In Bed with Mr. Wrong (5 page)

She licked her lips. “You have a very high opinion of yourself.”

“Am I wrong?” He reached down to cup her ass, grinding her against him, loving the
way her lips parted in response. “Tell me I’m wrong and it’s done.”

She moved closer, her breasts pressing more firmly against his chest. “Stop talking
and kiss me already.”

He crushed her against him, and it felt so terrifyingly good to take her mouth and
have those luscious lips pressed against his again. They both groaned at the first
stroke of tongue against tongue. Her arms went around his neck and he squeezed her
ass. She may have been hell-bent on hiding beneath her frumpy sweaters and loose skirts,
but her behind was goddamn biteable.

“Not here.”

She kissed him again before he could respond, and it took a truly outstanding amount
of self-control to break it. “My SUV.”

“Okay.” She let him back them off the curb and to his vehicle. He had to release her
long enough to open the door and climb into the driver’s seat, but then Ryan lifted
her in with him. The large front seat gave her plenty of room to straddle his hips,
and he groaned when she pressed against his cock.

But she didn’t kiss him again. “Can you pull around back or something? Someone might
see.”

As much as he didn’t like the idea of being her dirty little secret, he also didn’t
need his brother or Avery seeing them go at it, either. “Sure.”

He locked her against his body and put the Suburban in drive. The openmouthed kisses
he dragged along her neck were rewarded when she went soft with a cry.
This
was the Bri he wanted to spend more time with, the one who softened her sharp comments
with touches that made his head spin. The one who challenged him until he was so angry
he couldn’t see straight, then flipped the switch and told him he was the only man
to make her come until she lost her mind. She ran her hands over his chest and pulled
his chin up for another kiss. It was the kind of soul-destroying kiss that a man could
sink into until he didn’t know which way was up. He met her tongue, thrust for thrust,
and reached between them to pull her skirt up until he touched skin.

“Mmm.” She slid against his hand as he cupped her through her panties. The heat of
her there damn near scalded him through his wet pants. He glanced down and choked
back a laugh. Uniform blue briefs. He wanted his mouth against the soaked cotton until
her cries filled the SUV. But not yet. Not until they found somewhere to finish this.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t take things a step further. Ryan slid his hand up
and then back down her stomach, dipping into her panties so he could cup her again,
this time with nothing between them. She moaned and tilted her hips, offering him
everything. He teased her, tracing her opening without penetrating. She grabbed his
hand, pressing him more firmly against her, and managed to open her eyes. “This doesn’t
mean I like you.”

“Good.” He shifted her enough to see the road over her shoulder, and took a left turn.
Once they were on the straightaway, he pushed a finger into her, immediately rewarded
when she cried out. “Because I don’t particularly like you, either.”

“I can tell.” She nibbled on his neck, her breath coming harsher with each stroke
of his fingers. “God, why do you smell so good? It should be illegal. I can’t think
when you’re around.”

“Noted.” He spread her wetness around and circled her clit. “Pull down your shirt.”

“What?”

He thrust his fingers into her, two this time. “Just a little bit. I want to see those
pale little nipples.”

For a second, she looked like she might say no, but he kept working her with his hand
and she bit her lip. “Don’t let this go to your head.”

“Honey, the only thing my head is interested in is getting inside you.”

She reached up and tugged her V-neck down, baring her breasts to him. He forgot about
driving. He forgot that he might not actually like Bri. He forgot damn near everything
but the need to get his mouth on her. He leaned forward and captured her left nipple.

She gripped his shoulders, her hips moving in time with his fingers. “Keep doing that.”

“I’m not stopping.”

“Thank God.” Another moan. “Mmmmm…
oh my God, Ryan, we’re sliding!
”

His eyes snapped open just as the SUV hit a massive patch of ice. Ryan cursed and
held Bri to his chest as he fought for control of the vehicle. It was no use. They
slid through the intersection, past the drugstore and the coffee shop. Despite how
slowly they were moving and his pumping the brakes, they hit the stoplight pole. The
impact barely shuddered through the vehicle, anticlimactic after Bri’s scream.

For one eternal second, he thought that would be it. That he’d be able to throw it
in reverse and get the hell out of there before anyone could laugh at him for destroying
yet another piece of Wellington’s property. But then the pole gave a startling
creak
, and shook. “Oh, shit.”

Bri screamed again when it came crashing down, taking out the blue mailbox in front
of the post office. “Oh my God, oh my God. This is not happening.”

Less than thirty seconds later, a siren cut through the air. She scrambled off him
and into the passenger seat, but he should have told her it was no use. For someone
to have called his brother this fast, they had to have watched the whole thing. There
was no escaping what was coming.

Drew jumped out of his cruiser and ran around the hood to their Suburban. Ryan helpfully
opened the driver’s door and then his brother was there. “Is everyone okay?”

“We’re fine.” More or less.

“Uh-huh.” He looked from Bri to Ryan. “Mind telling me what happened? Last I saw,
you two were at each other’s throats and now you’re involved in a car accident. Not
going to lie, it doesn’t look good.”

Ryan was about to tell his brother where to stick it, but Bri started babbling before
he could get a word out. “Ryan was just driving me home. And then… Then we saw a mountain
lion! And he swerved to avoid it, because who wants to hit a mountain lion, but hit
the traffic light instead.”

“A mountain lion.” It was painfully obvious Drew was trying not to laugh. He glanced
at Ryan’s still-wet crotch. “Is that what they’re calling it these days?”

Bri blushed. “It’s not what you think.”

“Actually, Miss Nora Lee over at the coffee shop says it’s exactly what I think. She
called and said she saw two teenagers necking while driving and then they committed
public property damage. Imagine my surprise when I arrived to find my brother and
Bri, who claim to hate each other.”

“We
do
.” She looked like she was ready to climb over his lap and clock Drew. “Don’t you
dare go spreading this story around.”

“I don’t have to. I figure by now Nora has called half the town.”

“Of course she has.” Some things never changed. Ryan leaned back against the headrest
and closed his eyes. Even then, there was no missing his brother’s laughter.

“Damn, Ryan. Only back four days and already taking out the only stoplight
and
mailbox in town in one fell swoop. That’s got to be a new record, even for you.”

“Fuck off.”

Chapter Five

“So I know you’ve made your stance on Ryan really, really clear, despite some seriously
compelling evidence…”

Bri held the phone away from her ear and groaned. Ever since the party, Avery had
been making jokes about the first mountain lion sighting in a century and updating
her on the stoplight and mailbox repair. As if she needed any help walking down memory
lane to how thoughts of Ryan had taken over her life. But yesterday she’d sat Avery
down and reiterated that she had absolutely no interest in Ryan. She thought she’d
gotten through to her friend.

She should have known better.

It didn’t help that she’d fielded not one but
five
comments from well-meaning people asking if she and the younger Flannery boy were
an item. It was enough for her to vow to avoid him at all costs—including ducking
out the back of the library when she’d seen his Suburban at the diner across the street
the other day.

“Avery, we talked about this. The date was horrible, and that’s not even getting into
the fiasco at your birthday party.”
Lie, lie, lie.
But what was she supposed to say? That he’d blown her mind seven ways to Sunday on
her porch swing? As if that wasn’t bad enough, she couldn’t stop thinking about how
he would have done it all over again if they’d just parked in some dark alley instead
of trying to drive. People never crashed when giving each other orgasms while driving
in her novels. And he’d had her most of the way there, using only his fingers.

She’d lost far too much sleep wondering what he would have done if he’d had both hands
free.

But apparently Avery didn’t care about her wavering mental health. “Yeah, yeah. That’s
beside the point. I wouldn’t even be bringing him up, but it’s kind of an emergency.”

She moved around her living room and pulled out the little statue she’d bought for
Mr. Smith this morning. It was a mermaid sitting on a rock, combing her hair. Since
another betta wasn’t an option, she’d wanted to get him a companion so he wouldn’t
worry about her spending so much time at the library. It couldn’t be easy being here
all day by himself.

He circled it a few times and then continued swimming around happily, his brightly
colored blue-and-red tail swishing. “What the heck does ‘kind of an emergency’ mean?
Is Drew okay?” Last time Avery had been this cagey, Drew had almost been stranded
overnight on an extreme skiing trip. A storm swept in and he lost contact. He’d ended
up having to signal the rescue helicopter with the flash from his cell phone camera.

“Everyone’s fine. Mostly. He and Ryan were driving out to go hiking or something manly
like that and they got that damn sheriff’s truck stuck. I
told
him it needed more weight in the bed, but does he ever listen to me? Nope.”

Her heart dropped. Why, oh why, did Ryan have to be with him? She swallowed hard.
“I’m not sure why you’re calling me instead of a tow truck.”

“Well, you know Drew. He is sheriff, hear him roar. The guys will never let him live
it down if he has to call for help over something this stupid.”

She restacked the books at the end of the table that she’d been meaning to take back
to the library for days now. “It’s a tow truck, Avery! It’s not as if we’re calling
the state troopers.”

“Stop yelling at me! I don’t know what his problem is, but he wants you to bring the
Beast out there. I’d do it, but the antique lamp I bought at auction last week will
be at my shop in twenty minutes and I’m the only one who can sign for it. He can use
my winch to haul his ass out of the ditch.”

She glanced at the book and cup of tea she’d just settled down with and resigned herself
to going out into the storm that had rolled through earlier this morning. It wasn’t
one for the record books by any means—the snow came down in a steady stream that indicated
there’d be a few extra inches on the ground by the time it was done—but it wasn’t
going to be pleasant driving. At least she’d be in Avery’s enormous Jeep, which everyone
referred to as the Beast. “I’m putting my shoes on right now.”

“You’re the best! The keys are on the table at my house. I’ll text you directions.”

Bri sighed and tossed her book into her purse. “Drew owes me big-time for this.”

“You be sure to let him know that when you see him.”

With another, longer sigh, she stood and went in search of her of travel mug. If she
was venturing out in this mess, she wasn’t doing it without her tea. To make matters
worse, the Beast had spotty heat at best. It was famed for never having met a ditch
it couldn’t get out of and, with a résumé like that, Avery claimed she didn’t need
little things like a working thermostat or accurate gas gauge.

She was tempted to call the tow truck, regardless of what Drew wanted. Driving there
would take at least forty-five minutes from town, maybe longer if the snow got any
worse. She’d be lucky if
she
didn’t end up in the ditch, too.

She grabbed her keys and coat, and headed for the door. Damn Drew for getting into
this mess while his brother was with him. She didn’t want to see Ryan again. It didn’t
matter how she seemed to lose all sense of control when she was around him—he was
no good for her on any other level. Which was fine, because she definitely wasn’t
traipsing out into the painfully cold and wet weather just so she could spend a little
more time with him. She was just going to help a friend in need.

That was it.

…

Ryan stared at the text his fool brother had just sent, trying to force a logical
reaction even though all he wanted to do was jump from his chair and race to his SUV.

Bri was in an accident. I can’t get out to help her and all my guys are busy with
other calls. Need you to. Worried she’s going to wander off. Here’s the address.

Of all the times for the goddamn sheriff’s office to be running low on manpower, now
was seriously shit. He hoped to God his brother hadn’t shared who was coming to help
her out. If Drew told her to sit and wait for Ryan, she was more likely to stomp through
a snowstorm if it meant she could avoid seeing him again.

Hell, two days ago when he’d waited at the diner across the street for her to close
the library, he’d seen her peek her head out of the front door, take one look at his
SUV, and disappear. Five minutes later he’d watched her sneak out the side exit—which
was in the direct line of sight of the booth he’d taken. It was goddamn stupid. They
were both adults. And, yeah, the date had been bad—ridiculously good sex on her porch
excepted—and then they’d gone and added to the History of Ryan Flannery the night
of Avery’s party. But that didn’t mean she had to avoid him. Though, if he had a lick
of sense,
he’d
avoid
her
like the plague.

Which did nothing to explain why his idiot self was throwing on his ski jacket, grabbing
his keys and emergency bag, and heading out into the weather to rescue her ass.

Ryan drove out of town, windshield wipers flying across his line of vision as he followed
the GPS’s instructions through winding back roads he only half remembered from high
school. What the hell was Bri doing all the way out here? He took the prescribed turn
off the main road and cursed when the SUV jostled dangerously. A fucking
dirt road
? There had better be a good goddamn explanation, or he was going to be wicked pissed.

Oh, hell, who was he kidding? He was already wicked pissed.

The deep rutted tracks drew him in much the same way it drew in his wheels, so he
kept going, because as far as he could tell, Bri hadn’t driven back here by herself.
Those tracks sure as hell hadn’t come from the Prius he’d seen in her driveway. Who
was she with?

He tried to beat back the jealousy and banish the images of her huddled up with another
man and making good use of their time while they waited for rescue. His suspicion
turned to confusion when he caught sight of Avery’s lifted Jeep on massive tires.
What the hell? No way could that thing get stuck and, judging by its perfectly stable
location in front of this cabin, it never had been.

Ryan shut off his Suburban and headed for the front door, following the dainty footprints
that could only have been made by a woman. One set, not two. So either Drew had gotten
his wires crossed and he was actually here for Avery, or Bri was driving the Beast.

He shoved open the front door and slammed it behind him. A squeak sounded from somewhere
down the hall, so he marched in that direction, determined to get some answers. The
kitchen he passed was stocked with enough food to feed his entire flight crew for
a week, and the living room full of comfy couches was free of dust.

What. The. Fuck.

He pushed open the closed door at the end of the hallway with more force than necessary
and barely had time to register a wild-eyed Bri before she swung a chair at him.

Or tried to.

Instead of hitting him in the chest like she’d obviously planned, the weight of the
heavy oak dragged her down until the chair rammed into his shins. “Jesus Christ!”
Ryan jumped back and cursed again as she tried to lift the damn thing a second time.

“Get away from me! I’m not alone out here, and my friends will kill you if you touch
me!”

He held up his hands. “Bri, relax. It’s me.”

“Ryan?” She pushed her glasses higher on her nose and frowned. “Where’s Drew? I thought
Avery must have gotten the address wrong because his truck wasn’t here, but I couldn’t
make my cell phone work and so I went to knock on the door to see if they had a landline,
but no one was here, and—”

Holy shit. She was talking so fast her words tumbled over themselves. He cautiously
put his hands on her shoulders and nearly jumped back again when she threw her arms
around his waist and buried her face in his neck. “I thought you were some backwoods
hunter who was going to kill me!”

“Honey, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you live in central Pennsylvania.
There are a lot of backwoods hunters out here, and less than the average percentage
of serial killers. I think you’re safe.”

She seemed to realize she was clinging to him because she abruptly shoved him away.
“I’m entitled to be frightened. And stop being so negative about the people who live
here. They’re perfectly lovely.”

“Except for the backwoods hunters?” He smiled in spite of himself. Not that she wasn’t
allowed to be afraid, but her intelligence might be in question if she made a habit
of wandering into strange houses just because the doors were unlocked. Now probably
wasn’t the best time to call attention to that, though.

She peered around him to look down the hall. “Where’s Drew? And his truck? Did you
walk here?”

The sinking feeling in his chest got worse. “What are you talking about? I got a text
saying you’d gotten into a car accident and needed me.”

“Well, that’s just ridiculous. Why would I be out here driving around on a day like
today?”

“That’s a damn good question. One I plan on asking my brother when I get back into
town.”

“But Avery said…” She broke off and cocked her head to the side. “Did you leave your
SUV running?”

Then Ryan registered a second engine starting up. He patted his pocket. The keys were
still there, but there was no mistaking the sound of his SUV peeling away. “Goddamn
it!”

He ran through the cabin, pushing through the front door in time to see the two vehicles
flying backward down the rutted road, Avery in the driver’s seat of her Jeep, giving
him a little finger wave as she maneuvered around the corner in reverse like a pro.

It was official. As soon as he got back into town, he was going to kill his brother.