Something Wild (22 page)

He let out a soft moan, still watching her every move as his pleasure began to mix with an almost painful anticipation. He groaned just thinking about, imagining… And then her soft hand wrapped around his hardness, stroking him lightly. "Ah…" he sighed as her perfect touch pulsed through him.

"I want to make you feel incredible," she said, lifting her eyes to his once more as she lowered a delicate kiss to the tip of his arousal. A moan tore from deep in his chest, his entire body tensing with heat and something that felt almost like gratification, except it begged for more.

She took him into her mouth, her warm lips sliding down over him, and he cried out at the shocking depth of pleasure that soaked through his being. His entire world was contained within this bed, within her sweet, hot mouth, within how beautifully sensual she looked doing what she was doing. He recalled thinking once before that when they made love, it was as if they were the only two people in the world, and it was like that again now. Nothing else existed.

He wanted to touch her, run his fingers through her hair, slide her body around to give her the same erotic delights she bestowed on him. More than once, he instinctively reached for her only to be reminded that he was handcuffed to the bed. She held all the control here. He remembered feeling taken by her in the limo, yet that had been nothing compared to this, the sensation now humming through his chest like lightning in a bottle. Never before had a woman seized all power over him. Never before had he imagined how damn good that could be.

When finally she rose off of him, she gazed down with those innocent eyes that made her such an alluring paradox.

"Ah, honey," he breathed, "I want to kiss you; I want to hold you."

Scrambling up to straddle him, Penny lowered short, furious kisses to his mouth as she struggled to release his wrists above. When they came free, his arms fell around her and he held her tight and whispered how beautiful she was, how perfect, and how wonderful she'd just made him feel.

She raised her eyes to his. "Make love to me on the balcony."

Ryan's stomach wrenched with the sheer volume of sexual energy she possessed, and he released a low growl in reply. "Did this just hit you, or have you…?"

"Fantasized about it," she finished for him, nodding. "About looking down on the city, feeling like I'm on the top of the world. About the breeze on my face and the stars up above and the lights at my feet, about feeling like we're part of the elements, yet still it's private, intimate, like no one exists but us."

So she felt it, too, as if they were the only two people in the universe. Since the moment he'd seen her tonight, his heart had brimmed so full he feared he might burst apart with the sheer joy of loving her. He adored what she'd done to him, the control she'd exercised over him, but now he needed to show her how
he
felt, needed to fill her with his love. And it was a love he couldn't bring himself to give voice to—not yet—but he hoped he could say it with his body.

Penny took his hand and led him out onto the small balcony, approaching the waist-high rail. Nothing stood between the high-rise building and the Ohio River but the dark night air, and walls that enclosed both sides of the balcony ensured their privacy. Her hair blew in the breeze as she peered over her shoulder at him. Her expression was both patient and beckoning, and he wished he were an artist so that he could paint the way she looked right now. He stood in awe of this glorious, sensual side of her, amazed to be the only man who had experienced it despite knowing it was an innate part of her and had been long before he'd ever climbed into that limousine.

Stepping up behind her, he brushed her hair aside to kiss her neck, shoulder, then slid his hands around her waist, pressing his erection into the silk of her panties.

"I feel you," she whispered.

He slid himself against her and she leaned into him. He couldn't see her mouth, but reached up, grazing his fingertips over her silken lips, then let one finger dip between. It was insane, but it was as if that
other
part of himself were inside her mouth, and he moaned into her hair, then withdrew his finger and dabbed the moisture onto her nipples, knowing the light summer wind would torment them even more. She gave a sexy sigh, letting her head fall back against his chest, and he gently kneaded her breasts.

When Penny turned her head, lifting one arm behind his neck to pull him into a kiss, he slipped his hand into the front of her panties. She was wet, and if it was possible, he got even harder. She gave a hot gasp of pleasure, moving rhythmically against his fingers while his erection still rubbed her from behind.

Soon the friction was too much and Ryan couldn't wait any longer. "I have to have you," he growled into her ear, using his free hand to peel the panties to her thighs.

"Take me," she breathed.

He complied, thrusting himself into her sweet warmth as the breeze washed over them. He swore softly and she moaned. He pushed himself as deep inside her as he could, wanting fiercely to connect their bodies in a way they never had been before. She cried out with each hard stroke, meeting it with the same force. Almost light-headed with pleasure, he reached around her to grab onto the railing as they made love.

After regaining some control, he let one hand slide back down into her wetness and she eased into a more sensuous rhythm almost immediately. When her climax broke moments later, when she was crying his name in ecstasy, Ryan felt as if a warm blanket had just fallen over him. The feeling was safe and pure and made his heart overflow.

Still moving inside her, he embraced her from behind and gazed down on the shimmering river below, the headlights winding up

, the dark greenery of Sawyer Point, and then he leaned near her ear. "We're making love on the top of the world, honey, just like you wanted."

Still welcoming his thrusts in breathless pleasure, her reply came in a heated whisper. "Oh, yes."

"You
drive me mad," he said, and knew he couldn't keep himself from coming much longer.

It happened the very second she looked over her shoulder to say,
"You
drive
me …
wild."

* * *

Ryan lay watching Penny sleep peacefully in his arms, his soul rent with emotion.

After the brain-numbing sex on the balcony, he'd longed to tell her he loved her, yet he'd held back, confused by everything roiling in his mind. So much remained unresolved. Like where the hell Martin was, for one thing. And how to sort out this mess he'd built around his boss and Penny.

Despite what he'd kept inside, though, their love-making had been stupendous, and Ryan wanted more. Easing down in the bed beside her, he dropped a few smooth kisses to her silky stomach until he felt her hand move through his hair and looked up to see her eyes flutter open. He made love to her again and the world turned perfect once more.

Afterward, she laughingly smiled into his eyes, whispering, "I've always wanted to say what I said out on the balcony."

"What's that?"

Again she giggled and looked unaccountably shy. "Take me."

"I liked it," he told her lasciviously.

After a little more love talk, Penny balanced her chin on his chest and looked earnestly into his eyes. "So … maybe we should discuss things?"

Ryan sighed, then nodded. "I guess we should." He saw her swallow nervously. "I was just wondering what will, uh, happen now? With us, I mean."

"I don't exactly have any firm answers," he admitted, "but I think we should keep seeing each other until Martin finally shows up. After all, we don't exactly seem capable of stopping anyway."

A pretty blush colored her cheeks as she smiled, but then she turned more serious again. "And when Martin
does
come back?"

He tilted his head. "We play it by ear?"

She nodded, resting her head contentedly against his chest. "A sketchy plan at best," she murmured, "but…"

"A hell of a lot better than being apart," he finished for her.

* * *

Ryan sat in his cramped office the next day, staring at the computer screen. He was supposed to be designing Penny's menu system. Instead, he relived the previous night in his head.

Of course, that inevitably and unfortunately turned his thoughts to Martin.

Soon, realizing his concentration was shot, he left his desk and went to the lobby. He didn't want Grace to think he was a total lunatic over Martin's return, but nearly half the day had passed, and he had to know. "I guess you haven't heard from Martin again," he said, trying to sound very reasonable.

"No, not yet." Grace's voice came as light and airy as usual. "But when I do, I'll tell him how eager you are to speak to him."

Ryan tried not to seem alarmed. "Uh, no, don't do that."

Grace looked doubtful. "Why not?"

"Well, it's … nothing that can't wait until he's back. But he didn't give you any idea when he'd return?"

Grace sighed and Ryan got the idea he was getting on her nerves. Understandable, he supposed. "No, he didn't say. But as I was telling Penny last week, the man has a one-track mind—he's a workaholic. This isn't the first time he's gone away on business, then gotten sidetracked with a new client or something."

Ryan just nodded. No matter what the reason, Martin's extended absence and silence still made him question the guy's commitment to Penny.

"You know what?" he said to Grace, the idea just hitting him. "Don't order my sandwich today. I think I'll grab lunch out." He wanted to get out of the office for a while, and he also wanted to see the woman who had turned his heart on end.

When he walked into the Two Sisters Pub minutes later, it bustled with customers. Waiters and waitresses—most of them college-aged—scurried about the room from kitchen to table and back again. Spotting Penny behind the bar serving drinks, he took a stool at one end and just watched her, unnoticed. Her hair fell from the back of a Two Sisters baseball cap, and she had her T-shirt tucked into denim shorts. He smiled because not only did he love the way she looked now, but he also knew she wore some sinfully pretty bra and pair of panties underneath it all.

"These are for table three, Lisa," she said to one of the waitresses, shoving a tray of sodas across the pickup end of the bar to a tall blonde.

Then an older guy asked her for a coffee refill and she reached for the pot with a smile that lit Ryan up inside.

Penny had been happy as a lark all morning. The night she'd spent with Ryan had left her floating on air. She was in love with him and she'd been wild with him, and even though she had no idea what would happen now, nothing had ever felt more right.

"Here you go," she said, filling Mr. Bear's cup. She'd come to think of him that way after that first day he'd been in last week. He'd become a regular since then and she'd made sure to treat him with courtesy and speed to make up for her original negligence.

"So," he said, "how'd things turn out with that guy anyway?" When she gave him a confused grin, he added, "The one your sister was teasing you about last week."

Oh,
that
guy. She'd totally forgotten he'd overheard their conversation, but the question brought a smile to her face now. "Things are … coming right along."

Mr. Bear nodded pleasantly and took a sip of his coffee. He'd turned out to be quite nice, after all.

"Two beers and an iced tea, Penny," called Renee, another server, from the pickup area.

Penny turned to grab a glass and saw Ryan sitting at the end of the bar by the window, watching her. He winked. That one little wink melted deliciously down through her and she smiled at him, thinking of the previous night, which had been beyond hot, beyond magical.

She gestured for him to hang on, then filled the drink order before wiping her hands on a towel and heading down to him. "What are you doing here?" she asked, surprised but happy to see him.

"I'm here for lunch. And because I missed you."

There were moments when she thought her heart would crush beneath the weight of how much she loved him, and this was one of them. "You just saw me a few hours ago, silly," she teased.

"A few hours too
long
ago."

"Penny, I need a bowl of chicken soup," Patti called from the other end of the bar.

Darn the timing, Penny thought. She wanted the world to stop so it was just the two of them again.

"Go on," Ryan told her, seeing her frustration. "I know it's your busy time. I'll just take some of that soup myself whenever you get a chance, and a club sandwich."

"Is that it?"

His eyes turned playful. "Maybe a kiss or two if you can squeeze them in."

"Coming right up." She flashed him a flirtatious smile, then turned to Patti, in a total fog as far as the pub was concerned. "Uh, what did you need?"

"Soup. Chicken soup."

Ryan was right—she was busy, but she delivered his order a few minutes later, and popped back by whenever she had a free second. Even now, when she should be getting used to having him around, the mere sight of him had the ability to turn her inside out. And when he leaned over and whispered, "What color is your bra today?" she wanted to forget all the customers, leap across the bar, and attack him.