Seized by Love (Love in Bloom: The Ryders, Book 1): Blue Ryder (14 page)

“He said he’s falling for me,” she admitted.

“I knew it. I should be a fortune-teller.” Sky smiled and Lizzie laughed. “What? I knew you guys were perfect for each other. I never understood why he wasn’t asking you out for all those months.”

Oh no
. That was something else she’d kept from Sky. She felt like such a heel. At least this she could come clean about without feeling cheap or risking her parents finding out about the
Naked Baker
. “Sky, he
was
asking me out. The first time he asked me out was right after your friends’ wedding, but I said no.”

“What?” Her jaw hung open and her eyes narrowed. “You never told me that.”

“I know, and I’m so sorry. But I didn’t want you to pressure me. You know how crazy my life is, between the flower shop and—”

“Busy or not, you should have told me. Oh my God, Lizzie. I gave him such a hard time all year long for not asking you out.” Sky crossed her arms angrily. “How could you keep me in the dark like that?”

The hurt in her eyes seared straight to Lizzie’s heart.

“I’m sorry. I really am. I just wasn’t ready to say yes, and if you were pressuring me and telling me how wonderful he is all the time, I would have caved.” She reached for Sky’s hand, feeling her friend’s resistance and wishing she’d told her sooner. “Now that I’ve gone out with him, I
wish
I had accepted his offer sooner. I’m so sorry, Sky. I only kept it from you out of self-preservation.” Guilt settled heavily around her shoulders. If Sky reacted this way to not being told about being asked out by Blue, how would she react to the
Naked Baker
? How would Blue?

“Self-preservation?” Sky rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Am I that pushy?”

“No.” She smiled. “Maybe.”

Sky shook her head. “Well, if I am, it’s only because I knew you’d be good together. I guess I’m just glad that you’re together now. What else haven’t you told me?”

“Nothing.” Lizzie closed her eyes for a second, fully expecting to be struck by lightning in the next ten seconds.

“Okay, but you owe me a drink. Want to catch open mic night at the Governor Bradford?” Governor Bradford was a restaurant and bar in town.

She needed to film her show tonight, and she wanted to spend time with Blue before that, although she didn’t know his plans for the evening.

“I really want to see Blue before working through my inventory tonight.”
Inventory
. Not only would she be struck by lightning, but her nose was probably growing, too.

“Don’t you ever get tired of being the good girl and doing everything on a schedule, checking off your to-do list without fail?” Sky asked.

Yes, only every day of my life
. “It makes life easier”—
and views to my webcast higher, which means higher profits
—“if I follow a schedule.”

Sky looked around the shop. “Well, you do earn a boatload of money, so you’re doing things right. That’s for sure.”

Or very wrong
.

“How’re your kitchen renovations coming along? Oh! I just realized how often Blue’s at your house. That’s convenient.”

Except when I’m filming
. “Yeah, very. He’s doing an amazing job. The kitchen is already stunning.”

“We knew he would. He’s so talented. I need to get back to the shop—Cree’s watching it for me—but I’m so happy for you guys.” Cree was a waitress at Governor Bradford, and Sky had done several tattoos for her. “She wants me to teach her how to do tattoos.”

“That sounds like fun.” Sky hugged her again and waved on her way out of the shop, and Lizzie’s mind traveled back to Blue.

She didn’t have much time to linger on thoughts of Blue, as a steady stream of customers kept her busy throughout the afternoon. By the end of the day, her feet were killing her. She groaned at the thought of shoving them into a pair of heels for her webcast, when all she really wanted to do was curl up with Blue and have him kiss the long day away. He’d called her twice when she was with customers, and as she gathered the flowers that hadn’t sold and would soon wilt, she finally returned his call.

“How’s my favorite girl?” His voice sent a river of heat through her.

“Missing you. Still flying around, getting ready to take flowers over to the firehouse.”

“Lucky firemen,” Blue teased.

“How about you?” How had he become so important to her so quickly? Just hearing his voice rejuvenated her. “Are you sick of being in my kitchen yet?”

“Never. But I’m sick of being without you. Can I take you to dinner?”

She glanced at the clock. By the time she closed up and dropped off the flowers, it would be nearly eight o’clock. She hadn’t had time to prepare for filming tonight’s webcast, but she desperately wanted to spend time with Blue.

“I would love that. I’d offer to cook for you, but this hot guy has my kitchen torn apart.”

“Why don’t we cook together at my place? Or we could go down to the pier and grab something at Mac’s if you’d rather.”

Being alone with Blue was just what she needed. “Dinner at your place sounds perfect. What can I bring?”

“Just you, babe. I’ll grab what we need on the way home.”

Lizzie swallowed past the guilt that clogged her throat. She needed to tell him about the webcast.
Tonight
, she promised herself. Tonight she’d tell him.

***

BLUE LIT CANDLES and set them in the center of the table, turned on the stereo, and as Lizzie came up the front walk, he went outside to greet her. He’d just seen her twelve hours earlier, and still his pulse ratcheted up at the sight of her in a miniskirt and strappy sandals. He drank in her smile and the sultry look in her eyes. Damn, he was one hell of a lucky guy.

He gathered her in his arms and touched his lips to hers, intending to give her a tender welcome, but tender went out the door when her luscious curves melted against him and she kissed him back with fervor. How would he ever make it through dinner when every time he was near her he wanted to devour her? Desire radiated from her body, her eyes, her breath, and he knew she was on the same page. Was all this passion, all this desire, just the culmination of a year’s worth of wanting, or was this something bigger? Something even more powerful? Something that made him want to sweep her off her feet and make her his forever?

“Christ, I missed you,” he said against her lips before capturing her mouth in another kiss.

“Me too.” She ran her hand up his back and pressed on his shoulder blades, holding him as close as she was able. “It was so hard to walk out of my house this morning knowing you were staying.”

“It was even harder for me to let you go.”

They walked inside, kissing every few steps. At the sight of the candlelight dinner, Lizzie’s eyes widened, and her smile followed.

“You did all of this? For me?”

She turned to him, and he couldn’t resist gathering her close again. Their mouths met in a spark of fiery kisses. He lifted her in his arms, and her skirt slid up her thighs as her legs circled his waist.

“Do you want to eat?” he said breathlessly.

“Dessert first,” she said as she lowered her mouth to his neck, sucking hard enough to blur his thoughts.

He pressed her back against the door, moving his hands beneath her lace panties to her heated skin. “You feel like heaven.”

His teeth grazed over her jaw, and she let out a sexy little sound that made his cock twitch.

“I love the sounds you make.” Her head tipped back, giving him better access to her neck, which he licked and kissed, making her squirm with desire. Her fingernails dug into his back as he pressed his hard length against her, the need to be inside her driving his fingers across her ass, between her legs, seeking the heat he felt against him.

He buried his tongue in her mouth, probing, taking, starving for more of her. Knowing she was wet
for
him
, craving him as much as he craved her, shredded any chance at staving off his desires.

“You’re so hot, Lizzie. I can’t wait. I need to be inside you.”

“Yes,” she said in a heated long breath.

He turned off the stove, blew out the candles, and in a few determined steps they were in his bedroom. He set her feet on the floor and she reached for her skirt.

He set his hand over hers. “Let me.”

Holding her gaze, he forced himself to go slow, despite the fact that he was practically ready to come from thinking about her all day. He removed her shirt, kissing her as his hands trailed over her arms, leaving a path of goose bumps. He kissed along her shoulder as he unhooked her bra, then laved his tongue over the rapidly beating pulse point at the base of her neck as the silky lingerie dropped to the floor and her breasts sprang free.

“You drive me crazy when you touch me,” she said with her eyes closed.

“Then I’ll touch you more.” He dragged his tongue over the swell of her breast and felt her holding her breath. “And more.” He moved lower, swirling his tongue over her nipple, then using his teeth to tug it to a peak.

“Blue,” she pleaded, digging her fingers into his shoulders.

“Patience,” he whispered, gripping her waist as he moved lower.

Reaching beneath her skirt, he hooked his fingers in the hips of her panties and pulled them off, dropping to one knee to lift each of her feet from them. He removed her sandals, running his hands slowly up and down the backs of her calves. Her body trembled beneath his touch as he gathered her skirt in his hands and tore it down in one hard yank.

“Aw, baby. There are no words for how exquisite you are.” His hands gripped her hips as he licked the crease between her sex and her thigh, drawing a seductive sigh from her lips. “You like that.”

“Yes,” she said in one hot breath.

He licked along the other crease, and her body began to tremble. He brought his tongue to the heart of her heat, slicking over her wet folds, lingering on her swollen clit. He felt her legs begin to give and wrapped an arm around her, holding her up as he sucked her clit into his mouth and slid his fingers inside of her. She gasped a breath, pressing her wetness against his mouth as he licked and stroked her to the height of passion. She shuddered and shook, riding out her orgasm against his mouth.

“So sweet. So good.”

He stripped down, wanting to feel her hands on him. He lowered his lips to hers, running his hands over her back, down her sides, and finally, cupping her ass. She kissed him despite the taste of herself on his tongue, and nothing could be sexier than that, than her. Nothing could come close to what she made him feel, and he knew this was just the beginning, that they’d take each other to new heights, experience everything together.

She pressed on the back of his hips. “Need you.”

“Not yet,” he whispered. “You need to be loved a little longer.”

His chest grazed over her nipples as he took her in another kiss, this one more demanding. She stroked his eager length, and he pressed his hips forward, thrusting into her fisted hand so she could feel every bit of what she did to him. He ran his hands up the back of her thighs, lightly playing his fingertips over the wetness between her legs. She spread her legs wider, and he sank to his knees again, gripping the backs of her legs and loving her inner thighs with his mouth, holding her firmly in place as he licked the crease beside her sex again, laved his tongue over her inner thigh, then up and over her damp curls.

She clutched his shoulders as he spread her legs farther apart and dragged his tongue along the cleft between them, then rose to his feet and dipped his fingers inside her, pinning her in place with a heated gaze.

“You taste like honey,” he whispered, before taking her in another possessive kiss, still teasing her with his fingers. “So sweet.” He slid one hand to her ass, holding her still as he stroked the spot that caused her eyes to close and her head to tip back with a sigh. Then he moved his hand from her ass, wetting his fingers and bringing them between her cheeks. He pressed his lips to her cheek and whispered, “Okay?”

“Don’t stop,” she pleaded.

He lowered his mouth to her neck as her body shuddered and shook, and he took her right up to the edge, then higher still, holding her at the edge of release.

“More,” she begged breathlessly.

He pressed his eager erection against her thigh. “You want more?” He kissed her again. “How much more?”

He slid down her body again, sucking her beautiful breast into his mouth as he continued torturing her down below. Her breathing became jagged as she rode his hand and he took his fill of her breasts and then recaptured her mouth, taking her quickly over the edge. He felt her legs go weak and swept one arm around her, holding her against him as he probed her mouth and her velvety heat with the same frantic rhythm.

“That’s it, baby,” he urged as her body pulsed around his fingers. “So good. So damn good. You’re so fucking beautiful.”

He lifted her easily, cradling her in his arms as he carried her to bed and laid her on the sheets. She reached for him as he came down over her.

“Soon,” he said. Gently bringing her hand to his mouth, he dragged his tongue along her fingers and palm, leaving them glistening, and turned so they were lying head to foot. “Tell me if this isn’t okay, Lizzie. We can slow down. You don’t have to—”

“Oh, Lord…
Yes
…” She wrapped her hand around his erection, giving him the green light he needed. She stroked him as he lowered his mouth between her legs and took his fill of her sweetness.

Her grip tightened every time he brought his tongue to her swollen sex, making him want to do it over and over again. He slid his fingers inside her as she swirled her tongue around the tip of his erection. He was careful not to press his hips forward, even though he wanted to thrust into her hot, wet mouth and feel her lips stretched around him. He let her lead, and lead she did. As he teased and taunted, she licked him from base to tip—pulling a groan from his lungs. When he gripped her thighs, she took him in her mouth, pressing on his hips. A sweet invitation he couldn’t resist. He thrust his hips forward, and she took him in, relaxing her throat to take him deeper. She sucked and licked and met every stroke of his tongue with a stroke of her own, taking him right up to the edge.