Page 15

CHAPTER 15

F leur luxuriated in the hot shower but didn’t linger. Washing her hair and body, she smiled at the memory of what they’d just done. She knew she was adventurous when it came to sex. She liked to say things. Her last boyfriend had hated it. He hadn’t wanted to know what she’d wanted, what she’d needed. They’d been completely incompatible in bed, and the relationship had lasted a couple of months longer than it should have. But it was who she was, and she wanted to let Ronan see the real her. He had, and from his response, he loved it as much as she did.

She turned off the shower and toweled off before opening her bag. She didn’t have any sexy lingerie, but she did have a pair of boy-short panties and a tight tank top. It was as sexy as she could get in a war zone. She combed out her hair, which took almost as long as the shower, then grabbed the hair dryer and her bag before walking out into the private hut.

Ronan stood from where he’d been sitting, wearing nothing but boxer briefs. She let her eyes roam over his body. He was muscled, and his wide shoulders narrowed to a flat stomach. His chest hair traveled past the waistband of his navy-blue briefs. That perfect cock was semi-erect. Leaning against the doorjamb, she sighed. “What did I do to deserve someone as sexy as you?”

A rakish smile spread across his face, and he prowled across the floor. Yes, he prowled . It wasn’t a walk. It was that cock-sure male advancement that told her that if she weren’t his, he’d make her his with one kiss. She smiled at the thought. He’d already done that, hadn’t he?

He cupped her neck and stared down at her. “You are so fucking sexy.” He dropped and almost kissed her. “Shower time,” he said and moved past her, giving her a gentle push so he could shut the bathroom door. His laughter in the bathroom echoed hers. God, it was so nice to have fun, to be herself, and not to worry for others, even if it was just for an evening.

She plugged in the hair dryer and let the hot air dry her hair. It was so thick that it wouldn’t be dry by the time Ronan was finished in the shower, but the familiar act was soothing and a bit of home she’d missed. She closed her eyes and, as she dried her hair, considered what she would do when she returned to the States. She would love to see Ronan, but that seemed improbable, and she needed to stop thinking that way. This was a limited run, which hurt a bit because, if she let herself, she could easily fall for the man. He was interesting. His humor matched hers. But he was destined for bigger things than she was. He was part of an international business that he would one day manage. She was a nobody project manager who’d been reprimanded for putting people in danger. That was going to look good on her résumé, wasn’t it? She smiled and laughed quietly. If she didn’t laugh at her mistakes, she’d end up crying. She’d made so many wrong turns in this job, but she cared about the people who passed through the gates.

The light of the bathroom door opening caught her attention, and as he walked out completely naked, she lowered the hair dryer and turned it off. “Damn.” She smiled. “Time for sex.”

He laughed as he walked over to the bed and took her brush and the hair dryer and put them on the nightstand. He loomed over her, and she fell backward onto the pillows. Then he crawled over the top of her. “This goes.” He tugged on her tank top. She wiggled until she was able to get out of it, and his eyes traveled her body. She was thinner than she used to be, but she knew she had an okay body, and she wasn’t shy. His fingers trailed from her shoulder, over her breast, down her stomach, to her panties. Snapping the elastic, he looked back up at her. “If you want these to survive, take them off.”

She lifted an eyebrow in challenge. “No.”

Ronan grabbed the elastic in both hands, and his chest and arms muscles flexed. The material stood no chance, and it ripped. He slid the remnant down her legs and held it up. He gave her that rakish, sexy, curled-lip expression and said, “Never challenge me.”

“I’ll always challenge you.” She smiled back at him. “And you love it.”

“Fuck yeah, I do.” Lowering, he took one of her nipples in his mouth, and she slammed her eyes shut and arched into him. His fingers traveled her as his mouth did insane things to her breasts. She felt her sex heat. She was wet when he finally spread her and found her clit. He barely touched her, and the groan that came from her was from somewhere so deep she couldn’t stop it.

Two fingers dipped inside her. “You’re ready for me,” he whispered against her shoulder.

“I have been for days.” And that was the truth. She wanted his cock inside her with a desperation she hadn’t felt before.

He lifted his fingers to his mouth and sucked them.

“Jesus.” She arched harder, tightening her hips and legs in search of some kind of relief. “Make me come, Ronan.”

He reached over to the bedside drawer and pulled out a strip of condoms. She couldn’t help the laugh. “Think we’re going to need all those?”

“Damn straight.” He lifted to his knees, suiting up while she watched, and she spread her legs a bit wider and accepted him as he lowered. Only he didn’t do what she expected. Instead, he kissed the nipple of each breast tenderly and then trailed almost-there kisses down her stomach, stopping to kiss each hipbone. He made room for his shoulders, wrapped his arms around her legs, and spread her open. He licked along the side of her clit. Not enough pressure and too much sensation all at once. She tried to arch up into his mouth, but his arms kept her pinned to the bed. “My turn.” His whispered words were as much of a threat as they were a promise. She rode the sensation of his touches and tongue as the firestorm brewing in her core grew.

She tensed her legs and stomach as he licked and finger fucked her, but it wasn’t enough, and his low rumbling laughter told her he knew it. He’d bring her right to the edge and then slow his attentions. She grabbed the sheets and pulled on them as she begged for release. “Let me come.” He edged her for what seemed like hours. She was sweating and ached for release. “Please.” She needed relief from the swelling need.

“Not yet,” Ronan said as he slowed again.

“Ronan,” she groaned and then begged, “Please, I ache. I need you so much.”

He released her and crawled up her body, sliding his tongue over her skin, kissing and nipping as he moved over her. He wrapped his arms under her and held her head with his hands as he slowly entered her.

“Yes.” She sighed as his cock slid inside her. She wrapped her legs around him. There was no way in hell she’d let him move away from her. His strokes were slow and gentle, not at all what she wanted or needed. “More.” She arched under him, but nothing would make him go faster. The build-up was frustrating and so damn good. Her body inched closer and closer to release. Her breath and his synched as they shared the same air. His intense gaze held hers, and she was his willing captive. Releasing the sheets from her death grip, she slid her hands over his arms and to his back. He was so strong, so solid, and he was hers, at least for a short time. She lifted for a kiss, and when his lips closed over hers, she felt him thrust deeper and faster. The kiss, an intense, passionate, erotic connection, flamed the torrent of heat, and she felt herself tighten. She broke the kiss and shouted his name as she exploded. He held her tight and finished right after she did.

Fleur gasped for air as she tightened again, and her body gripped him. She’d never experienced anything like the sex they’d just had. His head was on her shoulder, and every huff of air from him fanned her heated skin. How was it possible that she’d never known how good sex could be? She pulled her fingers through his thick brown hair. “You broke me.”

He lifted his head. “In a good way or bad way? ”

“Good. Great. Better than great.” She waved her hand then dropped it on his back. “God, do that again, and you’ll never get rid of me.”

“Promises, promises,” Ronan said as he rolled to his side and took care of the condom. When he was back in bed, she snuggled next to his chest. “I’ve never had a lover edge me before. I hated it, but I loved it, too.”

“Intensity,” he said as he played with her hair. The snarls in it would take forever to comb out, but she couldn’t find it in her to care.

“That sums up our relationship,” she quipped, but the word did, in fact, sum up what had happened between them.

“That isn’t a bad thing.” He kissed the top of her head.

“I didn’t say it was. As a matter of fact, it’s probably the best thing that has ever happened to me.” She snuggled closer because she’d put herself out there with that comment. She wanted him to know he was the best she ever had.

He pulled her closer and wrapped her in his strong arms. “I have a problem.”

She jerked backward to look at him. “What?”

“Whatever this is between us is too good to walk away from.” His stare held no ridicule, no humor, nothing but honesty.

She smiled at him. “Oh. That’s a problem we share, then. I thought I was being stupid or sex-addled brain-dead, but you’re right. This is something … special.”

He pulled her closer again. “Get some sleep, cowgirl. We have a rodeo to attend, and I want to watch the entire event.”

She chuckled. “Ye-haw.” But the yawn that followed was real, and she snuggled into the man who had just taken her to the stars and back. He was right. She was in trouble because the feelings that grew inside her heart were strong. So damn strong.