Tender is the Nerd (4 page)

“I know you’re not.” He leaned forward again and rested his arms on the table. He didn’t look insulted. More like turned on. “You’ve been very careful and considerate.” His voice had taken on a husky tone.

He’d never spoken to her like that and it threw her heart rate into high gear. “Because I like Frazer as a friend.” She saw a heck of a lot more than friendship in Rylan’s eyes right now. He’d never
stared at her with that level of heat. And Lord help her, she was responding.

He took a deep breath. “I’ve been processing what you’ve said and I’ve come to a conclusion that blows my circuits.”

“What’s that?”

He held her gaze. “You were with the wrong brother.”

Whoa. There was nothing tentative about that statement. “What . . . what should we do about it?”

Amusement flashed in his eyes. “That seems pretty obvious.”

“What about Frazer?”

“I’ll talk to him.” He pushed back his chair and blew out both candles. “But not tonight.” Just like that, he’d taken command.

R
ylan sent
up a little prayer of thanks that he’d asked the right question, the one that assured him he wasn’t stealing Miranda from his brother. That was the last cohesive thought in his head before he tossed his glasses on the table and pulled her into his arms. If she wanted somebody who was
out there
he was the man for the job.

His mouth fit hers as if they’d been specifically engineered to kiss each other. As he gathered her lush body close he groaned with pleasure. No interface ever designed could be this elegant.

She melted against him and his body received that gift with utmost gratitude. His cock swelled with joy and at that point he realized he was missing some critical info. Locating her bedroom wasn’t high on the list. She wanted drama and excitement so anywhere in the apartment would do. But birth control was essential.

When he eventually forced himself to leave her delicious mouth long enough to ask the question, he’d already unbuttoned her blouse. “Condoms?”

“Bedroom.” Panting, she grabbed his hand and tugged him away from the table. “This way.”

He spared a nanosecond to think about why she’d have some handy. But of course she hadn’t been celibate in the years after breaking up with Frazer. He’d be a fool to think about that now. Or ever.

Miranda had practically dragged him into her bedroom and nothing mattered but that. The room was dark except for a small light shining from the bathroom. The glow was enough to let him see the box of condoms she tossed over after taking them out of her top dresser drawer. He pretended she’d stored them there on the off chance that he would show up to ravish her. As it happened, that was his plan.

Dim light suited his purposes. They’d been avoiding this attraction for years so finally running to meet it would stir up some intense emotions. Sex that real and raw was best handled in the dark.

He didn’t need to see to undress her or to caress her voluptuous body as he quickly uncovered it. He didn’t need to see in order to kiss and nibble her soft skin. He went a little crazy, in fact, but she seemed to like having his mouth all over her. He became so involved with that project that he forgot he had most of his clothes on until she tugged at his zipper.

“I need you,” she murmured, stroking him through his cotton boxers.

That reminded him how much he needed her, too, which was how he ended up shoving down his pants, rolling on a condom and plunging into her when he was still half-dressed. She didn’t seem to mind a bit. She cried out in triumph and came immediately when he drove home.

He gulped for air and by some miracle kept his climax at bay. No decent ravishing ended with the lady having only one orgasm.

“Oh, Rylan.” She sank back to the mattress. “That was spectacular.”

“For starters.”

Her laugh was breathless. “Oh, right. Your turn.”

“Not yet.” And he began to move with slow, measured strokes.

Reaching up, she cupped his face. “Are you showing off?”

“Yeah. Do you mind?”

“Not at all.” She stroked his chin. “Your beard’s silky.”

“Good. I forgot about it.” Gliding in and out, he listened to her breathing. Still easy and relaxed. He wanted that to change.

“You would have given me whisker burn?”

“Yeah. Wouldn’t mean to.” He increased the pace and she began to pant. “I had to kiss you, taste you, nibble on your –”

“I
know.
” Clutching his shoulders, she rose to meet his thrusts. “I wanted you to. I didn’t care about your beard. But it was . . .” She gasped as he drove in deeper. “Erotic. Thrilling . . . oh, Rylan, there! Right there!” She arched upward with a cry.

Her powerful orgasm teased him, taunted him, until his resistance evaporated. With a deep groan, he drew back and thrust forward to claim his release.

Holding him close, her cheek pressed to his, she absorbed his tremors and murmured soft words he couldn’t hear. Even though he couldn’t make out exactly what she was saying, her tone conveyed the meaning, no problem. They’d found something special, something to cherish.

As he drifted slowly down from the high of making love to Miranda, he felt dazed by the intensity of it. In spite of that, his mind was clear enough for two thoughts to penetrate the fog – he would hold onto Miranda for as long as she’d have him, and much as he loved his brother, he wouldn’t let Frazer muck this up.

Beneath him, Miranda’s breathing steadied and her body relaxed. “Wow.”

“Yeah.” He nuzzled the warm curve of her neck. “That about covers it.”

“I never thought –”

“Me, either.” And judging from the way his cock was reacting to her body heat, soon he’d be ready to do it all over again. “Stay here.” He eased away from her. “Be right back.”

“All right.” She sounded amused.

“I didn’t mean that like an order,” he called out from the bathroom. “If you want to get up, then –”

“Why would I want to leave this bed when staying in it means I might get lucky again?”

He laughed. “You think that’s a possibility?”

“A distinct possibility.”

“Are you okay with that?” He hoped so because he was in the process of pulling off the rest of his clothes.

Her response was low and sultry. “Oh, yeah.”

His cock twitched in response. “You’re good for my ego, Miranda.”

“Backatcha. In fact, I’d like to turn on the light this time.”

“Works for me.” A light came on in the bedroom as he finished undressing. “But I hope you’re prepared for a very aroused and very naked guy to walk out of your bathroom.”

“I’m counting on it.”

Laying his clothes in a pile on the floor, he stepped into the soft light of her bedside lamp and stopped, awestruck. A ravishment had definitely taken place here, although the image was blurry without his glasses.

Her clothes were scattered on the floor next to the bed and her lavender comforter hung half on and half off the mattress. She’d turned back the lavender striped sheet and she lay stretched out on her side, her head propped on her hand as she gazed at him. A section of her long dark hair hung over her shoulder, partially obscuring her breasts. The peek-a-boo effect was more exciting than if she’d swept her hair aside.

He stepped closer, his breath coming fast. “Damn, you’re gorgeous.” His gaze swept over the curve of her hip where the faint line of a bikini remained, probably left over from last summer. He’d seen her wear one a few times back when – his thoughts came to a screeching halt.

“Rylan? What’s wrong?”

“I remembered your red bikini.”

“Is that a problem?”

“No. You were beautiful in it.“ He walked over to the bed and sat next to her.

She frowned. “Something about it is bothering you, though. You seemed really happy and now . . . you seem upset.”

“It’s not about the bikini. I loved the way you looked in it. I had to keep jumping back into the surf to disguise my reaction.”

Her gaze lowered. “That reaction?”

“Yep. I couldn’t let you or my brother notice.”

“Oh.” Her frown disappeared. “I think I understand the problem.” She scooted over and patted the spot next to her. “Come cuddle with me.”

“I want to do more than cuddle.” But he climbed in and gathered her close. “As you can tell.”

“I can.” She pressed closer so his cock was captured between them. “We’ll take care of that in a minute. But first we need to talk.”

He gazed into eyes the color of emeralds and far more precious. “I have a whole bunch of memories from those days. I don’t want to wipe them out because they’re good memories, but in all of them you were his girl. That’s the part I want to delete.”

She rubbed his back. “Sorry. Can’t be done. He’s a permanent part of the program. Always will be. He’s your brother.”

“I don’t want three people in this bed.”

“We’ll have to work on that and I have a plan – lots of sex.”

He laughed, which was probably what she’d been going for. “It’s a good plan.”

“Glad you like it.” She smiled up at him.

He should drop the subject, except he couldn’t seem to. Maybe he’d wanted to make love in the dark the first time so certain questions wouldn’t arise. In the light he felt compelled to ask them. “Do you think of him when you look at me?”

“No.”

“You can’t imagine how desperately I want to believe that.”

“Believe it.” She continued to stroke his back. “It helps that you have dark hair and brown eyes and he’s blond.”

“We have the same nose, though. Everybody says we do.”

She leaned over and kissed his nose. “I have never looked at your nose and thought of your brother.”

“But now you might. I shouldn’t have said anything. Digging my own grave, here.”

“Rylan, trust me, very little about you reminds me of Frazer. Your voices are similar but your phrasing is completely different because your personality is so much more . . .”

“Out there?”

“Exactly! Can you picture him having this sort of conversation?”

“Hell, no. He’d stoically soldier on and hope the topic never came up.”

“See what I mean? You and I relate on a deeper level. We always have, even when we’re joking around. We get each other.”

He thought about how quickly she’d figured out he was letting the past mess with his head. She’d also unearthed the reason why he’d been creatively blocked on the app. “I’ll admit that you get me, but I’m not sure I return the favor.”

“Yes, you do. You knew I’d get a kick out of you sticking the cilantro behind your ears. You were always the one lightening the mood because you understand how much I like to laugh.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“And when we had our discussion in the dining room tonight, you didn’t hesitate once we’d talked it out. Game over. I needed that kind of passionate certainty to break down the barriers between us.”

“So did I.” Desire surged through him as he remembered the joy of burying his cock deep.

“I also needed darkness. That was the right call.”

“And now we have light.” He rolled her to her back and pressed his lips to her forehead. “So I can study every beautiful inch of you from top to bottom.”

“Sounds like fun.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fun for me. Because I’m nearsighted, it helps when I’m really close.” He looked into her eyes and she gazed right back. Then he lowered his mouth to hers while still keeping his eyes wide open. “The closer I get, the more I can admire you.”

She followed his lead and kept her eyes open, too, as he began kissing her. But the kiss quickly turned into laughter that left them both breathless.

“I’ve always wanted to do that.” He grinned at her.

“Yeah, me, too. You look really goofy up close.”

“Not you. Still gorgeous.”

“Liar.”

“Okay, gorgeously goofy. Closing my eyes, now.” He leaned down and nibbled on her mouth.

“I’m not. I’m watching you.”

“Then I’d better make it interesting.” Leaving her sweet mouth, he journeyed over her chin and down the smooth column of her throat.

“Is this the part where you bite me and suck my blood?”

He adopted his best Transylvania accent. “Not tonight, my precious little strudel. Tonight I will bite and suck elsewhere.” He kissed his way to the swell of her breast. “With your permission, of course, my sweet schnitzel.”

She drew in a quick breath. “Permission granted.”

Lifting his head, he noticed that she’d propped a pillow behind her head and was indeed watching him. Fire licked through his veins and heated his already very stiff cock as he cupped her breast and began his assault.

“Your beard tickles.”

“Is that good or bad, my luscious bundt cake?”

“Good.”

“Then I shall proceed.” Using hands, mouth and tongue, he celebrated the beauty of Miranda’s breasts until she squirmed against the sheet and gasped for air.

He sensed that she was moments away from coming, so he slid down between her thighs and made that happen. Her enthusiastic cries gave him great satisfaction, but he craved the ultimate reward. Even
crave
wasn’t a strong enough word. He doubted the English language had one that encompassed his yearning to connect with her in the most basic way possible for a man and woman.

Kissing his way back to her mouth, he let his tongue give her a taste of what he had in mind while he reached for the box on the bedside table. As he moved away from her long enough to put on a condom, she begged him to hurry. Her eagerness thrilled him more than she could know.

Earlier he’d fooled around, but that was over. He’d never been able to have sex for the hell of it. Communicating with a woman in this way had always seemed significant to him, but never more than with Miranda, the lover he’d longed for and had never expected to have.

Moving between her thighs, he rested his forearms on either side of her head and held her gaze as he slowly eased his cock forward. She welcomed him with her body, but also with her eyes. They glowed with pleasure as he sank deeper.

“I love this,” he murmured. “I love seeing how being with me affects you.”

She cupped his ass and urged him closer. “Any second I might begin to sparkle.”

“Any minute I might spontaneously combust.”

Her fingers tightened on his glutes. “Then let’s set the sheets on fire.”

“Yeah, let’s.” He began to thrust, slowly at first but gradually increasing the pace.

Her body quivered with each impact and her breathing grew labored. But her gaze never left his. Her luminous green eyes were filled with joy and wonder, hope and delight.

No matter what happened, he’d never forget the way she was looking at him while he made love to her. He’d finally found a woman who understood the magnificent beauty this moment could contain. It was about more than bodily satisfaction, although that was wonderful.

This amazing connection had the power to dissolve barriers and create a bond that could last a lifetime. With each firm stroke their bond strengthened. When her body signaled that she was ready, he pushed in with more force. Right before she climaxed, she closed her eyes, as if the intensity of the experience had overwhelmed her.