by Amber Heart
“That I want to challenge you to a game of pool.”
“What are we going to bet?” Riley asked with a smile.
“I won’t ask you to bet,” Eli replied. “It wouldn’t be fair when I know I’m going to win.”
“Oh really?” she pushed herself off the stool and put her hands on her hips. “Now it’s on. We’re betting. If I win, you buy me my next drink.”
“And if I win?” he asked, standing as well.
“I’ll buy you your next one,” Riley offered.
“Sorry, this is my last one,” Eli informed her. “You’ll have to come up with something else.”
Riley tapped her chin with her index finger. “Hmm. Well, what would you like?”
He made sure she felt the glance he gave her. “I’m sure I’ll think of something.”
Her breath caught, but she raised her chin confidently. “I’m sure you will.”
Eli allowed her to precede him to the table, mostly for the pleasure of watching her walk. That skirt was amazing from every angle and the body inside it was making it hard for him to think straight. He knew that there was no way in hell he was gonna lose this game.
Riley leaned against the table and watched him rack. “Are you going first?” she asked.
“Unless you want the honors,” he replied.
“No, no,” she said casually. “I might as well let you get at least one shot in.”
Eli grinned at her and grabbed a pool cue. Then he broke smoothly and watched as the 9 and the 13 sank in.
“Looks like I’m high ball,” he said walking around the table to line up his next shot.
By the time he stepped back from the table there was only one high ball left. Riley flagged down the bartender and asked for another whiskey sour before she took the cue.
“Not worried, are you?” Eli asked, leaning against the opposite side of the table and watching her line up a shot. From where he stood her chances of making it were iffy.
“Not even a little,” she said and hit the cue ball.
It was pure luck, but she sank the 2. She moved around the table for her next shot, nudging him out of the way and bending over the table. He would have been lying if he’d said that it didn’t make his knees a little weak. She missed her next shot and took the drink that the bartender held out to her.
Eli eyed the table. He could probably win the game right now. She’d left him in a great place. But then he wouldn’t get to see her bend over like that again. On the other hand, if he dragged it out he wouldn’t get to take his prize.
She was running her finger around the rim of her drink, watching him with a smile. She was smart enough to know how this was going to go down and he didn’t sense any worry from her. Eli sank the remaining ball and glanced up at her. She was biting that full lower lip now.
“Eight ball, side pocket.”
She put her drink down on the small table beside her and tilted her chin to look up at him when he stepped close. “Well?” Riley asked. “What would you like for your prize?”
He reached out and cupped her face in his hand. “You.”
A wicked smiled tugged at her lips. “Just how much of me would you like, Eli?”
“As much as I can have,” he answered with total honesty. “But I’d take a kiss to start with.”
She leaned up without hesitation and pressed her lips to his. He caught the back of her neck and tilted his head, fitting her to him easily. Eli caught that full lower lip between his teeth and her hands went tight on his shoulders. He teased at her tongue with his, tasting the sharp whiskey and the sweetness of her. When he pulled back to look at her, he was pleased to find her eyes heavy with pleasure and her lips still parted.
“Is that all?” she asked, her voice slightly husky now.
“It doesn’t have to be,” Eli answered. “But that’s up to you.”
“I’d like to go home with you,” she said, her hands tightening on his shirt as she pulled him back down for another kiss.
When they finally broke apart, Eli said, “I can’t resist a woman that knows what she wants. Let’s go.”
Outside in the parking lot, he expected her to head for a car, but she stuck close to him instead.
“I took a cab here,” Riley said. “And I’m really hoping that one of these bikes is yours.”
Eli put his arm around her shoulders, steering her over to a black and chrome Indian Scout parked near the edge of the lot. “This one,” he said and watched her scan it.
“It’s nice,” she said. “Why do you have two helmets? Do you bring a lot of women back with you?”
She didn’t make it sound like a bad thing. Eli shrugged. “Not a lot, but I won’t say it never happens. And an extra helmet is just always a good idea.” He picked up the spare and held it out to her. “Ready to go?”
Riley looked from him to the bike and back. For a second there was a flash of something in her eyes. Not quite doubt and not quite fear, but something close. Eli tilted her chin up so that she met his eyes.
“If you’re not,” he said simply. “You can just say so.”
A smile crossed her face. “And you’d be nice about it too, wouldn’t you?” she asked.
“I’m not gonna lie and say I’d be thrilled to see you walk away tonight,” Eli answered honestly. “But if you’re not comfortable with taking things this far, this fast, I’m not gonna be a jerk about it.”
“Kiss me again,” she said.
He was happy to oblige, leaning down, burying his fingers in her hair and pulling her close. This time he made sure to keep the kiss light and teasing. He nibbled at her lower lip as he dragged his fingers down the back of her neck and around to the front of her throat and then down, tracing her exposed collarbone.
She shivered under his touch, her body arching to him. Eli couldn’t hold back a slight groan as her breasts brushed against his chest. Even through their clothes, he liked the way she felt against him.
“Well?” he asked, drawing back when her hands tightened on his shoulders.
“Well?” Riley repeated. “Why aren’t we on the motorcycle again?”
“Because I was taking the time to be a gentleman,” Eli informed her. She smiled and he ran his thumb down her soft cheek. “That’s the last time it’ll happen tonight,” he said, his voice low.
“Good,” she answered. “I’m so tired of guys who say that they’re a gentleman.”
****
Eli and Riley barely got into the house before they were kissing again. She yanked at his jacket and he let it drop to the floor as he kicked his boots off. Then he wrapped his arms around her and picked her up, pressing her back against the door and letting her wrap her legs around him.
She arched up, drawing his attention once more to her firm breasts. He boosted her up a bit and kissed the swell of them, just above the neckline of her shirt. When her head fell back against the door, he dragged his tongue over her skin, making her catch her breath.
Holding her up with one arm, he caught the bottom of her shirt and tugged it up. She shrugged it off, letting it fall to the floor beside his jacket. Her bra was nothing more than a few scraps of lace and seeing her in it made him go hard in one swift pulse. He tugged one of the cups down and sucked her nipple into his mouth, flicking his tongue over it quickly.
Her hips worked as she arched against him and he felt her nails dig into his shoulders even through his tee shirt. It sent a spike of pleasure racing through his whole body and he nipped lightly at her skin in thanks.
“Oh, God,” she gasped. “That feels so good.”
He shoved the other cup down and turned his attention to that breast, sucking and teasing her until she was crying out. Her fingers were buried in his hair now, keeping him where he was as she worked her body against his desperately.
Eli let her go suddenly, yanking his shirt off. He needed to feel her skin against his. He wrapped all those long curls around his hand and tugged, dragging her head back so that she met his mouth agai
n and again. Riley’s hands moved down his chest to the buckle of his belt.
“Take me to bed, Eli,” she murmured against his lips as she unbuckled it.
When his jeans hit the floor, he stepped out of them and scooped her up again, carrying her down the hall quickly. He dropped her onto the bed and pushed her skirt up around her waist. Her panties were a scrap of black lace that matched the bra, but Eli didn’t have time to appreciate the aesthetic. Not with his cock throbbing in rhythm with his heart beat. He tugged them down and moved over her, caging her in with his body.
She looked up at him, her lower lip caught between her teeth. “God, you’re sexy,” she whispered, running her hands down his chest again. “All this muscle....” she trailed off, leaning up to kiss him. “I’m gonna have to kiss every inch of you some other time,” she informed him.
“Oh yeah? Why not now?” he asked, kissing the hollow of her throat and pressing forward over her.
“Because right now I need you as deep inside me as you can get,” she answered. “Unless that’s a problem?”
He kissed her and thrust forward, filling her up. She moaned against his mouth as she arched up to meet him, letting him slide deep inside her heat. He braced himself above her on one hand, using the other to reach between them and rub her swollen little clit with his thumb. Her head tossed on the pillow, spreading her red hair out in a halo on the pillow. But she sure didn’t fuck like an angel.
“Yes,” she cried. “Oh, harder, Eli, harder!”
Eli was happy to oblige her. He wrapped one arm around her waist and rolled over onto his back, settling her on top. He wanted to watch her ride him in that black lace bra with her skirt tucked up around her waist. He wanted to see her as desperate for him as he was for her.
It didn’t take long. Riley leaned back, riding him like she’d been born to do it, teasing her clit with one hand. He reached up and cupped her breasts again, letting the lace scratch his palms, feeling her nipples hard beneath the fabric. She worked her hips, taking him deep and then rolling up so that only the head was inside her.
Eli groaned, watching himself sink into her. She was so wet that his shaft glistened with it each time she moved up. He wasn’t going to make it much longer. Not with visuals like this.
“Come for me, Riley,” he growled. “I want to feel you.”
She bit her lower lip and began to rub herself in earnest, her breasts bouncing as she worked to push herself over the edge. Eli jerked his hips, bouncing her on his shaft and she let her head fall back again.
“Do that again!” she begged, so he gripped her hips and pushed her down as he thrust up.
Riley rubbed harder and Eli tightened his grip on her hips, willing himself not to come. Just when he thought that he couldn’t take more, her pussy tightened around him even more and she screamed to the ceiling.
“Yes, Eli, yes!”
He half sat up, wrapped her in his arms and rolled her underneath him once more. Then he shoved deep and fucked her like he’d been dying to. Her orgasm didn’t wind down, instead it spiraled up once more and he felt her nails rake down his back as she screamed again.
Eli pressed his face into the side of her neck, tasting her sweat in his kisses and groaning when he realized that he couldn’t hold back anymore. When he came, every sense seemed to heighten for a brief moment. The sensation of her body against his, her voice calling his name, her hands on his skin, it was all suspended in one crystal clear moment of pleasure. More pleasure than he’d ever had before in his life.
After it was over, he pulled her against him while he caught his breath. Riley clung to him, pressing her face against his chest. He could feel his back beginning to sting from the scratches and he relished every second of knowing that he’d made her feel just as good as he did.
“Can I sleep here?” Riley asked, her voice low and slightly husky from her screams of pleasure.
Eli ran his fingers through her tangled hair. “I’m sure as hell not awake enough to take you home,” he said. “So you don’t have much of a choice.”
She gave a soft laugh. “You’re so sweet.”
He kissed the top of her head. “I do what I can.”
Chapter 3
Eli wiped the steam off of the mirror so that he could see his reflection again and then slathered shaving cream on his face. He’d only made two passes with the razor when the bathroom door opened and Riley came walking in. She was still completely naked and he took a second to admire the view.
It was just as good as he’d thought it was last night. He’d discovered that there was a lot to be said for sober sex in his years on the wagon.
“Morning,” he said amiably. “I won’t take too long.”
“You’re fine,” Riley said breezily, leaning into the shower and turning on the hot water. A second later, she was behind the shower curtain. “I’m using your soap, by the way.”
“Fine with me,” Eli said, still watching her. Those small, firm breasts were just an outline behind the shower curtain, but it was enough to make him recall how they’d felt in his hands the night before.
It was too damn bad that there wasn’t time to do more than look, but he hated being late. He’d already pushed it by keeping her against him when he’d woken up. But it had been so long since he’d had a woman in his bed when he’d woken up that he hadn’t been able to resist.
“So, if you’re taking orders instead of giving them this morning, I like my eggs sunny side up,” Riley said over the splashing water. “And I wouldn’t mind some bacon on the side. ”
Eli grinned. He was sure as hell going to have to get her number before she took off. It wasn’t just the sex he enjoyed with her. He liked her wicked grin and her sense of humor too.
“Yeah, neither would I. But I gotta get to work and I’m already running late, so the outlook isn’t good.”
She pulled back the curtain and looked out at him. Her hair was soaked and slicked back from her face and soap suds clung to her body, tipping her breasts and running down her smooth stomach.
“Okay fine, but be warned that I’m mentioning this in my Yelp review.”
He laughed and went back to shaving. “I’d rather take my chances with you than with my boss,” he said.
Shane was a stickler about time. Eli knew that he wouldn’t get fired, but he’d get his friend’s day off on the wrong foot and that wasn’t his favorite thing to do. Especially when he wanted nothing more than to get his hands on that Superbird. Today, he vowed, would be the day.
“What do you do?”
“I’m a mechanic. Head mechanic, actually.” He was proud of that and he didn’t see any reason not to mention it. “What about you? What do you do?”
“Nothing at the moment,” she admitted after a second or two. “I don’t guess your boss needs a software developer, does he?”
“Not that I know of. Harris isn’t the most tech friendly place,” Eli said, raising his chin to shave his neck without cutting himself. “We’ve got lots of old fashioned ledgers and handwritten receipts laying around.”
“Harris? You work at Harris Garage?” she repeated, sounding more interested now. She actually sounded a little surprised. “I guess you know my brother then.”
Eli could have sworn that he felt his heart stop, but he took a deep breath and told himself not to jump to conclusions. There were a few other guys that worked there. There was no reason why she shouldn’t be related to one of them
“Yeah?” he asked, keeping his tone casual. “Who’s your brother?”
“Shane Harris. He owns the place.”
Eli cut himself with the last pass of the razor. He swore inventively and grabbed a towel, wiping his face as he yanked the shower curtain back with a quick movement. Riley squealed, ducking back under the hot water.
“It’s cold out there!” she protested.
“Did you say that Shane’s your brother?” he demanded. “Are you serious?”
“Of course I’m serious,” Riley said
, reaching out and yanking the curtain back into place. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because he’s my best friend, that’s why!” Eli pushed his hands through his hair, which was still damp from his own shower. Good God, why the hell couldn’t she have said something last night? Why hadn’t he thought to ask her what her last name was? Even he usually got that information before he took a woman to bed.
“So?” she asked. “I don’t really get why this is such a big deal, Eli.”
“So I just fucked his sister! How do you not think that this is a big deal?” Eli tugged the curtain to the side once more and looked at her seriously. “Don’t mention this to your brother, okay? Please.”
