Free Tempting Me: A Bad Boy Romance by Roxy Sinclaire, Natasha Tanner Page B

strong, I only have to remind myself that in two short days, Theresa has proven herself to be a more genuine friend than Ella ever did. Her friendship is without artifice and she doesn’t want anything from me. I know this because I have nothing to offer except my friendship in return.
    Ryan, on the other hand, is an anomaly. In my confusion over Xavier, I thought Ryan was my knight in shining armor. Now I know I don’t need to be rescued and that I can take care of myself. But all of the above being true doesn’t change how I feel about him. Even now, when he’s sitting across from me at a table and pretending not to be looking at the hot girls that just entered the restaurant, he puts every cell in my body on high alert. For self-preservation though, I need to tell myself that I don’t care about him and that I am here for the sole reason that for the first time in as long as I can remember, I am happy.

 
    Chapter 10
    Ryan
     
    I can’t shake how impressed I am with Aria and the choices she has made for herself. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not looking to make her my girlfriend or anything. I am perfectly happy with my life. But that doesn’t change how amazing she is. I love that she is hell bent on blazing her own trail and not relying on the privilege she was born into.
    There is also the matter of how strongly my body responds to her. Even when she is halfway across the room and I’m dancing for a crowd of excited women, I want her. But Aria and I aren’t going to hook-up. She is too inexperienced and for lack of a better word, virginal, for me to take advantage of. Additionally, and this is not something I’m familiar with, but I’m not sure she is buying what I’m selling.
    I decide to spend the day working on a new routine. After what happened last night, getting distracted by Aria and dropping the ball on stage, I really need to bring my A-game. Or better yet, I need to take my show to an entirely new level of eroticism and physicality.
    I scroll through my song list on my computer and decide to go with something more rock n’ roll than I normally choose. Hip-hop and R&B is what everyone choreographs their routines to at the club. I want to design a show around a classic rock piece. The kind of song everyone knows the words to and that elicits fond memories.
    I decide on Foreigner’s “Feels like the First Time.” It’s not original, given it was in the movie about male strippers. I am Ryan Temptation after all. And I am going to make it feel like the first time for all the ladies in the house.
    Since I’m going with classic rock, I decide on a hard look and pull out some black leather pants and a vest.
    A once-over in the mirror tells me that I definitely need to make a stop at the tanning salon before heading to the club tonight. The whole spray-on-tan thing is not my favorite, but after a long winter in New York, it’s a necessity. It’s always good to be bronzed, and it helps define my muscles beyond their normal look.
    I want to incorporate a lot of floor work in for tonight. I roll the leather vest down my arms and off my back and bend my torso back as I pull it off. It’s like doing the limbo and it requires a lot of muscle control, but it looks hot on stage. I thrust my pelvis towards the imaginary audience, teasing them into screaming for more. I flip over into a push-up stance with my legs wide apart. I keep my movements slow and languid, stretching out the forward thrusts with my body hovering over the floor.
    My mind wanders to Aria and I picture her beneath me. Her hair spread in a halo behind her, eyes closed, and lips parted. I want her so badly that just the image of her causes my cock to stiffen, and I can almost feel her beneath me, matching my rhythm.
    A loud knock at the door pulls me out of the zone. I roll onto my back and wipe the sweat off with a towel. That woman has put some kind of spell on me. I can’t believe just thinking about her has me hard and needing release.