"Yikes!I'm so sorry I forgot about your sunburn!"Her underwear forgotten, Riley grabbed the aloe vera and turned back to Gray.
"Sit down on the toilet and I'll put this on you.Marta was right; there's no way you'll be able to reach the spots on the backs of your shoulders."Riley unscrewed the cap and put a large dollop in the centre of her hand.
"This won't hurt, but it is cool, and I'll need to rub it in as much as I can.You okay?"
Gray was not okay, but not because of the sunburn anymore.Sitting on the toilet, he looked down to see Riley was standing and straddling him so that she was close enough to put the lotion on his shoulders.He tentatively reached up to hold on to her hips.She gazed down at him and he nodded "okay Dr.Riley I'm your after-hours patient, be gentle with me."he smiled at her but inside his heart was thumping so hard in his chest that he was sure she felt the pulse in his hands as he was holding her.
She let out a small sigh and worked on his shoulders.They were great shoulders, but she felt bad.He'd gotten quite a sunburn, and sleeping tonight was going to be awful for him.There was no way he was lying on his shoulders.As she moved the aloe vera around as gently as possible, she felt him make small circles with his thumbs across her hip bones.His head was bent, and she thought he'd closed his eyes too.
"Am I hurting you?"she asked, stopping what she was doing.
"No, you're definitely not hurting me.I'm trying to stay calm and not pull you right onto my lap."His words were raspy.
"You can pull me onto your lap; I need to get to the back of your shoulders."With one swift motion needing only that bit of permission from her, she was sitting squarely on top of him, and he knew she could feel more than how stiff his shoulders were.
As Riley leaned forward to start on the back of his shoulders, Gray was now making those same small circles around her lower back.
"Hmmmm," she murmured, and he was done.He reached up and tilted her head and kissed her with much more urgency that he had earlier in the day.She'd started things this afternoon, but now it was his turn to get things going again.
As he deepened the kiss, Riley kept working on his shoulders.Geez, how was she keeping focused on what she was doing?But then he realized she was touching him with her own sense of urgency, but softer so she wouldn't hurt him.
"Riley?"
"Yes, Gray?"
"I want to do something more, but right now."He pulled back to look her in the eyes to see if she wanted something more too or was he too hopeful.This was not taking it slow, but what could he do?She straddled him and gently applied the aloe vera to his shoulders, making him unable to think clearly.
"Oh, I want more too, much more, but you're in no condition with those shoulders to do much more.I don't think you'll be able to sleep on them tonight."
"Perfect!I wasn't planning on sleeping tonight!"and he leaned in with a smile on his mouth as he found hers again and kissed her again.The lingering taste of the cranberry juice she'd had at dinner, sweet and tart on his tongue.
"I want more Gray, I really do," she murmured onto his lips."But how about we go out a few more times before we fall over the edge and into bed?"she was smiling at him so he wouldn't think that she was rejecting him because she wanted more time with him before they committed any further to each other.
"You are a smart woman, Dr.Riley.That must be why you're the doctor," and they both giggled.
"Well, you're welcome!My bill is $5,000 and I only accept payment in kisses!"as she leaned in for one more kiss.
"Come on, let's get you packed up with the goop, and I'll get you home."Riley pushed herself up and grabbed the aloe vera container for Gray to take with him.As she went to walk out of the bathroom, she turned back to see he was still sitting there."You coming?"
"No, no, I'm not, but I'm close!"At this they both looked at the definite tightness in his shorts, and Gray put his hands on his face and groaned."I'm going to need a minute, maybe close the door while I think of something to take things down a notch!"Riley laughed and as she walked out, she turned back and said "take your time, the spider in the bathtub wanted a new friend!"and she slammed the door and squealed and ran off.
"What the hell!"Gray jumped up and realized he wasn't hard anymore; he was terrified.But when he leaned over the tub to make sure he was alone, he laughed at her brilliance.- well, that scared me not stiff, smart woman!
Chapter 33
Book club
SittingaroundRiley'scozybungalow, the women had settled in for their monthly book club, which was really an excuse to hang out without the men.
"Who read the book this month?"Riley asked, knowing full well it was hit or miss.The point was never the book; they all knew that.It was about the conversation that always veered off into whatever they needed to chat about.Riley, who had never had many close female friends, cherished these evenings with Marta and Cici more than she let on.
"I, of course, read the book!"Cici announced with a dramatic flair.Considering Cici almost never finished the books, Marta and Riley exchanged impressed glances.
"I'm impressed, Cici!And I'm so glad because Detective Andrew Ryan is now my book boyfriend, and I need to discuss him," Marta chimed in, grinning.Marta loved reading books and had a friendly competition with Riley over who read more each year.They always hit over 100 books, sometimes more.On an island where books were scarce, they relied on friends and family to mail them once finished, passing them around their small bookish community.
"I loved him," Riley swooned."Why can't he be real?"
"Wait...who's Detective Andrew Ryan?"Cici blinked in confusion."Isn't the main character...Harry Potter?"She pulled out her book, and Marta and Riley burst into laughter.
