Mine After Dark

by Marie Force

  Inside, they shed coats, boots, hats and gloves into a pile on the floor of the foyer.

  Riley hooked his arm around her waist and picked her up.

  Her arms and legs curled around him, holding on tight as he walked them upstairs, kissing her as he took the stairs two at a time. “Where’re we going?” he asked between kisses.

  “End of the hall.”

  In the bedroom, he lowered her onto the bed and came down on top of her. “You can still say no,” he said gruffly, his lips hovering above hers.

  “I’m not saying no.”

  “You can say no at any time, and everything stops.”

  A huge lump lodged in her throat, forcing her to swallow hard. “That means everything to me,” she said, drawing him into another kiss.

  After that, there were no more words.

  Riley helped her out of her sweater, and then she returned the favor.

  The bra he’d unhooked earlier hung loosely on her shoulders.

  His gaze heated with desire as he pushed the cups aside and slid the straps down her arms, his fingers gliding over sensitized skin. Then he tugged on the button to her jeans and began to move with more urgency as he removed them, leaving her covered in only a thin layer of silk.

  “I’ve never seen anything more beautiful than you are,” he whispered, bending over her to press a kiss to the valley between her full breasts. “And I’ve never wanted anything more than I want you.”

  As he drew her nipple into the heat of his mouth, Nikki buried her fingers in his hair, needing to hold on to something. She wanted to touch him but couldn’t seem to make her hands move while he tormented first one nipple and then the other.

  “Riley,” she gasped.

  “What, honey?”

  “You’re making me crazy.”

  “That’s kind of the idea.” His lips skimmed down her body, over her belly and…

  Oh God. She’d never done that… Was that his… Oh my God. The three words echoed through her mind like a chant and a cry for mercy. He pushed her underwear aside. His tongue stroked her most sensitive flesh, while his fingers slid into her, the combination taking her to the brink of orgasm so fast, she could barely keep up. He backed off, clearly intent on torturing her, before doing it again and again until she was half out of her mind and begging for relief.

  When it happened, the orgasm blew through her in a flash of heat, leaving every part of her humming with relief and a kind of giddiness she’d rarely experienced. The soaring high left her feeling like anything was possible, that she could overcome the past and move forward with joy and the kind of pleasure she’d lived for so long without.

  She could do this.

  But only with him. Only with Riley.

  Then he was gone, standing to pull off his clothes, help her out of her panties and retrieve a condom from his wallet. Rolling it onto a long, thick erection, he never took his eyes off her. He came down on top of her, kissing her furiously before withdrawing slowly. “Is this still good?”

  “Mmm, so good. Don’t stop.”

  “I won’t stop, sweetheart.”

  She loved when he called her that, especially when he looked at her with such affection as he said it. The sensation of falling, of stepping off a cliff into the unknown, overtook her as he pushed into her, stretching her to the absolute limit.

  Jordan always said the lean guys came packing, and that thought, out of nowhere, almost made her laugh at the worst possible moment.

  “Talk to me. Tell me you’re okay.”

  “I’m okay.” She smoothed her hands over his back and down over his ass, giving a gentle tug to encourage him. “I’m very okay.” For so long, she’d known that eventually she’d have to do this again, hopefully with someone she cared about and who cared about her. One stroke at a time, Riley was repairing her broken heart, putting the pieces back together and bringing out emotions she’d never experienced before.

  “You feel so good,” he whispered, his lips skimming over her neck. “So, so good.” Raising himself up on his muscular arms, he gazed down at her, watching over her as he made love to her.

  His concern and tenderness were just what she needed to let go of her painful past to focus on a future that suddenly looked a whole lot brighter than it had in a very long time.

  * * *

  This, Riley thought, is life-changing, that elusive thing people talked about but couldn’t ever seem to quantify. This had to be experienced to be fully understood. Gazing down at her, he saw dark hair spread out on a white pillow, the olive tone of her smooth, silky skin, swollen lips, dark pink nipples and big brown eyes gazing up at him with trust and affection. His heart filled to overflowing with emotions, all of them tied up in her.

  “Nik…”

  “Yes,” she said, sounding as breathless as he felt.

  God, he hoped this meant as much to her as it did to him.

  Her eyes closed, her lips parted, her fingers dug into the flesh of his back, and her internal muscles tightened.

  Riley picked up the pace, moving faster until she cried out from the powerful release that took him along with her on the ride of his life. Afterward, he collapsed on top of her, and even his worries that he might be crushing her couldn’t seem to permeate the bliss.

  Her arms around him kept him from moving as he focused on breathing and stopping his head from spinning. “Still okay?” he asked when he could speak again.

  “Mmm-hmm. Very okay.”

  “Very okay is very good.”

  “Yes, it is.” Her hand moved in soothing strokes on his back, the gesture comforting and arousing at the same time.

  He breathed in the fresh, clean scent of her, committing the fragrance to memory because he never wanted to forget a single detail of this first time with her. When he could summon the strength to move, he wrapped his arms around her and brought her with him when he turned onto his back.

  Nikki reached for the down comforter and pulled it up, enveloping them in a cozy, warm cocoon that he wanted to wallow in for days. They’d come up only for air and food. Outside, the wind continued to howl, rattling the storm windows as the icy snow pinged against the glass. In a few hours, he’d be required to go back out and help clean up after the storm. But for right now…

  He smoothed a hand over her back, reveling in the softness of her skin.

  “Thank you,” she whispered after a long period of silence.

  “For what?”

  “For making that so perfect for me. I’ve sort of dreaded it for all this time.”

  “You made it rather perfect for me, too.”

  “Really?”

  “Um, you couldn’t tell by my… enthusiasm?”

  Her low chuckle rumbled through his chest. “You were rather enthusiastic.”

  “You inspired my enthusiasm. Remember when you said you suck at this stuff?”

  She gave a small nod.

  “You really, really don’t.”

  “That’s good to know.” Kissing his chest, she said, “Could I ask you something?”

  “Anything you want.”

  “Have you had… a lot of girlfriends?”

  “Not really. There’ve been… How to say this?”

  “Hookups?”

  “Yeah, that, but not what I’d refer to as an actual girlfriend.”

  “How come?”

  “I never met anyone I wanted to spend that much time with, until last fall when this gorgeous girl needed my help with a leaking roof. Then she left without saying goodbye, and I was so afraid I’d never see her again.”

  “I’m really glad I came back.”

  He kissed her shoulder and playfully nibbled on her neck. “So am I. You have no idea how glad I am. I thought about going after you, but that would’ve required asking Mac to ask your grandmother where you were, which would’ve involved my entire family.”

  She raised her head off his chest, her eyes wide with surprise. “You really thought about trying to find me?”

&nb
sp; “I more than thought about it. I did a search for you online, but that led nowhere. Other than a few mentions of you in relation to Jordan, you don’t exist online.”

  “That’s intentional. We’ve had to be really careful about people being able to find us, especially since the tape went public. I was panic-stricken at first that all the publicity would bring back everything that happened with Griffin, but Jordan and Zane are big enough stars that the story stayed focused on them. I kept waiting to be dragged into it, but thankfully it never happened.”

  “Thank God for that.”

  “I know. Gram and I were so afraid of having to relive that nightmare yet again. There’s been some really weird stalker stuff that led Jordan to hire security for when she travels.” Her brows furrowed. “When she isn’t dodging them, that is.”

  “Why would she dodge her security if people are stalking her?”

  “Good question. I had to tell her detail where to find her when she took off to join Zane on tour. They were pissed, to say the least.”

  “Who hired them?”

  “My grandmother did, against Jordan’s wishes, but I was all for it.”

  “Is it okay to say that I’m really glad you’re nowhere near the madness that is your sister’s life?”

  “Yes, it’s okay to say that. I’m glad to be away from it, too. But you should know… That’s not the only reason I came here.”

  “No?”

  “I was also hoping to see you again. All the way across the country and on the rocky ferry ride, I just kept wondering if you’d still be here. I didn’t know anything about you other than you were Mac’s cousin, and my grandmother adores him. If you hadn’t come to find me, I was prepared to try to track down Mac and ask him how to get in touch with you.”

  Ridiculously moved to hear that she had been willing to go to such lengths to find him, Riley tightened his hold on her and kissed the top of her head. “I’m really glad I came over as soon as I heard you were back.”

  “So am I. But now I’m kind of afraid…”

  “Of what?” he asked, alarmed to hear her say she was afraid. He never wanted her to be afraid of anything ever again, even if that wasn’t possible.

  “Your old boss made you a hell of an offer.”

  “He’s got nothing on you.” He moved both hands down to squeeze her ass, laughing when she gasped in response. “I swear I’m not going anywhere, Nikki. Not as long as you want me here with you.”

  “I’m apt to want you here with me for quite some time,” she said, squirming on top of him.

  His cock went hard inside her. “Hold that thought for a second,” he said, easing her off him so he could deal with the condom—and get another one.

  Chapter 17

  Haunting dreams tormented Shane McCarthy as the storm raged outside. He tossed and turned, running from a past that wouldn’t let him escape. He woke with a start when he cried out in his sleep.

  Katie put her arms around him and drew him into her loving embrace.

  A sob erupted from his chest, which made him angry and afraid at the same time. Crying over your ex-wife was never a good idea when you were in bed with your beloved fiancée. But Katie understood what Courtney had once meant to him and wouldn’t hold his out-of-control emotions against him. Or at least he hoped she wouldn’t.

  Tears flooded his eyes and spilled down his cheeks. All he could seem to think about was the Courtney he’d first known, the sweet, sexy, smart, funny woman he’d fallen head over heels for way back before he knew that she was hiding a secret addiction to pain meds. He’d had two years of bliss before it all caved in around him, leaving him buried under an avalanche of agony and despair and debt.

  He mourned the woman he’d met in college, who’d been so bright with potential with a zest for life that had fully enraptured him. The loss of his mother when he was seven had wounded him deeply. Courtney’s love had healed the long-festering wounds he’d carried with him for so long. Meeting her had been like having the sun come out after years of cloudy days.

  “What can I do?” Katie asked, her tone as gentle as her touch.

  “I’m sorry.” He wiped his face and tried to get himself under control. “I’m not being fair to you.”

  “Shane, honey, please… Don’t worry about me. You’re heartbroken and understandably so.”

  “I didn’t love her anymore. Not the way I love you.”

  “I know that. You don’t have to say it. I know.” She cradled his head against her chest and ran her fingers through his hair, providing the love and comfort he could get only from her.

  “I am thinking about the Courtney I first knew, before it all went bad.”

  “Tell me about her.”

  “It’s okay, babe. We don’t have to talk about it. It’s enough to be able to hold on to you this way. I’d be losing my mind if I didn’t have you.”

  “You’ll always have me, and if I didn’t want to hear about her, I wouldn’t ask. If you want to talk about it, I want to listen.”

  Shane took a moment to gather himself. “I have all these things in my head that I haven’t thought about in a very long time.”

  “It’s only natural that those memories would come back now.”

  “I haven’t thought about the beginning in years. The good times were totally eclipsed by what came later.”

  “Tell me about the good times. I really want to hear, and I promise I won’t hold it against you.”

  Her sweetness and the hint of humor in the midst of the darkness made it possible for him to air out his grief. “The first time I ever saw her was at a basketball game. I was with my friends, she was with hers. We had friends in common and ended up going out after the game. I sat next to her, and we started talking. That one night was all it took. We were pretty much together from that point on. I’d… I’d never been in love before. It was… I can’t describe it.”

  She kissed his forehead. “You don’t have to. I know the feeling.”

  “I sort of lost that version of her in what came later, but those first few months were just incredible. Back then, I couldn’t have imagined any scenario that didn’t have us together for the rest of our lives.”

  “I know you must blame yourself for a lot of what happened with her, but it wasn’t your fault. You know that, don’t you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Shane? Tell me you know it’s not your fault.”

  “I do know, but I wish I could’ve done more. I’m haunted by the last time I saw her when she came here asking for another chance and I said no.”

  “Because you were already involved with me and had worked really hard to pick up the pieces of your life after she left you.”

  “Still… I can’t help but wonder if she spiraled again after that. Did I do the wrong thing sending her away?”

  “Shane, honey. Stop. Please don’t do this. You nearly bankrupted yourself trying to get help for her, and then she left you without so much as a conversation. After you spent years getting back on your feet, she showed up to say she’d had no choice and never would’ve left you if it’d been up to her. You did what anyone would’ve done in that situation. You said no more. It wasn’t up to you to continue to prop her up, especially after she divorced you the way she did.”

  “You’re right.”

  “You’ve worked so hard to put the darkness of those years in the past. I don’t think Courtney would want her death to undo all the progress you’ve made. That would only compound the tragedy.”

  “Thank you for being so understanding. I’m not sure I would handle it as gracefully as you have if the roles were reversed.”

  “You would, because you love me every bit as much as I love you.”

  “I love you so much. You’re saving my life tonight. I hope you know that.”

  “I owed you one from the time you saved my life.”

  “Best day ever,” he said of Owen and Laura’s wedding day when he’d saved Katie from a rip current. He kissed her and leane
d his forehead against hers.

  “It was for me, too, except the part where I nearly drowned and took you down with me.”

  “All’s well that ends well.”

  With her hands on his face, she studied him. “Are you going to be okay?”

  “Eventually. I promise I’m not going to nearly drown and take you down with me.”

  “I won’t let you. I’m right here, and I want to help in any way I can.”

  “That makes everything better.” He tried to relax his racing mind so he could get some sleep. “Hey, Katie?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Why don’t we ever talk about getting married?”

  Only because he was still cuddled up to her did he feel her body go rigid as her breathing slowed. “We talk about it.”

  “No, we really don’t.” When she had no reply to that, he said, “Do I need to be worried about anything?”

  “No! Of course not. We can get married. If you want to.”

  “That doesn’t sound very convincing.”

  “It’s just that everything is great the way it is. Do we need a piece of paper to make it better?”

  “We don’t need it, but I sort of thought that we’d make it official at some point.”

  “We will.”

  “But not now?”

  “Don’t we have enough on our plate right now without adding to it?”

  Shane had no idea how to respond to that, so he went with the simplest answer he could come up with. “I suppose we do.”

  She released a deep breath that sounded an awful lot like relief to him. What the hell was that about? And how was it possible that he now had even more to worry about than he’d had earlier?

  * * *

  For the first time since he’d worked for his cousin, Riley ignored his alarm when it went off at seven thirty. He had far better things to do than plow snow, and while he momentarily felt bad for letting down the others, they’d get by without him. Then he remembered that Shane was off the grid, and guilt set in. They were already down one member of their team, and if he didn’t show up, everyone else was going to have to be out there that much longer.