by Keeland, Vi
After a minute of me holding my breath so I could listen for any more sounds out of Riley, she started to laugh. At first, it was a soft chuckle, but it quickly turned into a deep belly laugh.
Oh my God. Was she screwing with me?
She wanted me to think she had her toy between her legs?
I had to clear my throat to speak. “What the hell is so funny?”
She was laughing so hard that she could barely get words out. “My neck is killing me. It’s probably from the stress of the flight and all the lies that we fed my family today. So I’m lying here rubbing a knot next to my left shoulder blade, and I thought to myself, a little hand-held massager would probably do the trick. And then I started to imagine what you might do if I got out of bed, picked my vibrator up from the floor, and turned it on without saying anything when I got back into bed. You probably would’ve thought I was using it—using it—not just using it on my shoulder. And that thought made me crack up for some reason.”
I let out a big rush of air. She hadn’t been pleasuring herself after all.
Holy shit.
The last few minutes had been pretty damn comical, as they so often were with this woman. I started to crack up. Riley laughed some more, too, assuming I was amused by what she’d said. But this shit was too funny not to share with her. I literally had tears streaming down my face as I struggled to regain enough composure to string words together.
“Riley—I heard the bed squeaking the last few minutes, and I thought you were helping yourself with your little magic wand, or without turning it on, since I couldn’t hear any buzzing.”
“What? You thought I was…with my…right here in the bed with you five feet away? Have you lost your mind?!”
Now that she put it like that, it did seem a little far-fetched. A woman as uptight as she was, one who admitted to not having sex in a very long time, probably wouldn’t whip out her battery-operated boyfriend in front of a colleague…even if he was her pretend boyfriend.
“I guess my imagination got carried away with itself.”
“Gee, you think?”
After my body calmed down, I heard the low squeak of the bed start again. I seriously doubted that the knot in Riley’s neck was going to disappear without some help. I debated a few moments and then threw the blanket aside and got up. I walked over to Riley’s bed and sat down on the edge of it.
“What are you doing?”
“Relax, Riley. I’m going to help you get the knot out. You’re probably just irritating the other side by trying to rub it yourself.”
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”
“Yeah…neither was coming to your house and telling your family I’m an astronaut. Yet that didn’t stop either of us. So, come on, turn over onto your stomach and let me help you out.”
She hesitated, and eventually let out a big huff. “Fine. It’s my left shoulder.”
Riley shifted onto her stomach, and I put my hands on her shoulders, getting ready to start. But I just couldn’t help myself. I leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Trust me, beautiful, I’m way better than your vibrator.”
Riley
His big calloused hands felt so damn good digging into my skin that my breath hitched.
Harder. Rub me harder.
Kennedy’s voice was low. “Can I take off your shirt?”
I could barely find the words. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said hoarsely, even though at the moment, I knew my body vehemently opposed.
“I noticed the lotion on your nightstand. If I use some, I’ll definitely be able to get the kinks out. I don’t want to get it on your shirt. It’s dark, anyway, Riley. Honestly, I can’t see anything.”
He had a point. Lifting the shirt over my head, I felt my heart start to beat faster as the cool air hit my breasts. Even though this was being sold to me as innocent, it felt anything but that. And, really, that was mostly on my end. I wanted Kennedy Riley’s hands all over me.
He pumped some lotion into his palms and began to rub it into my skin.
Aaaah. Heaven, I really didn’t want to be enjoying this so much, but it was by far the best thing I’d felt in a very long time. Now he was rolling the bottom of his palms in slow, hard circles over my biggest knot on the upper left side.
Oh yes.
A sound escaped me that I didn’t even recognize when he hit just the right spot.
He chuckled. “That’s it, huh?”
“Yeah. You could tell?”
“Yup. Really tight.” He pressed harder. “I got you. Just relax.”
He kept focusing on that one spot with his palm as his other hand lay flat on the other side of my back. Several minutes went by as I became lost in his touch.
Please, don’t stop.
My face was turned to the side against the pillow. I felt his weight shift from the corner of the bed as he moved to straddle me from behind, one of his legs on each side of me.
“Is this okay? It’s more comfortable for me this way, but if this bothers you I can figure something else out, no problem.”
I moaned in response, still so enraptured with his touch.
Kennedy let out a slight laugh. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
He continued to use both hands to massage me from my shoulders down to the bottom of my back just short of my rear end. I couldn’t have told you whether I would’ve turned him down if he’d tried more.
“You good?” he soothed.
“Yes,” I whispered, barely audible.
Despite the sounds emanating from me that made it more than clear I was hard-up, Kennedy was being a perfect gentleman.
I felt him around me before my eyes even opened. I blinked. Kennedy’s big, hairy arm was hooked around my body. As soon as it registered, I felt something poking into my backside.
Oh god.
And I had no shirt on.
I hopped up and reached for my t-shirt before throwing it over my head. “Kennedy, wake up.”
“Hmmm?” He rubbed his eyes. “What’s up?”
“How did you end up in my bed?”
“You weren’t even drunk last night, and you don’t remember?”
“The last thing I remember is you massaging me.”
“That’s right. You fell asleep as I was massaging your back. You seemed very comfortable with me rubbing my hands into your skin. I figured innocently lying next to you so I didn’t have to sleep on the floor was no big deal.”
“No big deal? Do you have any idea what’s going on...” I gestured in a circular motion with my hands. “Down there?”
He looked down. “Okay. So, it’s morning. Don’t take it so personally.”
“Don’t take it personally?”
“I didn’t know.” He actually turned a bit red. “I’m a guy. I wake up like this every morning. Would’ve happened if you were here or not.”
Maybe I had overreacted.
“Okay, well...just do something about it,” I said as I averted my eyes.
Kennedy laughed. “What? Make it go down?”
“Yes.”
“Well, sweetheart, the fact that you’re not wearing a bra right now isn’t helping.”
Damn it. I’d forgotten. I hurriedly crossed my arms over my chest.
My cheeks grew warm. “Turn around.”
Kennedy faced his back toward me, then stood up off the bed. As I reached for my bra and put it on under my shirt, I watched as Kennedy pulled off the t-shirt he’d worn to bed.
His back was so beautifully sculpted. His physique took my breath away. He slipped out of his shorts and put on some jeans before throwing a shirt over his head.
“Tell me when,” he said as he reached down to zip his fly.
For a second, my mind went blank before I finally replied, “Oh, right. When.”
He turned. “I’m sorry for rubbing you the wrong way. Pun intended.”
I shook my head. “No. I overreacted. I’m sorry.”
“Well, since we’re b
eing open, I should tell you that I lied. I don’t always wake up like this. It felt really good lying next to you, I guess.”
My face felt hot. The slightly embarrassed look on his face was adorable.
Jesus.
No.
I couldn’t be falling for Kennedy Riley.
This was dangerous.
He had issues. Something happened with his ex and for all I knew it all was his fault. I needed to be cautious.
“I’m going to head downstairs so you can get dressed. I’ll see you down there,” he said.
“What are your plans today?” I asked.
“I’m just gonna have breakfast and head out. I’ve got to get back to my family.”
“Okay, so what’s the plan after that?”
“You’ll come out to Rochester later in the week for my brother’s wedding, right?”
“Yeah, but when do you need me?”
“The wedding is next Saturday. I guess Friday, maybe? I promised you a dress from my mother’s boutique. That will give us time to get ready.”
“Okay. Sounds good.”
As I headed for the door with plans to take a shower, it hit me that I was going to have to play the role of Kennedy’s girlfriend later this week, or at least pretend we were dating casually. Not sure why that made me so nervous, but it did. This was all supposed to be a façade, right? Except at the moment, all I could think about was how good his hands had felt on me last night. I could still practically feel them on me now. And I was starting to wonder how much of this situation was really an act anymore, at least for me.
His voice stopped me as I stepped into the hall.
“You want me to come back and get you?”
“Nah. I’ll rent a car. I don’t mind long drives. They allow me time to think.”
“Okay. Oh, and Riley?”
“Yeah?”
“Merry Christmas.”
My mom was practically swooning into her oatmeal.
“A gymnast and an astronaut?” She shook her head. “Such a shame you were injured. I would’ve loved to see you compete. I’m always glued to the television when the men do that pommel horse. I can’t believe Olivia is still sleeping. I’m sure she would love to talk about it with you. She made it to Regionals last year in the uneven bars and balance beam.”
Kennedy had just finished feeding Mom some line of bull about how he’d made it to the New York state finals in gymnastics, but during the last round, he slipped a disc in his back that ended his chances of going to the Olympics in high school.
My sister Abby leaned into me and whispered, “Gymnast, huh? Guess he’s flexible. No wonder I heard you moaning last night though our bedroom walls.”
I started to choke on the toast I was chewing. At least it gave me an excuse for the blush creeping up my face. Kennedy reached behind me and patted my back.
“You okay, babe?”
I struggled to clear my throat and rasped, “Yeah. Fine. Just, er, went down the wrong pipe.”
For the remainder of breakfast, Kennedy’s hand stayed on my back, gently stroking the area he’d massaged last night. At one point, his fingers crawled up the back of my neck beneath my hair. He skimmed back and forth along my nape, caressing my skin with a tender touch. Goosebumps broke out all over my body. It felt so good that I had the strongest urge to drop my chin to my chest and close my eyes.
Jesus, it had definitely been too long. All the man did was tickle my neck, and here I was close to letting out a moan again. I needed to nip this in the bud. Abruptly, I stood and started to clear the table. But my escape plan backfired when Kennedy insisted on helping me. Of course, being the perfect fake boyfriend that he was, he told my mom and sister to stay put. Next thing I knew, I was in the kitchen standing at the sink when he walked up close behind me. Too close. I felt the heat radiating from his chest onto my back, and his breath tickled my neck.
“We’ll be opening presents in a bit, if you’d like to stay. I’m sorry I don’t have anything for you,” I said quietly.
“It’s not like you had much warning, Riley. And I really do need to get on the road.” He brushed my hair from my shoulder and spoke low near my ear. “What will you do all week while I’m gone, hmm?” I tried to ignore what his body in such close proximity did to me.
“Well, my mother will probably make me go shopping with her. You know, to pick out china patterns after how thick you’ve laid it on ever since we got here.”
He chuckled softly. “I like Wedgwood Florentine in turquoise.”
I shut off the faucet, then wiped my hands on a dishtowel as I turned around to face him. Kennedy made no attempt to back up.
“Did you just make that up, or is that an actual china pattern?”
He lifted a strand of my hair and started to roll it back and forth between his fingers. Oddly, he seemed pretty mesmerized by it. “Most people display their china but don’t actually use it. My grandmother used hers only for her grandchildren. She said every day was a special day when you had grandbabies to feed. Wedgewood Florentine was the pattern she had, in turquoise.”
“Was? Did she pass away?”
He looked into my eyes and nodded, then lazily coiled the strand of hair around his finger and gave it a little tug. “She died a few years back. Cancer.”
“I’m sorry.”
Kennedy nodded. “Anyway, when my ex and I were registering for stuff, I wanted to get my grandmother’s china pattern. I liked it, and it sparked good memories for me. She nixed that idea real quick, saying she wasn’t going to have tacky turquoise plates in her house.”
My brows drew together. “Registering? You mean you were engaged to your ex?”
“Yep.”
“Oh. What happened?”
“It’s a long story. But it worked out for the best. She’s getting married soon.”
Oh. Wow. That was a lot of information in just a few sentences. And I wasn’t ready to let him off the hook so easily this time. “The dishes can wait, if you’d like to talk about it.”
He looked down at where I was literally wrapped around his finger. He seemed to be contemplating telling me more when my mom burst into the kitchen. Kennedy straightened then, but continued toying with my hair.
“Kennedy, you’re so tall—do you think you can reach a few things for me on the top shelf of the pantry?”
Kennedy tugged on the strand of my hair again and leaned in to kiss my forehead. “Another time. My future mother-in-law needs me and then I really should be getting on the road.”
I let out a long sigh as I watched him walk into the pantry with Mom. The two of them laughed as he dug out some of mom’s Spode Christmas dishes.
Kennedy Riley was definitely an enigma. He had a hard shell, no doubt about it. But the more layers I peeled back, the more I realized that maybe, just maybe, that hard exterior had to be that way because it was protecting such a soft heart.
“Be careful driving.”
Later that morning, Kennedy slammed the rear hatch to the rental car shut, sending snow cascading to the ground at his feet. He wiped his hands on his jeans, then jammed his hands into his coat pockets. The snow had stopped falling sometime during the night, but had continued long enough to leave at least eight inches of the white stuff on the ground. Not enough to bring life to a standstill, but enough to make driving a real headache.
“I will. I should be fine. They’ve already plowed these side roads, so I’m sure the highway is clear by now.”
I’d thrown on a thick cardigan to walk him out to the car, and I pulled it tighter around me. It was freezing out. I should have grabbed my heavy coat. The snow might’ve stopped, but the temperature continued to plummet.
“You should get in the house. It’s too cold out here with no coat on.”
I nodded. But then awkwardness set in. How was I supposed to say goodbye to this man? We’d been acting like a loving couple for the last day and a half, and he’d slept in my bed, so it felt odd to just wave goodbye and not at l
east give him a hug or something. “Alright. Well, I’ll see you next weekend.” I lunged forward and gave him an incredibly awkward, clumsy hug that made the situation even more uncomfortable. When I pulled back, Kennedy stared down at me in silence. He probably thought I was the biggest dork.
“Alright,” I said again. “Well…have a good week.”
I turned and took two hasty steps toward the house.
“Riley, wait.” Suddenly Kennedy grabbed my arm and tugged me back against him. “Your mom is watching at the window.”
I looked back over my shoulder, scanning the front windows. “I don’t see anyone.”
“She was just there. And we wouldn’t want her to get suspicious. So I’m afraid you’re going to have to give me a better goodbye than that.”
“But…”
Before I could finish, Kennedy cupped my face in his hands and sealed his mouth over mine. At first I was shocked and frozen, but then a surge of the desire that never seemed to be far away whenever he was around, took hold. His lips were so soft, yet his actions were borderline rough. One of his big hands snaked around to the back of my neck, and he squeezed and tilted my head how he wanted it. It felt so good, I sighed into his mouth, and he used the opportunity to find my tongue and deepen the kiss. I don’t know what came over me, but I had the strongest urge to suck on his tongue.
All hell seemed to break loose after that. Kennedy groaned, then drew my bottom lip into his mouth and bit down.
I vaguely registered being lifted. One minute I was facing the rental car, and the next my back was pushed up against it, Kennedy pressing his hard body against mine. A loud moan passed between our joined lips. I wasn’t even sure which one of us it belonged to. God, he felt so good. I dug my hands into his thick hair, yanking at the silky soft strands, desperate to bring him even closer.
I had no idea how long we stood out there, making out in my mother’s driveway like teenagers. But when we finally came up for air, I was panting and Kennedy’s cheeks were flushed as his heavy-lidded gaze lingered on my lips.
I blinked a few times and reached up to cover my swollen lips with my fingers. “Wow.”
