Page 23

TWENTY-THREE

LEXI

I whine. Heat washes over me, and the high I’m chasing is within reach. I scramble for it, sinking into the awareness of being with someone who pays attention. Who watches me, reads me, and when Riley shoves his glasses up his nose and puts his tongue on me one more time, I lose it.

It’s the hottest, nerdiest thing I’ve ever seen, and a million stars explode in my vision. I cry out, reaching for the back of his head and pressing his face into my pussy because it’s so fucking good , I want it to last as long as possible.

“I want you to make a mess, Lexi,” he mumbles against me, his stubble scratching against my skin. “Drench my hand. Let that be another souvenir. I’ll never wash it again.”

A second orgasm sneaks up on me, less intense but just as wonderful, and my toes scrunch. I whimper, caught off guard by his ask. A sob escapes my mouth, and I feel Riley moving. His fingers slow, his touch relents back to soft and easy. Fresh tears spring in my eyes, and I’m exhausted. So weary that more tears fall, and I try to cover my face with my hands.

“Hey. Hey. ” Riley sits next to me and pulls me into his lap. He strokes my back and kisses my wet cheek. “What’s wrong? Talk to me, Lexi.”

“That was—” My body shakes, the lingering pleasure undeniable. Maybe it’s going to stay with me forever. “So?—”

“You did so well,” he murmurs, and he’s hard under me. The tip of his cock presses into my ass, and gosh , I want that too. “So good. Twice? I’ve never?—”

“Me either.” I kiss his neck and the space below his ear, smiling when he hums. “You’re magic.”

“ You’re magic.” His mouth is on my shoulder, and I’d love to find a way to tattoo his touch on my body. “We can stop there for the night. I don’t need—the first time was beyond my wildest dreams.”

“I want you.” I lift myself off him. “How…should you?—”

“I’m going to, ah, keep my leg on.” Riley swallows. “Tonight. I’m… I don’t want?—”

“I’ve seen you without your prosthetic before.” I rest my hand on his right thigh, the metal of his leg hard against my palm. “And you’re beautiful. I want you to know that.”

“ Fuck .” He shakes his head, disbelieving. “We’re going to have to get creative here. I didn’t have a chance to look up the best sex positions for people who are missing limbs.”

I stifle a giggle, but he laughs too. This all feels so normal, something we’ve done a hundred times, and the realization makes my stomach swoop low.

“Do you think there’s a website for that?” I ask.

“There’s definitely a Reddit thread somewhere.”

“People on the internet are very knowledgeable.”

“I’m thinking—” He stops to lick his lips and look at my body again. He takes my nipple between his fingers, twisting it and smiling when I hiss. “You on top. Riding me. That doesn’t involve the muscles in my lower body.”

“I like that idea. Do you want help taking your pants all the way off or?—”

“I can do it.”

Riley squeezes my waist and we adjust our positions so he can swing his legs over the side of the bed. He grunts when he shimmies his sweatpants off and I crawl over so I can kiss his shoulders. So I can wrap my arms around him and skate my hands down his body, my fingers aching to feel him.

I’ve never been one for physical touch or cuddling after sex, but it’s different with Riley. It’s like I can’t get enough of him, and when he’s finally naked and looks back at me, I want him in every way I can have him.

“Get on the bed,” I say, and his smile hitches wide.

“I like when you’re bossy.” It takes him a beat to stretch out on the mattress, but when he does, his hand slips into mine. He strokes his thumb over my knuckles and tugs me toward him. “C’mere.”

“I want to look first.”

“You’ve seen my body.”

“I haven’t seen you like this . It’s different when we’re not at the arena. Can I?”

“Yeah.” He nods. “You can.”

I look at his tattoo and the hair on his stomach. At the faint scars and muscles that are weaker on the right side of his body. I travel lower to his cock standing tall, then to his legs. I study the prosthetic I’ve seen before and his foot, mesmerized by every inch of him.

He’s perfect.

“You said you wanted me on top?” I ask, and he nods again, quicker this time.

“I would’ve picked that position even if I could move around however I wanted. I know I finished the first time, but I don’t know what my body is capable of during round two. I might not?—”

“That’s okay. We’ll try together and figure it out.”

“There’s, um, a condom in my wallet. On the dresser under the television.”

“Were you planning to get lucky tonight, Mitchy?”

“God, no. This is a fever dream. Ethan brought a box to the arena a week ago and threw them around the locker room. I didn’t want the custodians to have to clean them up, so I found one the guys forgot to grab and shoved it in my wallet. I forgot about it until now.”

“Look at that divine intervention.” I hop off the bed and hurry to the dresser, opening his wallet. A small photo falls out, and I pick it up. “What’s this?”

“The team picture from last year. I like to remember the good days.”

“Is today not a good day?” I ask over my shoulder.

“Today is the best day I’ve had in months,” he says. “By a longshot.”

“We should make a point to say which days are good.” I tuck the photo back in its place and pluck the foil packet from behind a twenty-dollar bill. “So you don’t forget.”

“I like that idea,” he says, and when I turn to walk back to him, he holds up a hand. “Stop there for a second.”

I freeze in my tracks. “Is everything okay?”

“Just wanted to watch you. You’re so beautiful.”

I smile and slow my steps toward him. I climb on the bed and crawl between his legs, bringing my mouth close to his.

“Do you like watching, Riley?” I whisper.

“Yes,” he says, voice thick. “I do.”

“It’s a shame you got me off earlier. I would’ve let you watch me play with myself.”

He moans and snatches the condom out of my hand, tearing it open with one rip. “You aren’t fair.”

“Sorry, Riley baby.” I straddle him, hovering myself over his length. Before I have a chance to spit on the latex for lubrication—I’m actually afraid he might hurt me—he’s sliding three fingers back in me. Making me writhe above him and roll my hips, and everything in me pulls tight. “Now who’s not playing fair?”

“Sorry, Lexi baby ,” he murmurs, mimicking me, and I hate how much I love it. “Looks like I don’t need to do too much work to get you ready. You’re still wet.”

I groan when he pulls out of me, left aching and needy. He guides me down, lowering me until the head of his cock pushes against my entrance, and my groan turns into a gasp.

“That’s it.” Riley wraps his pinky and thumb around my throat, his middle three fingers at my mouth. “Open up and suck.”

My lips pop open and I groan again when he puts his fingers on my tongue. I taste myself on him, and I lick away the moisture I left behind. I don’t have a chance to ask what happens next because he’s lifting his hips. He’s sinking deeper inside me, and everything gets hazy.

“ Fuck .” It’s my turn to curse, and the world spins around me. “You?—”

“Are only halfway in,” he grunts, and I don’t know if I want to laugh or cry. “Can I?—”

“I will kill you if you don’t move right this second, Riley.”

He listens, guiding me down and muttering his encouragement along the way. Cautious until he’s fully buried, then he stops moving.

“Holy shit. Look how well we fit together,” he says, and I glance down at where we’re joined. “Fucking perfect.”

It is perfect, and when our gazes lock, something snaps in both of us.

I lean forward and crash my mouth into his at the same time his hands find their way back on me; at my throat, the small of my back, kneading my ass.

I lift off him then slam back down, our groans in sync when I ride him like my life depends on it.

“Good?” I ask, checking to make sure he’s doing okay.

“No.” A head shake, and I almost freeze before he touches my clit. “Better than good. So goddamn incredible.”

Our movements match, both of us wanting to help the other finish. He’s thick inside me, and every time I roll my hips, he answers me with a thrust of his own. The rhythm is easy, effortless. He touches my neck again, a squeeze that tightens around my throat when I nod to show my consent. I watch him, mouth parted, eyes closed, while I rock forward, then up, then down his shaft until there’s no space between us, not wanting to miss out on a single inch.

“Riley. I think I’m going to come from?—”

“Thank fuck. I’m waiting for you to go first.”

“Why am I not surprised you’re so chivalrous in the bedroom?” I drop my head back, hair swishing against my back. “Why am I not surprised you’re going to be the first guy to get me to finish from sex?”

“It’s”—a thrust—“A fucking”—Another thrust that makes me cry out. His fingers are back on my clit, circling and teasing—“Honor.”

I give in, not questioning the reasons why he’s capable of doing things no one else has ever done. It doesn’t matter, because everything is a mess of limbs and sweat and a mumbled, can I finish inside you? and an emphatic god. Yes, please before we’re both tumbling. Falling headfirst into nirvana that takes over my entire being, but Riley holds me steady.

I feel him pulse inside me, finishing, and a vague thought races through my head: what would it feel like with nothing between us? No protection, just him?

Somewhere in the back of my mind I know it would be ecstasy.

“Well,” Riley finally says after our breathing returns to normal. After my skin starts to cool and the sweat on my chest starts to dry. “I think my therapist will be happy to know I’m out of the depression stage of my grief. A condom full of cum has to mean I’m on the upside of things.”

I burst out laughing and fall forward, my chest pressing against his. He holds me there, secure and safe while he pulls out of me. We both hiss at the break in our contact, and a void settles over me as my shoulders shake and he laughs too.

“You could also be donating to a sperm bank,” I suggest, smiling when he arranges me next to him on the bed.

“True.” He carefully slides the condom off his length and ties it off, tossing it toward the trash can in the bathroom. He misses then huffs out a chuckle. “Oof. Fucking ugly shot there. There’s a reason I play hockey.”

“A swing and a miss.” I kiss his cheek. “Thanks for the great fuck, Mitchy.”

“You’re not leaving yet, are you?”

“That was the point of this. We get off, then I go.”

“My dick is still half hard. You’ll hurt my ego if you leave now. And you should shower. Sex ed and all of that.”

“You make a convincing argument.” I sigh and grab the sheets, draping them around us. “Fifteen minutes and one shower, then I’m hitting the road.”

“Forty-five, I’ll order us room service, then I’ll do recon in the hall to make sure none of the guys are getting back at the same time.”

“What kind of room service?”

“What’s your favorite food?”

“Grilled cheese,” I say. “With a big ass pickle.”

“Ah, yes. You and your love of heart attack-inducing sandwiches.” Riley grabs the hotel phone, adjusts his crooked and smudged glasses, and looks down at me. “Fries?”

“Yeah.” I swallow. “And a shit ton of ketchup, please. Oh! And a milkshake.”

“Oreo, right?”

“Yeah,” I repeat, the word stuck. “That’s right.”

“Get comfortable, Armstrong. You’re not free from me yet.”

Forty-five minutes turns into a shower where Riley sits on the lid of the toilet and talks to me while I wash my hair. A heaping pile of food and an old western movie we barely watch because we’re too busy making out. Chatting about his teammates and my friends. And when I finally slip out of his room two hours before we need to be downstairs to catch the team bus to the airport, I’m so exhausted, but I can’t locate a smidge of regret.

My phone chimes when I press my keycard against my door, and I wait until I’m safely in my room before I open it.

Riley

Dude. I just hooked up with the HOTTEST woman.

And I stole her underwear.

*Attachment: 1 image*

It’s a picture of him with my thong between his teeth, the flash of the camera reflecting in his glasses. His hair is a mess. There are marks all over his chest and neck from my mouth and fingernails, and something unexplainable stirs in my soul when a fourth message comes through.

Riley

Today was a good day.

Me

It was, wasn’t it?

Riley

See you soon, Lexi baby.