Not that she was comparing herself to anyone. But it made more sense now why Ryder was the way he was. She thought back to the other night when they’d played their “I’ve Never” game. He’d given her only a few specifics, but they’d revealed insights about him. He wanted things he thought he couldn’t have, which left him wondering if he had to settle for the things he could.
Where did that leave Whitney? What did she want from Ryder?
Mostly just him.
She knew also what she didn’t want, and that was to be lumped into some kind of ladies club. If he wanted distance from her, she’d give it. If he wanted to another night? She’d give that, too. But life was too short to pretend to be or feel something she wasn’t interested in. And she wasn’t interested in being one of Ryder Diamond’s pals.
The way he looked at her alone made her chest spasm. He met every challenge she issued and then gave back some of his own. She was already having withdrawals from the way he’d touched her, and she’d only had him for a single night.
She took another bit of apple.
“Fuckin’ Ryder,” she muttered.
“Careful, sweetness. I can fill that request easily.”
Ryder approached from the shadows, crunching up gravel beneath his boots. With her ass pressed against the front of the truck, she stared him down as he closed in on her.
“Leaning on a man’s truck like that gives the wrong idea,” he said.
“Oh? What kind of idea?” She gently put her heel behind her and balanced it on the shiny bumper.
“The idea that you just may get your wish, right up against it.”
“What was my wish again?” she mused, bending her arm to hold the apple in front of her face. Ryder closed the last few feet between them.
“Fuckin’ Ryder,” he said, then took a bite of her apple and stood up straight. She watched his jaw work the crisp fruit, and lord, the man was built, and sexy as hell.
“Wouldn’t that go against your boundaries?” she asked, trying to keep the rising need out of her voice.
He glanced down the front of her. “I told you that my intentions were to interact with you while your clothes remained on.”
She nodded, but the sly way he looked at her had her heart pounding harder. He moved against her, parting her legs with his knees. She dropped the apple as the smooth chrome of the Chevy behind her pressed against her spine.
“You told me the other night you’ve never had sex in a man’s truck.” He shifted his hips, dragging the bulge of his thick, jean-clad erection across her lower stomach. She couldn’t hold back a soft moan. “What about up against it?”
Her eyes flew to his. “This is your truck?”
He nodded.
Just her luck. Still, she had to keep her pride a little. Ryder was trying to set boundaries while breaking them at the same time. She was up for breaking rules, but there would be no coffee afterwards, or other awkward dating attempts.
She glanced over her shoulder at the big rig. “You know, a truck this size suggests the man driving it might be trying to compensate for something.” She glanced down at the very hard, very large cock straining against his jeans.
“Mouthy little thing tonight, aren’t you?” In a flash, he clamped the backs of both her thighs, brought them around his waist, and thrust against her. He hovered his mouth over hers and said, “I’d be happy to show you what kind of compensation I’m packing.”
Yes please!
She snagged his bottom lip between her teeth, but he pulled away quickly. She wanted to pout when he let her legs fall. But before she registered rejection, he spun her around and had her stomach pressed against the front of his truck.
“You push me on purpose. Challenge everything,” he said.
“Just trying to learn you,” she said, repeating her words from the other night. Because the side of Ryder he let out when they were alone was one that got a fire roaring to life inside her. A fire that made her forget who she was, where she was, and all the pain that came with her past, the life she was trying to outrun. Yes, challenging Ryder was like tossing firecrackers on hot oil. And she wanted to set the sparks free.
“One thing you’ll learn about me, sweetness,” he said, those big hands grabbing her hips and bringing her ass back against his cock. “I’m a man of my word.”
He unsnapped her shorts and pulled them down to her thighs, then wrapped a hand in her hair and lowered her over the front of his truck.
“Black tonight,” he rasped, trailing his free hand over the lace band of her thong. “I must admit I’m partial to the red, but black is good, too.”
That sneaky man! After their encounter the other night, she couldn’t find her panties. Now she knew that Ryder must have taken them. The thought got her hot. One night or not, he’d taken a piece of her with him. She would have done the same thing if she could have. That night held memories worth keeping.
“Is this your boundary, big guy?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder. The hand in her hair loosened, and he brought both heavy palms to her ass and spread her wide.
“This wisp of fabric is hardly considered a boundary.”
He knelt down and, keeping those hands on her ass, slid his hot tongue along her center, dampening the lace of her panties as he went.
When he used his teeth to maneuver the fabric to the side, exposing her completely, she shuddered. His firm tongue made contact with her sensitive bundle of nerves, and she rocked up on her toes at the amazing feel of a summer breeze dancing across her skin while Ryder’s tongue danced along her sex.
“Oh fuck, Ryder,” she moaned.
His raspy chuckle hummed against her heated flesh. “Soon, sweetness.”
He teased with his tongue around her opening, making pleasure and anticipation burst through her veins.
“Is this what you wanted?” he asked, sinking his tongue deep, just once, while delivering a smack on her ass.
“Yes!”
“This is what you pushed for, isn’t it? Is this the Ryder you want?” He gently bit her folds, then sucked her clit.
“Yes! Yes, so much.”
He growled like a man at his last feast, and she heard the jingle of his belt opening, followed by a rip of cellophane. He stood and put one hand back in her hair, grabbing it hard.
“Say it again,” he rasped, as the head of his cock pressed against her heat.
“I want you,” she said.
“How?” he grated and slapped her ass again.
“Deep.”
With that, he surged inside of her, filling her up in one hard thrust. She rocked forward, her body braced over the shiny metal of the truck. Ryder lifted her foot to rest on the bumper, spreading her further and giving himself even more access. With one hand tangled in her hair, the other gripped her hip. He withdrew, then thrust back in, hitting even deeper than last time.
“Don’t stop,” she begged. “Please don’t stop.”
Ryder buried himself inside her hot, silky body, over and over. This was fucking paradise for him. It was a high he couldn’t come off of—the same high he should stay away from but in this moment was powerless to resist.
I want what’s bad for me…
But he couldn’t give a shit less about logic at the moment. Because while Whitney might be bad for him, she felt so damn good. All the reason and logic didn’t matter. They didn’t even spark a whisper in his brain. All he knew was that he’d come after Whitney because he couldn’t let her walk out. He’d intended only to talk to her one on one and explain why boundaries were a good idea.