“Stop cleaning my stuff,” he said, without looking up from his notes.
“I’m just going to iron this so you can wear it tomorrow. I don’t know how you can stand to wear wrinkled clothes.”
“Stop. Put your OCD on vacation.”
She dropped her hands to her sides and exhaled in frustration. “What are you writing anyway?”
“Notes from our meetings today.”
“What else?” she asked, walking toward him.
He slapped the cover closed and stuck the notepad back in his breast pocket. “Nothing.”
“I want to see.”
“It’s nothing. Forget it.”
Bailey reached for his pocket, but he blocked it. Her eyebrows rose, and she gave him a challenging smile.
“You’ll lose. I’m stronger and faster.”
“But you’d never hit a girl.” She tried to duck her hand under his to get inside his pocket, but he swatted it away.
“I don’t have to hit you. Just pin you down, you silly girl.” He was smiling now, too, as he stood to move away from her.
“Silly girl? I can’t believe you said that.” She pushed his shoulders, sending him backward. He regained his footing and grabbed her wrists, walking her back against the wall.
He smiled so wide, his entire face lit up, and his eyes twinkled mischievously. It took Bailey’s breath away. She hadn’t seen that smile in weeks—since before her mother’s death.
“Yes, you silly girl,” he said again.
“Ow, Ryan.”
He released her quickly. “Sorry. Did I hurt you?”
She laughed, grabbing the notepad from his pocket. “Sucker!”
“You’re a little cheater.” He swatted her hand, sending the notepad flying across the room. Then he grabbed her wrists again and pinned her to the wall. “Now whadda ya got?”
Butterflies fluttered in Bailey’s stomach. She stared into his playful eyes for a second, then leaned into him, taking his mouth with hers. She pressed herself against him until he released her. His hands went into her hair, making fists, and she gripped his shirt so he couldn’t pull away.
Bailey licked into his mouth, wanting more, feeling hotter by the second. God, she wanted him. Where had these feelings come from? One day, they were best friends, and the next, she couldn’t keep her hands off him.
She released her grip on his shirt and tugged at the buttons, fighting to get to his bare skin. When she got the shirt open, she explored the planes of his chest and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
Ryan gripped the hem of her dress and lifted it, cupping her rear and nearly lifting her off her feet, pulling her closer. The feel of his bare hands sent a sense of urgency through her, but to her surprise, he released her and pressed his hands flat against the wall behind her. With her face pressed into his collarbone, he rested his chin on her head. A moment later, he let out an earth-shattering sigh that hurt Bailey from the inside out.
“Why are you stopping?” she whispered. She could feel every muscle in his body tense and twitch as he leaned against her.
“Bailey…”
She kept her arms around him and held on. “Isn’t this what you want, Ryan?”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s not what you want.”
“I don’t want to pressure you if you don’t want me.” She tried to sound reasonable, but she wasn’t sure he couldn’t hear the plea in her voice.
He cupped her face with his hand, bringing her mouth to his. Bailey lost all thoughts, her mind short-circuiting into fuzziness. He ground against her, and she felt the length of his erection.
He withdrew from the kiss and leaned his forehead against hers. “Do you really think you’re pressuring me?”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Bailey would have laughed if she wasn’t completely desperate to get his lips back on hers. “If this is what you want, why are you stopping?”
Ryan leaned down into her. She grabbed a handful of his hair and gripped it to keep him from pulling away again. This kiss was harder and more playful. When he nipped at her bottom lip, a moan escaped from her throat.
His hands cupped her rear again, lifting her off her feet this time. Bailey hopped up and straddled his hips as her arms and legs circled him. This was definitely what she wanted. She didn’t care about the morning, nor did she care about friendship. She wanted him to help her forget her name, and her past, and everything she’d heard today. She just wanted him to touch her and embrace the beauty of how good they felt in each other’s arms.
Ryan carried her to the bed and laid her down. She didn’t let go, pulling him down with her.
“Bailey…”
“God damn it, Ryan, if you make me stop, I’m going to kill you.” She huffed, exasperated, tugging at the button on his jeans.
“Bailey, if I wake up to you crying in the morning, I’m going to kill you.”
She stopped and stared into his eyes. “Is that why you’ve been mad at me?”
“I haven’t been mad at you.”
“But you have.” She nearly shouted it. “You won’t talk to me about this.”
“What’s there to talk about? You said you never wanted to do it again, yet you attack me and threaten to kill me if I stop. Do you think this is a game to me?”
“It’s not a game to me, either.” She pushed at his chest and scooted up on the bed.
“I know that, babe, but we can’t erase what’s already happened. I promised you nothing would change between us. I don’t know what else there is to talk about.”
Her eyebrows drew together. “You never told me how you felt. I don’t know what you’re thinking.”
“You don’t want to know what I’m thinking. You only want things to be like they were before. What difference do my feelings make as long as nothing between us changes? Fucking shit, Bailey.”
She shoved his shoulder to push him away. “Don’t do that.”
He frowned and leaned into her, forcing her to
