Chapter 24
24
AND THERE IT GOES. CAUTION. WIND. GOODBYE.
R iley chose Crazy Stupid Love for our movie. He told me he was a huge Ryan Gosling fan and a sucker for the actor’s movies, but I think it has more to do with my taste in movies than his. As much as I wanted to argue that he should choose something he wanted to watch to end his birthday on, I just didn’t have it in me to make it through another old movie.
Riley left to grab a large comforter and pillows from the spare bedroom while I empty my duffle bag. I sort the snacks into sweet and savory piles so large that the dark wood grain coffee table is barely visible.
Riley’s judgment is so electric I don’t need to hear footsteps before I turn around to find him eyeing my stockpiles. “You know, those are going to kill you one day.”
“At least I’ll die happy.” I pop a peanut M&M in my mouth.
He shakes his head, clearly giving up on a fight he has no chance of winning, and drops the bedding on the couch. I hold on to my bag of chocolates, climb onto the soft black leather, and burrow under the covers.
Riley joins me and presses play on the movie before we both pass out on the couch from exhaustion. I wake up to the credits rolling at the end of the film, unsure of when I fell asleep. I turn my head while my eyes adjust to my surroundings. My pillow is a lot harder than the one Riley gave me earlier.
I shift my head to realize that I had fallen asleep and somehow my head found Riley’s thigh to nestle up on. Mortified, I jackknife my body off of him into a seated position to find Riley also fast asleep but sitting up and arms crossed with nowhere to put them since I fell asleep on top of him.
His head rests on the back of the sofa, eyes closed, lips slightly parted, and my mind wonders what it would be like to kiss them. I give my mind a quick mental slap. I do not need to be daydreaming about him.
Riley’s eyes flutter open, almost as though he can feel me staring at him. “Amelia.”
“Yep?” I say in a hushed squeak. Why do I feel so guilty? I just woke up, too!
“I think it’s time for bed.” He picks up the pillows and blankets that are sprawled over the couch and walks into the spare bedroom to remake the bed for me. “There’s a pack of fresh toothbrushes under the sink if you want it.” He offers, pointing towards the attached bathroom.
I nod in thanks, hiding the pang of jealousy that engulfs me at the thought of him having spare anything for any possible unexpected guests. Why would he need an entire pack of toothbrushes? Did he have guests often? Like the female variety? Maybe they were traipsing in and out of this bedroom since his breakup.
The logical part of me knows it isn’t my place to judge or react if that were the case, but the other, irrational, part of me, the part that feels this pull to be near him even when he’s right next to me, wants to mark my claim on him.
“Do you always brush your teeth with so much vigor?” Riley asks, peeking into the bathroom, alarmed at the sound the toothbrush is making against my teeth.
I don’t notice I had taken my inner frustrations out on the toothbrush until I peer at the foamy paste covered brush and see the hairs are practically throwing gang signs back at me.
Feeling a little embarrassed, I try to play it off like I am trying to get all the peanuts out of my teeth from eating an entire bag of M&M’s. I gurgle some water and spit into the sink before making my way back into the bedroom, avoiding Riley’s questionable stare. I didn’t hear him leave the room while I was brushing but he must have because there is now a perfectly folded gray t-shirt lying on top of the comforter.
“In case you don’t want to sleep in your joggers. Goodnight, Princess.” He plants a gentle kiss on my forehead and offers me a small grin before walking out and shutting the door behind him.
I slip out of my sweatpants, tank top, and bra, then slip into Riley’s shirt, smelling the fabric as it drapes over my head. I don’t understand how a clean shirt that should smell like detergent still has his distinct cedar wood scent clinging to the fibers even after a cycle in the wash. The smell of him covering my body causes my mind to, yet again, return to those unwanted thoughts of him.
“Nope. Nope. Nope.”
I force my brain to stop working and climb into bed. The quicker I fall asleep, the quicker Riley can escape my mind, but as luck would have it…sleep doesn’t come. I try to keep my eyes closed for a lengthy amount of time, enough time that it’s actually hurting my eyelids from being forced shut for so long. I grab my phone and attempt to tire my mind with a few pages from an e-book I had downloaded, but all that does is cause me to read the same paragraph four times over before I give up on that too.
Glancing at the time at the top of the screen, two fifteen in the morning. Too late for me to go home where I could do mundane house tasks or binge watch the latest reality television drama until I fall asleep. Realizing my mouth is too dry, I decide I can walk into the kitchen for a glass of water and that would be a better activity than lying in bed staring at the ceiling.
I throw the covers off and walk to the door. Turning the handle as slow as I can and opening the door even slower in case the hinges want to make a grand announcement that someone is up and walking around when they should be asleep.
Excited that the door made no attempt at making noise, I tip-toe through the living room into the kitchen. My every move is made with the calculated intention of sounding even quieter than a mouse. I open every cabinet before landing on the one that houses all of his glassware, grabbing one and stepping towards the fridge.
I place the cup under the water dispenser and push inwards, but instead of water freely flowing out, the largest mechanical sound roars the entire room to life with the ice cube dispenser. I yank the cup away and stand as still as a roman statue waiting to hear the sounds of Riley’s footsteps coming my way.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
There are no signs of life c oming from his bedroom, so I press the buttons on the screen until the green light blinks above Water instead of Cubed. I fill the glass and lean against the island. The stone, cold against my back through the thin material of Riley’s t-shirt, causes goosebumps to appear along my body. I sip on the water, savoring the cold as it relieves the dryness that plagued my throat earlier.
“Can’t sleep?” The sound of Riley’s husky voice startles me out of the daydream of a cool oasis I find myself in as I stare off into the abyss.
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.” I offer an apology.
I peer towards Riley. I was afraid I’d turn and see him angry for being woken up in the middle of the night but instead, the Riley I see is anything but angry. He looks… ravenous standing there in nothing but a dark pair of sweatpants.
The way he looks at me makes me glance down and note what he’s seeing. Bare legs, no pants, a shirt that comes down barely enough to cover the black lace panties I wore tonight, and the thin material does nothing to hide the fact that I’m not wearing a bra under it.
I become all too aware of his gaze. The intensity of it causes my skin to become emblazoned in flames at every nerve ending. Despite the cold stone against my back that gave me a sense of chill a moment ago, everything about me now feels like I just stepped into the seventh circle of hell and the surrounding flames are going to consume me until I’m nothing but ash.
Riley takes one step closer to me.
I gulp. He waits for me to protest or to back away. When I don’t do either, he takes another. By the time Riley is in front of me, I release the breath I’ve been holding.
“What are you doing?” I ask in a shaky voice.
Riley doesn’t answer. He just takes his left hand and caresses the side of my face, and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. My heart is pounding so hard against my chest I’m sure that he can visibly see it beating.
His touch is gentle, subtle, but I’m craving more.
I’m inundated with wildfire and I’m not sure if Riley is water or gasoline. He can either be my ruin or my salvation, and if I’m being honest, I don’t really care either way as long as he keeps touching me. I lean into him. Letting a soft purr escape my lips when the scent of him engulfs me so fully that all I can think about is him.
“You’re beautiful.” His right hand strokes against the side of my arm.
“Be careful Riley, you’re getting awfully close to breaking rule three,” I threaten in a hushed tone attempting to mask my lack of control.
Riley’s hazel eyes bear intently down at me. I can’t help the feeling that takes over my body at his stare, the way the gold in them always seems to spread towards the outside of his irises and the pupils darken when he looks at me.
His hand moves up my arm, leaving a trail of pebbled skin in its wake. Using his thumb and finger to grip my chin, he tilts my face to look at him. The act of it reminding me so much of the night we met. He leans in so close that I can feel the warmth of his breath brush against my lips as he whispers, “Make no mistake, Princess. I would break all the rules for you.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. His confession makes me lose all self-control. I arch my back away from the stone so that the front of my chest is pressed against his bare torso.
“What do you want?” Riley asks, hoarsely against my lips.
What did I want ?
This was so far past want at this point.
I needed him.
I needed him to literally take me right here, right now before I combust in this kitchen.
“I need to hear you say it, Princess.” His breath is so close to mine. He’s letting me remain in control. He would stop if I asked him to. And the knowledge of that makes me want to throw caution to the wind. I close my eyes. Hoping I’ll be able to think clearer without looking directly at him.
His grip tightens on my chin. “Eyes on me, Princess.” I open my eyes at his command. “Good girl. Now tell me what you want.”
And there it goes. Caution. Wind. Goodbye.
“You. I want you.”
That is the only encouragement Riley needs. His lips crash into mine with an all-consuming hunger. His gentle hands now feverishly running through my hair to pull my head back, needing to deepen his kiss.
I whimper when Riley nips at my bottom lip. He lets out a guttural moan when I breathlessly encourage his continued exploration of me. Without breaking our kiss, he slips his hands behind my thighs and lifts me onto the counter as though I weigh nothing. The ice-cold stone gives me a momentary reprieve from the heat, overwhelming me until Riley pulls away and begins kissing my jaw and down the length of my throat.
My fingers greedily thread through his silken hair. “Riley.” I cry, breathlessly. I’m lost in oblivion when the sound of my phone ringing jolts me back to reality. “Shit.” I swear under my breath.
No one calls at two thirty in the morning without a good reason.
I give Riley a pitiful look as a form of an apology and he steps back, allowing me to lower myself until my feet touch the floor. I walk into the spare bedroom to grab my phone from the night stand to answer the untimely call.
Seeing my mother calling this late makes my mind spiral into a panic. “Mom?” I answer, voice shaking, not ready to hear the inevitable bad news that’s about to be delivered.
The world falls from beneath my feet the minute I listen to my mother on the other side of the phone. I collapse on the bed, head buried in my hand, waiting for her to finish talking.
“I’ll be right there.” I hang up the phone and pull Riley’s shirt off and start tugging on the clothes I arrived in. Riley clears his throat at the threshold to gain my attention.
I glance over my shoulder as I clasp my bra from behind. “I have to go. I’m sorry,” I hesitate, “for earlier.” I motion towards the kitchen. “And for leaving now before we’ve had a chance to talk.”
“Where are you going?” Concern etched all over his features.
“My father. He’s,” I bite my lip. Attempting to keep control of my emotions, “he’s been rushed to the E.R.”