Business & Pleasure_A Dad's Best Friend Romance

by Tia Siren

  Richard cleared his throat again. “I see. Well, you should be used to that so-called intrusion by now, dear.”

  Riley’s heart sank. “They’re drawing unnecessary, unwanted attention, Dad.”

  There was a long pause during which she dared not say a word. She knew the wheels were turning, and she hoped she’d said enough to turn them in her favor.

  “Very well. I’ll have them pack it in in the morning.”

  She avoided the urge to sigh in relief, even as his words made her heart press against her ribs. “That would be great, Dad. I really appreciate it.”

  “Riley, I don’t have to tell you—”

  “No, you don’t. When have I ever let you down, Dad? When have I ever done a single thing to embarrass you or Mom?” There was a trace of bitterness in her voice, and she prayed he would not catch it.

  “You haven’t. It’s just… Well, this is a very important time in our lives, a pivotal moment, of sorts.”

  Damn it, how many pivotal moments can one family have? How long will it be before my parents realize none of this is fair to me? That the life they’re leading is theirs, not at all what I want for myself? Furthermore, do they even care?

  She was afraid she knew the answers to those questions all too well, and that thought struck home and stayed there. If she wanted any kind of life, she was going to have to make it for herself. In that instant a sudden rebellion took hold, one far more precarious that the jaywalking she’d done with that hot bartender. It really started then, and it only grew stronger when she made the courageous decision to ask him to call off his dogs. In fact, even during the phone call she was growing stronger by the minute. “I should get to bed,” she said eventually, even though a glance at the clock told her it was only ten p.m.

  “All right, then. Have a good vacation, Riley.” Then, just like that, he hung up without so much as a goodbye or a proclamation of his fatherly love. Of course Riley didn’t expect any of that, as it was not her father’s style to show any kind of affection, even in a private phone call with his daughter.

  Riley drifted to the balcony. The ocean was dark and vast beneath a sky prickled with silvery stars and a sliver of moon. The wildness of that scene called to her. Everything in her wished she had the guts to just run out there into that dark, heaving sea for a moonlight swim, to feel the tide splashing against her body.

  When a figure appeared below, Riley moved closer to the railing. A long corridor of golden light arced down from a bulb set high atop a lamppost, a motion-detecting bulb that was sparked to life by the walking man. Her pulse began to race when she realized it was Gray, heading for the very ocean she’d just wished she could frolic in. He stood framed against the light and the darkness beyond for just a split second. Then he dashed into the waves.

  Riley watched, and her hand moved to her lower body without any thought. The ache in her pussy grew stronger as she sought to keep her eyes on him. He cut through the waves with powerful motions, swimming parallel to shore. Her inner core released juices that flowed into her panties, dampening them. The sheer primal power of her attraction to him had started the moment she had seen him, but at that point it was tempered by her thinking he was just a major flirt, a big jerk, and a shallow, womanizing horn-dog. Maybe he was, or maybe that was just an act he put on to help him earn better tips from the silicone-enhanced women he served drinks to.

  Either way, he’d been quite nice to her that very evening, and that hot hospitality had loosened up her body and brain. Now, watching him, she squeezed her crotch rhythmically as he came out of the pounding surf and loped back toward the building. Her body hovered on the verge of an orgasm as she stood there, with her fingers pressed against the bunched-up fabric of her baggy dress and sticky panties, stuck between desire and self-control.

  Masturbation didn’t come easily to her, and she didn’t own a vibrator. In fact, she’d never even seen a real one in person. She didn’t quite know how to manage all the particulars of self-pleasure, and something about it made her feel exceptionally naughty and nervous. She darted her eyes left to right, worried that someone out there at that hour might have a night-vision-equipped camera. Somehow, though, that horrible thought only inspired her to try harder.

  The tide rolled in, and her fingers pressed harder. She flicked her thumb across the erect, shuddering ridge of her clit. With her free hand, she gripped the railing more tightly. Her breath came in low, shuddering gasps as Gray stopped right below her, his lean body stretching and flexing as he stepped under the small outdoor shower to wash away the saltwater.

  Her finger made slow circles on her most intimate, sensitive part as she watched Gray lift his arms and shake his head. Light seemed to emanate from every glistening muscle. Riley’s fingers pressed harder, and climax rolled through her body, folding her across the railing. She felt a cry, but her lips managed to hold it in check.

  She came to her senses just as Gray stepped out of the spray and started to make his way back toward the building. Riley took a few long steps back, pressing her body into the pool of shadows cast by the furniture of the balcony.

  The light flickered off, but she stood there, silent and immobile. Did I really do that? Did I really just masturbate in public, staring at a guy I’ve only shared a pizza with? She grinned. Who’s the bad girl now, ladies? she thought, feeling a bit proud of herself.

  Riley skirted the front of the balcony and dashed back into her room. In the living room, she collapsed onto a sofa and reexamined her very recent life choices. “Gosh, I guess I have to stop hanging out with Megan and Lorna.”

  As she thought of her friends, she knew they wouldn’t be back for a while, and even if they were they wouldn’t have bothered to check her room. Most likely they would assume she went to bed alone at some ungodly early hour, with nothing to keep her company but a book. They were friends, in some ways, and they’d all been raised in the same circles. They did the same things, yet she had never really felt like they cared one way or another if she lived or died. They had their own lives. Of course they included her every now and then, but when she was absent they had plenty of friends to take her place. When it came to them, she felt expendable, not close at all. In fact, she wasn’t really close to anyone, and as she lay there, alone in her rented room, having just pleasured herself alone on her balcony, she wondered why that was.

  Chapter 4

  He’d fucked up. He knew all along that simply inviting the girl out for pizza could prove problematic. I don’t need Riley Teeter in my life. I don’t even want her there. Damn it, Grayson, what’re you doing? he scolded himself. What I want is for her to finish her pretentious vacation and haul her sexy little ass home.

  He was content before to assume she was just another stuck-up, rich bitch. He’d been smug with his dad, ready to avoid her, even as his father rode his ass about talking her into getting her wealthy father onboard with the new resort. The trouble was that she had looked so lost and alone. Her face, stripped of the overpriced sunglasses and designer makeup, was vulnerable and it pulled on Gray’s heartstrings. In the end, he simply couldn’t walk away from her.

  “She’s a woman, not a stray kitten,” he mumbled, taking the steps faster with each word. The swim had helped, albeit not a lot. His body was lit up with the need for sex, with her in particular. “I barely made it through that damn pizza,” he added under his breath as he took yet another flight of steps. “Those nipples! Damn.” The memory of those pert, small buds stretching against the fabric of her thin dress sent a tremendous shudder through his cock. Damn it! I’ve gotta stop thinking about her, and I need to stay as far away as possible.

  He paused, with one hand on the door of the apartment where his family lived. His thoughts were jumbled and torn, but one remained clear: She doesn’t deserve to be used by a guy who just wants to get to her daddy’s wallet. That his dad would even ask him to do that didn’t sit well with Gray, yet he understood the seriousness of the problem. If it was not such a big deal, hi
s father never would have asked.

  The apartment was at the top of the resort, settled back along the roof, to the right of the two penthouse apartments that were open to the public. It was quiet when he pushed the door open. The living room and kitchen, a huge, open-concept space, were dim and silent. Gray switched on lights as he went, his bare feet not making a sound on the expensive tile. There was a blue light flickering from Jon’s study, and Gray stood in the doorway, considering whether or not to go in. Finally, he cleared his throat.

  Jon turned his attention away from the computer screen and a frown creased his brow, but it eased when he saw his son standing there. “You close up nice and tight?”

  Gray nodded. “Yeah.”

  Jon nodded, and lines of weariness carved crevices in his face. “Seems some guests helped themselves to liquor last week.”

  “Really? That sucks.”

  “You’re tellin’ me, son. A bunch of happy assholes with their parents’ names on the reservation but no actual adults in sight. The oldest is 18. The parents are pissed and are fighting the four grand in bills. At least we caught the little bastards on camera, breaking into the bar.”

  “Yeah?” Gray shifted slightly. “Always something, huh?”

  “Always.” Jon turned back to the computer but quickly turned back around. “Did you manage to talk to the Teeter girl?”

  “No, sorry,” he lied. “She basically shot me down a million different ways, then walked off.”

  Jon sighed. “Damn. That sucks. Keep trying, will ya?”

  “Sure,” he said, but he thought, Not on your life.

  “’Night, son,” Jon said, staring at his computer and wincing again.

  “’Night, Dad. Don’t stay up too late.”

  “Can’t sleep anyway.”

  Gray sighed and headed toward his room. Once the door was closed behind him, he stripped down nude and stepped into the shower. He set the water on full blast. He had rinsed the salt off his skin in the cold shower outside, but that did little to loosen his stress-tight muscles, and he really needed to relax. He lathered a generous layer of soap all over his body with the soft cloth as the spray, hot and heavy, pulsed over his upper body. Gray ducked his head, letting the water soak his crown. He sighed as his muscles eased up, finally softening. Finally, the killer tension he’d been laboring under all day began to melt away.

  Not all of his muscles responded that way, however; his dick had gone from semi-hard to erect and full. He gave the protrusion a baleful glare. “Yeah, yeah, I know how hot she is, asshole, but I sure as hell don’t wanna mess up her life by doing what Dad wants me to do.”

  That didn’t seem to sway his pecker at all. In fact, it rose slightly, quivering in the air in front of his rock-hard body like it was seeking the heat and wetness coming from the showerhead—not that it would satisfy his real urge. What Gray really wanted was to bury every long inch of his prick deep inside Riley’s curvy, lean body, to fuck her until they were both satisfied and breathless.

  His fingers, still holding the cloth, cupped his heavy length and he closed his eyes, letting the image of Riley swim into both of his heads. The washcloth, laden with lather and slick and oily against his flesh, stoked his imagination even higher. The cloth and Gray’s fingers moved along his swollen shaft, tightening and pulling as they neared the blood-engorged cap at the end. His knees went weak, but he managed to stay upright. His body tensed and he sucked deep gulps of air through his open mouth, feeling a blast of heated water in his throat as a result.

  He pictured Riley on her knees, with her face turned upward, her throat and mouth working as she swallowed the hard, throbbing length of his dick, taking him all the way down, past those perfect white teeth and rose-painted lips, down the long, creamy column of her neck until she held him entirely within her mouth.

  His legs went rigid at the thought, and his hand moved faster as he pictured it, her eyes looking up at him, her lips pursed and tugging, the heated warmth of her mouth taking him deep. His back flexed, and his hips shot forward and back. His hand worked faster, his fingers gripping his dick while he let the fantasy play out. He could feel heat and tightness gathering around his prick as the vivid image played out in his head: her nipples, jutting up in perfect little pink caps, and her eyes looking up at his through a tangle of wet, blonde hair. He wanted to tangle his fingers in it.

  His ass jerked forward, his hips bucking and jerking as he jacked his dick with one hand and braced himself against the wall with his strong forearm. Hot and sticky cum flooded from the head of his dick, spilling along the shower wall before swirling away under the heavy force of the water.

  Gray took a few long, deep breaths. Damn it! He had a bad case of desire for her, even if he didn’t want to. There was no way he could do anything with her without hurting her or pissing off his dad. The best thing he could do was stay as far away from her as possible. He had no delusions of grandeur; at the bar, she thought he was an asshole, and he had intended to keep it that way, but after the hour they spent over pizza he was almost sure she had changed her mind about that. Now he had to change things back to the way they were. He didn’t want to, but he had to be such a colossal jerk so she would willingly avoid him like the fucking plague.

  He stepped out of the shower and into a pair of clean boxers. He walked out onto the balcony and stood there. Riley wasn’t in the penthouse, even though she certainly could have afforded one of them. Instead, she was housed in a smaller room just a few floors below his. He knew that because of the elevator she had used. That surprised him, too, as billionaires’ daughters didn’t often settle for less than the most sumptuous and expensive rooms. Then again, he had never met a woman with that kind of money behind her, so he wasn’t really sure how women of that ilk acted.

  He thought about that for a moment and realized that during their conversation over pizza, she hesitantly mentioned her dream to live in a tiny studio apartment. His forehead puckered as he recalled that. Why would she want that? Is it possible she wants as little to do with her family’s money as I wanted to do with Dad’s latest scheme to get his hands on some of it? It made him wonder. Was she just a pawn, the same as him? He shook his head. He hardly doubted it.

  Chapter 5

  The next afternoon, Riley surveyed Megan and Lorna discreetly. They were both suffering from massive hangovers, which was no surprise. They both also had massive hickeys on their necks and thighs, also not a surprise. They were clutching heavily spiked drinks, their hangover cures, as they lay by the pool.

  “I’m fucking bored, Riley,” Megan complained. “Lorna and I talked it over, and we wanna go to Miami.”

  Riley bit her lip, fully aware that it was a carefully disguised invitation.

  “Seriously, that rapper Pro Bono has a yacht off the coast, and he invited us,” Lorna confirmed. “Who says no to an invitation like that?”

  “Pro Bono?” Riley asked, somehow managing to keep a straight face.

  “Yeah. He’s awesome and super sexy. He even said he might let us dance in his new video.”

  “Plus, like I said, it’s boring here,” Megan chimed in. “It’s sooo boring. Even the clubs are lame. No one who matters would ever come to a place like this.”

  Riley’s eyes darted over to Gray, who was shaking up cocktails behind the bar. “You guys go ahead. I think I’ll stay here.”

  Lorna groaned. “I was afraid you would say that, but whatever. I mean, we don’t want to run out on you, but c’mon, Rile.”

  “Oh, I get it. I know I’m pretty boring, so I sorta fit right in here.” She meant every word she said, and it was awesome as far as she was concerned. Even if she had a wild streak, there was no way she was going to let it play out on a yacht with some asshole who called himself Pro Boner or whatever. What kind of person uses an idiotic name like that anyway? Really, she was glad they were going. The bodyguards had bounced that morning, as her father promised, and once Megan and Lorna were gone she would be alone, free to do as s
he pleased. Now, if I can just get up the guts to do anything more than just play with myself on the balcony, she thought, staring at Gray again. That memory brought heat to her face. She felt a little ashamed, but she also felt oddly freed by that unusual act. If she was capable of that, she had to wonder what else she was capable of. She had no idea, but she was ready to find out.

  “Well, we can take the plane out and send it back,” Lorna chimed in, breaking Riley from her thoughts.

  “No, that’s okay,” Riley said. “I’ll just book a commercial flight. Go on. I’ll be fine here.”

  “You sure you’re not mad at us?” Megan asked. “I mean, we want to hang out with you and all, but… Well, we also agreed that we had no idea what it’s like here. It’s so quiet, and even after partying our butts off last night, we figure that’s not gonna get much better either. I’m just sayin’ we had to work hard to have a good time.”

  “Sooo hard,” Lorna added. “Those guys were, like… I don’t know. They were just too laidback once we got to the club.”

  Riley knew exactly what she meant by that: They probably didn’t have any hardcore drugs or famous friends, and that thought almost had her rolling her eyes. “It’s okay. Go on and have fun. I’ll see you back in the city.”

  Megan stood. “Alrighty then. Come on, Lorna. We’ve gotta pack and call the pilot, then get the heck outta Dodge.”

  The relief on their faces was clear, but Riley felt the same sort of exhaustion she always felt around them. They were her friends, at least to some degree, but they didn’t really care about her as a person. As they walked away, giggling and swaying their hips in a very exaggerated fashion, Riley just sat in the lounge chair, letting the sun rest against her skin, bringing her blood to the surface. She checked the time, then sprayed on another level of sunblock. The vacation was already bad enough in some ways; the last thing she needed was a bout of ugly sun-burn for a souvenir to remember the occasion.