“Beck?”
“We were supposed to toast at midnight since neither of us had a date to kiss.” His jacket parts when he lifts his shoulders, drawing myattention once again to his nipples.Is he still cold, or is that a sign of desire?
“Did you want someone to kiss at midnight?” I lick my lips as my gaze finds his mouth.
“It’s tradition.” He looks at me from under thick lashes—apparently, I wasn’t checking him out as subtly as I thought—and my cock starts to stir again.
“I’m not sure I can kiss you without wanting more.”
“Is that a bad thing?” His tongue swipes seductively over his bottom lip.
Taking a step back so I can’t reach for him, I shake my head slowly. “I don’t want you to think I'm using you.”
“You didn’t use me the first time.”
“Pretty sure I did,” I snort.
“Okay, then I’m pretty sure I let you.” He steps forward, close enough that I could reach him if I tried. “Don’t beat yourself up over taking something I willingly gave. Especially, since I don’t regret it.”
“You don’t?”
“I don’t.” He holds my gaze just long enough for me to believe him before his cheeks flush and he ducks his head. “It was one of the hottest encounters I’ve ever had. Maybethehottest.”
Between the way he’s looking at me and the challenge in his words, my restraint is waning. I barely have enough to keep my arms hanging by my side. Then he erases the distance.
Chapter twenty-two
Hayden
He’s wavering.
I know what he wants—his hungry eyes give him away—yet he doesn’t move. Trying to play the gentleman I guess, though we’re well past that.
Stepping to him, I set my palms on his chest. He remains still, watching.Waiting. His restraint is admirable in the sense that it’s a sign he cares, and I do appreciate that. I like knowing he respects me enough not to focus on the physical. But we’ve been dancing around this attraction for weeks, and only acted on it a single all too brief time.
I want more.
Slowly, so I don’t spook him, I rise to my toes and press my lips to his. They’re surprisingly soft, something I didn’t notice before since there was an underlying aggression to our contact.
Tilting my head, I try to deepen the kiss. He’s slow to respond, parting his lips only slightly. It’s not until my tongue grazes over his top lip that his body seems to register what’s happening, and he grips my hips in his large hands.
This time, instead of fighting for dominance, our movements are slow. Deliberate. Savoring instead of commanding, though whether he intends it or not, this slow burn stakes his claim on my body.
Pressed together, I can feel the hard ridge of his cock straining against the thin fabric of his pants. The sudden, overwhelming urge to free it takes over, and I slide my hands down his chest, and his flat stomach, until they find the waistband of his pants. Before I can undo it, his hands travel up my chest to my shoulders, pushing my jacket off my arms, before they drift to the buttons on my shirt.
The thin fabric pools on the floor, leaving me in just my pants next to a fully clothed Ryder. I should feel exposed—I basically am—but I don’t. Instead, as Ryder’s heated eyes roam appreciatively over my body, I feel treasured, and my patience evaporates.
Gripping his shirt, I yank it free of his pants before attacking the buttons. His finger traces the curve of my meager pec as I undress him, though he’s otherwise still, giving me full control. When I can push the material over his shoulders, I take a minute to admire his leanly muscled frame, ghosting my fingertips over his firm chest and down the rippled planes of his abdomen, so much more cut than my own.
His torso is hairless. Smooth. Like a statue except softer, despite not being soft at all. Years of activity have sculpted it into a piece of art, one I could admire for hours on end, if it weren’t for the tingle between my legs demanding to be satisfied.
Undoing the clasp on his pants, I loosen them enough that I can slip my hands under the waistband of his boxers, and shove them off his hips. His heavy cock springs up once it’s unconfined, coming to a rest against my belly.
I drop to my knees, intent on studying this part of his body, but before I can touch, he pulls me to standing and cups the back of myhead, bringing me to him for a searing kiss. “Take me to your bed,” he growls.
Grabbing his hand, I lead him to my room, feeling his eyes roam over my ass as we go. With a swift, chaste kiss I nudge him toward the bed and duck into the bathroom for the world’s fastest shower. When I emerge I sit on the edge, ready to get another look at what I still haven’t seen properly, but Ryder pushes me flat and kneels on the floor.
“Me first,” he says as he crawls between my legs. Large hands land on my hips, pressing my pelvis into the mattress as his thumb traces the prominent vein on the underside of my dick. I inhale as a burst of cool air hits my slit, gasping when it’s followed by a swipe of his warm tongue.
