After Tonight

by Erin Nicholas

  She laughed. “That would be a miracle.”

  “Well, hang on, sweetheart. Here we go.” He gripped her ass and pulled out, slowly, the friction so, so good.

  Then he thrust, deep and hard. Riley felt it everywhere. The bottoms of her feet even tingled, and she let out a heartfelt moan.

  And then he picked up the pace. He thrust and withdrew in deep, steady strokes that were fast and hard and hit absolutely every single spot that she needed him and a few she hadn’t ever felt before. She hung on, for sure. She really felt like she was doing very little to help the whole scenario out. But she couldn’t feel bad about it. She just wanted to feel. She just wanted…Derek. All of him. His body, his humor, their history, and, for sure, that half-hot, half-affectionate look he’d been giving her.

  She felt the orgasm building from down deep, a sensation she could never reproduce herself. She tightened her arms and legs around him, feeling the crest coming closer quickly.

  “Oh, not quite yet, darlin’.” Suddenly Derek pulled back.

  “Wha— What?” she demanded as the delicious pace went from perfect to nothing.

  He let her go, her feet swinging to the floor.

  “Der—”

  But before she could even get his name out, he spun her to face the wall. “Hands up, sweetheart.”

  She’d barely braced her hands on the wall before he gripped her hips and thrust, filling her again from behind and hitting a spot that made her cry out.

  “That’s right. That’s fucking right,” he said gruffly. “Let me hear it.”

  Nothing had ever felt like this. Ever.

  And this was Derek.

  And that somehow made it even better.

  His thrusts were deep and sure, and the way he held her hips kept her exactly where he wanted her. Exactly where she wanted to be.

  He said dirty things, he touched her all over—like a freakin’ Sex God— and she was quickly climbing toward another orgasm.

  She’d known those would be easy with him.

  “Come for me. God, I need to feel it, Ry.”

  Well, if he insisted. She reached back and gripped his ass, holding him tight as she went over the edge, calling his name.

  He was right there with her. “Fuck, Ry. Yes! Fuck.”

  She knew she might have bruises on her hips where he was hanging on. And she hoped she would. Because she wasn’t going to believe this happened when it was over.

  Derek kept moving even as the ripples of pleasure faded. Finally, he braced his hand on the wall over her head, leaning into her, putting his mouth against her ear.

  “Riley.”

  That was all he said.

  That was all he needed to say.

  She covered his hand on her hip and squeezed. “Derek.”

  8

  So Riley Ames had just rocked his world.

  He’d expected it to be good. To be really good.

  He hadn’t expected to want to throw her over his shoulder, carry her to bed and never let her leave. He was always pretty ready for them to leave. He never wanted to keep them. He had to-go coffee cups, for fuck’s sake.

  But he never wanted Riley to drink coffee anywhere else.

  Damn, this had gotten complicated and messy. Really fucking fast.

  He finally kissed her shoulder and moved back. She turned in his arms, and they kissed long and deep. He couldn’t keep his hands off her ass.

  “Let’s go to bed,” he said against her lips, squeezing that ass.

  But he felt her push him back. She pressed her lips together and looked up at him, adorably disheveled and flushed.

  “We probably shouldn’t do that.”

  He lifted a brow. Oh, they definitely should. “Why not?”

  He could tell she was considering not telling him what she was really thinking. He squeezed her ass. “Don’t lie to me, Ry.”

  If she was surprised he knew what she was thinking, she didn’t show it. She took a breath. “Because if we go to bed, we’re both not getting anything else done today and you’ll be late to work.”

  Okay, that was all true. And hearing her say it was hotter than hell. He leaned in and kissed her, then said, “Sounds about right.”

  “And we can’t do that.”

  “Why not?”

  “The guy who’s always around, doing everything for everyone, suddenly disappears for a day? I think they’ll notice.”

  “They?” But yeah, they would.

  “The whole entire town.” She pushed him back, and his hands slipped from her butt.

  He sighed.

  She laughed. “Yeah, being the town’s favorite person might have a drawback or two.”

  Normally having stuff to do, places to go, people waiting for him to show up, was a fantastic excuse to get gone. Now, he was regretting everything.

  And that was, actually, what pulled him out of the Riley daze. He didn’t want to have to report in about everything he was doing to anyone, and he didn’t want someone coming along and changing up his routines and, hell, his life. He liked things the way they were. Being with a woman who he’d grown addicted to within only a few days of hanging out and after fucking her once against the wall was not a part of the plan here.

  That hit him right in the chest. He was looking for a relationship, but he was looking for one with someone who wouldn’t mess with his life and who wouldn’t—and he cringed even thinking it—be someone he could be so wrapped up in, he wouldn’t want to do anything else.

  Shit.

  Fuck.

  Damn.

  That was a crappy way to approach a relationship. Even he knew that. If he didn’t want to be involved in someone else’s life and have them involved in his, then he shouldn’t be in a relationship.

  Which was exactly why he’d avoided it until now.

  His dad tried to juggle everything—his interests and the things he needed and wanted to do, with his wife’s constant need for reassurance—and it never worked. For either of them. She wondered where he was. He hated that she didn’t trust him. Then he felt guilty for not giving her all the reassurances she wanted, and she felt guilty for needing them in the first place.

  But as Derek stared down at Riley, he realized that he was so fucked when it came to her if he didn’t want to be involved and wrapped up. She was already a part of his life. They had a history. They knew each other’s families. He wanted to encourage her in the job with Scott. He wanted her to tell him that his pizza business was a fantastic idea.

  And he wanted to fuck her over and over and over again in every position and room in his house.

  And he would kind of love it if Riley was the least bit clingy.

  And he had no fucking clue how he was going to be able to date Lucy now.

  “Yeah, okay, I guess you have a point,” he conceded.

  She put a hand on his face, and he had to actually hold himself back from saying to hell with it and throwing her over his shoulder anyway. “Yeah, I have a point,” she said softly.

  He wondered briefly if she was reading some of his thoughts and emotions on his face. He turned his head and kissed her palm. Then he smacked her on the ass and said, “If you don’t want to end up bent over on my kitchen table, you better get out of here.”

  She gave him a smile. “Well, I do want that. But I’d still better go.”

  She bent to retrieve her clothes, and he watched her pull them on. “But you have to say it before you leave, you know,” he told her.

  Riley pulled her shirt over her head and then lifted her hair out of the back of it. “Say what?”

  “You know.”

  She frowned slightly, but the next moment it was clear she caught on. She smiled and shook her head. “I’m not saying it.”

  “You have to.”

  “No way.”

  “I mean, it’s very easy to tell that you think so, but I really think it’s only fair you say it.”

  “I am not saying it.” But she was grinning.

  He m
oved in close, palmed her ass once more and kissed her. Because he wanted to prove his point.

  And because he couldn’t help it.

  When he lifted his head, she sighed. “Fine. You really are a Sex God.”

  He chuckled at her tone. “Damn right.” Then he pinched her and let her go.

  “I’ll see you later,” she told him, blatantly taking another long look at his naked form.

  And said form started stirring to life again just from her look.

  “See ya.” He stood, waiting for her to actually leave.

  It was the right thing. She should leave. They couldn’t have sex all afternoon. But he certainly wasn’t pushing her out the door.

  Which should have been the biggest red flag of all.

  She sighed and shook her head. “Just wow.” Then her eyes finally made it back to his. “See ya ’round.”

  He laughed. “Yep.” No matter if it was complicated or not, there was no avoiding that.

  Finally, she turned and headed for his door.

  And for the first time in his life, watching that door shut behind a woman made him feel anything but relieved.

  “I can’t believe you charged him.”

  Riley sighed as her mother put more green beans on her plate. “Why wouldn’t I charge him?”

  “He’s your brother.”

  “And he hired me to do a job. That he can afford to pay me for,” Riley said.

  “Do you have any idea how much Kyle gives away to this town?” Erika asked, pulling out her chair and sitting down across from Riley. In the chair she’d sat in for every meal Riley could remember.

  “Yes, I have an inkling,” Riley said dryly. “But I didn’t do his clinic website as a favor, and he’s not a charity. I did it because his other designer messed up a bunch of stuff, and he needed some new features added.”

  For fuck’s sake, her mother wanted her to have a job. Now she had one, kind of, and she wasn’t supposed to charge for it?

  “You don’t understand,” Erika said, passing the plate of pork chops to her husband. “I guess the computer business is different than health care. But Kyle does a lot of his work for free.”

  Yes, and he could calm the storms and walk on water. Riley got it. She’d gotten it a long time ago.

  “I just thought you could help him out this way and indirectly contribute to the town,” Erika added.

  “How am I contributing to the town by not charging Kyle for the website?” Riley asked.

  “You’re helping out the guy who helps so many other people out,” Erika said. “Kyle has the money to pay you, of course.”

  Of course. Because perfect Kyle was far too successful and smart and generous to ever be plagued with not being able to pay his bills.

  “But the money he pays you could go to something else. Like that little boy who is having to have some kind of kidney treatment while his dad is deployed. Or Elizabeth Victor,” Erika said. “Kyle helped Derek put a ramp in at her house now that she needs a wheelchair when she’s out of the house.”

  Hearing Derek’s name made Riley’s heart thump in her chest, and she had to resolutely not think about it. “But if Kyle already put the ramp in, how does this money help with that?” she asked.

  She vaguely realized that she was being a brat. She knew what her mother meant. And she didn’t need the money. She had no bills, living here with her parents. And she had to be honest—as long as she was in Sapphire Falls, she’d be living with her parents. There weren’t a lot of places for rent, and she wasn’t buying anything that might signify a commitment to staying.

  But there’s a really nice couch about nine blocks away. Or even a bed. He invited you into the bed.

  She pushed that thought away. She couldn’t just keep sleeping on Derek’s couch, and she definitely couldn’t sleep in his bed on any kind of long-term basis.

  Could she?

  “You know what I mean,” Erika chided as she took a bite.

  Riley sighed again and started eating as well. Yeah, she knew what her mom meant. All of the things her mom meant. Like that Riley’s job could be simply a way of supporting the much more important work her brother was doing.

  “I’m working with Scott Hansen on a project for his task force.”

  Erika looked over as Jake passed the pork chops. “What task force?”

  “The sex trafficking task force he works with.”

  Erika frowned. “Sex trafficking?” She looked concerned. “Why is he doing that?”

  Riley set her fork down and leaned in. “Because it’s a huge problem, and he’s in law enforcement and wants to make a difference.”

  “But what does he do for that?”

  “They go after the people who are trafficking,” Riley said. “They find the people doing it, shut them down, arrest them, save the people they’ve tricked and manipulated and trapped.”

  She was aware that her voice had risen slightly and that her mother was looking horrified. But that didn’t bother Riley. Erika should be horrified. Everyone should be horrified about it.

  “Where does he do that?”

  “All over the state. The Midwest even,” Riley said. “But, Mom, it’s happened everywhere. There are local girls affected. Guys too. It’s not just females.”

  “No Sapphire Falls girls have been sex trafficked,” Erika said resolutely.

  And she was right. “Yet,” Riley said.

  Her mother’s eyes widened. “Don’t say that.”

  “It’s true. Anyone could be a victim. Even kids from Sapphire Falls.”

  Erika shook her head. “We would know.”

  Riley leaned in, but she took a breath before she launched into a rant. Erika wouldn’t listen to that. She needed to present the facts calmly and clearly. “These victims don’t go into it knowing what’s going to happen,” she said. “These people use all kinds of things to lure them in. Sometimes it’s a call for models or actresses. Sometimes it’s job offers—like nanny positions that will allow them to travel to amazing places and see the world. Sometimes they’re tricked by someone they meet and get to know and think they can trust.”

  Erika swallowed. “The kids here don’t think about things like modeling or traveling the world.”

  Riley laughed at that before she could stop herself. “They’re kids, Mom. They think the same things that kids in other places do. And yeah, I realize it’s never been easy for you to believe, but sometimes people want to leave Sapphire Falls.”

  “Yes,” Erika said coolly. “I’m aware. I’ve been told many times.”

  Riley felt a little pang in her chest. Why couldn’t her relationship with her mother be easier?

  “Well, anyway, I’m working with Scott and the task force,” Riley said, bringing the conversation back around. She wanted her mom to know this. She was proud of the fact that she’d been able to help Scott with a couple of the sites. And if she’d introduced a horrible virus to another and flat-out crashed a fourth all on her own, well…everyone knew that technology and the internet could be finicky.

  “How are you helping? It’s not dangerous is it?” Erika asked.

  “I don’t want you anywhere around those scumbags,” Jake agreed. “You need to be careful.”

  “I’m nowhere near any of them,” Riley said. Though she was already feeling a little urge to volunteer to help Scott more directly. “I’m helping with the computer side of things. They sometimes use websites to attract their victims. I’m helping with taking them down.”

  Erika looked surprised for a moment. “You mean you’re hacking them?”

  Riley didn’t usually mind the term hacking, but when her mom said it, it came with a whole bunch of judgement. “Yeah, I am.”

  “So you’re helping to take the bad guys down by getting into their websites?”

  Riley nodded. “And I’m working on tracking their bank accounts now.”

  There was a flash of something that almost looked like Erika was impressed. Then she frowned. “Is it legal
?”

  Riley sighed. “Of course. I’m working with the cops.”

  “Are they paying you?”

  “They are,” Riley told her. Okay, so those details weren’t completely finalized, but Riley was in now. She’d learned enough and already felt enough pride in what she was doing that she was going to keep up with it. And she was going to impress Scott Hansen at least. She was going to become valuable to them. And then she was going to ask them to pay her if they didn’t offer. “But I’d do it for free,” she added. “I really would. This is important work. I’m helping do something that matters.”

  Erika gave a slow nod. “Yes. You are.”

  Riley couldn’t believe the sudden jab of relief and happiness she felt in her chest. Should she care what other people thought of her? Maybe not. But she wasn’t sure anyone could ever fully shake the idea of wanting their mothers to be proud of them.

  “And I’ve been thinking about doing an advocacy and education event here,” Riley said, before she could overthink it and decide not to share. Her mom was very involved in the community and had been a part of arranging a number of community events. She could be a great resource. Especially considering Riley didn’t know much about putting those kinds of things together.

  “What would that be like?”

  “It would be a way to educate the people of Sapphire Falls about sex trafficking and how close to home it can hit and what to be on the lookout for. Peyton and I were also talking about somehow showing victims that Sapphire Falls is a safe place. If they’re traveling through and need help, or if they escape and need a place to go…”

  “Couldn’t that bring some of the sex traffickers to town too?” Erika asked. “If we make a big deal about it, they might decide to come here to look for girls.”

  Riley frowned. “Sex traffickers could already be coming through town,” she said. “They could be gassing up at The Stop. They could be eating at the diner or getting a drink at the Come Again. We can’t build a fence or a bubble around Sapphire Falls.”

  Though from everything she’d heard, Scott was trying his best to keep watch over every inch of the town. Partly because of his work with the task force. He knew how normal the people involved in the dirty, horrible world of sex trafficking could look and how easily the victims could fall prey.