“I want you this morning, too.” He grasped the back of her neck, and she shivered at his touch. His rough thumb moved back and forth over her skin. He pressed against her, his erection hard and long against her backside. “You feel that?” he said, his voice a husky whisper. “This is me all the time, every time I’m near you. I can’t keep my hands off of you.”
They had a similar problem. She’d been aroused long before he even touched her. She remained in a constant state of arousal around him. Closing her eyes, Shawna fought back the moan building up in her chest.
Her head fell back and he kissed the underside of her jaw.
She touched his rough cheek with the backs of her fingers, turning her head so he could kiss the corner of her mouth. The silk of her robe brushed along her inner thigh, feeling way too sensual in a way it never had before.
Was there no end to the ways in which he affected her?
Turning around, her eyes sought his, seeking some kind of answer, but finding only the lazy smile that seemed to hover perpetually around his mouth.
He unfastened the belt and slid the robe from her shoulders, letting his hand glide along her arms on its way down. A heavy heat settled between her thighs as she watched his appreciative gaze scan her naked form, his eyes darkening to cobalt blue as he pulled her closer.
She slid a hand around his neck and dragged his head down to hers. Their kiss deepened, and she lost the ability to think. But thinking could come later.
Right now, she only wanted to feel.
****
Shawna awoke slowly. The curtains were closed so no light came in. She’d fallen asleep after she and Ryan made love again.
She looked around the room in search of him, and her gaze landed on a note propped against the lamp beside the bed. He’d torn a page from her small pad on the desk in the corner.
Had to go into the shop. I’ll call you later.
She lifted the piece of paper and ran her finger over it. She’d never seen his handwriting before. He wrote with a bold and heavy script. Masculine, like him.
The house phone beside the bed rang and she answered after checking the caller I.D.
“Why haven’t you called to tell me what happened last night? Am I going to have to beat it out of you?” Yvonne asked. She could tell her sister was in the car and heard her niece and nephew talking in the back seat.
“Whatever happened to hello?” Shawna asked, stretching and stifling a yawn. She placed the note back on the bedside table and sat up against the pile of pillows. She really needed to get her butt out of bed but felt extra lazy this Saturday morning. Good sex and plenty of orgasms could do that to a person. The boutique was in good hands with her employees, but she’d check on them after she ended the call.
“Since we’re sisters, we’re not limited to such formalities,” Yvonne said. “Now spill it.”
“We had a nice time,” Shawna said cautiously, wondering how much she should divulge.
“Hmm. That’s vague.” Yvonne paused. “William thinks he’s a great guy and when I met him, I thought so, too. But how do you feel about him?”
“He’s fine.”
“Did you have a serious relationship in Chicago? You never told me about him.”
“That’s because it wasn’t serious.” Shawna dreaded the fallout from her next words. “We met right before I left Chicago, and um . . . he had a girlfriend he didn’t tell me about.”
“What! I remember you didn’t seem like yourself when you came home. Why didn’t you tell me? I’m so sorry. If I’d known I wouldn’t have set you up on a date with him.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“How did you feel when you saw him again?”
Shawna shrugged though her sister couldn’t see her. “Angry at first, but then . . .” Shaky, desperate, achy.
“But then . . . ?”
She might as well confess everything. “We had sex.” She heard a series of car horn honks and sat up in alarm. “Yvonne, are you there? Is everything okay?”
“I have my babies in the car. You can’t spring stuff like that on me while I’m driving. Plus, I’m pregnant.” Yvonne had a habit of using her pregnancy as an excuse for every mishap, miscommunication, or mishandling of any situation. “Are you guys okay back there?”
“Yes, Mommy!”