1.5 The Taste of the Wrong Man

The sky over the city glowed a muted gold as the sun dipped toward evening, turning the glass towers into shimmering monoliths of light.

It had been four days since the dinner. Four days since she’d told herself she would stay away from Ryan, David’s younger brother, her mother’s fiancé’s brother, the man who had already upended every sensible part of her life and she’d failed miserably.

Every time her phone lit up, her pulse leapt before she could stop it. She’d even caught herself replaying his words in her mind. 

“I haven’t been able to think of anything but you.”

She looked around the wedding planner’s studio.

It should have felt pure, hopeful. To Leana, it felt like a gilded cage.

“And for the bridesmaids, we’re thinking of this champagne chiffon,” Julie said, her voice bubbling with an excitement that was increasingly difficult for Leana to mirror. She held up a fabric sample, her eyes shining. “What do you think, Lee?”

“It’s beautiful, Mom,” Leana said, the words tasting like ash. She could feel him before she saw him. A shift in the air, a subtle charge that made the fine hairs on her arms stand up.

“Sorry I’m late,” a familiar baritone sounded from the doorway. Ryan. He looked effortlessly powerful in a dark, tailored suit, his gaze sweeping the room and landing on her with the force of a physical blow. “Traffic was a nightmare.”

“Finally! We were beginning to think you’d changed your mind.” Julie joked. 

David clapped his brother on the back. “No problem. We were just discussing the color scheme. You’re just in time to lend your impeccable taste.”

Ryan’s eyes never left Leana’s. “I’m sure it’s all perfect.”

The next hour was a special kind of torture. They discussed centerpieces, seating charts, and music. Ryan, playing the part of the devoted brother, offered thoughtful, intelligent suggestions. But every comment felt like a secret message meant only for her.

When the planner mentioned the honeymoon suite, Ryan’s gaze flickered to Leana, a spark of something hot and possessive in his eyes before he looked away. When David joked about finally making an honest woman out of Julie, Ryan’s hand, resting on the table, curled into a subtle fist. Leana felt every silent communication like a shout in the quiet room.

They had dinner together. Dinner unfolded in a blur of voices and clinking silverware. Julie was radiant, David was charming, and Ryan was impeccable. He talked about expansion plans for his firm, new projects on the West Coast, and, somehow, Leana’s career came up.

“She’s one of the best young architects I’ve met,” Julie said proudly. “If only her firm would recognize that.”

David nodded, thoughtful. “Maybe she needs new scenery.”

Ryan’s tone was casual, but the gleam in his eye wasn’t. “We’re actually opening a design branch downtown. I could use someone with her vision.”

Leana’s fork froze midair. “I… what?”

“You’d love the work,” David said. “Ryan’s firm is top of the line. You should take him up on it.”

“I’m not sure.”

“Come on,” Julie interrupted, “it’s perfect! You’ve been complaining about your job for months.”

Ryan met her eyes over his glass of wine. “Think of it as a fresh start.”

As the dinner wrapped up, David turned to Ryan. “I’m swamped with the quarterly reports. Can you give Leana a lift? She mentioned she has a few errands to run downtown.”

It was a perfectly innocent request. Leana’s heart hammered against her ribs.

“Of course,” Ryan said, his voice smooth as polished stone. He finally turned his full attention to her, a polite, impersonal smile on his face. “Leana? Shall we?”

She was completely trapped by the very family dynamics that were supposed to keep them apart. “Sure. Thank you,” she managed, avoiding her mother’s proud, happy smile.

The silence in his car was thick and heavy. He drove with a focused intensity, one hand on the wheel, the other resting on the gear shift. He didn’t speak until they were several blocks away.

“You’ve been avoiding my calls,” he stated, his voice low and flat.

“I’ve been busy,” she lied, staring out the window at the passing city. “Wedding plans. Work.”

“Don’t lie to me,” he cut in, a sharp edge to his tone.

“What do you want me to say then, Ryan? That this is easy? That I can sit in a room planning my mother’s wedding to your brother and not feel like the worst person alive?”

“I want you to say you feel the same way I do,” he said, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. “That this is hell, but it’s a hell I never want to leave if it means I’m in it with you.”

He didn’t drive towards her apartment. He pulled into the underground garage of a sleek, anonymous high-rise hotel. He put the car in park and finally turned to look at her, his gray eyes stormy with a raw, unchecked need.

“What are you doing?” Leana whispered, her resolve crumbling.

He reached out, his fingers gently tracing the line of her jaw. The simple touch sent a jolt straight to her core. “Come upstairs with me.”

The hotel room was on a high floor, a pristine, impersonal space of neutral tones and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city. The moment the door clicked shut, the careful walls they had maintained shattered.

He didn't give her a chance to speak, to think, to regret. He backed her against the door, his body caging hers, his hands framing her face as his mouth descended on hers. She melted into the kiss, her hands fisting in his shirt, pulling him closer. He nipped at her bottom lip, demanding entrance, and she opened for him with a moan. His tongue delved into her mouth, stroking against hers, claiming her, consuming her.

One hand slid down her throat, feeling her pulse hammering beneath his touch. The other tangled in her hair, tilting her head to deepen the kiss. He licked into her mouth, drinking down her whimpers and gasps, his own need growing with each second.

"Fuck, I want you," he growled against her lips. "I'm going to ruin you for anyone else."

His hands roamed her body, caressing and squeezing, mapping out every dip and curve. He gripped her hips, grinding his hardness against her core, letting her feel what she did to him. Leana arched into him, craving more friction, more contact.

Ryan's fingers found the hem of her dress and pushed it up, baring her thighs, her panties. He stroked over the damp fabric, groaning at how wet she was already.

"You're so fucking ready for me, aren't you? Such a needy little slut."

Leana's face flushed at the crude words, but she couldn't deny them. Her body was on fire, aching for his touch. She bucked against his hand, seeking more pressure, more stimulation. Ryan chuckled darkly and yanked her panties aside, plunging two fingers into her dripping cunt without warning.

She cried out, her head thudding back against the door. Ryan pumped his fingers hard and fast, curling them to rub against that sensitive spot inside her. 

"That's it, baby. Take my fingers like a good girl."

His thumb found her clit, circling and pressing, sending sparks of pleasure shooting up her spine. Leana's hips rocked wildly, fucking herself on his hand, chasing her rapidly approaching orgasm. 

"Please, please, Ryan..."

"Beg for it," he commanded, scissoring his fingers and biting at her neck. "Beg me to let you come on my fingers like a desperate whore."

"Oh god, please! I need it, I need to come so bad! Please let me come on your fingers. I'm your desperate little slut, only yours!" 

Ryan thrust his fingers in deep one last time and pressed hard on her clit. Leana's orgasm crashed over her like a tidal wave, her cunt clenching rhythmically around him as she screamed her release. He continued pumping into her, drawing out her pleasure until she was limp and shaking.

He withdrew his fingers and brought them to his mouth, sucking her juices off with a groan. "Fuck! you taste incredible. I could feast on your pussy for hours."

Leana watched him through heavy-lidded eyes, still floating on a haze of bliss. She whimpered when he suddenly grabbed her thighs and hoisted her up, wrapping her legs around his waist. He carried her to the bed and tossed her down onto the mattress. She scrambled back as he loomed over her, stripping off his clothes with swift, efficient motions.

He reached down and spread her legs wide, exposing her sensitive, swollen flesh. "Look at you, so pink and puffy. Already addicted to my cock."

Leana bit her lip as he notched himself at her entrance, the broad head pushing insistently against her. She was still slick from her orgasm, but he was so large. She knew it would hurt. 

"Wait…"

"Shhhh, relax," he murmured, even as he began to push forward. 

Leana's back arched off the bed as he stretched her relentlessly, inch after thick inch filling her impossibly full. She felt every vein, every ridge, branding her insides.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Ryan chanted, working himself deeper until he was fully sheathed inside her.

They both panted harshly as they adjusted to the feeling. Finally, he pulled out slowly, until just the tip remained, before slamming back in with a snap of his hips. Leana keened at the sudden burst of pleasure, her hands scrabbling at his shoulders.

He set a hard, driving rhythm, pounding into her with brutal force. The headboard slammed against the wall with each thrust, the obscene sound of skin slapping against skin filling the room. Leana met him eagerly, tilting her hips to take him even deeper.

Ryan grunted, sweat beading on his brow. "Your cunt feels like heaven. Made to take my cock."

Leana could only moan in response. She could feel another orgasm building, the tension coiling tighter and tighter in her core.

Ryan shifted the angle of his thrusts and suddenly he was hitting that spot inside her that made stars explode behind her eyes. 

"Yes, yes, there! Oh god, don't stop!"

He pistoned his hips harder, faster, driving into that sweet spot with ruthless precision. Leana shattered with a scream, coming apart at the seams as ecstasy crashed over her in waves. Ryan followed her a moment later with a roar, his cock pulsing as he emptied himself deep inside her.

"That was..." Leana started weakly.

"Yeah," Ryan finished with a satisfied smirk. "Just wait until round two."

She laughed breathlessly and smacked his chest. "You're insatiable!"

"And you're delicious. I'm going to keep you in this bed for the rest of the night and feast on your sweet cunt." He punctuated his words with a filthy grind of his hips against hers.

Leana shivered at the renewed spark of desire in his eyes. It looked like it was going to be a very long, very pleasurable night.

As the night almost fades, for a long time, they lay tangled in the sheets. His heart hammered against her back, his arms a solid, possessive band around her waist.

He was the one to break it, his voice a low rumble against her ear. “I can’t stand the thought of you just being my niece at family gatherings.” He shifted, turning her to face him. His expression was raw, stripped bare of all its usual control. “I look at David and your mother, making plans, building a life, and all I can think is that I want that with you. I don’t want to steal moments in hotel rooms, Leana. I want you in the light of day.”

“It feels more real than anything,” she confessed, her voice breaking. “And that’s what terrifies me.”

“We’ll figure this out, Leana. I promise you.”

The wedding was coming, a celebration of a union that now felt like the countdown to their own inevitable destruction.