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Unbidden, she arched into his hands as a tingling current of white-hot need shot into her core. Her muscles contracted, aching to be filled, to be stretched by him. At her emptiness, a small whimper escaped her throat. His top lip tugged into a satisfied, lopsided grin at her body’s shameless response, but she was too far gone to care about her pride.
“You like that, don’t you.” It wasn’t a question—he knew the answer easily enough. “Hell, Rya
That thought spoken out loud was a jolt to her senses. She wasn’t sure if she should be turned on or offended. This wasn’t a game—not to her, anyway—and she didn’t want him seeing her as just another conquest. Yet, that was what she was, right? Just another notch on his jujitsu black belt? But then, that was all this could ever be, wasn’t it?—a fling. Neither of them was in any position to have a relationship.
Don’t over think it, Rya
He froze as the confession passed her lips. Oh, shit, did she really just say that out loud? A look of total shock briefly crossed his face before it was quickly replaced by a cocky Disco grin. If she didn’t want him seeing her as a game, that had certainly been the wrong thing to say to a man whose life was built around competition and being the best. But before she could tap out and tell him to get off her, that she’d changed her mind, his arrogant smile was replaced by one of genuine interest. Unguarded, his walls down, it was a glimpse of Aiden she’d briefly seen and one she wasn’t so ready to dismiss.
“Really?” he asked her, sounding a bit skeptical and disbelieving. “You’ve never had an—”
She cut him off before she had to hear him say it out loud. It was too embarrassing. For crying out loud, she was twenty-six years old and she’d never had an orgasm with a man. Sure, Aiden had brought her close the first time that they’d gotten hot and heavy, but close was no O. Just like the others, he’d yet to seal the deal. Maybe there was something wrong with her. None of her friends had ever seemed to have any trouble.
“Of course I have,” she snapped. “Just not . . . with anyone.” Oh, cripes, it didn’t sound any better coming from her mouth than his.
He looked at her as if she were a circus oddity. Okay, sharing time was over. Embarrassment was an excellent mood killer. “You know what, I don’t want to do this anymore. Let me up.” She tried to sit up but Aiden didn’t move, nor did he release his grip on her breasts.
“Hey, what are you getting so defensive about?”
“Let me up, Aiden.” That determined furrow of his tawny brows told her she was fighting a losing battle here. Still, she wasn’t a quitter. Rya
“Not letting you go, darlin’. Not until you tell me why you’re so upset.”
He really didn’t get it, did he? Of course not. Exhaling a sigh, she dropped her head back onto the pillow, refusing to meet his penetrating stare. What should she tell him? After a brief moment of deliberation, she opted for the truth. It was her best chance at getting him to let her go. “I’m not mad, Aiden. It’s . . . embarrassing. I don’t even know why I told you in the first place. I certainly didn’t mean to.”
Now his handsome face contorted into a confused scowl. “I still don’t get it. What’s there to be embarrassed about? If anyone should be embarrassed, it should be the guys that failed to do their job.”
Well, that was definitely a different way of looking at things. “What if . . .” Oh, hell . . . “What if the problem wasn’t them? What if it’s me?”
He laughed—the asshole actually had the nerve to laugh at her!
“I’m glad you think this is fu
But he held her firm, amusement playing on his low husky voice when he said, “Sweetheart, I can guarantee the problem is most definitely not you.” All trace of humor left him when those heart-stopping amber eyes locked on her. Reaching up, he tenderly brushed his thumb over her cheek. “It would be my honor to prove it to you.”
The sincerity in his husky voice, the unguarded honesty reflecting in his eyes . . . This man right here, right now, was the male she’d sensed behind all those walls, behind all that show. And the culmination of it shattered the last vestiges of her control. In that moment, something inside Rya
CHAPTER
14
Holy hell . . . She actually said yes, and the power behind those words, the vulnerability and trust in her eyes, hit him in the solar plexus like one of Del Toro’s sucker punches. If he let himself think on it too long, he’d read more into her response than was there. He’d made that mistake with Rya
He did casual sex all the time. Shit, he was the grand master of wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am, so why was his head getting so fucked over this fiery ginger? Just because he was about to give Rya
God help me, I think I might actually care for her.
Oh, this was bad. This was really, really, bad . . . Perhaps it wasn’t too late to rescind the offer. He tried to reerect his walls that, fuck him, lay in a heap of crumbled rock at her feet. How had this woman so swiftly and so thoroughly laid siege to the impenetrable fortress around his heart? He didn’t want to like her, and he sure as hell didn’t want to care about her. But there was something about Rya
Yeah . . . this was definitely a mistake. He needed to get away from her and clear his head, despite the tantrum his body was throwing at the prospect of not having her. His cock was already weeping like a baby. Without a doubt he’d never wanted a woman more than the one beneath him right now, looking up at him with those wide, trusting eyes, shadowed with a hint of nervousness and doubt that he’d be able to deliver all he’d promised. Fuck.