“You’ll see in a minute,” he tells her, pulling her faster.
The further from the house they get, the more he becomeshimself instead of the hardened leader. His shoulders drop, relaxing with each step she takes away from their responsibilities. Liz releases his hand, instead opting to loop her arm through his, smooshing their bodies together as they walk. What she sees just past the tree line has tears rolling down her cheeks. It may not be their lake, but it’s as close as they will likely ever get again. The small pond sits at the beginning of an open field, with carefully planted trees surrounding half of it, separating it from the back yard. In the center is a bubbling fountain, keeping the water from becoming stagnant. Two wooden Adirondack chairs sit near the waters edge, a rowboat left upside down next to them.
“This has to be one of the cutest ponds I have ever seen,” Liz squeals.
“Alex had it put in when he realized he bought thirty-five acres of land with nowhere to fish,” Riley explains, leading Liz to a flat patch of grass.
He lays out the blanket and helps her get settled before he sits with the food. He pulls out one of her favorites, handing her the caesar wrap she eagerly digs into. After having nothing but fast food and gas station snacks for three days, she is dying for something not swimming in grease.
“Thank you for this. I know it can’t be easy for you to put everything aside,” she says.
“It’s not much, but I hope it’s enough to keep you from losing it,” he teases, lying back on the blanket. “I know I keep saying it, but when we make it out of this, I will make time for us to get away.”
“As much as I want to believe you, we both know once your name is cleared, and Scott is in jail, things will shift back to hunting down Dmitri. There is no shortage of evil in this world, and you’re the best at fighting it,” she says lying next to him. “Are you going to go back to the big, bad, masked Reaper when you’redone with Scott?” she asks, crawling onto his chest. His arms come up around her, pinning her to his body.
“Still thinking about those masks, huh?” he says playfully.
“I mean, as far as badass military personas go, you kind of hit the jackpot, tragic backstory aside. I wouldn’t do a single mission without it if I had one. Actually, scratch that, I would make the whole team wear them. If all else fails, it would scare the fuck out of Dmitri’s followers.”
“You sure that’s the reason? You don’t just want me back in it because you think it’s sexy?”
“Of course I do, but it’s not theonlyreason. I just happen to like them. Besides, you said if I ask nice, you would put it on and fuck me in it. You already have,” she says, kissing her way down his neck. Heat pools low in her belly as she feels him press against her.
“I have a few stashed here. Keep it up, and I will go put one on and chase your ass through the woods again.” That, mixed with his hands caressing her body, draws a small moan from Liz.
“You think I’m going to let you leave when you’re talking like that?” she says, sitting up to take her shirt off, leaving her bare breasts on display.
She nips at his neck. One second, she is on top of Riley, the next, she is flipped onto her back with him encasing her body.
Fiery need burns in his eyes. She reaches up, fumbling to rip his shirt over his head. Riley rocks back onto his heels, taking over for her. Liz lies back, drinking in every inch of hard muscle on his chiseled body. She follows the V created by his lower abs, guiding her eyes right to what she wants.
The sight of him, straining against his pants, has her threatening to turn feral. Before he can stop her, Liz climbs onto her knees, freeing his cock from its prison. She drops her shoulders, resting on one elbow while her other hand wraps around him,giving him the perfect view of her ass in the air and her head bobbing.
Liz wastes no time pulling him into her mouth, not stopping until he hits the back of her throat. The moan that comes from Riley only stirs her need to please him. Her hand works him while she sucks greedily, forcing him further down her throat with each movement. He reaches over her, forcing her pants down around her thighs. Arm stretched over her back, he slides his hand along the curve of her ass, settling between her thighs. Riley loses all control, feeling how wet she is for him. A rough hand grips her hair, forcing her in place while his hips start moving, relentlessly fucking her throat until she is coughing, tears streaming down her face. Liz tries to stop him as he backs off after only a few minutes.
“So greedy,” he teases, pushing her onto her back. “It’s my turn.”
He rips her pants the rest of the way down, forcing her legs apart. He doesn’t allow himself time to admire how stunning she looks, naked before him under the light of the setting sun. Riley has been thinking about this since the day he was on his knees before her, rubbing her leg to find a tracker.
He buries his face between her legs, licking and sucking like it’s his last meal. Her breathy moans only push him more. He slips two fingers in, joining the rhythm of his tongue. Her hips buck against him. Fingers grip his hair and refuse to let go as he draws her closer and closer to the edge. Liz screams in pleasure, writhing against him as she comes.
“God, you taste so fucking good, baby. I’ve been dreaming of that since the day you took my mask off.”
The confession sends a new wave of heat flooding her. There is something about him admitting he was having the same thoughts she was that day. She grips a handful of hair, tugging him up. Asilent plea to give her what she needs. Riley is happy to oblige, seating himself between her legs. She is more than ready for him.
A deep groan escapes as he thrusts into her. He rolls his hips, pounding into her over and over. Everything about her is too perfect. Liz is too tight, too wet, he is not going to last much longer at this rate.
She starts to clench around him, winding tighter and tighter until the pleasure is almost painful. Riley reaches down, teasing her clit until she screams, back arching off the ground. He doesn’t stop slamming into her, dragging her over the edge again and again. She cries out, begging him to come until he finally gives in, finishing deep inside her.
They lie together in a sticky, sweaty mess, fighting to catch their breath while the sun continues to set around them. Riley pulls Liz into his arms, staying like that until the light is nearly gone. Liz gets up with a sigh, searching for her missing clothing. For relatively stationary sex, her pants somehow made it fifteen feet behind them. The duo redresses quickly. Grabbing the rest of their things, they head back to the house before it gets too dark.
“I love you,” he says. Riley wraps his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. “Thank you for getting me out of my head.”
“I love you, too, butIshould be thankingyou. This was your idea, not mine,” Liz says, leaning on him as they walk.
“Still, you make it so easy to forget the shit going on, and I appreciate that,” he says, dropping a kiss into the top of her head.
CHAPTER 32
