Instructing an Heiress (13 page)

Fisting her hand in the loose ends of his tie, she slowly dragged him towards her. He could easily stop her, he knew that, yet he didn't. He let her draw him in and as her eyes darkened, her other hand reached for the front clasp of her bra. "I know you want me, Ryan."

How could he not? He was nearly crazed with it, the ache in his groin thundering with longing. Still, he made one last, desperate, lunge for his will, grasping at it weakly, trying to regain some control over his feelings. "This will change everything."

A primeval, feminine knowing burned deep in her eyes. "Lord, I hope so."

She flicked the clasp and opened her bra. Round, lush breasts spilled out and lust spiked through him, sharp and painful.
 

She was magnificent.

 
His resolved shattered and he reached out to slide his hand across the underside of one luxurious, silky mound. Her rosy nipples taunted him and his tongue tingled with the need to pull them into his mouth; to feast until she cried out and writhed under him.

With a low groan, Ryan surrendered.

*
 
*
 
*

CK watched his eyes darken into hungry pools of black rimmed by a deep, twilight blue. She released her grip on his tie and buried her fingers in his silky golden hair as he lowered his mouth to her breasts.

The first stroke of his tongue across the hard button of one nipple sent a jolt of yearning down through her body and into her core. She gasped in surprise, then groaned and arched her back as he pulled her nipple into his mouth and sucked gently. She gasped again, as her other breast received the same amazing attention and a wonderful, unknown pleasure pulsed low in her belly.

"Ryan," she moaned, her body shifting restlessly on the couch as he sucked and tugged on her nipples, then moved to nibble the underside of each breast. An eager longing stirred deep within her, growing swiftly into a quivering hunger that she would not deny.

His palm slid down her stomach leaving a hot, rough trail of sensation, and then he unzipped her slacks, inching them down one side and then the other.
 

CK lifted her hips up to help him, and he quickly had the pants off and thrown to the floor. When the air touched her bare legs, she had a moment of panic, but then his long, sensitive fingers stoked up the inside of her thigh and she melted.

His mouth nibbled down her stomach as he swept his hand up and cupped his palm over the crotch of her panties. Fissures of need spread out from the contact and she moved restlessly under his touch.
 

"I want...to see you," she said, her voice husky. "Touch you."

Ryan flicked his tongue in and out of her navel and a primitive longing churned through her. Her legs fell open and without warning. He pressed his mouth against her mound, breathing a puff of steaming heat into her through the material of her panties. Her womb tightened and her moisture dampened the thin silk.
 

Then cold hit her where his mouth had been and he was standing beside the couch, shrugging off his shirt in one swift movement. She stared at him in awe.

Ryan was...

Her breath caught in her throat. She'd had no idea how beautiful a man could be.

His upper body rippled with graceful, balanced muscles all ridges and planes and contours that her hands ached to explore and her mouth pleaded with her to taste. In another quick motion, he had his pants undone and kicked off, followed by his underwear. He stood before her, strong legs braced apart, his erection long and thick, springing proudly from a patch of dark brown curls.

CK reached out her hand and brushed her thumb across the smooth, round tip. He sucked in a hiss of air and the object of her fascination gave a sharp upward bob, lengthening and thickening even more. Fascinated, she wrapped her hand around the shaft and stroked him.

Ryan grabbed her wrist. "Later," he said in a choked voice.
 

She released him and he knelt beside the couch, kissing the top of one breast. Moving up to nibble the column of her throat, he laid his hand gently on her stomach and stroked downward. Slipping his fingers under the edge of her panties, he slid them into her and caressed the sensitive nub hidden there.
 

CK threw her head back, moaning softly. Sensations she couldn't name rolled through her; warm, liquid pleasures that she never wanted to end. Then just as a delicious coil of tension started tightening in her belly, Ryan withdrew his hand to push her panties off, impatiently.
 

Moments later, she lay naked beneath his hot gaze, uncaring as she feasted on the sight of his beautiful body. Her heart pounded and the core of her grew slick and swollen.

His nostrils flared as he pulled in a sharp breath and he bent to take her right nipple into his mouth. The electric jolt from his touch shot through her, hotter and more intense than before and she squirmed as he flicked his tongue across the hard peak.

She felt his palm graze over her hip and cup the inside of her thigh. Carefully, he lifted her leg and lowered her foot to the floor next to his knee. Air brushed across her tender secrets and she instinctively moved to clamp her thighs together.

His fingers flexed against her muscles as his teeth grazed her nipple. "I have to taste you," he breathed against her wet, aching breast. "All of you."

Gently, he spread her legs wider as he trailed kisses down her stomach just as he had before and her thighs quivered. She felt exposed to him, vulnerable and yet....

His mouth touched the inside of her thigh just above his hand and she jumped. Before she could protest, he laid gentle fingers against her most intimate area and delicately spread her open.

And then his hot tongue stroked across the swollen nub revealed there.
 

CK bucked her hips as everything contracted and scorching heat vibrated through her belly. He licked her again and then covered her with his mouth in the most intimate of kisses.
 

His tongue and lips explored her, suckling the hard nub, sending a hungry ache of pleasure flowing into her belly and up through her body. Tighter and tighter the sensations spun, spiraling deep within her until she writhed under his mouth, nearly crazed to see an end to it.

He flicked his tongue over her once more and the tight, ball of ecstasy shattered sending waves of euphoria rolling through her, clenching her muscles, rocking her hips, illuminating her very being. Wave after wave rose and fell and she cried out his name.

Then his mouth was gone and he stood over her, his face a fierce mask of restraint. He anchored one knee beside her hips. Angling himself toward her, he touched the tip of himself to her core.
 

With a small movement, he dipped into her, sending eager new waves of pleasure rippling through her body. She gave a hard, upward thrust against him and he plunged fully inside her, stretching and filling her with a sudden, bursting pressure. A sharp sting of pain surprised gasp from her.

Stunned, Ryan went completely still.

*
 
*
 
*

CK had been a virgin.

Horror gripped the center of his chest. He'd hurt her.

He'd hurt CK.

"Why are you stopping?" she asked. She wiggled her hips and his softening erection stiffened with renewed enthusiasm, swelling inside her and begging him to move. He was such a bastard.

"Ryan? Aren't you supposed to keep going?"
 

He let out a bitter bark of laughter. God, she was amazing. Fresh, innocent...

Not anymore.

His throat tightened. He never should have let it go this far. He should have stopped them—stopped himself. He was the one with the experience. He should have known better.
 

He grit his teeth. "CK, I..."

Understanding spread over her face and she gave him a shy smile. "It only hurt for a second. It's gone now."
 

She moved her hips, again, and he slid part way out of her. With a thrust of her luscious bottom, she brought him home, burying him to the hilt. Her gaze drifted out of focus and she repeated the movement, a low purr thrumming in her throat as she moved against him.

Ryan groaned and buried his face in the lush valley between her breasts. Her sweet scent spread over his awareness, sharpening the bliss of her tight heat. Mindlessly, he found himself moving with her, matching her tentative, exploratory rhythm.
 

An earnest throbbing rippled up into his groin and he increased the pace. She closed her eyes and arched her back and his pleasure deepened, making his throat sting with the power of it.
 

He rode the crest of the delirium building inside him, her dark moans urging him on. Without a condom, he shouldn't be taking such a risk, but his heartbeat with an energy he'd never felt before and he couldn't stop.
 

Nothing had ever felt so perfect as being inside CK.

She tightened and cried out, sending a flood of moisture over him and a rush of sweet agony spread through his groin. With the last shreds of his rational mind, Ryan pulled out of her and spilled himself across her taunt belly.

Sucking in deep gulps of air, he collapsed on the sofa at her feet. Pink blood streaked the length of him in thin, telling ribbons. His chest spasmed with a hard stab of guilt.

He'd never regretted his choices and actions when it came to women. Never.

Until now.

He dropped his head against the back of the couch. "Oh, my God, what have I done," he whispered.

The deep blue afternoon sky arching over the mansion reminded her of Ryan's eyes and the way he'd looked at her as he'd straddled her hips. CK smiled.

A bird sang its heart out in one of the trees lining the drive making the most beautiful sound she'd ever heard. The Captain's ornate, gaudy door knocker even pleased her.

Nothing could spoil her happiness. Not even the curt summons to the mansion that they'd received right after lunch.

CK glanced surreptitiously at him brooding behind the dark sunglasses he favored. Delight swirled through her stomach, warming it like a hot cup of tea. She finally knew what all the fuss was about. Muscles she didn't even know existed ached and delicate, private areas were sore and tender. She felt glorious.

He hitched his shoulders and his mouth tugged down. "Stop staring at me."

"I can't help it."

"It wasn't that special, CK."

"I want to do it, again."

Ryan choked. She reached out and pounded him on the back, concern dampening her high spirits for a moment.
 

"No," he finally managed to spit out.
 

"I'll get condoms."

"Damn it, CK. No."

"We'll be friends with benefits. You enjoyed, yourself. I enjoyed myself." Memories of how much she'd enjoyed herself lifted the corner of her mouth with the beginning of a dreamy smile.

"It can't happen. Drop it."

"You're not seeing anyone. I'm not seeing anyone. There's no good reason not to."

Ryan whipped off his sunglasses and rounded on her. The sexy blue eyes she'd been daydreaming about glittered with anger. "No."
 

Her forehead creased with bewilderment. This was not the face of a guy who'd just had great sex. Had she done something wrong? What a hilarious thought. The man had barely been able to control himself.

Her consternation evaporated. "You're just being stubborn," she said, cheerfully.

A muscle jumped along his jaw. "I won't take your innocence from you, again."

"That's ridiculous and not even pertinent. Besides, you can't take a girl's virginity twice. It's physically impossible."

His mouth flattened into a thin line and he shoved his glasses back into place. "You know what I mean." He turned and faced the door. "What I did was wrong. I won't repeat it."

CK's temper simmered to the surface. Ryan had been a perfect first lover for her. Now he was just being a dick about it. "You knew I was inexperienced. You said so, yourself. Quite publicly."

"But I didn't know it went
that
far."

"This isn't the eighteen hundreds. My 'innocence' as you so obnoxiously put it is none of your concern. Get over it."

"I seduced you."

"I remember being the one who displayed herself."

"You didn't know what you were doing. How could you?" He scowled at her. "You'd never done it before."

She blew out a huff of frustration. "You beat all, you know that? Fine, be the big, strong man who took the poor little woman's virginity. Dope."

"School girl."

They both glared at the door, angry silence charging the air around them.

"You plan to get married in the next couple weeks, anyway," he said tightly. "Were you going to keep me around as your lover?"
 

She stiffened as if he'd slapped her. A marriage contract, even one based solely on business, was sacred to her. She would not under any circumstances defile a promise as important as that.
 

"I don't do cheating," she said, glaring at his profile. "But you make a very good point. Now that I know how much I like sex," she ignored his flinch, "I'll be sure to find someone who's willing to strike a bargain
and
have a little fun in the bedroom. Apparently you don't have to have any kind of friendly feelings for the person you sleep with to have a good time."

The muscle started ticking along his jaw, again. "No, you don't."

Pain pinched her heart and an unexpected wash of tears tightened her throat. "You're a real bastard, you know that?"

"That's the first sensible thing you've said."

The door opened suddenly and Winston appeared, his weathered face set in infinitely patient lines.
 

CK's gaze swept over him and apprehension temporarily pushed her hurt and anger aside. "Uh, oh."

"Why are you dressed in a World War one outfit?" Ryan asked.

"World War one naval second lieutenant, begging your pardon."