Ryan laughed to herself as she hung up the phone. She did feel a little guilty about conning Brody into bringing her food, but she reminded herself that they had had plans, and he likely would have made dinner anyway. This was a simple matter of timing and location.

She sat for a minute with her eyes closed until she heard a knock on the door. With a groan, she dragged herself off the couch and opened the door. She had to bite back a smile at the exasperated expression on Brody's face.

"You know, I don’t deliver dinner to just anybody."

"Well, then, I'm honored." She closed the door after he stepped in and followed him into the kitchen. "I do appreciate it, really."

"Good." He set the container on the counter and put his hands on her shoulders. "Now, are you okay? You sounded pretty upset in your message."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ryan leaned against him and smiled as he slid his arms around her. "It was just unexpected. I figured we'd have a nice, calm, run-through of everything—well, as calm as it gets with Jason—and then he comes in and . . . Oh, never mind. I'm tired of thinking about it."

"Fair enough. Come on, sit while I heat up the food."

"If I eat that, can I have the ice cream?"

"We'll see."

Ryan laughed, then kissed him. "Does that influence your answer?"

"It might." He gave her a sly grin. "Try again and I'll let you know."

"Okay, but just once." Ryan linked her hands behind his neck and pulled him down to make it easier to kiss him. It was so easy, she thought, to just relax with him. Already the weight of the day seemed to be easing off a little, so she shifted a bit so that she rested more against him.

He kept one arm around her and slid the other hand up until he cupped the back of her head, and tangled his fingers in her hair. She made an appreciative sound at that, and he smiled as he broke the kiss.

"Okay, I'm convinced. You can have the ice cream."

Ryan laughed and kissed him once more. "Thanks." She paused a moment. "Really, thanks. I missed you today, and I felt bad when I called earlier. I was looking forward to seeing you. I'm glad you came over."

"Well, I have to admit I missed you, too." He hugged her, dropped a kiss on her forehead, and stepped back. "I must have, or I wouldn’t have brought food."

Ryan sat at the kitchen table. "So how was your day? Less chaotic than mine, I hope."

"It was good. Coach wanted us to try a new power play strategy. Took a little time to adjust but I think we got it. Had lunch with Bax, then did some food shopping. I talked to one of my brothers. Mark says hi and good luck; I told him about Jason."

"Bastard," Ryan grumbled. "Prick."

Brody laughed and put a container in the microwave. "Guess you're still a little mad about that."

"Oh, just a little."

While the food heated, Ryan got herself a drink and she asked him about his conversation with his brother. The timer beeped a moment later and Brody pulled the food out. He grabbed a plate, arranged everything, and put it in front of Ryan. He found silverware and handed it to her, then sat down at the table himself. "Okay, so, tell me what happened."

Ryan gave him a wry smile and told him about Allison and Jason and what they'd said. Brody listened and joked around a little, but she appreciated that he understood how serious it was for her. She was quiet as she ate, and Brody talked about how his family was coming out for Christmas. He sounded as though he was looking forward to it and she envied him that.

"Thanks, Brody, that was really good." She pushed the plate away. "You're definitely the only guy to bring me homemade enchiladas."

"Not a problem. Want that ice cream?"

"No, not really." She stood and stretched. "Too tired."

"Hey, do that again." Brody came and stood in front of her. "That was nice."

She couldn't hold back a laugh. "Men. You're all the same."

"Just trying to distract you after a tough day." He grinned. "And it was nice."

Ryan laughed as they walked out to the living room. "I'll take the flattery." She rested her hands on his chest and smiled when his arms came around her. "But I'm done stretching."

"You're a terrible tease, but I guess I'll survive."

"Who's teasing?" Ryan grinned and stripped off her sweater.

Brody looked down at her. "Wow. I think I need to sit down." He dropped onto the couch and pulled her with him so that she straddled his lap. He traced a finger along the strap of her lacy, light blue bra. "Now this is nice."

Ryan bit her lip and shrugged. "Every so often I go and get something kind of girly with Lara."

"Nice choice."

Ryan shifted on his lap and he groaned, making her laugh. "I guess you like it."

"What's not to like?" He pulled her down for a kiss. When she rolled her hips against him again, he grabbed her waist to hold her still. When she parted her lips, he took advantage to plunge his tongue into her mouth. She responded by twining her hands in his hair and pressing her body against his.

They were both breathless when they broke the kiss.

"You sure about this?" Brody asked. He ran a finger along the edge of her bra and watched as she closed her eyes and took in a deep but shaky breath.

"Yeah, I am." She opened her eyes. "You?"

"Oh, yeah." He rubbed his denim-clad erection against her to prove the point.

"Just checking."

Ryan took in a deep breath and bit her lip. "I'm healthy and safe. You?"

"Yes, ma'am. And prepared."

"All right then."

Brody tightened his arms around her, fusing his lips to hers. She curled her fingers into his shirt and responded with an urgency he hadn't felt from her before. He dropped his hands to cup her breasts, running his thumbs over the hard tips beneath the smooth material of her bra. Ryan responded by sliding a hand down between them and cupping him through his jeans. He let out a muffled groan as he thrust against her hand, unable to help himself.

"Like that, do you?" She smiled against his lips.

In answer, he unbuttoned her jeans and slid a hand inside. It was his turn to smile as she gasped. "Do you like that?"

"Yeah." She rested her forehead on his and bit her lip as she rocked against his hand. "I'd like a little more."

"I aim to please." He tangled one hand in her hair and kissed her again, harder and faster. This, he thought, was a much better end to the day than he'd had planned.

Ryan didn't say anything, just tugged his shirt out of the waistband of his jeans and put her hands underneath to begin working it off. Brody hissed out a breath as her hands moved over him; he loved the feel of her hands. He'd imagined they were strong and nimble, having seen her play the guitar, and he was right.

She worked his shirt up and he sat up so she could slide it off, then pulled her back with him, kissing her and savoring the feel of her skin against his. She shifted to adjust her balance and he groaned as she rubbed against his erection.

She broke the kiss with that husky laugh. "Sorry. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, fine." He kissed her again and with an efficiency that made her laugh again, unhooked her bra. "As pretty as this is, you don't need it." He pushed the straps down her arms and she slid them all the way off. She closed her eyes as he reached up to cup her breasts.

Ryan closed her eyes as Brody stroked his thumbs over her nipples. She splayed her hands on his chest, loving the feel of his muscles and how they tensed under her touch. She was glad she had followed her instincts and taken the initiative tonight. In fact, if he didn't move a little faster, she'd take it again. To prove the point, she pressed her lips to his and worked on unbuttoning his jeans.

"Hold on." Brody's voice startled her out of his thoughts.

"What?" She was surprised to find herself so breathless.

"Just, ah, just logistics." He guided her up on her knees so that he could push his jeans down although he dug into his pocket first.

It took more effort, and a fair amount of laughing, to slide Ryan's pants down as well, but she managed to get one leg free and then settle down against him. His groan was muffled as she pressed her mouth to his neck and applied pressure. His hand slid between her legs and she bit down on his shoulder as he stroked through the wetness he found.

When she had control of herself again, she reached down and wrapped her hands around him, stroking in a firm and steady rhythm.

"Okay, okay. Stop. Just for a second." Brody took a deep breath, then looked up at her and smiled. "You have excellent hands."

"Thanks." Ryan waited for her heart rate to get back to normal.

"Feeling less stressed?" he asked as his hands skimmed her sides.

"Some. You?"

"Well, it's a good kind of stress." He pulled her close for another kiss, then tore open the condom package and slid the covering on, anxious to get inside her.

Once ready, he put his hands on her hips and nudged her up, then shifted until he could lower her onto him. He pushed inside and savored the heat for a moment before moving to set a rhythm.

"You feel really good." He closed his eyes and dropped his head back on the couch. "Really good."

She murmured an assent and Brody kept moving, making approving sounds as Ryan moved with him. She drew in a sharp breath and her body tightened around him as she came, forcing him to grit his teeth to make everything last longer. Her body relaxed, and so did he, but a moment later he could feel her body start to tense and he gave up. He thrust faster, feeling his own body tighten, and a moment later he groaned as his own climax raced over him.

They were quiet for a while, getting their breath back, and Brody kissed her before nudging her back. Understanding, she stood and backed up a couple of steps. While Brody stepped into the bathroom, Ryan realized what a mess she must look like and stepped back into her jeans. Though on the whole, she thought with a grin, it was more than worth it.

"So, how was that for some stress relief?" Brody wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead.

"Pretty good." She leaned closer and looked up at him. "I was pretty angry today, though. I might need to do it again later."

"Later, we'll do things a bit more slowly." He nuzzled her neck and bit lightly on the pulse point, making her gasp.

"More slowly?" She swallowed. "Something wrong with what we did?"

"No, no. It's just that it can be even more relaxing if you take your time."

"Well, you said you were the relaxing expert." She gave that low, husky laugh that he liked to hear.

"You'll just have to let me show you." He nipped at her bottom lip. "In a little while."