Bedding The Best Friend (Bedding the Bachelors, Book 4) (22 page)

“Come, Annie. Let yourself go completely this time, and come like you’ve never come before.” He used the thumb of his other hand to press against her clit.

She screamed out as shivers racked her body. The orgasm seemed to go on forever.

Gradually, he ceased the thrusting movements he was making with the toy, letting her slowly come down from her high. He lifted up slightly again and pressed his lips against hers before finally pulling the toy completely out of her.

“How did that feel?” he asked in a soft, sexy voice.

Annie didn’t think she could speak. Her mouth was completely dry. All of her body’s moisture had just drained out of her along with every drop of worry, reason, and fear.

Before she could stop the words, she said, “Almost like heaven.”

“Almost?”

“I still—I still want you. Does that make me insatiable?”

“It makes you fucking awesome, is what it makes you.”

“Fuck me, Ryan. I want you to fuck me.”

With a cocky grin, he slid himself back inside of her. This time, there was no holding back. He fucked her hard and fast.

He lasted a long time. Lasted long enough to bring her back up again. And when the dam broke, she screamed. She exploded as another violent orgasm ripped through her. A loud, almost vicious growl erupted from him, and she cried out as Ryan reached his own crescendo.

When Ryan’s body relaxed, and he collapsed on top of her, Annie wrapped her legs around him and held him tight against her. When he stopped shuddering and tried to move off of her, she clamped down on him tightly and said, “Please stay. Just for a few more minutes.”

He made a happy noise and kissed her with a slow tenderness that sent shock waves of electrical current through her body.

* * *

When Annie woke the second time in Ryan’s arms, she had a vague memory of him rolling off of her and then snuggling her against him. Annie didn’t know how much time had passed this time, but she knew for sure that she needed a shower. She tried to wriggle out of his grasp without waking him, but as soon as she moved, he tightened his grip on her and said, “Where are you going?”

“To the shower. I’m a mess.”

Ryan only held on to her that much tighter. She gave in and lay there with him awhile longer. When his breathing deepened and turned into a smooth, steady rhythm, she tried to escape again. This time, she made it without waking him up.

Annie stood under the warm spray of the shower for a long time, just letting it cascade over her body. She was sore, but she didn’t care. Every time she thought about being in Ryan’s arms, a smile came to her face, and she felt a little tickle down low in her belly. It scared her, too. Now that she’d had a taste of Ryan, how would she ever live without him?

She was still struggling with what to do next. By the time she’d toweled off, put her wild hair into a neat, tidy French braid, and slipped on a comfortable, cotton dress, she’d decided the best thing to do was to take the risk Melina and Clint had encouraged her to take. She was going to tell Ryan how she felt.

She took a deep breath and pulled open the door.

“I’m starving,” he said as soon as he saw her.

She laughed. “Okay, do you want to go eat somewhere, or do you want to do room service?”

Ryan pushed himself up off the bed and walked over to her, completely at ease with being naked in front of her. Why wouldn’t he be? The guy’s bod was breathtaking.

He cupped her chin in his hand and tipped her face up toward his. He looked like he had something important to say. She waited several seconds before he finally said, “Room service, I think. How about you order it while I take a shower?”

Annie released the breath she’d been holding. “Okay, what do you want?”

He grinned and looked her up and down. “One of everything.” Bringing his lips to hers softly, he gave her a gentle kiss and headed for the shower.

Annie realized almost a full minute later that she was still standing there with her legs shaking, staring at the bathroom door.

She called for room service, taking Ryan at his word and ordering a lot of food she had no doubt he’d be able to eat. She was dying for a cup of coffee. She could probably eat some toast or some fruit, too. The pill she’d taken earlier had taken away most of her appetite.

After she ordered breakfast, she made the bed just to keep busy, at one point holding the sheet against her face and inhaling the heady scent of her and Ryan. With a smile, she shook her head. God, she was so gone for him.

There was a knock on the door, and as soon as Ryan heard it, he came out of the bathroom. He took in the food cart with hungry eyes.

“Damn! You really did order one of everything,” he said with a smile.

“I aim to please,” she said.

She gave the young man who’d delivered the food a tip, and once he left she and Ryan each pulled up a chair. Ryan heaped his plate full of everything, and Annie poured a cup of coffee and buttered a piece of toast.

When Ryan realized that was all she planned on eating, he stopped what he was doing and said, “You’re kidding, right?”

“What?”

“Eat, Annie.”

“I am eating, Ryan.”

“A piece of toast and coffee after all that exercise you got last night and this morning? It’s not enough. You need to stop this diet obsession.”

“It’s not an obsession. I was tired of being fat, Ryan. I’m close to my goal—”

“Close to your goal? Please tell me you’re not trying to lose more weight, Annie. You look great. Hell, you could stand to put a few pounds back on.”

“I don’t think we’re going to agree on this one. Can we just agree to disagree and enjoy our breakfast?”

He hesitated then nodded before turning his attention back to his meal. After Annie finished her toast, she ate some scrambled eggs just to make him happy. It seemed to satisfy him a little.

“Can we talk about what happened last night…and this morning?”

Ryan looked up at her and shrugged. “Okay.”

The shrug made her stomach start to ache, as though the casual gesture indicated how little their time together meant to him.

“I don’t want our friendship to be messed up because of…”

“Hot sex?” he said.

Annie smiled. He was so damned cute. “Yeah, because of that,” she said.

He put his fork down and reached for her hand. She gave it to him, and he said, “Annie, nothing is ever going to make me not want to be your friend. Last night and this morning were…amazing. But it doesn’t have to change anything with us.”

Annie looked into his eyes as he spoke.

He meant his words to be reassuring, but they weren’t. What was he saying? That even after the pleasure they’d given each other, he wanted things to go back to the way they’d always been? He wanted to remain just friends?

“Annie?” he said, looking uncomfortable.

Knowing she had to say something but still feeling off-kilter, she said, “I wouldn’t know what to do without you.”

Ryan squeezed her hand. “I think you’d be just fine without me. I mean, you’re the brains of our friendship, and the looks and even the heart. I’d be the one missing a limb without you.”

That was sweet, but then again, Ryan always built Annie up. He didn’t necessarily tear himself down while he did it, but he didn’t give himself the credit that he was due either.

“You have brains, you’re gorgeous, and you have a good heart, too, Ryan. Don’t give me all the credit and none to yourself. We’ve been friends for such a long time that I think either of us would be lost without the other. I don’t want to find out. I care too much about you.”

Ryan brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. “I’m always going to be here for you, Annie. I will never let you be alone. I’ll never let anyone hurt you. You’re the best thing in my life, and I meant what I said earlier, I wish you could see yourself through my eyes. If you could, you’d probably be so cocky you wouldn’t want anything to do with me.”

“That would never happen,” she said with a laugh. “Thank you, though. It’s good for the ego.”

“It’s the truth. You have no idea how beautiful you are, inside and out. That’s my biggest issue with you going out and picking up a guy—why you’re doing it. The fact that you think you have to be someone different. I don’t want you to ever sell yourself short. Someday you’ll meet the man you’re meant to be with.”

He was looking at her with such warmth in his eyes, but Annie went cold.

He’d made love to her with such passion, yet apparently the idea of her meeting Mr. Right—Mr. Not Him—didn’t bother him in the least.

Annie thought about what Melina had said about taking a risk.

She needed to admit that she’d loved him for a long time. She needed to tell him about this trip and how it was supposed to make her forget about him and be able to move on.

She needed to tell him that she didn’t really want to move on from him, but rather wanted to move on
with
him.

Yet the words wouldn’t come.

They were right there. On the tip of her tongue.

But she couldn’t get them out.

She was too scared. They’d shared great sex, yes, but that was far from a declaration of undying love.

Ryan looked at his watch. “I forgot to tell you that before we went out last night, Rhys called. I told him I’d help him and Melina for a bit today.”

“Oh.” She cleared her throat. “Um…what are you helping them do?”

“Rhys had some smoke detectors replaced in his house, and they keep alarming at all hours of the day and night for no reason. He called the company, and they said they’d send someone out this week, but in the meantime, they keep scaring Melina and waking the babies. He just mentioned it the other night in passing, but he said they took the batteries out to get them to stop. They have two babies and a giant house. I kind of volunteered to look at them.”

“That’s really sweet of you.”

“Want to come with me? Rhys said Melina and the babies are visiting her mother today, so she won’t be there.”

She did want to go with him, but she needed time away from him. Time to sort things out. To gather the courage to finally say what she needed to say, no matter the outcome. “You know, I have some final things I need to do here in Vegas. Why don’t we meet up later for drinks at Gilley’s?”

“Sounds good. I’ll call you and let you know when we’re about done. Be careful, okay? Stay in areas where there are a lot of people.”

“I’ll be fine,” she said with a smile. “I promise.”

And she would. They had taken a huge step last night and this morning, but they were still friends. After she talked to Ryan, if all he wanted to be was her friend, she’d still count herself a lucky person. But after Ryan left and the more she replayed their time together, the more confident she became that they could have their friendship and so much more. That Ryan wanted the same things she did. Physical intimacy. Passion. Love. The whole shebang.

It was a glorious, hopeful feeling.

One she was determined to hold on to.

Chapter Fourteen

After Ryan left, Annie shoved her money, phone, and credit card into her pocket and went outside to wander around a little. She wanted to check out the tattoo shop she’d researched and then go over to Circus Circus to catch one of its midway shows.

After leaving her hotel, she stopped at Starbucks and got a latte. There was a handsome man in a business suit sitting at one of the tables. He looked her up and down, but not in a creepy way, and smiled. She smiled back. She hadn’t put much effort into her appearance before leaving, but she suspected she was glowing. Radiating happiness. Even though she hadn’t told Ryan how she felt, she was still riding the high of their time together. And feeling hopeful that he felt more for her than she’d thought. He had to. The way he’d touched her…the way he’d looked at her…all suggested he had more than just friendly feelings for her.

Practically skipping, she got her coffee and continued heading down the Strip until she reached the little strip mall where the tattoo parlor was located. She peeked through the large glass windows. All she could really see was the counter and two college-age girls waiting in the chairs next to it. There were pictures on the wall with prices underneath and a sign in the window that said the parlor had recently passed a health inspection. That had been one of the biggest reasons Annie had picked this place out when she’d researched tattoo parlors online. It had been in operation since the late eighties and had never received a poor rating from the health inspector. Another sign said that the artist could do “custom designs.” That got her thinking about her design and how she might like to change it.

She continued on down to Circus Circus, making it in time for one of the acrobat shows to start. While she watched the show, she couldn’t help but notice all the children. She felt a pang in her chest and realized that it was her biological clock calling out to her. She wanted a family. No, she wanted her and Ryan to have a family together. Although it wasn’t the first time she’d had the thought, it was the first time she’d allowed herself to feel a flutter of hope for the possibility.