She's the One: COunting on Love, Book 1 (28 page)

Then her phone rang.

She looked up. Ryan was staring down at her, breathing hard. He looked…amazing. His cheeks were flushed, his eyes dark, his mouth set in a firm line that she knew indicated he was barely holding on to his control.

And she wanted him to lose it. To lose all of it. With her. Because of her.

Her phone rang again.

Her purse, phone and car keys were on the floor next to his foot. She must have dropped them there when she’d kissed him.

He looked down. “It’s Emma.”

She’d known by the ringtone, but knew he would see Emma’s name displayed on the screen as the phone rang as well.

“I don’t care.” It was true. She didn’t. There wasn’t a thing that her sister needed right now that was more important than Ryan.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized that that should scare the crap out of her, but it didn’t. She wasn’t leaving him. And not just because she was in the midst of the best blow job she’d ever given, but because he’d sent them away for her. She wasn’t going to go running after them the minute they needed her. They could figure things out for themselves for a change.

“Maybe they’re just wondering where you are since you didn’t leave with them.”

“I don’t care,” she repeated. “There’s a limited number of places I could possibly be. And she’ll think of that.”

Her phone stopped ringing. And Ryan’s started.

“See?” she asked, grinning. She moved a hand to stroke up and down the length of the gorgeous erection right in front of her.

Ryan’s breath hissed out between his teeth. “Maybe they’re worried,” he managed, though his voice sounded choked.

“Don’t care.” She leaned in and licked the tip of his cock.

Maybe worrying a little would be good for them. God knew they spent very little time on it and never for her.

Ryan’s phone stopped ringing too.

“I’ll call her back later,” Amanda promised. “I don’t think this is going to take real long.”

She squeezed lightly and stroked him again.

He groaned, then said, “I should be offended by that.” He pressed close and tightened his hand in her hair. “But I think you might be right.”

She licked up and down his length, loving the feel and the taste of him. Then she sucked him into her mouth, swirling her tongue over his tip before taking him deep. He pulled out and pumped in again several times before finally hauling her to her feet.

“For the record—and for future reference—skirts work really well in these scenarios,” he said, unsnapping the snap on her capris.

“Noted,” she said breathlessly as she fumbled with the condom she’d pulled from his pocket. “The no-underwear thing will help though.”

He paused with his thumbs hooked in her waistband. “No-underwear thing?”

“I don’t have any on.”

He quickly pushed her pants to the floor and stared. “Thank you,” he said sincerely. “But why?”

She laughed and rolled the condom down his length. “Just in case.”

He pushed her up against the wall, put a big hand on each thigh and lifted her, spread her open and then thrust.

She gasped, then moaned. She was more than ready and he hit
exactly
the right spot.

She gripped his shoulders hard, but could do nothing else to help. She had no leverage and, frankly, everything in her seemed to have liquefied anyway.

But Ryan didn’t need any help.

He held her up against the wall like it was nothing. He thrust deep and true, stroking every deep nerve ending, sending sensations she’d never experienced before skittering all over her body. The tingles spread out, running to the top of her head, the tips of her fingers and toes, but then came back and centered right where they were joined, where the friction and heat and pressure teased and swelled and built.

Ryan moved, somehow spreading her legs even wider, and pumped harder, burying his thick length deep just as he’d promised.

“God, Amanda, you feel amazing,” he told her. “You look amazing, you sound amazing.”

She did feel pretty damned amazing. “Ditto,” she managed, somehow.

“I want to feel you come around me,” he rasped. “You were so fucking good with your mouth, but I want this hot body around me when it happens. I want to feel you clamping down on me, milking me.”

His fingers spread on her ass and lifted her slightly, then brought her down on him again, fast and hard. How the hell he managed that she didn’t know. Or care. It was awesome.

“Ryan,” she moaned.

“That’s right, babe. I’m right here. Barely holding on. Come for me, Mandi.”

She was pretty sure it was the “barely holding on” that got to her. She loved making him crazy. But it might have been the “Mandi” thing. Or maybe it was pure and simple that this was Ryan, and she couldn’t have held her orgasm back if she tried.

And really, why would she possibly do that?

The heat and tension pulled tight and then suddenly burst free. She went over the edge, her inner muscles contracting hard, determined to take Ryan with her.

And she did.

He came with a loud roar right on the heels of her orgasm. The orgasm that she felt even in her earlobes and that went on and on and on.

She was
so
glad he went to the gym on a regular basis. He was able to hold her up against the wall for another few minutes after the muscles and nerves started to quiet, and when he did let go and let her feet back down on the floor, it was slow and gave her time to make sure her legs were going to hold her up.

Ryan didn’t really let go of her though. He leaned in to rest his forehead on the wall next to her ear, keeping her pinned—happily—between his big, hot body and the wall.

“I’m pretty sure,” Ryan said after taking a huge, deep breath, “that this is the
best
friendship I’ve ever had.”

She snorted before she could tamp it down. Her hand flew up to cover her mouth, but he leaned back with a grin, having heard the not-very-ladylike sound.

“Seriously. I mean, I like movies and hot wings just fine, but girl, there isn’t a damned thing in this city I’d rather do than
that
with
you
.”

And somehow, in spite of the fact that he’d been with a number of women in a number of places—probably several more exciting and unique than the wall in his front hallway—she believed him when he said he’d rather be with her.

That was…awesome. That word was certainly getting used a lot between the two of them.

“So, it occurs to me,” she said, looping her arms around his neck. “We
still
haven’t had that one night that initially started this whole thing. How do you feel about a sleepover?”

He stared at her, then a huge grin spread his mouth wide. “Oh, thank God.”

“Really?” That was a great reaction.

“Well, yeah, really. As long as you understand that
friends
don’t spend the night. You wake up here in the morning and, well, let’s put it this way—your brother is going to find out.”

She arched an eyebrow. “How will he find out?”

“I’ll tell him.”

She arched her other eyebrow. “You will?”

“I want the world to know we’re together, and I think he should hear it from me.”

“We’re
together
?”

He lifted a hand to her cheek and gave her the sweetest smile she’d ever seen. “I can help you take care of your crazy sisters, I can definitely let you take care of me and I can make sure you have all the calming tea, massages and games of laser tag that you need to be okay yourself.”

Her heart felt like it was swelling in her chest and she felt tears stinging in her eyes.

“And nachos,” she added. “I love nachos.”

“Yeah, I noticed. You ate more than half of them the other night.”

She’d eaten more than half of the nachos she didn’t even remember seeing? Wow. “And pickle chips,” she said.

“Of course. And Snickers bars. And
lots
of role-playing,” he said with a sexy wink.

She wiggled against him. “And orgasms. That’s right up there with tea for stress, isn’t it?”

“It’s right up there with lots of things for lots of things,” he said, squeezing her hips.

Her phone beeped just then with a new text message. She sighed. “I’m feeling a little stress building right now.”

He laughed. “Why don’t you go get in the shower? I’ll check the message on my phone and take care of whatever it is, then join you in there.”

She stared at him for a moment. Someone else to lean on? Someone else to return messages and make decisions? Wow.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, frowning.

“Nothing,” she said honestly. “Absolutely nothing.” Which was an absolutely wonderful feeling. Ryan was there. He’d help her take care of whatever came up. And he’d take care of
her
.

Absolutely wonderful.

“Meet you in there,” she said, starting for the bathroom. “I’ll be the naked blond singing Lady Gaga at the top of my lungs.”

Chapter Nine

He was falling in love.

It hit him hard and without a doubt as he watched Amanda sashay down the hallway, where she would be getting into
his
shower, rubbing
his
soap all over her, and then wrapping up in
his
towel. After she had another couple of orgasms from
him
.

And he was ready to go again just like that.

It had to be the love thing that was making everything feel stronger and more amazing than it ever had. He wasn’t sure why anyone ever fell
out
of love if it felt like this.

He had really never seen this coming. And he wasn’t sure what to do with it. Except wallow in it for as long as it lasted.

That he could do.

He headed across the living room for his phone. He knew the caller had been Emma and that she’d left a message. Probably called him a couple of names for not picking up too.

Two minutes later, he let himself into the bathroom. “Amanda?”

“Yeah?”

He could see the silhouette of her body through the thin curtain and his body urged him forward. But the kept his hands on the doorframe. “Hey, Emma, Isabelle and Olivia need a ride home from Trudy’s.”

Amanda poked her head out. “What happened?”

She looked adorable and sexy at the same time. Her wet hair hung against her shoulder, water droplets ran down her face and he could quite easily imagine what the rest of her looked like—wet and soft and warm…

He cleared his throat and gripped the doorframe. “Shane and Conner happened,” he said. “They continued to be assholes and Nate and Cody finally took them home—separately. The girls refused to go with either of them, so they’re down at Trudy’s.”

“Dammit. Okay, just give me a—”

“You know what I’d love?” he interrupted.

She looked at him. “What?”

“For you to stay here. Finish your shower, curl up in bed—preferably naked—and wait for me to get back.”

She looked surprised—and tempted. “You’re going to go?”

“Yeah. I can take the girls home, no problem.”

She seemed to not know what exactly to do with that. Finally, though, she nodded. “That would be…great.”

“And if I stop on the way home, do you want pickle chips or nachos or something else?”

“I want you to not stop on your way home. To just get back here as fast as you can.”

He felt something that was just as hot as desire, but seemed softer and sweeter at the same time, spread through him. He could call the girls a cab. Or call Nelson or someone else from the team to go get them. It wasn’t like it required him or Amanda to actually be the driver.

But he immediately realized that doing this for Amanda would be worth it. He wanted to be the one who helped her with everything. From here on out.

And that was definitely a scary thought.

Sure, the love thing felt really good, fun, exciting. But it wasn’t all about that, he knew. There would be tough stuff too, and he didn’t really know how to do that. He hadn’t had much for role models there, that was for sure. He loved his mother. He knew that she was happy, content, had no regrets. But he really wanted to try this with Amanda, and that would require being able to stick through the not-so-good-fun-and-exciting times too.

“I’ll be back soon.” Maybe some time to think things through was exactly what he needed.

Or maybe he’d just figure it out later.

Either way, he needed to get in his car so he could get back here to the sexiest, sweetest, strongest woman he’d ever met.

After her shower, Amanda wrapped up in Ryan’s bathrobe and did as instructed—got in bed. It felt decadent. Not just being in Ryan Kaye’s bed after amazing sex against the wall, but knowing that there was a minicrisis that
she
was not attending to. Yet it was being handled.

It was really nice.

It was nice to be able to trust someone else to take care of the people she loved. It was nice to know that someone else could care about them in spite of their craziness. It was nice to be able to truly relax, knowing everything was fine.