Riley
Pulling up outside my house, we get off the motorbike and take off our helmets. I hand him mine, smiling as I go towards the door, searching around for my keys in my bag. When I try to put the key in the lock, I realise that my hand is shaking, then I feel his warmth on my hand, helping me open it.
I turn to him slightly. “Thank you.”
“I had a good time with you tonight, Riley,” he whispers coming closer to me, putting all my senses on high alert.
He kisses me gently on the cheek and I shiver with emotion.
“I’d invite you in but…”
He shakes his head. “I can’t set foot in your house.”
“It’s notthatbad.”
“No, Riley, it’s not that. Why do you think I care about the house?”
I look at him, not understanding.
“I can’t come into the house with you,” he says, taking a lock of my hair. “I wouldn’t be able to keep my word. If I came in with you, Riley, I wouldn’t be able to resist - I’d jump on you and I’d consume you with my hands, my mouth, my tongue. I’d make you mine again and again and I don’t know if I’d be able to stop.”
My body pushes against his instinctively. He lets go of my hair and brushes it back over my shoulder.
“But I don’t want you to think that’s the only reason I’m here. I want you, Riley. All of you. Just for me.”
“I-I don’t know what I think,” I stutter.
“Don’t pretend with me. Don’t hide what you’re feeling.”
“It’s not that simple,” I say, as he shakes his head. “I learned how to fake things years ago, I had to. It was the only way to get through those days.”
“What does that mean?” he asks me wrinkling his forehead.
“I understood that I had to pretend. Always. Pretend I was fine, pretend to be intact even if I was broken inside because no one wants anything to do with half a person. No one wants to see what you really are. The truth is scary. Pain is scary.”
“I’m not afraid of your pain, Riley. I’m not scared of seeing your demons. I’m ready to face them and defeat them with my bare hands. I want to be clear with you about that, I don’t want you to have any doubts about it.”
“It’s not easy for me to believe you,” I tell him truthfully.
“I know, but I’m asking you to try. Try putting some trust in me.”
Seeing Ian O’Connor standing at the door of my house, in all his charm and determination, with that body calling to me, with his sweet sexy smile and the sincerity of his words: I have no choice but to believe him.
“I’d like that,” I say, smiling at him.
He smiles too, then gets serious again. “I’m trying, Riley. To go slowly, to respect your space. To do what’s best for you, believe me. But what more can I do if I believe that I’m the best thing for you?”
He looks at me intensely and my heart melts at his feet.
“It’s damn difficult.”
“I’m sorry.”
He sighs in frustration. “It’s okay like this. For now.”
“I should go in now.”
“Yeah. I have to go too. I’ve got training tomorrow morning.”
