answer.”
“If I apologize, will you shut up about this?”
“Not until you hear what I’m trying to tell you. I’ve never dabbled with casual sex before. I take it very seriously. Decisions that I take seriously require time and consideration. So remove your head from your ass and hear me, Sam.”
“Wow. Okay there, Prince Charming.”
“I like the build-up. Okay? The flirtation. I like getting to know someone before I stick body parts inside them. I also like being able to focus one hundred percent on sticking body parts inside them to the best of my abilities. Not worried about getting fired or whatever trouble my great-uncle got himself into. Or wondering exactly how you—someone who is still practically a stranger to me—would like me to stick those body parts inside you.”
“I’m just throwing this out there for any future propositions you receive,” she began. “You could try asking your partner how they like sex.”
“I’m not a fan of learning as I go. I like to have the groundwork laid and a clear idea of how to reach my objectives. And yes, I realize how unsexy that sounds. But I don’t like to fail. I’d rather calculate the specifics of a woman’s desires and be able to guarantee her the necessary number of orgasms.”
“Oh,” she managed. Unspontaneous sex had never sounded sexier to Sammy.
“So no matter how much I’d like to stick a few body parts in you—spoiler alert: a lot—I don’t know you well enough to anticipate what you need and if my mind is on something else, I’m not going to deliver the best. And since my attention is going in seventeen different directions, I’m not sure I could even deliver fifty percent. You deserve a hell of a lot more than fifty percent, Sam.”
She looked at him for a long beat, reading the blunt, annoyed sincerity in his expression. The tension drained from her neck and shoulders.
“Okay,” she said.
“Look, if the circumstances were different—”
She covered the hand that rested on her leg with hers. “I said okay. And I mean it. At least, this time. Thanks for clarifying that you don’t find me repulsive.”
“You’re a doctor, for fuck’s sake. What the hell do you think an erection means? I’ve been walking around with one—hungover, by the way—all damn day.”
She bit her lip. “Really?”
“You’re starting to piss me off, Sparkle.”
“Same goes, Grumpy Ryan,” she said. But she was smiling when she said it. “Can we get on with our day?”
“One more thing,” he said.
She didn’t see it coming. Not from Mr. I Plan Out Everything. Ryan fisted a hand in her vest and yanked her toward him. Her seatbelt gave just enough for their mouths to collide and tangle over the console.
His lips were hard. She imagined it was from all the excessive brooding. Felt him pouring his frustration into the kiss, stealing the air from her lungs. It was too much and not enough. So she shoved her fingers into his hair and gripped. His hat fell off into his lap. She opened her mouth to say something, but his tongue stormed inside, rendering her speechless.
There was nothing gentle or romantic about the way his mouth moved over hers. It was a no-nonsense assault. A battle she didn’t feel the least bit sorry over losing.
The only thing she knew for sure in that moment was the fact that Ryan Sosa was one hell of a kisser. Abruptly, he released her, dropping her back into her seat. She felt boneless and so very warm.
“Wow,” she whispered.
He jammed the hat she’d dislodged back on his head, then adjusted his erection in his jeans. “Now we can go,” he said, sounding more surly than when they were fighting.
“Wow,” she whispered again, not sure if she’d regained control of her limbs yet.
The knock on her window scared the hell out of her.
“Holy shit!” she yelped.
“Car trouble, doc?” Sheriff Cardona peered into the vehicle, looking concerned.
Sammy felt her cheeks turn fuchsia.
16
“I can’t believe we got caught making out by the sheriff,” Sammy said as she turned left onto a paved lane lined with white fencing. “What are we? Teenagers?”
“Oh, good. You’ve regained the powers of speech.” Ryan smirked. He felt pretty damn good about his performance. Granted, he’d only meant to shut her up for a minute. But the way her mouth moved under his, those sexy little moans she made at the back of her throat, getting carried away had been the only choice.
“Yeah, you can joke about it because you don’t have