Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
ADDISON
What the heck is Riley Rowland doing to me?
This is supposed to be about sex, nothing else.
Sure, I like her company too. But it needs to end at that.
No matter what Brenden and his wild romantic fantasies have dreamed up for me, we’re not going to fall in love and have a fairy tale happily ever after.
I’ve already learned those don’t exist. Not for me, at least.
I can have fun. I can hang out and drink and float around in the lake with her. I can check out her gorgeous body in her pink bikini. I can cop a feel or two under the water when no one’s looking. But I can’t, under any circumstances, start to develop real feelings for her.
When she was strolling so casually around my house wearing my clothes, I’m afraid it messed up my brain.
The sight of her in my flannel and her underwear was hot as hell, and believe me, it inspired plenty of dirty thoughts.
But it also had me thinking more dangerous ones.
Like that this thing between us is more than it is. Like we’re together. Like she’s mine.
She’s not, though. Not more than temporarily. And I’m finding that the more time I spend with her, the more often I need to remind myself of that.
Like right now, when she’s treading water with an inner tube around her, her arms crossed on top of it.
As she gently kicks her legs, they tangle with mine, because I’m holding on to the outside of the tube.
Our faces are close together, and every so often, she leans in for a kiss.
She tastes like raspberry seltzer, sunshine, and happiness.
I’m glad she came here in the summer, that I got to enjoy her glowing skin and the tease of her curves in those sundresses she loves to wear. But my mind skips ahead to the next seasons. To the fall and then the winter.
What would it be like to have her around then?
To cover up her arms in one of my warmer flannels, to drink apple cider with her at the farm and feed her pumpkin pie.
To see her with rosy cheeks in the winter, her neck wrapped in a woolen scarf to keep her warm.
Would she wear one of those hats with the little silly pompom on top?
Would she let me take her home after walking out in the snow, take off all her layers, and then warm her up with my own body?
These are the type of thoughts I can’t afford to have. Because she won’t be here with me then. We won’t do any of that together.
She’s leaving as soon as her manager tells her to, and I’m sure she won’t be looking back and thinking of me here after she does.
“Are you ready to get out?” Riley asks. “I’m getting hungry, and I think I’d like to lie down and tan for a bit too.”
“Whatever you want,” I tell her, meaning it far too much, I’m afraid.
I start kicking my legs to bring us toward the lake edge.
When the water is shallow enough that our feet can touch the bottom, I curl my hand around her waist, hidden beneath the tube and under the water.
My fingers skim over her stomach, and she lets out what a happy sigh that I want to hear all the time.
She pulls the tube over her head and tosses it to the shore before turning her body in toward me. Now my hands are on her back and hers come to grasp my hips.
The water laps gently around us as the sun beats down on our shoulders.
Her sunglasses hide her blue eyes, but I can still feel them focused intensely on me.
For a moment, I forget about her brother and Toby, and whether or not they’re paying any attention to us.
When I kiss her, I let my lips linger on hers for longer than I should, and she doesn’t seem to mind at all.
One of her hands comes up to my bikini top, and she runs her thumb over my nipple, making me shudder and goosebumps pop up on my arms. Fuck.
This woman is so tempting. It’s amazing how quickly she went from shy and unsure to teasing, seductive, and direct about what she wants.
And I want to give her everything she wants.
But not here. Which is why I move back, creating a modicum of distance between us before I end up laying her down right on the shore and devouring her in front of people.
The smirk on her face suggests she can tell exactly what I was thinking about.
“I thought you were hungry,” I say.
She laughs. “Oh, I definitely am.”
“Behave,” I warn her.
That only makes her laugh again. And damn it, I’m living for the sounds of her happiness.
We get out of the water, and I open the basket I packed. I spread things out and hand sandwiches to both of the guys, who came over very quickly at the sight of the food. They sit in the two chairs to eat, while Riley and I sit together on her towel.
“Oh my god, what is this?” Riley asks, moaning around her first bite of her sandwich.
“Turkey with sliced apples, brie, and maple mayo.”
She smiles and shakes her head. “Show off. Ever heard of plain turkey and cheese?”
I make a face to illustrate what I think of that.
“This is so freaking good,” Toby says, wiping a bit of mayo from the corner of his mouth.
“Yeah, seriously,” Andrew agrees. “Thank you. I understand why Riley’s barely gone to the diner since she’s been here.”
I wave off the praise, but as I take a bite of my own sandwich, I notice Riley’s cheeks turning a bit red, and I can’t help the hope blooming in my chest that her staying at the inn for most of her meals has at least half as much to do with me as it does with my food.
While Riley blow dries her hair in the bathroom, I’m sitting on her bed at the inn, mindlessly flipping through channels on the TV.
But my eyes keep straying to my flannel shirt that she’s draped over a chair.
The image of her wearing it is basically seared into my brain already, so it’s an unnecessary reminder. And still, I can’t stop looking at it.
I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t have driven her back when her brother could have done it.
And I shouldn’t have parked my car and gone inside when she asked me to.
I definitely shouldn’t have showered with her, shouldn’t have let her kiss me senseless, shouldn’t have groped her ass to keep her pressed against me.
I shouldn’t be this desperate for every little piece of her and every moment of her time that she offers.
But I am.
So now I’m waiting here for her like a lost puppy instead of going home and doing something productive. Not that I really have anything productive I need to do at home. Still, though. When did casual hookups turn into spending all day together? All weekend, basically.
Before I can freak out too much about how I’m getting too close to her, Riley steps out of the bathroom with a towel secured around herself. She smiles at me as she comes to stand beside the bed, and then she tugs at the end of the towel and brazenly drops it to the floor.
My eyes rove hungrily over her naked body. I saw her naked in the shower fifteen minutes ago, but clearly, I haven’t had enough of her. I hold out a hand in invitation, and she takes it, climbing onto the bed and straddling my hips.
She reaches for the hem of my shirt and pulls it up. I lift my arms to let her take it off me. I didn’t put my bathing suit back on after the shower, since it was still damp, so the cool air of the room hits my nipples, making them harden.
When she leans down to kiss me, her long hair falls around us like curtains, blocking out the rest of the world and allowing me to focus on this moment only. Allowing me to not get caught up in thinking about how foolish it is to keep doing this.
Her hair smells like strawberries, and it’s luxuriously soft as it tickles my shoulders and chest. I tangle my fingers in the strands as I grip the back of her neck and lick into her mouth.
With her chest pressed against mine, she manages to sneak her hand between us to play with my nipple.
I arch up when she tugs on the ring, and I can feel her grin pressed against my own lips as we kiss.
I imagine the rough material of my jean shorts would be uncomfortable between her legs where she’s straddling me, but maybe not, because soon she’s rocking her hips and grinding against me.
I slide one hand down to her ass to guide and encourage her.
Tiny moans start slipping from her, and I nip at her lips, hoping to elicit more of the delicious sounds.
Grabbing her hips, I flip her over so she’s lying on the bed beside me. We reach for each other, and from there, it becomes almost a competition of who can get the other off the fastest with our hands.
She cheats by ducking her head down and sucking my nipple between her teeth while she plays with my clit.
She switches from one to the other and doesn’t let up on them, biting and tugging relentlessly at my piercings until I’m shaking and completely lose focus on what my fingers are doing inside her.
The orgasm builds inside me, then rolls over me like a thunderstorm, and I cry out as lightning flashes behind my eyelids.
When my body settles and I reopen my eyes, I catch the giddy look on Riley’s face. “I won,” she says, her smile so huge you’d think I just called out her name for a Grammy.
“Pretty sure I won,” I counter, still catching my breath.
She grazes her thumb ever so lightly over my abused nipple, making me shiver with aftershocks. “That was okay, right? I didn’t hurt you?”
“Fuck, Strawberry. That was amazing. I think I’m gonna need three to five business days to recover.”
Her laugh is delighted and full of energy.
Not willing to be outdone by a baby bi, I push her onto her back, determined to make her come as hard as I did. Her laughter dies in her throat when I shove her thighs apart and immediately suck her clit into my mouth. Now she’s gasping and writhing and saying, “Please.”