably because Bri is one of the nicest people we know, and she
would bend over backward to not step on anyone’s toes.”

Drew seemed to think about it. “You’re right.” He turned to Ryan. “What
did
you do?”

Him? He hadn’t done a goddamn thing except get whiplash from the woman’s sharp tongue.
“Can we focus on the fact that this is
your
fault? The only reason I was on that date to begin with was as a favor to you.”

And what a clusterfuck of a date it’d been. He still couldn’t decide if the way it
ended was the ultimate “screw you” from Bri, or something that made that torturous
dinner worthwhile. The woman was confusing as hell, from the way she tore him a new
one at every opportunity, to the way she begged him to put his hands on her.