More Than Words: Kissed By A Muse #3 (8 page)

I know who I want to take ME home! And that’s precisely why I need to get the hell out of here!

He walked outside a second later and Leigh froze, staring at the last button between her shaking fingers and wondering how on earth he could be outside while music was still playing within. Then she remembered Bruce’s teasing, about trading places with Ryan and she groaned inwardly, wondering when they’d both left her team and forged one of their own.

She didn’t need to look up to know it was Ryan. The buckles on his boots made a light jingling sound as she heard the metallic clink of his zippo lighter opening. But she slid her eyes across the pavement anyway and checked out the color of his frayed jeans for confirmation, before truly allowing her brain to shut down.

Is he going to tell me what he thinks of me before he shows me how little he thinks of me?

Ryan’s boots shuffled along the sidewalk until they were directly in front of her gaze and when Leigh understood that she had nowhere to go that he wouldn’t follow, she leaned back against the wall and forced herself to look at him, then immediately wished she hadn’t.

Ryan took a draw from his cigarette then lifted his chin to exhale it in one thin stream, not taking his brilliant blue eyes off her the entire time. There was nowhere to look that was safe, and her heart began to thump between her legs. He had his leather jacked balled up under one arm as he shoved his lighter back into his pocket, and his discerning gaze challenged her to walk away from him, and see how far she got.

‘D-don’t you have a set to play?’ she asked weakly, her teeth beginning to chatter as night air did what night air did to intoxicated girls in the presence of cool-as-ice men.

Ryan took another drag of his cigarette and shrugged, flicking it gently to the side.

‘Won’t you get in trouble?’ she pressed, and then wished she hadn’t because his arrogant half-smile made her feel thick and stupid.

‘Must be nice to have that kind of job security…’ Leigh groused, sounding pissy to even her own ears, and Ryan exhaled another cloud and shrugged off-handedly.

Oh my god! Why isn’t he talking? Say something! I’m way too drunk for this charades crap!

‘Aren’t you going to say anything?’ she demanded, hugging herself more tightly, and when Ryan shook his head slowly, Leigh made an exasperated sound. ‘Why not? I know you’re pissed at m-me!’ She frowned at him. ‘Whatever you’ve got to say… you should just say it, and get it out of your s-system, okay? I can handle it.’

Ryan raised an eyebrow and then pulled his jacket out from under his arm and gave it a flick, motioning to her with one, long finger to come off the wall. Understanding, Leigh straightened and allowed him to drape his jacket over her shoulders, melting almost immediately as the weight of it settled on her and warmed her as his scent ensconced her.

‘Thank you,’ she said softly, searching his eyes for a word she could read but coming up with nothing. Ryan tugged on the collar, pulling it closed around her, and he was so close that Leigh couldn’t look anywhere but into his face. ‘But seriously Ryan, you need to get whatever’s eating you off your chest and get back to work, all right? I’ve already imposed enough.’ Ryan shook his head gently. ‘What?’ Leigh asked, her voice whisper-quiet now that he was so close. ‘You’re not going to give me hell? Or you’re not going to go inside?’

Ryan glanced down at her mouth, took a draw from his cigarette and then, keeping his cigarette pinched between his index and middle fingers, gently brushed his thumb across Leigh’s lower lip. Her heart began to thrash around in her chest and Ryan’s eyes shone wickedly when he glanced up at her.

‘Did you go home with them?’ she demanded, her jealousy and curiosity getting the better of her. Her heart was pounding so hard that her voice came out in staccato.

Ryan dragged his gaze from her mouth to her eyes, and then shook his head, the action almost shaking a sob out of her chest. He’d turned down a chance with two women for HER? It was inconceivable!

‘Why?’

Ryan smirked and lifted her chin- then leaned in and nuzzled the tip of his nose against hers and Leigh’s heart ejected the parachute and leapt, falling hard to the pit of her stomach.

‘What are you doing to me?’ she demanded uneasily, her misty breath mixing with his smoky one. ‘I’m sorry okay? You must know how sorry I am. You must know how much I…’ her words died as Ryan took another drag from his cigarette and then turned and flicked it down the street. She watched it soar through the air like a tiny meteorite, but not for a second did she feel his eyes leave her. She looked back at him, swallowing when he extended one hand against the brick behind her, and then rubbed her lip again. Then, he shook his head, answering a question that she couldn’t recall asking anymore.

He was everywhere- all she could see and breathe and Leigh began to feel weak and stupid and lost. ‘I didn’t mean to hurt you…’ she whispered, sagging back against the wall in defeat. ‘You’re just so perfect that I assumed you were immune to that kind of stuff. That was wrong and I’m sorry but, but…’ tears misted her eyes when he looked at her again with a confused expression. ‘But rest assured- I’m going home with a broken heart, and you’re the one breaking it. Not the guy in the book.’

Ryan’s eyelashes lifted so quickly that Leigh almost flinched. ‘You’re in love with me?’ he asked, his voice gravelly and exactly like music to her ears, and Leigh began to cry. The tears felt like ice chips rolling down her face. She’d never been so cold!

‘Yes, okay?’ She covered her face with her hands, humiliated that a man could drag such a heavy admission out of her without being expected to give one in return. ‘I tried so hard not to be but-’

One of Ryan’s hands grabbed both of her wrists and threw them out of the way and then Ryan was sweeping in and pressing his body against hers. Leigh looked up in shock just in time to see his perfect lips moving towards hers.

‘Thank god,’ he breathed, and then went in for the sweet, smoky and sensual kill and when his lips found hers, Leigh ceased to shiver, and began to shake.

Eight

A
s Ryan plastered himself against Leigh’s body, he prayed that she was still cold enough to assume that she was the one trembling, because if she’d known how her words had rocked him, he probably would have lost every ounce of the whole cool, calm and collected thing he’d just had going on. And he needed that around her, because if he didn’t cling to it, he’d probably end up skipping and throwing glitter and turning cartwheels to communicate just how happy she made him and that had the potential to turn any woman off.

Every molecule inside his body was shaking, and he couldn’t hold her tightly enough or kiss her deeply enough to convince himself that he wasn’t dreaming up this moment, because it was twice as dizzying and beautiful as any of his brown eyed girl dreams had ever been and he needed it to be for real. If this was one of life’s cruel jokes then he’d go over the falls again happily. If it was for real- he’d make MMM Bop his ring tone and pity anyone miserable enough to mock his joy.

‘Ry… oh…’ Leigh whispered his name between kisses, tugging at his vest and pulling him closer. ‘You’re so… so…’ she groaned and used the grip she had on him to shove him away. ‘Shit!’

‘What?’ Leigh had begun to hurry away and so Ryan followed suit, catching her hand and trying to drag her back, but she shook her head firmly and forged on. ‘What’s the matter?’

‘What isn’t the matter?’ Leigh sounded breathless and shaken. ‘I’m in love with you. I’m drunk. I’m vulnerable, I’m in a strange city and… and…’

‘You’re scared.’ Ryan enfolded her in his arms and made her look up at him. ‘You’re feeling vulnerable, right? And you’re afraid that I’m going to take advantage of it?’

‘Aren’t you?’ she searched his gaze with dilated eyes, lacing her fingers through his and raising their hands to eye-level, staring at them. ‘Am I the only one who feels that charge? Every time you touch me…’

‘God no- I feel it all right.’ He groaned and kissed their fingertips. ‘But I’m more scared of what happens when I’m not touching you.’

Leigh groaned and turned away, wrenching her hand from his. ‘Well that’s sweet. But only one of us is at a risk of being speared as a result, so excuse me if I spare you my concern.’

Ryan rolled his eyes and jogged to catch up with her again as she approached the central area of Cliffton Hill, which was lit up like a Christmas tree thanks to all of the amusements, neon signs and, well, Christmas trees. ‘Is that why you’ve been running away from me all day?’

Leigh bent her head to the wind. ‘It was touch and go last night Ryan, and we both know it. If you could tear so many of my defenses down in a few hours, then the likelihood of me going home as pure as the driven snow is pretty scant, don’t you think?’ She shrugged. ‘So I made myself scarce, thinking less exposure would…’

‘Spare you?’ Ryan took her hand and dragged her back to him, taking a leap of faith before admitting: ‘Honey, I hate to break it to you, but you’re not going to see a sunrise with your virginity intact again, let alone the Southern Hemisphere.’

Leigh’s mouth fell open. ‘Asshole! How dare you-’

Ryan growled and kissed her, and Leigh immediately fell heavily against him. Red-hot lust roared through him and he took hold of her jaw with both hands and forced her lips apart, sweeping his tongue as deeply against the back of hers as he was able. ‘You’re mine now,’ he informed her, sinking the fingers of one hand into her firm ass and squeezing her possessively. ‘And I’m going to fuck you, and you’re going to like it, okay?’

Leigh gasped and tried to wriggle out of his grip but he pushed her up against one of the maple trees lining that part of the sidewalk and slipped his hand up under her shorts, caressing her ass through her slippery tights and hardening when she moaned and ran her hands down his chest.

‘Yes?’ he demanded, and when Leigh had the audacity to shake her head, he made a displeased sound in the back of his throat and moved his hand until he was pressing between her legs. There was a lot of fabric in the way but the silkiness of her tights allowed his fingers to glide more smoothly, caressing her sex until he felt her begin to pulse. ‘Tell me yes,’ he commanded her, sucking on her lower lip and stealing her sweet breath. He was already far too excited and he knew it, but he needed her too much to deny himself access to what he wanted more than he wanted oxygen. Leigh began to gasp and pant and his cock swelled and begged to be freed from his jeans. ‘Something troubling you, honey?’ he asked huskily, retracting his hand and thickening when she moaned unhappily. ‘Tell me where you need me.’

‘Ryan please…’ she turned her face from his and stared up at the shadowy, slick underside of turning maple leaves. ‘If you care about me at all-’

‘I care.’ Ryan eased his hand down the front of her shorts and under her tights, pressing his lips together to hold in a moan when her silken, wet skin parted for his intrusion. ‘That’s why I’m going to get you so wet before I take you that-’

Leigh moaned and the sound was so erotic that it stilled his tongue. He turned his wrist and probed her entrance gently with the tip of his index finger and Leigh sucked in a breath but hitched her knee up around his hip, granting him entrance. The sensation of his finger slipping into her was too much for him to take and for one scary moment, he thought the blood rushing to fill his erection was going to make him black out. ‘Fuck…’ he groaned through gritted teeth, and Leigh writhed against him. ‘I hate you for staying away from me all day!’ He pressed his other fingertips into her fleshy little bud and wet his lips when she bucked, her sexy little sounds and gasps increasing. ‘I could have had my fingers buried in this sweet little pussy all the way to Toronto and back but no, you had to sleep and-’

‘I wasn’t asleep!’ Leigh protested, sliding her own hand in against his and coaxing him in more deeply. ‘I was watching you sing! Please Ry- deeper!’

Those words almost got her fucked there and then but he growled and began to thrust his finger in and out of her with abandon, his legs turning to jelly when he was met with resistance. She was a virgin all right and she was tighter than he could imagine any woman would ever be and Ryan was almost mindless in his passion.

She was watching me! She was listening! She’s mine!

‘You want to come, baby?’ he demanded, and she nodded like a drunken puppet. ‘You close?’ She nodded again and he grinned, easing his hand out of her sex and giving her a pat for good measure before taking her hand. ‘Good. You can stay like that until you agree to give yourself to me.’

‘Are you… are you fucking kidding me?’ Leigh sounded desolate.

Ryan pulled her back onto the sidewalk. ‘Nope. I’ll take you tonight- but it won’t be because you’re drunk and about to come- it’ll be because you know I’m the one who belongs inside you.’

Leigh made a rude noise and tore her hand from his. ‘You don’t play fucking fair Ryan.’

Ryan smiled. Maybe not- but he was playing for keeps.

Leigh

Just when Leigh thought that Ryan couldn’t be any more frustrating or unpredictable, he declared that he wouldn’t be returning to work that night, and that he was taking her on a date- a real date- before adding that she wouldn’t see another four square inches of Niagara Falls without him at her side, and so she better get used to it, and fast.

Leigh wanted to protest, but Cliffton Hill was bright and loud and populated and not the kind of place where she wanted to cause a scene, so she sat down at Wendy’s, accepted her hot fudge sundae and tried to glare at him over the top of it. Luckily it was good and the alcohol in her system was making her hungry despite all she’d eaten with Bruce and so she started enjoying it pretty quickly.

‘I’m going to be cold after this,’ she told him as she suckled hot chocolate off her tiny spoon. ‘And so are you- and I plan on keeping your jacket, so tough.’

Ryan grinned at her, dragging his spoon up the side of his own small mountain of ice cream before pressing it to his full, red lips. He was so beautiful that Leigh was not the only person watching him eat like it was a clip on redtube, and that comforted her a little bit, making her wonder if she could explain her possible debasement to her parents by just holding up a photo of him and going: ‘Come ON! I’m only human!’

‘I guess I’ll just have to find somewhere warm and snuggly to spend the evening, hmm?’ Under the table, his knee slid between both of hers, opening her up in more ways than one. ‘Any suggestions?’

‘Up your own ass?’ she suggested airily, but Ryan laughed.

‘I’d prefer yours. But I’ll settle for vanilla tonight…’ Ryan  took advantage of her shocked silence and reached across to pluck the garnish off the top of her sundae. ‘Mmm… mind if I take your cherry?’

Leigh scowled at him. ‘I liked it where it was. And FYI- I have only one cherry up for grabs, Mr Weaver.’

Ryan grinned at her and popped it into his mouth and he was so hot that Leigh knew the side of her ice cream closest to him was melting faster. ‘Really? You seemed to enjoy it when I had it in my mouth last night. Who knows what else you’d enjoy if handled right?’

Leigh shivered, closing her knees around his accidentally. ‘You’re going straight to hell, you know that, right?’

Ryan took his own cherry off his sundae and rested it on top of hers, earning a reluctant smile from her- she really did love them, and always saved them for last. She sucked some sauce off her spoon and pretended to look unaffected when he swung his knee slightly from side to side, making her keenly aware that it was she gripping him and not letting go. ‘Actually, I have a different location in mind. But that will be revealed, in due course.’ His eyes clouded over for a moment and his gaze dropped to her mouth. ‘And we’ll be going there really fucking soon if you keep sucking on that sauce like that.’

Leigh raised an eyebrow, enjoying his suffering. ‘You’re gonna need a much, MUCH bigger fireplace to stay on your due course, mister.’

‘Really?’ he tented his fingers and regarded her over the top of their ice cream, drawing her eye to the cuff on his right wrist and the glimpse of a bandage beneath it.

‘Really,’ she answered after a beat, too distracted by the cuff to recall what she was confirming. It was the leather kind with short metal spikes and it looked good- but not good enough to conceal the slight bloodstain on the thin gauze beneath it.

Wonder what that’s about! He’s not a cutter, is he? I wouldn’t blame him if he was but geez...

‘The haircut didn’t do it?’ Ryan angled his head to the side, pulling her gaze back to his face. ‘What about the eyebrow ring? I know Ryan had a pierced tongue too but I figured you come in about two seconds with me as it is so-’

‘Ryan!’ Leigh released his knee and looked away, embarrassed. ‘This is a family place.’

‘Good point.’ Ryan got to his feet and extended his hand to hers, eyes dancing like blue flames. ‘Let’s get out of here. I need to say dirty things to you, and you need to hear them.’

Leigh made a face at him but took his hand and held it up, staring at the cuff. ‘What’s up with the bandage?’ she asked lightly, trying to change the subject and voice her concern without sounding like her own mother.

Ryan glanced down at it then back at her, smiling that secretive smile again. ‘Sharp spikes,’ he said, lifting her hand to his lips and kissing the back of it. ‘Sort of like you, Honeybee.’

Leigh lifted an eyebrow, but said nothing. If Ryan was cutting himself, she needed to know and say something, but that didn’t have to be now. They’d had a long day, and a highly charged one, as far as emotions went, and what they both needed was a time-out.

‘Something you better keep in mind before saying your next dirty thing to me,’ she said loftily, kissing his knuckles and then lowering her hand. ‘I’m a lady, you know.’

‘Oh, I’m aware of that.’ Ryan nudged her with his shoulder. ‘That’s why I’m wearing a vest. I look like a gentleman, right? Matches your pocket watch?’

Leigh smirked at him. ‘Dress it up all you want, Weaver- you still need a bigger fireplace before you stoke this fire.’

‘I’ll keep that in mind.’

And Leigh knew he would.

*

The date went on and on but unlike her evening with Bruce, there wasn’t a moment spent in Ryan’s company that Leigh would have traded for anything. He took her to the Fear Factory, which was the amusement she’d been the most eager to see, and led her through the haunted maze with hands that were as sweaty and clenched as her own. There were moments that scared the crap out of both of them, but Ryan had been through it twice before and knew where most of the traps were, so he took control of the situation by shoving her headfirst into the scariest parts and making her scream, then pulling her against him during the lapses and making her melt with his mouth against hers and his hands up her shirt, caressing her breasts while her heart pounded drunkenly from the cocktail that was life with him.

He kept his promise to whisper dirty things to her too, and Leigh felt every word between her legs.

‘I should just take you right here…’ he whispered as he walked behind her, holding her to him by dragging his hands up her thighs. It was pitch black and humid within the maze walls, and so no one could see the way pressed her front against the wall and bent to lift her shirt and slide his warm lips up her spine. Leigh gasped as the haptic tension made her throb in the darkness. There was a wax corpse at the end of the room but she did not care. She turned around and tauntingly dragged a fingertip along the inside of his jeans, feeling the flat, hard flesh of his lower stomach and the heated promise below.