Chapter 6-Hannah

"You're kidding?" Kennedy laughed. "My dad is throwing a Halloween party?"

"Yup. I think Noah and Darian talked him into it, but I decorated the house." I reached the bottom of the stairs and glanced around at my handiwork. "I did a kickass job, too."

"Well, I'm definitely looking forward to coming home now."

I sighed. "Are you sure you can't leave earlier?" As much as I liked being alone with Ryan, it was starting to drive me nuts. I'd never met a man with as much self-control as he had.

"I wish. Professor Dickhead is making me do my presentation last." She groaned. "I don't know why he hates me so much."

There was a loud crash on the other end of the line, and then laughing and shouting.

"Hey, I gotta go. Miranda just busted into our room." Kennedy laughed loudly then muttered a string of curses at their neighbor.

"Yeah, okay. See you in a couple days." But she'd ended the call before I'd finished saying goodbye. And she hadn't even asked if I'd told Ryan what happened. Well, that blows.

I trudged into the kitchen and checked the cupboard above the refrigerator. Sure enough, Ryan still kept his stash of good liquor up there. He thought Kennedy and I didn't know about it, but we did. And we'd dipped into it more than once. Setting a bottle of whiskey on the counter, I rummaged around for a shot glass. I grinned triumphantly when I found it.

Sitting at the kitchen table, I poured a glass and downed it. My face contorted, and I squeezed my eyes shut as the liquid burned a path down my throat. Then I did it again. And again. By glass four, my face was numb, and my eyelids were heavy. But I didn't stop. Why should I? I rested my head on the cool table and groaned. How had I fucked up my life so badly? I thought I was in love with Brendan, but I'd meant nothing to him. I cost a perfectly innocent man his job. I'd been kicked out of school.

"Hannah?"

The sound of Ryan's voice startled me. I jerked my head up and squinted in his direction. "I didn't mean to wake you

5 Stars

22

Chapter 6-Hannah

up." I was positive my words were slurred.

"What're you doing?"

"Drowning my problems with alcohol." I grinned. "Isn't that what real adults do?"

He sighed. "You're sitting in the kitchen, in the dark, drinking alone. Is there more you need to tell me?" He pulled out the chair beside me and sat. Then he grabbed the whiskey bottle and held it up. "You found my stash, I see."

I giggled a little too long. "Kennedy and I found your stash years ago. We drank it before, too."

Twisting around, he set the bottle on the kitchen island, firmly out of my reach. "What else is going on with you

Hannah?"

I stared at him. He was dressed in pajama pants. No shirt. His hair was messy, but he didn't appear to have been sleeping. Had he been lying in bed thinking of me? Had he jerked off again? That thought brought a smile to my face, and my cheeks heated.

"C'mon." Ryan stood. "You should go to bed." He held his hand out to me, and I took it.

He pulled me to my feet, and I intentionally fell against his chest. I rested my hands on his arms to steady myself and glanced up at him under my lashes. "You going to tuck me in?"

"You're drunk." But he was smirking despite his scolding tone.

"Mm-hmm." I licked my lips and reached for the whiskey. "You should drink, too." I shook the bottle slightly. "Then we can be drunk together." I took a swig.

"And why would we want to be drunk together?" He took a step back and crossed his arms. "You're not even old enough to drink."

I took another mouthful then swiped the back of my hand across my lips. "Because if we're both drunk, we can have wild, hot sex." I closed the distance he'd created and trailed my finger down his bare chest. "In the morning, if either of us remember it, we can blame it on the booze."

I tipped the bottle to take another drink when he snatched it out of my hand. I stared at him, stunned.

He brought it to his lips and took a long pull before setting it back on the counter. "Is that what you want, Hannah?" He pressed his hand over mine, flattening my palm against his chest. Then, he slipped his free hand around to my back and yanked me to him. "You want sloppy drunk sex?"

Every nerve in my body ignited, sucking the breath from my lungs and melting my insides. "I want you, Ryan," I whispered. And I'd take him however I could get him.

He made a noise that sounded like a growl, which was a million times sexier than it should be. "You're fucking killing me." He moved his hand from mine and cupped my cheek.

I sucked in a sharp breath. Was he finally going to give in to this burning desire between us? I sure as hell hoped so because I couldn't stand this tension a second longer. Pressing closer, I tilted my head, waiting for him to kiss me.

"You're drunk," he said again, his voice husky.

"Barely." I snaked my hands up his chest and clasped them around his neck. I'd been a hell of a lot drunker before-not that I was going to tell him that. He'd lecture me, and that's the last thing I wanted right now.

Ryan lowered his head and brushed his lips over mine. My eyes fluttered closed, and I moaned softly. "This is wrong, Hannah." He nipped at my bottom lip.

"It doesn't feel wrong."

"Fuck." He crushed his mouth over mine, his tongue parting my lips without waiting for an invitation. Not that I was going to stop him. His hands, hotter than a branding iron, landed on my hips, and he yanked me tighter. His erection pushed against me, and I moaned with satisfaction. A low, throaty hum rumbled from his chest as his tongue glided over mine. Then, his hands snaked around to my back, dipping lower until he was grabbing my ass.

"Hannah." He groaned and nipped at my jaw.

My heart hammered in my chest and thundered in my ears. He could pin me against the wall right now and take me hard and fast, and I wouldn't complain. But God, if he stopped this-again-l think I might just die.

I threaded my fingers through his hair and forced his mouth back to mine, and he didn't resist. Kissing him was euphoric, and not once did I wonder or worry that he wasn't enjoying himself, not like I always did with Brendan.

Ryan squeezed my ass cheeks and then lifted me off the floor. I gasped with surprise and wrapped my legs around his waist. His hard cock fit snugly between my thighs, and my clit ached with unquenched desire. I needed him. Bad.

I needed to feel him filling me, stretching me, fucking me. Spinning around, he set me atop the counter, exactly like he had the other morning. I kept my legs wound around him, terrified if I didn't he'd pull away again.

"Shit. Hannah." He groaned again, his personal torment crystal clear in that small sound. He left my lips and trailed heated, lingering kisses along my jaw and down my neck.

Trembling, I tilted my head, granting him greater access. "Yes," I hissed with pleasure.

"This is so wrong." He tore my shirt off over my head and flung it across the room. "So fucking gorgeous." Then his lips were back on mine, desperate and passion-filled. He slid his hands up my sides and cupped my breasts, kneading the tender flesh before flicking his thumb over my nipple.

I cried out at the sensation and arched my back. He smiled against my lips, like my reaction was the best thing in the world. Every inch of my body throbbed with the need for more. His onslaught of kisses continued lower until he finally closed his mouth around my nipple. My head fell back to my shoulders, and I moaned loudly, unashamed.

"We really shouldn't be doing this," he mumbled, moving to my other breast.

He kept saying that, but he wasn't stopping. And I sure as hell wasn't going to tell him to. "I need you, Ryan." I grabbed his face and brought his delicious, talented mouth back to mine, and then I reached between us and slipped my hand down his pajama pants.

His cock jerked against my hand, and this time, I smiled with pride. I curled my fingers around his thick shaft, my fingertips nowhere close to touching. He was fucking huge! Squeezing firmly, I stroked his length and rubbed my palm over his head. The guttural sound that tore from him damn near made me come right then and there.

"I shouldn't want you this way, Hannah." He thrust his hips forward, shoving his cock into my hand. I stroked him hard. "But God help me, I do. I want you so fucking bad I can't stand it."

"Then take me." I jerked him off harder and faster until he was full on panting against my neck. "Fuck me. Right here on the counter."

"I can't." He clutched my wrist and removed my hand from around his dick.

My eyes widened. "What? Are you serious right now?"

Nodding, he dragged his hand through his hair and stepped back. His erection raged behind his thin cotton pants, and a fresh wave of desire crashed over me.

I hopped off the counter and moved toward him. "You want me, Ryan. I know you do." My gaze darted to his crotch then back to his face.

He laughed-actually laughed! "Of course I want you, Hannah. Jesus." He blew out a breath. "Fucking look at me." He motioned toward his hard cock. "I haven't slept since you arrived, and you

know why?" His eyes darkened as he approached and put his hands on my upper arms.

"Because I can't stop thinking about you. I fantasize about you nonstop. I dream of what it will feel like to have your pussy wrapped around my cock."

Heat erupted on my face and neck. My heart stopped then jackhammered in my chest. I licked my lips and nodded, because honestly, what was I supposed to say to that?

"And that probably makes me the biggest asshole on the face of this earth because I could be your father. Hell, I've acted like your father for the past three years." He released me and turned his back toward me.

"Ryan." My heart cracked at the pain and self-loathing I heard in his tone. Cautiously, I touched his back. His entire body tensed, but I didn't pull away. "You took me in when I had nowhere else to go, and I will always be grateful for that. But you are not my father."

"You've been drinking." Slowly, he turned to face me.

I sighed with aggravation. "We're back to this?"

"Yes, we're back to this." The corner of his mouth lifted. "I may be a horny asshole, but I'm not the one who's been drinking, and I'm sure as hell not going to be the one to take advantage of you when you're like this."

I rolled my eyes. "It's not taking advantage when I want it."

"Go to bed, Hannah." And with that, he walked out of the kitchen, leaving me shirtless and aroused.