Chapter 31
When they reach the bedroom doors, Liz tries to go into her room, but Riley is quick to stop her.
He throws open his own door and pulls her in, closing it behind them.
Liz takes a slow lap around the room, not at all what she thought it would look like.
It’s more put together than a typical man’s room.
A large bed with black blankets sits in the center of the far wall, a plush black rug underneath it.
One wall has a door to what she assumes is his bathroom, the other has rows and rows of masks neatly hung up.
She continues looking around, turning to the last wall, a simple dresser with a few trinkets laid out on top with a large TV mounted above it.
Riley clears his throat, startling her. Liz looks over at him, leaning against the door frame, arms crossed, watching her explore his room.
“You’re not really going to take your mask off, are you?” she says, looking away from where he’s leaning.
“Why wouldn’t I? You were right, you’re part of the team, and if you’re going to put your full trust in me, I should do the same. That means letting you see my face,” he says.
She listens to his footsteps bang across the floor until they stop when he steps onto the rug in front of her.
“You really don’t have to. I’ve seen your jaw when you were wearing these masks,” she says, looking up at him, gesturing to the one he’s currently wearing. “And the other ones show your eyes… So, that’s pretty much your whole face.”
“Worried you’re going to find me just as sexy with it off?” he asks teasingly.
“No, I just don’t think you’ll be able to control yourself without it. You think I don’t see the way you look at me?” Liz says, looking up at him through her thick lashes.
He lets out a small groan and takes a step into her.
Her breath hitches at their closeness. Riley reaches out, not thinking about what he’s doing, and takes her hand, pulling her fully into him, her hands resting on his hard chest. A shout from down the hall pulls them back to the task at hand. Liz steps back, quickly looking away.
“You need to turn around so I can take your pants off, I mean my pants, the ones you let me wear, not the ones on your body–” she shuts down her rambling before she makes it worse from her nerves on edge in anticipation for what’s about to happen.
“I’ve seen you without pants, love. You didn’t seem to care the other night when you changed,” he says. His eyes darken as they drift down her body, stopping at the lush curves of her hips before snapping back up to her face.
Liz just glares at him, pretending she’s not blushing from his gaze. Liz shoots him the same exasperated look she used to give James when she needed him to focus. He holds his hands up in fake surrender and turns around.
“Use my blanket to cover anything you’re not comfortable with me seeing,” he says as she slips out of her pants.
She quickly backs up to the bed and sits, pulling the corner of his blanket over one of her bare legs.
“Okay, you can turn around now,” Liz says, her voice trembling.
Riley turns and stalks to the bed, sitting next to her.
He peers at her exposed leg, trying to see anything abnormal.
His eyes roam her leg, covered in scars.
He takes each one in, wondering which ones were put there by Dmitri and which ones are from the monsters who raised her.
His eyes dart from one to the next, some small, some larger and jagged as anger floods his soul.
Trying to focus, he fights past the animalistic need to hunt down anyone who has ever hurt her and make them suffer for it.
“Where is it?” he asks, reaching his bare hand out to inspect her leg. He catches himself before he touches her, remembering how much has been done to her without her consent.
“It’s um… more on my… inner thigh,” she says.
Looking away, she pulls leg onto the bed beside her, hoping that’s enough. She reaches down and feels around for the small lump under her skin.
“Right… there,” she says, wincing.
“I can’t see anything like this,” he says, sliding off the bed and onto his knees in front of Liz.
The sight of Riley on his knees in front of her sends her head spinning.
“Can I touch you?” he asks, looking up at her.
Hoping she can’t tell what being on his knees before her is doing to him.
“Your leg, I mean, to try and feel what you do,” he quickly adds.
She nods her head and he wastes no time running his calloused hand up her leg.
Liz looks away from his hand, trying to ignore how good it feels gliding against her skin.
She lets out a breath, and Riley mistakes her arousal for nerves.
Thinking he needs to do something to distract her, he stops moving his hand and looks up at her.
“Take it off, love,” he says, her eyes meeting his. She slowly moves the blanket covering her other leg, exposing herself further.
“I meant the mask, but I won’t say no to that coming off, too,” he says, nothing but want in his eyes.
He shifts, trying to hide the bulge growing in his pants.
Taking his hand off her leg, he picks her hands up, placing them on either side of his face, curling her fingers under the sides of his mask.
“Do what I tell you, princess,” he says, his eyes never leaving hers. “I’m going to touch you again, and when I do, I want you to take my mask off.”
Liz nods and Riley puts his hand back on her leg, gently sliding it up her inner thigh.
He starts rubbing his thumb around, trying to find the spot she was talking about.
Liz gives in and starts to pull the mask up, his short facial hair scratching her fingers as she does.
Halfway up his face she stops, dropping her hands to his shoulders.
She never imagined seeing half of someone’s face would have such an impact on her.
Her eyes roam, trying to take everything in.
His short, light brown stubble covering his chiseled jaw, full lips snagging her attention.
He rubs his thumb a little higher and her thoughts snap back to where his hands are.
She shifts nervously, apprehensive about what she’s about to tell him.
“Umm… it’s a little higher up, closer to my… um… just… higher,” she says, cheeks a bright shade of red. He flicks his tongue out, licking his lips while his eyes drift to where she’s talking about. She sucks in a sharp breath, tipping her head back.
“If you need to move my leg or something just do it. I trust you, Ry,” she says, bringing her head back down to look at him. He flashes her a small smile, and she tries to focus on that impossibly beautiful smile instead of what he’s doing to her.
“When I move your leg, you need to rip my mask off. If you’re going to be this exposed, so am I.”
He grabs her leg and pushes it over as she tugs the mask off his head. She gently sets it down on the bed next to her, unable to take her eyes off him.
Seeing his full face has her stomach in knots, not expecting him to be so unbelievably attractive.
Her eyes roam his face, not sure what to focus on.
Her eyes dart from his chiseled jaw to his beautiful amber eyes, back to his full lips.
She looks at his nose, slightly crooked from being broken so many times, a jagged scar running over the bridge.
She follows that scar up to his forehead, cutting through his eyebrow.
His hand roaming her leg draws her back in, hoping he doesn’t notice the wetness he’s dangerously close to.
He rubs his thumb over her leg again and she flinches, jerking her leg away.
“Is it that?” he asks.
Liz gives him a small nod, not daring to open her mouth for the fear of what will come out. He rubs his thumb over it a few more times, dragging a small breathy moan from Liz. He shifts on his knees, cock growing uncomfortably hard at the sight of her moaning from his touch.
“This might hurt, love,” he says before pinching the spot on her leg, his knuckles brushing against her center. He stops what he’s doing, feeling the wetness seeping through the small panties she has on, and quickly pulls his hand back.
“Well it’s definitely not a scar. Tyler should have something to see if it is what we think it is.”
Riley stands and quickly turns, striding for the door. He takes a second to adjust himself before turning back to Liz. Trying to avoid looking at her, he simply says, “You can put your pants back on if you’ll be more comfortable, but I’m going to need to see that spot again when I come back.”
He opens the door and steps out, closing it gently behind him.
The second the door is fully closed, Liz throws herself back onto his bed, groaning in frustration.
She lays there, in his bed, surrounded by his scent, and can’t stop the thoughts that flash through her mind.
Powerful hands gripping her thighs, Riley on his knees before her, his full lips crashing into hers.
None of the thoughts are doing anything to stop the wetness pooling between her legs.
So engrossed in her fantasy, she doesn’t even hear Riley come back into the room.
“Comfortable, princess?” he asks.
She shoots back up, face so red she can’t even look at him after the thoughts she was just having. She looks away as he walks to where she now sits on the bed.
“Sorry,” she mutters, just loud enough for him to hear.
“Don’t apologize. I love seeing you spread out on my bed, especially when you have nothing on,” he says, eyes roaming her exposed body. He looks away, silently cursing himself for making her more uncomfortable than she already is.