Lush in Lace by A.J. Ridges

ass for some guy. Who is it?” he demanded.
    It was the moment of truth. I could have said
anything, made up a half-assed excuse or even pushed him away, but
I was tired of lying to him and myself.
    “You,” I whispered, so softly that at first I
didn’t think he heard me.
    He did.
    Rylan stepped back, so he could look me in
the eyes. His gaze bore into mine for what seemed like forever, but
this time I refused to look away.
    “After that night on the terrace, I… it felt
good, but I was confused,” I offered, wringing my hands nervously.
“Then you asked for your stuff back. I wanted something of my own.
These are for me. There’s no one else. I don’t want anyone else.
You don’t even like me, but—” I stopped rambling, figuring Rylan
probably couldn’t make heads or tails of my disjointed
explanation.
    He looked me up and down again, his gaze
honing in on my lace-covered groin. “My cock seems to like you just
fine, Lush. It always has, especially dressed like that,” Rylan
replied, sounding slightly less angry. “Do you really expect me to
believe you?”
    I could feel my own anger rise. I’d bared my
soul to him, and he didn’t believe me. Well, I had my pride. I
wasn’t about to offer anything more.
    “I don’t care what you believe, Squeaker,” I
lied, once again trying to move past him. However his hand on my
chest remained firm.
    “Are you saying you want to experiment? Is
that it?”
    “No, that’s not it,” I replied honestly.
    I’d never seen Rylan as an experiment. My
feelings for him had run too deep for too long. I wasn’t sure how I
would react to a real sexual relationship with him, but I wanted to
try.
    “I’ve never been with a man before,” I
offered, knowing my reply didn’t answer his question. However, I
couldn’t think of a better response to express my desire or my
insecurity.
    Rylan surveyed me intently again, cautiously
gauging the truthfulness of my words. “But you want to be with me?”
he prompted.
    I bit my lip and nodded.
    For the first time since he entered the room,
I felt Rylan relax. He still looked hesitant, not completely
convinced of my claims, but his brows were no longer furrowed, and
his scowl had vanished.
    “Did you know I was coming over to drop off
some wedding presents today?” he asked.
    “No.”
    “So you put the pretty pink lace on
because…?” He let his question drift off.
    I thought Rylan deserved an answer.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have one to give, at least not one I was
ready to share. I shrugged my shoulders instead, my cheeks flushing
with embarrassment.
    Somehow, my reaction seemed to be exactly
what he was waiting for. Rylan’s lips curved up into a sly smile.
He stepped in closer to my body. With his index finger, he drew a
trail along the sculpted muscles of my stomach and chest. It was a
featherlight touch, but it caused the blood in my veins to light
with desire, heating my body from the inside out.
    “Do you know how many times I dreamed of
seeing you like this?” Rylan whispered in awe.
    I shook my head. I couldn’t form a coherent
thought when he touched me.
    His hand continued to trace each dip and
contour of my abdomen, lower and lower. “Hundreds. No, thousands,”
he corrected, answering his own question.
    His eyes locked onto mine and held them as he
slowly lowered himself to his knees in front of me. My eyes
fluttered closed in anticipation of what was about to come next. I
had to block out the sight of Rylan at my feet, fearing I’d come in
my lace panties before he even got started.
    It was only when I heard him inhale
dramatically that I looked down to find his nose almost touching my
cock through the thin material. Rylan was sniffing me. I watched
his eyes darken with desire and his tongue glide over his full
lips, as if eager to taste all that I was offering.
    Oh god!
    His hands trembled as they explored the
delicate silk covering my ankles. He caressed my shins, slid his
fingers up and over my knees