Chapter 13

Langley ran her hands across Ryder's shoulders before winding her arms around his neck. For a moment, she stopped and savored his warmth. After the ride to the airport, she thought she'd never enjoy this closeness with him again. Maybe he believed the same thing because there was a pause, a moment when they did nothing except stare at each other, before he lowered his head to hers.

His lips brushed hers, his restraint even more pronounced than it had been earlier. Langley was torn between frustration and anticipation. Part of her wanted the screaming orgasm his self-command would give her, but another part of her wanted him as out of control as she felt.

They'd been lovers for a year—she knew what he liked and where to touch him—she could use that to provoke him. Langley opened her mouth under his, trying to encourage Ryder to deepen the kiss. Instead, he moved to tease her lower lip, nipping it before pulling it into his mouth. She shivered, her body tightening with desire. Yes, she knew him and what he enjoyed, but he knew her every bit as well.

Not quite ready to go along with him yet, she trailed her fingers over his nape, teasing his skin with her nails. His shudder made her lips curve beneath his. He always loved a light touch there.

"I'm not"—he kissed her chin—"that easy to distract."

"I know." And Langley wasn't certain that she wanted to dissuade him anyway. It wasn't only the way he'd make her come, it was the message behind the slow, teasing pace. They weren't having sex, they were making love and sealing their commitment to each other.

He kissed his way up her jawline to her ear, bit her lobe gently before soothing it with his tongue. Her fingers clutched at him briefly and she tilted her head, giving him free access. This time he made her breath catch as he trailed his mouth slowly down to the base of her throat, nipping and teasing as he went.

Langley shivered, but found her voice. She trailed her fingers over his nape again. "Do you know what I'm thinking?"

"Hurry the hell up?" he guessed and tugged her shirt from the waist of her jeans. His hands slid over the bare skin of her back until he reached the clasp of her bra. Ryder traced a line directly below it with the callused tip of his finger, but made no move to open it.

Her words were thick when she said, "Your guess is close enough."

Raising her arms, she pulled her shirt off, letting it drop to the floor before she reached for the hook on her bra. She had a sudden flash of his friends trying to open the door, but shook it off. Ryder had promised her they wouldn't be interrupted and he wouldn't lie. Without any more hesitation, she undid the clasp and let the bra fall to her lap.

Instead of the result she was hoping for, Ryder stepped back and stared. The heat in his eyes reassured her and his hand shook slightly as he ran his knuckle slowly across her right nipple. It tightened, pulling taut at the attention. "Sometimes," he said, voice choked, "I forget how beautiful you are and then something reminds me. Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being willing to give me a second chance, for wanting me, for a million other things." He lowered his arm and got rid of the shoulder holster, carefully placing the gun on the counter behind him. Then Ryder tugged off his shirt, dropping it on top of hers, and opened his jeans. "Let me show you how much you mean to me."

As if she were the one dawdling. Instead of saying that, Langley held out her arms and he moved between her thighs again. She squeezed her leg muscles, pulling him closer as need surged. It wasn't enough, nothing would be enough until he was deep inside her. Ryder clearly didn't feel the urgency, though, content to trace her collarbone.

Langley growled low in her throat. "Get me naked."

His breath came out in a whoosh , and from the look on his face, he wanted to chuckle, but didn't have enough air. "Yes, ma'am," he croaked.

It took both of them to shimmy her jeans down and off. Her panties went with them. Langley rocked into Ryder, letting him know how ready for him she was. Grabbing her hips, he held her in place and she muttered a curse. "Damn it, I don't need foreplay, I need to come."

He nodded, face serious, and went to his knees. Before she could ask what he was doing, she felt his mouth on the inside of her thigh and figured it out.

He licked, nipped, kissed his way up the inside her leg until her body trembled with anticipation. She remembered the first time he'd gone down on her, the way he'd taken his time to learn exactly what she liked. She remembered how he'd honed that skill until he could make her come in minutes.

Sometimes it didn't take that long.

And when she felt his fingers open her, when his tongue found her sweet spot, the strength left her muscles and she lay back on the island.

As his mouth teased her, Langley arched and relaxed, unable to stop the motion. It didn't faze Ryder—he moved with her, sucking lightly on her nub. She was close, tensing for release, when he stopped what he was doing. Her groan was half protest, half disappointment.

Nipping her other thigh, he worked his mouth down the opposite leg to her knee. If she could have moved, Langley would have pulled Ryder back where she wanted him. She couldn't form words, and damn him, he knew exactly what he was doing to her. Revenge—she was definitely getting him back for his. Not right now, not today, but sometime.

Her lips managed to curve even as he startled a gasp from her. His tongue moved inside her, his thumb making circles over the center of her pleasure. She arched hard, waiting, waiting— And again, he shifted away before her orgasm could come crashing over her .

"You. Are so. Going to pay. For this," she managed between gasps, moans, and whimpers.

"I'm counting on it," he muttered against her thigh. She could feel his smile.

Slowly, his fingers penetrated her as his mouth closed over her. He flicked where her pleasure was centered with the tip of his tongue and she undulated until he got the hint. His fingers moved in and out with a short, staccato rhythm, but he kept his attention focused on her center. This time, as the wave began, he didn't pull away. Her body bowed as pleasure crested and then it rolled over her. She arched higher, riding the tsunami until it broke.

Langley had no idea how much time passed before she became aware of her surroundings again. Since she was still breathing hard, she guessed not too long, but she was boneless, her whole body warm and languid.

She heard Ryder moving, but she couldn't open her eyes.

Something cool and wet landed on her left breast, covering the nipple. Langley's eyes went wide in a hurry. "What are you doing?"

She lifted her head in time to see Ryder drizzle syrup over her other breast before he said, "Relax." He extended the trail of maple over her sternum, diaphragm, and swirled a spiral over her abdomen. Langley tensed as his fingers separated the folds of her sex and sucked in a sharp breath as the cool sweetness touched her heated core.

In a nanosecond, she was back dancing on the knifepoint. She arched, offering him her breasts, but instead, he squeezed the syrup bottle until another big drop landed on her nub. The syrup began to run between her thighs, but Ryder was there, catching it with his tongue.

That quickly, that easily, he had her riled up and ready.

He cleaned the sticky sweetness from her sex before moving up to her abdomen. She felt empty, needy, and Langley tried to grind against him. The weight of his body kept her in place as he followed the trail to her belly button.

"You're going the wrong way," she protested, but he ignored her.

When he reached her breasts, Langley understood his plan. His lips teased her nipple as his tongue lapped up the syrup and his cock pressed tightly against her sex.

She arched into him, trying to bring Ryder home. He rocked against her, but didn't slide inside. "Not done yet," he told her when she protested and pursued the syrup across her chest to her left breast.

"You're killing me."

"At least you came once." He sounded absurdly pleased with himself .

"Whose fault is that?"

Ryder raised his head until their eyes met and she saw his grin. "All mine, and don't you forget it."

"Arrogant," she accused, but lost her train of thought as he licked the side of her breast. "I want to play, too."

"Next time."

Before she could argue, his mouth closed around the crest and she forgot about everything except what he did to her, not only physically, but emotionally as well. She could feel the tension pulling tight inside her, and this orgasm was going to be at least as strong as the first one. Perhaps stronger, because it would be with him.

"Ry," she protested as his cock slid up and down her sex without penetrating her. "Stop teasing." She meant it to be an order, but it came out like a plea.

His forearms kept him propped over her and she could see the determination in his eyes, the sweat on his brow. This wasn't easy for him, but he persisted anyway.

"Why?" It came out like a wail.

"I want this to be special."

"It's already special." She clutched at his shoulders. "Whenever we're together, it's special."

He went motionless, stared at her as if trying to discern the truth of her words. Then his lips curved. "For me too, hellcat. You're special."

As he kissed her, Langley could taste herself and the sweetness of maple. Ryder began to straighten, and she hung on to his shoulders, letting him pull her into a sitting position. After an infinitesimal hesitation, he positioned himself and began to slowly enter her. The restraint cost him, she knew that, but he was determined, and while it frustrated her, it tantalized, too.

Langley gasped as he filled her at last. Her inner muscles tightened involuntarily, but when Ryder groaned, she did it again deliberately.

His thrust was quick and shallow, but immediately he froze, struggling to regain control. The motion was the first sign that his rigid command was starting to crack. She wanted it broken, gone, wanted to experience the raw emotion without Ryder feeling as if he had to be restrained in order to prove something to her.

Langley flexed around him a third time.

"Damn it," he muttered, "I wanted—"

"Yes, some other time. Right now, show me you want me."

"I always want you." His mouth covered hers and Langley wrapped her legs around Ryder, drawing him closer.

His first few thrusts were careful, as if he were making sure she was ready for him despite the intense orgasm he'd given her earlier. But that was Ryder. He was considerate, he always made certain that she was sharing in the pleasure, and she had to swallow hard to dislodge the lump in her throat. With a shaking hand, she threaded her fingers through the hair right above his left temple and whispered against his ear, "Be wild for me."

"Don't want to hurt you." Each word came out roughly, as if he'd lose command if he didn't keep a tight rein on every part of himself, including his voice.

Something close to a growl escaped. "You won't hurt me. I'm not a butterfly, I'm a woman. Your woman. Claim me." And deliberately, Langley clenched around him, doing her best to break his control.

A tic began at the side of his jaw and Ryder stopped moving. She began to squeeze him rhythmically. Her gaze stayed on his face, watching, reading his reactions. He closed his eyes, gripped the counter on either side of her hips, but he stayed inside her. Oh, yes, he liked what she was doing.

"Ryder, I need you. Take me."

His eyes opened and there was fire there, barely banked. "Langley—"

"Hard, fast, no hiding the need." And she clenched around him one last time.

The fire became a conflagration, jumping past the break before he could strengthen his defenses. "I warned you." He eased out of her, took hold of her hips, and pulled her firmly into him as he surged forward.

Langley gasped, torn between surprise and a surge of lust. This is what she needed—for him to share the breathless urgency. She clung to his shoulders, moving to meet every thrust of his cock.

If her skin wasn't damp enough to stick to the counter, his next stroke might have moved her backward. "Yes, like this." The last word came out like a hiss as skin met skin. Her eyelids closed halfway as she lost herself in the pleasure. Lost herself in pleasuring the man she loved.

She touched, caressed, sometimes dug her fingers into his back, his shoulders when arousal spiked. "Ry, Ry, Ry," she chanted, unable to form any other word.

"Yeah. Come for me, hellcat."

Almost there . She couldn't manage to say it.

It didn't matter. Ryder knew her. He'd know she was close.

The guttural sound he made told her he was close to coming too. As he ground against her, he pinched her nipple, startling her eyes into opening. The sweat running down his face, the gritted teeth, the inferno burning in his eyes…. Yes .

Langley arched as ecstasy bore down on her and Ryder shifted, moving with her.

His groan was loud, long, and his orgasm set off hers. She clutched at him, needing him to keep her anchored in this world. When the bliss finally began to lessen, she went boneless, falling against Ryder, trusting him to keep her safe.