“Ren,” I whimpered, head thrashing on the pillow.
“I got you, baby,” he murmured as he sank a second finger inside, his thumb pressing against my clit. The combination was enough to send me hurtling into oblivion. Stars danced behind my eyes and my fingers raked over his skin as my body rode the wave of ecstasy. He didn’t give me any time to recover. Pulling out his fingers and rolling on a condom, he settled between my legs and pushed into me in one smooth thrust before I’d finished coming down.
He rose over me, his hands locking onto both of mine and holding them captive high above my head. My spine arched, pushing my breasts out. His head lowered, catching a nipple between his teeth. The slight pinch sent a jolt of pleasure directly to my center, making me gasp and my thighs clench around Reno’s hips. It was overload. I could already feel another orgasm building as he slid in and out of my body, his pace increasing, pelvis slamming into mine roughly. The contact created a delicious friction that heightened with every thrust. My nipple popped out of his mouth as he lifted his head.
“Look at me, Ri,” he grunted.
My eyes drifted open, lids hung low, and our gazes connected. His brimmed with an intensity so fierce, so unbearably raw, I had to fight the urge to look away. As we stared into each other, his movements grew frenzied, his brow creasing and his chest straining, and then we both went spiralling over the edge.
His weight landed on top of me, clammy hands cradling my head as his face sank into the cushion. Wrapping my arms around his back, I trailed my fingers over his skin as my lungs worked double time to suck in vital oxygen. The feel of his heart racing against mine was probably one of the best feelings in the world. But worry crept in, and tension seeped into my muscles, swiftly replacing the euphoria. Based on the previous two encounters, I’d be stupid not to expect another disappearing act. Slamming my eyes closed, I mentally chastised myself. We’d just got back to a level footing. This could easily send him into another tailspin. How the hell could I let this happen?
“Don’t.” His head rose and he lifted until his face hovered several inches above mine. I quickly turned my head to the side, noting how the muscles in his arms flexed by my head. “Don’t overthink it.”
Tension clung to me and apprehension pressed down on my chest. “We shouldn’t have done that,” I blurted.
“Probably not,” he said, but there was amusement in his tone. It threw me.
“It could ruin everything,” I clarified. Why wasn’t he running for the hills?
“It could.”
My frustration built. I wanted to see his reaction, but I couldn’t seem to make myself look at him. “Well... has it?” I demanded, huffing out a breath.
Lowering himself down onto his forearms, he brought his nose to my cheek, rubbing it over my skin before his fingers lifted to brush sweaty strands of hair from my forehead. “No,” he said softly.
A breath of relief escaped, and I shuttered my gaze. Even without looking into my eyes, I knew he’d see too much if I didn’t control my reactions. Sex might be permissible in this new friendship arrangement. I doubted love was. Not right now, anyway. And right at this minute, my feelings for him had my chest in a vice grip.
“Um… good. Great”
“Riley?” he murmured.
“Yep?”
“You going to look at me?”
“Erm... no.”
He laughed, the sound low and throaty. And fucking delicious. “No?”
I shook my head in response, my lips firmly pressed together, eyes still shut tight.
“You know, I’m still inside you, it’s a little late to go all shy on me now.” His words sent a bolt of heat right through me. My entire body tensed, clenching around him.
“I felt that,” he said, tone gruff. And I felt my cheeks flame, the tone of his voice doing nothing to ease the ache building inside of me. A low chortle left his mouth. “So fucking adorable,” he murmured, repeating his words from earlier, and I turned to mush. Dropping a kiss onto the end of my nose, he pulled from me and hopped to his feet.
This felt like more than friends. More than friends with benefits even. I was too afraid to ask him what it was, though. So, I kept my cheek pressed into the cushion and my hand flattened against my heart, trying with all my might to hold it there because it felt like if I lifted my palm, it might burst out of my chest and fly to Reno. And he'd probably smack it away with a baseball bat.
That’s not what he wants from us. But like an innocent puppy, my heart acted on feeling, not reason. Especially not when he emerged from the bathroom, naked as the day he was born, and reached up to hook his fingers over the door frame, muscles flexing and a playful glint in his eye. My eyes shot wide, unbridled lust coursing through me.
“This is what you wanted, right, Ri?”
I gulped as my eyes tracked every ripped inch of him.
“What was it your note said? Something like: Hardly... you never stick around long enough for me to get a proper look at your dick?”
Burning. My face was burning.
“Well, here it is, baby. Don’t ever accuse me of not following through on a promise.”
I cleared my throat, nodding. “Well, uh, thanks... for that,” I choked.
“Riley?”
I nodded again, dragging my eyes up to his. That damn smirk. Had I said I would pay to see that? I ground my teeth and grated, “What?”
“I’ll be sticking around this time.”
I melted. Like an ice cream cone on a scorching summer day. He approached me quietly, a look of determination on his face. Until it disappeared between my legs, and then I must have blacked out.
“So… somebody spotted you doing the walk of shame from Reno’s trailer in the middle of the night, Wiley Riley.”
“What?” I whisper-yelled down the line. “Who?”
“Leon. He stalks your place with binoculars and a bottle of lube every night. Didn’t you know?”
“Alissa!” I said, exasperated. “Do not make me full name you...”
Her sharp intake of breath sounded in my ear. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“I would. It’s literally on the tip of my tongue. Now, what the hell?”
“Fine,” she huffed. “Leon doesn’t sit outside your place stroking one out while watching you get changed for bed. It wouldn’t shock me if he did though, just FYI.”
“Liss!” I growled.
“Okay, okay. Christ! Chill. Anyway, Leon rocked up at his place stoned last night, his mom smelled it on him, and he found himself ban-ish-ed. Fucking Romeo slash Leo style. Fuck, I love that movie. Anyway… blah, blah, blah, every asshole he knows is either hammered or ignoring their cell—that’s you, in case you didn’t realize—so he calls me to give him a ride to his trailer, because people seem to be under the mistaken impression that I’m happy to provide chauffeur services in the middle of the damn night. I'm not, by the way. Then he texts me a half hour later saying one Riley Mason just snuck out of Ren's place and hot-footed it across the trailer park.”
“I didn’t sneak.” I totally snuck. “I opened the door and left.” While Reno was still sleeping.
“Uh-huh,” she mused. “And what were you doing at Reno’s at that hour, my sweet?’
“Uh... studying?” It came out a squeak. And a question. And I was totally incriminating myself.
“Studying? Studying what... his anatomy?” Liss quipped. My eyes slid closed.
“No! Yes,” I conceded, fingers picking at my comforter. “But there was real studying going on, too.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet. You two are gonna ace biology with all this studying you’ve been doing.”
“Hey, that’s the first time we’ve... studied in that way since... you know. And we were working on an assignment for Government. It was totally legit. Also, I’m not even taking biology this year,” I tacked on, like a five-year-old.
“Shame. Seems like you’re gonna fail every other class this year. Would have been nice to know at least one would be
a shoo-in.”
“You’re a huge dick,” I muttered.
“Oh, you know what? You never told me... is it big?”
I hung my head. “I’m hanging up, now.”
Laughter boomed from her side. “Hey, before you go…”
“Is it about Reno’s dick?”
“Nope.”
“Then go ahead.”
“In all seriousness, babe, is this a thing, like are you two back on or... what?” Serious Liss asked questions I’d asked myself all night and couldn’t answer. Serious Liss made me question exactly what the hell I was doing and what the eventual consequences would be. And there would be consequences.
“It’s—” I broke off, nibbling my lip. Deep down, I might already know the answer. I also knew I wouldn’t admit it, not to Liss and definitely not to myself. “It’s... friendship. Ish.”
“Ri—” she began. I cut her off. I had to.
“I know, I know… I’m... being careful.”
“Well, I hope you’re protecting yourself from more than just baby Rinos and genital herpes.”
“Oh my God! I can’t believe you just said that!” I muttered into the phone.
She giggled. “But they'd be damn cute Rinos”
“I meant the goddamn herpes, Liss!”
“I know.” She laughed, before the sound faded a little. “And I meant your heart, babe.”
I sighed, the organ in question squeezing in my chest. “I know.”
And God, did I know.
Thirty-Four
Riley
“Oh my god! You got in?”
My body lifted a clear foot off the ground as my mom’s head appeared over my shoulder, her excited shriek piercing my ear.
“Jesus, Mom!” I shouted, breathlessly, as my heart lodged somewhere in my throat. I spun to face her. “You’re like a goddamn stealth ninja! Where the fu-flip did you come from?” I was never sure why I tried to avoid cursing in front of my mom. Given the stuff that had spewed out of her mouth over the years, my reserve seemed almost ridiculous. Yet, I always corrected myself. Go figure.
Her shoulders wiggled a little, a bright smile stretched her face. “From Marshall’s place.”
“And Marshall is...?” I asked, then slammed my mouth shut too late, internally cursing myself. When would I learn? Do not incite conversations with Mom about guys!
Her eyes glazed as she reached down to swipe off her heels, tossing them aside before falling back onto the couch in a dreamlike state.
“He’s a dreamboat, hon.” Bliss coated her words. “I went there straight from work, been there all morning. You got my text, right?” she asked, wide eyed, like she was about to get in trouble, like I was the parent here. I rolled my eyes but nodded yes. “Great. Anyway, my God, he's insatiable!”
I pinched the bridge of my nose between my finger and thumb and muttered, “Jesus.”
“He’s the new bartender at the club. Ah, the things that man can do with his hands. You know, I’ve always said you can tell a lot about a man by looking at his hands, haven’t I said that, Riley?” She looked at me expectantly. I just blinked back at her. That didn’t deter her, though. “And this guy, wow, I just knew. When I was watching him rub down those glasses, I knew. I said to myself, I need those hands on me.”
“O-kay.” I ambled backward, edging away from whatever direction this conversation was heading in. “Always fun sharing, but I think I’ve heard as much as I want to for today, so I’m gonna...” I hooked a thumb over my right shoulder.
A tinkle of laughter burst from my mom. “Sweets, I bet you’re appreciating how honest and open I’ve always been with you about these things over the years, you know, now that you and Maddox are—”
“Christ, Mom.” I threw my hand up. “That’s... that’s not how these... discussions go. You talk, it’s majorly inappropriate, I pretend to listen but really, I’m singing that la la la song in my head, and then I go bleach out my brain and pretend like it never happened. We don’t—” I spread my arms out, searching for the right word, “... reciprocate.”
Jumping to her knees on the lumpy sofa, she clapped her hands together. “But now we can! Now we can share stories!”
“Oh my god, why? Why would we do that?” I asked, face incredulous. This woman!
Her lips pursed. “Hon, I know you and Maddox are having sex. And that’s great. As long as you’re old enough, being careful, and its consensual, sex is the most wonderful way to express your feelings for one another.”
My mouth fell open. What an absolute hippie: free love and weed. “Why would you know I'm having sex? If I even am!” I hastily added.
“A mother knows these things.” My eyebrow lifted, arms fitting tight across my chest. She rolled her eyes. “Fine, I saw you sneaking out of his trailer a couple of weeks ago. I was sharing a joint with Kayleigh after she dropped me home when I saw you creeping back here.”
Striving for patience, I inhaled through my nose, my lids sliding closed as I muttered under my breath, “Was there anyone who didn’t see me leaving his damn place?”
“What, hon?”
I blinked my eyes open. “Nothing. Look, I really gotta go get dressed. Liss will be here any second. I’ve done all the laundry and emptied the trash.”
“Hey, wait.” She shot forward, her slim fingers circling my forearm. “You got in?” Her smooth forehead tipped to the letter in my hand.
I cast my eyes down. My fingers tightened around the slips of paper before I tugged them behind my back, like I could pretend they didn’t exist if we couldn’t see them. “Oh, um, yeah. I guess. “
Her brow crinkled a little. “That’s what you wanted, right? That’s fantastic.”
I shrugged, looking away. “I guess. I’m, uh, I’m still... undecided.”
“Undecided?” she asked, eyes assessing me, head tipped to the side. “Ri, is something wrong?”
“No. Uh, nothing,” I lied. Something was wrong. I didn’t want to leave him.
Reno had never planned to go to college, even before Brett and Owen died. He was great with cars and had years of experience working at Brett’s garage. They’d wanted to expand, had big plans for the place. We hadn’t broached the subject recently, but I didn’t have to ask to deduce that he wouldn’t be coming along with me. And given the fragility of our current situation, a long-distance friendship probably wasn’t in the cards either. This thing between us already felt like trying to hold on to sand, the tiny grains constantly slipping through my fingers. If I left, it would just blow away.
Besides, even if I wanted to leave him, I couldn’t do that. It had been less than three months since he’d lost his only family. I couldn’t leave him here, all alone. Sure, Leon was staying local, and the Donovans were always around, but they weren’t me. He needed me. Right?
My mom’s fingers contracted around my arm, snapping me from my thoughts. Her concerned gaze scored my face. “You sure?” she asked again, taking in my tight brow and pinched lips. I nodded and backed away before I did something stupid like cry. “Ri? If it’s money, I told you I would help you out. I’ve been putting some away. For you. For college. So, you don’t have to worry if you don’t get a job right away. Plus, there’s financial aid. You applied for that scholarship, right? We’ll make it work, hon.”
My lips formed a tender smile. She wasn’t always the most responsible, but she had stunned me at the end of last summer when she’d sat me down all mom-like and told me to quit my job at the coffee house in town to focus on my senior year. She said she’d taken on more shifts at the club, and she’d cover everything because she wanted me to reach my full potential. I’d argued, worried about how we'd get by, but she’d assured me she made good money at the club. There'd been an air of determination in her I’d never seen before, so I’d agreed. This time last year, I’d wanted nothing more than to go to college. Not too far away—I wanted to be able to get back within a few hours if Mom ever needed me—but somewhere out of state. Somewhere else.
Now, I just wanted to be here. For Reno. With Reno. I was that girl, the one who built her life around a guy. But my actions were justifiable because this guy… needed me. Even if he didn’t know it.
“Morning, campers!” Liss hollered as she burst through the door. I blinked rapidly, clearing the emotion from my eyes, and turned to face her at the same time my mom did. Mom’s face broke into a wide smile as she lurched forward, grabbing Liss in a tight hug.
“Liss!” she screeched. “I haven’t seen you in so long!”
Mom and Liss fricking adored each other. My lips molded into a smile. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear someone switched Liss and I at birth; she could easily be my mom’s daughter.
“It’s afternoon, dumbass.”
Liss pulled back, frowning at me. “Not to me. I woke up like twenty minutes ago.” And yet, here she was, looking like a supermodel in her short shorts and sheer cover up. Not fair. Her eyes scanned over my outfit, baggy sweats and a stained shirt, zero makeup. Laundry chic. Her frown deepened. “You’re not even remotely ready.”
I threw out an arm. “Blame this dirty stop out, she’s been regaling me with tales of Marshall and his magic hands.”
Mom grinned. Liss immediately swung back to her, eyes gleaming. “Tell me everything!”
“Mom,” I warned, heading for the bathroom, “just remember Liss is still a minor for a couple more weeks. Her parents probably wouldn’t approve of that kind of talk.”
Liss’ head snapped round to toss me a scowl. “You evil little wench.”
I raised both palms, giggling. “Lucky for you, that’s never stopped her before.”
“Hey,” Liss began, focus shifting to the letter I hadn’t shredded to pieces and set alight yet. I’d received an email before the letter. It sat in my deleted folder. Where no-one could see it. “Is that...?”
“She got in!” Mom squealed. “I never doubted for a second. She skipped kindergarten, you know, Alissa.”
I blew out a breath and swiped a hand over my face.
Untouchable: (Unstoppable - Book 1) (The Unstoppable Series) Page 19
