“Are you?”

Ryan released another breath. He suddenly felt extremely awkward, standing there in his blue and white checkered boxers, but he made no move to pick up his clothes. He was scared to turn away from this woman. Who knew what she’d do if he took his eyes off of her.

“Okay. Let’s calm down here,” he said quietly. “I’m Ryan, all right? I live downstairs. What about you?”

“I’m Annabelle,” she answered, sounding reluctant. “Christina’s letting me stay here for a few weeks.”

Ryan rolled his eyes. “See how easy that was? So, where exactly did Christina go?”

“Vegas. She eloped with her boyfriend Joe.”

Surprise jolted through him. “She told me they broke up.”

“They did.” Annabelle shrugged. “But she said he sent her all these flowers and then this super sweet card begging her to take him back, so she did, and then he proposed, so she said yes, and now they’re in Vegas. Anything else you want to know?”

The disappointment he experienced at the news that Christina was back with her boyfriend wasn’t all that great. That was the nice thing about flings. You didn’t get attached, didn’t feel crushed when the other person left. If anything, he was happy for Christina. She’d admitted to him that she still loved her ex, but the guy had been too much of a selfish jerk to appreciate the good thing they had. Evidently the guy smartened up.

Still holding the phone in her hand, Annabelle took a couple of steps toward him, her bare feet slapping against the hardwood floor. Her pink tank top did nothing to contain the soft jiggling of her stupendous tits. And those little boxer shorts she wore hugged her firm thighs, revealing smooth, shapely legs and tiny feet with red painted toenails.

Despite himself, Ryan’s c**k twitched inside his boxers. He was ridiculously turned on, and in his state of undress, he couldn’t really hide it either. His dick poked against the front of boxers, providing a tent that could accommodate an entire campsite. Annabelle’s brown eyes widened slightly as her gaze dropped south.

“Seriously?” she blurted out. “Can’t you keep that thing in control?”

Another laugh bubbled out of his throat. “You should take it as a compliment.”

Her cheeks turned bright red. “Look, as fun as this entire encounter is,” she said, sarcasm ringing in her voice, “could you please leave? I was trying to sleep before you burst in here like you own the place.” Her eyes narrowed. “Were you involved with Christina?”

“Kind of. Nothing serious, though.” He shot her a dry smile. “Actually, not serious at all, seeing as she eloped to Vegas with another man.”

“You don’t look too beat up about it.”

Ryan shrugged. “I’m not. Like I said, it wasn’t serious.”

“Good. Great. Now that we’ve cleared that up, could you please go?”

He knew she was making a very good point here. He should go. Now that his plans for a night of steamy wild sex had shot up in smoke, he had no reason to stick around and chat with Christina’s weird houseguest. Still, Annabelle was super hot, and he was super horny, so…

As if reading his mind, Annabelle held up the cell phone and said, “Don’t even think about it, pal. Touch me and I’ll call 911.”

He grinned. “Come on, you know you’re tempted.”

Her cheeks grew redder. “Tempted to do what?”

“To get back in bed. With me.” He cocked one brow. “And I can assure you, we’d have a really good time…”

She stared at him for a moment, then let out a high, melodic laugh. “Oh God. Do women actually fall for that stuff?”

He frowned. “Yes.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t.” She rested one hand on a curvy hip and nodded at the pile of clothes next to the bed. “Okay, time for you to go, Robert.”

“Ryan.”

“Whatever.”

He found himself grinning again. Damn, he liked her. It was rare to come across a woman that was immune to his charm, even rarer to find one that managed to keep his interest for more than five minutes. He had no idea where Annabelle had come from, or how long she planned on staying in the building, but he hoped she stuck around for a while. Or at least long enough for him to get his hands on those delectable curves again.

“Why are you still here?” she grumbled, jolting him from his thoughts. “I’d like to get some sleep sometime this century.”

His lips twitched. He wondered if she brought that sexy sarcasm of hers to bed with her. “I’ll get right out of your way,” Ryan said, rolling his eyes. He strode to the side of the bed, making sure his bare arm rubbed against her bare arm as he walked by. He heard a soft intake of breath, but when he glanced over, she just looked annoyed.

Bending down, he collected his jeans and T-shirt from the floor and tucked the pile of clothes under his arm. Somehow he doubted she would grant him the time to get dressed.

“Do you have a key or did you break in?” she asked sternly.

“Spare key. I left it in the living room.” Impulsively, he looked her way and cast a devilish grin. “What do you say I keep the key and come by tomorrow night?”

Annabelle laughed.

He pursed his lips. “Was that a yes?”

Another laugh, this time with the words, “Hell, no” mingled in there.

“Your loss,” he said with a sigh.