Riley's knuckles coasted down my cheek and over my jaw, and he shook his head. "You don't want to forget," he whispered. He shifted beside me, forcing his elbow to my thigh as he reached into his back pocket. He pulled some bills from his wallet before tucking it away. "Stay where you are. I'll come around andgetyou."
"Go get your old girlfriend,"Isaid.
It was the brattiest, most bitchy response at the ready, and it made me want to roll my eyes at myself. But it succeeded at chastening him a bit, and that was what I needed. Anything to gain some distance and think straight. I didn't know where to land, and I couldn't figure that out with himrightthere.
That face and those words. They were a lethalcombination.
"I hope you don't plan on sitting much this week because I'm gonna spank the shit out of you tonight," he said under hisbreath.
The taxi lurched to a stop, and I peered out the window. We'd made it back to my apartment in no time at all. Riley thanked the driver and handed him the bills, and I took that as an opportunity to get the hell out of this car before saying something I'dregret.
LikeYes,please.
"Would you fuckin' wait?" Riley yelled as he met my eyes over the roof. "I open your goddamndoors."
"Why the hell do I need you opening my doors?" I slammed it shut behind me, and the taxi sped off. "See? Perfectly capable of doing itmyself."
This was what I did. I pushed. Pushed away anyone who couldn't make me the top priority, and perhaps that was selfish or immature or something I should've outgrown by now, but it was my move. Most of the time, it was a silent move. I kept my distance. Stoppedinteracting.
But right now, it was loud. Snarky comments, door slamming, footstomping.
"It's not that you need it," he said, striding toward the sidewalk. Again, he wrapped his hand around my elbow and held me close to his chest. "It's that youwantit."
"Idon'twant it,"Ilied.
Of course it was a lie. I was in over my head with this man and diving deeper by the second, but I had to make some attempt at protecting myself, too. Drama was all over him.Distraction,too.
Riley sighed and rubbed his forehead as if this conversation was causing him great distress. "Upstairs," hegrowled. "Now."
The trouble was that I wasn't disciplined enough to resist those growls. He could be reading a grocery list and those growls would hit me allthesame.
"Let go," I hissed as I dug my keys out of myclutch.
"No," he replied, shifting his hands to my waist. "I made that mistake on Sunday. I don't plan on making itagain."
I didn't say anything while Riley followed me into the building and up the stairs to my floor. Didn't trust myself to find suitable conversation, not when the only things I wanted to say wereGo home, fuck boyandWill you do the thing that left thumbprint bruises on the back of my thighsagain?
My hand trembled as I brought the key to the lock, and his fingers circled my wrist. "Let me do that," he said, his breath whispering over my ear. "Let me come in, Aly.Please."
I took a deep breath, nodding as we inserted the key. Once I had the door unlocked, he bolted it behind us and plucked the clutch and keys from my grasp. He paced into the kitchen, the line of his shoulders tight and his head down, and he set my things on thecountertop.
I brushed my hands down my skirt. "You have a situation," I said. "A situation with someone else. It's not wrong for me to keep my distance while you dealwiththat."
"Here's a question for you," he said. He folded one arm across his chest and tucked his fist under his chin, and I had to look away. Seriously. The man was trying to kill me with all of his scowly-growly-sexy. "Are you hung up on the douchewaffle?"
"Steve?" I asked. "No. I'm really fucking annoyed that an intern with an unimpressive dick has left my professional reputation a hot mess, but that's the extentofit."
"And I'm not hung up on Dorrance," hereplied.
"Butyou're—"
"No, Honeybee," Riley interrupted. "I promise, Dorrance is out of the picture. Just like you, I'm still working through some issues but there's no one else I'd rather be with right now.Noone."
"That's it?" I asked. "Easypeasy?"
I wanted it to be that simple, and when I looked at it from the right angle, it was. We had our share of problems from past relationships, and we were handling them the best we could. I didn't understand how it was with Dorrance or why it was that way, but I didn't have tounderstand.
Riley nodded. "Lemonsqueezy."
