The Girl in the Rental

The roar of Ryan’s engine rumbled from the street below.

I didn't bother with the lights. In the dark, I peeled off the cold, damp towel, my fingers still trembling. The memory of being pressed against him was vivid—we had been a split second away from losing it in that bathroom. Without another thought, I headed downstairs.

The night air hit me as I pushed open the heavy iron door of the building. I pulled open the passenger side of his pickup and hopped in.

"Not scared?" he challenged.

I just smirked. He didn't say another word, slamming his foot on the gas and sending the truck surging forward.

We pulled up in front of a unit at the far end of a row of pre-fabs. This was the temporary housing for the site management and foremen, slightly better than the workers' dorms, but still stripped-back and raw.

"This is where you're taking me?" I asked, leaning back against the cool corrugated metal wall as I watched him.

"Where else?"

He walked to the middle of the room and pulled his tank top over his head, revealing the powerful, rippling lines of his torso.

"I figured the great Ryan Miller would have somewhere a bit more... interesting in mind." My voice carried a sharp edge of mockery.

He closed the distance in two strides. His hand moved slowly, sliding from my face down to my throat, then resting over the swell of my chest beneath my shirt.

"This is… plenty interesting."

"Taking a girl back to your den? This is your idea of ‘toying’ with me?" I tilted my head back, refusing to give an inch. I even went up on my toes, forcing our breath to mingle.

"At least here, no one’s going to interrupt us." His eyes darkened; he was clearly still hung up on what had happened in the bathroom. "Always have to have the last word, don't you?"

He leaned in and, without a trace of hesitation, yanked the strap of my top down, tossing it aside like it was nothing.

"Don't beg me to stop later."

His rough, calloused fingers grazed my skin, sending a jolt of static through me. He traced the line of my jaw down to my neck, his touch heavy and deliberate.

"Your skin is so soft," he chuckled, his breath hot against my ear. "You were such a firebrand in the bathroom. Why are you suddenly stiff as a board?"

"I'm waiting..."

I reached down, my hand finding the hard, heavy heat of him through his pants. My fingertips could feel the tension in his muscles and the blood racing beneath the surface.

"...to see just how good you actually are at this."

Whatever was left of Ryan's restraint went up in smoke.

“Be careful what you wish for."