My lashes fluttered and a shudder tripped through my entire body.
“Did you like that, baby? You like a little praise?”
“Apparently.”
“There’s nobody I care about making come besides you,” he promised, leaning close and dragging his nose across the tip of mine.
I sucked in a breath, mouth parting and tasting the cheese and tomato that still lingered on his breath. “Nobody I want to watch. Nobody I want to kiss.”
“Do you rea?—”
He cut off my question with the press of his lips against mine, an insistent tongue demanding entry which I freely offered. I slid my hands up over his chest, around his shoulders and kept him close, angling my head to the side so he could reach whatever parts of my mouth he wanted. My cock immediately hardened, and without my asking, Riggs rested his hand against the top of my thigh. His fingers stretched toward the burning and needy heat between my legs, but he didn’t go further.
“Do I strike you as the kind of man who does a single thing he doesn’t want to do?” he whispered against the corner of my mouth.
He did, in fact.
Riggs struck me as the kind of man who would put the wants of everyone in his life before his own because, to him, there was no other option. He forged ahead to build a life he hadn’t wanted after his husband died. He opened a shop he’d never dreamed of because he needed something to do with his time. He hired new artists to fill empty booths because his best friend had told him to. In fact, I wasn’t aware of a single thing Riggs had done for himself, and with an unusual fit of bravery I told him as much.
When I stopped talking, he leaned back enough to see my face. I’d worried there would be resentment in his eyes or accusation, but what I found instead was an amused smile and a smattering of constellations reflected back at me when he blinked.
“You are for me,” he said softly, coming back for another kiss. “Do you believe that?”
He held my face in his hand, breathed into my mouth, shared his air with me. He let me sleep on a side of the bed that hadn’tbeen used, wear a jacket that never should have been mine, know a pleasure and promise that in any other life would have been miles out of my reach. It felt selfish, but if—in any way—I’d been able to offer him something for himself, I could be happy with that.
“I believe you,” I told him.
He exhaled a shaky breath against my chin, and then together we watched the clouds drift across the sky, stars dancing in the dark.
CHAPTER 24
RIGGS
Idropped Smith off at home after out weekend date. Went home, laid down on my side and curled up in a ball, staring at an empty pillow trying to decide whose head I wanted to see there more. I slept like shit, and Sunday was a wash, but Monday rolled around and Merrick and Holden showed up to start at eleven on the dot. I got them settled and promised them lunch later in the week. Damon showed up at twelve on the dot with bags under his eyes, looking like he hadn’t seen a bed or a hairbrush in days.
“Do you have appointments today?” he asked, propping his elbows up on the counter. There was less room for him there now, Merrick and Holden’s portfolios spread out beside mine.
“A couple.”
I’d deliberately had the two new guys start on a day when I wasn’t overbooked because I wanted to be available in case anything came up that needed attention. I’d already shown them around, made sure they both knew where everything was, and left them to get unpacked into their stations. I couldn’t have picked guys with more opposite personality types. Merrick was as bright and fun as the tattoos in his book, and Holden didn’t look like he’d smiled a day in his life. He was a man of few words,but he had paint stains on his hands every time I’d seen him and his work spoke for itself. Besides, having two guys who liked to talk might have sent me over the edge. As it were, Merrick rattled on while Holden occasionally answered him with a nod or a grunt. Having people around was going to take some getting used to, but Damon had probably been right. It was time.
“When?” Damon asked.
“Two and five.”
“Can we get lunch?”
I glanced toward the back of the shop and jerked my thumb toward Merrick and Holden. “I can’t really leave at the moment.”
Damon shoved his hair back and frowned.
“We can go upstairs, though,” I said. “If you wanted privacy.”
He nodded.
“Hey, guys,” I called out to them at the same time I lifted the pass-through for Damon. “I’ve got to head upstairs for a minute. Just holler if you need me, alright?”
“You got it,” Merrick chirped, and Holden jerked his chin in agreement.
