“Come on, in here,” I tell him.

“Uh… I’m horny, but I don’t know if I’m break into a house just to find a flat surface horny.”

Laughing, I tug his hand again. “We’re not breaking in. It’s my house.”

That stuns him to a stop. When I turn back to look at him, I find him wide-eyed and staring at the house.

“You live here?” he asks incredulously.

I look back at it with a new perspective, then shuffle awkwardly when I realize, okay, yeah, it’s kind of big.

I hear Ryder’s heavy exhale right before he says, “Okay. This is fine. I’ll deal with my insecurities another time.”

My lip twitches with amusement. “It’s just a house, Ryder.”

His focus moves back to me, his pupils expanding when we lock eyes. When he speaks, his voice has deepened enough to make a shiver run through me.

“We’ll talk about this later. Get inside.”

My breath hitches.

And then I’m turning and rushing toward the house.

Normally, I like that there’s some distance between the private beach and my home, but with the way I’m feeling, I find myself wishing the house was on the beach. And I’m not the only one, because right as I reach the deck, Ryder’s arms go around my waist, and I’m thrown onto the patio couch.

“Never mind, I can’t wait that long,” he growls.

I land on my back, my legs automatically dropping open so he can settle between them, and he immediately falls on me with a kiss that has me melting. It feels way too comfortable being with Ryder like this.

“That taste on the beach was such a tease,” he groans against my lips. “I can’t wait to actually put my mouth on you. I bet you taste like the sweetest honey when you come.”

I don’t answer, I just return the kiss with equal fervor. Truth be told, I have no idea how I taste, and I’ve never had someone this eager to go down on me. It’s always just been the necessary foreplay before the sex part. But feeling Ryder’s hands literally shake with desire… it’s intoxicating.

His lips never leaving mine, I feel him slowly pull my dress up my legs. But it isn’t until the hem exposes my underwear and he keeps going that the self-consciousness sets in.

I try not to be obvious about stopping his hand, even going so far as to distract him by sucking on his tongue, but he’s too in tune with me. Right away, he pulls back so he can look at me.

“What is it? Do you want to stop?”

I shake my head and try to pull him back down. “No, no, definitely not.”

He studies my expression closely. “Then why’d you freeze up on me?”

I debate making up some kind of excuse, but in the end, I let out a heavy breath and tell him the truth. “It’s just…been a while since someone has seen me naked.”

His eyes widen in understanding. I don’t know what I expect his reaction to be, but it’s definitely not watching those blues light up with determination.

His head drops so he can brush his lips lightly, teasingly against mine.

“You think you’re not the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen?” he says in voice like velvet. “You think I don’t look at you and see a fucking goddess? I wasn’t lying when I said I want to worship at your feet, Vanessa.”

I whimper and try to kiss him, but he’s not done yet. His lips drop to my neck and start to kiss along my skin.

“When I saw you tonight, I felt like the luckiest guy in the world that you were seated in my section.” His kisses move down to my collarbone, then to the neckline of my dress. When his tongue slides under the fabric, another whimper slips out. “And then you sent me a drink at the bar, and I realized I am the luckiest guy in the world.”

With one rough tug of the front of my dress, my breasts pop out. Before I even realize what’s happening, Ryder is wrapping his lips around one nipple.

“Oh my God,” I gasp, my hands sinking into his hair to hold him against me. With every pull of his mouth, I feel the sensation echo between my legs.