Page 40 of Tempest

CHAPTER TWELVE

Wednesday

Ivy rolled over and studied the large man who was dead asleep. He looked innocent and sweet, but that was just an illusion. He was a freaking sex machine. He’d woken her up twice and taken her to places she hadn’t known existed. When he’d held her hands down and told her not to move, she thought he was crazy. Then, when he moved his body inside hers, she prayed he never stopped. How long did something like this last? A day, a week, a month? Maybe at some point, the sight of him wouldn’t make her body flutter and her heart trip over itself. Now that she knew what he was capable of, she was in grave danger of losing control. Something she never let happen.

Before she was tempted to take advantage of his morning erection, she slipped out of bed and headed for the shower. Maybe she could wash off the crazy desire that was coursing through her veins. It made her feel like she would do and say things she might later regret. Like confessing the feelings that were bubbling into her heart. One night of stupendous sex and she was thinking about tying herself to Ryan so he could never get away.

That wasn’t something she was going to let happen. All her talk about wanting a man who was interested in her heart was crumbling around her feet. She was scared out of her mind at the thought of letting Ryan close to that part of her. Clearly, she was a fraud, because there was an all-out freak fest going on in her brain.

As she closed the door to the bathroom quietly, she took one last look at the man sprawled across her flowery sheets and sighed. Realizing her mistake, she straightened her shoulders and shook off the mushy-gushy thoughts that were flying through her brain. Flipping the water on with more force than was necessary, she waited for the shower to heat up. The best solution to this challenge was to start making lists. There was a lot to do, and she had to focus on the job she had and the insane inheritance that her daddy had left them. She had several SAI projects to complete before the attorney showed up this afternoon. No more lovey-dovey sexy thoughts, she instructed herself firmly. Stepping into the shower, she mentally started the first of many lists.

By the time she was rinsing her hair and working on her fifth list, the shower door opened and glorious, naked Ryan stepped in. “What are you doing?” she asked.

Smiling like a man who won a million dollars, he leaned over and kissed her. “Getting cleaned up.” He wagged his eyebrows and threw her a smile. “Unless…I can talk you into a quickie.” He slipped his big arms around her and held her flush against his body.

Just as she was about to tilt her hips against his, she stopped herself. Nope. Resist the sexy man in the shower, she told herself firmly. “I’m surprised you have anything left in you after last night.”

He lifted her up before she could do anything about it, and she wrapped her legs around his waist so that she wouldn’t fall. At least, that was the story that she was telling herself.

“Now I have to show you how much I have left in me.” He leaned her against the wall, slid his hand between their bodies and slipped his finger inside her folds. “Now, your body is telling me a different story than your mouth.” He added another finger and pushed them in further. “Yep, another story altogether.”

She tried to get her traitorous body to quit moving, but it wasn’t cooperating. “We don’t have a condom.”

He grazed her neck with his mouth and nipped her gently. “You have a patch on your hip, so we don’t need one.”

Bending his knees, he slid his hard length into her welcoming body, and she groaned. “Why does this feel so freaking good?” she moaned.

Pulling out slightly, he pushed himself back in and answered, “Because we’re made for one another. Don’t freak out. I know you want to, but…don’t.”

He continued to assault her senses with his magic moves. Soon she was grinding against him to get more of him. That’s all her brain would spit out as an answer…more…more…more.

“Let go, honey. It’s supposed to feel this good. I want you to come all over me…now.” He made one long, hard thrust as she clamped around him and he exploded into her.

As tiny pinpricks of light exploded behind her eyes, she felt him shoot his seed deep into her womb. Never before had she had sex without a condom, and having him empty himself inside her was incredibly intimate. Her body pulsed with excitement as she held him deep. It was as though she was trying to drag every last drop before she would let him go. “Have mercy upon my soul,” she muttered, as she dropped her head against his shoulder.

His hold tightened as he collapsed onto the bench. The water flowed over their joined bodies, and she knew that he’d branded her. There was no other explanation. It had taken him less than a minute to bury himself inside her and wring every sensible thought she had from her head. If they kept this up, he was going to own her. Body, mind, and heart.

“Ivy, don’t start pulling away because you’re scared about what’s happening between us.”

Lifting her head slowly, she moved her hair out of her face and stared. “Do you read minds now?”

“The only one I can read is yours. And I know you’re trying to talk yourself out of whatever is happening. Please stop, honey.”

“I’ve never had sex without a condom. I didn’t even ask you if you were clean.”

He tilted his head and stared. “If I’m willing to take a bullet for you, do you think I would put you in harm’s way?”

“That’s what you do for a living. You’re a bullet-taker. You are a freaking SEAL.” Lifting her hand, she moved her hand across his face. “I’m scared, Ryan.”

“I know, honey. Say that and don’t throw up walls. Nothing has ever scared me until I met you. A five-foot-five Texas dynamo has me almost on my knees. If you want to talk about scary shit, then let’s talk about that.”

Framing his face with both her hands, she leaned forward and kissed him. “Well, if you’re on your knees, then you know what to do.” Seeing his expression made her laugh. “I’m sorry. That was really inappropriate. I say the most awful things when I’m scared.”

“Oh, honey, that’s not awful. I’m addicted to the taste of you, so that’s never something that I’m not going to want to do. Hell, I expect to have my mouth on you at least once a day.”

Her face flamed, her heart stuttered, and she remained silent. When he held her head and kissed her like it was their last one, she gave up and kissed him back. She was in quicksand and sinking fast. His hold on her made her flounder, and she had no clue how to help herself.

“Now that we have that settled, what are you making me for breakfast?”

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