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“It’s the California in me,” I tease.
“Maybe. Or maybe it’s just you.” His low, sensual voice is far from teasing.
I feel his eyes on mine as we stare at each other’s silhouettes in the dark, the waves crashing to the shore.
I should thank him and continue walking. Neither of us are in a position for more. But that’s not what I do. My heart thumps louder in my ears, and my body hums with emotions and desire. I close the distance between us.
Riley doesn’t back away.
I brush his fingers with mine and then I do something that might ruin everything that’s been growing between us. I lift my face and kiss him.
His lips are soft, warm, and stationary. I took him by surprise, I’m sure, but I thought—hoped—he’d respond in some way.
I pull back and lower my head. “Sorry. I…I shouldn’t have done that.” When he doesn’t move or say anything, I tilt my head back to stare at his shadowed features. “Are you okay?”
In a swift move, he cups my cheeks with his big, warm hands and pulls me to him for a kiss.
His lips meet mine with a hunger I didn’t know was in him. They move, part with a breath, claim mine, and open more as he slides his tongue into my mouth.
I moan at the feel of him and his taste.Holy shit.Riley is an amazing kisser. I match the slow, sensual thrusts of his tongue. My skin feels hot as a fire ignites inside my body. I clutch his hands where they cup my face as if to keep him connected to me.
More. I need more.
As if Riley does too, he draws me closer and slides his hands down my back to cup my ass and move me against him so I can feel his arousal. And what an arousal it is.
I moan again, my head light and tingly. Am I breathing?
“Nova,” he murmurs against my lips. “You taste like salt and heaven.”
My knees threaten to buckle.
Next, we’re both lowering to the sand. Riley pulls me so that I straddle his lap. Our lips have barely disconnected. My fingers are in his silky strands while his hands remain on my ass, rocking me against him. It’s so hot, I don’t care that we’re at a public beach, going at it like teenagers making out for the first time in our lives.
“I love your ass,” Riley says as he kisses a trail down my neck. “I love everything about your body.”
He loves my curvy, soft figure? I wasn’t sure what he was into and even though he’s said a few times that he thinks I’m attractive, I wondered whether he was trying to make me feel better or whether he genuinely meant it. I can tell by the way he’s groping me and the hardness in his pants that he is wholly genuine. It sends me into overdrive, and I grind against him on my own, loving the friction at my core, and the feel of his hands and lips on my body.
Riley kisses a path back up my neck. “You’re breathing so fast. I don’t want you passing out on me.” His voice is a low rumble. He chuckles and cups my cheeks again, holding me a few inches away from him. “How’s the sugar? Are you doing okay?”
The thoughtfulness—and in this moment. I could come.
“I’m good.” I pant. “You?” I ask, although I don’t know why.
“I’m better than good.”
He doesn’t sound like he’s breathing any slower or quieter than I am. I sense a smile on his face and wish more than anything that I could see in the dark.
“Let’s go back home and continue this in private.”
Riley nods and holds me to him as we both work to control our racing breath.
Why did I suggest riding bikes here when we could have driven? It’ll take so long to get back. Maybe we should get an Uber.
“Ready?” Riley stands and tugs me to my feet, pulling me in for another kiss. Quickly, he ends it and shakes his head. “You should stay out of arm’s reach from me until we’re back at the house.”
I giggle but agree. And because I’m in such a hurry, I say, “Race you to the bikes?” Not waiting for his response, I dart across the sand toward the public access where we left them.
The ride back to Gigi’s sucks. I’m horny, in a hurry, and frustrated as hell. My leg muscles burn from being out of shape—not that I was ever much in shape—and my scalp itches from sweat and this hot-as-fuck wig.