by Lori Foster
Riley spread his fingers wide over her hips and dragged the pants down to her knees. Her panties were the same lace as her bra, showing the springy auburn curls over her mound. He wanted her so badly he hurt, but he didn’t want to rush her, he didn’t want her to start searching for her damn books.
Using one fingertip, Riley traced the triangle of pubic hair. He couldn’t wait to taste her, to have her completely naked and open….
“Riley?”
“Yeah?”
A long heavy silence filled the air before she said, “I don’t think I can take all this waiting. My patience isn’t as strong as yours.”
Riley looked up at her face. Her hands were fisted, her pupils dilated, lips parted.
“Just a little longer.”
Her pants tangled around her ankles with her trying to kick them off and Riley had to finish that chore for her. Her panties came off next, and then she was beautifully bare.
Her aroused scent filled his head. He kissed her belly, each hipbone, an inner thigh. Alternately, he made the kisses gentle, then rough, sometimes laving with his tongue, sometimes nipping with his teeth. Regina squirmed and gasped, on edge, unsure what the next touch would bring. He could feel the urgency pounding through her.
Parting her legs, he licked the joint of her thigh and groin, where her skin was ultrasmooth and delicate.
“Riley, please…”
Regardless of what she said, she couldn’t be ready yet. His mouth open and his kisses deliberately damp, Riley made his way back up her body. She grabbed him, kissing him hard, while his hands covered both her breasts. Her nipples were tight now, her breasts swollen. He caught her nipples and rolled, squeezed, tugged.
She pulled her mouth away. “Riley.”
“Shh.” He kissed her again, silencing her protests while continuing to torment her nipples. The more aroused she got, the more she’d enjoy his caresses. Her legs shifted restlessly, moving alongside his until he stilled them with one of his own. Caught under him, Regina could barely move, and that suited Riley just fine.
Keeping her legs trapped, he leaned up to look at her face. “I want you as ready as I am, Red.”
“I am,” she all but wailed.
“No.” Smiling, he dragged his callused fingertips over her ribs, her belly and finally between her thighs. The crisp curls were damp, her lips puffy, sleek with moisture. His breath caught. “Well now, maybe you are.” He pressed his middle finger inside, just past her swollen flesh, no deeper. She was most sensitive here, at her opening, so he used that knowledge to circle, dip, circle again. He relished her broken moan, the way her body tried to move with him.
“I should… I should be doing something.”
“What is it you want to do?”
“Touch you.”
His control nearly slipped. “No, not yet. I’m on the ragged edge as it is.”
Her eyes opened and her head lifted off the pillow to shout into his face, “Then quit playing around!”
Riley almost laughed. Regina amused him so much, even at a time when laughter should have been eons away. “All right. Tell me how you like this.”
Her head dropped back with a groan as he began moving his finger deeply in and out, making her wetter still. As he did so, he kissed his way down her body. The closer he got to her sex, the more she stiffened.
“Riley?”
“Hush.” He nudged her thighs farther apart, took a moment to enjoy her scent, breathing deep, then with a groan, he covered her with his mouth.
She gave a small cry, arching hard.
At the first flick of his tongue, her body clamped down on his finger. He licked, stroked, and finally, catching her small clitoris carefully with his teeth, he suckled.
Her body strained away from him, but Riley held her hips, keeping her still. He loved the feel of her voluptuous bottom in his hands, the taste of her on his tongue, the hot, wild sounds she made. As her excitement peaked, he worked in another finger, stretching her, filling her. She lifted up to meet his mouth, grinding against him, so close.
When he knew she was ready to come, he sat up and snagged a condom from the nightstand. Regina cried out in protest at the delay, and the second he got the protection taken care of, she opened her arms to him.
Riley settled between her wide-open thighs. Wanting every possible connection, he held her face to kiss her and nudged his way inside. She was tight, but so wet he knew he wouldn’t hurt her. With one hard thrust, he entered her completely and Regina lifted her legs to wrap around his waist. He found a rhythm that quickly had them both straining toward a climax.
Her mouth devoured his, biting his bottom lip, sucking on his tongue. He loved it.
He loved her. If only he could make her understand that.
Sweating, his heart thundering in his chest, he slid one hand under her behind to tilt her hips up so he could enter her more deeply. That was all it took. She started coming with broken groans and mewling cries and that pushed Riley right over the edge. He could feel the throbbing clench and release of her body on his cock, the frantic bite of her nails on his shoulders, the way she shuddered and writhed under him.
He pressed his face into her neck and growled out her name. Regina wasn’t quite so restrained. She screamed.
Two seconds after Riley’s body went utterly limp and he gave Regina his weight, Butch began barking hysterically.
He felt Regina stiffen, but he patted her hip and made the manly offering. “I’ll go get him.”
Her hands slid off his back to land limply on the bed. “Thanks.”
Riley forced himself to his elbows to see her face. Her eyes were closed, her French braid ruined, her makeup smudged. She was sweaty, just as he’d predicted.
And, thank God, she was finally his.
*
RILEY ATTEMPTED to wake her with a kiss to her forehead. Regina moaned, rolled to the side and slept on.
They’d spent the night making love and apparently, Regina wasn’t used to such excesses. Truthfully, neither was he.
It had surprised him how often he’d wanted her. Watching her eat a simple dinner in her robe, seeing her coddle the silly little dog, catching her secret smiles and sudden blushes, had all provoked him. He hadn’t been able to keep his hands off her.
And she hadn’t minded in the least.
It’d been tricky, getting Butch to leave the room without kicking up a fuss. Riley figured he’d need to stock up on toys and tasty chews to distract the dog.
After her fourth release, she’d conked out and hadn’t really come to since. Once he’d realized she was done for, he’d worked her pajamas back onto her then let Butch in the room. She hadn’t protested when the dog burrowed under the covers, or when Riley had pulled her close and held her all night long.
She hadn’t even awakened.
It drove home to Riley just how exhausted she’d been, and the toll her worries must have taken on her.
He hoped his presence would ease those worries, because, from now on, she’d damn well be with him. Beyond that, he didn’t know if his lauded control extended to sleeping chastely each night, even if they’d made love prior to going to bed.
He hated to disturb her now, but he didn’t want to leave for the day without saying goodbye. Butch seemed just as determined to keep him from doing so.
He and the dog had been up for an hour and more than once Butch had whined at her door, apparently wanting Regina to join them. Now that he was back in the bed with her, he dashed from Regina’s feet to her head and back again, trying to protect all of her—from Riley.
Riley lifted the miniscule dog. “I may have gone overboard last night, bud, but I don’t accost women in their sleep.”
Regina’s eyes fluttered open. “Riley?”
At the sound of her soft, sleepy voice, some insidious warmth expanded in his chest. “After last night, were you really expecting another man to wake you up?”
He saw confusion flit over her face, then realization. She sn
atched the sheet over her head. “What in the world are you doing in here?”
He sat on the bed beside her, causing a dip in the mattress. Her rump rolled into his hip. “I slept here. It’s my bed, remember?”
She groaned.
“And because Butch wanted under the covers, I put your pajamas back on you, so you don’t need to hide.”
“It’s not that,” she mumbled from under the covers.
Ah, Riley thought, appearances again. Silly woman. “Do you have any idea how sexy you look all rumpled and warm?”
She went very still. “I do?”
“Yeah. Makes me want to strip naked and get back into bed with you.” He gave a grievous sigh. “But unfortunately I have some stuff to do, so I only wanted to wake you so I could say goodbye.”
One slender hand emerged from the blankets, shooing him away. “I’ll be out in a second.”
Smiling, Riley patted her hip and stood. As an enticement, he said, “I have coffee ready and waiting.”
She made a rumbling sound of appreciation. “I’ll be right there.”
Ten minutes later she emerged with her hair brushed and pulled back in a ponytail, wearing a casual green sundress. Her eyes were still puffy and there was a crease in her cheek probably formed from a pillowcase.
Riley wanted to consume her. Again. Last night hadn’t even taken the edge off his hunger. He didn’t think a hundred years could do that.
As he watched, she made her way unsteadily toward the table. “Riley? I suppose I should admit that I’m not at my best in the morning.” She ended that with an enormous and inelegant yawn, giving proof to her statement.
“Coffee will help. You sit and I’ll pour it for you.”
She plopped down in the chair. “Thank you.”
The dog made a beeline for Regina. She roused herself enough to lift him into her lap and treat him to several kisses to his round head.
Riley could have used a few of those kisses. Not that he was jealous of the attention she gave Butch, and not that he didn’t understand how sluggish she felt. But this was the proverbial morning after and she’d barely looked at him.
Then he decided what the hell.
He handed her a mug of coffee, but forestalled her from tasting it by leaning down and taking her mouth in a warm morning kiss. “Now that,” Riley said as he straightened, “is the proper way to say hello after a night of satisfying debauchery.”
Regina gave him a bemused look, snatched up her cup and swilled her coffee. There was no other word for it. In two long gulps, her mug was empty. Enjoying this side of her, Riley fixed her another cup then seated himself across from her.
“You do remember last night, don’t you?”
Her eyes darted away from his. “Of course I do. No woman in her right mind would forget a night with you. Especially not a night like that.”
“Thanks. I wanted verification, given the way you passed out on me.”
She groaned and covered her face with one hand. “I’m sorry.”
Riley reached across the table and took her slender wrist. Her skin was warm, smooth. “I’m not. You needed the sleep.”
“That’s no excuse for rudeness.”
Riley nearly choked on his laugh. “You were not rude, I was excessive. And believe me, I have no complaints.”
“But…”
“None, Red. Okay?”
Her expression softened. “I don’t have any complaints either. In fact, I think I owe you a few compliments.”
Riley grinned with her. “You can give them to me tonight.”
“Why tonight?” She looked more awake now and somewhat interested. “I thought maybe we could…”
He groaned. “Don’t tempt me, Red. Nothing would please me more than hauling your sexy butt back to bed. But I’ll be gone till this afternoon.”
Her disappointment was plain to see, filling Riley with satisfaction. “I thought you were on vacation.”
“I am, but I want to talk to your two swains, Carl and Luther, then stop by the station and see how things are going with our intruder.”
Her brows pulled down. “I’m not at all sure I like this idea.”
“Why?”
“Don’t look so suspicious, Riley. I’m not hiding anything important.”
That clarification important rang like a bell in his head. “So you’re hiding unimportant stuff?”
“No! And don’t twist my words. It’s just that I’m sure neither Carl nor Luther has anything to do with my trouble.”
“With this type of continued harassment, it’s almost always someone you know, and more often than that, it’s someone you’ve been romantically involved with.” She quit her protests to groan instead. Riley laced his fingers in hers. “Now, don’t take this the wrong way, but I’d like you to promise me you won’t take off anywhere while I’m gone.”
She rubbed her eyes tiredly. “I have nowhere to go. In fact,” she said, giving him a direct look, “I thought I’d finish up my article on the talent show. Once that’s done, I can start on your interview.”
He didn’t want to talk about the damn interview right now. While he intended to discover everything he could about Regina, he detested the thought of her prying into his past. He came to his feet and stepped around the table to reach her. Caging her in with one hand on the seat and the other on the back of her chair, Riley said, “We’ve got a lot to do today, sweetheart.”
She stared at his mouth. “We do?”
He nodded. “We’re going to start on your private lessons today, remember?”
“Oh.”
Seeing her disappointment almost had him laughing out loud. Aware of Butch’s low growls, he touched her nose. “I’ll make sure you enjoy them, okay?”
Her eyes darkened. “Okay.”
“Tonight is the ceremony at the Historical Society. They’re honoring Senator Welling.” He watched her face and added, “I thought maybe we could go.”
Excitement brightened her eyes and added a smile. “You mean it?”
Now he was jealous. Welling represented her ideal man, and for most, his stature was as unattainable as the moon. “It won’t be a social call, honey. I want a chance to talk to your senator, and this seems like it might be the best opportunity.”
Her excitement remained plain to see. “He’s not just my senator, and Riley, you’ll like him a lot, I know it.”
Riley would have liked the guy more if Regina weren’t so infatuated with him. “If he cooperates with me, I’ll have no complaints.”
“I really don’t think he’ll have anything to share, but it’ll be good to see him again.”
Because he didn’t want to hear her talk about Welling, Riley kissed her quick and hard. He felt Butch nipping at his chin, his ear, doing all he could to scare Riley off. Riley drew back to stare at the little dog. “Where’s your toy?”
Butch’s ears shot up. He maneuvered down Regina’s leg to the floor and took off at a dead run for the hallway. He returned with the stuffed Chihuahua in his mouth and dropped it at Riley’s feet.
Riley laughed. “Smart dog. All right, I can play for just a few minutes, but that’s all.” And to Regina he added, “Finish up your coffee. There’s cereal in the cabinet, fruit in the fridge. Help yourself, okay?”
Her expression was tender when she nodded. “Thanks.”
Ten minutes later, Riley was on the floor, the stuffed toy caught in his teeth while he and Butch indulged in a feigned tug of war. Butch gave it his all, jerking and growling in his attempt to tear the toy away from Riley. Riley growled back, a stuffed tail and leg caught in his mouth.
Regina laughed. “You’re both nuts.”
Riley straightened. “Now he knows how to grapple. Did you see his triceps? Or would they be triceps, considering dogs don’t have arms?” Riley shook his head. “Either way, he’s buff and built like a lean bulldog.”
Butch took off in a flash, dragging the toy, but when Riley didn’t pursue him he returned only to smack Ri
ley’s ankle with it. “No,” he told Butch. “I gotta go. Get Regina to play.”
Butch dutifully dragged the toy to Regina. She laughed. “Gee, thanks.”
Riley tipped up her chin to give her a long, thorough kiss. “If you need anything while I’m gone, just call me on my cell phone.”
He knew he had to leave before he decided not to go at all. Today he was going to get some answers. The sooner the better. Then he’d come home to Regina.
Soon he’d have everything worked out.
CHAPTER EIGHT
THE SECOND RILEY was out the door, Regina made plans. She called Rosie at work first to find out Ethan’s and Harris’s schedules. She didn’t want to call either of their homes if there was a chance she’d wake them. As firefighters, their hours varied. Regina told her they were both on second shift that week, and that Ethan, at least, should be up and about.
She called him and made an appointment for him to visit her at Riley’s house. Next, she called Buck and left him a message since he didn’t pick up.
Finally she chanced a call to Harris. A woman answered, temporarily throwing Regina off. “Um, is Harris around?”
“Who is this?” the woman asked with heavy suspicion.
Regina was about to reply when she heard some grumbling in the background, then Harris’s voice on the phone. “Hello?”
“It’s Regina. I’m so sorry I’m interrupting.”
“No, you’re not.” That statement caused another ruckus in the background. Harris covered the phone, did some grousing, then came back to ask, “What’s up? Everything okay?”
“Oh, yes. I just… I’m going to be doing an interview on Riley and since he’s gone for most of the afternoon and he doesn’t want me to leave his apartment, I figured I could start by talking to his closest friends. Ethan’s coming over in a few minutes, and I hoped, if you weren’t too busy, maybe you could come by after him.”
She heard the amusement in Harris’s voice when he asked, “Does Riley know you’re inviting us over?”
“No, why?”
Now he laughed outright. “No reason. None at all. And yes, I’d love to come over. Hell, I wouldn’t miss this for the world. Want me to pick up Buck and drag him along? You can kill two birds with one stone.”
