Love, Diamonds, and Spades (Cactus Creek #2)(25)

Oh good lord, the man was too much. She went over and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Thank you. For all this.”

He hugged her tight, slipping her a quick, hard kiss while Coop was poking at the fire.

…Before running back in the house for ‘one last fan.’

The second he was out of viewing range, Quinn grabbed her phone and texted her sister.

>>> HEY, PEN. CAN YOU BABYSIT COOPER TOMORROW NIGHT?

>>> SURE. WHAT’S UP?

Knowing there was a very good chance she’d hear Penny screaming from all the way over in Pinnacle Peak, she quickly answered by way of another question.

>>> CAN HE STAY OVERNIGHT?

A nanosecond pause before a emoticon ridden text returned with:

>>> YES! OH MY GOD! YOU BETTER GIVE ME DETAILS THE NEXT MORNING!



*



SOOO, HOW DOES one go about bringing up the topic of sex? Quinn wondered to herself as she fiddled with the remote on the couch next to Rylan.

She tried to remember how it’d been in the past when she’d had sex. It was a lot simpler back then. Pretty much, they pounced, she parted.

Yeah, that wouldn’t work here.

Rylan wasn’t going to pounce. Nope. He was going to be the world’s most aggravatingly patient nice guy until she brought it up first.

Just say you want sex. It’s sex. Guys like sex.

His hand squeezed her shoulder. “You okay? You seem tense.”

Say it!

“Sweetheart?”

Okay, let’s start easy. Just say words. Anything with words so he doesn’t think you’ve gone mute. Say something!

“I’m not wearing granny underwear!”

Yeah…anything but that.

Rylan went still for a beat before she felt his chest start to shake with laughter.

She buried her face between his collar bones, wedging her head against his chin when she felt him start to respond to her asinine outburst.

He pulled her around front to straddle his lap. “I’m not really sure what to say to that. I guess…I’m…happy for you?” His eyes danced with more muffled humor.

Covering both hands over her face, she gritted out, “I’m going to kill Penny.”

“Sugar, I’m completely lost as to what we’re talking about.” He gently pried her hands away from her face and pressed gentle kisses to her blazing hot cheeks. “How about you back us up a few steps and catch me up here.”

“On every date we’ve been on, Penny told me not to wear granny underwear. She went on and on about how I had to wear sexy lingerie. For you.”

Aside from the brief clenching of all those glorious muscles of his, he seemed pretty unfazed. “Babe, you could make a paper bag look sexy.”

Aw, that helped her continue what was officially the worst have-sex-with-me come-on ever. “Well, I didn’t listen to her. I try my very best to do the opposite of what Penny says as much as possible.”

He chuckled. “No comment.”

“So, that’s why I’ve mainly worn skirts and dresses on all our dates—so you wouldn’t see the panty lines from these awful giant-flowered granny panties I bought specifically for our dates. To keep us from…you know.”

His grin spread wide as he slid a smiling kiss over her temple. “You do have a tendency to go all out when you put your mind to something.”

“But tonight, I’m not wearing granny underwear,” she said meaningfully, before quickly returning her face to her nice little hiding spot against the crook of his neck.

Every inch of him went granite-hard for several heartbeats.

Then his deep, smoky voice—huskier than she’d ever heard it—asked the inevitable, “And you’re telling me this because…”

“You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you?”

“With respect to the perpetual judgment-clouding hard-on I’ve had since the moment I first saw you, I think that might be best.”

She leaned back to see if he was being serious.

And then scooted forward to gather more evidence.

The very male hiss that resulted when she straddled what was undoubtedly a very big cloud impairing his judgment had her reaching down for his belt.

“What are you doing?” he graveled through clenched teeth.

“Un-clouding your judgment.”

Groaning, he caught her hands and pinned them on the couch cushions on either side of him. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

A hungry gasp escaped her when she rocked against him and felt him grow even harder. What was he asking her? The sound of her throbbing heartbeat had reached deafening decibels.

“Sweetheart, are you sure?” he repeated. “I don’t mind waiting. Honest.”

Waiting? Was he insane? Right now, he was vying for top honors as the sweetest, most sadistic man alive. “I can’t wait.” She wrestled her hands free and slid his shirt up his torso, dragging it off him seconds before her lips found the pulse at the base of his neck. His hands gripped her hips and slid down her thighs, reducing her brain to mush. “Need you. Now.”

Not eloquent, but wholly accurate. She was going up in flames.

His fingers slid along her thighs, slipping under her skirt until she heard him curse softly.