With a quick yank, he grabbed the dress and slid it completely off her. When Vicki instinctively moved to cover herself, he caught her hands in his and held them over her head.

“You were completely naked under this thing.” He was breathing so hard he could barely get the words out.

He was holding her hands up high enough on the couch that she had to arch a little, and in one quick move he reversed the position of their legs so that his were inside of hers and she was open to him, everywhere, all at once.

Ryan had never before seen anyone as beautiful as Vicki.

Not even close.

He knew he was staring at her like he was a teenage boy seeing his first naked girl, but in a way that’s what it felt like. All the other women he’d been with fell away—the models, the movie stars, the baseball groupies—all reduced to utter insignificance.

“You should always be naked. You’re perfect. Beyond perfect.”

Her laughter caught him off guard. “You really do always know what to say to the girls, don’t you?”

He loved it when she laughed, but not when it was at her own expense. Or his. “Are you calling me a liar?”

She gave him a look that few people ever had outside of his own family. The one that said she had no problem calling him on his crap.

“We both know I’m not perfect. Not even close.” She quickly added, “And I’m okay with it, with who I am. I thought you of all people should know you don’t have to say things that aren’t tr—”

He closed his mouth over hers before she could say anything else to piss him off, but even lost in the heat of her, he couldn’t forget the way she’d doubted what he’d said. What he believed.

What was true, damn it.

He’d show her just how perfect she was...one caress, one kiss at a time.

And he’d keep at it until she believed.

Chapter Eighteen

“Leave your hands above your head.”

Vicki’s eyes widened at Ryan’s command, but he didn’t stop to soothe her surprise or laugh like he was joking. Instead, he wrapped her fingers around the arm of the couch.

“This will help if you need something to hold on to.”

A second later, his mouth was back on hers for one more kiss before he began to run kisses over her face, her eyelids, her earlobes slipping between his teeth for a split second before he drew a small moan of pleasure from her at the flick of his tongue against her neck.

Even as she relished every single second of his attention, every one of his kisses, Vicki couldn’t believe it.

Not any of it.

Was she really naked beneath Ryan Sullivan? Was he really kissing her this passionately? Had she already climaxed, fully clothed, on his couch, with another orgasm hard on the heels of the first if he kept kissing her like this?

And had he figured out the truth about her...that the slightest restraint and the gentle command spoke to all of her hidden desires?

Her ex-husband’s crowd had derided her for not joining in their drug-fueled sexual explorations, but the thought of getting down and dirty with any of them had made her sick to her stomach. They’d called her a prude—her husband most of all—and she’d let them. Thank God she’d never dared bare her desires to Anthony after those first few years when he’d seemed blissfully happy just to be with her.

She tensed at the thought that she should be doing a better job of keeping her secrets from Ryan, too.

He lifted his mouth from the underside of her arm, where he was pressing soft kisses, and stared down at her, his eyes so dark with need he stole her breath away all over again.

“You just tensed up.”

He was that in tune with her body? She’d barely stiffened, but Ryan had noticed.

“Have I done something you don’t like? Am I being too rough? Do you need me to try to be gentler?”

She swallowed hard as she shook her head. “You know just how much I’m liking everything you’re doing.”

God, she hated the way she kept flushing practically every time she looked at or spoke to him, but she was still trying to make sense of what they were doing. Even more, though, she hated letting her ex into this glorious moment with Ryan for even one single second.

She wouldn’t let it happen again.

Turning her full focus back to her gorgeous friend, she said, “I’m guessing I’m going to start liking it even more soon.”

His grin came back then, and she swore it had to be the sexiest combination in the world, those dark, intense sex-eyes with the infectious smile.

“Good guess.” He stole a kiss, nipping at her lower lip hard enough to sting in the most delicious way. “What about that? Still good?”

She worked to catch her breath. “Yes. Still good.”

She loved getting another smile from him, realized she would have done practically anything at that point to get more.

He moved so that his lips were on the underside of her breast. The kiss came first, and then the slight pinch of his teeth on the incredibly sensitive flesh. His tongue licked out over the small hurt before he lifted his head.

“What about that?”

“Mmm,” was all she could manage as he moved to give her other breast the same delicious attention. Finally, she managed to get the word, “Good,” out of her mouth.

But then, oh God, he was moving lower, his lips kissing a path of goose bumps that turned into little licks of fire down the center of her stomach.

She wasn’t embarrassed at the way she’d come against him earlier when he’d been playing with her br**sts and they’d been grinding together. But she already knew the second that wicked mouth of his made it between her legs, she wasn’t going to have a prayer of holding back a second time.

What would he think of her going off again so soon? Would he think she was desperate and hard up? Or, worse, would he finally realize that sleeping with him was her number one sexual fantasy of all time?

Sure, he’d told her he’d fantasized about her as a teenager. But she could easily discount that—everyone knew teenage boys couldn’t control their hormones around any girl with a heartbeat. Plus, as his garage-buddy, she’d been the only girl in school who was off-limits to him in that way. No doubt that had done funny things to his head, a classic case of thinking you wanted what you couldn’t have.

No question about it, she needed to mentally prepare herself for the press of his lips against her core. Of course she was going to enjoy it. How could she not? But this time, she wouldn’t let herself lose all sense.