She lifted her head and kissed him, silencing whatever the hell he’d been about to say. Once his thoughts were completely frazzled, she leaned back and smiled at him. “I’d like that.”

Had he heard her right? “You would?”

“Yes.” Her smile took on a bashful tone. “After all, there are so many childhood memories we haven’t covered yet.”

“A lifetime’s worth.” Shit, had he just said that aloud? He kissed her, hoping it didn’t freak her out that he was already thinking about a possible future. “How about we take it one day at a time?”

…

One day at a time. She could do one day at a time. Especially if they were anything like today. He’d breached boundary after boundary she’d created to keep her heart safe, all the while coaxing her into experiences she never would have dreamed of. Yes, they’d been silly and cute, but priceless to her.

And he seemed to know it.

Could she date him? It wasn’t the exclusiveness she was worried about…not really. He was leaving, flying off back to his base in a week. The thought of standing at the airport and being left behind made her sick to her stomach. But she could see how the week went, couldn’t she? Seven days was plenty of time to see if things would continue like they had today, or if they would go back to fighting. “One day at a time.” She swallowed hard. “That’s doable.”

The grin on Ryan’s face warmed her right through, pushing away her worries. He rolled onto his back, pulling her with him until she straddled his hips. “This mean you’re going to be my girlfriend?”

Girlfriend. The label shouldn’t make her both happy and terrified at the same time, but it did. Bri attempted a smile. “Don’t you think that’s moving a bit fast?”

“Not really.” He shrugged, the move making his skin slide against hers. “I don’t have a problem going after what I want. And what I want is you.”

But for how long? No. She would not let her issues and fears take over and ruin this. Just because she had a history and some intense abandonment issues didn’t mean Ryan was like the rest. He wasn’t. She bit her lip, playing her fingers over the muscles of his chest. “I want you, too.”

“Then what’s holding you back?”

So many things, none of them completely relevant. She took a deep breath and smiled. “Nothing that matters. I’d like to be your girlfriend, Ryan Flannery.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.” If anything, his grin got wider. “You are so goddamn beautiful.”

“Stop.” She pushed his shoulder. “You don’t have to say things like that. Not when you already have me where you want me.”

Where she wanted to be.

His hand hovered less than an inch from her body. Keeping that distance between them, he traced over her shoulder and breasts, down her stomach, and back up again before taking her hand and pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “Don’t you know by now?”

“Know what?”

“I don’t do anything unless I want to. And I sure as fuck wouldn’t spout pretty words to get you into bed. I mean them. You, Bri Nave, are beautiful in ways that have nothing to do with the physical.” His gaze traveled the same path his hand just had. “Though you’re gorgeous physically, too.” He leaned up and kissed her, and she reveled in the feeling of his body touching hers. When his hands came to rest on the back of her thighs, she rocked against him, a whimper already building in her throat.

“Ryan—”

“I know.” His laugh was a little harsh. “I’ll stop talking now before I freak you out.”

That wasn’t it. It wasn’t that at all. She cupped his face, her touch making him meet her eyes. “I think you’re beautiful, too. I’ve never had someone do anything like you did today.” She traced his lips with her thumb, the memory of them on her skin making her shiver. “I was wrong about you when we first met, and I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, well, I was kind of an ass.” He feathered his fingers across her nipples. “How about I spend tonight making it up to you?”

She kissed him. “You’re off to a brilliant start.”

He reached between them to cup her. “Christ, woman.” First one finger, and then two pressed into her, a slow exploration so at odds with what happened between them on the rug that it made her breath catch in her throat. “Like that?”

“You know I do.” He had yet to touch her in a way that didn’t make her eyes threaten to roll back in her head. She leaned back, giving him better access. “I like everything you do to me.”

Before that thought could take hold and truly freak her out, Ryan jerked his chin. “I think I saw a few condoms hidden in the nightstand.”

She gave a breathless laugh as she reached into the drawer and came up with two. “A nightstand. How mundane.”

“I don’t know. Maybe they were onto something.” He ripped open the packet and rolled on the condom. “Now get back here.”

…

Ryan was going to take this slow if it fucking killed him. Every time he got his hands on Bri, he lost his damn mind, but this time was different. She’d agreed to be his girlfriend. If that wasn’t a step in the right direction, he didn’t know what was. He adjusted his angle and pulled her down, sheathing himself inch by agonizing inch. “I love how you throw back your shoulders when I piss you off.”

“Ryan—”

He could tell the compliments made her uncomfortable, but he didn’t know how else to make her understand that, even knowing her such a short time, she meant more to him than just a beautiful woman he wanted to be naked with. She had a core of strength—and stubbornness—he saw in his fellow PJs. But beyond that strength was a heart that had been beaten and bruised, but still managed to reach out to the children who were lost like she’d been.

“I love that you work so hard for the kids’ programs in your library.” He pressed an openmouthed kiss to her chest, directly above said rapidly beating heart. “You’re strong and smart and compassionate, and any man would be lucky to have you in his life.”

He thrust up, pushing a little deeper. “I care about you, Bri.”

She lifted herself and shifted back down, her breath gasping out. “I care about you, too, Ryan.”

His heart pounded painfully, making him feel as if he were some fucked-up Grinch and it was growing three sizes. Which didn’t make a damn bit of sense, so he shoved it from his mind, and focused solely on making Bri’s body feel as good as she had his soul.

He let her ride him, let her control how fast and hard things went. Her harsh breathing was a perfect match to his own, but she needed that little bit more. Ryan pressed three fingers to her clit, letting her motions stroke her against him and drive her wild. The feeling of her clenching around him, combined with the wild look in her eyes, nearly sent him over the edge then and there, but he held on through sheer force of will. “You know what else I love about you?”

“Oh my God…I…” She grabbed the headboard above him and rolled her hips desperately.

“I love the way you scream my name when you come.”

Her body went tight, her head falling forward, a breathless shriek on her lips. “Ryan.”

The feeling of her coming around his cock was too much for his control. He grabbed her hips and drove into her, needing to follow her over the edge as acutely as she’d needed to get there. “Bri.”

She collapsed on his chest while he relearned how to breathe. Once their bodies quieted, Bri shifted to the side and slipped her arms around him, tucking her leg between his. She pressed a kiss to his throat. “Thank you. For everything you said. For meaning it.”

She sounded like she still didn’t quite believe him. That was okay. Given enough time, she would.


Chapter Sixteen

“Ryan, wake up.”

He opened his eyes, and winced at the bright sunlight shining through the window. “What time is it?” They hadn’t exactly had a restful night between making love and talking. He’d been looking forward to sleeping in.

But Bri was sitting on the edge of the bed, practically vibrating with energy. “Your SUV is back.”

“What?”

“They must have brought it in the night.”

He sat up and scrubbed a hand over his face. “Cowards.” End result aside, stranding them in a cabin was some bullshit, and he fully intended on letting both his brother and Avery have a piece of his mind about it.

“Maybe they didn’t want to interrupt.”

“More like they didn’t want to deal with us being pissed at them. Why are you dressed?”

“What?” She glanced down at herself as if just noticing that she wore the same clothes she’d shown up with. Bri twisted her skirt between her fingers. “Well, I thought it might be nice to get back to civilization.”

Back to Wellingford. That’s what she meant. He started to reach for her, but stopped when he realized it for the ploy it was. The truth of the matter was he wanted to stay here, in this safe place, and let things keep developing between them. Here was the only place they’d managed to have decent conversations that weren’t biting comments linked to the past he’d never escape as long as he was in Wellingford.

But if that was all the confidence he had in Bri, he had no business pursuing this in the first place. So Ryan forced a smile. “I wouldn’t mind some diner food.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Diner food.”

“Yep. The Diner food, specifically.” He took her hand. “Think of it as a date.”

“Because our last one ended so well.”

Obviously she shared some of the same fears he did. “That was before I introduced you to the world of s’mores. Everything has changed now.”

She laughed. “A valid point. Okay, yes. Take me on a breakfast date.”