She's the One: COunting on Love, Book 1 (5 page)

He moved in a little closer, the heat from his body touching her from head to toe. “What kind of things?”

“Well, just because I don’t flaunt it all over doesn’t mean I don’t have some…
needs
.”

“Say fantasies,” he urged in a husky voice. “Please call them fantasies.”

“They’re fantasies,” she agreed. “But there’s a bunch.”

She had a feeling she was going to spend the next few hours worked up over all of this. She wouldn’t mind if Ryan spent some time thinking about it as well.

“Such as?” he asked.

“I think it will be more fun if you wait and find out. But here’s the thing with this weekend. I want to be in charge. I don’t do this kind of stuff, ever. So if I only have one night, then I want to make the most of it.”

Ryan’s indrawn breath was a little shaky. She
loved
that. This guy could have any girl do anything for him, but he was turned on by
her
. And this was only the beginning.

This was supposed to be Olivia’s birthday. So why did Amanda feel like her sister had given
her
the gift?

Ryan stared at the woman in front of him. Was this a dream? God, if it was he hoped it was recurring. Forever.

Amanda looked up at him, a sexy smile curling one corner of her mouth. “Will you agree to some rules?”

Rules. Hmm. That was a new one. But he said, “Like what?” instead of no.

“Like, my brother can’t find out about this.”

That was a good one. Ryan loved giving Conner a hard time about his fling with Emma, but that was…different. Somehow. This was going to be a fling too. Not even. Just one night. But this was Amanda. He had a feeling Conner would actually hit him for this, where he’d only threatened to with Emma.

“Okay,” he agreed, somehow moving his hand from her face. He wanted to keep on touching her. And keep on and keep on. His whole body felt strung tight with the idea that he’d soon have Amanda Dixon in his bed. Even if it was only one night, it was going to be something.

“And we’ll spend the weekend at a hotel. That way no one’s going to accidentally show up and find out. And so we won’t be uncomfortable at each other’s apartment when this is over.”

Ryan wasn’t worried about being uncomfortable around Amanda afterward because, well, he didn’t do that. If a woman ended things with him, he moved on. It was easy. As soon as one person was done—for whatever reason—then they were done. There were no hard feelings, there were no screaming matches, there was no begging to give it one more try. If he’d liked a woman enough to spend time with her and sleep with her more than once, then he figured there was a good chance he’d still like her after that was over, so he stayed friends with all of his ex-girlfriends. But if the relationship was over, Ryan figured it had run its course and that was that.

But he’d agree to anything to have her.

“I’ll do this wherever you want to,” he told her honestly. He didn’t really care what bed he had her in, as long as it was sturdy. He had a few fantasies himself.

“Great. So, I’ll get the hotel room and figure out what all I want to do.”

She gave him another sexy smile and Ryan wondered if she had any idea how much those affected him. He didn’t care what she wanted to do–he was up for it.

“Then I’ll text you the hotel and room number and meet you there tomorrow at…nine?” she asked. “That gives us until nine on Sunday.”

That wasn’t going to be enough time. That was all Ryan could really concentrate on. He was going to have Amanda all to himself for twenty-four hours, specifically for the purpose of being naked the entire time, and it simply wasn’t going to be enough time. How he knew that already was beyond him, but he
knew
it.

Ryan looked at his watch. “That’s a long time from now.”

“Well, you should probably go home and get some sleep,” she said. “And hydrate. And stretch.”

He knew he was staring, could feel that his mouth was actually hanging open, but…holy shit. “What can I do to get twenty-four more hours?” he asked.

She grinned. “That’s the nicest thing anyone’s said to me in a long time.”

But she didn’t answer the question.

So Ryan decided to show her a little bit of why she might want to expand their timeline.

He cupped the back of her head and pulled her in for a kiss. She was clearly surprised at first, but as he pulled her hips against his and tipped his head, her hands went from his chest to the back of his neck, and she stretched up on tiptoe to meet his lips more fully.

He ran his tongue along her bottom lip, and her little whimper was enough to make him part his lips and go deeper. She opened willingly for him and his tongue stroked hers as possessiveness flashed through him. This was all his. Whatever she wanted this weekend, whatever she had planned, it was all his.

Ryan slid his fingers into her hair, the warm, silky mass making his hand ache with the need to slide it over all the warm, silky parts of her.

Amanda gripped the front of his shirt and arched closer. Ryan moved a hand to the sweet curve of her ass and brought her against his fly. He needed her with an intensity, and a suddenness, that stunned him.

Amanda ripped her mouth from his, breathing hard. “Ryan.”

He didn’t let her move back when she tried. “Let’s start the time now.”

She stared at him and pressed her lips together. “There’s…” She had to stop, breathe and start again. “I’m not ready.”

She’d felt damned ready when she opened her mouth, moved against him and groaned. He grinned. “You sure?”

She took another deep breath. “I’m
ready
, but…I have a lot I want to do in those few hours. I don’t want to go in unprepared.”

“I told you I’d give you more than that. You can have days. As many as you want.”

She shook her head and pulled back, and this time he did let her go. “One will be more than enough.”

Ryan’s eyebrows shot up at that. Was that right? Well, he might just have to work on proving Miss Amanda wrong on that one.

She glanced around. “And we’ve been noticed.”

Ryan followed her gaze. The guys who’d been sitting with her brother were still there, but Dooley Miller had moved to block Conner’s view of the corner, and as Conner tried to stand—which would have definitely given him an eyeful of one of his best friends and his sister—Mac Gordon clamped a hand on Conner’s shoulder, pushed him back into the chair and signaled the waitress. Sam Bradford then made a production of moving his chair in closer to Conner and seemed to be confiding something very important, taking Conner’s full attention.

Ryan grinned. Looked like he owed some guys some beer.

“Those guys are cool,” he told Amanda. “Mac got involved with Sam’s little sister. They know what’s going on and they won’t say anything.”

She moved back. “I don’t want anyone having to run interference,” she said. “This is going to be the best night I’ve had in a really long time. But it’s one night, and no one’s going to end up upset, embarrassed…or worse by it. Okay?”

Ryan frowned. What the hell did that mean? “Why would anyone end up upset, embarrassed or worse?”

“I need to know that whatever happens, it’s just you and me. Okay?” she asked again.

He had a feeling he was missing something here, but the whole best-night-I’ve-had-in-a-long-time bit made him nod. “Of course.” Whatever Amanda wanted, he would give, for as long as she wanted him to give it.

Her smile was bright and she gave him a final quick kiss. “Thank you, Ryan. I can’t wait.”

He watched her head back for the table with her sisters, grab her purse, say something that made three pairs of beautiful eyebrows rise, then turn to go.

Anticipation tightened his gut as the door bumped shut behind her. Screw the best night in a long time. It’d be the best night of her life. He’d make sure of it.

It had been a long time since she’d been
out
like this, but skimpy dresses and killer shoes never went out of style. Mostly because no one paid that much attention to the outfit when there was that much skin showing. Amanda turned in front of the mirror. The dress was jade green and clung in all the right places. She’d put her hair up in a sexy twist, then taken it down, then put it up again. Well, if it was up to start with, she could always take it down later.

She practiced in her heels for a few minutes on the tile in the bathroom. The dance floor would probably be even slicker, but hopefully she’d have someone to hold on to.

Like Ryan.

Amanda stopped and pressed her hands to her stomach, breathing in and out.

Yeah, Ryan.

She was definitely going to be holding on to Ryan. For dear life.

They were going to spend the night together. One hot, sexy night in this very hotel room. And she was definitely ready for it. She’d been ready since last night when he’d kissed her.

Even now she felt a flush wash over her body.

Wow, that guy could kiss. She couldn’t wait to see what else he could do.

But before that, she needed to live it up, throw caution to the wind, do all those things she’d been repressing for a long time now. Ryan was her chance for really letting go and having Emma-type fun. And, after all, she’d promised Olivia.

Besides, what she had planned for the night would very nicely combine some fun and crazy with getting up against Ryan as much as possible. He was the one guy she knew for sure would have no problem going to the club, Frigid, with her, and once there, he was the only one she was going to let get close.

Well, that probably wasn’t entirely true. At Frigid there was close, too close and
way
too close. Ryan was the only one getting way too close. But there was a wide spectrum of activities between walking in the door and way too close.

Feeling a flutter of excitement in her stomach, Amanda looked at the clock. Half an hour before Ryan was supposed to be here. Damn. She was ready now. Really ready. Beyond ready.

She grabbed her purse and headed for the lobby. She’d meet him down there. They could get going sooner, and getting him away from the huge bed in the ritzy room she’d reserved for the night was a good idea—if she actually wanted to go out tonight.

Which she did.

The elevator arrived and she started to step on but happened to glance at the two passengers already inside. They were both older gentlemen, easily in the seventies, and their eyes were wide, their mouths open.

She looked down. And giggled. Yeah, this dress was made to get exactly that reaction. But she didn’t want to be responsible for any cardiac emergencies.

“I’ll catch the next one,” she said, stepping back.

“Oh, no,” one of the men protested, lunging to put his hand against the elevator door before it could close. “There’s plenty of room.”

She grinned. “I appreciate it. But there’s a little draft. I think I need a coat.”

“It’s eighty degrees outside,” the other man said.

“I think I’m a bit conspicuous,” she said, appreciating their enthusiasm but definitely feeling a niggle of doubt about her plans for the night. Dammit. She didn’t want any doubts.

“A girl doesn’t buy a dress like that if she doesn’t want to be conspicuous,” one of the men said with a wink.

“Right. I definitely need a coat.” She waved at them as the elevator door swished shut and they headed for the lobby.

But she didn’t have a coat.

As they said, it was eighty degrees outside. Why would she have a coat?

Dammit. She couldn’t very well sit in the lobby of the Britton Hotel in this skimpy thing. And the more she thought about it, the more sure she was that she couldn’t meet Ryan in her room—their room. They’d never make it out. And she needed this night out.

She let herself back into the room and grabbed the bathrobe from the back of the bathroom door. It wasn’t fashionable, but it would cover her while in the lobby.

She stepped off the elevator in the lobby and started for the couches that were clustered near the front doors.

“Amanda?”

She turned, and nearly slipped on her heels on the polished marble floor.

Ryan’s hands caught her by the elbows before she went down.

When she looked up he was grinning down at her. “Love the bathrobe. But with that hair and makeup, I’m not gonna believe you’re just out of the shower.”

He set her back on her feet.

Being this close to him made her hot all over. In fact, way too hot for the bathrobe.

She stepped back and shed the robe.

Ryan’s reaction was better than the guys on the elevator.

Because along with the wide eyes and the gaping mouth, there was a heat in his eyes that made her catch her breath.

“What the…” His gaze roamed over her from head to toe and back again. Twice. The second time slower. “Not that I’m complainin’, but honey, you went to a lot of work considering I’m gonna be messing you up real soon.”

Desire flashed through her. Yep, not meeting him at the room had been a really good idea.