Page 32 of Loathing Ryan
Except for fucking Mark Snyder. The kid was newer to Bennett, so he hadn’t really gotten a feel for the Ryan vs. Izabel extravaganza that took place every year.
I sighed and grabbed the fishing pole and the few unfortunate fish that fell for my tricks. I’d take these back to the cabin for Bells to start cleaning, then maybe I’d hunt for some firewood. Running up the few stairs to the cabin, I threw open the screen door.
“Bells, I got you a present!” I hollered, but stopped short when I saw the girl who had haunted my thoughts all morning. She was standing there like a deer in headlights, with a thin, raggedy, green towel wrapped around her body, clutching it like a lifeline.
Totally naked underneath.
My eyes darted to the kitchen table, where I saw her shorts and ruined oversized t-shirt draped over the chair. I instantly got tunnel vision. Every molecule in the air seemed to still. A muffled humming noise started in my ears, drowning everything else out. A tightness developed low in my abdomen, and a pleasurable chill crossed my whole body. I couldn’t keep my eyes from focusing on her.
Holy mother of God. I did not need this right now.
She was the most beautiful thing I had ever laid eyes on.
Before I could process what I was doing, I tossed the pole to the side and threw the fish onto the counter. I’d deal with them later. My feet slowly took me across the room to where she was standing. She had a death grip on the towel as she watched me carefully with her blue eyes.
“Ryan?” she asked softly. Her tone caught me off guard. She sounded timid, unsure—a stark difference to the fiery version of herself I had grown so accustomed to. Something about the way she whispered my name so delicately had a type of renewed possessiveness blooming in my chest. I couldn’t ignore the need to be near her any longer. Instinct told me to go to her, and I took one large step toward her, closing some of the distance between us.
I don’t know if she saw the hunger in my expression or what, but she shifted backward, stepping into the wall behind her. I kept approaching, my eyes raking over the alluring sight of Izabel in only a towel. Her eyes tracked my every move, darkening slightly as if she knew what my goal was.
When I was right in front of her, I gently reached up to cup her cheek. “Damn,” I whispered, unable to think of anything else intelligent to say. My tongue felt heavy, and I worried if I tried to say more, I’d just make a fool of myself.
She cast her eyes downward and blushed. The sight of the rosy-pink flush on her cheeks did something to me, and I knew there was no going back after this. I pulled her chin back to look at me and studied her for a second. God, she was beautiful.
“Izabel?” I asked gently. Her eyes were watching mine, her full attention on me. “What would you do if I kissed you right now?” The urge was overwhelming. I was pretty sure I would die if I didn’t get her lips on mine immediately. As I leaned closer to her, her breath hitched before she exhaled in a rush. I caught a hint of fresh mint toothpaste. She had been diligent in using the sad excuse of a toothbrush she had found in the bathroom cabinet routinely. I had conceded the toothbrush to her, opting to be the one to use my finger.
Her pulse quickened under my fingers resting on her neck as I drew closer to her. “I uh—” she stammered, the blush in full force now seeping down from her cheeks across her neck and skirting over her collarbone.
“Good enough for me,” I muttered as I leaned in, closing the remaining distance between us and pressing my lips against hers for the first time.
I felt the earth stop spinning on contact. And I came back to life when she kissed me back. She tilted her head up to meet mine, pressing her body closer, still holding tightly to the towel as if she was afraid to let it go. Her willingness and eagerness within the kiss took me by surprise in the best way possible, and I held back a groan in the back of my throat. This was everything I thought it would be and more. She was flawless. But I didn’t dare press my luck further than I had already.
Pulling back abruptly, I examined her face and braced myself for the wrath I knew was probably coming. Izabel had never held back in the past from letting me know when I pushed the limits too far—and this may have been too far. But to my surprise, she just looked at me, too shell-shocked to say anything. Her lips were red, and her eyes glazed over, though she blinked rapidly a few times, still trying to process what had just happened between us. She looked like a dream. Like a decadent dream.
I leaned forward and rested my forehead against hers, closing my eyes. Clearing my throat, I apologized. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that, but I couldn’t help it.” She relaxed against me but didn’t say anything back. I heard her breath catch as she tried to take control of herself once more.
After a few minutes, I pulled away and gave her a smirk once my heart rate had calmed down. “I’ll leave you to it then.”
She nodded and tightened her fist on her towel, knuckles turning a pale pink as her fair skin pulled over the bones. I stared at her for a few seconds longer, committing this moment to memory. Never in my life had I been so affected by such a simple kiss. But I knew that this day, this moment, was one that I would never forget.
As I said, there was no going back after this.
15
IZABEL
Embarrassment filledme from head to toe, and I suspected it wasn’t going to leave for a long time.My mind was still reeling after Ryan had kissed me and then left me in the cabin to overthink everything.
Had I been a bad kisser? Did he regret it?
DidI regret it?
My gut instinct was to sayyes, of course. How could I think that Ryan could kiss me and not expect any repercussions? The minute he walked out of that cabin, leaving me standing there in my towel, I knew I had to prepare for the worst.How could I have let him kiss me like that? I should’ve backed away and kept the status quo. There were so many lines that we just crossed, and I was afraid there would be no going back.
Yet, I still couldn’t get the way he looked at me before the kiss out of my mind. He looked at me as if he liked what he saw—really liked it. And I wasn’t sure how that made me feel. I had been with other guys before, but none of them had given me even an ounce of the attention that Ryan had in just that one moment.
It made my head spin and my chest ache, as if I couldn’t get enough air into my lungs. I wanted him to look at me like that again, just to experience it one more time.
But that could never happen. Could it?
