After Tonight

by Erin Nicholas

  She laughed. “Now I almost hope I do need bail money.”

  She slid out of the truck and had just started to close the door when, stupidly, Derek said, “Ry.”

  She stopped and looked in at him. “Yeah?”

  “Call me. Later. Whenever.”

  She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment, and he was certain that she was thinking of a good way to say no, that was a bad idea. But instead, she nodded, “I will.”

  “Okay.”

  She slammed the door, and he watched her walk up to the front of the police station and go inside. He blew out a breath. Fuck.

  He pulled out his phone and texted Scott. You better take care of her. This shit better not be dangerous.

  He waited nearly three minutes with no response. He was tempted to stick around and wait to see if Riley and Scott came back out and left. Of course, then he probably would have followed them, and that would have been pathetic.

  Right.

  He drove home, absolutely unable to come up with a thing to do. Or at least not anything he wanted to do. He could go back to the Come Again and let Bryan go home. But he didn’t really want to wait on people tonight. He could swing by his grandma’s house. She’d probably bake him brownies while he took a look at the wiring in the dishwasher. But he didn’t want to work on a dishwasher tonight. Or eat brownies.

  And that was absolutely pathetic.

  His phone finally pinged with a message. She’ll be fine was Scott’s answer.

  It wasn’t good enough.

  Dammit. What do you have her doing? Where is she going?

  Scott’s answer a moment later was, Who is this and why do you have Derek’s phone?

  Ha, ha. Fucking hilarious. Don’t make me come down there. He looked at the words that he didn’t think he’d ever actually say to anyone about anything, but he pushed send anyway. He wasn’t the possessive type. He just never got that worked up. None of the stuff he had couldn’t be replaced. None of the women in his life were ever supposed to stay.

  Until now.

  So come down here. She’s working right here in the station. I’m sure she’d love to have you breathing down her neck.

  Derek wished Scott was actually here, because he’d love to tell him to fuck off in person.

  What the hell is going on with you? Scott asked.

  Well, that was a really good question. Nothing.

  Bullshit.

  Seriously. Just want to be sure this new thing is safe for Riley.

  Because?

  Because I want her to be okay.

  I’m here. And she’s doing what she’s best at.

  Yeah. But… He quickly deleted the words. Scott was right. Riley was fine. And it was none of his business.

  Never mind, he finally typed.

  Scott was right on that reply too. Yeah, sure, I’ll just never mind that you’re in love with Riley.

  Derek read the words over again. And tried to figure out why they didn’t shock him. But he’d been the one to help both Scott and Kyle see how they really felt about Peyton and Hannah.

  He thought about typing don’t tell her, but he knew Scott wouldn’t. He also knew that as of right this minute, Scott was going to give him shit the next time he saw him. So he did go ahead and type, Just take care of her.

  At least he left off the for me he was tempted to include.

  Then he stomped in the house, popped a beer, and turned on the television. And brooded until it was time to go to bed. He hadn’t gotten a text from Riley, but he also hadn’t sent Riley any texts checking up on her. That was something.

  But now it was midnight, and he hadn’t heard from her and…fuck it.

  He texted I want you. He hit send. Then shut his light off.

  Fifteen minutes later, he didn’t have a text back. But he heard his front door open, the creak of someone walking over the floorboards in the hall. Riley slipped into his room, kicked her shoes off, and shed her clothes down to her panties. Derek lifted the blanket, and she slid underneath and right up against him.

  Feeling an incredible sense of happiness, he wrapped his arm around her and put his nose in her hair.

  “You okay?” he asked against the back of her neck.

  “They found the girls,” she said quietly. “But they were really shaken up.”

  He felt a tremor go through her. “You too, Ry?”

  “Yeah.”

  He tightened his hold on her, tucking her more firmly under his chin. She took a big, deep breath, then let it out. Her body stopped shaking and she finally turned to face him. She wrapped her arms around him and snuggled close.

  Her naked breasts pressed into his chest, but all he could think about was that she was here. She’d come to him when she was feeling shaken. That seemed right. And amazing.

  “How can I help?” he asked.

  “Can I stay over? I don’t want to sleep alone in the basement.”

  He opened his mouth, but before he could reply, she said, “And can you tease me a little bit or something? Like call me a wuss for needing to be held or something. I just don’t want anything else serious tonight.”

  Yeah, it didn’t get a lot more serious than sex trafficking. He wanted to tell her that he was proud of her. He wanted to point out that she’d helped save lives tonight. He wanted to ask about what all had gone down, honestly. But that wasn’t what she needed from him.

  So he ran his hand across her lower back and said, “Damn, I really am amazing. I’m going to sleep all night with a half-naked woman who I want more than anything, and all I’m going to do is hold her.”

  Okay that wasn’t the best teasing he’d ever done, but hopefully it would work.

  She wiggled a little. “Do you want me to put a shirt on?”

  “I most definitely do not want you to put a shirt on.”

  She turned again, so her butt was against his cock. “So you’ll be okay?”

  In spite of the position, and how much his cock liked it, Derek could hear the smile in her voice, and he felt a knot of tension ease in his shoulders. “Yeah. But I’ll probably deserve a reward in the morning.”

  “Do you like chocolate chips?” she asked.

  “I think I could come up with a few ways to incorporate chocolate chips, yes.” He nuzzled her hair.

  “Well, it’s not hard,” she said. “You just mix them into the pancake batter.”

  “Ah, chocolate chip pancakes,” he said. “That’s my reward?”

  “Yes.”

  He was pretty sure he could change her mind about that.

  “After we have sex in your shower.”

  That was more like it. “Fair warning, I have a loofah and I’m not afraid to use it.”

  She wiggled again, and he heard a soft giggle. He wasn’t sure he’d ever felt better.

  “’Night, Ry,” he said, kissing the top of her head.

  She gave another of those soft, happy sighs. “’Night, Derek.”

  He waited a few seconds, then he said softly, “And if you wake me up before eight a.m. tomorrow, I will spank your ass.”

  His hand was resting on her stomach, and he felt the little hitch in her breathing.

  “Not sure that’s the deterrent that you think it is,” she replied.

  He grinned. “Okay, how about this…I’ll spank you for letting me sleep past nine.”

  She covered his hand with hers. “Deal.”

  10

  They slept ’til 10:08. Or at least Riley did. She blinked at the clock on Derek’s bedside table. He clearly had light-blocking curtains on his windows because his room was still gloriously dark even though it was halfway through the morning.

  Riley stretched, rolling onto her back, feeling well rested, completely satisfied, and pretty damned happy.

  Last night had been intense. Good, but intense. She’d helped the cops track the girls to a rundown hotel on the outskirts of Chicago. They’d not only found the three from Lincoln, but four other girls. Five guys were in custody, and th
e hotel owner was being questioned.

  She’d felt good about the work and ecstatic for the outcome. But it had also been draining. Those five guys, those seven girls, were just a drop in a huge bucket, and while she was fully dedicated to do everything she could now, it was depressing that there was so much work to be done.

  Riley hadn’t been shocked to find herself on Derek’s porch afterward. She hadn’t been surprised to find his front door unlocked either. And she hadn’t been surprised by how good it felt to slip into bed beside him and ask him to hold her.

  He’d done a great job of it. She hadn’t slept that hard in a long time.

  And now it was late in the morning and she was…alone.

  She looked over at the other side of the bed. And frowned. What about the shower sex?

  Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Riley ran her fingers through her hair and looked around. She spotted one of Derek’s T-shirts flung over the chair in the corner. She grabbed it, pulling it on as she headed out of the bedroom.

  But he was not just missing from the bed. He wasn’t in the house at all. And there was no coffee brewing or breakfast being made. No chocolate chip pancakes for sure.

  Okay, so she didn’t need to know where he was or what he was doing. It was sweet that he’d let her sleep. Shower sex would have been great, but they could do that when he got back from wherever he was. It wasn’t a big deal. She just kind of wanted to know where he was.

  She started the coffee and headed into the living room to grab her phone from her purse. She had a text, but it was from Peyton, not Derek.

  Heard you were kick-ass last night. Thank you!

  Riley smiled. She had been kick-ass last night. It had really, overall, been awesome. And it had truly energized her to get the education and advocacy program off the ground.

  In fact, she had a little time now. Might as well work on some ideas.

  It was a great excuse to kill time at Derek’s house. It wouldn’t look like she was stalling so she could see him. Probably.

  She settled down at the table with her computer and a cup of coffee. It was nice here. Quiet. The sun lit the kitchen up this time of day, and she found it soothing and easy to concentrate.

  So much so that she didn’t hear Derek come in until he walked into the kitchen and came up short in the doorway.

  “Oh, hey.”

  She looked up quickly. “Hey.” But her smile died. He looked surprised to see her. As if he hadn’t expected her to still be here. “I was…” She gestured at her computer. “I was just getting some work done on the sex trafficking program.”

  He nodded and moved toward the coffeepot. He was wearing jeans and a dark blue T-shirt. Both were streaked with mud.

  “What have you been up to?”

  He turned with his full cup and a slight frown. “Got a call. Kind of early. Didn’t want to wake you.”

  She gave him a little smile. “I wasn’t shy about waking you the past few mornings.”

  He tipped his head in acknowledgement. “But we both know I’m a nicer guy than you.”

  “Indeed. I’ve never been much of a guy at all.”

  The corner of his mouth curled. “I noticed.”

  “Not until recently.”

  “Oh, way back. I ogled you good a few times.”

  This was good. It was kind of banter-y. And she did like the idea of him ogling her. “Yeah? Well, ditto.”

  He chuckled at that. “You never ogled me.”

  “Oh, really? I particularly liked the neon-green swim trunks you had that one summer.”

  That had been about six years ago. Had she really ogled him that far back? But she had to admit, she’d learned firsthand from Derek Wright that six-pack abs and that awesome V guys had on either side of those abs could be real.

  Derek set his cup down and braced his hands on the counter on either side of his hips. “That was a long time ago.”

  “Yeah.” She knew that she looked a little puzzled by that too.

  “I guess the not-liking-me thing kept you from doing anything about it anyway.”

  Her gaze flew to his face. “What not-liking-you thing?”

  “You didn’t like me.” He shrugged. “I was like an annoying brother who wasn’t even really a brother.”

  He had been. There was no denying that. Was that what had kept her from making her ogling more obvious? “Yeah, you were,” she agreed. “Super annoying.”

  “I only did all of that to get your attention.”

  She tipped her head. “Why did you want my attention?”

  “I don’t think I really realized why. When I was doing it.”

  “Do you know now?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, I think I do.”

  “Okay, why?” Her heart had sped up a little and she sat back, crossing her arms.

  “Because when Riley Ames gives something, or someone, her attention, it means it’s special. It’s something she’s given a lot of thought, and heart, to. It’s really worthwhile.”

  Riley felt her mouth drop open.

  “Like the music that you liked. You didn’t just listen to the radio. You followed bands. You knew their backgrounds and their music that didn’t get played regularly. You knew the meaning behind the lyrics. And the books you read. You didn’t read whatever was most popular at the time. You found stories that really mattered to you. And your tattoos. You might have thought you were doing those to be rebellious, but every one of them has a meaning behind it.”

  Holy…crap.

  “I guess I just wanted to be something that you gave some extra thought to. Even if it was annoyed thought.”

  “You didn’t…you didn’t feel worthwhile?”

  He shrugged. “Not to you.”

  She shook her head. “I’ve always cared about you. You were on my mind.” She swallowed. “I think…I wanted to have a crush on you. But I wasn’t your type.”

  He nodded. “I know. And ditto.”

  No, he hadn’t been. She hadn’t been. All of those things she’d been interested in—the books, the music, her hobbies—were nothing Derek had wanted to have anything to do with. But he’d been a teenage boy. He’d grown up a lot since then. He was a lot more mature and insightful than she’d ever given him credit for before.

  She hadn’t been his type before. He hadn’t been her type before.

  But now…

  Those two words seemed to hang in the air, and Riley didn’t dare say them. Or ask them.

  “I didn’t always like you,” she acknowledged. “The idea of us being together never really occurred to me. But you always mattered.”

  He just looked at her for a long moment. “I was at the bookstore helping Lucy just now. She wants to have a stage built for Kade’s book thing.”

  Riley wasn’t sure why he was suddenly telling her this, but she nodded. “That was nice of you.”

  “You’re not worried about that at all? That I wanted to date Lucy, and I went over first thing this morning to help her out?”

  Riley frowned. “Of course not.”

  He paused another long moment. Then said simply, “I need a shower.”

  Her body instantly heated. It was the way he was looking at her. Or the idea of him naked and wet. Or the way he’d made her come already so many times. Or the way he’d held her. Or the fact that they had an imperfect history but still liked each other. Or all of the above. She nodded. “Me too.”

  With that, he pushed away from the counter, strode toward her, tugged her to her feet, and lifted her over his shoulder. His big hand covered her ass as he carried her into the bathroom.

  Three weeks.

  Derek couldn’t remember the last time he’d dated a woman for three weeks.

  But he also couldn’t remember a time when he’d had so much fun. Riley Ames was fun.

  “Okay, I don’t know what your love affair with onions is all about,” Riley said, wiping her mouth with a napkin. “But you have to pull back.”

  It had taken him
a week to actually get her to taste his pizza. She’d loved the barbecue chicken and the Everything Goes that he’d first introduced her to. Her favorite so far was the pepperoni and cream cheese, but she also really liked the taco pizza. Tonight, he’d pulled out a couple more specialty pizzas. The Philly cheesesteak, apparently, had too many onions.

  “Fine.” He jotted down a note.

  “And I think you need a different seasoning on the beef. This almost tastes like fajita meat.”

  Their eyes met and they both smiled and said “fajita pizza” at the same time.

  Riley laughed. “That might work. But cool it with the onions.”

  “Yes, I’ve got it.” He reached over and snagged one of the onions, popping it in his mouth. “I think you’re wrong, but I’ll pull back.”

  She nodded and hopped down from where she’d been perched on the countertop. “As long as you do whatever I tell you, you’re going to be fine.”

  He watched her ass as she headed for the fridge and a bottle of water.

  “As long as the only thing you boss me about is the pizza, I’m going to be fine,” he said.

  She turned to face him, twisting the top of the bottle off. “Is that right?”

  “It is.” He leaned back, folding his arms. “You put too many chocolate chips in the chocolate chip pancakes, and you put too much orange juice in screwdrivers.”

  Riley came back toward him. “First, there’s no such thing as too many chocolate chips in anything.”

  “It’s like having a pile of chocolate chips with a little pancake batter around them.”

  She stopped in front of him, tipping her head back. She smiled. “Exactly. Perfect.”

  When she was close enough to touch, he couldn’t keep his hands to himself. He lifted a finger and dragged it along the neckline of her off-the-shoulder tee. “And while sweet is perfectly fine when screwing, you also have to have the drive to make it really good.”

  She laughed. “The vodka is the drive?”

  “Yep. The drive has to be there with the sweet.”

  She stepped even closer and ran her hand up his chest. “I gotta admit that you have a point there. I’ll concede.”

  “I love when you concede.”