Awakening (23 page)

“In the bed, Young. Up top.” He laughs.

What? Oh! “Right. The bed, up there. Where we sleep. Okay.” I look around for a ladder. There isn’t one. “How do you get up there?” My head is still swimming, but suddenly I’m cold.

Ryan laughs louder. “You’ve really never camped before, have you?”

“No I haven’t!” I say, slightly miffed.

“Here, like this.” Ryan says as he gracefully steps on the front seat armrest, then the stove counter, and hauls himself into the bed above us.

“Oh. Okay.” I step on the seat armrest and throw my leg on the stove. I almost lose my footing and have to heave myself up, throwing myself onto the bed. Ryan cracks up laughing.

“Hey. No laughing at me. I’m in my damn underwear!” I say, my head still buried in bedding as I try to pull my legs into the bed.

“That was awesome. Worth the whole trip just watching you do that. You rock, Young.” Ryan is so pleased with himself, I hear it in his voice. At once I am both pleased to hear how happy and jovial he is, and miffed because it is at my expense.

I wiggle around and crawl into bed under the covers. It’s nice in here—warm, comfy blankets and soft pillows. He slips in next to me.

“Now. Where were we?” His hand caresses my body from collarbone to hip in long sensual strokes. “Do you need your bra on?”

I slip off my underwear and notice that Ryan is naked. I guess he took his pants off when I was struggling to get up here. I toss my undies out of the bed and sit up to take off my bra. Collapsing back on the bed, I am fully naked.

I hear him moan, a sound I am beginning to love. He is caressing me again, leaning on one elbow; his eyes are following his hands across my body. It’s thrilling to know he is watching me so closely.

His hands circle my breasts, gingerly teasing my nipples, stroking my stomach. His fingers slide across my hips, awakening every nerve ending in my body.

I feel his arousal against my leg, hear it in his breath. His eyes are burning as they watch my body and the way my skin shivers with his touch, the way my hips move up to join his hands, the way my breath comes out shaky. My eyes close, my brain shuts off, and I moan.

“Oh, God, Nora. You are so damn beautiful,” Ryan says, his voice urgent and rough.

His hand finally settles beneath my hips at the apex of my thighs. I quiver. His finger circles my clit, my legs open, and he growls. I feel him sliding down in the bed, his breath on my belly. When I open my eyes he is staring at his fingers hovering at the apex of the most private part of me. Instantly, I’m wet.

He slips a finger inside of me. His hand grazes the outside while his finger slides in and out. My back arches and another moan fills the van. With each thrust inward, I feel that hot honey spilling into me, building.

“Jesus, Nora,” he moans. His breath is hot on my skin, he’s that close to me. “I’m going to watch you come, Nora.” He blows on my sex while his finger thrusts in and out of me. He takes my thigh with his other hand and moves it ever so slightly, away from it’s counterpart giving him greater access, and my world explodes.

“Fuuuuuuuck,” I hear myself scream.

I’m lost in sensation, the pleasure so intense I can’t breath. Ripples of pleasure wash over me again and again, thrashing across my body. Stars explode behind my eyes. Finally, with an intake of breath I see only blackness. I am floating.

When I come back to my senses I hear the condom wrapper tearing open. Oh God, I want him inside of me right now. Ryan moves over me; I feel his sheathed cock, ready, waiting. His leg opens mine and he eases in.

Slowly, as if every inch might last forever, he enters me. I’m still breathless from my last orgasm and quickly building to the next.

“You make me feel so good!” I grunt, thrusting my hips up against his. I just want him inside of me. All the way inside.

“Easy now,” he says, smiling. I can tell he’s having fun, taking his sweet time.

He stills, half way in, half way out. I breathe and reach up with my hips to meet him. At first I think he is going to follow my lead, but then he begins to move in a circular motion. Each time around brings me higher and higher, and soon I feel beads of sweat form against my skin.

With every circle he goes in a little deeper. The tension building inside of me is excruciating. Just when I can’t stand it anymore, my legs fly open and I grab his ass, pulling him down on top of me.

“Oh shit,” he says.

Oh, my God!

He is filling me, making me whole. He is so deep now. Slowly, he starts moving back and forth but then stops abruptly, looking focused, almost as if he’s in pain.

“Don’t move, Nora. I just need a minute,” he pleads with me.

I still and wait. I don’t want this to be over too fast either. We wait, staring at each other, catching our breath. From the look on his face I can tell he’s still struggling for control, and I’m smiling, knowing that I pushed him this close so soon.

Slowly, he starts to move again. I wait, enjoying his restraint. I hold my feet with my hands, keeping my hips level, but open. Each thrust gets stronger and faster. The harder he pushes the better it feels. Soon my eyes are closed, my head thrown back, waiting, waiting for that final thrust that will push me over the edge into that sweet oblivion.

Ryan’s breathing is ragged now; I can tell he’s close. So am I. “Hurry, Nora. You gotta come,” he spits out in between ragged breathes. “I’m coming, Nora. Right now!” He stops moving, arches back as his hips spasm and quiver. His controlled thrusts are now spastic and wild, pushing me over the edge.

Ripples of sensation run up and down my spine and crash through my insides. Once again, I am floating into nothingness. Just me and Ryan, our bodies clinging together in the abyss.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

I’m on pins and needles in Ryan’s jeep. We’re on our way to meet his entire family. I can’t believe I agreed to this! I was lulled into this trip after a weekend of non-stop sex. That’s what this man can do to me; make me lose all sense of reason.

After our amazing camping trip, Ryan was buried at work all week, so he came over that Friday night and didn’t leave until Monday morning. Talk about paradise. So far, we can’t seem to get it together to see each other during our hectic workweeks, but we make up for it on the weekends.

Ryan came back to my house late Friday night and after two full days of the most unbelievable sex of my entire life, I agreed to accompany him to his family’s annual Memorial Day party in Carmel. Proof that too much sex will make you crazy.

As the tension in my shoulders mount, I so wish we could go back to bed. I like it so much better there. When we’re in bed I feel so desired and treasured. A girl could get used to being worshipped like that.

Unfortunately, the closer we get to Carmel, the tenser the atmosphere in the car becomes. At first I thought it was just me, but now I’m thinking it must be part Ryan, too. The anxiety is seeping into my skin and settling bitterly in my stomach.

We turn off the highway and stop at a five way stop sign. The town looks like it was pulled from a 1950’s photograph. There is a park on the right, a collection of high-end shops on the left, trees line the center of the street and people are milling about hand in hand, clearly on vacation. We drive about five blocks or so, stopping at each intersection, waiting for people to walk slowly across the street.

“Man, this place blows!” Ryan mutters as yet more people stream across the street in front of us.

I start laughing, “Yeah, it’s like we’re not even here. Is it always like this?”

“Yeah. Around here, pedestrians rule the day,” Ryan snaps at me as we drive to the next intersection.

“Whoa there, buddy. Easy now. You’re making me nervous. What the hell happened to you?”

Ryan takes a deep breath. “Okay, right. Sorry.” He tries to laugh. “Okay. So look. We’re going to my parent’s house. My sister, Nicky, should be there. I have no idea if she has her latest boyfriend with her. Things were going well for her in New York, but who knows if that’s still true.”

“Right. Nicky, trying to make it as an actress or a singer, right?” I ask, trying to memorize the facts he’s finally telling me.

“Yeah. My brother and his wife won’t be there. But they will be talked about. He can do nothing wrong. Went to the right law school, works at the right law firm, married the right bride, reproduced. Rich. That’s his name, not his economic status.”

“Got it.” Oh, there must be so much back story to that one. “So, you and your brother are close, huh?”

“Yeah, right,” he scoffs, then looks at me. “So, listen. I gotta tell you something.”

My stomachs drops. Oh great. Here it comes. Ryan pulls the van over and turns to face me.

“What is it, Ryan? You’re freaking me out.” My anxiety is now through the roof.

“I just thought you should know, I’m sort of the black sheep of the family.”

I look at him stunned. “That’s it? That’s what you needed to tell me?”

“Yeah. The rest of my family is not like me at all.” He looks sheepish and uncomfortable.

“Jesus, Ryan. Tell me something I don’t know.”

Ryan looks at me for a second and then bursts out laughing. He leans into me, brushing his soft lips against mine.

“Come on. Let’s go.” He opens the door and slides out.

Getting out of the jeep, the smell of the ocean hits me. Amazing! I think it’s only a couple of blocks away, but I can’t tell from here. The street is lined with trees and houses. There are cars parked everywhere and what’s left of the road only allows a single car driving in one direction.

There’s a large hedge on the downhill side of the street, and the other side has huge houses with manicured gardens along it. Some of the homes are bigger than others, but nothing looks outrageous from here. Like a lot of land right near the ocean, the road is level, but nothing else is. Ryan heads to a gate in the middle of the hedge wall.

“This is the back entrance. The front entrance is on Scenic, but it’s hard to park on that street,” Ryan explains as we slip into the hedge.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but behind that wall is another world. The house is spectacular, two stories with gardens meandering around the back and side yards. French doors sit open, inviting us in. I can hear people in the house and dishes being moved around.

Ryan and I walk into a beautiful kitchen with cork floors, granite counter tops, expensive cabinets; this place screams wealth and luxury. Ryan got that right; this is not what I was expecting.

“Ryan!” A female, older version of Ryan shrieks when we enter the kitchen. “Oh, my! You made it down here.”

“Hi, Mom!” Ryan hugs her enthusiastically. “Mom, I would like you to meet a friend of mine. This is Nora. Nora, this is Beverly.”

I hold out my hand and smile. “Hi, Mrs. Cole. It’s so nice to meet you.”

“Well, this is a surprise. It’s nice to meet you, Nora.” She shakes my hand and smiles at me.

“Be nice, Mom. And don’t start. Did Rich make it, or is it just Nicky?”

“Your brother can’t make it, he’s working or busy, and the kids didn’t come up either,” she says this curtly, obviously some tension there. “Nicky is here with some new beau. Oh, God, they keep getting older and stranger.”

“Oh, goodie. Well, screw Rich, sorry about the kids, though.” Ryan kisses her on the check. “Come on, let’s go find Nicky.” He turns to me and guides me out of the room.

We enter a hallway then turn the corner into a large room. I gasp out loud at the view. The ocean is sparkling just outside the floor-to-ceiling window.

“Yep. That’s the right reaction, all right,” someone says in front me. My eyes are too mesmerized with what I see to focus on the voice.

“Wow. What a view,” I stammer out.

“Ryan. Great to see you, son.” That grabs my attention and I tear my eyes away from the sensational view to the people in the room. There are several milling about, but the man who is speaking is clearly Ryan’s father. An elderly man, still fit, with graying hair and dressed in well
-
pressed pants and a golf shirt, holds out his hand to Ryan.

“Hi, Dad. I’d like you to meet someone. This is Nora. Nora, my Dad. Richard.”

I hold out my hand, “Nice to meet you, Mr. Cole. You have a lovely home.”

“Well, thank you, Nora. Welcome. Any friend of Ryan’s is a friend of ours.” He turns to Ryan. “How’s the firm, son?”

“Oh, great, Dad. It’s working out fine. But you should check in with Uncle Phil if you want a progress report,” Ryan says, curtly. He has his lawyer face on.

“No, no, no. Just wanted to see how you were enjoying working at a real law firm. Glad to hear it’s working out.”

Ryan’s face tightens even more with that last comment. Two women walk in from outside. Ryan’s face goes white. Turning to see who they are, my jaw almost drops open. It’s Emily from the firm! My hands start to sweat and I feel nauseous. Emily’s closeness to Ryan flashes through my mind. I wonder if Ryan blew her off like he did Katie. I wonder if she hates me.

Ryan recovers quickly. His face is no longer white, but still extremely tense.