chapter 4

Samantha

He went still but didn’t try to break free.

I felt some reassurance in that, so I kept kissing him.

At last, he let out a snarl and slanted his lips over mine, taking control of the kiss and deepening it.

He cupped the back of my head and tilted it.

His other hand snaked down my torso to wrap around my waist, pulling me tight against him.

Everything became a blur as our tongues clashed as the kiss went on and on.

I was overwhelmed with sensation as Ryan touched me.

I felt so giddy I couldn’t think straight.

All I was certain of at that moment was that I didn’t want this to end. It just felt too…good.

“I gasped his name when he moved his lips from mine to kiss along my jaw and down the side of my neck. “Please, don’t stop.”

“I don’t think I can,” he hissed. “Damn it, Sam, do you know how hard I’ve tried…tried to…”

“To what, Ryan?” I whispered, stroking his chin with my fingertips. “Tell me.”

He gazed down at me with a furrowed brow and shook his head.

“No,” he growled. “No more talking. We’re way past that.”

Before I could say another word, Ryan slammed his lips to mine once more, and a frenzy seemed to come over the two of us.

I felt the need to be closer to him. I didn’t want there to be any barriers between us. I wanted to feel his skin against mine.

I grabbed at the bottom of his shirt and started pulling it up. He helped me, tugging it up and off, then tossing it to the ground. I took a moment to admire him. His torso was hard with muscle. Defined pecs and rock-hard abs. My lips parted, and I nearly drooled. Raising my hands, I ran my fingers along the dips and crevices of his chest and stomach, unable to help myself.

Ryan let me explore for a few moments, but then he caught my hands and put them at my sides. He held my gaze as he slowly began unbuttoning the front of my sundress. My breathing grew heavier and heavier as he undressed me. When he’d opened the dress to my waist, he pushed the straps off my shoulders, and it fell off of me and pooled on the ground at my feet.

Standing before him in nothing but my bra and panties, I had to fight the instinct to cover myself with my hands. Ryan stepped back and took me in, his gaze roaming over me from head to toe. Did he like what he saw? Was he turned off by me? I felt self-conscious about my small breasts and lack of curves. I knew I was scrawny and not at all womanly. Boys had teased me before, but I’d never cared. None of those boys had mattered, and their opinions of me didn’t bother me.

Ryan mattered, though, and his opinion meant everything. If he didn’t find me attractive, I would be devastated.

“Christ, Sam,” he said, scrubbing his hand over his mouth. “When did you become so damn beautiful?”

I blinked, caught off guard by his compliment and heated tone.

“I…I am?” I whispered.

He met my gaze. “Yeah, you are. If anyone ever tells you otherwise, they’re a fucking fool.”

I was stunned. Did he really mean that? I was almost too afraid to hope. A part of me wasn’t sure this was even really happening. It seemed impossible, like a dream.

A dream I never wanted to wake up from.

“Ryan, I…I…”

“Stop,” he ordered, closing the distance between us. “If you talk too much, I might have time to change my mind.”

I didn’t want that, so I pressed my lips together to keep silent.

Ryan wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in for another kiss. As his mouth slanted over mine, he slowly guided me down to the ground.

We settled on a bed of soft moss, and Ryan adjusted us until I was on my back and he was on his hands and knees above me.

He moved his lips from my mouth and traced them along my jaw, down my neck, and to my chest.

He cupped my breasts through my bra, and I arched my back, shocked at how good it felt. I’d had my fair share of sweaty make-out sessions in the back of cars with clumsy groping and petting, but those had been with boys as inexperienced as I was.

Ryan was clearly experienced, and I would never call him a boy. His kisses were assured, his touch was confident. When he moved to take off my bra, he undid the clasp at the front of the garment with ease.

There was no hesitation as he peeled my panties down my legs. I pressed my knees together instinctively, but Ryan took hold of them and gently pried them apart.

“Let me see you, baby,” he said in a rumbling voice.

Gulping, I nodded and let my legs fall open. Ryan ran his hands from my knees down my inner thighs as he stared down at me. He didn’t say a word, but the lust in his gaze was undeniable.

I bit my lip as I waited for what he would do next. He glanced back up to meet my eyes as he moved one hand to my core and ran his fingers along my folds.

“Oh, my God,” I gasped, my hips shooting up to meet his touch. As Ryan continued to pet me, he kissed across my breasts. He stopped at one nipple and took it between his teeth, sucking it hard and lapping at it with his tongue. I whimpered and arched my back, pushing my breast further into his mouth. When he was done with that nipple, he moved to the other one, all the while never letting up his fingers’ movements between my legs.

I had never felt anything so incredible before.

It was almost more than I could take, but I didn’t want him to stop.

In fact, I wanted more.

I wanted to know what it was like to feel him buried deep inside me, stretching me and shaping my body to fit his own.

Running my hands in his hair, I murmured, “Ryan, please, no more teasing.”

He lifted his head and gazed down at me, not saying a word.

When he removed his hand from my sex, I sucked in an eager breath.

I was excited and anxious all at once.

I knew it was likely going to hurt, but I told myself it wouldn’t be for long.

Once the initial penetration was over, it would feel good. Ryan would make sure of that.

Holding my gaze, he leaned back and undid the front of his jeans.

I watched in eager fascination as he pushed his pants down his thighs, revealing his erection.

I stared at it, stunned. It was larger than I’d anticipated.

I felt a zing of hesitation. Maybe it would hurt more than I’d thought.

Gripping the base of his shaft, he lined himself up with my entrance. I tensed as he began to slip inside me. I clenched my teeth with a hiss, the pain almost too much for me.

“You need to relax,” Ryan growled. “It’s not going to feel any better otherwise.”

He lowered one hand and began thumbing my clitoris as he continued pushing himself deeper inside me.