Chapter 6 #3
“Of course.” Riley almost opened her mouth to ask if he wanted her to make breakfast for them all, but she stopped herself at the last minute.
She was beginning to enjoy spending time with these two guys a little too much.
She was already in over her head, and if or when things between her and Porter didn’t work out, it would be extremely awkward to live right next door to him.
It would tear her apart to see him bring another woman home.
To see Logan every day but not be able to share his life.
Shaking her head, Riley did her best to push those thoughts to the back of her mind. She and Porter weren’t really dating yet, even if he had asked her out. She already had them breaking up and was getting depressed about it. She was being ridiculous.
“Be sure to wear clothes you wouldn’t mind getting dirty,” Porter told her. “Grover has some four-wheelers he said we could take out for a ride if we wanted. There’s a trail that butts up against the property he bought.”
“Jeans and a T-shirt okay?” Riley asked. “Is that what the others will be wearing?” The last thing she wanted was to show up in jeans if everyone else was in sundresses or something.
“I have no idea, but they aren’t going to be dressed like they’re meeting the queen of England or anything,” Porter told her with a chuckle. “Stop worrying. They’re going to love you.”
Riley stopped the snort that wanted to escape.
Guys were all the same. They were so sure a group of women would get along just because they were the same gender.
She knew better. Guys were much more laid-back about meeting new people.
They just went with it. But Porter bringing a chick into his inner circle was probably a whole different thing.
“They are,” Porter insisted. “Trust me.”
There was that trust thing again. He knew how hard it was for her to trust others, but when Riley glanced over at Logan, she saw he was nodding. If the boy could trust his uncle, she could too. She nodded as well.
Porter beamed. “Great. Logan, will you please help me bring the dishes to the kitchen?”
Riley stood up. “You guys cooked, I’ll clean up,” she volunteered.
“Nope. You brought over the air fryer. And I definitely need to do something more than sit on my butt after eating all that stuff. Logan and I will take care of it.”
She couldn’t exactly argue when he’d all but said he wanted to spend time with his nephew.
“I’ll just get going then,” she said as she stood.
To his credit, Porter didn’t protest, simply eyed her for a long moment, probably trying to read her mind and make sure she wasn’t leaving because she was uncomfortable or wasn’t having a good time, and truly did need to get going instead.
He must’ve seen something in her expression that reassured him, because he nodded and said, “I’ll walk you to your place. ”
“Seriously, Porter, it’s just next door.”
“A man always makes sure his lady gets home safely,” was all he said. Then he turned to Logan. “You good for a few minutes here on your own, Slugger?”
Logan nodded. “I don’t think a velociraptor is gonna swoop down in the two minutes it’ll take you to walk Riley home and kidnap me,” he quipped.
For a second, Porter stared at his nephew, then he burst out laughing. “Right. I just didn’t want you to get nervous in here by yourself.”
Logan had laughed along with his uncle, but then he got serious. “I was alone at my other place all the time. In the last couple years, Mom worked a lot.”
“I get that,” Porter said. “But it’s not in my make-up to leave a kid to fend for himself.
I don’t doubt you’re responsible enough to be all right on your own, I just don’t like it.
It makes me uncomfortable. Having Riley come over to hang with you after school isn’t because I don’t trust you or because I think you’re going to get in trouble, it’s for my own peace of mind. Okay, Slugger?”
Logan nodded. “Okay. And…I like having her here.”
Riley felt like crying again. Without even trying, Porter was showing his nephew how much he cared about him. Explaining his actions, and not making Logan feel as if he was a burden or a baby.
“Okay, so if a T-Rex or any other kind of dinosaur happens to come by in the two minutes it’ll take me to walk Riley to her door to make sure there aren’t any scary dinosaurs hiding over at her place, use your baseball bat to fend them off until I can come and help, yeah?”
Logan smiled. “Okay, Oz.”
“And if you can get these dishes loaded into the dishwasher, and go through the apartment and gather up all the trash so we can bring it down to the dumpster, I’d appreciate it.”
Instead of being annoyed that he was being given chores, Logan’s shoulders straightened as if he was proud to be helping out. “I can do it.”
“Thanks. I’ll be right back,” Porter said as he walked up to Riley and took her elbow in his hand and steered her to the door.
“I had fun today, Logan,” Riley said. “I promise to catch the ball with my glove next time instead of my face. See you tomorrow.”
“Bye,” Logan said as he concentrated on carrying all three of their plates to the kitchen without dropping them.
Riley walked alongside Porter as he led them out of his apartment and down the hall to her own. She pulled her key out of her pocket and unlocked her door. Porter didn’t move away from her as she did so.
When the door opened, however, he didn’t push inside or in any way make her feel uncomfortable.
Not that Riley was uncomfortable around him in the least. She wouldn’t have had a problem if he’d wanted to come inside, but she knew they were both aware that Logan was alone next door.
And even with all Porter’s teasing about velociraptors, he wasn’t comfortable leaving him by himself for long.
“Take another painkiller before you go to sleep,” Porter ordered gently. “And it probably wouldn’t hurt to ice that cheek again tonight, as well.”
“I’m okay,” Riley insisted.
“I don’t like to see you hurting,” he said softly.
She shrugged. “It’s a part of life,” she said philosophically.
“Doesn’t mean I have to like it,” he retorted. Then he placed his palm on her non-hurt cheek. “Thanks for agreeing to come tomorrow.”
“Are you really sure you want me to come?” she asked once again.
“Absolutely. I haven’t gotten to spend as much time with you as I’d like. And while I’ll be working on the barn with my friends, so we won’t be together all day, I’ll still get to hang out more than just the couple hours we’ve gotten in the evenings.”
Her skin prickled with delight.
“I’m not going to just dump you off with the ladies all day, either. I really do want to take you out on the four-wheeler. Do you have any problems with that?”
“Nope. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Good.”
She saw Porter’s eyes darken right before he said, “I’d like to kiss you goodnight.”
Swallowing hard, Riley licked her lips and nodded.
His head came down slowly, giving her time to change her mind. But there was no way Riley was going to do or say anything that would make Porter back off. She’d dreamed of this moment more times than she was comfortable admitting.
His hand was still on her face, and when his lips brushed against her own, their position felt very intimate.
She rested her own hands on his waist and stood on her tiptoes to try to make things easier on him.
Riley felt his other hand rest on the small of her back…
but then she couldn’t think about anything but how good his lips felt on her own.
He didn’t crush her to him. Didn’t force his tongue into her mouth. At first he merely sipped at her lips, nipping and running his tongue along them, as if he was learning her taste. But the second she opened her mouth to him, he didn’t hesitate to accept her invitation.
He deepened the kiss, making Riley’s head spin.
She’d been kissed a lot in her life, but nothing had turned her on as much as Porter’s kiss. She could feel her nipples hardening under her shirt, and she couldn’t get close enough.
Riley pressed her chest against his and opened her mouth wider. Trying to get more of him. His tongue dueled with hers, and when he tilted his head to get farther inside her, Riley’s hands clutched at the material of his T-shirt.
She groaned when their movements tweaked her cheek.
Porter immediately lifted his mouth from hers.
Riley didn’t want to let him go, she tried to keep contact with him, but he was too tall and too determined to make sure she was all right.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked gruffly. His lips were a little swollen from their kiss, and Riley wanted nothing more than to pull his head right back down to hers.
“No.”
“You moaned,” he said, informing her of something she already knew.
Closing her eyes, Riley leaned forward and rested her forehead against his chest. She could feel his heart beating hard under his shirt and she kept hold of the material. His hand had fallen from her face as she’d leaned forward, and she could feel him lightly caressing her back.
After a moment, she got her composure back and lifted her head. She didn’t step out of his embrace though. Riley had no idea what she was going to say, but she shouldn’t have worried. Porter said exactly what she was thinking.
“That was pretty damn amazing.”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
“I’ve never really liked kissing. I mean, it’s always kind of been a means to an end for me.
” Porter winced. “I know that sounds bad, but it’s true.
With you? I feel as if I could kiss you for hours and never get bored.
I love feeling your body react to my touch and caresses. It’s such a fucking turn-on.”
Riley could feel how his own body had reacted to their kiss. His erection was hard against her belly as she remained plastered to his front. She liked knowing she’d turned him on so much.
Licking her lips, she could still taste him on her skin.
He groaned. “On that note, I’m gonna let you go,” he said, and dropped his hands.
But it still took him a second to actually step away from her.
His eyes roamed her face, then flicked down her body, resting a moment too long on her chest before he met her gaze again.
Riley was keenly aware that her hard nipples were visible through her shirt.
She’d always been a bit top heavy and self-conscious of her breasts.
But seeing the approval, and desire, in Porter’s eyes made her want to arch her back and preen a bit.
His hand came up and he ran his thumb over her sore cheek once more. “Thanks for being so good to Logan. You were very brave, and I know you downplayed how much pain you were in for his benefit. Means the world to me.”
“He’s a good kid,” she said.
“He is. I’ll see you in the morning. I’m gonna see if I can get Logan to eat something semi-healthy for breakfast. After that dinner we had, he’ll need some protein and some veggies to make it through the day tomorrow.
You too. Don’t eat Pop-Tarts and doughnuts in the morning, okay?
Maybe make yourself an omelet or something. ”
God. She’d never had someone be as concerned about her well-being as Porter.
“Okay.”
“Okay.” Then he ran his thumb over her lips one last time before finally stepping backward. “Lock the door,” he ordered.
Knowing he’d stand there until she was safely locked inside, Riley smiled at him once more, then shut the door. She put the chain on and locked the deadbolt before she heard his footsteps going back down the hall.
Through the wall, she heard his own door open and shut then heard him talking to Logan.
She couldn’t make out the words, but even the low rumbly sound of their conversation soothed her.
She was glad they were getting along better, and that Logan seemed more comfortable in his new environment with every day that passed.
He hadn’t made many friends at school yet, which concerned her, but she hoped that with time, that would change. Logan was a little shy, but funny and sweet, and she couldn’t imagine anyone not wanting to be his friend.
Riley headed for her bedroom. She took two more painkillers and soaked a washcloth in cold water and held it to her face. She was too tired to get an icepack together, so she made do with several rounds of the cold washcloth.
She changed and climbed into her bed, suddenly exhausted. She’d had a long day with work, playing with Logan, getting hurt, then enjoying the company of both Porter and Logan throughout dinner.
Then there was that kiss.
Porter made her feel beautiful and cherished, and those were things she hadn’t felt much in her life.
But that wasn’t why she was falling for him.
It was seeing how amazing he was with his nephew that had her melting inside.
Anyone who could treat a scared kid the way Porter did, was someone who would treat their girlfriend with respect. At least she hoped so.
Tomorrow she’d get to see Porter interacting with his friends, and that would further show her what kind of man he was. Was he someone who would act all macho around his closest friends, or would he be the same man she’d gotten to know over the last week or so? Time would tell.