He slid his hand along her bare thigh, letting his fingers trace the soft skin inside. ‘Less of the responsible, babe.’
‘You’re right, you’re not responsible. You’re reprehensible.’
‘I’m what?’
‘Reprehensible. Like a rake.’
He started laughing, his thumb still brushing her silken flesh. ‘Just when I think you’re normal, you go all London on me. What the hell’s a reprehensible rake?’
‘You know, a cad. A bad man. Somebody who’s only after one thing.’
He raised an eyebrow. ‘What kind of thing?’
She leaned forward, giving him the perfect view of her chest. ‘The kind of thing that seems to be on your mind right now. The dirty kind.’
He could feel the amusement rising up. Sometimes, when she wasn’t thinking, she came out with the funniest things. All English and proper. It was as sexy as hell. ‘Say dirty again.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘Seriously?’
He nodded. ‘Yes, seriously. Talk dirty to me. Let me hear your worst.’
‘You do it first.’
Ryan laughed. ‘You know I can talk dirty. I do it every time we have sex. But I haven’t heard it from you. Come on, let me have it.’ His eyes twinkled. ‘Or are you too prim and proper for that?’
She narrowed her eyes, tipping her head to the side while she stared at him. ‘Are you setting me up, Mr Sutherland?’
‘No way. I just want to hear how bad you can be.’
She leaned closer still, until her hair was trailing along his chest, and her breath was fanning his face. A small smile quirked at her lips, as she whispered in a sexy voice against his mouth. ‘Mud.’ She pulled back, her smile wider. ‘That’s dirty, right?’
‘Yeah, really dirty.’ He grinned.
‘Absolutely filthy,’ she agreed, giving him a wink. ‘I shock myself sometimes.’
Laughing, he pulled her towards him, kissing her softly as he circled his hands around her waist. ‘I never knew you had such a foul mouth.’
‘Well there’s probably a lot you don’t know about me,’ she pointed out.
‘I’d like to find it all out.’ He wasn’t kidding. There was something fascinating about her. He wanted to ask her all the questions.
‘I eat steak, I talk dirty, and I can throw an anchor like a pro. I’m pretty much the female version of you.’ She grinned. ‘What else is there to know?’
He slid both hands beneath her shirt, letting his palms come to rest on her hips. Her skin was warm and soft, her body slender. His own body ached with desire for her. ‘I’d like to know what’s going on beneath this shirt.’
‘Pretty much what you’d expect.’ She wiggled her eyebrows. ‘The usual.’
‘The usual,’ he repeated, brushing the pad of his thumbs against her stomach. ‘I like the usual.’
‘You do?’
‘I do with you.’ And wasn’t that the kicker? He’d spent most of his adult life in search of new experiences, but now he wanted to have the same one, over and over again.
As long as it was with her.
22
Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy!