by Dana Delamar
Arianna placed a hand over mine and squeezed. “It’s time to let Emma spread her wings. She is eighteen.”
“With the reasoning ability of a twelve-year-old.” A twelve-year-old who was boy crazy. Emma had been begging me to let her move into an adult group home, but that was a surefire recipe for disaster. I didn’t want my disabled daughter repeating my mistake and getting pregnant at eighteen. Especially since Emma could never care for a child on her own.
I looked up at my beautiful boss. Arianna didn’t have kids. At twenty-eight, Ari didn’t have a clue about how tough it was to raise a child, much less one with Down syndrome. A child who would forever be a child. “Anything could happen to Emma. She’s so trusting.”
“You can’t be there for her forever. Someday you have to let go. Why not use this as a trial? It’s only three weeks.”
“She could get pregnant in three weeks.”
“So put her on birth control.”
“That won’t stop her from getting abused.”
“I’m sure the home has people watching out for the residents.”
My mouth went dry. No one would watch over my baby as well as I could.
Arianna gave my hand another squeeze. “She’s been doing great at her job, hasn’t she?”
“Yes.” The job at the coffeehouse was something else Arianna had talked me into. I’d been struggling to cover Emma’s daycare now that she was finished with school. But ever since Emma had had a job to go to, my money worries had abated.
But a group home… “I just don’t know. What if something happens?”
“You’ve had the talk, right?”
“Yes, but it’s hard to know how much she really understands. Sometimes Emma surprises me, but it’s not always in a good way.”
“I’ll check on her. Every day.” Arianna crossed herself. “I swear it on my abuelita’s grave.”
I laughed. “Both of your grandmothers are still alive!”
Ari gave me a wink. “You know what I mean. I know Emma is your whole life.” She said the words softly. “But she can’t be your whole life forever. It’s not healthy.” She motioned to the neat stacks of paper on my desk. “All you do is work and take care of her. Don’t get me wrong—Daniel, Javier, and I really appreciate all the hours you put in, but we’re worried about you too. You’ve been here five years now. And you’ve never taken a day off unless you were sick.”
I looked away from the concern in Arianna’s eyes. It was true. I was tired, the kind of bone-deep tired that went beyond mere exhaustion. I was close to burnout.
And while this trip wouldn’t exactly be a vacation, it would be a change of pace and a change of scenery. And I’d get to visit all the places I’d longed to see. I’d spent my whole life in Miami. Rather ironic for someone who worked at one of the most exclusive tour companies in the world. It was high time I saw some of it.
“You’ll check on her every day? You swear it?”
A wide smile broke across Arianna’s face, her perfect white teeth contrasting nicely with her light tan complexion. “I swear it, chica.”
I took a deep breath. A thrill raced through me. I was going to do it. I was going to get out there and live for once.
Even if it was for only three weeks.
Arianna flipped her shiny black hair over her shoulders. “Just promise me you’ll get laid. And tell me all the details.”
Heat flooded my cheeks. “You have no idea how long it’s been since I’ve had sex.”
“Don’t tell me it’s been eighteen years.”
The heat spread down my neck until my whole face and chest felt like they were burning. “It hasn’t been quite that long, but not since I started here.”
Arianna’s jaw dropped open, her rosy lips forming a perfect O. She shook her head. “¡Ay, chica! You’re probably a virgin all over again by now!”
I pressed my hands to my flaming cheeks. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“It’s like riding a bike, right?”
“Haven’t done that in ages either. I’d probably fall off if I tried.”
Arianna leaned forward, grinning like a loon. “Then let him get on top!”
I started to giggle. “It’s that easy?”
“Yes, it’s that easy. But maybe for you…” Arianna paused, looking me over. “I’d suggest having a few drinks to loosen up first.”
I groaned. “When did I become so hopeless?”
“About the time you forgot that you have a great rack and a tight ass.” I opened my mouth to protest, but Arianna wagged a finger in my face. “And before you object, I can say those things even though I’m your boss. I’m not trying to take advantage of your God-given assets. I’m trying to get you to take advantage of them. Outside the workplace, of course.”
Ari was right; I did need to get laid. It would be the second item on my bucket list. Right after seeing the house Jane Austen had lived in.
No need to tell Ari that though. She’d just tell me my priorities were all screwed up.
And maybe they were.
Ari gave me a wave and sashayed out the door, her form-fitting fuchsia dress highlighting every luscious curve. Men chased Arianna Rodriguez like they’d never seen a woman before.
When was the last time a man had looked at me that way?
Probably the night I’d gotten pregnant.
I pressed a hand to my belly. I’d better stop at the drugstore on my way home and stock up on condoms.
I had some living to do, but this time I wasn’t going to make any mistakes.
CARTER
Someday I should say no to the booty calls. But damn it, I had it bad for Riley Kendrick, and all I could do was say yes, yes, yes. Please God yes.
All in the hope that someday he would ask for more.
Standing on the front porch of Riley’s house, I leaned against the frame of the door he had just opened to me, my eyes raking up and down his tall, lithe body. The three months we’d been seeing each other—if you could call it that—had led to some of the best sex I’d ever had. Riley was adventurous, and he’d introduced me to threesomes. Not that sex wasn’t good when it was only the two of us, but he really seemed to light up when a woman was added into the mix.
The thought had me frowning. Was that what was holding him back, because something definitely was. Did he want to be in a relationship with a woman instead of with me—another man? Shit.
Riley focused in on my frown, and I forced myself to smile. “Hey, sexy.” I stepped forward, my hand cupping the back of his neck, pulling him in, as I inhaled the spicy, woody scent of expensive cologne deep into my lungs, a holdover from his Hollywood days no doubt. The fragrance always reminded me of what a catch Riley was. Sure, he wasn’t topping the Who’s Who charts anymore, but that would all change once his new movie was released. Even now, he was often recognized by the thousands of fans who followed him on social media, eagerly awaiting word of his next novel, his next guest appearance, his next book signing.
My lips met his in an impassioned kiss. When I stroked my tongue over that plump bottom lip I’d never get enough of, my cock filled, lengthened, hardened. “What the hell is it about you?” I whispered, before plunging into his mouth.
Riley’s fingers dug into my arms, then slid inside the back of my jeans to grasp my ass in a firm grip. His low moan sent shivers racing up my spine. Unable to wait another moment, I pinned him against the entrance hall wall and pressed our hips together. I needed more. Needed to feel our bare cocks sliding against each other. Needed to sink my dick into his tight ass.
And I needed it now.
I quickly dealt with the open front door, then I advanced on him. I pushed my hands under his shirt, lifting it over his head, and latched onto a dark nipple as soon as one became visible. Riley’s hips jerked against my own, and he pressed his chest against my hungry lips.
“Oh fuck. Don’t stop,” Riley pleaded. He fumbled with the tab of my jeans, then the zipper.
“Never.”
I shifted to his other nipple while pinching the first with just the amount of pressure that would drive him crazy.
Riley managed to free us both of our pants and underwear, and it wasn’t until he tugged off my shirt that I stopped torturing his now-reddened nipples. They’d be ripe for the plucking when the time came.
I threaded my fingers through Riley’s almost-black hair, capturing his head between my hands. Over the past few days, he’d stopped shaving, and he already had a half inch of scruff on his cheeks and chin. It made him look a little older, a little rougher, and the feel of it scraping my own smooth cheeks had my cock straining and leaking pre-cum.
He was dark everywhere that I was light. Even his eyes were brown where mine were blue. And I loved the contrast between us.
“Christ,” I said on a moan, my chest heaving as I tried to catch my breath. “You’re so damn sexy. I could come just looking at you.”
Riley broke into a wide grin, the same one I had seen in numerous photos of him and his ex, Amber, in Hollywood rags at the grocery store checkout. It was a beautiful smile. And it was utterly fake.
“Rye.” I stroked his jaw. “Did I say something wrong?”
His gaze dropped to the carpet and his lips drew into a thin line. He shrugged before taking my hand. “Not at all.” Pressing his lips to our joined fingers, he turned and pulled me farther into the secluded, newly renovated house on the shores of Lake Champlain. “Let’s go to bed. I’ve got plans for us tonight.” He shot me a sassy wink over his shoulder.
But I wasn’t fooled. I’d let it slide for now, but I’d make sure he told me tomorrow. If something was bothering him, whether it was something I had done or not, I wanted to know what it was. Three months was long enough for me to learn that Riley had a problem expressing himself. He would keep things bottled up until they exploded out of him and photos of the resulting disaster ended up splashed all over social media.
Riley opened the door to his bedroom and ushered me in. Taking his arm, I spun him around so his back was to my front, and my cock was nestled between his butt cheeks.
“So”—I kissed his neck, nibbling the tight tendons when he tilted his head to the side—“tell me about these plans.”
Riley’s body stiffened. “Plans?”
Something was definitely up. I tightened my arms around his waist, gently rolling my hips so my cock slid in that tight valley. “Yeah, you said you had plans for us tonight. I hope they involve you, me, and some sticky chocolate syrup.”
Laughing, he pushed his ass against my aching cock. “Oh, there’ll be something sticky all right, but I can’t guarantee it’ll be chocolate.”
I reached down and gripped his long, hard erection, stroking it from the base to the tip. I loved the look and heft of Riley’s cock, thick and with just the right curve to peg my prostate with every thrust. I usually topped, since he seemed to prefer to bottom, but the occasional times we’d switched things up, I’d been on cloud nine.
“Maybe you had some cream in mind instead?”
Groaning, he thrust into my fist. “Yeah, something like that. Now fuck me, you sadistic bastard.”
I shoved him toward the bed so he landed with his hands on the mattress. “Stay like that.”
Riley’s only response was to widen his stance and arch his back as he wiggled his ass invitingly. I grabbed a condom and the lube from the nightstand and closed the distance between us.
With trembling fingers, I leaned forward and teased the lube along the edges of his sensitive hole, reveling in his answering moans.
“Oh God, oh God.” Riley pushed back, impaling himself on my fingers. I shivered, imagining myself buried balls deep in all that heat and tightness. I grasped his ass more firmly and plunged my fingers into that delicious hole, over and over. We were both trembling. Riley’s thighs quivered and shook. The scent of sweat and sex filled my nostrils, and my hips bucked involuntarily.
Shit. “If I don’t get inside you right now, this will be over before it starts.”
He pressed his head against his forearms on the bed, his gorgeous ass up in the air. “Hurry the hell up, then. I need to feel you inside me. Need you fill me up.”
Moments later, appropriately gloved up, I slathered lube onto my throbbing cock and applied some more to Riley’s flexing hole. I pressed a few fingers back inside, scissoring them to stretch him a little more. I didn’t want him hurting.
“Enough with the damn prep,” he yelled. “Fuck me now.”
Grinning, I stood behind him and slowly eased my cock where we both wanted it to go. I ran my hands up and down his smooth back, letting him adjust to my invasion.
“You’re so damn hot and tight, Rye. Nothing feels as good as being inside you.”
“Hey, Chatty Cathy.” He shot me a narrowed glare over his shoulder. “Less talking, more fucking.”
I bit back a laugh. “Anything for my man.”
And there it was again, that fake grin and pained look. Fuck. Desperate to salvage the moment, I gripped his hips. “Hang on, dude. Things are about to get nasty.”
Like a jackhammer, I rammed into his ass, deep strokes, shallow strokes, slow, fast. Anything to keep us both on the edge for as long as I could.
“That’s it. Fuck me. Harder. Oh fuck. Yeah.” He moaned long and loud as I hit his prostate. “Oh yeah. Like that.”
I closed my eyes so the sight of Riley at his loudest and dirtiest didn’t toss me over the precipice. I loved seeing him come undone, but if I’d learned anything about the man during our short acquaintance, it was that everything, especially sex, had to be on his terms.
Taking a deep breath, I slowed my thrusts a bit. His growl had my lids snapping open. Riley’s lips were pulled back, baring his teeth. “Stop on penalty of death, you sexy motherfucker.”
“Wasn’t stopping,” I said between pants. “Just catching my breath.”
“Breathe later.” And with that, he jerked his hips forward, forcing me to pull out. With a twist of his shoulders, he fell onto his back on the bed and held his legs up at the knees, leaving himself spread wide and exposed.
How could I argue with an offer like that?
“Jesus, Rye.” The things the guy did. Just when I feared he was pulling away, he did something like this. Made himself vulnerable in a way I couldn’t. Made me fall a little more. “Goddamn you.” He was going to break my fucking heart and there wasn’t a damned thing I could do about it.
Except, maybe, make Riley fall for me too.
Positioning myself over him, I entered him as our mouths met in an intense kiss that had butterflies taking off in the pit of my stomach. Despite his urgings, I slowed things down, pressing into him with long, smooth strokes that brushed his prostate with each roll of my hips.
Riley’s fingers curled over my shoulders, digging in. I’d have marks in the morning. He arched his back and stared into my eyes. “Oh God, Carter. I’m coming.”
“Yes. I want to see you come so fucking bad.” Not so gently, I tweaked his roughened nipple and swallowed his cries with a scorching kiss. I poured all my emotions into it, hoping beyond hope that he would sense the change. Would accept it and reciprocate. Maybe not today, but someday soon.
My heart full, I pushed into his ass as deep as I could, before finally letting my climax wash over me in wave after wave. For several moments, I lay still, panting against his neck, the evidence of Riley’s pleasure cooling against his abdomen. His heart beat steadily, lulling me into a world of possibilities.
A world that splintered into a million shards with Riley’s next words.
“I’m leaving for Europe in the morning.”
Chapter 2
RILEY
“What the fuck, Riley?” Carter asked. “You’re leaving? Tomorrow?”
Shit. This was not how this evening was supposed to go. He left the bed, but instead of walking away, he folded his arms across his chest and stared down at me as I lay there, unsure what to say, my own cum drying on my stomach.
> “Speak,” Carter said, his blue eyes darkening.
I sat up. I was a fucking mess, I wanted a shower, I needed to pack… I wanted to do anything but have this conversation. “There’s no need to get wound up. I’m going on a writers’ retreat. It’s in the UK.”
“The UK?”
“Yeah.” I leaned over and pawed through the messy stack of books and papers on my nightstand and pulled out the red brochure. “Here.”
Carter took it and scanned the pages. Then he folded it shut, his fingers tightening on the stiff paper until it was helplessly bent. “You’re running away.”
I swallowed hard and stared at the hardwood floor. Was I? “I need to get away for a while. But I’m coming back.”
“Are you? Are you coming back to me? To whatever it is we have?”
Fuck. I ran my hands through my hair. I’d thought a guy would be easier—less pressure to define everything, just have a good time, keep things casual… But here we were, three months in, having “the” conversation. “I’m coming back, Carter. That’s all I know right now.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “You’ve been acting weird tonight. Something’s wrong.”
“Nothing’s wrong,” I lied, something I’d gotten alarmingly good at recently. Deny, deny, deny. God, I needed a drink, a line of blow, a hot body to plow into…
“Don’t try to bullshit me. I know you well enough to tell when you’re lying.” Before I could formulate a reply, he continued. “Am I not enough for you? Do you want a woman instead? Is that what will make you happy?”
A knot formed in my gut. I’d been avoiding thinking about it. What did I need long-term? The happiest I’d ever been was with Amber and Holden, those brief few months when we’d been a trio, the three of us fucking like rabbits, waking up in each other’s arms, one big happy tangle. I’d written the third book of the trilogy in a joyous rush, the words pouring out, my heart so full it had felt like it would burst. And then it was all over, almost as soon as the ink had dried on the newly printed books.
I’d caught Amber and Holden sneaking off together, lying about the fact that they were shutting me out, that they were done with me like so much used tissue.
