He started back toward the sedan, watching as it grew nearer through the rain, until he was almost there. The only problem now was that he wanted her more than he wanted to breathe. And he kept right on walking.
A moment later, he stood on her porch, one finger pressing down the doorbell, blood pumping through his veins like liquid heat.
Penny pulled open the door and stared at him through the screen.
"I'm back," he said.
"Why?"
"I'm weak?"
Her eyes, a dark, misty shade of blue that somehow matched the rain, widened with that moment of absorbing the unexpected.
Then, slowly, they turned sexy and oh-so-inviting as she bit her lip and reached for the door handle. "Come in."
* * *
6
As Ryan stepped in from the chilling rain, the heat in Penny's gaze hit him like a sledgehammer. Everything they'd done in the limo had been heaven on earth, but he hadn't been able to see her beautiful eyes then. The unspoken desire that shone in them now changed everything. And he was about to trade his career for the look in those eyes, but he didn't have an ounce of regret.
His briefcase thudded to the floor and his umbrella followed. Without a word, he stepped forward to kiss her. Cupping her cheeks, his hands were gentle, but his kiss was not. He felt like a man who'd just crossed a desert and she was his first drink of water.
When the kiss ended, she looked up at him, her breathing labored. "You're not holding anything back."
"What?" he murmured.
Her lips trembled. "That night in the limo, I could tell you were holding back. Even though you kissed me senseless, I knew there was more of you I wasn't quite getting."
"I was caught off guard then. Hell, I'm always caught off guard with you."
She curled her fingers into tight fists, the fabric of his shirt crushed within. "Don't hold anything back now, Ryan."
Her words swept through him like wildfire. "Don't worry, honey. I couldn't if I tried." And he meant it; he hadn't come back here to do anything halfway.
He lowered his mouth to hers again as she pushed the wet raincoat along with his suit jacket from his shoulders. The clothing fell to the floor in a heap behind him and she started working at his tie. His breath came heavy as his hands roamed up from her hips to graze her breasts, his fingertips playing across the hardened peaks beneath her shirt to make her moan.
His aching erection pressed against the juncture of her thighs as he leaned her against the wall. She moved into him, a slight, teasing grind at first, then more urgent, until he lost himself in the hot friction. He kissed her with all the pent-up passion he'd harbored these past few agonizing days-it felt more like weeks, months-and his only thought was drinking in more of her, somehow taking her into his soul.
When he finally pulled back from the kiss, their hips still locked in rough need, Ryan witnessed such wrenching passion in her eyes that it shot straight to his heart, and he suddenly understood the truth. This really mattered to her.
He'd known that before, known she was a woman who didn't take sex lightly, but he'd obviously underestimated her feelings. Yes, she was eager and anxious to explore her sexuality, but as he fell captive to the raw emotion on her face, he knew more than ever that her actions also had to do with her heart.
And while that might normally have had him pulling back, thinking twice, he couldn't pull away from Penny this time. He didn't have the power; her wringing need drew him like a magnet. And maybe that meant it mattered to him, too, but right now, he wasn't capable of thinking beyond this moment, and he wasn't even sure he wanted to look any deeper at his own response to the woman in his arms.
Unknotting her T-shirt, he pulled it off over her head to reveal a seductive powder-blue bra that matched her eyes. Her breasts swelled from the hugging fabric, her rosy nipples visible through the lacy edge. "You're so sexy," he murmured.
Nuzzling her, he dropped a few soft, lingering kisses on her neck, shoulder, and was just about to use his teeth to ease down one bra strap when suddenly she clung tight to him. "Ryan, don't leave me this time."
The whispered words stunned him at first, but then his heart broke for every time he'd left her, even in the limo. He wished now he'd stayed. "I won't. I promise," he answered, his voice strained, his chest tightening at his own words. This was surrender, total and complete.
Penny hated what she'd just said, how she'd let her resolve be diminished, but when he'd come back to her door, the thrill that'd rushed through her had been paralyzing, and now his touches had weakened her. She'd told him the truth-she didn't want a guy who didn't want the same things she did-but saying it and sticking to it were two different things. What she felt with Ryan right now went beyond any normal sort of passion. Just as she'd feared last night, she cared for him. And she also feared she'd just let him see her true feelings.
Yet still he held her, had not pulled away.
More than that, he kissed her, slower now, his lips playing gently over hers as his hands skimmed down her back and bottom.
When Penny finally unbuttoned his shirt and shoved it from his shoulders, one glimpse of his chest undid her. She'd felt its broad, smooth planes beneath her hands in the limo, had even seen it briefly after the light had come on, but now everything was different-every touch, every word, every glance went deeper.
"You're so beautiful," Ryan whispered, "you make me ache."
The compliment spread through her. "Don't worry. I think I can relieve that ache."
As he reached for the button on her jeans, Penny pulled in her breath, her entire body tingling beneath the lust in his gaze. She couldn't quite believe she'd just said that, and she couldn't quite believe that this was her, opening up completely, abandoning herself to such brazen desire. Then a knock came on the door.
She flinched and Ryan's fingers stilled. They exchanged startled looks and her heartbeat kicked up another notch. This was just like the phone call last night, which had ruined everything. "I won't answer it," she whispered. "They'll go away."
As if on cue, though, the knock sounded again, this time accompanied by a voice. "Come on, Pen, I know you're home."
Penny gasped. "Oh no, it's Patti. And she does know I'm home. My car's outside and I'm supposed to be here … working with you."
Ryan let out a frustrated sigh.
"I'll get rid of her," Penny said.
"Penny?" Her sister yelled through the door, knocking again.
"Hurry," Ryan whispered, and the urgency in his voice shot straight to the juncture of Penny's thighs.
"Coming!" she called, and she was just about to break free of Ryan's embrace and grab her shirt when the door burst open and Patti stepped in, Scott behind her.
"Scott got off work early and we decided to take in a, uh, matinee." Her smile froze on her face as Scott's eyes widened until they looked as if they might pop from his head.
Penny and Ryan stood equally frozen and Penny wanted to die. Scott's gaze was glued to her and despite the fact he'd probably seen women wearing frilly bras before, he'd never seen her in one. She could barely speak. "I said I was coming," she managed to choke out to her sister.
Patti's smile had faded to the same horror-filled expression the rest of them wore. "Oops. I thought you said 'Come in.'" Then she spoke quickly, wringing her hands. "We just wanted to see if you'd changed your mind about meeting us for dinner later, but I'm guessing for sure now you haven't."
This time, Ryan answered for her. "Yeah, I think she'll be busy."
"Sorry," Patti said, backing out the door, stumbling into Scott, who now studied his shoes as he repeatedly ran his hands back through his blond hair. "Bye."
As the door closed, shutting out the intrusion and the sound of the lightly falling rain, Penny peered up at Ryan, still in his loose embrace.
"Now returning from the Twilight Zone," he said, looking nearly as dumbfounded as she felt.
"I can't believe that just happened," she said, her face hot from embarrassment. "I can't believe my sister's boyfriend just saw me half-undressed!"
And I can't believe this had to happen now, right when we were about to make wild, passionate love. Penny's heart sank as the expression on Ryan's face immediately overrode her worry about Scott. They'd been here before, after all, and she could guess what was coming. He would change his mind, he'd remember Martin and his job, and all the glorious passion they'd just been sharing would fall apart.