Page 37 of A Lot Like Love
Chapter 8
Ryder’s body was like a rock, every inch of him muscled and hard. Chloe surrendered as he pushed her against the wall outside their room, somehow simultaneously inserting the key card and kicking open the door. He dragged her in, mouth hot and wet to hers as he held her arms above her head and pinned her wrists with one of his big hands.
“And here I was thinking we were just going to be friends,” he said, lips moving against hers, his voice low. “Wrong on all counts.”
Chloe fought to release her hands but she may as well have been locked in place with chains. She turned her head, refusing his kiss. “You don’t strike me as the kind of guy to have friends that are girls.”
He took his hand off her waist and cupped her chin, forcing her to face him again. It was impossible not to be lost in the web of his gaze, his piercing blue eyes seductive as sin.
“Why do you say that?” he asked, kissing her again, lips plucking at hers over and over, so soft and then so hard. His tongue tangled with hers, fusing their mouths together and making her moan.
“Because you couldn’t be friends with a woman without having sex with her.”
His laugh was a throaty rumble. “No, darlin’, I just couldn’t be friends with you without wanting to have sex.”
Ryder let go of her wrists, giving her a three-second reprieve before scooping his hands under her butt. He walked farther into the room, hesitating then moving again. She had her arms locked around his neck, legs wrapped around his waist. There was nothing soft about him, the planes of his shoulders and the ripple of muscle down his back beneath her fingers making her want to dig her nails in. To slice into his skin and make him bleed.
Only she didn’t get the chance. Ryder threw her on the bed, looking down at her, his body blocking the light from the window, towering over her as she lay beneath him. Desire thrummed through her, knotting in her belly and rippling across her skin. Ryder’s blue eyes were intense, his lazy smile telling her he was about to do something wicked to her. Something that would make her toes curl. He was so damn self-assured he didn’t even have to ask if she wanted him back. But he’d told her she could trust him, and she did—if she didn’t she wouldn’t be lying on his bed right now.
“So,darling girlfriend, you like it gentle or rough?” Ryder kicked off his boots and unbuttoned his shirt, dropping it behind him. His abs were perfectly defined, skin taut and tanned, and the arrow of hair that disappeared south into his low-slung jeans…it made her want to explore every inch of his delicious body.
Chloe licked her lips, her mouth suddenly dry. She pushed up onto her elbows, unable to drag her eyes away from him. He winked as he peeled off his socks then undid the top button of his jeans, her breath catching as he hesitated on the zipper, then stopped.
She was actually about to do this. She was going to have sex with the man she’d sworn she wouldn’t touch, yet from the moment they’d been alone together, there had been no way in hell she’d ever be able to honor the promise she’d made herself. Shelly had been right. Hewascompletely irresistible.
“So? You haven’t given me an answer,” he drawled. “Or are you having second thoughts?”
Ryder dropped to his knees and put one hand to her shoulder, pushing her back. Her heart started to race, her breath coming in short bursts as he straddled her, his solid thighs locking her in place.
“Chloe?”
He raised an eyebrow, eyes locked on hers, not giving her a second to glance away.
“You’ll have to wait and see,” she told him, groaning in pleasure as he slipped hand down the front of her low-cut dress and touched her breasts.
“Let’s get rid of these clothes, shall we?”
His question was barely audible, almost impossible to hear with her head tipped back, arching up into him as removed his hands and pushed her dress up instead and dropped his mouth to her skin. It was hot and wet, the most seductive of touches, and she held her arms above her head to let him remove her dress completely. Ryder was relentless, mouth moving fast, sucking the soft skin of her breast, just above the lace of her low-cut bra.
Chloe wiggled, trying to free herself so she could wrap her legs around his waist, but Ryder wasn’t budging an inch. He did raise his head though, cupping her face in his hands and tenderly kissing her, sucking on her lower lip before dipping his tongue into her mouth.
“You,” he murmured into her ear when he finally pulled away, letting her catch her breath, “are so beautiful.”
“Said the lion to the lamb,” she whispered into his ear.
Ryder pushed up onto his elbows, his body heavy against hers even though he was supporting most of his own weight. “I’ve wanted you from the moment you caught my eye at the rodeo,” he told her, dropping a slow, sweet kiss to her mouth. “And now I want you naked,” he said, pushing himself back up, a determined glint in his eye that sent a fresh wave of desire through her body.
She shook her head when he went to slide her panties off, and he just laughed, kicking his jeans off instead, one side of his mouth tilting up into a grin, when he caught her eye.
“Too fast?” he asked.
“No,” she choked out, her own gaze dropping to his boxers, his erection impossible not to notice.
“Good,” he said, stripping off the last of his clothing so he was stark-naked before her. “Because now it’s time to go slow.”
She gasped as he pushed her back down, cupping her breasts, one finger flicking beneath the lace to slide past her nipple. But he was focused on moving down her body, his hands firm on her waist as he dipped his head, making a trail with his tongue from her belly button to the top of her panties. Chloe moaned loud, not resisting when he slipped his hands beneath her butt to raise it, pulling her panties down. He yanked them down to her ankles and she used her toes to discard them completely, wantonly raising her pelvis when his mouth dipped back down again, her breathing erratic as she waited to feel his warm lips, his wet tongue, against her.
Ryder didn’t disappoint, licking then sucking, gentle at first, slowly warming her up and then becoming more insistent. One hand cupped her breast, his fingers over her nipple, and she arched her back so she could press herself harder onto his mouth. “Don’t stop,” she panted.
