“Steph.” Riley’s low, gravelly voice pulls me back to the present. To this moment, where the man who once destroyed me now stands before me, where I’ve backed myself up against a wall in this busy hallway of Aroma’s. The music from the bar is muffled here, but the cacophony of women giggling and men catcalling as they pass on their way to and from the bathroom does little to soothe my raw nerves.
Riley’s hands are raised in surrender—or is it supplication?—as he stares down at me, brow furrowed with concern. “I— I don’t want to upset you,” he starts, haltingly.
I squeeze my eyes shut. I can’t look at him.
“Please, Steph. I just—” he sighs. “I just want to talk.”
“I have nothing to say to you. And if I remember correctly, you’re severely lacking in communication skills anyway.”
“That’s fair,” he admits ruefully. I keep my eyes squeezed shut, but I feel it, the moment he closes the distance between us once more. The warmth of his body rolls over me, waking up a part of myself that I’ve pushed down, ignored, for a long time. My body trembles—with pain for what he did to me all those years ago, with fear for what his presence back in town might mean, and, much as I’d like to deny it, withlonging. The memory of his touch washes over and through me, ratcheting up my heart rate and heating my blood. Wetness pools between my thighs.
And it’s extremely fucking inconvenient.
Reluctantly, I open my eyes. He’s effectively boxed me in, and the visual confirmation of his nearness causes my lips to part on a sharp inhale.
“I know I made a lot of mistakes back then, Sunshine—”
“Don’t call me that,” I cut him off, but it comes out breathy and unconvincing. Sunshine is the nickname he’d given me, and hearing it from his lips after all this time is unsettling, for it makes me aware of just how much I’ve missed it.
I have to get out of here.
Frustratingly, I make no move to flee, my legs refusing to cooperate with my panicky mind. I’m caught in his web, my body responding in ways I don’t want it to. I realize I’m staring at him again, frozen, my eyes locked on his broad chest.
Ohh, this is bad. So very bad, yet … still I’m unable to move. Unable to extricate myself from this alarming position, I’ve somehow managed to find myself in.
Riley’s fingers curl around my chin, tilting my head so I meet his gaze. The shock of his touch—actually feeling him after all these years—is like a jolt of lightning. It sends electricity coursing through my system to dance with my already wildly beating heart.
We both jump at the shock, wide eyes instantly finding one another.
“Nice to know the spark is still alive after all this time,” he murmurs with a faint tilt of his lips.
And itpisses. Me. Off.
“Though I never had any fucking doubt, Sunshine,” he continues.
There’s that nickname again. Thenerveof this guy.
Finally finding the wherewithal to sever the connection, I scoff, pulling my chin from his grasp and breaking eye contact, but he’s not deterred. He continues to invade my space, bracing himself against the wall so his arms frame my face. My traitorous body winds tighter with tension. He leans in close and runs his nose along the sensitive skin of my neck. It causes goosebumps to spring to the surface. He sucks in a deep lungful of air, and the low appreciative hum that follows sends shivers down my spine.
“There it is,” he murmurs.
Huh?
“Citrus.”
Comprehension dawns a moment before his lips find my collarbone. He’s referring to the scent of my shampoo … my body wash … But the thought is fleeting as his soft mouth presses tender kisses against my sensitive flesh. He always did love to kiss me there. A whimper escapes me as his mouth moves, leaving a wet trail to my jaw. He sucks at the skin there.
I melt.
I …break.
My hands fly up to grip his shoulders, desperately searching for something to ground me, as our mouths collide. The kiss is at once familiar and yet oh so very new. There’s an assuredness to his movements I don’t remember from when we were teens, leaving absolutely no doubt that he’s a man now. And an experienced one. The rasp of his beard feels foreign against my skin, though not unwelcome. I find myself wondering, transiently, how it might feel against other areas of my body. More sensitive ones.
Riley’s tongue traces my lips, and I part them, allowing him to deepen our connection. He licks eagerly into my mouth, groaning when our tongues meet. I feel the rumble of it deep in my bones. It obliterates all thoughts from my head. My nipples tighten into hard, aching peaks, chafing deliciously where I’m pressed against his firm chest. He drops a hand to my waist, giving it a quick squeeze before pinning me roughly to the wall with hiships. He groans once more, and I give him an answering moan when I feel the hardness of his cock press against my belly.
Everything around us falls away, until there’s only him. Onlyus.
Our tongues continue to dance, stroking, sucking. Tasting. The yeasty tang of beer on his breath somehow only serves to ratchet up my need for him. He slides a thigh between my legs, pressing against my now slick core, both of his hands now gripping tightly to my hips and urging me to grind against him.
