Page 11 of The Trouble with Sexy (Rock Canyon, Idaho 0.50)

He gave a growl. “Of course not.”

“Hmmm. All right then. See you tomorrow.” She turned to walk away, heard him curse behind her and turned back, ready to unleash her temper about his mixed signals. But she never got a word out.

Suddenly, his rock hard arms were around her and his mouth had slammed down on hers. She reached up behind his neck and made a soft sound as his tongue swept out over her lips. She pressed herself against him as he slipped his tongue inside her mouth, mating with hers. His fingers kneaded into the small of her back and she felt his hard length pressed against her abdomen. He pulled back a little, softening his kiss and nibbling at her full bottom lip. Her stomach felt like a thousand moths were flying around inside, and when his mouth slipped along her chin to kiss the pulse at her neck, she let her head fall to the side to give him better access.

A round of catcalls broke them apart, and Ryan wanted to cry out in protest when Gregg pulled away from her. She watched him take a deep, shaky breath, and her heart thumped when he whispered, “God, I’ve thought about doing that for over a year.”

Her chest rose and fell, desire still coursing through her body. “Then why didn’t you?”

His small smile flashed in the dark. “I did. On New Year’s.”

She shook her head. “But you turned away and kissed that other girl.”

He slipped out of his jacket and wrapped it around her. “She pounced on me. By the time I got her off, you were gone.”

She swallowed hard. “Really?”

He stepped into her again. “Yeah really.”

She cuddled against his chest, listening to his heart slowing against her cheek. “But you never brought it up afterward.”

His deep chuckle vibrated against her cheek. “Neither did you.”

She leaned back, looking up into his handsome face. “But . . . I thought you liked Gracie.”

He smiled back at her. “Not as much as I wanted you to think.”

She raised her eyebrow. “Oh, so it was just some kind of ploy? To make me jealous?”

He shrugged. “Did it work?”

She shook her head and lied. “Not in the slightest.”

He grinned again, and slid his hands over her back. “Do you maybe want to take this someplace warmer?”

She swallowed hard. It was one thing to kiss him in a parking lot, with no way to go much further than that without being seen, but if she went back to his house, he would think that meant a green light for sex. Her fear of disappointing him weighed heavily in her mind and a knot formed in her stomach. “Actually, I’m a little tired. I’m going to go see if Gracie is ready to take off.”

He caught her as she started to pull away. “I can take you home.”

She swallowed hard. “Well, the thing is, we went shopping this afternoon and all my stuff is in her car. And my car’s still in The Local Bean’s parking lot, so . . .”

He smiled at her patiently. “Can’t you get your stuff tomorrow?”

“I’d like to have them tonight and wash them.”

“Ryan, if you aren’t interested and trying not to hurt my feelings—”

“No!” she blurted. “It’s not that. I just don’t want to move too fast.”

He touched her cheek gently and assured her, “I won’t push you for anything you don’t want.”

She went back into his arms and hugged him. “I know.”

He kissed her hair and they just stood there, wrapped up in each other’s warmth. Ryan thought about how just a few hours ago he’d had a rough time telling her she was sexy, and tonight he’d invited her home. She was already regretting her train of thought when she said, “Gregg? If you’d been thinking about kissing me for over a year, why didn’t you ever say anything? And don’t say New Year’s, because that doesn’t count.”

She waited with bated breath for him to answer, and let it out slowly when he said, “Honestly, I just never got that vibe from you. That you were into me, I mean.”

She snapped her head up and stared at him in disbelief. “Are you crazy? I could barely form sentences around you for weeks after you hired me.”

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