The Mighty Quinns: Ryan (9 page)

“Yes. He wouldn’t be calling at one a.m. if it wasn’t an emergency.”

“Are you going to answer it?”

“No, I’ll wait and call him back once we’re in the air.”

They finished off the prawn curry, and after that, the champagne. A soft rain had begun to fall and they huddled under the small roof above the hangar door.

By the time the plane rolled up a half hour later, the drizzle had become a downpour and they were both in a buoyant mood.

Serena stood up and walked out onto the tarmac, turning her face up to the sky. The droplets were warm and soothing. It was as if the rain could wash away all the mistakes she’d made. Her life started now, at this perfect moment.

Ryan joined her and slipped his arms around her waist before capturing her lips in a long, delicious kiss. For the first time in her life, she had everything she could possibly want. She was happy and carefree and caught up in a wonderful romance.

Serena didn’t care about the future. For now she was happy to live in the present—as long as that present included Ryan.

He drew back and smiled down at her, wiping the rain from her cheeks. Then he looked over his shoulder. “Our ride is here,” he said.

The door to the jet dropped open and Ryan jogged to the hangar to grab their bags. Then he held out his hand to her. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

Serena wasn’t sure how this would work out, or whether she’d regret walking away from her wedding. She wasn’t sure how she felt about Ryan or how he felt about her. But all that mattered was that right now she was completely free and ready to see what the future held.

5

A
FTER
A
QUICK
VISIT
from a sleepy customs agent, the Learjet took off in the rain, then turned southwest and set a course for Auckland. It was the beginning of a new day, but for Ryan, that day brought a host of complications.

He’d made a promise to Thom Perry that he’d do this job, and now he was in the middle of a mess that was going to cost his “boss” a lot of money. It would cost him his big payday, too. The surf school would be on hold for a few more years.

Ryan knew what he ought to do—call Thom and give him an update on the situation. Disappearing into the night without a trace would only cause more problems.Yet he didn’t want to break Serena’s trust. Somewhere along the way, his loyalties had shifted from Perry to Serena. But was he letting his attraction to her color his decisions? He’d all but told her to break up with her fiancé, and now that she had, he was beginning to wonder if he’d made a mistake.

He’d acted out of purely selfish desires. He wanted Serena and he couldn’t have her as long as she was attached to another man. So he’d waited, allowing the desire between them to smolder, waiting for her to make the decision. But what if she really did belong with Ben Thayer, and what if Ryan had ruined any chance she had for happiness?

He sank back into the wide leather seat and closed his eyes. Wasn’t this always the way it worked for him? He never let himself get too close to a woman. But there was something different with Serena. Maybe it was the thrill of seducing a celebrity. Or perhaps there were real emotions between them. Having never experienced either, he wasn’t sure he could recognize the difference.

“I found the whiskey,” Serena said, sitting down next to him and tucking her bare feet underneath her. She’d changed out of her wet clothes into a faded T-shirt and a pair of yoga pants. She’d wrapped a towel around her wet hair and had washed off the makeup she’d worn on their date. She looked...beautiful.

She set a glass down in front of him and filled it half-full.

“Isn’t this where we started?” he asked, reaching out to pick up the glass.

“I think it was,” Serena said. “And I remember this.” Leaning close, she brushed her lips against his. “Yes, I remember that. But we didn’t finish what we started then.”

She smiled coyly at him, then took his drink and set it on the table beside his seat. “As I recall, this is what I wanted to do next.” Serena reached down for the hem of her T-shirt, then slowly pulled it over her head. Ryan’s breath caught in his throat as she straddled his legs.

“This is what you had in mind?”

“In my dreams, anyway,” she murmured. Her arms rested on his shoulders and she began to tease at his mouth, kissing and nibbling. Ryan groaned, pulling her into a deep kiss, his palms skimming over her naked back.

Her skin was like warm silk, and he wanted to take his time and explore what she offered. But they’d been waiting so long to indulge their desire that neither one of them wanted to slow down.

Serena reached for the buttons of his shirt and undid them, kissing a path along the skin she exposed. He tossed aside the towel that covered her damp hair and twisted his fingers through the strands at her nape. Wave after wave of sensation raced through his body, and Ryan closed his eyes and tried to maintain control.

It had been a while since he’d been with a woman. Back-to-back guiding trips hadn’t left him much of a chance to take care of his sexual needs. But even in his wildest fantasies, he’d never imagined that his trip to Fiji would take this turn.

He pulled her body against his, his lips finding the taut peak of her nipple. A soft sigh slipped from her throat as he drew her flesh into his mouth. The scent of her skin was intoxicating, and when he moved to her neck, the intensity increased. The mix of floral and citrus scents filled his head, every sense in his body coming alive.

He couldn’t seem to process it all, and Ryan tried to think rationally. But he was operating on pure instinct, driven by his desire and his need to possess her.

She crawled off his lap and kneeled at his feet, reaching for the button on his shorts. Just the thought of her lips and tongue on his shaft was enough to shatter his control. But he wouldn’t allow the pleasure to be one-sided during the first experience between them.

Ryan drew her to her feet and peeled the yoga pants down her hips. She wore a scrap of a thong beneath and he hooked his finger into the side strap and tugged her closer.

He pressed his mouth to her belly, and Serena leaned into him, her arms wrapped around his neck. Her stomach was flat and finely muscled, and he splayed his fingers over her backside, drawing her closer as his kisses dipped lower.

Ryan measured his breathing, consciously trying to slow the pace of his seduction, but he was dancing on the edge. He wanted to throw her down onto the seat and bury himself inside her. Instead, he focused on her pleasure, drawing the thong down to her ankles. She kicked it off but then pulled away from him before he could take his first taste.

Ryan got up and knelt on the seat, watching her walk down the aisle naked. She opened the door to the bathroom and stepped inside, then emerged a few seconds later with a box of condoms. Ryan gasped. “They stock condoms on this plane?”

She shook her head. “I asked for them when I chartered the jet.”

“You requested condoms?”

“It’s not unusual. I figured we might need them. And we do.”

“The pilot knows we’re doing this?”

She pointed to a small plastic bubble on the bulkhead. “That’s a camera, and I’m pretty sure he can watch if he wants. Let’s give him a good show.”

She pulled him to his feet and stripped off his shirt and shorts. His boxers followed, and when the clothes were kicked aside, she tore a condom from the package and deftly sheathed him.

Ryan held his breath as her fingers danced over his stiff shaft. The thought that someone might be watching made the encounter even more intensely exciting. A tremor raced through his body, and he sucked in a slow, deep gulp of oxygen. Serena looked up at him, then pressed her palm against his chest, gently pushing him down onto his seat.

When he’d settled into the soft leather, Serena straddled his hips and positioned his shaft at the damp spot between her legs. She waited, watching him, her fingers skimming over his brow and lips. And then she bent close and kissed him, sinking down on top of him as the kiss intensified.

He’d never felt anything quite so exquisite as the sensation of penetrating her warmth. Combined with the kiss, it sent a surge of desire pulsing through his body. He circled his arm around her waist, and Serena leaned back, offering him a view of her body as she moved on top of him.

Ryan cupped her breast in his palm, then drew her nipple into his mouth. She moaned softly as she increased her pace, bringing him close to his release. He grasped her hips, slowing things down.

Serena read his cues perfectly. But when she stopped, he glanced up at her. Smiling, she smoothed her palm over her breast, then down her belly until she was touching herself.

The sight of her, so free, her need so raw, was impossibly electrifying. Her eyes were closed, her head tipped back. He waited for her to be ready, and when she began to move again, Ryan knew she was on the edge. He grabbed her waist and rolled her beneath him, seizing control but keeping the pace. Her orgasm was powerful, shaking her body and causing her to cry out in pleasure. Ryan followed her a few seconds later, driving into her warmth before the spasms rendered him breathless and completely spent.

When he’d recovered, Ryan pushed up on his hands and glanced at the camera. “Should we take a bow?” he asked.

Serena giggled. “I lied. That’s not a camera,” she said. “But your performance does deserve a bow. And an encore.”

* * *

T
HE
SMALL
COTTAGE
on the beach was dark and silent when Serena opened her eyes. She stretched her arms over her head, then rolled over. Ryan was lying beside her, his long legs tangled in the sheets, his pillow pulled over his eyes.

She gently pulled the pillow away and smiled as his eyes opened sleepily. “Hello,” she said.

“Hi.” He reached out and touched her face, and she pressed his hand to her cheek. “Just checking.”

“What?” she asked.

“To make sure this wasn’t a dream.”

Serena brushed her lips against his. “Nope, I’m real.”

“Good. I like having you real and in my bed.”

She snuggled closer and took a ragged breath. “I’m feeling very real right now. Ryan, I think I’ve made a mess of this. I don’t know that I’m going to be able to go back. Or if they’ll want me back.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Ryan said. “You’re beautiful and talented and—”

“Sometimes it’s not about talent,” she said. “It’s about playing the game by the rules. And I haven’t done that. Canceling the wedding isn’t going to help my reputation.”

“You’ll get through it,” he said.

“But maybe not unscathed.”

“So, what if you never went back? Could you give it up?”

She thought about his question for a long moment. “I could. I’m not certain I want to, though. It’s the only thing I do well. I’m a good actress. I just want to be a good actress on my own terms.”

“You’ve already taken control of your life. Everything is going to be fine, Serena.”

She nodded. “And if it isn’t, I’ll just give it all up. Maybe that’s what I ought to do anyway. I can start a new life. Try to live like normal people do, people who have real jobs and real problems. Do you know what kind of problems I have?”

“Tell me,” Ryan said, rolling onto his stomach.

“I spent days before this trip trying to decide whether to cut my hair. You have no idea what a momentous decision it was. How many people it might impact. You’re trying to decide whether to climb the highest mountain in the world to see where your father died, and I’m paralyzed about whether I should cut my hair. My life is...silly.”

He dropped a kiss on her lips. “Do you really want a serious life?”

“Yes. For the first time, I feel like I’m not pretending. I feel like I’m the one in control. And I’m so excited I could scream it to the heavens.”

“So, what’s the first thing you want to do in your new life?” Ryan asked.

She drew a deep breath. “Right now I could really go for a big, fat-filled meal. Since I’ve decided to go off my diet, I fully intend to put on fifteen pounds. And I plan to do it as fast as possible. Hamburgers and ice cream shakes and piles of French fries.”

Ryan grinned. “Yum. More of you to snog,” he teased, nuzzling his face into her naked breast.

She sat up and raked her hair out of her eyes. “What do you have in this place to eat?”

“Not much. I can go fetch takeaway.”

“I can cook,” she said. “I’m actually quite good at it.” Serena jumped out of bed. Tossing her tangled hair over her shoulder, she walked out of the bedroom.

His
bach,
as he called the cottage, was rustic but cozy. Though it didn’t overlook the water, it was surrounded by a thick grove of trees, which gave them enough privacy that they could keep all the windows open. The sound of the surf in the distance came in on the breeze and she drew a deep breath of the salt-tinged air.

She hadn’t felt so relaxed, so completely carefree, in years. She didn’t have to play a part, didn’t have to temper what she said or did, didn’t have to keep watch for photographers. Here, with Ryan, she was safe to be herself.

Serena pulled open the refrigerator and examined the contents inside. A few moments later, he came up behind her and joined her search. “I told you. Not much to work with. Beer, moldy bread, mustard and Marmite.”

Serena pushed back against him, rubbing against his crotch. He was already aroused and she decided that she might not be as hungry as she thought she was.

As she turned to face him, he hooked his hands around her waist, pulling her body fully up against his. His palms smoothed over her belly and she sighed, arching against him. “What are you about?” she murmured.

“I want to enjoy this,” he said, his touch drifting down to the damp spot between her legs. “I’ve never had a naked woman in my kitchen.”

“Never?”

Ryan shook his head. “You’re the first woman I’ve ever brought to the
bach
. I usually do my...seducing away from home.”

Serena reached up and ran her fingers through his hair as he continued to move against her, his erection growing. “So, either we get takeaway or I send you to the market. What do you have a taste for?”

He grasped her waist and pushed her against the counter, bracing his hands on either side of her. “I love the taste of you,” Ryan said, pressing his mouth to her shoulder. “And the smell of you,” he continued, drawing a deep breath. Meeting her gaze, he cupped her breast. “And the feel of you. And I could listen to your voice all day long.”

“I’m just a feast for the senses,” she said.

“A feast,” he repeated. He lifted her up onto the counter, then gently parted her legs. “I just need a taste. Just one.”

Serena smiled as his tongue found the center of her pleasure. He seemed to exist to make her happy, and yet she still wasn’t sure how she felt about him. There was affection and attraction, but he existed in the real world, where a future between them was impossible.

Sex with Ryan was about pleasure and release and not about complicated emotions. That’s what she needed right now, a man who didn’t demand anything from her. She was exhausted from always trying to please the people in her life, to meet expectations and to put her own desires aside for the good of her “career.” Now Serena was going to please herself.

She leaned back and closed her eyes, focusing on the knot of anticipation growing at her core. A wave of exquisite bliss washed over her, her nerves tingling and her toes curling. The impulse to surrender was strong, but Serena fought it, wanting the moment to last longer.

He’d become a student of her responses, and before long, he was taking her on a wild ride, racing her toward the edge, then pulling her back just in time. Serena arched against him, whispering her need, urging him to finish with her and end the lovely torment.