I sighed. We both knew that would be ridiculous, partly because Ronan’s height would require him to sleep curled up like a shrimp, and also because we weren’t exactly unfamiliar with each other’s bodies. Even if it had been a few weeks since he’d turned me inside out on my own bed back in Seattle.
I shivered at the memory.
And then realized something I was feeling was definitely not a memory.
I squirmed. “Is that?—”
There was another chuckle. “Yeah. Involuntary response to a beautiful woman, I’m afraid. At least to this beautiful woman.”
Despite the breadth of the bed and the fact that there was no longer any reason for us to be pressed this close, he didn’t move away. I squirmed again, but that only made the “problem” that much bigger.
“Laney, stop moving like that. It’s only going to make it worse.”
“Are you…” I almost didn’t say it. But I had to. “Are you naked down there?”
I wasn’t wearing much either—underwear and a camisole were about all I could tolerate in bed.
“Yep.” He didn’t even sound a little bit ashamed.
“Ronan!”
I could feel his shrug against my back. “I sleep naked, and I didn’t exactly have time to change before I scrammed across the hall. You want me to try to fumble around in the dark looking for a pair of underpants? That’s going to make more noise than anything when I knock over a lamp or some shit. Plus, you’vealready seen what’s happening down there, anyway. It’s a boner, not a gun.”
The problem was, he wasn’t being completely unreasonable.
“How drunk is Shea?” I asked finally. “Won’t she notice the bed isn’t made?”
“I doubt it. She was calling me ‘Roney’ when she walked in. She only does that when she’s three sheets to the wind.”
I relaxed a bit more. And while he relaxed his iron grip on my body, he didn’t move away. Not completely.
And the evidence of his arousal currently pressed against my ass hadn’t dissipated much either.
“For what it’s worth, this wasn’t my plan for tonight.” He pressed a kiss to my shoulder and nuzzled into my neck.
“What was your plan, then?” I was stalling for time. The scent of his breath, somehow minty and fresh, combined with the solid warmth of his body encompassing mine, was making it hard to think straight.
“Let’s see… respecting your boundaries.” Another kiss found my jaw. “Giving you space.” One more to my ear. “Being a gentleman.” He lightly bit my lobe. “Maybe jerking off in the shower while thinking about that survey you filled out.”
I shivered right there in the nest of his body. “Ronan.”
“What? You checked YES on dirty talk, sweets. And wrote me a little footnote about watching porn with cumshots.”
I could feel my body heat in response, and it wasn’t completely out of embarrassment. Lord. What had I been thinking when I filled out that stupid checklist?
Certainly not about getting this sort of reaction.
Lie. I knew exactly what I’d been doing. By the time I’d gotten to the end of that stupid contract of his, I’d wanted to shock Ronan Black as much as he’d shocked me.
In a way, seeing all of those possibilities laid out in black and white had been freeing. How many men had I dated who couldbarely talk about sex, much less acknowledge that the woman they were seeing had her own preferences built by experience? Most wanted the women they dated to be a Madonna, but one who came preloaded with sexual talents for them to discover like a choose-your-own-adventure video game.
It was exhausting.
And then there was Ronan, who didn’t seem to be fazed by much of anything, much less the giant sex checklist that had come from his best friend, which he’d apparently jumped right into reading the second we’d gotten home.
He went back to nibbling my ear. Then he licked my neck.
“Ronan.”