Page 41 of Close Encounters of the Sexy Kind
He lifted his hips, allowing his hard length to slide between her legs, teasing her with maddening strokes along her clit but not entering her. “Say it, Ryan.”
There was no reason not to. It washerdream. There were no consequences to admitting the truth here. No one would ever know.
“I am yours,” she breathed, “and you are mine.”
“Forever,” he hissed as he pushed himself inside her and her world exploded ...
Ryan sat up in bed, gasping for breath and feeling disoriented. It took a few moments for her to convince herself that she was in her apartment and not on some idyllic tropical beach.
It had felt so real. Tiberius had felt so real. Real enough that she could still feel the erotic sweep of his tongue over her nipples and the powerful thrusts of his ridged ...
Ridged?
She shook her head and got out of bed to get a glass of water. Clearly, she had read one too many paranormal romances if she was dreaming of things like epic sex, soul mates, and ridged penises. And those markings, the sexy tats that revealed a deeper, darker, primitive side to the polite, classical gentleman ... where hadthosecome from?
Now wide awake and slightly annoyed with her subconscious for crafting such a realistic erotic fantasy, there was no chance she would be able to get back to sleep. Not afterthat.
Since it was nearly dawn, she opted to get a shower and head into the department early, more determined than ever to find out more about the mysterious nightclub owner.
Several hours later, however, she hadn’t learned much. The official owners of Bait were listed as Tiberius and Quintus Maximus, and all licenses and inspections were up to date. Beyond that, there was little else. No criminal records, no citations, not even so much as a parking ticket. County, state, and federal public database searches came up empty. Everything was in perfect order.
She was missing something, she was certain of it, but she didn’t know where else to look. Unless she obtained a search warrant, something she couldn’t do without justification and probable cause, she had effectively reached a dead end.
“It’s like he just appeared out of nowhere,” she complained to Betty at lunch after providing a PG-13 rated recap of the prior night’s events. Wanting to retain some self-respect, she didn’t mention the dream. “It’s suspicious.”
“It’s not suspicious,” Betty countered. “You’re paranoid. The fact that your fishing expedition found nothing is agoodthing. He’s über handsome, smart, rich, and he’s been a perfect gentleman, so what’s the big problem?”
“What if he’s only cozying up to me to protect his own interests?” Ryan asked quietly. “What if he’s another Jason?”
Betty’s eyes softened somewhat. As her best friend, she was one of the few who knew the whole story. “What if he’s not? You’ve got to forgive yourself, Ry. You made a mistake. You learned from it. It’s time to move on.”
That was easier said than done. “I don’t know if I can.”
“Listen, you really like this guy, right?”
“Yes, but—”
“Nobuts. You like him, he likes you, and he checks out. He said he would answer all your questions, right?”
“Right.”
“Thenask. Give him a chance. Stop being a cop for five seconds and talk to him. Trust your heart. Besides, if he’s anything like his brother, you are definitely going to want to tap that.” Betty’s eyes sparkled with absolute glee. “Just wait until I tell you what happened with Q last night ...”
