Untouchable: (Unstoppable - Book 1) (The Unstoppable Series)

by Danielle Hill

  My head fell back at the contact, and Reno seized the opportunity to drag his lips over my jaw then my exposed neck, leaving a wet trail as he sucked lightly on the sensitive skin before moving lower. He pressed kisses to my collarbone and chest then stopped abruptly, breathing hard as his mouth hovered just above the swell of my breasts. His chest expanded roughly, and my lungs locked in place, my breath halting in a combination of heady anticipation and pure fear. Fear that he’d stop this, that he’d leave me. He clutched onto my hips, holding himself rigid as he wrestled with his thoughts. I could almost see his internal struggle: keep going or force himself to stop. I decided I wasn’t prepared to accept the latter.

  With a boldness I didn’t completely feel, my hands moved down, smoothing slowly over the corded muscle of Reno’s chest. Slipping them between our joined bodies, I hooked my thumbs under the thin straps of my cami. His head tipped back a fraction, his darkened eyes honing in on the movement. Inhaling shakily, my fingers trembling, I slid the loose material down over my shoulders, knowing Reno’s body would shield me from view, and tugged until it fell and pooled at my waist. His harsh intake of breath coincided with his fingers biting into my soft flesh, his groin rolling into me involuntarily. My breath hitched, an ache settling between my thighs. I felt my body squirm, powerless to control my reaction. Reno groaned low in his throat.

  “Riley...” he grated, gaze locked on my exposed chest, hands kneading my hips.

  Overcome with my need for him—to be close to him, to touch him and feel his touch—my lips parted, the plea falling from them unashamed when he raised his eyes to mine, boring into me with a naked desire and sizzling intensity that threatened to burn me to ash. “Please.”

  There was a half second pause, a brief moment of hesitation, before Reno’s mouth descended again, swooping down to claim mine. His hands lowered to grip the backs of my thighs and he lifted. My legs opened instinctively, wrapping around him. Fastening my arms around his neck, I returned his kiss with an unrestricted fervour, eliciting a groan from him. His tongue sneaked past my lips and plunged inside, swirling with mine. I swallowed his moan, breathing raggedly into him as he shifted, moving us until my back landed against the trailer, and cushioning the impact with his hands. He ground his lower half into me, using his hand on my back to anchor me in place, increasing the friction. His palms cupped my butt cheeks, splaying over the flesh, molding it and tugging me into him.

  Breaking off, his chest heaving against mine, he growled, “Not here.”

  I frantically nodded my agreement, our lips coming together again even as he walked us through the door. Slamming it and flicking the lock, he hurried through the tiny hallway. Our hands groped, desperate bodies writhed, until he reached my bed and sank down on it, positioning me on his lap so I straddled him. I continued my assault on his mouth, rising on my knees to get closer, greedy hands fisting clumps of his hair. All the while, my blood thundered in my ears and my heart pounded behind my breastbone. And when Reno’s hands found my hips again, slowly rolling me down as he thrust up, my eyelids squeezed tighter. The feel of him beneath me sent waves of pleasure shooting through me. Sensation flooded every cell, and every nerve end sparked.

  My fingers moved to the hem of his shirt and tugged. It cleared as far as his chest before he stopped me, his rough hands closing around mine. My eyes shot open, flying to his in question. Battling with the unbridled lust clouding Reno’s gaze, was uncertainty. So much of it.

  “What is it?” I asked, my voice unsteady. He glanced down, brow creasing. I dipped my head, trying to catch his gaze. “Ren?”

  He looked up with questioning eyes. “Is this what you want?”

  It wasn't hard to read the self-recrimination on his face, the desire to turn back the clock and do things differently. There was no doubt in my mind. I knew what I wanted.

  Wrapping both hands around the back of his head and overlapping my fingers, I nodded firmly. “Yes. And I wanted it then, too.”

  Searching eyes flicked between both of mine, seeking words I hadn’t said, looking for a sign that he should back off. He wouldn’t find one. Carefully, he lifted my body, placing me on the bed by his thighs. I shifted back on my elbows, kicking books carelessly to the floor as I slid up the mattress and parted my legs to accommodate him. His broad frame rose over me, lowering as I flattened my back to the bed. Within seconds, Reno covered me completely, the wide expanse of his chest blocking everything else from sight until he was all I could see and feel. His biceps flexed and bulged on either side of my head, big arms caging me. Resting on one elbow, he splayed a warm palm over my chest, covering my heart. There was no way he wouldn’t feel the erratic, rapid beat pulsing against his skin.

  I swallowed roughly as his hand crept down. His hair fell onto his forehead, his deep brown eyes trained intently on mine, watching for my reaction, as his palm closed around my naked breast. My head pushed back into the pillow, breath leaving me in a silent gasp as my lips parted. His head dipped and his tongue coated my nipple in wet heat. His free hand reached to pinch the other between his thumb and finger. Sensations bombarded me from all sides, a warmth pooling between my thighs. I needed more, more of him.

  Pace suddenly frantic, I tore at his shirt, pulling it up his back and over his head, then brought his lips back to mine. My fingers found his waistband, working quickly to loosen the buttons and shrug his jeans down over his butt, using my feet to push them down his legs and kick them to the floor. He gripped my cotton shorts, tearing them down my hips as his mouth traveled hungrily over my stomach, pausing when he reached my center. Leaning back, he inhaled deeply as he trailed one finger down over the surface of my skin until it skirted along the edge of my panties, and then it slid beneath them and pressed into me. My body arched, lungs faltering as I choked out a cry of ecstasy.

  Reno’s lids shuttered, air escaping him in a drawn out exhale that made his chest shudder. His underwear just clearing his butt, he sat back on his heels, moving his possessive gaze over me lazily. Grasping the waistband of my panties, he lowered them down my legs. Heat and hunger flooded his eyes. His hands stilled as his jaw clenched.

  “Riley,” he ground out through gritted teeth. “Stop me now if this isn’t what you want. I need you to say it. I need to hear you say it this time.”

  I shook my head, heavy lids half mast, my teeth almost piercing through my bottom lip. “I don’t want you to stop.”

  He nodded once, grabbed his discarded jeans and pulled out a foil packet, before rolling it over his length. My eyes widened at the sight, heart racing as he positioned himself over me, hips settling between my thighs. He waited until our eyes connected, and then he slid inside. His lids drifted closed as he slowly filled me, a stifled curse escaping his lips. He hung his head between his wide shoulders, the muscles in his arms and neck straining as he held himself still for a moment.

  Emotions almost too intense to bear crashed into me all at once, like a tidal wave, as my body stretched around him. I slammed my eyes shut, overwhelmed.

  “Open your eyes, Riley,” Reno demanded. He began to move, steadily increasing his pace. I shook my head blindly, refusing him, feeling too raw, too vulnerable. Feeling too much, and afraid to let him see it. “Open your eyes, Ri… I need to see you.”

  Swallowing my fear, I opened my eyes and met his. Everything I felt for him, I could see reflected in his penetrating gaze. His eyes couldn’t hide him from me. Pushing up on my elbows, I pressed my open lips to his before curling my hands around his sides and over the hard planes of his back. My nails dug into his flesh and held on tight as he withdrew again, and plunged back in. He settled into a perfect rhythm, his body driving into mine, every thrust taking us to dizzying heights… and his eyes never strayed from mine, not once. It felt like he was imprinting himself on my soul. He didn’t need to. He already owned it.

  Pressure built at my core, coiling tighter and tighter like a spring, until it felt like I couldn’t take anymore and gasps shot from my op
en lips. And then I crashed off the edge. Reno’s mouth caught my cry as I fell apart, my body contracting around him as white light exploded behind my eyes and pleasure coursed through every cell in my body. He followed me over seconds later, movements jerky and erratic as he thrust into me as far as he could go, his mouth opening over mine on a silent groan before he stilled, damp head falling into the hollow beneath my throat.

  I felt a smile form on my lips as his weight sank into me, our chests slick with sweat and our pounding hearts beating in sync between us. It was everything I’d imagined, everything I’d wished our first time had been. It was everything I’d ever wanted.

  It was too good to last.

  Twenty-Nine

  Riley

  He withdrew emotionally before he’d left my body. I sensed the shift in him as reality crashed in, as realization dawned like a blinding light and his shutters came down, forging a distance between us I wouldn’t have thought possible only a few minutes ago. Without making eye contact, Reno moved to the edge of the bed, tugging on his underwear and throwing his shirt over his head. He shoved both legs into his jeans, shrugging them over his thighs and doing up the buttons without uttering a word or glancing in my direction.

  A solid lump formed in my throat as I watched him retreat, disappointment surging in me. I’d naively believed this would change things, that we’d crossed a bridge and we could pick up where we left off… before. Lifting myself to a sitting position at the head of the bed, I pulled my bent knees up under my chin and wrapped my arms around them tightly. Tears sat just behind my lids, begging to fall, but I forced them back.

  “Hey,” I murmured, voice thick with emotion, “you okay?”

  He stilled at my words, his shoulders tightening. He didn’t look up as he responded gruffly, “Yeah.” Clasping his hands between his splayed legs, he said, “Are you?”

  His voice was flat, devoid of any emotion. He could have been talking to a stranger in the street, instead of inquiring about the emotional state of the girl he’d just had sex with, then emotionally deserted before pulling out of her body.

  My head bobbed automatically, whether to reassure myself or him I didn’t know. Either way, it was a lie. I wasn’t okay. But I continued nodding until I realized he couldn’t see it. I opened my lips to verbalize my response, then stopped myself. Even if I was sure I could get the words out, I deserved a single glance, just one. If he wanted to know how I was, I wanted him to look at me.

  His head lowered, dipping between his thighs, and his clenched knuckles pressed into his forehead. When he finally turned, tilting his head to the side just far enough to see my face, I immediately wished I hadn’t forced his hand. A deep crease lined his forehead. His face was hard and his jaw tight. We should have stopped; that’s what he was thinking. It was so clear on his face; it was like I was reading his mind through a wall of glass.

  Hurt sliced through my chest like a sharpened blade, and I wondered how much pain a heart could withstand before it became too damaged to repair. How many blows it could take before it shattered so completely the pieces wouldn’t fit back together the way they had before. Witnessing the regret that plagued him both times we’d done this devastated me, but it was the depth of sadness in his eyes, the despondency that blanketed him like a heavy fog, that was utterly heartbreaking. I wanted to fix him. I wanted to believe that I could. But giving him my body did nothing. If anything, it seemed to make things worse. I didn’t know what else I could do, but I couldn’t contemplate a different alternative; I had to be able to fix him. I couldn’t bring myself to consider that the damage to his heart might be irrevocable. That I might never be able to put him back together.

  Swallowing roughly, he said, “I should head out.”

  I nodded mutely, my eyes staring off somewhere over his shoulder. My vision misted as tears pooled, impatient to flow freely. Standing, Reno crossed the distance to the bedroom door in two long strides, then stopped before he walked through. Angling his body slightly back toward me, he turned his head, his eyes downcast.

  “Riley…” he began before breaking off. My breath caught in my lungs, both hope and fear gripped me. “This doesn't—” He shook his head and cleared his throat. “Nothing has changed.”

  My lids lowered and the dam broke. He cursed, crossing back to me with quick strides.

  “I’m not trying to hurt you, Riley. I don’t want to fucking hurt you. I don’t... fuck, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.” He dropped in front of me, his hands lifting my face to his. His concerned gaze roved over every inch. “I’m sorry. Okay? I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come here. This just makes it harder.”

  “It doesn’t have to.”

  His eyes lingered a few seconds longer, before he touched his forehead to mine briefly. Raising his lips, he dropped a kiss there before releasing me and striding for the door.

  “Reno?” I called out, and he halted. I jumped quickly from the bed and pulled open the top drawer in my bedside cabinet. Walking up behind him, I tucked the wrapped gift into the hand by his side. “Happy Birthday,” I whispered. “I’m never far, okay? I’ll be right here if you need me.”

  His head tipped a fraction to the slim package in his hand. His fingers closed around it until his knuckles whitened. I heard his deep inhalation before he nodded and left.

  I didn’t see him again over the weekend, and he didn’t show at school on Monday or Tuesday. I glimpsed him ducking into class on Wednesday and again when he was making his way through the student parking lot that afternoon. We shared two classes this semester, but he hadn’t been to either since he lost Owen and Brett. He’d gone to all the others, but not those. He couldn’t even sit in a classroom with me. I’d mentioned it to Leon, trying to sound as non-stalkerish as possible, and he’d told me to stop stressing. If only it were that easy.

  Leon picked that moment to stride through the classroom door. Making his way through the desks, he dropped into the one directly behind mine and snagged the end of my ponytail, tugging once before releasing it. I swivelled immediately, uncaring that Mrs. Hannigan had just called for attention. Around me, kids started pocketing their phones and ending conversations.

  “Where is he?”

  “Miss Mason? Can I have your eyes up front, please?”

  Leon’s blue gaze flickered over my shoulder to the front of the room, and then to the wide expanse of glass to his left, before returning to mine. He jerked his head toward the window.

  “Miss Mason?”

  The back of my head still facing the teacher, my eyes strayed to the glass. My fingers tightened around the back of the seat when they landed on the solitary figure cutting across the student parking lot, rounding the corner and heading in the direction of the auditorium.

  “Miss Mason?”

  “Ri?” Leon muttered, grabbing my attention and nodding to where Mrs. Hannigan stood, most likely scowling. Instead of spinning around, I pushed up from the seat, grabbed my backpack and paced toward the door.

  “Miss Mason!” Mrs. Hannigan sputtered, eyes popping wide behind the frames of her glasses. “Where are you going? Riley? Riley, you’re not permitted to leave my class without a pass.”

  Pausing to offer her a quick glance, I said, “I feel sick to my stomach. I’m going to the nurse.”

  She repeated my name, but I broke into a jog, traversing the hallways like I was being chased, which I very well might have been. I approached the door nearest the parking lot and burst through, my heart running a mile a minute.

  Reno spotted me as soon as I came into view. These days, I knew when he’d seen me because his body stilled completely, every part of him suddenly on edge as if he had to keep himself in check and guard his reaction. Slinging my bag down by his feet on the second to top tier of the old auditorium, I stood over him, trying to catch my breath without outright heaving and wheezing. Nobody would ever accuse me of being athletic, but I’d rather not advertise just how out of shape I was.

  “Mind if I sit?
” I asked. He shrugged, lifting a cigarette to his lips. I couldn’t resist snatching it from his hand and throwing it to the ground, stumping it out under my heel with a muttered, “It’s not good for you.”

  Shifting to face me with a raised brow and maybe the tiniest hint of a smirk, he murmured, “Thanks for looking out for me.”

  He spoke with a heavy dose of sarcasm. I chose to ignore it. Holding his gaze, I injected as much sincerity into my tone as possible. “Always.”

  He looked away. Moments passed in silence.

  “Haven’t seen you since the weekend?” The question was my way of asking maybe a dozen different things, things that I couldn’t find it in me to say out loud for fear I’d scare him off... or I wouldn’t like the answers. Where have you been? Are you avoiding me? Have you been eating and sleeping okay? Why don’t you come to class? Do you regret being with me? The last was the scariest, but really, the list went on, there was so much I wanted to know. But I wasn’t his mother and nor was I his girlfriend anymore... if I ever had been. I wasn’t even sure I could call myself his friend at this point. I was back to being his nothing.

  My eyes stared at the side of his head, like maybe I could break inside if I focused hard enough. I could fight my way in and shift some things around so he could see me the way he did before.

  He didn’t answer my question, or any of the million unspoken ones. Voice low, attention diverted away from me, he said, “Thank you. For the gift.”

  It was crazy how the tiniest crumb caused an overload of emotion to rush through me. Biting my lip to stop a giddy smile from breaking out, I simply nodded, clearing my throat to move aside the boulder his words had created.

  “You’re welcome.” I’d put an old picture of Reno and Owen from a few years ago in a wooden frame. “I remember taking that picture of you two. I think it’s always been my favorite.”