Chapter 39
Riley
How is it possible that all my dreams are coming true on the same day?
I have a real chance to make my business successful without having to leave town.
The man I've always craved is telling me he loves me and wants a forever with me.
It all feels too good to be true, as if none of it is real, but the warmth of his palms on my skin tells me otherwise.
"I have so much to tell you," I say when he breaks our kiss and begins to run his lips down my neck.
He pauses, his breath rushing past his lips as if he has run a marathon.
"Baby," he says, a hint of frustration in his tone, and it makes me smile.
To be wanted so badly by his man makes every cell in my body ache for him.
"Can it wait a few minutes?"
"A few minutes is all I get?" I tease with a sly smile.
"If you're lucky," he answers. "I could blow in my jeans right now with just one wayward thought."
"I know better," I say, taking a step back so my hand can run down the front of his jeans.
His breaths grow even more ragged, but he drops his hands to his sides, letting me take over completely.
His tongue skates out, tracing his bottom lip, and it might be one of the sexiest things I've ever seen.
I ignore the whispers in my head that are trying to convince me that this is all too good to be true. Even if a heartache is coming, I'm going to enjoy this ride as long as possible. I'm going to soak up everything he has to give me and greedily take what's on offer .
I'm so tired of living from one fear of loss to another. I have to trust in his words and believe that he's being honest with me. If I want this to work, then I have to give myself to him fully and voice my concerns when they arise.
With him standing in front of me, chin curled into his chest as he watches my hands roam down his body, I know that I'm all he sees. I'm all that he wants, and that alone builds my confidence.
I open his belt, making quick work of the button on his jeans before lowering his zipper. I don't waste a breath before reaching inside his boxer briefs and wrapping my hand around his cock.
He hisses, and the sound gives me all the confidence I need to continue. We're not playing games. This isn't something he wants to do because he's bored or limited in his options. He has chosen me, and I'd be a fool to think I don't deserve it.
"Baby," he whispers, his hands lifting to the hem of my shirt.
In the next breath, it's over my head and on the floor, and he does that incredibly sexy man thing when he clasps the back of his t-shirt at the neck and pulls it over his head. There isn't a hint of hesitation in his movements when he steps forward and presses his warm body to mine, and in this moment I realize there has never been a waver in his movements where I'm concerned. It eases some of my doubts.
Our mouths and hands are a blur as we continue to undress and touch, fingertips skating over every inch of each other's bodies, leaving nothing untouched.
His mouth follows the path of his fingertips from my neck to my shoulder and then down to the tip of my breast.
When my legs start to tremble, he takes the opportunity to ease me to the floor right there in the middle of my living room.
I'm panting by the time he dips his fingers into the waistband of my leggings, gasping with need by the time he pulls them free from my body.
I don't feel self-conscious. I don't have time to worry if this position on the floor makes my body look better or worse than it would be if I were standing or sprawled out on a bed instead.
His eyes rake over every inch of me, desire growing in them with everything he sees. I feel valued, precious, and seductive with the attention he pays to me.
When he shoves his jeans down, not bothering with kicking off his boots, to get the denim clear of his legs, I feel wanton, and every inch of my body aches for him.
It doesn't feel like this is going to be a quick fuck, so he doesn't need to waste time taking his clothes all the way off. Instead, it feels like he wants me so badly that he can't spend another second on things that don't matter.
"I fucking knew it," he says with awe when he spreads my legs and looks down. "Glistening like always. So fucking perfect for me, baby."
My back arches when he slides a finger down the middle of me, swiping at sensitive flesh.
My hips move, chasing the sensation as he teases me. A whimper of need bubbles from my chest when he pulls his fingers back, breaking their contact with my skin. A full-body tremble begins when he lifts those fingers to his lips and licks.
"For the rest of my life," he whispers as he uses his free hand to stroke down the length of his cock. "You'll be the most delicious thing I've ever tasted."
Bending forward, his lips brush mine, sharing the flavor. It feels a little devious, bordering on too taboo, but all that does is add fuel to the fire that's burning inside of me.
"Mac," I beg.
"Condom?" he asks as he positions his tip at my entrance, and I know exactly where his mind is.
The hesitation I thought was gone until now creeps back in, but before I can open my mouth to answer, my hips move of their own volition, and I take him inside of me.
"Jesus, fuck," he gasps, the tension in his arm muscles growing. "Riley."
I blink up at him. Every sensation possible for my body to feel is washing over me at the exact same moment, and it's bordering on being just too much to handle.
"You're sure?" he whispers.
"Are you?"
Instead of giving me an answer, he presses forward, seating his cock fully inside of my body.
We both groan our pleasure as his lips find mine, and as quickly as he said this was going to be over for him, I realize it's the exact same for me. My core is already fluttering down the length of him as his lips meet mine.
Our tongues twist together, our bodies taking over and claiming exactly what they need from the other.
Heat coats my skin, sweat beading on nearly every inch .
It's perfection, absolute bliss, and I can't wait to have the opportunity to have this with him every single day for the rest of my life.
"Baby," he whispers, but it comes a second after I feel the first pulse of his orgasm.
My body follows suit, needing that connection to him.
He coaxes me through the trembles and convulsions as his body does the very same, and it seems like forever before my mind is clear enough to speak, but I bathe in the silence as we just lie here entangled in each other's arms.
It feels like heaven, an alternate reality from one where we have to be adults and make hard decisions, and if it were possible, I'd love to just stay in this moment with him for an eternity.
However, coming back to reality doesn't bring with it the same sting as it usually does because my life is looking up, and this fantastic man has declared his love for me.
His fingers trace over my stomach, and instead of swiping at his hand to make him stop, I enjoy the sensation of him teasing my overheated skin.
"I feel like I owe you more," he whispers as his arm around my back tightens, pulling me closer.
"From the sound of it, you're planning to give me a lifetime of more."
"If I could give you two lifetimes, Riley, I'd do it in a heartbeat."
"I'm scared," I confess, pressing my nose into his throat.
"Me too," he whispers, and I treasure the honesty. "Tell me about your day."
I smile into his skin, my exhaustion giving way to the excitement about my news.
"I've decided to start doing to-go meals," I say as I press back so I can look down at him.
I need to gauge his reaction to see if he's fully supportive of my plans and dreams.
There's more to a relationship than great sex, after all.
A wide smile spreads across his face. "Do you have any idea how happy that's going to make the guys at work? Especially if you use your grandmother's cookbook for the meals."
I know it's not a jab, and I'm already starting to accept that the gourmet foods I've always wanted to offer to Lindell just aren't going to work.
"Really? Don't they all go to the diner for dinner most of the time? "
"And Donnie bitches about the price of sodas and tipping every place he goes," Mac says. "If he can get the same great food and take it home, then he'd be the happiest man in the world."
Thinking of his words, same great food , makes me want to clarify about Ruth and what I discovered today, but I hold the woman's secret inside. I know there will no doubt come a time when I disclose this information to him, but it may be after I serve him a big, delicious bowl of Dinty Moore chicken and dumplings to see if he tells me that it tastes better than what he can get at the diner.
"I'm really excited about it," I tell him. "I just have to find a commercial kitchen to use."
"You know," he says as he partially sits up so that he's leaning over me.
He shifts a lock of hair behind my ear as he pauses.
"What is it?" I ask, seeing the hesitation in his eyes.
"I don't want to scare you."
"I promise not to freak out," I vow, even though I don't know what he's about to say.
"I haven't fully committed to the remodel at my house. I know what's required to get something rated as a commercial kitchen because of all the remodeling I've done. I bet I can make a few adjustments and have that kitchen approved for commercial use."
I blink up at him, dumbfounded by the offer.
"Really?" I ask, that too-good-to-be-true feeling growing with his words.
"Why not?" he asks with a shrug. "It's going to be our home, and as much as you enjoy cooking for others, I'd like you to be comfortable. Plus, it'll be easier to work from there when the babies come."
"You don't think we're moving too fast?" I whisper, giving him the chance to pump the brakes if he feels like he has said too much.
He shakes his head. "I've wasted so much time where you're concerned, Riley. I don't want to waste a second more."