Chapter 33 #2
Clenching her hand into a fist, she forced it down.
Elissa looked up when he didn’t step away, the heat from his body warming hers.
Gone were the traces of humor that had made his eyes sparkle and had turned up his lips.
In its stead, what she found mirrored the wildfire of desire sweeping through her soul.
Her back was against the kitchen sink, and she had nowhere to run, nor did she wish to.
She longed to lose herself in the fire crackling between them.
She longed to kiss him again, run her hands under his shirt and touch his skin, strip off her own clothes to experience his hands upon her.
She was tired of never asking for what she wanted.
“Fuck it,” she murmured. She’d already paid her twenty dollars, so why not? “Kiss me.”
He didn’t wait for her to ask again.
Ryan’s lips met hers, and a shock wave traveled through Elissa, starting at the point they touched and radiating all the way to her toes. Heat followed in its wake, and she melted against him. He wrapped his arms around her, the only thing holding her up.
Regaining her senses, she ran her hands over his back, the muscles below his shirt firm and rippling with restrained power. Elissa parted her lips, and his tongue traced their contours. Shivers raced along her spine as he ran his hands down her arms, interlacing their fingers. Ryan broke the kiss.
“Like that?” His voice was barely audible, harsh with desire.
“More,” she said, surprised at her own audacity, surprised at her own hunger.
Elissa tried to pull her hands away. They itched to undo the buttons on his shirt and run along his skin. Ryan held tight.
“I thought you wanted to keep this professional.” The corners of his mouth twitched.
Oh, God, what was she doing? She’d always prided herself on her professionalism, yet here she was, in a compromising position with the son of her firm’s biggest client. This was stupid, and Elissa didn’t do stupid. Except…
“I did.” She bit her lip, grappling with the storm of emotions swirling in her. “I do. At the office.”
“We’re not at the office.” He kept a firm grasp on her hands and smiled wolfishly. His smile melted the last of her reservations. Admittedly, they’d been holding on by the thinnest thread.
“I know.”
“I should go.” Ryan made no move to leave.
“No!” The idea of him leaving sent waves of dismay through the turmoil already spinning through her. “I don’t want you to leave.”
“What do you want, Elissa?” His voice was soft, his eyes gentle.
When was the last time anyone had cared what she wanted?
Her parents had assumed they knew, had pushed her toward a lucrative career.
Ami and Leo, like most younger siblings, had no regard at all for her feelings.
She was either a partner in crime or an obstacle.
Even Karina expected her to take on all her clients when she retired.
“I don’t know,” she replied after a long pause. “No one’s asked me that in a long time.”
“Then I should go until you do.”
He released her hands. An icy chill replaced the heat of his touch, and an ache settled deep within her.
“Please don’t go.” Warm tears trailed down her cool cheek.
His hand cupped her cheek, wiping the tears once again. What was it about this man that brought on the waterworks? She hadn’t cried this much since her mom’s diagnosis.
Ryan placed gentle kisses down her face, tracing the path of her tears.
When his lips met hers once more, she tasted the salt of her own tears in their kiss.
He kissed her, long and slow, so thoroughly she lost track of time.
Their tongues brushed against each other before he delved deeper into her mouth.
He kissed her until her momentary turmoil melted away.
Desire, red hot, replaced it and drew her hands to his buttons. What she desired now was his bare skin under her fingertips. She yearned to explore his body, and God, she yearned for him to explore hers. The mere idea of his lips somewhere else on her body sent a jolt of pleasure through her.
Ryan drew away as Elissa worked the first button free, stilling her hands with his own.
“You don’t have to do this,” he said in a husky voice.
She looked into his eyes, their soft brown now aflame.
His breathing was quick and harsh, and his heart raced beneath her hands.
Elissa finally knew what she wanted. She wanted him, wanted to touch him and to be touched by him.
Ryan seemed determined to stop her even though his kiss told her he wanted her just as badly.
She pulled her hands away, and he let them go, a fleeting shadow of disappointment crossing his face.
Elissa unbuttoned her own shirt, first one button, then a second, exposing the swell of her breasts. Ryan’s sharp inhale brought her gaze to his. His pupils dilated, and she dropped her eyes again, the passion she’d glimpsed almost too much. Almost.
“I want to do this.” She undid the third button, exposing the edge of her plain beige bra. “I want you to stay.”
He tried to grasp her hands again, but she easily freed herself from his feeble attempt.
“I can stay without…this.” Ryan made a half-hearted gesture toward her. She undid a fourth button, and he groaned. “But…professional…”
When it became obvious he was unable to complete the sentence, she pulled her shirt out of her slacks and undid one more button.
“Screw professional,” Elissa said.
Ryan grabbed her hands, bringing them to his lips.
He kissed her knuckles before releasing them.
She worked on his second button as his own fingers undid the last button.
Elissa held her breath as his hands encircled her waist for a moment.
They were gentle and softer than she’d expected.
His thumbs moved in slow circles on either side of her navel.
The sensation kindled a blaze deep in her core.
She’d never felt this kind of passion before, as though at any moment she’d burst into flames and be glad of it.
He brushed his hands up her body as she worked another button on his shirt.
She’d exposed a deep V of his bronzed skin, the sparse dark hair arrayed evenly over the well-muscled chest. Elissa traced the edge of the shirt, and he shivered.
Ryan’s hands now rested on her shoulders.
With a quick movement, her shirt fell off, sliding down her arms. She broke her contact with his skin to toss it aside.
“Oh, God.” He leaned in to kiss her again.
“No.” She placed a finger over his soft lips. “I want your skin against mine.”
In a hurried frenzy, she undid the rest of his buttons, yanking his shirttails out of his pants.
As soon as she undid the last button, he shrugged out of his shirt and dropped it.
Pulling her in to maximize the skin-to-skin contact, he covered her mouth with his own.
Their groans resonated, vibrating deep in her chest.
Ryan was as solid as she’d assumed, but feeling the muscles move without a shirt to cover their definition was pure bliss.
She couldn’t keep her hands still. They flitted over every inch of his exposed skin.
When they brushed against the waistband of his pants, she wanted—no, needed—more.
She moved her hands to the front and worked on the belt buckle.
The tiny clink of the metal seemed to bring Ryan back to reality.
“Elissa.” He pulled away from her.
Unconsciously, she reached for him, desperate to touch him. His hands engulfed hers, stilling them. She breathed, quickly, heavily, unsure if she was getting enough oxygen, but not caring if it meant kissing him, touching him.
“Elissa.” Ryan’s voice dragged her from an edge she’d almost fallen over.
“Ryan.” She liked the taste of his name on her lips. She smiled at him, but he didn’t return it.
“I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
There he went again, pulling back when it was getting interesting.
“I won’t.”
“How do you know?”
She didn’t know. She didn’t care. For once in her life, she was willing to take what she wanted and damn the consequences. She freed her hands from the cage of his and framed his face.
“Do you want me, Ryan DeMarco?” Elissa asked, no teasing in her voice or in her face.
“Oh, God, more than anything.”
“Then why do you keep stopping this?”
Ryan didn’t respond for a long moment. He traced the contours of her face with his fingertips. He brushed his thumb over her lips before settling his hands on her waist.
“You’ve been in my dreams for so long,” he whispered. “I need to know I’m not dreaming this, not pushing you to do something you don’t want.”
Her heart stopped for a long moment. She’d been in his dreams. He’d been in hers. Elissa leaned in, so close his skin almost touched hers again.
“I want this. If I didn’t, you’d know.” Her words caused goosebumps to form on his arms.
“Also, I don’t have a condom.” His voice was sheepish.
“Now that I can solve.”
Elissa threaded her fingers into his and pulled him off the couch. She dragged him down the hall and into her bedroom. Pulling him close, she brushed a fleeting kiss to his cheek and pushed him onto her bed.
“Light the candle. I’ll be right back.”
Before she could second-guess herself, she darted into her friend’s room and went straight for the condom stash in the bedside table. Elissa grabbed a handful, not even counting. Jules would forgive her. Hell, Jules would happily throw her a party.