WindSwept Narrows: #15 Rose Maddock Read online

  “Makes us a strange pair,” she returned, growling softly and pushing herself to the sofa, ignoring the surprise on his face as she hiked the dress a little higher and slid her thigh over his. Pleased with the result, she brought both hands up to frame his face before settling her mouth hungrily over his once more.

  He’d been about to protest. He knew it was inside him. For a very brief second. He watched fire spark in the tawny colored eyes, felt his body harden a little more at the expanse of thigh betrayed when she slid astride him, facing him and very pleased with the results. His hands were now free to explore, caressing from the curve of her hip, along her thighs and back. Long, strong fingers speared into the soft feathered hair that began at her shoulders and were a smooth, heavy pelt of silk surrounding her face.

  Ryan used his feet to toe his shoes off, sliding down a little on the cushions and groaning into the hot teasing kiss that had more than his blood pounding.

  “Rose…sweet Rose…this is more than a simple kiss,” he breathed, pulling her head back and meeting her glazed eyes. “Stay with me tonight.”

  Rose let her head loll back, his fingers softly soothing against her scalp and moving to her throat. Long and strong, his fingers spread over her cheeks, his thumbs tracing over the swollen bow of her lower lip.

  “I have work tomorrow,” she whispered, blinking but not wavering in her gaze as she leaned closer, dropping light teasing flicks of her tongue over his mouth. A very kissable mouth, she thought dreamily.

  “I have a standing six a.m. wake up set,” he answered, growling at her teasing and pulling her hard against him, this time his tongue did the ravaging, sweeping in, taunting and nipping over her jaw to her ear until they were both breathless. He inhaled slowly, savoring the combination of sweet perfume and all that was Rose. He thought about the purchase he’d made. Just in case. Or was it in hoping? At this point, he didn’t care.

  “I thought about this yesterday,” she breathed against his mouth, not giving him an answer yet, despite the gentle pressure of her lower body against the hardness she felt pressing there. “About why…”

  “Why me? Why you?” He knew his brain was slowly melting, a low groan swallowed as she continued moving her hips against him, rotating and swiveling, pressing and retreating.

  “Both…I suppose it’s a flaw in math people. Things should have answers. And there aren’t always…” She lifted her head, letting her mouth trail kisses over his forehead, along his cheek. One finger lifted the slender leather cord that held his hair in place, her hand moved behind his head and carefully released the thick midnight strands. She let her fingers begin at his throat, stroking with just enough pressure to hold his attention before gliding against his scalp at the same time her mouth moved back to his.

  “It’s a new feeling,” Ryan breathed raggedly, startled by the sensual shudder she managed to rip from him at her touch, her caress.

  “Scary…new…alive,” Rose agreed softly, trailing her lips over his throat to the pulse pounding there. She let her hands fall between them, fingers deftly opening first vest buttons and then moving to the tie at his throat.

  He felt her breath against his eyes, her lips soft and her words finding a place in him. He’d never thought about why before. Why one woman over another. He’d always been brutally honest with himself and with the few women that he had allowed close to him. Like Rose, he’d learned early on that what he was building, the goals he had set for himself, attracted a certain type of woman. One with aspirations. One with intent. But that wasn’t what he saw when he peered into the honey colored eyes and it had knocked him back. Hard, undeniable and senseless.

  “And what does the math woman tell you about why, Rose,” Ryan didn’t try and stop the sharply drawn breath when her fingers found entrance to his flesh, her palms easing the sides of his shirt apart and pressing along his shoulders.

  Rose straightened slowly, forcing a steadying breath into her lungs. Her hands moved from the chest she’d exposed, her palms framing his face as he had done to her, her thumbs stroking over his lips. She lifted her eyes to his, her head tilted slightly.

  “It’s in your eyes,” she answered simply. Thick soft lashes surrounded a pair of midnight blue eyes flushed with sexual desire that held all of him bare for the world to see, if they chose to look carefully enough. “You’ve been hurt…” She watched denial flair to life seconds before it was carefully shoved aside. “You want honesty and you’re willing to give the same. It’s like on the court…you don’t hold back because I’m a girl. You wouldn’t with hold your honesty, either. But it’s frightening…”

  “What is?” He knew he was holding his breath, the words she spoke striking deeply within him.

  “This isn’t…for either of us…it’s not like the rest of the world…it’s not…” Rose closed her eyes, trying to find the words she wanted.

  “It’s not a game, Rose. It’s not fake,” Ryan watched her eyes fly open, her head nodding even as she supped in a deep breath. “And it’s not temporary.”

  “It’s not one night…” She whispered.

  “No…it isn’t…it can’t be…”

  Ryan felt the soft smile touching his lips, his palms moving to her knees and gliding over the silk feel of her thighs, beneath the dress and back down again.

  He watched a spark of surprise in her eyes.

  “Why?” He asked softly, fascinated with her. All of her. “Do you know why it won’t be just one night, Rose?”

  “Because there’s too much to know,” she answered honestly, letting her palms slide back to his chest, drawing one finger through the light tangle of midnight coils. “You wear way too many clothes.”

  “Hmm…I should fix that…” He laughed deeply when he surged to his feet, her hands flailing for all of a second before shooting forward and circling his neck. His hands moved to her behind, holding her easily against him as he walked toward the bedroom, lowering her beside the neatly made up surface.

  “I’ve never been carried anywhere before,” she breathed through her laugh, wobbling slightly on bare feet in the dimly lit room.

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” he whispered before taking her mouth in a long, hot kiss. His hands moved behind her, sliding the zipper down at the same time she was pressing his jacket off his shoulders. They let both fall to the floor, ignored. Rose slid her hands onto his chest, pressing heavily and savoring the husky groan from him when she shoved both shirt and vest off his broad shoulders.

  Rose felt his hands moving over her skin, felt him move behind her, his teeth grazing sharply over the tendons of her throat and groaned softly.

  “Oh god…Ryan…that feels…all the way to my toes…” she felt his chest against her back, his hands quickly opening the snaps of the small demi-bra she wore, lace and nylon fluttering to the floor. Her hands pushed against his waist, spinning back to take his mouth hungrily, sweeping her tongue against his and toppling them both onto the bed.

  Rose gave herself over to the sensations coursing through her, beginning at his kiss, down to the pert nipple he had trapped between his finger and thumb and lower. Hotter and more alive than she’d ever known before.

  “Sweet, sweet Rose…” He nuzzled her throat, his palms stroking and caressing heavily over every inch he could reach and then repeat the pleasure. Somehow he’d managed to kick out of the trousers she’d opened and unzipped, his mind nearly numb by the time her delicate fingers had traced heavily over his erection, cupping him and teasing him through his briefs.

  “Oh, god…Ryan…I’m not…I don’t…” she moaned softly. “I need to think…”

  “I’ve taken care of it, Rose…” he whispered as his palms slid over the nylon, stroking his palm over the soft center, drinking in the gasp breaking from her lips. He smiled into the pale amber eyes, watching the fire jump to the edges when his fingers slid beneath the nylon, tangled in the soft curls and cupped the full center of her. He drew one finger very slowly through the center, touching th
e heat and moisture and sending his body another notch higher. Her soft, husky sounds shot through him like dozens of tiny arrows, each packing a zing a heat.

  Trust, a distant part of her mind whispered softly. Honesty and trust. That was only part of what she saw when she looked into his eyes. She could feel it in his kiss, his touch.

  Ryan inhaled the fragrance of her, his fingers pressing into her, gliding on the moisture gathered there for him. One and then another, pressing and stroking, dragging his thumb heavily over the swollen nub, forcing it from it’s hiding place and stroking until her fingers curled into tight bundles seconds before her hands gripped his shoulders. Sharp edges of her nails grazed over his flesh at the same time he felt her body coil and erupt in his hand.

  Rose swore she could see the fast wave that broke through her, over her, lifting her and tossing her into the middle until she couldn’t breathe. She heard him fumbling, listened to the faint sound of tearing and opened herself for him, inviting him to join her as she drowned.

  His name was a soft moan from her lips even as her hands curled into his hair, pulling his mouth to hers as he slowly, carefully nudged the hot, snug center of her. Wider and further, deeper and harder, she felt him moving slowly, heard him breathing her name against her mouth. His hands held her hips, thrusting long and deep once the first ripples had crested.

  He rolled to his back, taking her over him and groaning in her kiss when she completed his fall, taking him deeper. He caught sight of the sparkling four heart shaped emeralds making up the shamrock floating around her throat.

  He tried moving slowly, tried taking it gently even as the hot, snug center claimed him. Her name was pulled from deep inside him when she straightened astride him. Her long, lean body, arched back and eyes closed. He felt her body begin to tremor, groaned loudly when she angled her hips toward him and down, hard. Long, shuddering gasps broke from her lips at the same time magnificent convulsions swept through her inner walls, pulling him savagely into the cascade with her.

  It was both their voices rattling the inside of the bedroom. Both their bodies gleamed with a primal musk that had further aroused and inflamed their senses. Rose slowly, almost imperceivably, floated to lie over him, snuggled down with a long, soft sigh that sent a chill through her.

  “No moving,” Rose said softly, purring when the hands cruised over her back and onto her behind.

  “It may be a tad belated…” his whisper was thick and husky, the waves of orgasm still throbbing in his body and mind. “But I had serious intent to go slowly…seductive…finesse…”

  “Hmm…we seemed to do alright,” she returned, her lips curled in a soft smile that he kissed. A groan broke her from abruptly pouting lips. “No moving…”

  “Options are limited, sweet,” humor hinged his words as they whispered over the cooling flesh of both of them. Resolutely, he grasped her waist and lifted her to the side, ignoring the mumbling protest. He listened to the linens on the bed being tugged apart from the bathroom, returning to find a corner turned down for him to slide into.

  “It’s pouring outside,” Rose breathed, smiling when he pulled her against him. “You’re not about to send me off into the cold, are you?”

  “I was wondering if I would have to lose the front door key to get you to stay,” he replied, his smile matching hers, soft and lazy and satisfied. He put his head down on the pillow, watching her hitch herself higher and lean on her elbow at his side.

  She raised her other hand, oblivious to the bare breast peeking from the blankets. Slim, gentle fingers brushed through the long hair that spread out on the pillow beneath his head, the back of her hand grazing his cheek seconds before her mouth moved over his.

  “Six a.m. comes very early,” Rose whispered against his mouth, amazed at the tingling clutch gripping her feminine parts when he rolled to face her.

  “I have half a dozen meetings through the day,” he replied, taking her hand and dropping a long, slow kiss to the center of her palm, satisfied when she shivered and shimmied a little closer. His palm moved to stroke down her side, into the deep hollow of her waist and onto her hip. He moved his foot between hers, nudging and lifting until he pulled her leg high on his hip.

  “I hear caffeine is a very good energizer,” Rose breathed huskily, marveling at the way his hands seemed to know just where and when to touch.

  “Hearsay?”

  “Well…not a lot of practical experience…”

  “Practice on me, Rose…”

  “Hmm…maybe you should show me this finesse technique…” she teased, laughing happily when he pinned her hands above her head, his mouth traveling over her with a maddeningly slow pace.

  Ryan lost himself in the sweetly seductive innocence he felt in each touch and every kiss she offered. Thunder rattled the middle of March but neither of them noticed the rest of the world.

  Chapter Five

  Ryan woke slowly. The room was warm, the blankets tossed lightly to his waist. Outside, the rain had stopped, streaks of grey in many shades reflected the sun rising in the opposite direction. Everything in him felt over a hundred percent and his gaze followed the curve of the blanket when the soft mew broke free before the long, lean body stretched and curled closer.

  Soft, thick hair in shades of bronze rested against his shoulder. He felt her breath against his flesh and lifted one hand to brush the strands from her forehead.

  “Please tell me it’s not morning,” Rose ignored the whimper in her voice and snuggled closer.

  “It’s against my tenet to lie to you, sweet,” he chuckled and rolled to face her, pushing himself down until he could peer into the half open lashes.

  “Piffle…you’re in business and you’re Irish. I know you can spin a tale should you choose to,” Rose sighed and rested her forehead against his. Her palm came up from her side, fingers twining in the long strands at the back of his head. She took a long, sensuous taste of him before shoving to her back and pulling the pillow over her face.

  “It’ll put a serious dent in our friendship if you smother,” he remarked through a laugh. “It’s a few minutes to six.”

  “I know…I peeked at the clock…” She had a vague memory of sleeping. Very vague. Oh, but the awake parts…those she remembered very clearly, she thought, sighing and shoving the pillow over her head. “Alright…shower…hot…”

  “I don’t see movement.”

  “It’s happening in my mind, trust me…” she worked to ignore the husky laughter until the blankets were tugged free. “Hey!” Eyes went wide when the bed moved and she suddenly felt nothing but air around her very naked form.

  “I feel responsible for your lack of energy.”

  “I’m absolving you!” Her arms flailed and went immediately to his neck when he carried her into the massive bathroom, cold tiles beneath her feet seconds before water struck from jets on both sides of the wide shower stall.

  Ryan met the wild, wide eyes, still laughing even as she tried scaling him to get away from the chilling water pelting out at them. He didn’t think she could get any closer, her hands clenched in the thick hair at the back of his head, her face pressed into his throat. Her body stiffened and pressed firmly along his until the water began to heat. Very slowly he felt the muscles in her loosen and relax, her toes once more touching the tiles.

  He met the tawny brown eyes, narrowed and promising havoc. Distracting her with a long, demanding kiss was not only a marvelous way to greet the morning, but served to extend his life expectancy a few days.

  Ryan lifted the bottle of liquid soap, drizzling it along her shoulders even as she glared at him, silent and plotting, he was sure of it. He turned her to face the wall, smiling to himself when her hands came up and braced herself, feet slightly parted and head back, letting the stinging spray cascade over her head and face with a long sigh.

  Rose was positive every bone she had was slowly melting. Strong hands with the occasional use of his fingernails massaged and stroked silky soap all ov
er her. A low, plaintive moan broke free when his fingers moved to her scalp, lathering and turning her to rinse. Both their hands met in the effort to sweep the bronze cap back from her face. She lost herself to the intensity in his eyes, barely noticing the water around them.

  Ryan wanted his control back. But when he gazed into those tawny eyes, he felt a hard surge of lust careening through him, his hands moving to the packet he’d brought with him to the shower. It stunned and shook him to his core that he could want her so strongly, so totally after their night together.

  She felt the heated tiles behind her even as his hand skimmed down the slick sides of her body. Fingers cupped and pinched and brought a low, needy groan from deep inside her. His mouth swooped in and took hers in a long, hard kiss even as he bent slightly and lifted her against the wall, one hand easily holding her in place while the other guided his hardness into her warmth.

  Tight, hot and wet, Ryan’s groan matched hers when her arms went around his neck, clinging to him as he surged into her over and over. Pinning her in place, his hands were set free, arousing her nipples, tweaking their passion when his hand slid over the damp flesh and tangled with the swollen, demanding nub that broke the last restraint. Her nails dug into his shoulders, her mouth pulled from his in deep, gasping breaths at the same time her lower body clamped down on his and continued the pressure until he came, hard and fierce.

  Satisfaction flowed, if only for the moment. His head fell to rest against hers, kissing each other through the streaming water. His groan was inside when the legs she had wrapped around him slipped along his body, touching the tiles with a long, contented sigh. He backed away, rinsed quickly and stepped out of the shower, letting her finish alone.