She waved away my worry with a dismissive hand. “That’s fine. I’ll get a credit for your ticket. Besides, now I can get sloshed since I’ll be alone.”
“That’s very sweet of him,” Lily sighed dreamily.
“It is. How long have you been together?” Penelope asked.
“About six months.”
“It’s been a whirlwind romance,” Rose said dramatically. “He’s the mayor’s son.”
Wide eyes snapped back to me. Penelope had one eyebrow that was almost reaching the ceiling. “Really?” she asked, drawing the word out like it was a fantastically salacious idea. “How did you meet him?”
My insides iced over and I wanted to change the subject. A large part of me wanted to keep everything about Camden and me away from Penelope. He was too precious to subject our relationship to her whim. I wanted to protect the thing in my life that was most important. But I knew it would be rude not to answer, and so far, Penelope had been completely polite to me, so I had no reason—in the eyes of everyone else at the table, at least—to keep the information to myself.
“We sat next to each other at a basketball game. Nothing too exciting.”
Rose, who might have been lingering on the edges of drunkenness, picked up her flute and, just before taking a sip, said, “Her fiancé is probably one of the sexiest men in Portland. He was considered one of the most eligible bachelors until Riley came along and snatched him up.”
Now both of Penelope’s eyebrows were sky-high. “Impressive.”
I had to repress a shudder. I hated the way the outside world viewed my relationship with Camden. Sure, it wasn’t as if he was under heavy speculation—he wasn’t the son of the President, after all—but Portland was its own little world and once the news of our relationship broke, we’d been subjected to lots of scrutiny and observation. Some news outlets painted our relationship as a Cinderella story, as though he was a prince saving me from a lowly existence. Other magazines had insinuated I’d used my feminine wiles to lure him in and trap him—they were expecting a pregnancy announcement any day now.
The truth was Camden and I fell in love just like any other couple had. But I always ended up being the lesser half of the equation, as though I was lucky to have him, never the contrary.
No one aside from Hadley had ever told Camden that he was fortunate to have me. Well, all right, maybe his mother. But even though I knew Camden felt as though he’d gotten the better end of the deal, it was hard not to let the weight of everyone’s view settle heavily on my shoulders.
“So, Lily, what kind of venues are we going to be viewing today?” It was my desperate attempt to change the subject. Lily welcomed the departure.
“Well, we’re going to tour two resorts: The Pointe and Royal Palms.”
I’d heard of both venues but never been to either. Just like the Paradise Oasis, they’d been places I knew I could never afford to step foot in.
“I think I’m leaning more toward The Pointe simply for the view from the ceremony space. You’re literally standing on a cliff and the desert mountains are behind you. It’s gorgeous.”
“It sounds breathtaking.” My brain was working, conjuring up an image, trying to picture how to work in a rose-gold theme in the setting she described.
“I’m just so excited!” she squealed, bouncing up and down in her seat. She was simply adorable and obviously ready to be married.
“It’s going to be amazing,” I promised.
Chapter Seven
Camden
A year before, had someone told me waking up alone in my bed would make me grumpy, I would have laughed. Laughed pretty hard, actually. But, sure enough, I woke up that morning reaching for Riley and jolted when I felt a cold and empty bed. It took me a few seconds to remember she was out of town for work, but as soon as my brain wrapped around the idea that I was alone, I was instantly irritated.
There’s nothing in the world that can prepare you to feel as though you’re incomplete without a certain person close to you. Riley was more than just my fiancée—she was a source of comfort, someone I wanted desperately to make laugh just so I could hear her giggle and watch her eyes crinkle in the corners. I wanted, more than anything, to make her need and want me as much as I craved and longed for her.
It took me about thirty minutes to say, “Fuck it,” and book a flight to Arizona. I hadn’t taken a vacation day in a while and I could accomplish just as much on a plane as I could sitting at my desk. To hear Riley get just as excited as I was about seeing her made me feel as though I’d made the right decision.
I also knew renting the sexy red Mustang was the right decision. The fact that it was a convertible was just icing on the sexy car cake.
The flight had been typical, and I’d managed to get enough work done that I’d relieved the small amount of guilt I felt for bailing on the office, but once I’d landed in Arizona, I was officially in vacation mode. I had my shades on and the top down, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel like a complete badass.
I’d texted Riley and she’d told me to head to the hotel. She’d given the concierge my name and allowed them to grant me access to her suite. I knew she’d be another hour or two, so I took a detour through the desert, testing out the capabilities of the ’Stang.
I pulled up to the resort and immediately knew it was going to be a good weekend. The hotel was obviously top of the line. I parked in front of the elaborate entrance and a valet approached, eyes trailing the Mustang from the hood to the bumper. I shut the door and then leaned over the back, grabbing my duffel bag from the back seat.
“Good afternoon,” the valet said with a polite smile.
“Hey, man. Here ya go,” I said, handing him the keys. He gave me a ticket and then his eyes went wide as he climbed into the driver seat. I knew it probably wasn’t the nicest car he’d ever driven, especially not at this resort, but it wasn’t anything to balk at either. No one could deny the beauty of a classic American car.
I had no problem getting a key to Riley’s room. As soon as I slipped the key card in the door and pushed it open, I knew Riley was in there. I could smell the soft powdery scent of her and feel her presence deep inside me.
“Babe?” I called out, shutting the door behind me.
She didn’t answer me with her voice, but I heard her footsteps from deep inside the suite, thumping along the floor until she appeared at the doorway to my left just before she made a running leap into my arms. I caught her, held on tight, and her legs wrapped around my waist.
“Fuck, I missed you,” I said as I swept my hand down her dark brown hair, my other hand wrapped tightly around her waist, holding her to me.
“I missed you too,” she mumbled into the skin of my neck, and God, she felt good. Her body pressed against mine, the warmth of her core hot against my stomach, her fingers threading through my hair. She pulled back, her hands framing my face, and pressed her lips against mine.
I was done for.
Always gone for her.
Her lips nipped at mine, her tongue teasing, but when she opened for me, I took advantage. She moaned as I swept my tongue through her mouth, and I needed to be inside of her, to have no barriers between us.
“Bedroom?” I rasped against her mouth.
“Door behind me,” she answered in an equally urgent and raspy voice.
I stumbled my way through the suite but found the bedroom easily enough and wasted no time dragging Riley into the middle of it.
“How long do we have?” I asked just before I pulled my shirt over my head.
“Long enough,” she replied breathlessly, propping herself up on her elbows to watch me undress. I stood up and unbuttoned my pants, quickly pushing them down my thighs along with my boxer briefs, my cock standing straight up, aching for her. I crawled back over her and pushed her shirt up her torso, exposing her stomach before kissing up the middle. She took over, pulling the shirt over her head, then reaching behind her back to unclasp her bra.
&nb
sp; As soon as her breasts were free, my mouth pulled her nipple in, sucking and nipping.
“Oh God,” she breathed as she writhed beneath me.
I could have stayed at her breasts forever—she had a fantastic rack—but I wanted more. Wanted to give her more. I moved lower and unbuttoned her slacks, loving how she wore sexy-as-fuck lingerie under her work clothes. I peeled the pants down her thighs and my eyes locked on the black lace covering her pussy. I could smell her arousal and absolutely could not stop myself from burying my face between her thighs and nuzzling her before I yanked her lacy underwear down her legs.
We were naked, both of us ready, and I couldn’t drag my eyes from her.
I sat back on my ankles and gripped her behind her knees, dragging her into my lap. Her legs fell open over my thighs and I fucking loved that she was on display for me. I trailed a finger over her opening, and my cock grew impossibly harder finding her wet.
“You’re so ready for me, babe.”
“I’ve been ready for you all morning, thinking about seeing you. I need you, Cam.”
“Fuck,” I ground out harshly, sinking two fingers knuckle-deep inside her. I watched her eyes flutter closed, felt her hips arch up to meet my fingers, heard her groan as I rotated my fingers inside of her, stretching her, finding that spot that made her absolutely lose her mind. I stroked that spot over and over again, feeling her wetness flood around my fingers and watching her skin become flushed and splotchy. One of her hands grasped the sheets and I grunted as the other palmed her breast, kneading and pulling to the rhythm of my fingers.
“I can’t take much more of this, Riley. I want to feel you come around my fingers, and then you’re going to come around my cock.”
“Yes,” she whispered, lost in her own world of lust.
I started moving my fingers quicker, putting more pressure on that rough spot inside of her, and smiled as I watched her climb. She grew louder, uninhibited in the fancy hotel suite, rocking her hips against my fingers until I pressed my thumb against her clit and circled, sending her into orgasm.
Her mouth dropped open, back arched off the mattress, and she trembled uncontrollably. It was fucking magnificent to watch. Her pussy gripped my fingers, pulling them farther into her channel, and I couldn’t wait to feel her work against my dick.
I pulled my fingers out while she was still reeling and thrust my cock inside, watching her react to the sudden intrusion.
“Camden, I can’t—”
“You just did, Riley. Take it.”
I pulled out and thrust in again, pulling her knees farther onto my lap, then dropped my hands next to her head and gave in to the instinct to claim her, to make her remember she was mine. I pounded into her, every thrust met with a strangled cry from her luscious mouth. I couldn’t tell if she was still coming from the first orgasm or if she was building rapidly to another. It didn’t matter. She could come all night long as far as I was concerned.
I slowed my thrusts, taking my time, leaving kisses all along her neck and shoulder.
“I didn’t realize how much I’d miss you until you were gone,” I panted, using my hips to push deep inside of her. “I need you.”
“I’m right here,” she said, her voice somewhere between a cry and a moan.
“You’re everything.” The words fell from my mouth. I meant them but hadn’t realized I needed to say them until they’d already been said. Something inside me was desperate for her to know how much I needed her with me.
She used her hands to bring my mouth back to hers and wrapped her ankles around my waist, her heels digging into my ass, meeting me thrust for thrust.
“Get there, babe. I can’t hold out much longer.” I wanted to. Lord knew I wanted to spend eternity wrapped inside her heat, but sometimes Riley was so good for me, so perfect, I couldn’t keep myself from coming. There was a primal logic there, some baser instinct; my body wanted to fill hers, to mark her, to mate. And it was happening whether I was ready or not. “Get yourself off, Riley. Touch yourself.”
I leaned back enough to look down at where our bodies were connected, where I was slick and coated with her wetness and sliding in and out, where her body was swallowing my cock whole. Her delicate hand reached between us, finding her clit and gently circling it with two fingers.
“Yes,” I growled. Did it get any sexier than watching Riley make herself come? No.
“I’m close,” she whined, eyes shut again, head tilted back.
I dug in, rutting against her deeper, making sure she was taking every inch of me without fail, pushing into her harder.
“Oh fuck,” she cried as she came.
Feeling her already-snug grip tighten around me sent me over the edge as well. I thrust once more, then stilled inside her, letting my release roll through me. I leaned down to kiss her and fell to the side, but she rolled with me so we stayed connected, kissing like teenagers. Her hands cradled my face and I slid mine around her slim waist, making sure there was absolutely no space between us.
Finally, when I’d kissed her enough to make up for the twenty-four hours we’d been apart, I released her lips, but still held her close.
“Hi,” she said on a sigh.
Even though my eyes were closed, I knew she was smiling by the sound of her voice. She sounded sated and sleepy.
“Hi back,” I said, peeping one eye open.
“That was a little unexpected.”
At that, I opened both eyes and gave her a narrowed glare. “Really? You didn’t think the moment I got my hands on you this would happen?”
She lifted one shoulder in a coy shrug. “Obviously I expected us to have sex while we’re here. I just didn’t expect it to be the instant you walked in the door. It’s only been a day. Was it really that hard?” She tried to keep the smile from her face, but she was too proud of her own pun to stop her lips from turning up at the corners.
“You loved it,” I said dismissively.
“I definitely did.” She let out a large sigh. “We should probably get cleaned up and head out to my mom’s house.”
Before she could climb out of the bed and end the spell that came over me when I walked in the hotel room, I leaned over and kissed her gently one more time.
“I fucking missed you, Riley,” I said, my forehead pressed against hers.
“I missed you too.”
Forty-five minutes later, we were driving through town heading toward Riley’s mom’s house. I knew she was nervous because she had a vice grip on my hand. I let her squeeze it, though, because I knew it made her feel better, even if just a fraction.
“Go right at that light,” she says. She didn’t sound like she was directing me toward her old home. Her voice was heavy, full of worry and fear.
I wasn’t exactly sure what she was afraid of, but if I had to guess it probably had to do with Riley being afraid I’d view her differently after meeting her mother and seeing where she spent part of her childhood. I think on some level she was embarrassed about where she came from.
I took the turn and observed the town giving way to a neighborhood. The houses were exactly what I would expect in Arizona—stucco, red clay tiles on the roof, rock gardens instead of grass. The houses were decently sized with ample room between them, but as we drove the houses and the lots they were on grew larger. With more size came more finery; instead of a standard two-car garage, there were three and four, then houses with circular driveways and detached garages.
Eventually, after a few more turns taking us deeper into the suburban area, the houses were no longer visible because they sat far off the road and were blocked by big gates you could only gain access to with a code.
“Turn into the next driveway on the left,” she said softly.
I rubbed my thumb against her knuckles, trying to calm her as much as possible.
When we reached the gate, I pulled up to the box and rolled down my window.
“The code should be one-nine-eight-five. That’s the year Mr. and Mrs. Price wer
e married.”
I punched the code into the dial pad and sure enough, the gate started to slowly open inward.
Palm trees lined the driveway which led, finally, to a house that could only be described as colossal. Excessive. It was simply massive. A huge fountain was the focal point around the circular drive, and a grand white marble staircase led up to two mahogany doors that must have been fifteen feet high. I thought back to when I took Riley to my parents’ house for the first time and the way she had reacted looking at their rather large home. This mansion made my parents’ quaint home pale in comparison.
“Holy crap,” I said before I could think better of it.
“I know. It’s ostentatious, isn’t it?”
“It’s something, all right. What in the world do these people do?”
“Mr. Price got in early on a bunch of nineties Internet stocks. I think he’s one of the original owners of America Online. Might have a piece of Explorer as well. Even though those companies are not exactly top of the line anymore, he made all the money he’d ever need decades ago. Now I think they live off interest and dividends.”
“Lucky bastard,” I mumble.
“Go all the way around the driveway. Right after the house, you’ll see a little access road. That’ll lead you down the south end of the property.”
I followed her directions and took the Mustang off the nice smooth pavement and onto a gravel road. It wasn’t terrible, but it definitely wasn’t as nice as the main driveway.
The sun was setting and the bright sun was waning, casting an orangey-pink hue over everything. After a few moments on the access road, we came upon what I would have called a normal house. In fact, it looked much like the houses in the neighborhood we’d passed before we encountered the long gated driveways.
Riley’s hand tightened in mine, and I realized why when my eyes landed on her mother standing on the porch. Pulling the Mustang up next to what I assumed was her mother’s car, I put it in Park and then turned to Riley, cupping her cheek.
“I love you and this is going to go great. You’ll see.”
Riled Up (With A Kiss #2) Page 6
