The Trouble with Sexy (6 page)

“Hey Gregg.” Her voice was soft, and he felt a stirring below the belt when her little pink tongue reached out to smooth over her lip nervously. “Are those for me?”

Gregg tried to yank his eyes away from her exposed flesh and cleared his throat. “Yeah.”

He held them out to her and she took them with a smile. “Do you want to come in while I find a vase for these?”

“Sure.” Gregg stepped over the threshold and closed the door behind him, his eyes on the sway of her hips as he followed her into the kitchen. There was something different about the way she was moving. She seemed taller, and her shoulders weren't rounded forward. Usually she walked with her eyes downcast and moved in a quick, no nonsense fashion. Tonight she glided across the floor to the kitchen like it was made of ice.

When she bent down to pull a vase from the bottom cupboard, he gripped the counter behind him to keep from gripping her butt. The way the sweet round flesh bobbed up and down as she searched made his mouth go dry.

“Here we go.” She stood up with a tall glass vase in her hands and went about cutting the stems and filling it with water. “So where are we going tonight?”

He cleared his throat again. “I was thinking Carolina's, if you're in the mood for Mexican.”

She shrugged, bringing all that creamy flesh higher. “Sure, that's fine with me.” She finished arranging the flowers and with another wide smile said, “Just let me get my jacket.” She picked up the black trench coat and turned. “You ready?”

He moved past to open the door for her, and was awarded another flash of white teeth behind perfectly glossed lips as she moved toward him.

Confidence.

That's what he saw shining in her eyes. Ryan had always been a bit like a scared mouse, but something inside her had blossomed with the new clothes and hair. She laughed and smiled more than he had ever seen before. She was still his funny friend Ryan, but she was so much more now. The awkward little duckling had transformed into a proud, beautiful swan. It wasn't the clothes or the makeup that made her beautiful, though. It was the fact that wearing them had given her the little push she needed to come out of her shell.

Suddenly his graceful swan was pitching forward. He reached out to catch her, pulling her tight against his chest. “Are you okay?”

Her face was pressed against his chest and he couldn't see her expression, just heard a muffled “Damnit.”

He reached down to lift her face up and noticed the red hue on her cheeks and the wet drops on her lashes. “What's wrong?”

She took a breath and said, “I'm such a klutz.”

He chuckled, and the look she shot him was so pained it cut his mirth short. “Everybody trips. If I was wearing boots with heels like that, I'd have broken an ankle by now. It doesn't make you a klutz. In fact, I was just thinking how graceful you were.”

She scoffed at him. “Yeah right.”

He squeezed her until she looked up at him. “Why don't we just pretend it was a clever ploy on your part so that I'd be forced to hold you tight?”

Her mouth twitched. “That's awfully chivalrous of you.”

He shrugged. “What can I say? My mama raised me right.”

She laughed and started to pull away. “Thanks. For catching me.”

“Any time.” He followed her out the door, and when they reached the porch he reached out and took her hand. She looked up at him, and he simply said, “Just in case I need to catch you again, I have an advantage.”

D
INNER WAS DELICIOUS
and Ryan finally started to relax as she kept reminding herself that this was Gregg, the guy she had spent endless hours with at weddings and anniversary parties snapping pictures, laughing at and complimenting their photos in front of the computer. The guy who liked to eat peanut butter from the jar with a spoon when he missed breakfast, and who tapped a pen on the desk when he was concentrating. The guy who had taught her how to salsa in the studio when she told him she was a hopeless dancer, and after fifteen minutes of toe-stomping fun, he agreed with her. He was more than her boss, he was her friend.

They'd laughed all through dinner, and although the lacy underwear still bugged her and made her jump around in her seat, she started to understand what Gracie was saying. She felt good in the clothes she had on, and when she went to the bathroom to touch up, she looked at the smiling woman in the mirror and finally felt like she was who she was meant to be. She still had her faults and insecurities, but today when people passed her on the street, she hadn't lowered her eyes to avoid the contact. And when Chase waved to her from inside his shop and gave her an appreciative glance, it had made her walk taller. She thought about Gracie and Gemma, with the easy way they laughed at her humor and accepted her, all because she had finally opened her mouth and asked for what she wanted. Maybe she wasn't really that awkward but she'd never been able to grow into herself. She'd only ever been herself with one person in this sleepy little town, and that was Gregg.

And when his hand reached out to take hers across the table, he didn't release it until he opened the car door and helped her inside to take her home. Once he hopped inside the cab, he reached across the seat to take her hand again, and she felt the bubble of giddy, girly laughter rising in her throat and covered her mouth to hide the sound. It was the same noise she made during romantic movies as the hero confessed his love for the heroine and the two kissed passionately before the fade-out.

Kiss. Would he walk her to the door and kiss her? Or would he start kissing her in the truck? Or should she invite him in for coffee? Was that too soon?

He pulled up to her house a little after ten. He parked the car, and she tried to breathe normally as he walked her to her door.

Ryan nervously twisted her hands as she asked, “Would you like to come in for some coffee? Maybe watch a movie?”

“I would but I've got kind of an early day tomorrow.”

She tilted her head in confusion. “But we're closed tomorrow.”

“Yeah but I've got some stuff going on. I figured I'd go for a run early. Get some stuff done afterward.”

She tried to hide her disappointment. “Oh sure, I understand. Thanks again for dinner, it was fun.”

He nodded. “No problem. I'll see you Monday. Do you want to meet for coffee before we open?”

She gave him a small smile. “Sure, that would be great.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Well good night, then.”

“Good night, Gregg.” She waited a bit to see if he would kiss her but he just backed off her porch. She turned to go inside, trying to hold back her tears as she closed the door with a click, locking the dead bolt.

G
REGG CURSED AND
kicked the wheel of his truck. Going slow sucked. He'd wanted to kiss her again so badly, but knew that if he put his hands on her, there was no way he'd be able to stop. After kissing Ryan last night, the memory of the way she'd responded had kept him aroused all day. It had been downright uncomfortable to drive out to River Road with Sally Barrett, having a semi half the time because of one kiss. He opened the door of the Tahoe, hopped in and slammed the door. His grip tightened on the steering wheel as he watched the porch light go off. He hit the steering wheel with the palm of his hand and was about to start it when he saw her lift the drapes and look out at him.

All night he'd watched that hair catch the light, like live flames dancing. He'd already fantasized a thousand times during dinner about sliding his fingers into the thick curls while he kissed her good-night. But she wanted him to go slow, and kissing her the way he wanted wouldn't lead to slow and steady.

It's only a kiss good-night. That's all it needs to be.

It wasn't like they were strangers still getting to know each other. And it wasn't like they hadn't already kissed. She still stood at the window watching him, and another thought occurred to him. What if she thought he didn't want her? What if she'd been waiting for the kiss and when it didn't come thought she'd done something wrong?

“Shit.”

He pulled his keys out of the ignition and got out, loping up the steps. Just as he hit the top step she opened the door and stepped out. He'd meant to just give her a gentle peck, something to let her know he wanted her but still respected her. But her wide eyes looked glossy in the light from the house, and her lips glistened invitingly, and he couldn't help himself. Without a word he reached for her and was surprised when her lips met his hungrily. He pressed her back against the wall of her house and lifted her up. Her legs and arms wrapped around him, his erection pressed snuggly against the juncture of her thighs. Her hands tangled in his hair as he supported her sweet little rear end with one arm, his other pressed against the wall for balance. He made love to her mouth, and their breathing became ragged and loud in the quiet stillness of the night.

Gregg felt her shiver and pulled back. Leaning his forehead against hers, he whispered, “You're cold. You should go inside, before we let all the warm air out of your house.”

She laughed a little. “It would probably be easier if you put me down.”

He let her slide down his body, her hands running down his neck and over his chest. He started to drop his arms from around her but she reached around to hold them in place.

He stopped, and she whispered, “I like them just where they are.”

He ran his hands over her waist and asked, “Do you want me to leave?”

She shook her head slowly and that was it. He pulled her back to him, kissing her roughly as he maneuvered her toward the open door. They tumbled through and he kicked it shut, never breaking the passionate embrace. He backed her up to the sofa, and she ran her hands down his chest again, fingering the buttons loose one at a time. She mumbled against his lips, “The bed would be better.”

With a frustrated growl he threw off his jacket and picked her up, cradling her in his arms. “I thought you wanted to go slow.”

She kissed the pulse on the side of his neck, her soft breath against his skin making him quake. “Slow is overrated.”

He carried her down the hallway, not giving her a chance to change her mind. “Which door?”

She bit his earlobe and whispered, “On the left.”

He twisted the knob viciously and pushed into the darkened room. He laid her back on the dimly lit bed and leaned over her, kissing her deeply. He ran his hands over her curves until they reached the fly of her jeans, then moved quickly and unceremoniously discarded them, thanking God she'd already kicked off her boots. Her hands were working the last button open on his shirt and then sliding over the warm skin of his chest and abdomen. He growled like a rabid wolf when he couldn't get her sweater off without ripping it because of the attached belt. He fumbled with the buckle and she reached down to help him. Slipping the belt open finally, he yanked the sweater up over her head.

Clad only in her lacy red boy-cut panties and matching bra, he had to keep himself from drooling. She sat up and slipped her hands over his shoulders, sliding the shirt down his arms and licking at his skin. He moved his hands to get the buttons on the cuffs of his shirt undone, and once his hands were free he gave into his fantasy and buried his fingers into the fiery curls. The pressure of his hands pulling gently brought her mouth up to his, and her hands slid down to his belt. She pulled the leather through the metal, her mouth busy parrying with his. When she slipped her hands inside the waistband of his pants and wrapped her hands around him, he thought if he died right then, he'd be almost perfectly happy.

S
HE HOPED THE
sounds coming from Gregg's mouth were happy ones and that she hadn't grabbed him too hard. She wasn't exactly a rock star in the bedroom, but for the first time ever, she didn't feel like she was playing a role with someone. She didn't have to act like she couldn't wait to have him, because that was exactly what was making her slip her bra down her arms so eagerly.

She wanted him more than she'd ever wanted any man, and when he pushed her backward onto the bed and came over her, she giggled with pure joy until he closed his mouth over her puckered nipple. Her giggle turned into a moan as his mouth and tongue worked her sensitive flesh, her fingers slipping into his hair and holding his mouth in place. His hand slipped down under the scrap of lace and into the moist folds of her femininity. He found the tiny nub with his thumb and forefinger, pulling and rolling it between the two digits.

At the first electrifying zing of pleasure, Ryan cried out loudly. Gregg manipulated her flesh, pulling, rubbing it quickly back and forth, and the pressure built between her legs. She couldn't control the high-pitched sounds escaping from her mouth as she begged for more. She'd never had anyone work her like this, and when he slipped his finger inside and up, flicking over the hidden patch of sensitive tissue inside, she exploded. Her whole back arched, her breast pushed farther into his mouth, and she shook with the effects of her orgasm. Tiny little stars flickered behind her closed eyelids and she let out another cry as he slipped his finger out.

Gregg pulled her panties down slowly over her thighs, grazing the sensitive skin with lips and teeth. She jerked at the sensations, her body still throbbing. He pulled the panties all the way off and stood up. The loss of his warmth caused Ryan's eyelids to flutter open, and she watched him dreamily as he slipped off his shoes and socks. After those were discarded, he reached jerkily for the snap of his khakis. He pulled them and his boxers down in one motion, stepping out of them. She licked her lips in anticipation and reached down to take off her socks, the last piece of clothing left on her body.

His lips twitched as he crawled onto the bed with her. “Not a fan of making love with your socks on?”