The Keeping (24 page)

“Well, I wasn’t. I
was going to get a poker from the fireplace and take it with me for
protection.” Mel lifted her chin, daring him to doubt her.

Ryne tossed her a
disbelieving look while Bryan crossed the room to check the window.
He quickly returned. “Well, you did hear something Mel. The window
is leaking and there’s a steady drip landing on the floor. I’ll get
a bucket to catch the water.”

As Bryan went to
get a bucket, Ryne leaned forward, a teasing glint in his eye. He
spoke in a voice that was menacingly slow and creepy. “I’ve heard
that evil drops of water often stalk fair young maidens in the
middle of the night.”

“That’s not
funny.” Mel pushed ineffectually at Ryne’s thighs. “Will you get
off me?” She hissed.

“No, I don’t think
so. I’m quite comfortable.”

“Well, I’m not.
Now get off!” She noticed that he’d focused his eyes on her chest
and she could only imagine what he must be seeing; the t-shirt
wasn’t that heavy and the room was cold.

Bryan walked in
carrying a bucket just as she spoke. He chuckled. “Mel, would you
mind waiting until I’m gone? I’d rather not be here to see Ryne
‘getting off.’ We’re good friends and all, but I don’t particularly
want to witness his sexual exploits.”

Mel was sure her
face was as red as a tomato by now. She crossed her arms
protectively over her chest, while chastising Bryan. “That’s not
what I meant, and you know it!”

Bryan said nothing
else, merely setting the bucket in place and walking out of the
room snickering.

Chapter
17

Mel awoke wrapped
in a cocoon of warmth. She sighed contentedly and snuggled in
closer to the source of the heat. Mmm, now this was the way to wake
up. Funny, she’d never realized how comfortable her body pillow was
before. It smelled good too—sort of spicy and masculine...

Wait. That wasn’t
right. Her pillow smelled like the lemon-fresh scent of her laundry
soap. She moved her fingers, exploring the surface beneath
her...uh-oh. Last time she checked, her body pillow didn’t have a
rib cage. This was not good.

Cautiously she
opened one eye and saw a muscular pectoral just inches from her
face. Oh great, what had she done now? Without thinking, she
gathered her strength and pushed hard against the body that was
pressed to hers, twisting away with the intent of creating as much
space, as fast as possible, between herself and the person beside
her.

As escape attempts
went, it was highly unsuccessful. She barely made a quarter turn
before strong hands caught her, pulling her back.

“Not so fast,
sweetheart.” Ryne’s voice was rough with sleep.

Yep. Just as she
suspected. She was in Ryne Taylor’s bed and he was in it as well.
Finding herself effectively trapped, Mel looked up at him and
scowled. After last night’s incident, he’d refused to let her stay
alone, claiming she’d just have more bad dreams and he didn’t want
his sleep disturbed anymore than it already was. Of course, she’d
protested and in the end, the annoying man had simply picked her up
and slung her over his shoulder.

Once in the
bedroom, he’d dropped her onto the mattress, turned off the lights
and climbed in beside her before she even had her wits about her.
His arms had held her tightly against him, thwarting her attempts
to leave. In the end, under the threat of being tied and gagged—he
wouldn’t really do that would he?—she’d finally stopped her
struggles. Lying stiffly at his side, she’d listened as his
breathing fell into a steady rhythm, indicating he was nearing
sleep. At some point, she must have dozed off too, though her
intention had been to sneak out as soon as he slept.

“I see, from the
frown on your face, that you aren’t a morning person.” Ryne rose up
on his elbow beside her. His dark hair hung messily about his face
and the morning stubble on his chin made him appear more handsome
than ever.

How dare he look
so sexy first thing in the morning, Mel thought to herself. She
scowled thinking that her own morning appearance was probably less
than appealing. It just wasn’t fair!

“Tsk, tsk. I can’t
have a grumpy woman in my bed. I have a reputation to uphold, you
know.” A crooked grin appeared on his face and his eyes twinkled
with devilment. “I definitely have to do something about this.”
Without another word, he tilted her chin up and kissed her.

In shock, Mel
gasped which provided him the perfect opportunity to slip his
tongue into her mouth. Instinctively, she struggled, but he merely
chuckled against her lips and continued on with the kiss, using his
weight and superior strength to keep her in place. She pushed
against his shoulders, and twisted her head trying to break free,
with no effect. Annoyingly, even as she began pummelling him with
her fists, she realized her lips were moving against his, returning
the kiss.

Ryne lifted his
head and grinned down at her. “Ah, no more scowl, but...hmm...still
not quite the look I was hoping for, maybe...” Suddenly, Mel found
her arms pinned over her head.

“Hey! What are you
doing?”

“Experimenting.”
And with that, he kissed her again. This time it was slow and
gentle, his lips pulling and sucking on one of hers, tenderly
nibbling then licking. Abandoning her mouth, he trailed his lips
lightly over her jaw to her ear. Taking his time, he left butterfly
kisses on her forehead, down her nose, across her cheeks before
finally settling on her mouth once again. Mel felt every nerve
ending tingle to life as something inside her instinctively
responded to him.

At some point, she
had stopped her struggles and was now kissing him back with growing
enthusiasm. Ryne lifted his head and whispered into her ear. “You
liked that didn’t you? Me, holding you down.”

That jolted her to
awareness. No—this couldn’t be happening! Mel grabbed onto a
remaining bit of sanity and wriggled, trying to work herself free
again. Ryne moaned in approval and shifted his attention to her
neck, his teeth grazing the skin there. He rolled so that his body
only half covered hers, his leg insinuating itself between hers.
She could feel his erection pressing against her thigh, hot and
heavy. For the first time, she became aware that he was nude. The
realization had her struggling even more, but perversely, her
resistance was increasing her own excitement; the touch of
domination proving to be highly erotic.

Her blood was
thrumming through her veins now; her heart was pounding. An
intimate ache grew within her. Struggles to escape became
undulations, inviting him to explore and satisfy the need she could
no longer deny. A thrill ran through her as he rocked his swollen
member against her and his hand brushed her stomach. With a sigh,
she gave in to the craving inside her.

After that
everything got a bit blurry. At some point, her wrists had been
freed and she was able to wrap her arms around him, splaying her
fingers over the hot muscled surface of his back. Ryne grabbed the
edge of her t-shirt and worked it up to her armpits. He pressed
their bodies together and her breasts compressed against the solid
wall of his chest. The scattering of hair abraded her skin and made
it tingle.

He nipped at her
chin and nuzzled her neck; the feel of his hot breath trailing
across her collar bone, sending shivers up and down her spine.
Working his way down her body, he buried his face in her cleavage
while rhythmically kneading her breast. Mel moaned in pleasure at
the feel of his calloused hand on her soft skin. Her nipple
stiffened as he drew his thumb back and forth across the taut peak
before giving it a little pinch and twist. Pleasure shot through
her and she felt moisture gather between her legs.

It had been so
long since she’d been with someone; since she’d felt that sweet
release. Tension quickly built within her as she thought of Ryne’s
strong muscular body possessing hers, of wrapping her legs around
his waist, her fingers digging into his back while his long thick
shaft moved within her...

Suddenly she
realized that she had parted her legs and Ryne was probing her with
his finger. When had she lost her panties? And did she even care?
Stroking her silken folds, Ryne gently slid a digit into her and
she gasped, jerking at the onslaught of sensations. He moved his
finger in and out, barely brushing against her sensitive spot. The
feeling was incredible yet left her squirming and pleading for
more.

“Patience,
Melody.” Ryne murmured against her breast before enveloping her
aching nipple in his hot mouth.

She arched her
back as the sensations caused by his sucking mixed with the
stroking of her swollen nub. Need was coiling inside her and she
abandoned his back in favour of gripping the bed sheets. He
switched to her other nipple and she began to whimper, tremors
starting to build. His stroking changed pace and he added another
finger inside her, then a third. With the extra thickness
stretching her, Mel went over the edge, convulsing as her release
swept through her from head to toe, leaving her panting, and
limp.

“Hmm... A much
better morning expression; all happy and relaxed.” Ryne smoothed
his hand down her body, sounding much too smug. If Mel hadn’t been
so pleasantly relaxed, she would have slapped him. Not knowing—and
probably not caring—about her thoughts, he continued on in a
teasing tone of voice. “But, you look so much more relaxed than I
do and we really should be a matched set, don’t you think?” With
that, he put on a condom, moved over her and settled between her
thighs.

“Again?” Mel
managed to make her mouth move.

He chuckled
against her lips as he leaned down for a kiss. “Yes. Again.” Mel
felt him probing and pressing against her, sliding into the mouth
of her tunnel, as if testing her ability to receive him, before
pushing forward inch by inch until he was fully sheathed.

The feeling of
fullness was delicious and Mel was sure her eyes were already
rolling back in her head. When he began to move, her already
sensitized body quickly responded. With just a few strokes, he had
her panting again, pulling at him, craving more and more until the
second wave crashed over her leaving her writhing in ecstasy.

Vaguely, Mel felt
Ryne finishing then collapsing on top of her, a contented rumbling
sound emanating from his chest. Hazily, she thought it was a
curious reaction to good sex but found it innately comforting in
some way. She was too satiated to follow through on the thought any
further. Wow! It had been ages since she’d had sex, and for some
reason, she didn’t remember it being quite this good. She lay there
enjoying the aftershocks and letting her mind drift. Only when Ryne
moved did she force herself to actually begin to gather her
thoughts together.

“Now this is how a
man and woman should look and feel in the morning.” Ryne planted a
quick kiss on her before rolling away. Mel tipped her head to the
side and watched him get out of bed and head towards the garbage.
The muscles in his back and thighs rippled and flexed as he crossed
the floor. What a great specimen, she thought lazily. And just
imagine, I’ve only know him—her thinking screeched to a halt.

Oh. No. Reality
sunk in. She’d just had sex with Ryne Taylor! Ryne Taylor who she
was supposed to be interviewing. Ryne Taylor who she didn’t really
even know and wasn’t even sure if she liked! Good heavens, where
had her brain gone?

She blinked and
realized that she was staring at Ryne and he was staring right back
at her, a half-smile gracing his face.

“From the look
you’re giving me, I’d say that the after effects of morning sex
don’t last long with you, do they?” Ryne strolled back to the bed
and sat beside her, appearing completely unconcerned that he was
naked. Mel flushed and averted her gaze from his body, though it
wasn’t easy. “Still, I suppose I have enough time to try it again.
Maybe that happy mood would stick around longer with one more
orgasm. What do you think?”

Mel jerked as she
felt him run his hands down her body. Her
naked
body. Oh
God, she’d forgotten that she was naked. Well, almost naked. Her
T-shirt was bunched up under her arms, but the rest of her was
bare. Realizing that even her legs were still splayed, Mel quickly
brought them together and tugged the t-shirt down to cover
herself.

“Not in the mood
for more?” Ryne flicked the end of her nose. “Well, if you change
your mind, let me know. I’m going to take a shower, get dressed,
and then go see about clearing the driveway.” He stood up, took a
step towards the bathroom, and stopped. “Do you want to join me?
The shower stall is large enough.”

“No!” Mel barely
managed the strangled response, totally mortified at her own
behaviour. Ryne just chuckled and left.

Sitting up, she
pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
She’d just had sex with a man she barely knew. That wasn’t like
her. It wasn’t like her at all. What had she been thinking? Well,
she hadn’t been thinking, that was the problem. She’d only been
feeling and it
had
felt good. Hmm... When was the last time
she’d had sex? Furrowing her brow, she searched through the past
year, surprised to find no one had interested her sufficiently to
reach that level of intimacy. Okay. That explained this morning’s
aberration. A long period of abstinence had short circuited her
common sense. But now that she’d had her bit of fun, she’d be fine.
No more nookie with Ryne!

Feeling somewhat
better, she got out of bed and eschewed observing her surroundings
in favour of looking for her panties. When she found them, they
were in shreds, so she hurriedly stuffed them in the garbage pail.
This was just great. She’d have to go commando. She began to pull
open the drawers of Ryne’s dresser looking for a pair of track
pants or shorts. She might not have underwear on, but darned if
she’d walk around with no pants at all!