In Bed with Mr. Wrong (11 page)

Ryan made a face. “You whooped my ass this time around.” He counted up his tiles and
shook his head. After being pretty damn close the last game, she had nearly doubled
his score. “How about some dinner?”

“As long as it’s not corn bread and chili, I’m in.” She smacked a hand over her mouth.
“Oh, God, I’m sorry. That was so rude.”

He laughed. “Hardly.” The fact that she apologized immediately after saying it let
him know she was as aware of the change developing between them as he was.

And she didn’t want to go back to fighting, either.

He climbed to his feet and cracked his neck. “See, today wasn’t so bad.”

“No, it really wasn’t. The egg disaster aside.” She took his offered hand and let
him pull her to her feet. “I almost feel bad for beating you so soundly that last
time.”

He headed into the kitchen and started rummaging through the cabinets. “Probably as
bad as I feel about beating you the first two times.”

“Probably.” She laughed again and went to the fridge. “How about a salad?”

“Do we have the makings for chicken Caesar?”

She bent over to pull open the produce drawer, giving him a heart-stopping view of
her ass. Ryan turned away before she looked over, fighting for control of his body.
Things were going so well, he didn’t want to fuck them up, and nothing made a situation
quite as awkward as sporting a cock-stand in sweats.

When he could turn around without embarrassing himself, he moved over to where she
had pulled precooked chicken out of the fridge. “I’ll get this if you want to chop
the tomatoes.”

“You mean you’re actually going to let me touch a knife?” She gave him a strange look,
but nodded. “Deal.”

Ryan opened the package, doing his damnedest to focus solely on chopping the meat
into smaller pieces and not how she was so close he could reach over and run his hand
down her spine. They worked in a comfortable silence, and he chopped the chicken and
dumped it into the salad before he finally spoke. “I always felt like I was a day
late and a dollar short as a kid.”

She filled two glasses with water and took the stool she’d occupied last night. “You
don’t have to do this.”

“I know.” He passed over the bowl and slid into the seat next to her. “Though if you
don’t want to know, I don’t have to keep going.”

She dished a plate of salad up for herself—and then him, too—before she answered.
“I’d like to know.”

Since curiosity was a step in the right direction, he gave her a small smile. “I grew
up spending as much time outside my house as possible. It could have been a lot worse,
but Drew made sure there was always enough food and warm clothes. I think I would
have liked to know a librarian like you, because Old Mrs. Cleaver scared the crap
out of me. I used to hide in the stacks until she hobbled back to the front desk before
I’d go find the books I was looking for.”

She smiled. “I thought she was perfectly nice.”

He suddenly realized how this must sound. She’d shared a horror story of a childhood
and here he was whining about how is brother stepped up to the plate and made sure
he didn’t go without. “Drew saved my life, even if I got into a lot of trouble along
the way.”

“Does he know that?” Bri took a drink of her water. “I’m sorry, that’s none of my
business. But your brother doesn’t really talk about what your childhood was like.
All his stories are from high school and beyond.”

“High school was full of adventure.” Even if he’d never live it down. But he didn’t
have any real regrets from some of the crazy shit he and his old brother got into.

“I’d like to know more, if that’s okay.”

“So he didn’t tell you about the time I started a grease fire trying to cook stir-fry?”

Her eyebrows rose and she snorted. “No, he neglected to mention that your history
with fire started before senior year.”

For once, the reminder didn’t stick in his throat. “I was lucky he’d decided to supervise.
He’s quick on his feet and got the baking soda into the pan before it did any real
damage.”

“That’s fortunate.” She shook her head. “I can picture it all too easily. You guys
must have been little hellions.”

“We still are if you ask around.” He took a few bites, letting the silence stretch
a few minutes while they both ate. “Has he taken you up to the property?”

She rotated her fork with her fingers. “No. The only reason I know about it is because
Avery mentioned it once.”

“The house is gone, I think. I haven’t been up there since I graduated. But the acreage
is beautiful—miles and miles of forest and fields, with a nice little stream running
through it.”

“It sounds beautiful.”

He’d always thought so. It had been a wonderland for him and his brother growing up,
a direct counterpoint to the hell that their house was from time to time. “When I
was eight, I went out to build a fort where Drew would never find me.” He shook his
head. “There was a bee’s nest in the tree I tried to use for wood.”

“Oh no.” She pressed a hand to her mouth, but her eyes were dancing. “That must have
been terrible.”

“After I’d stopping screaming and Old Joe made sure I wasn’t going to die, he whooped
my ass for being stupid enough not to check the tree I was hammering on before I started.”

“Old Joe whooped you, huh?”

“Well, he threatened to.” His grin died. “The paramedics weren’t as forgiving, and
neither were the horde of Wellingford residents who descended on the ambulance while
I was getting patched up. I got more lectures that afternoon than I did the entire
year.”

She abandoned her half-empty bowl and turned to face him fully. “Tell me more.”

More? He had countless stories like that, like the time he’d tried to run away after
Dad had lost his shit because Ryan quit the peewee football team halfway through the
season. He’d hidden out for three days before Drew showed up in his lean-to and talked
him into coming back home. But he didn’t want to mar this conversation with Bri by
bringing in the crappy times. As many bad memories as he had about this town, it was
strange to realize he had just as many good memories. “After Drew read
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
, he decided it’d be a great idea to build a raft and float down the stream.”

She choked. “And how did that go?”

“It was badass. At first. The raft held us both and seemed like it’d really go the
distance.” He paused, enjoying the way she leaned forward, already smiling. “We didn’t
plan on the beaver’s dam.”

Talking about this brought back all sorts of memories, of long summers spent running
around barefoot, of floating the nearby river, of hours sitting around the campfire.
A thought occurred to him, taking root until he couldn’t stop himself from standing
and going to the cabinet. He thought he’d seen marshmallows in here, and he was right.

“What are you doing?”

He turned around, holding the marshmallows, Hershey bars, and graham crackers. “We’re
going to make s’mores.” He couldn’t change her past, or go back in time to help her
when she’d needed someone, but he could damn well give her some good new memories
to go with the bad ones. “That is, if you’re willing to risk letting me near the fireplace.”

She smiled. “Don’t worry. I’m not taking my eyes off you.”

…

Bri watched him stoke the fire, touched in ways she hadn’t expected. He’d shared some
of his memories with her, bits and pieces of a childhood that was shockingly close
to hers in some ways. There were times when she’d wished she had a sister or brother
to hold her hand through all of it like Ryan had so she wouldn’t have been so terribly
alone. It had taken some time, but she’d finally been able to acknowledge that she
wouldn’t be the woman she was today if things had been different.

If she hadn’t suffered through the foster homes and the deaths of her parents, there
would be so many kids whose lives she wouldn’t have been able to touch. She loved
her place in the library. It was worth everything that had come before.

That being said, she couldn’t stop the warmth flowing through her as Ryan set out
the makings for s’mores. This was a gift. Something so sweet and thoughtful, she wasn’t
quite sure how to thank him.

“Normally, we’d go pick our own roasting sticks and carve a sharp side to put the
marshmallow on, but we’ll have to improvise.” He held up the two wire hangers he’d
straightened. “So try not to judge the system too harshly on our crappy roasting tools.”

She smiled as she accepted the hanger and pushed the marshmallow onto its tip. “I’ll
do my best.”

“I appreciate that.” He patted the rug next to him. “Now come closer. I promise I
won’t bite.”

But what if I want you to?

She hadn’t missed the fact that he’d kept a careful distance between them all day,
though she didn’t know if it was because he didn’t want to touch her or if he didn’t
trust himself to. Considering their short but eventful history, she was betting on
the latter. She wasn’t sure how she felt about his demonstrating so much restraint
regarding sex, not when he was showing her so many other things, too. She wished she
could blame her growing fondness on hormones, but when he took the sex out of the
equation, what else was there?

Then again, it wasn’t like this had been weeks in the making. They had sex less than
twenty-four hours ago. But they’d also spent the last six hours talking. Or not talking
in some cases. Either way, they hadn’t dissolved into fights, petty or otherwise,
since the spat this morning.

She sank into the spot he’d indicated next to the bear’s head. Bri grimaced. “This
thing is tacky.”

“Only the best for hunting cabins.”

He pulled the bear’s head up and groaned. She followed his gaze and reached into its
mouth to pull out a string of condoms. “It’s like some kind of demented Easter egg
hunt.”

“Someday, somewhere, we will get revenge on those two for this.” He plucked the packets
out of her hands and tossed them onto the couch.

She shifted and stared at the fire so as not to give in to the temptation to stare
at
him
.

“Lots of people just stick their marshmallow into the flame and burn the shit out
of it. Common rookie mistake. What you want to do for maximum crispy gooey goodness
is roast it over the coals.” He demonstrated, holding his two inches off the coals
he’d exposed on the right side of the fire. As she watched, the marshmallow turned
a golden brown, helped along by rotating the hanger. “Like this.”

“Okay.” She followed his lead, a thrill of childlike excitement taking root as her
marshmallow turned the same color as his. “I’m doing it.”

“You sure as hell are. I knew I had a professional s’mores creator on my hands the
moment we met.”

Bri laughed. “Now you’re just being goofy.”

“This is the source of some of my favorite childhood memories. Makes me feel like
a kid again.” He pulled his marshmallow out of the fire. “Okay, now you create your
s’mores sandwich.”

She copied him, putting the chocolate on the graham cracker and then using the other
half of the cracker to smoosh the marshmallow into place. A giggle slipped free as
she held up sticky fingers. “Messy work.”

“All good things in life start or end with messes.” He motioned. “Take a bite.”

She did, and moaned. “Oh my God, this is amazing.” She took another bite, her eyes
drifting closed as bliss spread through her. By the time she finished off the s’more,
she was fighting to hold back a variety of sounds that could only be described as
sexual. She opened her eyes to find Ryan watching her through hooded eyes. Even though
she’d only seen that look a few times, her body responded to it, nipples pebbling
and heat flaring through her. She cleared her throat. “Thank you. For all of this.
For creating this memory with me.”

His slow grin made her stomach flip. “Trust me, honey, it was my pleasure.”

Before she could talk herself out of it, Bri leaned across the distance between them
and kissed him.

Chapter Fourteen

Bri leaned into the kiss, half-shocked when he reached up to cup her chin. Though
his lips tasted of the s’more they’d just eaten, that faded as he opened for her,
his tongue swiping along hers. She practically threw her hanger away in favor of crawling
into his lap.

“I need you, Ryan.” She kissed along his jaw, loving the way his whiskers rasped against
her skin. “Please.”

He groaned and settled her knees on either side of his hips, his hands running up
her thighs to squeeze her butt. “How is a man supposed to be rational with you sitting
on top of him, smelling so damn good, and whispering ‘please’ in his ear?”

Was that a trick question? She ran her hands down his chest and up again. “He’s not?”

He leaned back and met her gaze. “We do this, we’re ending up in a bed tonight, Bri.
No backing out, and no fighting. But first, I’m going to fuck you good and proper
on this rug.”

Didn’t he know she couldn’t say no to him, even if she wanted to? And she most definitely
did not want to. She wanted to wrap herself up in Ryan until she wasn’t sure where
he ended and she began. Today, he’d made her feel free and strong and like her past
didn’t have to be a deep, dark secret.

She wanted him with a desperation that made no sense. It didn’t matter. She’d take
him up on whatever terms he set tonight, and Bri could admit to herself that the thought
of ending up in a bed with him made her heart rate pick up. “That sounds wonderful.”

He grinned, as if he didn’t quite believe she’d agreed. “It does, doesn’t it?”

She peppered kisses over his lips and neck and collarbone. “Take me however you want
me.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He used his grip on her hips to rock her more firmly against him.

She slid along his length, and the friction had her biting her lip to keep back a
moan. Emboldened by the desire spiraling through her with each movement, she reached
for the bottom of her shirt, pulled it over her head, and tossed it behind her. His
eyes dropped to her breasts, enclosed in a serviceable blue bra. Someday, she’d have
a sexual encounter with him and
not
be wearing the unsexiest underclothing imaginable. It didn’t seem to matter to Ryan,
though, because he ran his hands up her sides to cup her breasts with a rapturous
look on his face. “I could spend hours on your breasts alone.”

“Not tonight.” She reached behind her to undo her bra and tossed it in the same direction
as the shirt.

“You’re right. Not tonight.” He ducked down and took a nipple in his mouth. The drag
of his teeth over sensitive flesh sent a bolt straight to the spot between her legs
and she gasped.

“More.” She clung to him as he used his tongue to flick her, alternating between quick
strokes and slow licks. Just when Bri started to feel light-headed and whimpers escaped
her mouth, he rolled them so he was on top. The soft rug felt luxurious against her
bare skin, and she could suddenly see why this particular scene had been used again
and again for seduction in fiction.

With Ryan backlit by the fire and rising over her, she could barely think. He didn’t
give her a chance to, drawing off her sweats in a quick movement. “Flip over.”

She obeyed, rolling onto her stomach and then rising onto her hands and knees at his
urging. The position felt strangely vulnerable, but then he was touching her, chasing
away any worry she might have had. He stroked her between her legs, teasing her until
she had to bite back a cry of frustration.

The sound of him ripping open a condom seemed unnaturally loud in her ears. “I know,
honey, I know.”

How could he? She hadn’t said a single thing. And yet there he was, guiding her knees
farther part and moving until he pressed against her entrance. He braced his hands
on her hips and pushed into her, so slowly that this time she really did cry out.

Instantly, he froze. “Are you okay?”

Okay? How was she supposed to be okay? The ache in her center had only increased with
every touch, and now her entire body was begging to be taken by him. All the while,
he was busy torturing her with soft touches. No, she wasn’t okay. “I need—”

He tightened his grip and slammed into her, the force of the motion driving her forward
until her face rested against the rug. Ryan withdrew and shoved into her again, even
harder this time. “This is what you need.”

“
Yes
.” Bri tried to move, to take in more of him, but his grip was punishing, holding
her in place, her hips up and legs spread wide, while he fucked her just like she’d
begged for. Because that was the only word that described the rough animalistic way
he moved in her, so intense it bordered on pain.

When he changed his angle, words erupted from her mouth, strung together as if she
were speaking in tongues. “Please, Ryan, oh God, I need…I need…
Please
. Something. Anything. Everything.” She dug her fingers into the fur of the rug, as
if that would help center her in the midst of the storm building inside her. It was
too much. He had to stop, or she was going to lose everything.

As if he could sense her thoughts—and how in God’s name did he keep doing that?—he
pushed down on the small of her back and did something with his hips that brought
a scream to her lips. Her orgasm sucked her into the abyss, rolling over her in a
giant black wave that took every ounce of energy from her body. She went limp, though
she couldn’t quite make herself let go of the rug. Maybe if she held on tightly enough,
the room would stop spinning. He pressed her into the rug and shuddered above her,
following her over the edge.

After a long moment, Bri finally opened her eyes and frowned at the smoke curling
through the room. “Did you leave corn bread in the oven again?”

His creative curse gave her the motivation to roll onto her back. The sight of fire
crawling out of the fireplace did a whole lot more. She scrambled to her knees. “The
cabin’s burning down!”

To his credit, Ryan didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the massive blanket from the couch
and threw it on top of the fire, using his hands to pat it out and smother it. When
he lifted the blanket, she saw the cause—her shirt. “Oh my God, I threw my clothes
into the fire.” She’d been so concerned with getting skin to skin with him that she
hadn’t stopped to consider where she was tossing those discarded clothes. “Spending
so much time with you is turning me into a firebug.”

“I’m glad I have that effect on you.”

She met his gaze and promptly burst out laughing. “Oh, I bet. The sight of you makes
me want to strip naked and burn down buildings.”

“I’m choosing to take it as a compliment.” He raised one massive shoulder. “That wasn’t
exactly the explosive ending I’d anticipated.”

She sat there, her heart still beating too fast and body tingling from the orgasm,
and he sounded so put out. It made her laugh again, which was such a novel concept.
They’d come together in anger and in passion, but there’d never been laughter. Until
now. Bri patted his arm. “You get an A-plus, okay?”

“I can do better.”

“No one can do better than A-plus. That’s kind of the point.”

He climbed to his feet and offered a hand. “Now that we’ve saved the cabin from burning
down, let’s go take a shower.”

…

They took a long, lazy shower and managed to make it out before the hot water turned
cold, and then Ryan dragged her to the kitchen for a snack. Bri wrapped the blanket
more firmly around her shoulders and watched him make…something. “I still can’t quite
believe you cook.”

“I’m a man of many skills.” He waggled his eyebrows, making her laugh.

She accepted a mug, sniffed it, and smiled. “Hot chocolate?”

“Another staple of my childhood. My secret recipe.”

She took a cautious sip, letting the flavors play over her tongue. “Cinnamon and…”

“A dash of chili powder.”

“I’ve never heard of such a thing.” Another drink, deeper this time. “It’s really,
really good.”

“Since we’re revisiting childhood memories, anything you missed out on that you’d
like to check off the list?”

The fact that he was offering in the first place, let alone having already made the
effort to do just that with the s’mores earlier, made her warm in a way that had nothing
to do with the cozy temperature of the cabin. Her childhood was what it was. There
was no point in dwelling on it. But Ryan filtered things through a different light,
and the gifts he’d given her were priceless. No one, not even Avery and Drew, had
ever done anything like that for her. Yes, they knew her past, and, yes, they were
completely sympathetic, but their focus was on the here and now. They’d never tried
to go back and fill in some of the missing pieces.

To be fair, she’d never considered it either.

She sipped her hot chocolate. “I’ve never had a snowball fight.”

His jaw dropped and he staggered. “What? No snowball fights? My brother and Avery
have dropped the ball. We’re fixing that. Right now.”

“Now?” She made a show of looking down her blanket. “But I’m naked.”

“Come on.” He took her mug out of her hands and hauled her off the stool. “Get dressed.
We’re doing this.
Then
we can drink hot chocolate and thaw out by the fire.”

Before she had a chance to protest—not that she really tried—he had her in the bedroom
and piled clothing in her hands. Bri laughed as she got dressed, buoyed by his enthusiasm.
“This is ridiculous.”

“Most parts of being a kid are.” He pulled his shirt over his head. “The trick to
being an adult is maintaining that childlike wonder while still managing to do soul-killing
things like paying bills.”

“That’s good to know.” She tied her boots and then he took her hand and practically
dragged her through the cabin and out the door. The cold slapped her, nearly making
her change her mind about this being a good idea, but Ryan raised his face to the
sky and laughed.

“I always forget how much I miss this place when I’m gone.”

The reminder that he was leaving in such a short time was almost enough to make her
rethink the wisdom of indulging in any of this, but then he grabbed her hand again
and led her out past the shed to the edge of the woods. The snow crunched under their
boots, the only sound except for the whispering of the wind through the trees. When
was the last time she’d done something silly like this? Bri couldn’t remember. She
wasn’t sure she
ever
had.

“This is how you make a snowball.” Ryan crouched down, demonstrating the packing of
the snow.

It wasn’t rocket science, so she hurriedly followed suit. Then, when he stood up and
turned toward her, she hit him in the face with it.

“That’s cheating!” His expression made her laugh, even as she scrambled backward.
He wiped snow from his eyes and shook his head like a dog. “You’re a natural. You
would have been an asset in the Great Snowball Fight of ’98. Drew and I staked out
the post office with the biggest pile of snowballs you’d ever seen on our sled.” He
grinned. “The plan would have gone off without a hitch if Old Joe hadn’t been walking
by. You know he’s a retired Marine sniper?”

“He may have mentioned it once or twice.” She packed another snowball. “You’re lucky
Mayor Burns wasn’t there.” The older man used to play minor league baseball, and he
still had an arm on him.

Ryan sighed. “No, we weren’t. He came out of the post office right in time to catch
a face full of snow. It was all over after that.”

“Do you know the junior high boys still camp out on Main Street on snow days and try
to ambush people?” She winked. “I think Old Joe watches for them, because he always
seems to show up in the nick of time to save the innocent bystanders.”

A strange look came over his face. “No, I didn’t know that.”

Before she could ask what he was thinking about, his snowball hit her in the shoulder,
but by that point she already had another in hand and sent it flying. Things got chaotic
from there, her laughing so hard she could barely breathe, let alone focus on dodging
his attacks and launching her own. As she peeked out from behind the tree she’d taken
cover behind, Ryan swooped in and grabbed her around the waist, taking them both to
the ground. They rolled several times before she came up on top, still giggling like
a fool. “This is fun.”

“Yeah, it really is.” He smiled up at her as he adjusted her hat. “I never thought
I’d say this, but I’m glad Drew and Avery got this insane plan in their heads.”

She still couldn’t quite wrap her mind around how much had changed in such a short
time. Two days ago, she would have died rather than frolic around in the snow like
a crazy kid with Ryan. And yet here she was, having the time of her life. With him.
“I am, too.”

Then she grabbed a handful of snow and shoved it down his shirt. He cursed and grabbed
for her, but she was already up and running to the back door of the cabin. Bri turned
around just long enough to stick her tongue out at him, and then she was inside. As
soon as the heat from the fireplace hit her, she realized just how wet her clothes
were and shivered.

“Well, don’t just stand there shaking like a leaf. Get naked.”

“Get naked.” Bri stared as he stripped off his shirt. The man’s shoulders should be
illegal. She gave herself a mental shake—or shiver, as it were. “And they say romance
is dead.”

“Liars, all of them. Your man just gave you an orgasm and a snowball fight. If that’s
not romance, I don’t know what is.”