Best Of My Love (Home to Green Valley Book 4) (5 page)

The cottage he shared with Sean was quiet, but he could tell his brother was home from the light shining under his door. Instead of seeking him out, he went to his room, stripped naked and collapsed onto the bed, worn out body and soul. Jet lag had to be the worst aspect of travel; his brain thought it was nine in the morning instead of the middle of the night.

There was no sleeping. He could close his eyes, will himself to fall asleep, but nothing would come of it. He was overtired, and frustrated as hell.

He got up, scrubbing his hands over his face, and turned on the shower in his bathroom. A hot shower usually helped with relaxation—and it did. But it still didn’t make him sleepy. He ran a towel over himself, then fell into bed again. Nothing doing. He was still wide awake.

His thoughts wandered and he envisioned the look on Lucy’s face when he’d told her not only did he not want to get back together, but he was cutting off all contact with her completely. She would always be the girl from back home, his first lover, but bottom line, the reasons they’d gotten back together time and again was two-fold: habit and immaturity.

He hadn’t loved her. He’d never love her.

And he’d gotten to the point that, while he wasn’t exactly looking for love, he was looking for something more meaningful than hot sex, which he could get from plenty of women.

Still, he’d hated the thought of hurting Lucy, and even though she’d been plenty angry, and even though he truly believed she’d be fine without him, he hadn’t missed the hurt in her eyes. That had in turn hurt him. But it was better they both finally move on, unhindered by lingering ties from the past.

No sense in beating myself up over it, not while I’m trying to get some rest
. He decided to think about Erica instead.

Just thinking about her, the way she kissed him back in her room, got him stirring below the waist. He shifted in bed, reaching over to the nightstand where he kept the bottle of lotion for such times. He wondered why he hadn’t thought earlier about having a good wank—it was the surefire way to fall asleep.

That was when an idea occurred to him.

He smiled, wondering if she’d go for it. Could he convince her? He’d convinced her to kiss him back easily enough. This was another challenge altogether. He’d have bet the pub she was thinking about him, though.

Instead of grabbing for the lotion when he reached over, he grabbed his phone and dialed her up. She’d still be awake, if she was studying for an exam.

“Hello?” She didn’t sound tired—anxious, more like. She didn’t know why he was calling. Good. He wanted to keep her guessing.

“Hey,” he murmured. “I’m sorry to ring you up so late.”

“It’s okay,” she said. “I’m still awake. Studying.”

“I didn’t want to disturb you. I just wanted to apologize for losing control of myself earlier.”

A beat of silence passed. “Oh. That’s all right. I don’t hold it against you.”

“You’re a very understanding girl,” he said.

Another long pause. She was weighing his words, he knew. She was no pushover. Riley wasn’t used to a challenge like her, but he liked it. It was fun, feeling like he had to be on his toes to woo her.

“It’s just, I couldn’t help myself. You’re so beautiful, Erica. So sexy…”

“Sexy?” She sounded skeptical, though a little breathless, too.

“Yes, sexy. You don’t know how hot you are, do you? Has anyone ever told you?”
Like that wanker, Rob?

“Riley, I don’t think this is a good idea,” she murmured.

“What’s so wrong about telling you what I think of you? How I can’t stop thinking about you, even now, while I’m lying in bed?”

“You’re in bed?” she said, her voice high-pitched and a bit warbly.

“Yeah, and you’re the only thing on my mind. I can’t sleep for thinking about you. It’s like torture, thinking about our kiss. Thinking of all the other things I want to do to you.”

She was breathing harder. “I wanted to do so much more than kiss you, Erica. I wanted to touch you everywhere, until you screamed.”

She whimpered, so softly. The same whimper she’d released when he’d kissed her. He pumped lotion into his palm before sliding it down his hardened shaft.

“Do you want me to tell you?” he murmured. “Do you want to know what I wanted to do?”

“Oh, Riley…” She wasn’t asking him to stop. She was sighing in pleasure. Was she ahead of him already?

“Are you touching yourself? Imagining the way I would touch you?”

She moaned softly in reply.

“That’s right, baby. Tell me what you’re doing to yourself.”

“Why don’t you tell me what you want me to do, instead, and I’ll do it?” Her voice was a ragged whisper.

Her boldness made his eyes widen and made his cock even harder. He throbbed in his hand, aching for her.

“All right, love. I want you to rub your tits for me.” He closed his eyes, imagining the sight of her touching herself. “I wanted so much to slide my hands up under your shirt and play with them. I wanted to hold them and knead them, and pinch your nipples until you begged for more. Then, I would lick them, so slowly.”

“Mmm…” She moaned, then gasped.

“Are you pinching them for me?”

“Yes,” she breathed.

He stroked a little harder. “That’s so nice. Does that feel good?”

“Oh, yes,” she answered.

“Is your pussy wet?” he asked.

She moaned again, desperately this time. “Yes, Riley…yes…”

“I would lay you down and kneel between your legs.” Riley ran his hand up and down his shaft, squeezing harder as he did. “I would peel off your shorts, then your panties. You’d be so wet for me. I’d be able to see it.”

“Oh…oh…yes…”

“I would need to taste you. My tongue would lap at your lips, just on the outside, just enough to make you scream for more.”

“Oh, God…!”

“Are you touching yourself? The way I would?”

“Y—yes!” she moaned.

“How does it feel? How does it feel when I lick your pussy?”

“Oh, God, Riley…! So good!” Her breath came in hard, ragged gasps.

His hand stroked harder, faster. “That’s right. Then, I would spread you open with my fingers…and my tongue would brush against your clit…”

“Oh, yes!” she cried out desperately. He imagined her fingers flying over her clit, and felt his balls tighten against him.

“I would lick you until you couldn’t take it anymore, and your body would writhe under me. You would beg me for my cock.” It was hard to talk, hard to think about anything but the need to explode. “Tell me,” he begged.

“I…I need your cock!” she whispered.

“And I would give it to you. I would slide into your hot, wet tunnel. And I would pump in and out…you’d be so fucking tight…”

“Yeah…give it to me, Riley…”

“I’d fuck you until you screamed my name. Over and over. Oh, God…”

“Yes! Yes, Riley! Don’t stop!” She was so close, and he felt his own explosion building.

“Come for me,” he urged. “Let me hear you come, love. Let me hear you say my name while you come for me.” He squeezed his eyes shut, imagining her fingering herself, imagining fucking her senseless.

“Oh…God…Riley…I’m coming…!” Then she shrieked softly, and gave out a long, whimpering sigh.

He closed his eyes, hand flying rapidly, until he exploded with a loud groan.

“Shite,” he muttered, catching his breath. All he heard on her end was heavy breathing. They stayed silent while they gained control of themselves. After a few minutes, though, he wondered if she was all right.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” she whispered, but the shaking in her voice belied her words.

“You’re sure? I mean, that was…something.”

“It was something. That’s a word for it.”

“I’ve been wanting that for a while. I promise, it wasn’t just seeing you with Rob that has me interested in you Erica. Part of the reason I went to Ireland was because of you.”

“What do you mean?”

“My ex-girlfriend, Lucy. We’d been together and not together, back and forth, for so long. There was part of me that needed to make sure it wasn’t only distance that was making us not be together again. Do you understand?”

“I understand.”

“I saw her. I spent time with her. And the whole time, I couldn’t stop thinking of you.”

“What about the other girls you’ve seen while you’ve been here?” she asked.

“Nothing happened with most of them. Even when it did—it was you I really wanted. That’s the honest truth, too. But don’t tell the boys,” he said. “They all think I’m a bit of a stud. I’d hate to break their hearts.”

She giggled. “You’re serious?”

“As a heart attack, love.”

She went quiet. He expected her to give back some declaration of affection, or at least the promise that she would break it off with her boyfriend, now that she knew he fancied her and she’d already told him she fancied him. A little phone sex helped solidify the deal. All he needed was a word from her.

All he got was, “I should go. I need to finish studying. I’ll see you tomorrow. And…thanks. Good night.” She hung up.

Riley stared at the phone, wide-eyed. That wasn’t what he’d expected at all.

Nothing about her was what he expected.

Chapter Six

Erica had dreaded a lot of things in her life.

Root canals.

Doing her taxes.

Bathing suit season.

But there was nothing she’d dreaded more in her entire twenty-two years of life than going to work the day after having phone sex with Riley.

It had started the moment she’d hung up the phone, her entire body flushed with embarrassment.
What the heck was I thinking?
Well, that had been too clear—she’d been thinking about Riley, his hands, his mouth, his cock, and all that he could do to her. She’d been burning for him since he left the apartment—all she’d needed was a push in the right direction.

No, the wrong direction. What they had done was wrong. He was her boss. She had to face him, or else skip work and lose her job.

“Well done, Erica,” she’d muttered, throwing her phone to the floor in disgust. Sure, it had felt great—more than great—but was it worth the repercussions? Like having to look him in the eye after he’d heard her orgasm? She’d pulled the covers over her head and curled into a ball, praying he wouldn’t hold it against her. It would be just like him to tease her mercilessly.

The next day was a blur. She took the Business Law exam and hoped she passed, since studying had been the last thing on her mind once she got off the phone. She couldn’t focus on anything but what they did. What she did. She couldn’t even let herself be happy about it. That might have been the worst part, being unable to enjoy intimacy with someone she’d liked for so long.

She pulled up to the pub at the usual time, but lingered inside the car for much longer than she needed to. She tapped her fingers along the wheel, nervous tension driving her crazy. Her blood pressure was through the roof, her palms were clammy, and nausea nearly overtook her

She folded her arms over the wheel, resting her forehead on them, taking deep breaths even as she berated herself.
All because I went and answered the phone when Riley called. Rule One: don’t answer the phone when a guy calls that late at night. It’s not so you can exchange recipes or gossip about the latest episode of Scandal.

She knew she couldn’t stay in the car forever, so she dragged herself out and headed to the back door of the pub. As she did, she realized what scared her most. She was afraid he wouldn’t like her anymore. That things would be weird. That despite his declarations from the night before, he would realize she wasn’t a challenge at all, and therefore he’d be tired of her already.

“Good evening,” Brady called as she entered the kitchen. “How was your exam today?”

“Hmm? Oh, I think it was all right,” she said. “It was all such a blur, you know? You get ready for something and you work for it, and then it’s right there and you just do the best you can.”

“That’s all any of us can do. I’m sure you killed it,” he said with a wink. He was always a very serious, level-headed person, but he had endless charm. Yes, it was partly his good looks and brogue, but it was also inherently genetic: all the O’Neill boys had it in spades.

“There she is, our lovely barkeep. I’m wondering when you’ll marry me and take me away from all of this,” Sean said, waving his arms around.

Given he was head over heels in love with his English professor and was planning on making his move soon, Erica laughed in spite of her nerves.

“How do you know I wouldn’t marry you and take all your money, instead?”

“Ah, poor thing. You could try, but you’d be a great deal disappointed by what you found.”

She knew that was nonsense.
The Stylish Irish
was doing well, and they made money hand over fist. They paid her a more than generous salary, too, enough for tuition, books, and a rather expensive apartment. She was almost ready to buy a new car, too.