Perfectly Able (25 page)

I reached up and pla
ced my hand over his, loving the way his warmth seeped into my skin.

“
To see you cross that finish line before the deadline, to see the pain in your face transform into, I don’t know, happiness, the sweet satisfaction that you did it, that you, Ava Nottingham, did it.”

I nodded, pressing
his hand against my cheek. “I did, didn’t I?  I did it.” A vivid memory of the emotion that had replaced the pain in my body flooded my senses, and I knew that it was a feeling that I wouldn’t soon forget. I would no longer be haunted by those eleven seconds that had stood between me and the completion of my first triathlon. The fears that I wouldn’t be able to do it, that the accident had taken more from me than just my leg, were gone forever.

Ridge leaned in closer as a cool breeze ruffled our hair. “
I was happier watching you complete your goal, Ava, than I’ve ever been when I’ve completed one of mine.”

“I don’t know if I would’ve finished if you hadn’t been there.”

He gently kissed my lips and leaned back a hand’s breadth as the subtle smell of spearmint mingled with his cologne.

“I’m sorry about the night of my Halloween party. I never meant to hurt you. I was just so upset that you’d lied to me.”

“I can explain.”

“What’s in the past doesn’t matter anymore, but I want us to be ho
nest with each other from this point forward.” He watched my face intently. “I want to be there for you from now on, Ava.”

“I’ve missed you so much,” I whispered, meaning it, “but
I want to explain what happened that night.” I took a deep breath. “You remember the day that I was going to meet you at the restaurant, so that you could sign the offer on the house and I told you I couldn’t make it?”

He nodded.

“I was there, Ridge. I was at the restaurant. I saw you with Jeremy, and I just couldn’t do it.”

“You couldn’t do what? How do you know him, Ava?”

“He didn’t tell you?”

“No, the night of the Halloween party after you walked away, he started talking business. He never explained how he knew you.”

I sighed. “I didn’t want to tell you,” I whispered. “I was afraid that it would make things weird for you at work. And you were up for the promotion. That’s why I couldn’t go to the office party. I was trying to protect you from an awkward situation, Ridge.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I used to date your boss. Jeremy’s the one who rejected me. He’s the one who told me he couldn’t handle my…situation.”

“That son of a bitch.”

I touched his arm. “I don’t want you to say anything to him. I don’t want you to put your promotion in jeopardy or your job.”

He sighed. “I really want to kick his ass. I knew he was an asshole. I just didn’t realize to what extent.”

“Violence solves nothing,” I whispered. “Let it go. In the end, he did me a favor.”

“Hell,
he did me a favor, too,” Ridge said gruffly. “If he hadn’t rejected you, then I would’ve never met you, Ava.” He kissed me tenderly. “I know I’ve been….”

I placed my finger
on his lips to silence him. If this conversation went the way I thought it would, I’d lose my nerve. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking since the triathlon, too.”

“And?”

“Ridge, I think you’re a great guy, but I can’t…I just can’t.” I moved back out of his grasp. “I really like you, but I’ve had my heart broken once. I’m not ready to go through that again.”

“What makes you think I’ll break your heart?” he asked, and I could hear the hurt in his voice.

I gave him a sad smile, wishing things were different. Maybe if we’d met a few years down the road, he would’ve been ready for a relationship with me, but he’d made it painfully clear that he’d wanted to put distance between us, and even if he said he wanted us to be together now, how could I be sure he wouldn’t change his mind again? “Because you already have. After the triathlon, I hoped that you’d call me. It’s been almost a week. I finally realized that you’re not ready for a real relationship, and there’s nothing I can do to change that. The only thing I can do is protect myself, protect my heart.”

“
Ava, I invited you to dinner.”

“In a text, Ridge. And when I declined, you never called me. I need you to really want to be with me. I need to be worth fighting for.”

“I know I’ve been overanalyzing our relationship, Ava. Maybe it’s the engineer in me. Maybe it’s my damn list. I don’t know, but you’re right. I wasn’t ready for a real relationship. But I am now.”

“Ridge,” I whispered, “I can’t go through it again. I can’t allow myself to love someone, only to find out that I’m not what they wanted.
You told me at your Halloween party that you had planned to break it off with me. You were angry, and the truth came out.”

His jaw clenched.

“Bye, Ridge,” I said softly, waiting for him to leave, so that I could close the door to the cabin and the door to my heart. When he just stood there, I slowly began pushing the door, hoping that he would leave before I changed my mind, before I gave in to the longing that was fanning the ember that had ignited within my heart. I’d come here to snuff it out. If I stayed in his presence much longer, I’d be nurturing it instead. I knew the pain that came with false hope.

H
e caught the door with his hand only inches from my face, bringing it to an abrupt halt. His quick movement caused the smell of leather and cologne to fill my nostrils.

He pursed his lips together, his scorching gaze never leaving my face.

“I know what I said,” he bit out caustically. “But damn it, Ava, I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with you.” His gaze softened. “But I did.”

My mouth dropped open at his revelation, and words failed me as I let his confession sink in.

“Hell, Ava, how do you think I knew you were at the cabin?”

“Kelsey.”

“I rented the cabin from Brandy’s parents, and I asked our sisters to get you here whatever it took.”

“You did?” My heart swelled in my chest.

“You’re at the top of my list now, which means I won’t rest until I’ve made you mine, so you may as well let me in now.”

Speechless, I stepped back and pushed the door open.

“No,” he whispered, moving toward me. “I wasn’t talking about letting me in the cabin.”

I gazed up at his face, confused.

He snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me against his chest. Kissing my jawline until he’d inched his way to my ear, he whispered, “Let me in your heart, Ava. I’m perfectly able to love you—if you’ll let me.”

I nodded,
knowing he was already in my heart. “I’ll let you,” I whispered, thinking that if this was a dream, I wasn’t ready to wake up.

Lifting me up against his muscular chest, he kicked the door closed on the cold wind that was whipping into the cabin. He pulled me to him
, frantically melding our lips together as his tongue slipped into my mouth. He lifted my body higher and spun me around, my back pinned against the door as my legs wrapped around his waist. Holding the backs of my thighs with his large, warm palms as his fingers dug into my flesh, he deepened the kiss, devouring me until we were both breathless.

He carried me to the couch
, and with our bodies still entwined, we dropped onto the smooth, black leather. His hands roamed my curves while his lips teased my neck.

Standing long enough to peel his jacket off and discard it in a pile at his feet,
Ridge grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head. He pressed his palm against my satin bra, and I arched my back, pushing my breast into his hand as his fingers squeezed my flesh.

“
I’ve never wanted anything as much as I want you,” he whispered, lifting my back off the couch as he unfastened my bra.

When he sucked my hardened nipple into his hot mouth, I thought I would expire from the pleasure.
My hands grappled at his shirt, and he finally rose and pulled it over his head, his muscles rippling under his skin with the effort.

He froze, his heated gaze following his fingertips as he trailed them up my abdomen, traced the circumference of my breast, and ended at the hollow of my neck.

“What’s wrong?” I whispered, my hips writhing beneath him.

“I
want our first time to be under the night sky,” he said softly. “I want to see you wearing nothing but moonlight.”

“Ridge, it’
s cold outside,” I countered.

“I’ll keep you warm.” He stood up and
held his hand out to me.

I placed my hand in his, and he pulled me up from the couch. I crossed my arms over my chest, and he wrapped his long fingers around my wrist, tugging gently. “Don’t cover yourself,” he whispered. I dropped my arms to my sides, and he gently caressed my breast, teasing the nipple.

He released me long enough to grab a blanket, and then he tugged my hand as we walked onto the deck. In response to the cold wind, the tautness of my nipples increased. A crescent moon dangled from the sky like a glamorous earring missing its mate. I sat down on the picnic table bench and removed my prosthetic leg while Ridge removed the cushion from the chaise lounge, stretched it out on the deck, and covered it with the blanket.

Scooping
me up in his arms, he deposited me tenderly on the soft blanket. I shivered as the wind blew and the leaves rustled like pom-poms cheering us on.

Straddling me, his warm palms cupped my breasts, and the sensation of hot and cold made my breathing erratic. A soft moan escaped my lips, and he answered my call, covering
my lips with his own. His head dipped down until his hot tongue caressed my breast. He rose up, unbuttoning my jeans, tugging them down over my hips, and discarding them in a crumpled heap.

I could feel the tingling
building up in my most intimate places, a plea to Ridge to give me more.

Oblivi
ous to the cold wind that tugged at our hair, he breathed heavily as his fingertips slid under the lacy edge of my panties. He teased me, his fingers massaging lower and lower until they finally parted my flesh. I shivered, not from the cold, but from the desire that his touch provoked.

His finger prob
ed and retreated until a final thrust had me reaching for the button of his jeans. Fumbling, I managed to get them unbuttoned, and he stood, his clothing joining mine as he stripped bare. The glow of the crescent moon highlighted the contours of his glorious body, and it was obvious that he wanted me as much as I wanted him.

He
lowered himself to his knees and bent over my body, his gaze resting on my face. Reaching out to touch him, to feel his hardness in my soft palm, I knew that I loved him. I loved everything about him, even his damn list, especially now that I was on it. To be the object of his desire left me feeling wanted in a way that I hadn’t felt in a very long time.

“Damn, you make everyth
ing more beautiful, Ava. Even the moonlight.” His palm cupped my cheek before it left a trail of warmth in its wake as it slithered down my body and rested on my lower abdomen.

He peeled my panties down over my hips,
and tossed them in the pile of discarded clothing. His warm hands parted my legs as he positioned himself between them. He gripped my buttocks, pulling me to him as his tongue, hot and wet, explored my body.

When I didn’t think I could take it another minute, he stopped and took a condom from his pocket.

I lay quietly, my body a puddle of liquid heat, as I waited impatiently for him. His muscles rippled into action as he held himself in place over me, his hard-on probing my flesh until he filled me.

As his rhythm built up, my parti
ally closed eyes watched him until the fire he had so skillfully stoked exploded, sending hot embers throughout my body. I cried out with my release, and after a couple of more thrusts, his body went rigid as he convulsed within me.

He
lowered his body against mine, his heat seeping into my pores as he pressed a kiss to the base of my neck. My fingers sifted through his hair and pressed him to me. “My sweet Ava,” he whispered.

When he finally rose, I missed him immediately as the
cool air took his place. He handed me my prosthesis and my discarded clothing, and we both dressed quickly.

As cool as the autumn evening was, we didn’t retreat into the cabin, Ridge wrapped me in the blanket, and we sat on top of the picnic table, our feet on the bench
, and looked out over the lake as the makeshift sailboats floated on its glittering surface.

Ridge’s arm snaked around my back, his hand resting on my hip. Hugging me to him, he kissed my temple.
“I want to be your moon, Ava. I want to wash away every bad thing that’s happened in your life.”

My lips parted in surprise as I turned to him, and even though his expression was only dimly visible, I
had heard the sincerity in his voice. “I’ll let you be my moon, Ridge,” I whispered, “if you’ll let me be your sunrise.”

We made love again as the moonlight kissed our skin, as our love for each other kissed our souls
, and as we lay wrapped in each other’s embrace when the first rays of brilliant sunlight touched the sky, I cherished the remembrance of our night together, knowing that we both had one more happy memory.