It was a condom in a pretty gold foil wrapper.
Claire didn’t know whether to go after Lucky and throttle him or tell him that he was a couple of days late with this particular gift. But she didn’t have time for either because Riley knocked on the door. She slammed the drawer, catching her thumb. Cursed. Danced around while she tried not to curse some more. But she was sure her face was still a little screwed up when she opened the door.
However, Riley wasn’t looking at her. He was admiring the new paint job on the exterior of the house. “It looks great.”
So did Riley. Of course, he always looked great so that was nothing new, but what was new was that she’d seen just how great he looked naked. Those memories came back to her now. All warm and glowing.
Exactly the feeling she got whenever she thought of what Riley had done to her in the bed. He’d given new meaning to a memorable kiss.
“You’re really whipping this into shape,” he said.
Because her mind was on that special kissing, it took her a moment to switch gears. “Thanks.” At least she had that part of her life under control. The rest of her was suspect, along with being warm and glowing.
“I thought about bringing you flowers,” he said, “but, well, that didn’t feel right. But I did bring you this.” He took something from his pocket. A picture.
Of a kitten.
It was yellow and fluffy and looked exactly like the one that came running through the living room and nearly collided with the wall.
“It was a gift,” she said but then immediately realized that Riley might think the gift had been from Daniel. “Lucky brought her, him, it.” Claire scooped up the kitten, had a look at its bottom. “Her,” she amended.
Judging from the way Riley stared at her, he wanted a bit more of an explanation than that.
“Lucky said he rescued her from the pound, that she was on kitty death row.” Claire set the kitten back down, and it took off again.
Riley frowned. “There’s a wait list for the kittens. Lucky must have sweet-talked Mary Alice into giving him one.” He took back the picture. “Well, I reserved one for Ethan, but I didn’t want to just bring it without asking you first.”
That was the difference between Riley and Lucky. Impulse control.
“I’m not sure I can keep this one,” Claire explained. “But thanks for thinking of Ethan.”
Riley slid the picture back in his pocket and came in, eyeing the cat and the interior paint job. No more blue floral wallpaper. It was now a tasteful shade of beige, a good color for prospective home buyers. Or so Daniel had told her. Which was a reminder that she’d need to find a different real estate agent when it went on the market.
“So, when was Lucky here?” Riley asked.
“Earlier.”
Another stare, another silent request for more info. “He’s worried about you,” Claire settled for saying. “How’s the PT going?”
“Great. And I closed on a horse sale for Logan.”
She’d already heard about that from the clerk at the bank and the cashier at the grocery store. It was the buzz of Spring Hill, and the consensus was that it was Riley’s last hurrah and a way of appeasing Logan before he headed back out.
Riley did more glancing around. “Where’s Ethan?”
“With Livvy. Once a month he spends the night at her place.” That was almost the truth. Ethan’s sleepover with Livvy wasn’t due for another two weeks, but Claire had moved it up.
“So, it’s just us?” he clarified.
She couldn’t tell if he was happy about that or if, like her, he wanted to fidget. Claire resisted, but the only way she managed it was to do some controlled fidgeting. She led him into the kitchen so she could check the food that in no way needed checking, and she poured them each a glass of wine.
“Smells good in here. Looks good, too.” His gaze skirted over the roast, the potatoes and the pie.
And then settled on her.
Oh, my. Those bedroom eyes of his were in full force tonight, or maybe that was just the way her body was interpreting it. Riley used those bedroom eyes to stare at her as if he were about to tell her something important, but there was something important she had to tell him, too.
“I broke things off with Daniel. Gave him back his ring and told him there’d be no more proposals. We’re finished.”
She didn’t think it was her imagination that he looked relieved. Or maybe that was wishful thinking.
“I saw Jodi yesterday,” he said.
God. Had her heart skipped a beat? Claire tried not to jump to conclusions. She failed. Had Jodi managed to lure Riley back into her arms—and into her other places? Claire was too afraid to ask.
“Things are over between me and her,” he added.
Her heart skipped even more beats. Much more of this and she’d end up in the ER on an EKG machine. Claire just took some deep breaths and waited for Riley to continue.
“But Jodi will still be around town for a while so she can get some work done,” he added. “I thought you should know in case you ran into her.”
“I won’t be going to Calhoun’s.” Or into town for that matter. Claire wasn’t opposed to a confrontation, but after what’d happened with those special kisses, Claire was certain she wouldn’t be able to keep a straight face around the woman. One look at her, and Jodi would know.
And worse, Claire would want her to know.
It wasn’t a neener-neener kind of thing, either. All right, maybe it was. A little. But Claire had always had a thing for Riley, and that thing had just gone to another level. The question now was just how far did she want those levels to keep going?
Far, she decided.
She hadn’t known what decision she would make, but looking at him now, she realized she knew exactly what she wanted to do with Riley.
“Do you want to have sex?” Claire asked.
* * *
IT WAS ONLY pure blind luck that Riley didn’t choke on his wine. Definitely not the reaction he wanted to have. But then neither was the instant hard-on he got from Claire just asking that question.
Asking a man if he wanted to have sex was akin to asking if he wanted that air he was breathing. Air that suddenly seemed a little thin right now.
Of course he wanted sex. This was Claire, and he’d wanted to have sex with her since about the time he’d gotten his first hard-on. In fact, she’d been the cause of that first one. But then Riley had pushed his feelings and hard-ons for her aside because she’d chosen Daniel.
However, she seemed to be choosing him right now, and while Riley wanted to jump on that, jump on her, too, he needed to take a step back. “Well, do you?” Claire pressed.
Her breath was thin, as well, judging from the way she was sucking it in, and it was coming too fast. Not exactly an erotic come-on. More like the beginnings of hyperventilation.
Riley took hold of her arm and had her sit at the table. He sat, too. Not easily. But he managed it. “Of course I would.”
He’d barely gotten out the words when she came out of the chair and kissed him. Now, that was a nice slam of heat. Of course, he didn’t need that slam because it messed with his head. Other parts, too. And even though it pained him to admit it, they should talk about this first.
Then jump into bed.
Maybe he could make it a short talk.
“I just want to make sure—” he started, but his question ground to a halt when she kissed him again.
“I’m sure,” Claire insisted. And judging from the way she’d bit his lip at the end of that kiss, she was.
Well, Riley was as sure as that and then some, but he needed to hang on to that clear head a little longer.
“Did, uh, anything happen to make you decide to do this?” he asked.
Was tha
t a blank look she gave him? Well, if it was, it only lasted a couple of seconds before she huffed. The lip biting was gone but not the scalding attraction that was still heating up the kitchen. Riley didn’t think it was leftover heat from the oven, either.
“Look, I know you’ll be leaving soon,” she said. “Lucky told me about the physical you needed to pass, and since I know you, I also know you’ll pass it.”
Twenty-eighty flashed in his head. But with all the exercises he’d been doing, he had to be up to twenty-two–seventy-eight by now. And while he wanted to believe with all his heart that those odds would improve in his favor, Claire clearly had more faith in him than he did.
However, this was more than faith.
“Then, you know I’ll be leaving,” he said though Riley knew she hadn’t forgotten that part.
She nodded.
Okay, he’d expected a bit more of an explanation than just a nod. Preferably, a short explanation that actually made sense.
Claire was a sensible woman, and he seriously doubted she was the fling-having type. Even after what’d happened between them two nights ago. They’d been caught up in the heat of the moment then, no time to give it much thought. She’d clearly given it some thought since, though.
“All right, let’s just say we do this,” Riley speculated. “Then what? I leave and you just accept that?”
“More or less.”
Riley frowned. She wasn’t totally killing the mood, not much could do that, but he wanted to know more about that less.
“I don’t want you to get hurt,” he clarified.
She drew in another of those quick breaths. “I won’t. I’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching about this, and I’m not offering you a white picket fence at the end of these two weeks. I’m offering you sex with no strings attached.”
Soul-searching, huh? Riley was reasonably sure this was the first time those words about sex with no strings attached had ever come out of her mouth, but she didn’t give him a chance to remind her of that.
“Making fantasies come true,” she blurted out. “That’s the motto of my and Livvy’s business, and it’s what I want from you. Starting tonight.”
Oh, she looked so hot. Sounded so confident. But Riley could see the nerves just below the surface. They were simmering there with all that heat.
“Tonight? I didn’t bring a condom with me.”
That was a lie. He had one in his wallet. All right, he had two. But he hadn’t exactly felt good about putting them there. It had seemed, well, calculated, as if he were doing something that would lead Claire down the path to a broken heart.
Unless...
Maybe her feelings for him didn’t go past this attraction. Oh, and friendship. But maybe that was it, and who was he to argue with a woman who seemed to know her own mind? One who had done some actual soul-searching. Clearly, she was set on doing this.
The little voice in his head, though, wasn’t convinced.
“You’re sure?” he asked one more time.
She nodded. “And it doesn’t have to happen tonight. I’ll give you a day or two to think it over, and—”
Claire was possibly going to say something important, but Riley made the decision that this was going to happen no matter what else she had to say. He kissed her.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
EVEN AFTER PRACTICALLY throwing herself at Riley, she still hadn’t seen the kiss coming, but Claire sure felt it. Oh, my. Riley was so good at this, and despite all that oral foreplay the night before last, her body was aching for a real fix.
Claire refused to think about if this was a mistake or not. She’d already been doing too much thinking, and she was tired of waffling, whining and especially aching. Even if this turned out to put an end to Riley’s and her friendship, then so be it. For tonight, she was getting that fantasy.
With just a few of Riley’s kisses, the memories of their other encounter came washing over her. Of course, the fire was there, that was a given, but this felt like so much more. Good thing they hadn’t become lovers in high school or they might not have ever gotten anything accomplished—including graduation—because Claire suddenly felt as if she’d missed something incredibly good.
Livvy was right about not grading sex on a curve.
Never again.
Of course, that might mean she’d never have sex again, either, but that was a bridge she would cross when she came to it. For now, she just wanted Riley. And she got him. His mouth, his hands, pretty much the rest of him when they landed body to body.
She was mostly responsible for that because Claire hooked her arms around him and kept pulling him closer until she had him where she wanted him. He didn’t put up any resistance to that maneuvering, but it was clear he was more interested in the kissing than he was the jockeying for position.
Claire was interested in both.
Taking a step back, she took Riley with her, heading toward the bedroom where she’d stashed the condoms she’d bought. Of course, the one Lucky had given her was closer, so if they didn’t actually make it to the bed, she could use that as a backup.
Which she might have to do.
That became clear with the next step when she landed against the freshly stripped and painted wall. It was all smooth and cool now, and Riley pressed her back against it when he took her mouth as if it were his for the taking. He certainly wasn’t having any second thoughts about this, thank goodness. For a moment, she wondered if he would, but that thought flew right out of her head when he shoved up her top and kissed her breasts.
Mercy.
The man had a magic mouth.
She’d worn a pink lacy bra, and she thought maybe the grunt he made was one of approval. Yes, approval. He made another sound, and then their gazes connected when he looked up at her and took her nipple into his mouth. Claire perhaps lost consciousness for a couple of seconds when the pleasure shot through her.
“I want you naked,” Riley insisted.
An excellent plan. She’d worn her good panties, too, but this time it was going to be a mutual stripping off because she got a great deal of pleasure from seeing him naked. That’s why she went after his shirt, but she was mindful of the injury. In fact, she tried not to even look at it...too late. She looked.
“You’re sure you’re up to this?” she asked.
Without breaking the nipple kisses, he latched on to her hand and put it to the front of his jeans where she felt him not only “up” but rock hard.
“Ha-ha.” Except she was moaning when she said it so it didn’t sound like a fake laugh.
Still, Riley had proven his point. And she got to feel that proof when he made his way back up from her breasts to her mouth. At first Claire couldn’t figure out why he was backtracking, but then she realized it was because it put him in a better position to yank off her top.
She did some yanking, too. His shirt came off. So did her bra, and when he sent it sailing, it landed in the baby potatoes. Oh, well. A cream-sauced bra was a casualty of the hot need that was making them both a little crazy and affecting their aim.
His shirt went in the recycling bin.
Riley turned her so fast that she nearly lost her balance, but he was right there to steady her. He leaned against the wall so he could go after her skirt next. She wasn’t sure where it landed, but her panties soon followed, and Claire realized she was stark naked in her kitchen.
It occurred to her that she should suggest going to the bedroom. Where she’d put out some candles and washed the sheets. But then Riley did a trail of tongue kisses back down her body, and she knew the candles and clean sheets would have to wait.
He lifted her leg, putting her knee on his good shoulder, and he gave her more of those kisses and nibbles that would bring her to a really fast orgasm if she didn’t do something about i
t. Not that she would have balked too much about a fast orgasm from Riley’s mouth, but this time she wanted to make it the main course and not an appetizer.
“I’ve got condoms, and we’re going to use them,” she mumbled.
She caught on to his hair, pulled him back up, and in the same motion, Claire went after his jeans.
“How many condoms?” he asked.
A whole box. “Three,” she said instead. A whole-box confession would make her seem slutty instead of just frugal. The box had been on sale.
“Good. I brought two with me,” he said. “I lied about that earlier.”
All right, so they had fifteen counting the one Lucky had left. Claire wouldn’t mention that one, either. Fifteen condoms had to be more than enough to quell this raging heat. Riley unzipped his jeans, came back to her for another kiss while they got them off him. Not easily. She was all thumbs and crazy now. She blamed that on the kisses he kept dropping on various parts of her body.
So Claire turned the tables on him.
Literally. She pushed him against the table, anchoring him in place so she could kiss his neck. His chest. And because she felt that she owed him a little payback, she went down on her knees, too. She took him into her mouth.
He cursed.
But she thought that was a good thing. However, he didn’t let those bubblegumming kisses go on for long. Still cursing, he fumbled through his pocket, located a condom and somehow managed to get it on despite the fact she was helping.
More payback for driving her crazy and allowing her to go years and years without having him. Claire intended to make up for some of those years in the bed.
Or on the table.
Riley turned her, leaning her against the table and stepping between her legs. Of course, he didn’t wait long before thrusting inside her.
Good gravy.
The pleasure just sort of burst through her head to toe and especially to the parts in between. Big and hard wasn’t overrated. At all.
Despite being on the table and sticking her hand in the key lime pie, it was somehow perfect. Riley found just the right rhythm, the right everything down to the sweet kiss he gave her that sent her flying. He flew, too, and then he landed against her, their bodies slick with sweat.
Texas on My Mind Page 20