Sweet Harmonies (31 page)

She grinned back just as widely, “Well, if
you've had enough icy torture...by which I mean, humiliation...do
you want to head over to my place for some hot cocoa? I make the
best.”

“
Hmmmm....” he said, pretending to
consider the offer, “I have to say, watching your cute little butt
as you spin around the ice isn't as torturous as you seem to think
it is. That having been said, yes. I could definitely go for some
hot cocoa.”

They made their way back to the bench and
began to unlace their skates. As their gloved fingers worked the
laces, Ryan said casually, “I got a call from Davis at
Spintown.”

Karina jerked upright and looked at him,
shocked.

“
They want to meet with me.”

Karina said slowly, “Is that what you
want?”

Ryan shrugged, “I don't know what I
want.”

“
What did you tell him?”

“
I said I'd get back to him by the end
of the week. I wanted to talk to you first.”

Karina was taken aback, “Really? Why?”

This, in turn, took Ryan aback, “Well, there
are a lot of reasons. First of all, it's just plain common
courtesy. Spintown is your label. I need to know how you feel about
me entering that part of your world. Secondly, I don't know these
people. You do. If I do end up meeting with them, obviously I'd
want your perspective on them before that happens.”

Karina was legitimately speechless, so bowled
over by this turn of events. No other man she had ever dated –
hell, had ever met – would have given her feelings a second thought
if he were presented with an opportunity like the one that had been
offered to Ryan.

In her world, if a man had an opportunity to
advance his career, he would steamroll over her so fast her
newly-flat head would spin. And in that world, that sort of
behavior was expected. It's not that it was considered OK, really –
it still hurt. But it was considered par for the course.

Ryan had been presented with a chance of a
lifetime – the chance to take a meeting that hundreds of thousands
of starving artists would have killed for, let alone stabbed Karina
in the back. And what had his first inclination been? To think of
her feelings first.

She stared at him mutely, a slow tear running
down her face.

Ryan looked up at her when it registered with
him that she had stopped unlacing her skates and was sitting stock
still. When he saw the tear, something close to panic flashed in
his eyes.

“
Did I do something wrong?” he asked,
his voice full of concern, “I'm sorry, I don't know the
protocol...I didn’t mean to upset you, that’s the last thing in the
world I would ever do.”

Instead of answering, she leaned over and
kissed him long and hard. This kiss was different than any they had
shared yet, and both Ryan and Karina could feel the difference.
This kiss wasn't about lust, it wasn't about anything physical. It
was Karina, laying her heart bare to him, expressing an emotion
that was too deep to put into words. This kiss was about their
souls intertwining.

When they finally broke apart, something had
changed between them. Ryan knew it. Karina knew it.

There was a new depth in her eyes, a new
tenderness, as she said haltingly, wiping away her tear, “You, Ryan
Perkins, are a truly quality human being.”

“
Let’s get out of here.” Ryan stood
grabbing Karina’s hand and headed purposefully towards his
truck.

Chapter 21

Ryan pulled his truck into the driveway of
Karina's house and went around to the passenger side to open the
door for Karina. He held out his hand and helped her down, all the
while debating furiously what he was going to do when they got up
to the front door.

Dammit, he had lost himself at the ice rink.
He had forgotten about going slow. He had forgotten about The Plan.
He had forgotten about everything but being lost in her big, dark
eyes and mesmerized by every word coming out of her mouth. She
seemed to have that effect on him quite a lot.

And the thing was, he didn't even feel the
need to keep himself from her anymore, to go slow, to get to know
her better without sex getting in the way. He felt, on a deep
level, that they were connected now, that they understood each
other, that they cared about each other. But, when you looked at
the chronology, it was so fast! So much faster than he was used to
moving, that was for damn sure. In fact, if his usual pace was a
casual stroll, this relationship felt more like rushing headlong.
But, oh man...it was such a thrilling rush!

So, the question he struggled with was –
would he adhere to his normal pattern and stick to the 'slow and
steady wins the race' ideal he had always clung to? Or would he
surrender to this heady mix of affection, connection and just plain
old lust he felt for Karina?

When they got to the door, Karina took out
her keys and started to reach her hand toward the lock. She froze
and sighed, then turned around to face him regretfully.

“
I can't believe I'm about to say
this,” she said, her mouth twisting in a mirthless little grin,
“but when you talked to Davis, you put my feelings first. I feel
like putting your feelings first now is the least I can do. Look,
Ryan. I don't have much experience with this whole 'go slow' thing
you're into, I'll admit I don't even really understand the point of
it. But I know it's important to you. So if you want to call it a
day right now I'll understand. I won't try to tempt you
inside.”

This sealed it for Ryan. He now knew exactly
what he wanted to do, and it sure as hell wasn't to get in his
truck and drive away.

Ryan stepped forward, looking into Karina's
eyes intently, moving toward her slowly and inexorably, the
intensity crackling between them making her back up a step. Her
back bumped up against the door and her eyes widened, but he kept
moving forward. He reached his arms out, placing his hands on the
door, one on each side of her, trapping her between his arms.

They weren't touching, but every cell in both
of their bodies felt the nearness of the other person with
breathtaking, tingling awareness.

Ryan leaned his head down, moving achingly
slowly, until their lips were mere millimeters from touching.

“
Invite me in, Karina,” he
breathed.

He sensed her body jolt with the erotic
charge that those words sent through her, and knowing that he had
caused that tremble in her sent an answering thrill down his own
body.

She smirked at him with trembling lips.

“
Invite you in…are we playing vampire
and innocent maiden?” she teased breathlessly.

“
Invite me in and find out.”

This caused a low, involuntary moan to rumble
deep in her throat, and she spun around as quickly as she could on
trembling legs, plunged the key into the lock, and pushed open the
door. She virtually sprinted into the entryway, and he was hot on
her heels.

Inside the house, she spun again to face him.
Without a word, he used his foot to slam shut the door behind them,
grasped her by the upper arms, and turned around with her. He
pushed her up against the front door and began kissing her
passionately, running his hands up under her jacket. There, his
hands ran into her sweater, and he scrambled frantically to
manipulate his fingers under it. When he was able to achieve this,
however, what his trembling hands found there was a tank top that
went down inside her jeans.

When he tried to grasp the stretchy fabric to
pull it up, the top resisted, and he realized that it must be one
of those leotard things that went all the way down.

He pulled back from the kiss and groaned in
frustration.

“
Karina!” he moaned desperately, “I
need to feel you, right now. I need to feel your skin under my
hands!”

Those words caused a powerful jolt of arousal
to course through Karina's body and she gasped at the sheer
strength of it.

“
Yes, I want that, too...I need to feel
you right now!” she said desperately, tearing off her jacket and
sweater. They began ripping clothes off of one another in a frenzy
of erotic energy, almost as if they were in a trance, like starving
people trying to uncover the only thing on earth that would sate
their hunger.

In mere moments, they stood together naked,
their bodies pressed tightly together, hands fervently caressing
each other's burning skin.

Ryan started to kiss his way roughly down
Karina's neck and she grabbed handfuls of his hair, urging him
downward, relishing the sensation that his hot tongue left in its
wake on her neck and down her chest.

When he came to her breasts, he slid his
hands up to cup them, devouring them with his greedy eyes, making
her desperate for the moment that his mouth would follow suit.

She applied pressure to the back of his head
and arched her back slightly, making no secret of what she wanted
from him, but he would not be rushed.

“
I don't feel like I've gotten the
chance yet to really give these beauties the attention they
deserve,” he rasped before taking first one nipple, then the other
into his warm, moist mouth.

Karina whimpered, her body shaking like a
leaf, as she submitted helplessly to the swirls and nips that his
tongue and teeth were showering on her sensitive peaks. Just as she
would be lulled into the rhythm of gentle sucking and swirling he
would surprise her by increasing the pressure of the suction with
such lightning speed and to such intensity that she was pushed to
the very brink between pleasure and pain.

Just when she would be convinced that she
couldn't take one more minute of the sweet torture, he would relax
his mouth's iron grip on her tender flesh and gently suckle them
until she became lulled again. Then he would switch to the other
breast and the roller coaster of unpredictably and maddeningly
pleasurable sensations would begin again.

She felt his hands slide down to her ass and
cup it. She pressed backward against his strong grip, loving the
feel of his steel-strong fingers digging into her round, soft
derriere.

Suddenly, she felt her feet leave the ground
as Ryan lifted her and, in a lightheaded rush, she realized that
she couldn't have been more wrong about ice skating. THIS was what
flying felt like!

Ryan wrapped a strong arm around her waist to
help support her lithe frame. She moaned as she felt the tip of his
manhood barely brushing her wet, swollen lips, desperate for him to
enter her.

She felt the hand that had remained under her
leave, and the arm holding her up tighten. She heard a ripping
noise and opened her eyes just long enough to see him tear a condom
package with his teeth, holding it with the hand that had been
under her just a few seconds ago. She felt his hand move down
between them and smoothly roll the condom on. She smiled to
herself. This time, it had been he who had prepared ahead of time
for their encounter.

But that thought was fleeting, as she again
felt his hard member pressing against the soft flesh of her
entrance, and all conscious thought flew from her mind.

He held her there, hovering just above
ecstasy, as he whispered in her ear, “Are you ready,
sweetheart?”

She threw her head back and nodded it
frantically, unable to make her mind form even the word 'Yes.'

In one swift motion, Ryan backed them up a
half a step so that Karina's back was firmly pressed against the
front door and slowly lowered her onto his shaft, bringing himself
up to meet her eager hips as he did so.

Karina cried out and wrapped her legs tightly
around his waist, her arms snaking around his neck. She hung onto
him for dear life as he thrust himself hard into her again and
again, shaking her to the core with each powerful stroke.

As the speed of his hard pounding increased,
Karina dug her fingernails into his back, scrambling to keep hold
of him as the building ecstasy inside her sapped the strength from
her body, even as it filled it with pleasure. The fact that both of
their bodies were now covered with an ever increasingly slick coat
of hot sweat, and she was beginning to doubt that, even pressed as
tightly as she was up against the door, she could continue to stay
suspended where she was.

She scrambled. She grabbed. She dug in.
Changing positions at this point was unthinkable. Anything that
stopped the rhythm of him pushing himself in and out of her was
unacceptable. She needed to feel him inside her, she couldn't be
without him inside her for even one instant.

She slid her elbows in closer to his neck,
propping the backs of her arms on his shoulders and curling her
forearms up to allow her to grab greedy handfuls of his hair in her
rough fingers.

He cried out when she grasped his hair, but
whether that was because of the pain he was experiencing on his
head or the pleasure he was experiencing down below, she did not
know – and honestly she could not make herself care at that moment.
All she knew was that she needed to do whatever was necessary to
ensure that he did not stop the relentless pounding.

She felt herself building to a climax. This
was new for her. She'd never been able to come without some kind of
manual or oral stimulation before. She marveled. Ryan had provided
her with so many sexual firsts in just their few times together.
She couldn't imagine what he would be able to show her if the
relationship went on for months, or (fingers crossed) years. She
definitely wanted to try to find out, though.

Even in her sex-addled state, she understood
how amazing it was that she was experiencing sex that was so
boundary-shattering amazing that even in the midst of the current
sexual encounter, she was already craving the next one, and the
next one, and the next one after that.