Ryan Ch. 03

Upon seeing her, Ryan opened his arms and said theatrically, "Honey, I'm home!"

Without a word, Dani rushed into his arms, backing him up against the door and giving him a long deep kiss. Ryan picked her up by her firm buttocks as she wrapped her legs around his hips. Without relinquishing the lip lock, he turned and pinned her to the door.

Ryan continued his oral salutations with his tongue sliding into her mouth. He licked inside her lips and sucked on her tongue, drawing a long drawn out groan from Dani who squirmed as he delved into the warmth of her mouth. Grinding herself against him, she couldn't get close enough, couldn't taste enough of this man.

Ryan's mouth slid down to her neck as he fought for control. She was so damn hot, so tuned in to his desire that he was on the brink of coming. Dani's hand slipped down and stroked Ryan's growing erection through his jeans. He grunted, then pulled her hand away and kissed her palm.

He held her in his arms taking note of her droopy eye lids and the sound of her labored breathing, a testament to her arousal. Leaning forward, he touched his forehead to hers trying to bring his own breathing under control. It was long minutes before the tightness in his groin eased and the risk of shooting his load in his briefs passed.

Once he was under control, Ryan chuckled and smacked her on her luscious ass.

"Ouch, that hurt, " Dani complained, but she couldn't hide the shuttered that zinged through her body. Any touch from Ryan made her nerve endings go haywire. The man was a sexy beast.

"You loved it, admit it," Ryan teased as he set her back down on her feet, still holding her body pressed to his. Before she could answer, he gave consideration to another thought. "Hmmm, I might have to give you a real spanking in the near future. Add a little heat to these buns," he said squeezing her butt.

"Umm, sounds yummy. Do I get to spank you too?"

"Baby, you would break your delicate little hand trying to spank my hard ass. It won't be nearly as much fun as I'll have spanking you and then soothing your sweet caramel cakes."

"Caramel cakes, huh? Cakes are for eating, you know."

"Oh, make no mistake about it baby, there will be plenty of eating and licking and....

He never got to finish because Dani clapped her hand over his mouth and then went off in peels of laughter with Ryan joining her. When the laughter died down, she quickly kissed Ryan and wiggled out of his grasp. Reluctantly, he backed up allowing her to walk past him.

As they headed to the dining room, On cue, Ryan's stomach started to growl. Dani smiled at him and gave his belly a little pat.

"That's your stomach begging for food," she said with a grin.

"It has a right since I worked through lunch."

"Ryan," Dani said exasperated, "how can it be that you didn't eat lunch? For Pete's sake, you own a sports bar."

Shaking her head, she finished setting the table.

After sitting down, Ryan replied.

"It's easy, babe. I was working on the books and didn't realize how much time had passed. Everyone knows not to bother me when I'm going over the accounts, except in the case of an emergency. When I realized how late it was, it was nearly time for me to leave any way. So here I am with a stomach that's talking to me and a sexy woman who thinks I'm going to waste away from one missed meal," he teased.

Dani went over and kissed the top of his head while leaning into his big body. "Ok, I realize I'm being the mother hen that I always accuse Crystal of being. But I care about you and I get to nag you about stuff like eating regularly. "

"I care about you too, baby and I love that you're looking out for me," he said as she sat down next to him.

As they stared into each other's eyes, Ryan brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back. Dani felt her next breath leave her body on a wispy sigh. However, the moment was lost when Ryan's stomach growled again. They both looked surprised and then laughed. With the mood broken, they turned their attention to the meal, cloaked in the happiness of what felt like domestic bliss.

It was a delicious meal of steak and roasted root vegetables with home-made dinner rolls. Dani wasn't a stranger to cooking, she knew how to cook even before she got out on her own. Growing up, many hours were spent helping her mother in the kitchen and thanks to her sweet tooth, she'd paid special attention to baking as well. Her grandma Carter's decadent chocolate lava cake was a family favorite which she made for Ryan.

"Ummm," Ryan groaned as he took the first bite of the dessert.

"Baby, this is delicious. Whenever I've had a bad day, make this for me and I assure you I'll be a happy man," he vowed.

"I'm glad you like it. I'd love to make it for you again and I won't even wait until you've had a bad day," Dani said with a warm smile.

As great as the meal was, it was not the end of the evening's enjoyments. Dani and Ryan spent a good deal of time feasting on each other on the sofa before they went to bed and continued their exploration of each other's body. * "Aww, come on Crystal," Dani pleaded, "it's only shopping with me and a couple of Ryan's friends." "Yeah, yeah Dani, but I don't know these people. What is he doing with women friends anyway," Crystal asked, slightly perturbed. "They're the women of his male friends, Wheeler and Grant," Dani explained patiently.

"Jessica is Wheeler's girlfriend. Monica is Jessica's sister and Grant's wife. They're bringing along their friend Karen. You can't get to know people until you meet them, so that's no excuse. Besides, you'd be helping me out," Dani reasoned.

"This is the perfect way to get to know them better and build our friendship. It's one day and you don't have to make a major commitment to them. It's important to me Crystal," Dani said with a theatrical sigh, knowing she was laying it on pretty heavily.

" Ok, ok, I'll do it, Crystal capitulated.

"You know I'm not much of a people person, but for your sake I'll make the effort. Unless one of them says something I don't like, then all bets are off," she warned.

"Thanks Crystal. I'll hold you to being on your best behavior. Although Jessica and I are pretty friendly, I don't know Monica as well and I don't know Karen at all, so I need a little support. I want to make the effort because they're Ryan's friends and I'm going to see a lot of them and what better way to really get to know them than away from the guys.

"Huh! I didn't say best behavior. Hell, I don't even know what my best behavior would be," Crystal laughed. "As long as there is no bloodshed, I'll be happy," Dani teased.

"Ok, Dani. I'll see you at ten tomorrow morning."

"Good. Thanks again Crystal, bye." * True to her word, Crystal was on time.

Dani was trying to get dressed while talking to Ryan on the phone. Hearing the doorbell ring, she hopped to the door, trying to put on her shoe while holding the cordless phone between her head and shoulder. She made it to the door and opened it to let Crystal in, nodding to her in greeting. "What should I wear?" she asked Ryan.

Crystal sat down on the sofa smiling at Dani as she finally got her shoe on. She was unabashly listening in on the conversation and was able to follow a bit of it even without hearing the other side. What she missed, she figured Dani would fill in later. "Yes," she heard Dani say. "What time will you be home?" Dani waited for Ryan to answer, then said, " Ok. I'll be back before then. I'm making dinner tonight."

She laughed at something he said and then told him, "You'll just have to wait. You are so bad Ryan."

Dani laughed again, then paused for his response. "Ok, baby. I miss you too. See you later, bye."

Dani felt flushed after talking to Ryan. That man could get her hot just with words and he didn't mind doing it over the phone. Smiling, she turned to see Crystal looking at her with a raised eyebrow, waiting for an explanation.

"Oh, no Crystal, I am not telling you what Ryan said." Fanning herself, Dani sat down, but she couldn't keep the smile off of her face.

"Whatever he said sure got you hot. You sure there isn't something you want to tell your big sister? We've done the facts of life talk already, but you might need a little refresher course," Crystal suggested.

"Thanks a lot Crystal, but I'm in the master class with Ryan. Oh, my God, if you only knew!" Dani groaned then slapped her hand over her mouth as she looked at Crystal wide eyed.

"Yeah, I bet. That man is a walking wet dream. Well, if you like that type," Crystal said with a straight face.

When she saw Dani's incredulous expression, Crystal serious demeanor gave way to a gut wrenching laugh. "Shit, who wouldn't like that type. I have to admit that as much as I love me some chocolate, that white boy is damn fine."

Dani just shook her head, got her purse off the breakfast bar and dragged Crystal, who was still laughing, out of the house. Crystal offered to drive and Dani accepted reluctantly knowing that she'd have to curb her sister's tendency to speed.

They were meeting the women at The International Plaza. There were a ton of stores and restaurants in the complex. They could do all the shopping they wanted and go to lunch, all without having to fight traffic.

Dani particularly wanted to go to Victoria's Secret. She'd shopped there a couple of times in the past months replacing underwear that Ryan tore while trying to rid her out of them. Sometimes the man just didn't have any patience.

He offered to pay for them, going so far as to say that he'd go with her to pick them out. She almost hyperventilated thinking of Ryan going with her to buy sexy underwear. She could imagine herself having an orgasm while he caressed the crotch while asking her opinion or the opinion of the salesperson. The man was bad, bad, bad.

She declined the offer, but not for that reason. The thing was, she didn't want to take the money because, frankly, she was buying them for him. He loved how she looked in sexy lingerie, not that she kept them on for very long. Before she met him, she was content with basic underwear, feminine, but not particularly sexy. This was sort of like a gift for him, one with fringe benefits for her.

The roll of the car had lulled Dani into a daydream. When she came out of it Crystal was pulling into the parking lot. Their first stop was Sephora's as most of them wanted to buy make-up and skin care products. The place was crowded, but they managed to find a parking space fairly close to the store.

Before they got out of the car, Crystal said, "Oh, there was something I wanted to ask about your phone call with Ryan. You asked him something about what you should wear, are you going somewhere special?"

Dani grimaced a bit, then answered.

"His folks are having a get dinner," she said with a little apprehension. "I'll be meeting his entire immediate family and their significant others this coming Saturday. I'm kinda nervous about the whole thing. Meeting the family is suppose to be a big deal, isn't it?"

"Yep, especially with a guy like Ryan who's very close to his family. It's showing them that he's serious about you. I'm sure they're curious about you anyway, the same as Mom and Dad would be curious about him, if they knew about the two of you."

Seeing Dani's anxious expression Crystal said,

"Don't get your britches in a bunch about it, the guy is crazy about you. If his family is anything like him, they're going to think you're great too. It's a good thing, Dani."

"From your mouth to Martha Stewart's ear. I just hope they like me," Dani sighed. "When they were picturing a partner for Ryan I'm sure it wasn't a black woman. Race doesn't matter to Ryan and he said his family doesn't care about that either. I just have to trust his judgment."

"Well, I'm glad you've talked about that, but has he actually told them that you're black?" Crystal asked.

"Yeah, but I know people can say they're not prejudiced, until it comes to a member of their own family. Ryan means so much to me, I don't want anything to mess this up. Girlfriends can come and go, but your family is always your family," Dani said.

"You're in love with him, aren't you," Crystal asked, quietly.

Looking Crystal straight in the eye, Dani smiled and said,

"Yeah, I am. I don't think I could of hidden that from a blind man. He is the most incredible man and I think I knew it would be like this, at least for me, from the first time I saw him. I think he loves me too, although he hasn't said it."

"Well, hells bells, Sis, you finally got your man and without any help from me. Hmm, I'm kind of put out about that. All that time I spent trying to find you the perfect man and you find him at Lowes. Who the hell would believed a story like that?" she chuckled.

"Not me. But, that was before I met Ryan," Dani replied with a sigh.

*

The ladies were waiting for them just inside of the store. Monica and Jessica smiled as they entered, but the other woman, who Dani assumed was Karen, was tapping her foot impatiently.

"Have you guys been waiting long," Dani asked with a little concern.

"Oh, no," Jessica assured her.

"We've only been here a couple of minutes. Besides, you're not late," she said checking her watch, "you're actually a few minutes early."

By the way," she said turning to her friend, " Dani, Crystal meet our friend Karen Wentworth. Karen meet Danielle Carter and her sister Crystal."

"Hi Karen, pleased to meet you," Dani said holding out her hand. Karen hesitated a second before offering Dani a stilted smile and a tepid hand shake.

"Likewise, I'm sure," she said in an overly proper voice, then reached out to shake Crystal's hand giving her a genuine smile.

"Ok. It's not because I'm black," Dani thought. "She seems to like Crystal. How could she have an attitude towards me when she doesn't know me from Eve? Something just doesn't feel right about this."

Dani hadn't a clue what the woman's problem was, but she'd get to the bottom of it sooner or later. Right now just wasn't the time or place.

The women spent the next six hours power shopping. They went to the same stores at times, at other times they split up and agreed to meet up somewhere central at a specific time.

They were all bag heavy and tired when they finished their marathon store hopping spree. Happy with their purchases, they took them to the cars, then went back into the mall to have a leisurely lunch.

Although Dani caught Karen giving her a strange look once or twice, her mood improved somewhat, but not enough in Dani's mind.

The women decided to eat lunch at the Brio Tuscan Grill. After being seated by the hostess, she told them about the specials and took their drink orders. Monica and Karen choose white wine, while the others opted for sweet tea. Once the hostess left to fill their orders, they perused the menu and decided on their meal choices.

Before they could get a good conversation going, the waitress appeared with the drinks and was given their lunch orders.

The conversation was casual with the talk centering first on their purchases, their families and their likes and dislikes, not in any particular order. They all told stories about growing up and dating for the first time. Both Jessica and Monica told hilarious stories, but Karen had to be cajoled by Jessica into taking part in the conversation. Dani didn't think it was because Karen was shy.

Even Crystal was talkative which amazed Dani. Her sister was practically badgered into coming, but she looked to be having a great time. Crystal said she wasn't a people person, but she was really open and friendly with people she liked. It was obvious that she liked Jessica and Monica.

Dani noticed that Crystal wasn't as talkative with Karen, although Karen did try to engage her in conversation. She thought Crystal might have sensed the woman's attitude towards her. With other women, Crystal rarely missed a trick.

It was close to the end of the meal when the conversation turned to the man/woman relationship paradigm. It was then that Karen, out of the blue, said, "I heard from Caroline and she's coming back home soon."

There was a small smile on her thin lips which was directed towards Dani.

Jessica and Monica's eyes cut sharply to Dani. Seeing no reaction from Dani, Jessica turned to Karen and asked, "When did you talk to her?"

Karen, now having everyone's attention, savored the moment before she answered.

"Yesterday morning. She's nearing the end of her overseas contract and should be transferred back here in a few weeks. It's been quite a while and she's looking forward to renewing old friendships."

With a sly smile, she continued.

"She asked about Ryan. I told her he's still playing the field."

There was an awkward pause with Karen practically grinning at Dani who thought she'd turned into some kind of mad hyena. She wasn't going to take the bait as she caught on to the fact that Karen was talking about Caroline Jameson, Ryan's ex-girlfriend.

Dani didn't like public scenes and decided to just let it ride.

However, Crystal wasn't of the same mind. She didn't know who Caroline was, but she knew by the look on Dani's face that she did.

"Who the hell is Caroline?" Crystal asked, her tone making it clear that somebody had better get to talking.

Karen smiled and offered,

"Caroline is Caroline Jameson, my best friend. She and Ryan are in love, but broke up because of a misunderstanding. So, she took a job overseas to let things off."

She ended the explanation with a stare at Dani.

Crystal looked from Dani back to Karen before saying anything. She knew that Karen was deliberately trying to bait her sister and she wasn't having any of it.

" So, let me get this straight. Your friend use to date Ryan, then he kicked her to the curb, for whatever reason, and she skipped town to hide her humiliation."

Karen opened her mouth ready to refute that statement, when Crystal raised her hand, palm forward, to stop her.

"Save it," Crystal said. "There is no way in hell you're going to convince me that some broad just up and left that fine ass man because of some misunderstanding."

Karen sank back into her seat glowering at Crystal.

Staring back, Crystal said, "After licking her wounds in England for a while she's coming back to try to stake a claim on him again. The man wouldn't have dumped her if he wanted her, even you should be able to see that, Karen. Now you're here trying to stir up shit."

Dani tried to intervene, but Crystal was on a roll. "Crystal, it's ok, I'm not...

"No! No, Dani," Crystal said trying to calm her growing anger.

"This bitch has been brewing her crap all day. I knew something was up with the way she was looking at you when she thought no one was watching. She brought this up, so we might as well get the book read and close out this chapter."

Karen's smile was long gone and she was now squirming in her seat. Both Jessica and Monica were frowning at her, letting her know that they didn't appreciate her treachery. After the tongue lashing from Crystal, Karen knew it was too late to do anything about the predicament that she'd gotten herself into.

Neither Jessica or Monica could believe that Karen was trying to blind side Dani like that. They knew she was upset that Caroline got hurt, but they thought she and Caroline were over this thing with Ryan, at least that's what Karen led the sisters to believe.

They knew that Ryan wasn't playing the field. Both Wheeler and Grant said that Ryan was crazy about Dani. They'd trust their men over Karen any day. Besides, they'd seen with their own eyes how much he cared for Dani.

Red faced and still misguided, Karen tried to save face and mustered up courage to voice her outrage.