Chapter 25: Chapter Twenty-Five

Ryder quirked a brow, the corner of his mouth lifting in that drop-dead sexy smile she loved so much. “Is that so?” he asked, running his tongue across his bottom lip. “So what does that make us now?”

Her heart stuttered. Was she really ready to make this leap? “You’ve been upgraded to friends with benefits,” she said with a teasing smile.

“Friends with exclusive benefits.” All humor had been stripped from his voice and expression, and his gaze bore straight into her soul.

“Of course,” she said with a flippancy she didn’t feel. “I’m certainly not planning to sleep with anyone else.” That part was true, but things were suddenly getting a tad too serious. It was time to lighten the mood. “You know,” she said, climbing off his lap. She scooped her panties off the floor and sauntered toward the bathroom.

Behind her, Ryder whistled with appreciation. “Damn, Madison.”

“You were right.” She added a little extra sway to her hips before stopping in the doorway and glancing back at him with a seductive smile. “You’re totally worth the trouble.” She winked, stepped into the bathroom, and then closed the door, but that didn’t muffle the sound of his rich laughter.

Oh my God! She gripped the edge of the sink and blew out a breath. Her legs were still shaking from her orgasm, and she was beginning to wonder if her heart would ever return to a normal rate. Her thighs ached with a good sort of pain from being spread across his lap. And she couldn’t begin to describe how it had felt to have him inside of her. Incredible. Amazing. Mind blowing. Perfection. Even those words didn’t come close to how she felt.

She used the toilet and it wasn’t until she went to wipe that reality slapped her in the face. Her eyes widened, and she froze with her hand between her legs. “No…” She drew out the word, refusing to acknowledge what was so blatantly obvious. How could she have been so stupid? Unprotected sex? Really, Madison. You’re smarter than this.

Finishing her business, she put on her panties and returned to the bedroom, heart in her throat. Ryder had pushed the two twin beds together and was lying on top of the blankets wearing only his boxers. He had one hand behind his head, the other on his stomach, and he was watching her as she let her gaze wander over him. His hard, chiseled body was on full display, and God, he was glorious. Her breath hitched, and she tucked her bottom lip between her teeth.

She’d gotten caught up in the moment with him, and no matter how irresponsible or careless or stupid she’d been to have unprotected sex with him, she couldn’t bring herself to feel regret it. And looking at him now, she knew that no matter what happened between them after this, he was a good guy, and he’d do the right thing. She didn’t need to worry too much, though, because she was on birth control.

“How long are you going to stand there and stare at me?” he asked, amusement coloring his tone.

“I don’t know.” She smirked. “The view is pretty damn incredible.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” His eyes darkened, and he crooked his finger, beckoning her to join him. That look was lethal to her senses. Then again, everything about Ryder Collins was dangerous to her good sense.

She kneeled next to him on the bed, and then she lowered her mouth onto his. Kissing him was euphoric. His lips like an aphrodisiac. That’s what it was—his addictiveness made her lose her mind and throw away all rational reasoning. In one swift movement, he removed his hand from behind his head and wrapped it around her, dragging her over on top of him.

She straddled him, the position already much too familiar to her body. “We should really talk about things,” she mumbled against his lips.

“Yes, we should.” He rolled them over, and she yelped with surprise, then laughed, locking her arms around his neck. “But I figured we could have a little fun while we talk.”

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Fun how?”

He grinned. “Uh-uh. I’m asking the questions.” He placed a featherlight kiss to her lips.

She sighed with contentment, and let out a small groan when he pulled his mouth from hers. A knot formed in her stomach at the thought of Ryder interrogating her. She knew he wasn’t going to like some of her answers, and the possibility he might get mad enough to separate the beds and make her sleep alone tonight haunted her.

“For each answer I get, you get a kiss,” he said.

“You’d better start asking some questions then.”

A deep chuckle rumbled from his chest, vibrating over her breasts, making her nipples harden. “We’ll start with something easy. What’s your middle name?”

That was a weird question, but if that’s what he really wanted to know… “Leigh.”

“Madison Leigh Montgomery,” he said as if making sure her name suited him. “I like it.”

She puckered her lips, expecting her kiss. And she got one, but not on her mouth. Instead, he kissed her jaw, nibbling erotically. It was then she realized his true intentions with this little game. He was planning to fully explore her body—with his mouth. If she’d been reluctant to answer his questions before, she sure as hell wasn’t now.

“Favorite color?”

“Purple. Yours?”

He moved up plant a much too brief kiss on her lips. “Hazel.”

She laughed. “Hazel’s not a color.”

“Yes it is.” He laughed. “It’s the color of your eyes,” he said simply, and with that matter of fact answer, everything inside of her melted. Was this guy for real? “Favorite food?”

“Nachos. Lil says the ones I make are orgasm inducing, so I guess I’m pretty good at making them.”

A devilish glint flashed behind Ryder’s eyes. “Everything about you is orgasm inducing,” he said as he inched down her body and circled the tip of her tongue around her nipple before closing his mouth around the hardened peak.

Madison bit back a moan. This slow seduction thing he had going on was going to be the death of her. “What’s your favorite food?” she asked, breathless and desperate to focus on something other than the throbbing between her legs.

“You,” he said.

“I’m serious. We’re going to be in Vegas in two days. We need to know these things so we can make this lie believable,” she said, a noticeable whine to her voice.

“Fine.” He sighed with fake annoyance. “I’m pretty fond of pizza.”

Smiling, she shook her head. Yeah, he was going to be a handful, but she already knew that. Now she was going to have fun trying to actual handle him in all his sexy, charming glory.

“Favorite band?”

“Twenty One Pilots.”

“Favorite movie?”

“Napoleon Dynamite.”

“Favorite way to spend a day off?”

She looked at him like he’d lost his mind. “I can’t remember the last time I had a day off. Well, other than for this trip. I work all the time, and when I’m not working, I’m usually in class or studying. I don’t really have a lot of free time.”

“Well, we’re going to have to fix that, aren’t we?” He winked.

She wiggled beneath him, trying to get closer, and more comfortable. “That was at least four answers.” She grinned. “I believe you owe me a few more kisses.”

“Oh really?” That confident smile was firmly back in place. “And where would you like me to kiss you?”

All over! But she didn’t say that. No guy liked a girl who was too eager or needy. “Hmm.” She pursed her lips.

He took that action as an answer and crushed his mouth to hers, slipping his tongue into her waiting mouth, exploring, teasing. And way too fucking short. When he pulled away, she tugged on his neck, trying to get his lips back on hers. But he was much stronger than her, and maybe more determined. He nipped at her chin, then layered kiss after kiss along her jawline, straight to her ear, which he tugged between his teeth.

She moaned. And when he moved lower, teasing the soft spot right behind her ear, she squirmed, needing to be closer. That spot right there was her ultimate weakness, a direct line to her libido’s “on” switch. She hooked her leg around his and lifted her hips.

“You like that, don’t you?” he murmured, moving to the other side of her neck, repeating the delicious tease.

“Yes.” She threaded her fingers through his hair, the soft locks caressing her hands.

“Mmm.”

The throaty groan of approval landed like a lead weight, grounding her in this moment, wishing it would never end, that nothing would change between them.

“What’s your major?” he asked.

“Seriously?” she said with frustration. “You’re really going to stop and ask me more questions?” There was an unmistakable whine to her voice, but she didn’t care. He was being unfair, teasing her with his kisses only to suddenly stop.

“Answer and I’ll keep going.”

He was diabolical, and she was totally falling for it. “I’m undecided. I was a Liberal Arts major in my freshman year, but I knew I’d never get a decent job with that degree. I switched to Psychology in my sophomore year, but I flunked my Intro to Psych, so I figured that wasn’t a good career choice.” She laughed. “And now I’m undecided and taking a variety of different classes, hoping I find something I like.”

“You’re a junior?”

“Yeah, aren’t you?”

He shook his head. “I’m a senior. I’ll be graduating in May, and then, hopefully, going on to law school.”

She swore she could hear her heart shatter in her chest. He was going to graduate, and she would still have a whole year of college left. All of that meant only one thing—he was going to leave. He’d move on and leave her behind. Would he stick around and wait for her if she asked? Or would he do what Will did: move on and never look back? Memories of that heartbreaking day three years ago bombarded her, and she couldn’t breathe.

Madison pushed against his chest. “I need a break. Please. Get up.”

Ryder got off her immediately, concern in his gaze. “What’s wrong?”

She sat up and tucked her knees to her chest. “Nothing. I just need a sec, okay?”

She didn’t know why she was so shaken. It’s not like she and Ryder were a couple. Hell, they’d had sex once. They were friends with benefits. Nothing more, and it was downright silly of her to get so worked up about something that was yet to happen. For all she knew, once their road trip ended and they were back to the daily routine of classes, he might not want to see her again.

He sat beside her and gently rubbed her back. “I’m sorry if I said something to upset you.”

“No, you didn’t.” She forced a smile. “I have a bad habit of letting my mind get the best of me.”

“You can tell me what you were thinking about.” He nudged her with his shoulder. “I promise not to laugh.”

“I really don’t want to. It’s sorta embarrassing.”

He softly clutched her chin between in his fingers and turned her to face him. “Then you don’t have to tell me.” He gave her the softest kiss she’d ever felt, and her vision blurred with unshed tears. How could any man be as understanding and gentle as he was?

“I’ll tell you what.” He stood. “Why don’t I head down to the diner and get us some drinks and a few snacks? You stay here and take some time for yourself.”

“That would be great.”

“Just…don’t get dressed, okay?”

She tilted her head. “Um, okay?”

He crouched beside the bed and rubbed his hands up her legs. “I’m afraid if you put your clothes back on, I might never get them off you again.”

Laughing, she leaned forward, her mood already improving. “Trust me, you don’t need to worry about that.”

He raised a single brow, a lopsided grin on his face. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. In fact, you might have to beg me to put my clothes back on.”

“Fat fucking chance in hell of that ever happening.” He met her mouth in a hungry kiss, him using the force of it to push her back on the bed and climbing on top of her.

She slipped her hands down the back of his boxers, her fingernails scraping over his fine ass. He pressed his hips forward, letting her feel his hard erection, and she gasped.

Madison wrapped both of her legs around his waist. “The food can wait.”