Ryan presses the elevator button and the doors open. It’s still waiting there since no one is around. We walk in and he presses the button for his floor. Then he takes my other hand and holds both my palms together under his. He blows his warm breath onto them, trying to warm me.
“You’re freezing,” he says and does it again, but his lips brush against my palm this time. I suck in a breath. My heart slams into my ribs and I can’t breathe. Ryan looks into my eyes and I melt.
I can’t stop it. I can’t contain it anymore. I take Ryan’s hand and press his finger to my lips, returning the sensation he just shot through me. Ryan stills and lets me. I kiss one finger, gently pressing my lips to the tip of his warm finger, while I hold his palm with my other hand. My bottom lip sticks a little as I pull away. I do it again, but this time I nip his finger with my teeth as I kiss. I don’t look at him. I don’t want to see his reaction. I feel so lost, like I’m floating. Nothing grounds me, nothing calls me back to keep me from making these stupid mistakes.
When I move to kiss the third finger, he presses me against the wall and says, “Don’t.” He stands there, pressing into me, pinning me in place as his head dips and his lips linger dangerously close to mine. I shiver, even though I’m hot. I can’t speak. I can’t move. My heart pounds in my ears. The heat pours off his body. His muscles are tense, and he works his jaw. He’s angry. He must be. Ryan backs off when the elevator dings and the doors open.
He walks out, the muscles in his arms corded tightly and he runs his fingers through his hair. I remain on the elevator. I don’t follow him out. I can’t. I can’t do this, whatever it is, that he wants me to do. I can’t flirt all night and not touch him. I can’t bear it.
CHAPTER 7
RYAN
The way she draws my finger into her mouth makes me hard. I can’t look at her. If I watch, I’ll never get the image out of my mind. Why does she insist on tormenting me? While her booty dance outside was funny at first, the more she danced, the more I realized that I just wanted to watch. Her body sway and her br**sts bounce, and the way she shook her butt had me slobbering like a lab. Then she does this, these little kisses that are anything but innocent.
I press her back into the wall, not knowing what I’m doing. I just need her to stop. I feel her pulse beneath me, her heart beating furiously. Holly’s scent fills my head as I tell her no. At the same moment, my lips are getting too close to hers. I can’t resist. Her soft lips part as her rapid breaths disappear, and all I can see are those lips and their soft pink bliss.
The elevator dings and the door opens. It snaps me out of it long enough to pull away from her. I walk out and down the hall, my feet hitting the floor hard and fast. After a second, I don’t feel her heat or hear her breath. I stop and look back. Holly is still on the elevator, watching me walk away. She hasn’t moved from the place where I held her to the wall. She stares at me. Even from this far away, I feel her eyes pierce through me.
I’ve f**ked up. I scared her. The doors start to close and I hurry back. When I realize I’m not going to make it before they close, I full out run. The doors slide shut and I curse, pulling at my hair. I press the button forty times, jabbing it with my finger.
The doors slide open again. She’s still standing there. She never pressed the button.
“Holly,” I say, putting my hand on the door so it doesn’t close again. “I’m sorry.”
Her voice sounds strained when she speaks, like she might cry. “Sorry for what? You didn’t do anything wrong. I did.” She won’t look at me. She hangs her head and her dark hair covers half her face. “I’d leave, but I don’t know where else to go.”
I step into the elevator and slip my hands around her waist. She still doesn’t look up at me. I grip her chin with my hand, and carefully tilt her head back. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I overreacted.” I’m breathing hard, I want to say it—that I’m totally enamored by her—but I can’t make the words form in my mouth. Instead of being smooth and witty, I’m cotton-mouthed and shaking. “Please, don’t leave. I want you here. If it wasn’t snowing, I’d still want you here.” Her gaze finally meets mine and I see that those brown eyes don’t believe me. “Holly?” her name hangs in the air.
“Mmmm?” she makes a noise in her throat that sounds sexual. The elevator doors shut and it just sits there. Holly breathes hard, and doesn’t shake my hands off. I feel that familiar sensation when I’m around her. It tugs gently at my middle, and our lips are drawn like magnets, but we both resist.
“Can I kiss you?” I ask because I don’t want to mess this up, because she’s too important to me and there are several hours more before dawn.
Holly watches my mouth as I ask, her gaze focuses on my lips. Instead of answering, she leans closer, closing the space between us and presses her mouth to mine. The kiss is gentle, a light sweeping of her lips across my mouth. My body responds to her. My pulse races into stroke territory, as I fight the caveman urge to carry her back to my bed.
Her lips taste perfect, they feel perfect. I keep my hands splayed on Holly’s cheeks as she kisses me again, this time taking my lower lip between her teeth. She holds it gently and releases. She sucks in a shaky breath and kisses me harder this time. Her lips part and her tongue pushes into my mouth. She sweeps over the curves of my mouth until she finds my tongue.
That’s when things get hot. I can’t contain myself. I can’t hold back anymore and do things half way. Holly makes me crazy. I want to give her what she wants. I kiss her back and the moment goes from innocent to X-rated. We’re kissing harder and I drop my hands, and pull her body against mine. As her mouth remains desperately attached to mine, the kiss deepens and her hands clench my back, gathering fistfuls of my shirt to pull me closer to her.
Holly’s body fits perfectly against mine. Her br**sts press firmly against my chest and I know she can feel how much I want her. It’s impossible to hide. I tilt my h*ps and press into her and she reacts. I didn’t expect it, but she does. Holly slips her leg up against mine, and I grab the top of her thigh and press against her. She moans in mouth and I can’t stand it. Her scent fills my head as her hands tangle in my hair. She pulls and I grip her thigh harder, slipping my hand over the garter straps and feeling the curve of her ass. When she tilts her h*ps up, I feel her little bottom brush against my leg. The heat between her thighs is incredible.
I realize what’s happening and where we are. Breaking the kiss, I trail my lips down her neck and she throws her head back, gasping. Her nails dig into my arms. If I’m going to be with Holly, it’s not going to be a quickie in an elevator. I want to worship her body for hours, I want to see her face when she cli**xes and screams my name. That’s the only reason why I can pull my lips off her hot neck. I slip my arms under her and lift. She gasps and leans against my chest. I press a kiss to her cheek.
I move to the elevator doors and press the button. As it opens she looks up at me with swollen lips. I say, “I’ve wanted you for so long. We’re doing this the right way.” The door opens and I carry her back to my room. After kicking the door shut with my foot, I lay Holly on my bed and look down at her.
She’s said nothing since we started kissing. I worry about her. I don’t want her to regret this. “Are you sure?”
She nods, her eyes never leaving mine. Those big brown eyes are dark and filled with lust. She speaks and her voice is breathy and light, “Yes. I want to be with you.”
I sit next to her on the edge of the bed and run my hand up her thigh. I stop at the hem of her dress, dying to take it off of her, but still wanting more confirmation from her first. “You might right now, but what about tomorrow?”
She smiles softly. It makes her face glow. I can’t look away. My hand is suddenly warmer as she places her hand over mine. She slips it under her dress, pushing my palm further up her thigh. She parts her legs and says, “I wanted you yesterday, and the day before that. I’ll still want you tomorrow. Is that good enough?”
I stare at her. She wanted me? I blink, but the lust won’t clear from my eyes. “You wanted me?”
She nods. “Always.”
That’s all I need to hear. I kneel on the bed, straddling her h*ps and bend down. I press my lips to hers and she kisses me back.
CHAPTER 8
HOLLY
Ryan seems surprised, but I don’t know why. When I said I wanted him, that I’ve always wanted him, my heart nearly exploded. It was something that I thought I’d never admit. Ever. It was the darkest secret at the back of my brain that was held under lock and key, and I’d gone and blurted it out to Ryan.
My heart pounds harder as he looks at me. That dark gaze sweeps over me, like he can’t believe what I said. Ryan’s eyes search my face and slowly he smiles. I mirror his expression. Suddenly, he’s kneeling on the bed and his leg swings over my hips. My breath catches in my throat. I’ve wanted him for so long. Am I really going to do this? There’s no going back, and I don’t want to go back. As Mandy said, this is the path. The only way to know where it ends is to follow it.
Ryan straddles my hips. He’s still wearing his jeans and tee shirt, but he shucked his shoes. He bends down and presses his lips to mine. I close my eyes and fall into the kiss, losing myself in his lips. They are so full and soft. He presses against me and I open my mouth. His tongue sweeps in and we pick up where we left off. My hands find his hair and pull as the kisses grow hotter. The floor of my stomach is in a free fall. I clutch his shirt and pull. Ryan sits up for half a beat and lets me pull the shirt over his head. When Ryan lays back down, he pulls me into his arms and presses me against his chest. He’s so warm and smells so good. I have to touch him. The tips of my fingers trace his back lightly at first, trailing over his hot skin, until my hand hits the waist of his jeans. I tug at them, wanting them off.
He groans and reaches for my hands. Taking my wrists, Ryan pins them above my head and holds them there. Looking into my eyes he says, “Slow down. Let me kiss you, let me taste you. I want to learn every inch of your body, every curve.”
I gasp, and tilt my h*ps up into his. The way he pins my hands above my head forces my boobs out. Ryan pins my wrists with one hand, while the other finds my breast and cups it. He moves his thumb agonizingly slow over my nipple, making them tighten in response. I make a startled noise and he kisses my lips lightly, still holding my breast in his hand. His thumb moves in slow circles, teasing me beneath the bra. The black lace is sheer and I can feel the heat of his hand on me. I arch my back, pushing into his palm. Ryan holds onto my wrists and teases me, and then moves to the mound of sensitive flesh on my other side. His lips nip and tug at the fabric until my vision starts to get hazy at the edges.
I say his name and he releases me. Ryan sits up and moves to the side. He pulls me up and reaches around to undo the zipper on my dress. He pulls it up over my head and I fall back onto the bed.