Learning Curve (BBW Romance) Read online

  Pushing his fingers through his sandy hair, Ryan sighed. “It would almost be easier if the women falling at my feet just wanted me for my looks, Suz. At least then I could just get myself banged up a few times and I could weed out the shallow ones. But the thing is, they know I make a killing doing what I do, and I can see the dollar signs in their eyes every time they look up at me. After a while I got tired of being looked at as a conquest, as a grand prize to be won. I told you before that I come from a small, grassroots-type family. I’ve always dreamed of finding a normal woman, one who isn’t afraid to be herself, who is smart and beautiful and can make me laugh. I never wanted the money grubbers or the models, and you’d be surprised at how often the two go hand in hand.”

  He settled his hands on her waist then, drawing her close. “To be honest, Susie, I really had no idea how this online dating thing was going to go. But after meeting you, all I’ve gotta say is that I’m so glad that I took a chance on it.” He rested his forehead against hers, capturing her wide, green eyes with his. “Otherwise I wouldn’t be out here, tonight, with you.”

  Susie’s heart melted as he laid his lips against hers. The cynic in her heart settled in quietly as his arms tightened around her, drawing her close, and she allowed her eyelashes to flutter shut so that she could revel in the moment. He kissed her just as slowly and tenderly as he had in her dream at the beach—and yet the reality was so much better than the fantasy. Dreams were so blurry, so out of focus, but standing here, in the park, she could feel the breeze dancing across her skin in direct contrast to the warmth emanating from his body. She could feel his long, strong fingers digging into her sides, his firm, yet somehow sensual lips moving against her own, and just the hint of his tongue gliding against the seam of her own lips.

  Ryan couldn’t believe how good she felt in his arms. She was soft and pliant and giving, almost innocent as she opened her mouth to him and allowed him to taste her sweetness. He sensed somehow that she wasn’t completely inexperienced, but her tiny hesitations told him that this wasn’t something she did very often.

  To be honest, it had been a long time since he’d held a woman like this. Certainly he’d made out with plenty of the women he’d dated, and had tumbled with quite a few between the sheets, but those woman had been cold, calculating in their efforts to seduce him, to try and wrap him around their fingers as effectively as they’d wrapped their hands around his cock. He’d seen them for what they were, and had sent them packing at the first opportunity.

  Use them and lose them had been his philosophy. After all, it was only fair since they had been trying to use him, wasn’t it?

  But he knew it wouldn’t be that way with Susie. She wasn’t the kind of girl who would treat him that way, and she deserved better than what he had given those other woman. And better was exactly what he would give her. Not just better, but his best.

  As their tongues dueled, teeth lightly scraping as they tasted each other, he felt her nails dig into his upper arms through his suit jacket, and felt her nipples harden through the dress he was wearing. He knew it would take very little effort for him to slip his hand beneath the plunging neckline, to cup one of the round, heavy breasts that had tantalized him throughout the entire night, and knew that she probably wouldn’t protest too much from the tiny little moans escaping her mouth. But he sensed from her lack of self-esteem and her constant worry about what he thought that she’d been hurt, most likely by other men that had been in her life, and that she didn’t know what it was to be truly loved and cherished by someone.

  Hell, it had been a long time since he’d romanced a woman—his last sweetheart had parted ways with him when she’d flown across to California to follow her dream as an actress—but he hadn’t forgotten what it was like, the low fluttering in his belly as he brought smiles to a woman’s face with kind words, little trinkets, dropped love notes. And he remembered well what it was like to bring them pleasure in other ways, with his hands and his mouth. He especially was looking forward to that one, but he knew she needed some of the former first before she would truly be ready for that.

  Susie didn’t realize how hard she was clutching at Ryan until his fingers gently pried her nails from his suit. He broke the kiss softly, stepping back, but though he created distance with the motion, he kept his fingers loosely linked around her wrists as he held her forearms against his chest. She could feel his heart pumping strong against the inside of her wrist, could hear his labored breathing, and a part of her wished he hadn’t pulled away. Her nipples were puckered, her panties were wet, and she had a feeling that if her skin had a voice, it would be begging for his hands to glide over it.

  But this was only their first date, and even though they’d gotten awfully… intimate, over the phone, she didn’t think she was quite ready to take it to the next level.

  “Sorry.” She blew a stray curl out of her face, then realized that her hair must have gotten mussed somehow—whether it was because of the kiss or just in the course of the night she wasn’t sure, but her hands automatically flew upward, patting and tucking. “Guess I got a little carried away.”

  “Anytime you want to get more than a little carried away, feel free to let me know, sweetheart.” He tucked her arm into his again, grinning down at her, and she couldn’t help the answering smile that formed on her lips. “But for now, it’s getting late, and I know we both have to be up early. Let’s get you home, and we can do this again another time. If that’s alright with you?”

  “Are you kidding?” She set off down the walkway with him. “I’d love to.”

  ****

  They went on a couple more dates, varying greatly in locale and motif—a picnic in the park, a stroll by the boardwalk, an Italian restaurant where they got to re-enact the spaghetti scene between Lady and the Tramp. He was sweet and attentive, always making sure she was comfortable and having a good time, and her heart melted a little bit more on each date.

  And even though each kiss became just a little more fevered, a little more scorching, and his hands and lips had begun to roam a little farther than their original territory, he never once crossed the unspoken line between them. It was as though he was waiting for her to make the move, and she was terrified because she was afraid of what he would find.

  Their fifth one was quite a bit more casual than the first—he took her out to the movies, and bought them tickets for a rom-com. Susie loved rom-coms, but rarely went out to the theater to see them, and she was relatively certain that Ryan wasn’t particularly a fan. The fact that he was allowing her to drool over Gerard Butler on screen while munching on a bucketful of popcorn without complaining or snoring in her ear gave him major brownie points, in her opinion. He obviously wasn’t afraid to show her consideration for her preferences.

  Then again, it was entirely possible he had ulterior motives, because instead of sitting there and watching the screen with her, his hands were stroking gently over the skin of her arms, and his lips were trailing butterfly kisses down the side of her neck.

  “Would you quit that?” she whispered for the hundredth time, thankful that the theater was dark so he couldn’t see the grin on her face. “Can’t you see it’s getting really good?”

  “It’s definitely getting good,” he agreed as he nibbled on her earlobe. “It could get a whole lot better, too.”

  His tone was suggestive, and sent shivers down her spine. “Could it?”

  “Mmm.” He pressed kisses to her jawline, then scraped his teeth gently down the side of her neck. “Delicious. And yes, it definitely could get better. But I have a feeling that if I showed you exactly what I meant right now we might be fined for breaking public ordinances. Even if teenagers do get away with this kind of stuff all the time.”

  Even so, he didn’t stop teasing and nibbling, and by the time the movie was over she could barely remember what it had all been about. Her head was swimming, her skin was flushed and sensitized, and her breasts were aching.

  “Did you enjoy t
he movie?” he asked as they walked out of the theater.

  “What movie? All I remember is some creep chewing on my neck.”

  He laughed as they reached his car, and he pressed his body up against the passenger door. “Want me to do it again?”

  She took a deep breath in, then flashed him a smile. “Maybe I wouldn’t mind if you did a little more than that.”

  His roving hands stilled. “Are you sure?”

  She nodded. “Just don’t be cheesy and try to press me back against the hood of the car.”

  Laughing, he eased off, and then opened the car door for her. “I try to be a little less tacky than that. My place or yours?”

  “Yours.”

  The drive back to his apartment was filled with tension—of the sexual kind as well as the nervous kind. They kept shooting each other heated glances and soft touches, but underneath it all Susie was unconsciously bracing herself for rejection. Just because he was hot for her now didn’t mean he would be when he finally got her clothes off.

  When they reached his apartment—a Soho loft that probably cost her monthly wages in rent—he led her through the tastefully furnished living room and into his bedroom. She got the impression of a large bay window and a California-king sized bed, and then grabbed his wrist gently when he reached for the light switch.

  “I like the dark,” she murmured, twining her arms around him, surprised that they weren’t trembling with the force of her nerves. She was afraid he would challenge her, would flip on the lights and force her to undress so that there was no way she could hide her body from him, but he said nothing, simply tightening his hold on her when she pressed her lips against his.

  The kiss was long and slow and tender, similar to the one he’d given her in the park on their first date, but she felt beneath it a hint of urgency, the same urgency that compelled her to pop the buttons on the front of her shirt as her tongue danced with his. Instead of resting his hands at the small of her back the way he always did, he slid his hands up the back of her blouse, then deftly unhooked her bra.

  Blood pumping, Ryan gently nudged her toward the bed, his lips still locked with hers. She tasted like butter and salt and sweetness, and he couldn’t bring himself to stop kissing her even for the sake of pulling off her clothes. When her knees bumped against the bed the fell onto the mattress together, and by that time she’d finished undoing the buttons on his shirt and was sliding her hands down his chest, her fingers teasing the crisp hairs on his pectorals.

  “Suz,” he groaned as her dainty hands brushed against his nipples. Gooseflesh cropped up along his arms, shivers running down his spine. The groan deepened when she dipped her head down and ran her tongue against one of his nipples, and his cock grew fully erect.

  “You’re so delicious,” she murmured. “You taste like… spiciness and sexiness at the same time.” She giggled a little. “That sounds silly.”

  He smiled. “It doesn’t sound silly at all.” He pulled her blouse and bra over her head, then cupped her breasts in both hands, enjoying the softness and weight in his palms. “I feel like I’ve been waiting forever to do this,” he told her before leaning down and lavishing attention on them with his teeth and tongue.

  Susie cried out as he licked and nibbled her breasts, swirling his tongue around her nipples and then nibbling on the stiff peaks until she thought she was going to go mad. The ridge of his erection pressed against her hip through his jeans, and though it should have been uncomfortable it only made her more eager. He was only inches away from her throbbing core… inches away from being inside her…

  “Off.” She tugged at his jeans. “Now.”

  “Yes ma’am.” He laughed, divesting himself of them, and then leaned down and nibbled the curve of her hipbone. “You too, sweetheart.” He undid the button and zipper on her jeans, and then slid his fingers beneath the waistband of her panties.

  “Ryan,” she moaned as he touched her.

  “Wet already.” He nuzzled her neck. “I hardly have to do anything at all.” He slid a finger inside and she arched her hips, moaning.

  “Enough, Ryan,” she pleaded. “I need you.” She whimpered as he added a second finger, stroking softly. “Please.”

  “Just a little more,” he urged softly, rocking his hand in time to the motion of her hips. Using his thumb, he found her clit and rubbed as he pushed his fingers into her, trying to get her to go over. “How’s that, Susie?”

  “Ryan. Oh, Ryan!” she cried as she came, spasms of pleasure wracking her body. “Oh God,” she gasped.

  “It gets better.” He tugged off her jeans and panties.

  “There’s better?” she asked as he spread her legs, positioned himself.

  “Oh yes.”

  He thrust inside her, and the moaned simultaneously at the pleasurable friction. Her knees automatically pressed into his waist, and his hands gripped her hips to hold them both steady as he rocked himself inside her. They made love, first at a torturous pace, then gradually faster until they flew into a frenzy, pushing each other to the brink until she was flying off, and she felt the same exhilaration she might’ve swan diving from a cliff into the sea, or parachuting from a plane twenty-thousand feet up. She’d done both before, but neither activity had been accompanied by the intense pleasure rolling through her now. None of them had made her feel loved, cherished, desirable, wanted.

  None of them had ever made her feel like she had come home.

  When Ryan collapsed on top of her, she didn’t mind his weight a bit. She thought she heard him say something, maybe ask if she was alright, but her mind was floating, and she slipped into sleep effortlessly, without fear or self-consciousness.

  ****

  When she woke up, it was to the sensation of someone pressing kisses along her spine. She was groggy at first, not remembering exactly where she was, but as memories from last night started filtering through her consciousness she stiffened, becoming aware of the muscular legs twined with her own, the tease of whiskers against the skin of her back.

  “Morning, sunshine,” he murmured from somewhere between her shoulder blades. “Did you sleep well?”

  She shivered as he licked the back of her neck, and felt the hardness of his cock rubbing between her butt cheeks. “I slept like a baby,” she admitted, trying to turn in his arms to face him, but he held her tight, rocking his shaft between her legs, coating it with the moisture between her thighs.

  “You’re already ready for me,” he murmured huskily as he nibbled one of the tendons at the base of her neck. “So wet and creamy.” He slid himself inside her from behind, and she let her head fall back against his shoulder with a cry as she pushed herself more fully onto him.

  “I love having you in my arms like this.” He tightened his grip around her, thrusting harder. “Your sweet curves pressed against my body as I move inside you.” One of his hands moved up to cup her breast, squeezing gently. “I want to see you. All of you.”

  “What?” Susie panicked a little as he pulled out of her, then turned her over. “What are you doing?” she asked as he rolled onto his back.

  “Exactly what I said. I want to see you. Last night you got to hide in the dark, but you don’t get that excuse now that the sun is out.” He pulled her on top of him, then threw back the covers.

  Susie shut her eyes, not wanting to see the look in his eyes when he realized just who he’d let into his bed. In her mind’s eye she looked ridiculous, straddling him with her thick thighs, her overly-large breasts sagging a bit and not at all perky like the models in the magazines. He was probably leaning in and squinting to count her jelly rolls right now, she thought, her entire body tense as a bowstring.

  “Why are you so wound up, sweetheart?” Ryan asked, sliding his hands up and down her sides. “You’ve got nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing.” He squeezed her hips gently, then slid his hands up her abdomen to fondle her breasts. “These are so much better now that I can see them in the daylight. Look at how perky and pink your n
ipples are. Look.” His voice grew more insistent. “Open your eyes and watch.”

  She looked down to see him flick his tongue over her nipple, sending spears of pleasure shooting through her. His eyes were half closed, a lazy expression on his face, but she could see the lust in them; knew that he wasn’t looking at her with contempt or disgust.

  “You’re beautiful, sweetheart.” He lavished attention on her breasts until she was squirming in his arms. “I don’t see anything here you would need to hide.”

  “But my thighs,” she protested weekly. “And my stomach.”

  He ducked his hand and swirled his tongue inside her navel, making her gasp.

  “They’re both really sensitive areas, I can tell you that much. Thighs especially.” He slid his hand between her legs, stroked. “Or rather, what’s between them.”

  Moaning, Susie pushed herself against his hand again, but he replaced it with his cock, sliding it inside her again. “Go ahead,” he said, leaning back against the pillows. “Let me watch you.”

  Uncertain, she swiveled her hips a few times, then pumped them up and down. She judged what worked and what didn’t by the depth of his groans and the expressions on his face, and soon found a rhythm, pushing herself up and down using her thighs. Her breasts bounced, and for a moment she worried that it would be a turnoff to have them flopping around, but that thought was quickly discarded when he latched his hungry gaze on them.

  “That’s it,” he breathed, reaching around to grab her butt. “Keep going.” He molded each cheek in his hand, then used his grip to increase the friction, slamming her even harder against his shaft. “You’re so close. I can feel it.”

  “Yes!” she cried a moment later, shuddering with the orgasm, and her inner walls clenched so tightly around him that he came instantly, his own orgasm almost blinding in intensity. She collapsed against his chest, and they lay there for a long while, their harsh breathing mingling, their hearts beating almost in time.