Under him, Annabelle was breathing as heavily as he was, and he suddenly realized he was probably crushing her. He gingerly rolled onto his side and, wincing, peeled the condom off his still-hard dick, then raised himself up on one elbow so he could peer down at her. He grinned at the dazed cloud of arousal still glimmering in her eyes.
“I guess we can cross number one off the list,” he said roughly.
“Oh yeah,” she agreed, still sounding breathless. “That was surprisingly good.”
“Surprisingly?” he echoed in mock anger.
“There was always the chance you were all talk and no action,” she replied sweetly. “Overconfident men usually suck in bed.”
“I do not suck in bed.”
“I know. Like I said, you’re surprisingly good.”
“More like incredibly awesome.”
She shot him a sugary smile. “It’s nice to have a healthy ego.”
He bent down and planted a quick kiss on her lips, then pulled back and admired her perfect features. “You really are beautiful, you know that, Annabelle?”
Her cheeks turned pink. “You already got me in bed—well, on floor—so you don’t need to sweet talk me.”
“I’m not sweet talking. It’s true. You’re beautiful.”
He figured she’d object again—all she ever seemed to do was object—but instead she smiled shyly and said, “Thank you.”
Those two words were laced with so much wonder that he had to ask, “Hasn’t anyone ever told you that before?”
A tiny frown marred her forehead. “No. My parents, sure, but you’re the first man who’s ever said that.”
“Then the men you’ve dated before are complete morons.” He dragged his fingers down her bare arm, then rested his palm on her stomach and rubbed the soft skin there. “You’re gorgeous, Annie.”
“So are you, Rick.”
He chuckled. Man, he really liked this chick. Her well of sarcasm never seemed to run dry, and he found himself laughing constantly when she was around. And who could forget the mind-blowing sex they’d just had. When was the last time he’d felt this sated?
Next to him, Annabelle shifted, arching her back to form a little bridge with her naked body. “God, my back kills.”
“Isn’t it worth it, though?”
She mulled it over. “Yeah, I guess it is.” She raised herself up on her elbows, her breasts jutting out enticingly. “I should probably take off.”
“What’s the rush?” he asked, wrinkling his forehead.
Discomfort flitted through her brown eyes. “I figured you had, I don’t know, things to do or something.” She paused. “And it just occurred to me I don’t know a thing about you, except that you live in the building and were sort of involved with Christina.”
“I’ll tell you what, if you stay, I’ll tell you every last thing about myself.”
He sensed her reluctance, and an odd spark of panic lit in his gut. He didn’t want her to go. Weird, since they’d only met yesterday, but for some reason, he wanted her to stick around.
“Come on,” he urged. “It’ll be fun. We’ll order some pizza or Chinese food, spend the afternoon and night naked, and get to know each other.”
The corner of her lush mouth lifted. “That does sound pretty appealing.”
“It’ll be fun,” he reiterated.
Her smile widened. “How much fun?”
Grinning, Ryan placed his palm on her thigh and stroked gently. “A lot of fun.”
The shrill ringing of the phone woke Annabelle up at five in the morning. And it wouldn’t stop. It kept ringing and ringing and ringing, and next to her, Ryan made no move to pick it up. Groaning, she buried her head under the pillow, as Ryan shifted beside her, letting out a groan of his own.
“Who the fuck is that?” he mumbled.
“This isn’t fun,” Annabelle mumbled back. “You promised me a fun sleepover and then stuck me with a five o’clock wake-up call. I’m very unhappy at the moment.”
The phone mercilessly stopped ringing. For half a second.
Then it started right back up again.
Annabelle shot up into a sitting position. “If you don’t answer it, I will kill you.”
Groaning again, Ryan stuck out his arm and began rummaging around for the cordless phone. He finally got it off its cradle, jammed on the talk button and lifted it to his ear. “What?” he barked into the receiver.
Annabelle heard a male voice talking excitedly, but couldn’t make out any of the words. Ryan, however, was instantly awake. He sat up abruptly, a wide sleepy grin filling his face. “Seriously? Now?” He paused. “Okay. Yeah, definitely. We’re on our way.”
“We?” Annabelle burst out, wiping the sleep from her eyes.
Ryan ignored her. “Huh? No, that’s Annabelle…yeah, long story…she’s kind of strange but—”
“Kind of strange?” she yelled.
“—pretty cool,” Ryan finished. “Yeah…okay, see you in twenty. Tell her to hold it in until I get there because I totally want to see the head when it—hello?” He glanced at Annabelle. “Bastard hung up.”
Shoving the sheets off the bed, Ryan got up, suddenly as alert as a watchful guard dog. He moved around the bedroom, grabbing pieces of clothing, as Annabelle sat on the bed, shaking her head in confusion. “What on earth is happening?” she demanded.
“Shelby’s having her baby,” he said without breaking his stride.
“Who?” She went pale. “Don’t you dare tell me you got some girl pregnant.”
“She’s Garrett’s wife,” Ryan replied, sinking down on the edge of the bed so he could roll on a pair of socks. “Garrett’s on my SEAL team, I mentioned him yesterday, remember?”
She only sort of remembered. She was still having a tough time reconciling the fact that Ryan was a Navy SEAL. In between having super awesome sex, they’d spent all of yesterday talking about their lives, and when she asked him what he did for a living, she figured he’d say something like “pro surfer” or “personal trainer” or maybe “gigolo”. The Navy, she did not expect. Sure, he had the most extraordinary body ever, all toned and muscled and hard just about everywhere, but she couldn’t imagine him holding a gun, or creeping through the jungle, blowing things up, taking down terrorists…it was actually kind of hot when she thought about it. She’d never slept with GI Joe before.
“His wife is having their baby and Carson says it’ll be any minute now,” Ryan said, jarring her from her thoughts. “I’m gonna be an uncle, babe!”
Although she didn’t know Shelby or Garrett or Carson, Ryan’s enthusiasm was contagious. “God help that baby,” she said with a laugh.
He stood at the foot of the bed, shooting her an expectant look. “Well, come on, get up. We have to go to the hospital.”
Her enthusiasm faded. “Why? I don’t even know these people, Ryan. I don’t want to intrude.”
“You won’t be intruding.” He waved a dismissive hand. “They’ll all be happy to see you, especially Holly.”
“Who’s Holly?”
“I’ll tell you in the car. Now get up already.”
Annabelle slid out of bed, then paused, realizing she was totally naked. Almost immediately, Ryan’s eyes darkened to a midnight blue, and she could see the flicker of arousal in his gaze. Funny enough, she didn’t feel self-conscious. She never walked around naked in the condo she shared with Bryce. Neither did Bryce, for that matter. As their moving-in present, he’d bought them matching robes. To preserve her modesty, she’d thought, but that was before she’d discovered he was a prude.
“I need to go upstairs to Christina’s to get some clothes. I only have my bikini here,” she reminded him.
Ryan offered a wolfish grin. “Wear it to the hospital.”
“You wish,” she said with a snort.
“I do wish. All my friends would be jealous.”
Laughing, she went over to the chair near the bed and picked up one of the T-shirts lying there. “Can I wear this
?” Without waiting for him to agree—he’d be an asshole not to—she slipped the shirt over her head. It hung down to her knees, and as she walked toward Ryan, he had a devilish look in his eyes.
“You look seriously cute in that shirt,” he said, then elicited a startled squeak from her mouth by planting his hands on her waist, pulling her close and kissing her.
His lips were so soft, so warm. Annabelle’s toes curled as his mouth moved over hers in a teasing caress. God, he knew how to kiss. He knew how to do everything, in fact. They’d had sex three times already, and each time he pushed that thick cock into her, it took her breath away. Not that she was surprised. Just looking at him, you knew he’d be good in bed. What would Bryce think if he could see her now?
The notion brought a pang of guilt to her belly, followed by a jolt of anger. Screw Bryce. Who cared what he thought. He hadn’t thought twice before hooking up with someone else, so why should she?
“Okay,” Ryan groaned, breaking the kiss. “If we keep doing that, we’ll never get to the hospital.” He reached his arm around her and gave her butt a little slap. “Let’s get a move on.”
“Do we have to?”
“Yep. Don’t worry, Annie, it’ll be fun.”
She didn’t bother to correct him this time. He’d simply pick another annoying nickname if she said anything, and truth be told, she was beginning to like it. Nobody had ever called her Annie before. Her mother maintained that the nickname sounded too “common”. Annabelle, on the other hand, now that was a name that screamed wealth, according to Sandra Holmes.
Ryan waited somewhat impatiently as Annabelle got dressed upstairs, but she refused to rush. She still wasn’t sure why he insisted she come with him. She didn’t know any of his friends, and the birth of a child seemed like a rather inappropriate place to bring a girl you’d only known for two days. Yet for some reason, she wanted to go. She liked Ryan. She was drawn to him. And she couldn’t help but be curious about his life, about him.
They left the building fifteen minutes later, and Ryan led her to an olive-green Jeep parked at the back of the lot. He didn’t open the passenger door for her, and she resisted making a sarcastic remark about chivalry. Bryce always opened her door, and it drove her crazy. She was perfectly capable of opening her own door, and when Bryce did it, there was nothing chivalrous about it. It felt more patronizing if anything.
“So what’s the deal with this Bryce guy?” Ryan asked as he started the engine. “Am I helping you cheat on him? ’Cuz I’m not sure how I feel about that. I do have a moral code, you know.”
She grinned. “Yeah, I’m sure you do.” The smile faded as she pondered his question. She’d told him about Bryce earlier, but mostly skimmed over the details. “I guess Bryce and I are broken up.”
He shot her a sideways look before turning his attention back to the road ahead. “Were you really engaged?”
“Pretty much since we were six years old,” she said wryly. “He officially asked me two years ago. Our parents were thrilled.”
“Your parents aren’t the ones getting married. How did you feel about it?” Ryan asked quietly.
She bit her bottom lip. “I…was happy, I guess. I’ve wanted to marry Bryce since we were kids. I thought he was a wonderful guy.”
“Thought?” Ryan echoed, picking up on the past tense.
To her dismay, they reached a red light, which allowed him to turn his head and study her. His blue eyes flickered with curiosity, and discomfort rose up her spine. The last thing she wanted to do was tell Ryan about Bryce’s parting words, about what a priss she supposedly was.
“He said some mean things before he left,” she finally admitted.
Ryan’s jaw hardened. “What kind of mean things?”
She shrugged and casually glanced out the window. “You know, about me, and our sex life, and…” She suddenly gritted her teeth. To hell with it. “He pretty much called me a prude, okay?”
Ryan was silent for a few seconds. Then he burst out laughing.
“It’s not funny,” she said, her cheeks burning up.
“Sure it is.” He chuckled again. “It’s also not true. Don’t tell me you believed him, babe.”
Annabelle didn’t answer.
“You did, didn’t you?” Ryan said, sounding amazed. “Is that why you wrote that list? Come on, Annabelle, you should know better than to listen to some asshole. I just spent the entire day and night with you, and I can assure you, you’re no prude.”
“Um, thanks?”
They reached the hospital and Ryan parked the Jeep. Shutting off the engine, he looked at her and shook his head. “Don’t even think about that ass anymore, okay? Because I know for a fact that you’re the sexiest, hottest, wildest fuck a guy could ever have.”
Despite the lewd description, she found herself laughing. Her heart may have skipped a couple of beats too. She liked knowing that she’d provided this gorgeous military man with a sexy, hot and wild time.
Ryan hopped out of the Jeep to grab a parking ticket from the machine in the lot. When he came back, he shoved the ticket on the dashboard, as Annabelle got out of the vehicle, slinging her purse over her shoulder. “Are you sure they won’t mind that I’m here?” she asked once more.
“Trust me, they’ll be ecstatic.”
Chapter Four
Strangely enough, he was right. When the two of them entered the large waiting room in the fifth-floor maternity ward, a brunette with bright green eyes and a blue-eyed redhead jumped up and swarmed Ryan and Annabelle like two excited bees. Ryan made the introductions, but the two women kept babbling about how exciting this was and how happy they were for Shelby that Annabelle had a tough time keeping up. The brunette was Holly, and the blond man with the killer smile who rose from one of the plastic chairs was Carson, her fiancé. Jane was the redhead, and she introduced Annabelle to her fiancé, Thomas Becker, a man with short brown hair and a body that belonged in an action movie.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to them,” Becker said dryly as Holly and Jane continued to talk Ryan’s ear off.
“She’s only three centimeters dilated,” Holly was explaining. “Garrett came out an hour ago and said the doctor thinks it might be a while.”
“Are Will and Mac coming?” Ryan asked.
“They’ll be here in a few hours,” Carson supplied. “Mac wasn’t feeling well last night, so Will wants to let her sleep a while longer.”
“She’s pregnant,” Holly told Annabelle. “And Will is totally overprotective. He thinks she’ll lose the baby if she sneezes, but we keep telling him to quit worrying. Unless she has a vision of it or something, then he should worry.”
Annabelle was lost again. She figured Will was another SEAL, but all this talk of pregnancy and visions made her head spin. It spun even more when Ryan suddenly shook hands with Becker and congratulated him for apparently getting Jane pregnant, though something in that exchange felt…stiff. Ryan was smiling, his voice ringing with sincerity, but for a moment, Annabelle could swear she’d heard a twinge of sadness. She discreetly glanced from Ryan to Jane, but the redhead was staring up at her soon-to-be husband adoringly and Ryan looked perfectly unruffled.
Huh. Maybe she’d just imagined it.
“Shit, I’m starving,” Carson mumbled. “Anyone want to make a trip down to the cafeteria?”
Ryan and Becker chimed in. Annabelle didn’t have a chance. Her stomach had grumbled the second Carson said cafeteria, but Holly was suddenly gripping her hand. “Bring us some sandwiches or something,” Holly chirped to the men, then tugged on Annabelle’s hand and practically forced her butt into a chair. “Sit with us, Annabelle.”
Annabelle found herself sandwiched between Holly and Jane, who stared at her in curiosity. “How did you and Ryan meet?” Jane asked.
“Is it serious?” Holly demanded.
“Uh…it’s only been two days,” she said awkwardly.
“But you like him?” Holly pressed.
“Yeah, def
initely.” Before they could grill her again, she swiftly changed the subject. “How did you and Carson meet?” she asked Holly.
With a grin, Holly launched into the whole sordid story, revealing that she and Carson had indulged in a one-night stand at a nightclub only to run into each other weeks later at Shelby and Garrett’s wedding. Then Jane chimed in, confessing that she’d met Becker in an elevator, in which the two of them passed the time having hot sex.
Annabelle laughed, thinking of her first meeting with Ryan. Unable to stop herself, she told the two women the story of how she’d woken up to find a total stranger in bed with her. Both of them hooted with delight when she finished. “Oh, that’s priceless,” Jane said, pushing a loose strand of red hair from her ponytail. “I can’t believe you threw a lamp at him.”
“He deserves it,” Holly said, rolling her eyes. “I’ve wanted to throw a lamp at Evans since the day I met him.” Annabelle knew Holly was just teasing; the affection in her voice when she spoke of Ryan was easy to pick up on.
“Yeah,” Jane agreed with a grin. “He’s incorrigible. I’ve been tempted to do some lamp-throwing myself.”
“So, have you and Carson set a date?” Annabelle asked Holly.
“Not yet.” Holly made a face. “We’re too busy arguing about who’ll cater the wedding.”
“Having trouble picking a catering company?”
“No, he won’t let me do it,” Holly complained.
“The bride can’t cater her own damn wedding,” came Carson’s annoyed voice. He stepped into the waiting room, with Ryan and Becker in tow, and glared at his soon-to-be wife. “You’re just going to have to pay someone else to do it.”
“I’ll prepare everything the night before,” Holly insisted.
Annabelle smothered a laugh as she listened to them argue. She could tell they were madly in love, which brought a tiny pang of envy to her chest. Had she and Bryce ever acted that way with each other, loving and teasing and so obviously infatuated with each other?