But Ryan simply pushed back a loose strand of her hair. "Oh, come on now," he murmured, "you're not really half-undressed." He leaned near, their faces lingering close for a slow, sexy moment before he lowered his mouth to hers. She let the kiss melt down through her, finally understanding that she'd been wrong and this wasn't ending. He still wanted her.
"To be half-undressed," Ryan said, "this would have to be gone." He ran one finger down the strap of her bra. "Or, at the very least, these would have to come off." His touch returned to the front of her blue jeans and a wave of heat rushed through her body. As he lowered the zipper, she quivered at the sensations just beneath. He slid his hands inside, over her hips, pushing down the denim and giving a little growl as she wriggled free to reveal a skimpy swath of blue lace underneath.
"Of course," he whispered, "we're not gonna stop at just the halfway point." He reached for her again, this time raining soft kisses on the exposed skin above her bra. Lowering the blue straps until her breasts spilled free, he took one stiffened peak into his mouth, and she braced herself against the wall for support as his ministrations echoed through her. Oh, how she wanted this man, and how she trusted him so much, already. She'd never let a man get this close to her so quickly, but she found herself wanting to know all his secrets, his entire past, his dreams for the future; she wanted to be a part of that future.
When he straightened, he cupped her face in his hands. "Tell me about your fantasies, Penny. Let me make them come true."
She bit her lip, nervous. Ryan was so sexy, and so comfortable and confident, that for a moment it frightened her. But a few minutes ago, she reminded herself, you actually told him you could relieve his ache, so she forced her nervousness aside. She wanted to be what she'd claimed she was-she wanted to be wild for him.
Trying to summon a reply, her thoughts flashed on the previous evening. "Last night after you left, I took a bath, and even though I was mad at you, I wished you were there. I … " Could she really say this part? "I imagined things … things you'd do to me in the tub."
Without prelude, he scooped her up in his arms, and carried her to the bathroom.
Soon they settled into frothy bubbles, their legs mingling beneath the water, but Penny panicked a little, fearing this sort of intimacy was too much, too fast, despite how eager she felt. It had been one thing to make love in the limo, in the dark, when she'd thought he was someone she knew, but this suddenly seemed more difficult, as if it were the real first time.
Ryan leaned back in the tub and gave her a slow, sultry smile. "So, last night, when you were thinking about us like this, what did I do to you?"
Her chest fluttered. Maybe it was too much, too fast, but it was also too tempting to resist. Her voice came breathy. "You … used the sponge."
Ryan's expression became serious as he reached for the seashell-shaped sponge, along with her Sunny Peach body wash, resting on the shelf behind the tub. When he met her eyes in silent command, she emerged from the bubbles, rising to her knees between his legs, and all her fear vanished, chased away by anticipation.
As he swiped the sponge slowly across her stomach, arms, breasts, Penny fell victim to the pleasure taking control of her body. When he drew it up the center of her in one long, luxurious stroke, she felt it everywhere, and something clenched tight deep in her womb.
"How am I doing?" he asked softly. "Anything like your fantasy?"
"Better."
"Tell me what happened next."
She lowered herself over his hips until she met his incredible hardness beneath the bubbles. "Sex."
Releasing a groan, Ryan slid his wet hands to her soapy bottom to guide her, and she sank easily onto him, although the sensation nearly took her breath. She remembered what this felt like the first night, yet it seemed startlingly new. Instinct made her move on him in slow circles and she peered into his eyes the entire time, never looking away. She finally had that glorious connection between their eyes as their bodies connected below. Their gazes stayed locked until she shattered into a bliss that splashed water from the tub and left them both groaning with pleasure.
They never spoke after that, but Ryan kissed her, slow and thorough, before lifting her from the tub. Grabbing a towel to wrap around her, he carried her down the hall to her bed. Mauve miniblinds kept the room warm and dim, the rain outside creating even more shadows. He opened her peach towel and parted her thighs, kneeling in between.
"My fantasy now," he whispered, and bent to rake his tongue across her most sensitive spot, kissing and licking until Penny was biting her lip, lost to the tumult of sensation. She gripped the brass railings over her head until she was lifting herself against his mouth, moaning with each pulse of heat that swept through her. When she came this time, it was harder, fiercer, making her clench her teeth and whimper until there were only sighs, hers and his, as he slid up beside her on the bed.
Gazing into his eyes, Penny realized how far gone she was. Frightening words echoed through her mind. I love you. She wanted to say them, but they couldn't be true, not this soon, not this quickly. Yet it didn't diminish the power of the emotion in her heart when she whispered, "Make love to me some more."
Ryan rolled himself on top of her without delay, entering her with ease. She peered up at him playfully and said, "This is the first time we've done it in a bed."
He brushed his fingertips through her hair and gave her a gentle smile. "Probably not exactly the kind of thing you fantasize about, huh?"
Beneath him, Penny didn't answer, didn't tell him the truth that reverberated inside her.
Yes. It is.
* * *
When Penny awoke with Ryan's arm looped around her waist, they lay atop her comforter, the towel bunched beneath them. She turned to watch him sleeping, his head sharing a pillow with hers. Her heart nearly burst just watching him breathe, studying his dark eyelashes, noticing the lock of hair that fell over his forehead. Making love to him-for that's truly what it had been, making love-had been the most thrilling, fulfilling experience Penny could ever remember.
Which was kind of scary considering their circumstances, and especially since she could barely fathom how daring she'd been, but she didn't have time to deal with the worries as Ryan stretched and opened his eyes.
"Hi," she said.
He smiled. "Hi."
She swallowed, nervous. This was the aftermath, the moment when she'd find out if he regretted what they'd done. "How … are you?"
"Good," he said, then his grin turned rakish. "Satisfied." He pulled her a little closer. "And you?"
"The same."
He kissed her forehead. "I like helping you live out your fantasies, Penny."
Something inside her tingled, and she didn't know if it was emotional or sexual, or both. "Really?"
"Oh yeah," he growled, then leaned down to nip playfully at the pebbled tip of her breast.
She let out a laugh as relief skittered through her. She'd been so afraid he'd regret it. "Hungry, are you?" she teased him.
His expression turned sheepish. "Actually, I've been thinking about pot roast sandwiches, among other things, since I left here last night."
"Why don't I go whip a couple up and bring them back? It'll only take a minute."
"Hmm," he said, "dinner in bed. We could start a new trend."
Even though she'd offered, Penny hated pulling away from him, hated ending this perfect moment. But she had to be mature here; she knew this was only a fling, knew that's all it could be. So she couldn't act clingy and emotional … well, not any more than she already had.
Grabbing a short, silky kimono from a hook on her closet door, she headed for the kitchen and returned five minutes later carrying a tray laden with hot pot roast sandwiches, potato chips and two glasses of milk. "I made an assumption about the milk," she told him, lowering the tray to the bed.
"A girl after my own heart," he said with a smile. "Nothing goes better with home-cooking."
As they ate, they talked about her business and more about her family, about how he'd gotten into software design back in college, and about pets they'd once owned and their favorite TV shows growing up. Penny savored each nugget of information, every little insight into his soul. But she also worried that this would be a onetime thing, that they might never share such good, easy, gratifying communication again.