Page 11 of Tempest

“I like what you have in your hand. Maybe we can go in the back and you can slip it on, and then I’ll give you my opinion.”

“The only man who gets an opinion about what I wear under my clothes is my husband.”

“What if I was your lover?” he purred into her ear.

His deep voice felt like a caress over her skin, and she did everything she could not to react. “Any ol’ boy can be a lover; it takes someone special to become a husband.” Striding away, she moved toward another display. Playing with Ryan wasn’t as much fun as she’d thought it would be. When she advanced, he did the same thing. Her tactic wasn’t working; her stomach was doing somersaults and she felt slightly off balance. She went through a stack of underwear and tried not to hyperventilate. Being in a store like this wasn’t a good idea with Ryan breathing down her neck. His big arm came around her waist as he touched a pair of black silk undies, and she sucked in a gallon of air. Cool, Ivy. Very cool.

“These would be perfect,” he whispered into her ear.

Snatching them up, she elbowed him and then walked away. Too much. She needed to get out of there. He was hot on her heels as she stomped over to the cash register. She pushed her pile of things across the counter and smiled at the saleslady as she started ringing her up. Ryan’s large body loomed behind her, so she quieted her nerves and pretended to be fascinated with the display behind the counter. When the woman gave her the total, she slipped her credit card out and handed it over. Ryan moved closer and stood directly behind her. The heat from his body rolled over her, as did his warm, woodsy scent. Turning her head slightly, she discovered his mouth right next to hers. “Is there s-something you want?” she stuttered.

“I want a lot of things.”

Turning back to the cash register, she decided not to respond. He was masculine in a way that couldn’t be learned or taught. He just was. Which was making him difficult to resist. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to try. The last thing she needed was another man who had no idea what he wanted. Ryan definitely was that type of man. He’d just gotten off the Teams, and as far as she could tell, it wasn’t easy for him. There was no way she was going to be a pit stop for him while he figured out his next step. Been there, done that. Had the T-shirt.

When she was handed her bag, she turned around and pushed it at Ryan’s chest. “You can hold this. Just remember that’s as close as you’re going to get to my undies.”

Laughing, he grabbed the bag and her hand. “Now I just have to prove you wrong.”

Ivy collected her other bags and scowled. “That wasn’t a challenge. That was a statement of fact.”

“One person’s facts are another person’s fantasy.”

Stopping abruptly, she slid her hand out of his. “What do you want, Ryan?”

“I want to go on a date with you.”

“Why?”

He took her hand again and then stared into her eyes. “Because I have to see why you make me feel the way I do.”

His large hand was warm, and she couldn’t deny the nice tingle that was running up and down her arm and across her shoulder. Nor could she pretend that the way his shirt stretched across his chest wasn’t interesting. “What do you feel?” she asked. His large thumb rubbed across her knuckles, and more shivers skittered across her body.

“It’s hard to describe. It’s a cross between a heart attack and throwing up.”

When her eyes flew to his, she laughed. “And you want to see what that means. I can tell you what that means and save us both a bunch of trouble. It means you should run as far away from me as you can.”

“See, that’s where you’re wrong. I want to run at you.”

“You have no sense.” When she tried to get her hand free, he tightened his grip. “You plan to hold my hand all day?”

“Yeah, why not? It fits, so I think I’ll keep it where it belongs.”

He tugged her out of the shop and glanced around. “Where did Sara and Grady go?”

Ivy slipped on her sunglasses and checked her phone. “Sara sent me a text. They’re over at the Grill. It’s on the other side of the shopping center. She said that she didn’t want to interrupt us, so they headed over there to have a drink.”

“Lead the way,” Ryan said with a laugh. “I figure this is your natural habitat, so you should guide us.”

“Where is your natural habitat?”

“On a mission in the middle of nowhere. Or back home in California.”

As they walked through the center, Ivy looked up at the cerulean-blue sky and the palm trees and thought this must be familiar to him. “Is this like where you’re from in California?”

“This is the opposite of where I grew up. My father has a small winery in Northern California. I grew up surrounded by rolling hills and oak trees.”

“Sounds a lot like where I grew up,” she said. “I’m from a small town outside of Austin. The area is known at the gateway to Texas Hill Country.”

“I would’ve guessed you came from Houston or Dallas. You don’t seem like you’re from a small town.”

“Dripping Springs boasts a population of over 22,000 people,” she said. “The cows do not outnumber the people.” When he tightened his grip, leaned over and kissed her head, she almost swooned. How ridiculous. Ivy did a lot of foolish things, but swooning wasn’t one of them. “The cow comment got you, didn’t it?”

When he stopped, she looked up and felt her breath catch. Ryan Cordell was looking at her the same way a fox looked at a hen. Nothing good came from a look like that. Holding very still, she waited for what he was going to say.

“Definitely the cows.”

He started to lean down, but stopped when Sara’s voice interrupted them. “Hi, guys!”

Stepping away, Ivy moved toward their friends and let out a breath of relief. At least, that’s what she thought she was feeling. It might have been disappointment. Ryan caught up to her and took her hand again. Subtlety didn’t seem to be anything he was interested in. As they joined Grady and Sara, she tried to work out how much of a problem or blessing that was going to be.

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