Chapter Seven

Riley slipped inside her villa and hit the light switch. She still couldn’t believe she’d said no to Sam.

Thankfully, although shocked by her answer, he’d been a gentleman and allowed her to leave without making a fuss. Now her body hated her for that decision. In truth, she’d longed to say yes and take what he offered, but Riley wasn’t a casual kind of girl and Sam didn’t strike her as a forever kind of man. But really, was it so bad to have just one night of total bliss with a guy? Probably not the best idea when that guy was not only your boss but also your neighbor. What if he was a terrible lover? How would she face pretending it was amazing? Especially when she couldn’t avoid him? Plus she still had Beto’s wedding to attend. She’d never be able to make Beto think she’d moved on and was in love with Sam if she had to spend her time trying not to let Sam see how much she regretted making love with him.

Yet, she knew from the way Sam kissed that he would be an amazing lover. No one who kissed a girl dizzy could be anything else. Riley kicked off her black-and-white heels, and padded barefoot to her kitchen. There was no denying the truth. She regretted saying no to Sam. Now, instead of a torrid evening between the sheets, all she had to look forward to was leftovers and a lonely night in front of the TV.

She pulled open the fridge door and peered inside. She didn’t want food, she wanted Sam. Since he wasn’t in the fridge, but her leftover banoffee pie was, she settled for the pie. No use in pretending she wasn’t going to finish the whole half a pie. Riley retrieved the dessert, grabbed a spoon from the drawer beside the fridge and padded back to the sitting room.

“Stupid woman,” she berated herself as she balanced the pie dish on one hand and pointed the remote control at the wall-mounted TV.

“Come home with me, Riley.” She deepened her voice to imitate Sam’s deep baritone, then changed it to a pitch much higher than her own.

“Oh no, Sam, I can’t. We work together.”

“Stupid woman, you might as well have said: but I can’t, you won’t respect me in the morning.” She jabbed the pie with her spoon and shoveled up a spoonful. She thrust it into her mouth, but even the cool creamy taste of banana and toffee did nothing to make things better.

“Stupid woman,” she muttered around a mouthful of pie. “Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.” In went another giant bite. And still she muttered. “The next time a guy kisses you until your toes curl and asks you to go home with him—say yes, idiot!”

If she could only rewind time back to when Sam had kissed her this evening, there was no way she’d make the mistake of saying no. In fact, if he was to turn up on her doorstep right now, she’d ditch the pie—sorry pie—and show him how bendy she could be.

And maybe if she could find what she did with her phone she might be brave enough to text him words to that effect.

Yeah, if only.

****

Sam finally called it a night around nine. Not that he got anything done after Riley rejected him. It had been a while since the last time he’d wanted a woman bad enough to disregard etiquette. He was only glad Riley had enough sense to stop him before he made a mess of their work relationship. To give into his hormones and sleep with her would have been a big mistake. What if she got weird and expected more from him? What if she mistook his need to assuage the sexual frustration he’d accumulated working in such close proximity with her as something more? What if she thought sleeping with him meant the start of a serious relationship?

Sam didn’t do serious relationships and he got the feeling Riley wasn’t a casual fling kind of girl. He should be thanking God for the lucky escape, not silently fuming because she told him “no”.

As he stalked through the office, he nearly stepped on an object on the floor beside Riley’s desk. Stooping, he picked it up.

Riley’s cell phone.

He was about to leave it on her desk when he remembered that she didn’t have a landline. For that matter, neither did he. Not many people bothered with landlines anymore, keeping their cell phones as a sole communication mode instead. If she left it here, she’d be without any way of calling out if she found herself in need of help. Sam dithered over the decision he knew he had to make. Leave Riley’s phone on her desk for her to retrieve it in the morning, or deliver it to her tonight.

If he left it here, he’d spend the night worrying about her safety. If he took it for her, he’d have to brave seeing her so soon after she rejected him. The best way to show her he was cool with her decision was to take her phone home with him and deliver it to her door.

****

The knock at the door saved Riley from finishing off the pie. She reluctantly placed the dish on the sofa next to her, un-tucked her legs, and dragged herself to the door. She wasn’t expecting anyone, but May-May had a habit of stopping by for a chat on her way home after closing the shop. Riley didn’t mind because May-May always brought pie.

She opened the door with a welcoming smile that froze when she realized who stood outside her door.

Not May-May.

Sam.

Stunned, she could only stare at the beautiful man she’d stupidly turned down.

He held out her phone to her. “You left this at the office. I thought you might need it.”

Dumbly, Riley reached out and took the phone. Sam was here and if she didn’t do something, she would miss this amazing second chance.

“Thanks.”

Thanks? What’s wrong with you?

Sam paused, shoved his hands into his pants pockets. “Look, Riley. I was totally out of line at the office. I’m sorry, it won’t ha—”

Riley caught the front of his chambray shirt, yanked him through the open doorway and slammed the door behind him.

“I’ve changed my mind.”

Her lips landed on his with less finesse than she would have liked, but Sam didn’t seem to mind. He pulled his hands out of his pockets and wrapped them around her. His mouth felt wonderful on hers. His tongue soft and caressing in her mouth, stroked whispery thrills to her belly. Riley tugged at his shirt, un-tucked it from his waistband and snaked her hands under the loose tails. He felt better than she imagined, and ever since she saw him naked the morning she’d woken on his sofa, she’d let her imagination do some wondering.

“Riley, are you sure? I don’t want you to feel like I’m pressuring you.” His mouth blazed a trail down her neck. “You said no, and I’m cool with that.”

“I’m not.” Her breathy murmurs echoed in her ears as she pulled and tugged to get him out of his clothes. “I want this. I want you.”

“Riley.” He scooped her up and headed to her bedroom. “Tell me this won’t make things weird between us.”

“This won’t make things weird between us.” She looped her arms around his neck, searched out the sensitive spot below his ear with her lips, and let her teeth sink in with just enough bite to make him groan.

****

In her bedroom, he lowered her to the bed, coming down with her because he had no other choice with Riley’s hand tugging on his shirt. His mouth landed on hers again. Long and hard and sweet. Riley sighed her pleasure in the decadent caress of his tongue against hers.

“Take your shirt off,” she panted against his mouth, her hands fumbling with the buttons.

Sam moved like a man who hadn’t made love in more than six months. Six long, long months. He kicked off his shoes, stripped his shirt faster than an Olympic sprinter who had the finish line in sight. In the last few months, sex hadn’t mattered to him. Work had kept him too busy to date and too tired to care. Until he discovered Riley living practically on his doorstep. Then he noticed a whole lot of things. Her hot body, her cute laugh, her smell. Yeah, after meeting Riley, he certainly became aware of the lack of bedroom activity in his life.

An ugly fact hit him. He hadn’t had sex in six months—hadn’t even thought about it. He was going to disappoint her.

“Wait.” He imprisoned her hands at his waistband, fought to regulate his breathing. “It’s been a while for me. I might not last.”

“That’s okay.” She cupped the back of his head, urged his mouth back to hers. “We can do it again,” she said, a second before her lips met his.

Cradled between Riley’s thighs, her heat welcoming him as he kissed her, Sam knew there was no way he’d be able to hold on until Riley climaxed. And he’d be damned if he ever disappointed a woman—especially Riley. She deserved his best moves, and Sam had moves. He may not have used them in a while, but he had them.

He eased out of the kiss, savored the sweet taste of Riley’s mouth. She tasted of caramelized banana and creamy toffee and he remembered her telling him she had a weakness for dessert.

“Have you been eating banoffee pie?” He had to slow things down a tad, make this all about Riley.

“Yes.” Her eyelids lowered. “I was upset when I got home.”

Sam sat back on his haunches. He pulled her into a seated position in front of him. “Why were you upset?”

“You know why.”

Barely holding onto his control he slipped from the bed, maintained eye contact with her as he moved around the mattress until she broke their connection by closing her eyes and letting her head loll forward, exposing her nape to him. He climbed onto the mattress, knelt behind Riley, and closed his hands on her shoulders in a light massage.

“Because you regretted not going home with me?” he asked in an intimate whisper right next to her ear.

She nodded. He placed light kisses on the back of her neck, slid his hands from her shoulders to tease down the zipper of her flirty black-and-white office dress.

Riley sighed again, and Sam mentally stored the discovery that she liked it when he kissed her nape. He nudged the shoulders of her dress down her arms. She shivered, released a shaky breath, and rose to her knees still facing away from him; a move for which he was grateful because he knew once she turned to face him, he wouldn’t stand a chance.

Her smooth, golden back invited more kisses. Sam let his hands follow the elegant line of her shoulders as he dipped his head and placed several slow, lingering kisses between her shoulder blades.

“That feels so good.” She breathed out a long sigh, let her head loll to the side. “Like a feather-light massage. Relaxing and erotic all at the same time.” She turned her head to look at him. “How is it possible that when you kiss me—even the slightest brush of your lips on mine—I feel it in every part of my body?”

Her admission cinched his heart. He’d never met a woman so open and honest. So willing to let him into her thoughts. He rewarded her with a little honesty of his own.

“Maybe the same way an accidental graze of your body against mine can electrify and short-out my entire system.” He pressed an open-mouth kiss to the side of her neck, nipped her flesh lightly with his teeth. “Do you still want pie?” His real question was, did she think he was better than pie?

“It depends.” He heard the smile in her voice.

“On what?

She angled her head to glance at him over her slender shoulder. “On what you call pie.”

He placed a kiss on her shoulder, then found her neck again. She arched to give him free access. “I was referring to the sugar and pastry variety, but if you have something else in mind, I’m interested.”

Riley stood on the bed, allowed her dress to pool at her feet before stepping out of it. She turned, smiled at him, her face flushed, her lust-heavy amber eyes as intoxicating as the distilled malt they resembled.

The sight of her body was erotic torture, rendering him spellbound. Sam let his gaze roam the length of her body. The swell of her full pert breasts teased him from a white silk and black lace trim push-up bra. Her narrow ribcage dipped to a small waist and flat stomach that showed off lean muscle definition in her obliques and led down to a gentle flare of hips encased in matching white silk and black lace bikini panties. As he already knew from the numerous times he’d seen her in cut-off jean shorts, she had amazing legs. Long, defined and slender, and soon he’d have the answer to a question he’d been pondering the last two weeks.

How would they feel wrapped around his waist?

“The only thing I have in mind, Sam.” Riley braced her hands on his shoulders, bent forward from the hips. “Is this…” She sealed her mouth to his in a mind-blowing sultry kiss. It was hot…wet…primal…and drew a groan from both of them.

With another soft sigh of pleasure, she stroked her fingers over his stubble. Sam made another mental note: Riley had a thing for his facial hair. He drew her down with him onto the bed, pinned her beneath him as his tongue stroked hers in a languid primordial rhythm. Breaking the kiss, he followed the line of her neck to her breasts, still hidden from his sight within the confines of her bra. Sam slipped his hand under her back and unhooked the garment. He eased it from her, letting it drop beside the bed.

“These have been tormenting me from that day when you walked out of your bathroom naked. I’ve wanted to do this ever since then.” He lowered his head and closed his mouth on one nipple.

Riley sucked in a breath. “Oh, Sam.”

He’d thought of her almost nonstop since the day she backed into him, and now he had Riley beneath him, he was going to take his sweet time getting to know her body. What she liked and how she liked it. And if he had time before morning came, he planned to do it all over again.

As his teeth grazed her nipple and her belly contracted, Sam knew she was close to the edge. It would take very little effort to push her over, and he was all about effort. If there was one thing his grandma drilled into him as a child, it was if a job was worth doing, it was worth doing well. And if it took until morning, he would make sure Riley never forgot tonight, or that he was the man who made her feel this good.

He removed her panties and sent them to join her dress and bra. Riley parted her legs, a silent invitation for him to position himself between. Aware of the fragile hold he had on his restraint; Sam moved down her body, took the skilful play of his mouth to her belly, extracting another moan from her.

She bent her knees, her fingers sank into his hair. “Sam…”

His head dipped between her thighs.

“Oh, yes…” she groaned deep in her throat.

Encouraged, he feasted on Riley, offering her everything he’d ever learned about giving a woman pleasure, forced her to cry out her hunger and release. Heat radiated off her, cocooned him in a sensual haze, pulled him into a fog of mindless need. Her whimpers, gasps, and sighs escalated to desperate, incoherent moans and urgings until finally she climaxed.

“Sam. Please. Now. I need you now.”

His control snapped. His whole body vibrated with the effort to hold onto his discipline. His hands shook as he rid himself of the remainder of his clothes before locating the condom in his wallet. Within seconds, he’d sheathed himself and had Riley’s welcoming, ravenous body pinned beneath his.

He slid inside her slippery entrance with a forceful thrust that ripped a sharp groan from them both as he sank into her incredible tightness.

Riley cried out, closed her eyes, and dug her fingers into his back as she arched up to meet his thrusts.

Sam drew in a ragged breath. “You feel incredible, Riley. Let’s do this again.” He groaned the suggestion into the warm curve of her neck.

“Oh yes…yes…yes…Sam…”

His mouth covered hers, hungry and wanting, his tongue emulating the measured rhythm of his hips.

A heavy, yet weightless, sensation spun out of control low in his belly, forcing him to thrust hard and frantic into Riley until it exploded in a fierce blast of inescapable electrostatic tingles that radiated in waves through every quivering cell in his body. All he could do was shout his release as Riley cried out another climax, pulsating in powerful spasms around him.

****

Riley pillowed her head on Sam’s left shoulder. His hand took up a rhythmic caress along her hip, stoking the fire inside her. Who knew making love could be that spectacular?

The night breeze coming through the open bedroom window carried the scent of ocean and exotic tropical flowers outside Riley’s villa, and cooled her skin. Sam had been amazing. She couldn’t wipe away the satisfied smile he’d put on her face.

Tangled in the soft sheets with him, her body and senses heightened to intense awareness as she lay spent in his arms enjoying the night sound of crickets and whistling frogs, the occasional hoot of an owl, the faint lazy whirl of the ceiling fan, and distant gentle crash of waves. Everything seemed so much more vivid. The brush of cool cotton on her skin, the tingle of her hair on her back, the sizzling press of Sam’s magnificent body at her front. Riley inhaled his scent, repositioned her head on his shoulder and angled her thigh over his. Even the tickle of hairs on his legs added to her acute sensory overload.

She could so easily fall for Sam.

A weighted sensation settled in her chest. Could they have something? Or was this destined to be nothing more than a fling? She didn’t even know how he felt about marriage.

“Have you ever been married?”

He drew in a relaxed breath, shook his head. “And I doubt I ever will.”

With her forefinger Riley followed the hard muscles ridging his stomach, enjoyed the way her touch made them tense.

“That sounds very ominous. What do you have against marriage?” She’d guessed he wouldn’t be a forever kind of guy, but to hear him admit to not wanting to marry—ever—was a little more sobering than she’d anticipated. She may not be ready to go through the whole engagement process again just yet, but she wanted to get married one day. To have children with a man she truly loved and who loved her.

“Let’s just say my experience up to now hasn’t encouraged me to believe in the sanctity of matrimony.”

“Now I’m intrigued. But I guess I can agree with you. My parents are a walking advertisement for why people shouldn’t get married.”

He smoothed her hair from her cheek with the hand that wasn’t slowly driving her to distraction with his light caress on her hip, and angled his head to look at her. “You didn’t have a happy childhood?”

“Does anyone ever have a truly happy childhood?”

“I’m sure there are people somewhere in the world who think theirs were pretty awesome.”

“If I ever met such a person, I’d buy the drinks.”

Sam chuckled. “So would I.” His warm palm continued to smooth slowly back and forth on her hip. “Tell me about your parents.”

“Only if you tell me what made you so averse to marriage.”

Sam’s hand stilled. It took a moment before he spoke as if he’d been measuring his words as he stared at the canopy above them.

“My mom cheated on my dad when I was ten. It broke up our family home. She went on to cheat on each one of her three subsequent marriages. I had a couple of girlfriends cheat and once I unknowingly became the other half of a cheating relationship.” His voice grew hard. “It wasn’t my finest moment, and I lived to regret it. From my experience, women will eventually cheat. I see no reason to get married if it’ll end in divorce.” His gaze came back to hers. “Marriage is intended to be for a lifetime.”

“I agree.”

They fell silent. And as Riley rooted in her mind for a subject, she noticed the small scar on Sam’s rib.

She traced the smooth crescent-shaped ridge. “Where did you get this?”

He tensed as if the question had been too personal, but he answered anyway. “That’s a memento from the husband of the woman I mentioned. I hadn’t known she was married, or I would never have gone near her. But, as they say, ignorance is no excuse, and I got what I deserved.”

“What happened?”

“He surprised me one night in my apartment and taught me the dangers of picking up strange women in bars for one-night stands.”

Riley sat up, jealousy and horror jolting through her. She hadn’t even stopped to consider Sam’s sexual health. “You do that? Have sex with random women?”

“Relax, sweetheart. I’m not in the habit of sleeping around. I’m clean. I always use protection.” He pulled her down beside him, positioned her back where she’d been moments ago in his arms. “What I did for you, I don’t usually perform on any woman I’m not in a serious relationship with.” He dropped a kiss on her mouth. “You’re unique.”

She swallowed against the sudden tightness in her chest. She pressed her lips to his, exhilarated to know she was special to Sam.

“Thank you.” She settled back on his shoulder, hugged his waist and cradled her leg on his. “You were telling me about how you got the scar.”

“Yes. As I was saying, I didn’t sleep around, but that night I made Lacy the exception. I’d just won a big arbitration and was feeling pretty damn good about myself. I thought I was the bee’s knees, as they say in your part of the world. My life was sweet and good, moving upward at a cracking pace. Then with one stupid decision, I lost it all.” He drew in a breath then exhaled a long puff. “Lacy’s husband found out, came over to my loft apartment and did what most men would. He laid into the man who slept with his wife.”

“Oh my goodness, Sam. That’s awful. Didn’t you fight back?”

“No. I let him have his revenge; I owed him that much.”

Tears stung the backs of Riley’s eyes. She couldn’t decide whether Sam had been noble or stupid. “What if he’d killed you?”

“No one could say I didn’t deserve it.”

“But you didn’t know she was married. Why did you blame yourself?” A deep, awful pain and sympathy for Sam squeezed her heart. He’d been so traumatized by his childhood that he’d been willing to lose his life for his mistake. A mistake he hadn’t made alone.

“Before I laid a finger on her, I should have asked.” The resolve in his voice saddened her.

She wound her arm around him in a tight hug. “It pains me that you thought you deserved that,” she whispered against his shoulder, as she fought silly tears for him that had come far too late to matter. She could see why he wouldn’t wish to get involved in marriage. Who wanted to risk being cheated on?

Riley knew how that felt at the engagement stage. How much worse would it have been if Beto had cheated on her after she married him?

“Is that why you came to Nevis? To start over?”

“Yes.” She liked that his hand took up the rhythmic caress on her hip again. “Enough about me, tell me about you.”

She couldn’t blame Sam for his revulsion when it came to marriage, but she could lighten things and enjoy the time they had together, even though she knew it would never go any further than this.

“Well…” She changed her tone to one of frivolity. “I was born on a bitter cold, dreary night in winter. Dad had just rolled in from the pub to the news that mum had gone into labor. Mum says he slammed his hands on his hips, reeling like a drunken sailor as he said, ‘Really? You’re going into labor now?’ But because he was three sheets to the wind, it sounded like he said: ‘Riley’. That’s how I got my name. Then when I was—”

“Riley.” Sam rolled her over, pinning her beneath him as she giggled. “You’re a little minx, do you know that?” He dipped his head and kissed her, murmured against her lips, “Thank you for lightening the mood. I hate visiting that dark place inside of me.”