Page 35
“Don’t.”
It has the opposite effect on him and he pushes away from me, running a hand through his hair.
“Can I borrow your shower?”
“Uh…yeah.”
He nods and takes off for my bathroom. What the hell just happened? I know he wants me, I could feel it, but he turned away. I think he’s taking this good guy thing just a little too far. I sigh and mentally will the throbbing between my legs to go away.
Making my way into the kitchen, I chug an entire bottle of water, trying to get my body under control. It seems to work, at least a little bit. I go into my bedroom and strip out of my dress and throw on a tank top and shorts. Falling back on the bed, I close my eyes and breathe in deeply.
The door to the bathroom opens and Ryan walks into the room in just his jeans. My mouth goes dry all of the sudden, as beads of water run down his defined chest and six-pack. I barely hold in a moan.
“I want to talk to you.”
“Then put on a shirt,” I groan.
He smirks but doesn’t listen. He sits down on the edge of the bed and turns to look at me.
“Do you want to see other people?” he blurts out and my eyebrow shoots up.
“What?”
“Cause I don’t. I don’t want to see anybody else and I don’t want you to either.”
“Uh, okay,” I mutter, not sure what the hell is going on here.
“I know I’ve kind of been hot and cold but you’ve got to know that you are gorgeous and I’m insanely attracted to you.”
Okay, this is getting better.
“Okay.”
“But I don’t want you to think that I’m only after sex. I want to be exclusive. I want you to be my girlfriend.”
“Oh…” I breathe out.
“So, what do you say? Want to be my girl?”
A slow smile spreads across my face as I nod my head. “Yeah.”
His answering smile is dazzling. He lies next to me on the bed and presses his lips to mine in a tender kiss. My entire body goes lax, like I could just melt into him. His hand darts out and pulls my body to his until there isn’t an inch of space between us. His tongue nudges my lips, urging them open, and I comply immediately. When I reach for the button of his jeans, he grabs my hand and pulls away from me.
“We’re not doing that tonight,” he says sternly.
“What the hell?! Why not?”
“I didn’t ask you to be my girlfriend so I could get laid,” he explains and I pout. “Don’t worry.” He starts kissing all over my face and I try to hold back my smile. “We will soon. Just not tonight.” He plants one more kiss on my swollen lips and I moan.
“You’re trying to turn me into a crazy person, aren’t you?”
He laughs. “No, I’m not trying to turn you into a crazy person. Why don’t you show me some of your art?”
“Okay.” I may not be getting laid tonight but I have to admit that I’m excited to show him some of my pieces. I grab his hand and lead him into my spare bedroom where my easel is set up. I let go of his hand and prop some of my finished paintings up against the wall. When I stand back up, he comes up behind me and wraps his arm around my waist.
“These are really good, babe,” he says and I smile as I lean back into him.
“Thanks.”
“Are you doing any custom ones right now?”
“Yeah, that one is.” I point to the landscape that is perched on my easel.
“Where is that?”
“Hawaii,” I answer as I study the beach scene I’ve been working on. “It’s where my client got married and she wanted a painting done of it to give her husband for their anniversary.”
“Wow, that’s really cool.” We are silent for a moment before he releases me and backs up.
“What’s up?”
“Nothing. You want to go lie down? It’s kind of late…or early, depending on how you look at it.”
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
He scoops me up in his arms and carries me off to the bedroom. When we get there, he lays me down on the bed and turns off the light before crawling in next to me.
“Come here.” He lies on his back and positions my head on his chest, hitching my leg up and over one of his. When he has me how he wants me, he sighs and I smile into his skin. “Go to sleep, baby.”
