Shifting her body slightly, her butt came across something warm and solid. Was that what she thought it was? Her heart sped up and heat spread to her core. Afraid to look behind her, she tried to remain controlled. She’d heard of men waking up ready and willing, but the size of that thing was ridiculously large. And, oh, so tempting.
Maybe he was awake, lying there thinking of her. Wanting her, but not knowing how to make the first move. After all, she’d told him straight out that nothing could happen between them, and he’d readily and expeditiously agreed, to her consternation. She had to admit, she’d hoped he’d argue with her a little. Show her she wasn’t alone in feeling the sexual electricity running between them. But not only had he agreed, he’d flirted with her sister. But now he lay curled behind her with a very impressive erection, and she had to wonder if it was for her or just his regular state each morning.
Should she turn around and check to see if he was awake? She peaked down, not surprised to see blotchy pink spots of anxiety all over her chest. No one could ever accuse her of being seductive because she didn’t know the first thing about how to entice a man into sex. Her sister had once explained men were like dogs, and if you wanted them in your bed, all you needed to do was snap your fingers and command them to “come.” Then again, her sister didn’t allow fear to keep her from achieving her goals. If she wanted something, she took it regardless of the consequences. Portia had to consider it from every angle before she’d make a move, and usually by that time, she’d lost whatever it was she’d wanted in the first place.
And there was no denying she wanted Ryan. She’d already created a pros and cons list in her head as to sex. So far, they were evenly matched. On the pro side, she’d listed: orgasms; stress relief; increased serotonin; exercise; and seeing him naked. On the con side, she’d listed: he’d see her naked; what if he failed to give her an orgasm?; awkwardness; sweat; and she wasn’t sure when she’d last shaved her legs. But the pro that could outdo any con? Ryan wanting her.
There was only one way of finding out. “Ryan?” she whispered, not wanting to disturb him if he was indeed sleeping.
“Yeah?” he responded from across the room.
Across the room?
Her head twisted to see a shirtless Ryan with a towel wrapped around his waist. At the same moment she began drooling as she drunk in the gorgeous sight of beads of water dripping down his amazingly toned six-pack and headed for the treasure trail to the promised land, she also realized the “affection” currently nudging her ass did not belong to Ryan. So she did what every rational woman would do when waking up with something poking into her. She slowly and carefully reached around to identify the something.
Not only was the something warm and solid.
It was furry.
Screaming, she bolted out of bed and ran straight for Ryan. His eyes widened as she barreled into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and tackling him to the ground.
He grinned, looking mildly amused by her outburst. “Problem?”
“Fur,” she managed to rasp out, her body shuddering. “In the bed. Not you. Fur.” He stared blankly at her. She took a deep breath to calm herself and then said, “Rat.”
The blank stare bled into one of horror as he finally understood what she was trying to explain. His golden skin went pasty, his normally lush lips pressed together so tightly they almost disappeared. He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.
Studying his face, her fear melted away, turning into a heat which spread from her head down to her toes, the majority concentrated in that soft part of her which lined up perfectly against the hard part of him.
“Not that I’m not enjoying this position,” he said, his eyes fluttering down to look at the narrow space between their bodies and then back up, “but we really should kill whatever rodent is sleeping in our bed.”
She nodded, feeling slightly foolish for continuing to lay on him. Pushing off with her hands, she got up as carefully as possible, taking special care as to not knee him in the groin. Her heart raced, and at this point, she wasn’t sure if it was due to the surprise guest in their bed, or a reaction to the visual of his gorgeous body. She held out a hand and he took it, his thumb brushing over her knuckles so quickly she thought she must’ve imagined it. He entwined their fingers and she pulled him to his feet. Although they stood a foot away from each other, she could still feel him against her skin and smell his soap as if he had branded himself into her body. Whether frozen from lust or fear or a combination of both, she took him in as if he were a Greek statue and she an art aficionado.