“Couch.”
With a jerky nod, he grabbed the hem of her T-shirt, moving back just enough to yank it up and over her head. Tossing it to the side, Eric kissed her again. His tongue invading her mouth in the most delicious way, while his hands released the clasp on the back of her lacy bra.
At the same time, Riley let go of his hair and dropped her hands to his waist. In an almost frantic move, she began pulling the dress shirt from his jeans before hastily working the small, plastic buttons that were driving her mad.
She and Eric continued undressing each other in a frenzy. His shirt, here. Her jeans, there. The room became scattered with articles of clothing, neither of them caring where the items fell.
It was always this way with him. They touched, they ignited. And with each moment they spent together—like this—the fire between them only grew stronger.
Eric placed his hands on Riley’s hips and began guiding her backward, toward the couch. When they reached their destination, he spun them around and lowered himself to the cushion.
Guiding her down with him, he somehow kept his hold—and his mouth—on her as they moved. Stradling his lap, Riley purposely brushed her needy sex against his swollen shaft, enticing a gravely moan from the back of his throat.
“Shit.” Eric sucked in a breath. “Condom.”
“I’m clean.” He already knew that, because they’d had that talk the first time. What he didn’t know was, “I haven’t slept with anyone else since before I moved here.”
A set of shocked, blue eyes blinked as they stared back at her. “Seriously?”
Riley nodded, her hips pushing toward him once more. It wasn’t that she hadn’t had the opportunity. Those had definitely been there.
Men she met on the job, and off. Seemingly decent, attractive men. But none had drawn her interest the way Eric did.
Not even close.
Her self-imposed celibacy had started out as just one more way to keep her distance from other people, on a personal level. Then she’d met Eric and instinctively knew.
Even if she did sleep with someone, the sex would never measure up to the fantasies she’d created aboutthisman in her head.
So she buried herself in her cases, and whenever the need arose, took matters into her own hands.
Then it finally happened. He came over to her place—tothisplace—and taught her that even her most enjoyable fantasies had nothing on the real thing.
Part of her wanted to laugh at the bug-eyed expression he was still wearing in response to her admission. The other part became filled with insecurity.
Hadhebeen seeing someone else this whole time? She couldn’t blame him if he was. After all, she was the one who’d insisted they keep their arrangement casual. But that had been before.
Before he ruined her for any other man.
Before she realized just how much Eric meant to her.
Before she fell head over ass in love.
Riley’s heart pounded like a kick drum as she said, “If you’ve been with other women...I mean, we never said we were exclusive, so if you’ve been seeing other people, that’s oka—”
The palms of his hands pressed against her bare back as he lifted himself forward, cutting her off with a singe-worthy kiss.
“There hasn’t been anyone else.” His deep voice reverberated from deep inside his chest. “Not since I first laid eyes on you.”
Wait, what?
It was Riley’s turn to blink. Had he just said...
“Really?” She hated how high her voice sounded just then. Clearing whatever that was out of her throat, she tried—and failed—to sound casual when asking, “You, uh...you haven’t been with anyone else, either?”
“Why would I?” He gave her bottom lip a teasing nibble. “I don’t need anyone else, baby. I only want you.”
Holy crap.
