Page 9 of Curvy Girl for the Cop

"Please..." I whimper, not even knowing what I'm asking for. I just need him to quench this inferno he's stoked to life inside me.

Fisting a hand in my hair, Ryan tilts my head back and crashes his mouth over mine in a commanding kiss. It's hot, wet, and filthy—a brutish claiming that steals the air from my lungs and the strength from my knees.

His tongue delves deep, stroking over mine in blatant imitation of the carnal act our bodies crave. He tastes of whiskey and sin and broken promises, an addictive flavor I know I'll never get enough of.

Kissing Ryan is a revelation, the rest of the world fading away until there is only this—his hard body aligned with mine, the scrape of his stubble against my tingling lips, the wicked thrust of his tongue that sends bolts of lust sizzling down my spine.

I'm lost to the drugging passion, my fingers fisting in the fabric of his shirt as I pull him impossibly closer, wanting tocrawl inside his skin. My thighs part in wanton invitation, the damp lace of my panties an undeniable testament to my arousal.

Ryan takes ruthless advantage, notching a powerful thigh between mine, the thick muscle pressing right where I'm throbbing and aching for his touch. Unbidden, my hips rock against him, seeking a firmer pressure, silently begging him to sate the clawing need building in my core.

He tears his mouth from mine with a harsh groan, the sound reverberating through the air between us. "Fuck, Ava. You're killing me."

His voice is little more than a growl, eyes blazing down at me with an intensity that steals my breath. I've never seen a man like this—on the verge of losing ironclad control because ofme.

There's a predatory edge to his gaze that should terrify me but only makes me burn hotter, an answering wildness rising up from someplace hidden deep inside.

I want him to unleash it. Devour me. Brand his mark on my skin for all the world to see. Consequences no longer matter—only assuaging this fever pitch need that threatens to consume me.

Blindly, I reach between us, hands shaking slightly as I attack the fastenings of his jeans. Just as I get the button free, tugging on the zipper, a sudden noise from outside shatters the lust-soaked haze enveloping us.

We jerk apart, panting harshly, staring at each other with passion-glazed eyes as the reality of what almost happened crashes down like a bucket of ice water. Common sense filters back in, dousing the flames.

Ryan scrubs a hand over his face, muttering something under his breath. "I should go check that out, make sure everything’s safe."

The words are like a knife to my heart but I nod anyway, knowing it's for the best. If he stayed, we'd wind up nakedand sweaty, with him buried to the hilt inside me. And then everything would change in ways I don't think either of us is ready for.

Disappointment and frustration carve hollow aches in my chest as he zips up and steps back, putting necessary space between us before the tenuous hold on our control snaps again.

"I’ll be right back, Ava," he rumbles as he turns away, the set of his broad shoulders tense. Three long strides carry him out the door, the bell tinkling forlornly in his wake.

Leaving me to slump against the bookshelf in a boneless heap, my blood still thrumming with unsated arousal, staring blankly at his retreating back.

When he comes back, I feign a headache and apologetically bid him goodnight.

The look on his face tells me he’s not buying it for a minute, but he doesn’t press me.

I’m both disappointed and relieved.

Sleep is a long time coming that night, my body restless and wound tight. I toss and turn until the wee hours, replaying every moment of that searing kiss. The feel of Ryan's hands on my skin, the taste of his lips, the delicious heat and hardness pressing me into the bookshelf...

It haunts my fevered dreams, tormenting me with pleasure just out of reach. I wake gasping his name, my heart aching and my thighs clenched together to ease the incessant throbbing at their apex.

Damn him. Damn my traitorous body. Damn this inexplicable connection drawing us together against all rhyme and reason.

I drag myself through my morning routine in a daze, exhaustion and frustration warring for dominance as I open up the shop and go through the motions. But even as I try to focus on alphabetizing new arrivals, my mind drifts constantly back to him.

Ryan Callahan has turned my quiet, ordinary life upside down and inside out in the space of days. And I have a sinking suspicion he's only just getting started.

God help me, but I'm not sure I have the strength to resist. Or if I even want to anymore.

The day limps by in agonizing slowness. I startle at every creak and groan of the old building, half-expecting him to appear around every corner. But as the hours tick by, it becomes painfully clear that our heated encounter was nothing more than a momentary distraction for him.

Biting back my disappointment, I remind myself that it's for the best. I've always been better off alone anyway, living vicariously through the pages of my beloved novels. Safe from heartache and betrayal.

Ryan

I'm a damned fool, leaving her there like that. Wound up and wanting, same as me. What the hell was I thinking?

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