Everything But (20 page)

Only one way to find out.
 
The only thing she’d have to remember would be to change the word
girl
to
boy
.
“You’re so hot,
boy
,
/
Have no fear of hell.
/
Can you feel me?
/
More to me than
I
could tell.
/
I taste your flames,
/
You burn,
fucking
consume me,
/
Taste me, eat me up, I’ll never get enough.
”  The song continued in her head, “Tempted and couldn’t say no…”

He growled then, clenching his jaw, and she could tell he liked it.  She tilted her pelvis forward as one of his hands slid down, cupping her ass.  He followed it with the other, and she figured it was so he could focus all his attention there.  And that was all it took for her.  Her moans collapsed into something near a scream, but she gasped, gritting her teeth as her legs clamped around his hips, pulling him in as far as he would go, his relentless pounding fueling the waves of her orgasm.
  “God, Riley…” she gasped, spent, but she kept her legs wrapped around his thighs, unwilling to let him go until he released too.

And he did.  She heard another low growl forming in his throat but he slowed down.  He was still driving hard but she knew he was experiencing climax too.  His teeth were clenched
, his eyes held shut
.  He slowed down more, finally stopping but still h
olding her up.  She realized she’d had her fingernails embedded in his shoulders, and she hoped she hadn’t hurt him.

His breathing slowed and he started chuckling.  When he continued, Erin asked, “What?”

“God…I think you’re the first woman to ever use my own words against me.”

She started laughing.  “Well, you kind of put me on the spot.  I’m not a girl who’s good at talking dirty, so I tried to think of the dirtiest, sexiest thing I could.”

He held his forehead to hers.  God, the look in his eyes was intense.  His eyes were dark then, and Erin breathed in deeply.  He smelled so good and felt so
purely
ma
sculine
, so strong at that moment, and she never wanted to forget this one perfect second in time.  He said, “Really?  You thought that was sexy?”

She smiled. 
“Hell,
yeah
.
  My God, what you did with your voice in that song…gave me shivers.”

“Really?
  I thought that
was just a guy thing
…liking
songs like that.
”

“You mean you never heard a girl tell you she totally loved that song?”

“I don’t talk about my music much with other women.”

She shrugged her shoulders as he lowered her to the floor.  Her neck felt a little sore having been slammed into the door more than once but she felt fantastic.  He pulled
the condom off, the
n
pulled
his underwear and pants up
and leaned over, picking up the
lacy
blue
panties and handing them to her.  They were shredded.  He winced.  “Guess I owe you a pair, right?”

She screwed up a corner of her mouth.  She handed them back to him.  “I guess you can have them.  I don’t think they’ll stay on anymore.”

“Seriously?”
  He grinned, looking more like one of her students at that moment than the worldly Riley Schultz.
  He stuffed them in his pocket and then pulled her close.  “C’mon.  I know this is a small bed, but let’s lie down for a while.”

She looked up at him.  “What if your mom comes back?”

“What if she does? 
Nothing to see now.”
  She smiled as he led her to the little twin bed.  “Just an innocent little
snuggle
with my girl.”

She was glad they were walking toward the bed and she wasn’t looking at him, because what he said shocked her. 
His
girl
?
  When the hell had that happened?  More importantly, did he mean it?

No
, Erin told herself.  It was the after-sex endorphins talking.  She’d had guys declare their love for her after a good romp, only to take it back later.  You could never believe what a guy said in the heat of the moment or in the afterglow.

What he said the next day was the truth.

But that was okay, because she felt good too.  She gladly
took the place next to him on the bed that he offered and rested her head on his chest
after buttoning her dress back up
.  They only had a few more days together, but she was going to make the most of them, starting now.

Chapter
Nineteen

RILEY WAS BASKING
in a calm, satisfied aura, holding Erin around the shoulders, her head resting on his chest.  He didn’t know the last time he’d felt like this.

He almost sat upright, realizing that the answer was either
never
or
so long ago
he couldn’t even remember
.  If ever, it would have been in high school.  He didn’t know the last time he’d trusted a woman enough to just throw his heart on the chopping block and dare her to stab it.

But he had
this time
, though.  He was glad she hadn’t said anything, but wow.  How fucking stupid was that?  Calling her
his girl
?  He should’ve just gotten on his knee and started gushing Shakespeare or Elizabeth Barrett Browning.  He almost laughed, thinking she might have actually liked that
, considering she was an English teacher
.

But she was no more his girl than he was her guy.  They both knew it was a temporary thing, that they’d both return to their own respective lives come Monday morning.  A self-respecting high school teacher wouldn’t even consider a bad boy rock star like Riley.  Oh, sure, he was fun for a good time, but for a serious relationship?  He already knew that wasn’t going to happen.  She was living out a
fantasy, that
he was pretty sure of, especially after seeing her in that hot getup yesterday.

But he was okay with that.  He knew he’d look back on this time in his life fondly, because
anymore,
moments like these were rare.  That she’d spend
any
time with him was good enough.

And did the girl have balls.  No woman had ever done to him what she’d done yesterday, cuffing him
, bringing him to the brink,
and
then
leaving him.  He could laugh about it now.  Hell, had he not been so worked up and teetering on the edge yesterday, he might have even laughed then.  And she’d felt guilty about it too.

He’d been unconscious
ly rubbing her arm
in a slow up-and-down motion
.  Her breathing was steady and quiet now.  He didn’t think she was asleep, but he kept his voice low when he said, “By the way, I forgive you
now
.”

She moved her head a little and started running her finger on his chest.
  He heard her chuckle.
  “Good.  I couldn’t have that hanging over me forever.”

She lifted his dog tags and started examining them.  Well, Jesus, there would go any
possible good
opinion she might have already formed of him.  “Now, before you go and think, ‘God, Riley Schultz is such an egotistical, self-centered asshole,’ bear in mind I had those made when I was
young and…arrogant.”

“As opposed to older and arrogant?”

“Ha ha,” he said, faking a laugh.  “But they’re my
lucky
dog tags now, and they mean a lot more than just a kid’s self-serving notion.”

“Yeah, yeah…I know.  I know they’re
your
lucky charm.  I read that somewhere.”  They were nothing fancy.  They were silver-toned and heavy.  They weren’t the cheapie little things kids would buy for fun.
  But they were plain metal, stamped in
simple
font, hanging on a ball chain.
  He
couldn’t remember where he’d had them made, it had been so long ago, but they’d stood the beating
s they’d taken over the years.  One of them said
Schultz,
Riley K.
on one line and then there was a space, but just below it were the words,
Vocals, Spawn
.  The
n Erin looked at the
other tag he’d warned
her
about.  The top line again had his name but the second line said
Metal God Extraordinaire.

She giggled and moved her head, looking at him, resting her chin on her hand.  “Now why on earth do you think I’d think you were an arrogant asshole?”

God, she looked beautiful.  A thin wisp of hair was hanging down over her eye, so he brushed it aside with his hand.  He smiled at her but had no words.  Nothing he said would capture the moment anyway.
  He wanted to hold her closer, to gush at her about how lovely and special she was, but he’d scare her off for sure.

And what the fuck anyway?
  He
was
a goddamned rock star and he had no business acting like a love-starved puppy.  Shit.

But it was there, and there was no denying it.  All he could do would be to hide it.  And he was good at that shit.

He said, “So you don’t think so?”

Erin smiled back
. 
“Hmmm.
  I have no idea.  Don’t all guys refer to themselves as
gods
?”

Riley smirked. 
“Only the ones who really are.”
  Erin rolled her eyes and rested her head back on his chest.  “Are you sleepy?”

“I don’t know.  Why?”

“God, I am.  But…”

She turned her head again. 
“But what?”

“What’s your favorite restaurant here in Winchester?”

She shrugged.  “I don’t know.”

“I was
thinkin
’ I could doze for a few minutes and then we could go grab a bite to eat. 
So, a
re you hungry?”

She rested her head on his chest again.  “I don’t know. 
Maybe.”
  Her fingers started dancing on his chest again.  “Why don’t you sleep for a little while and I’ll wake you up when I’m hungry.”

Goddamn, that was tempting.  Sleep was pressing in on him…his eyes, his muscles, and it would be so easy
to just let go.

He did too, but then she was whispering his name and he started
waking
back up.  He didn’t know how long it had been, but his bedroom was mostly shadows.  She was whispering in his ear, saying his name, telling him to wake up.  He would have been startled but she was gentle and quiet.  “How long have I been out?”

“I don’t know. 
An hour maybe?”

“You didn’t need to let me sleep that long.”

“You seemed to need it.”

He started to sit up and she kissed him on the cheek.  She sat up on the edge of the bed, and then he noticed she’d cleaned up a little while he’d slept.  Her dress had been in shambles, her hair mussed, but now she was smooth and put together.  “So, did you decide where we’re
gonna
eat?”

“No.  Do you have any preferences?  Also…bear in mind
all
of Winchester is fully aware you’re here.  Do you want to be tackled wherever we go?”

Goddammit
, that sucked, but she was right.  He’d wanted to take her out, show her a good time, but how fun would it be if their table was constantly surrounded b
y freaks?  “Okay…how about take
out? 
Anything acceptable that way?”

“The Japanese restaurant has pretty good food.”

“And…since my parents are going to be home later, how would you feel about eating at your place…just you and me?”

She smi
led.  He could barely see her since
the sun
was
going down,
making his room darker,
but he could see the positive look on her face. 
“Sounds nice.”

“Oh, wait…forgot about the friend staying at your place.  Will we be bothering her?”

Erin blushed.  “Uh…well…that wasn’t exactly true.  It was just a guise to…”

Riley felt a wave of realization wash over him. 
“Ah…to get me to a hotel.”

She looked ashamed. 
“Yeah.”

He
nodded and shook his head.  All was forgiven, but he was surprised at the amount of planning she’d put into it.  He
got up and turned on the light across the room.  Then he walked over to his open suitcase on the chair and fished out a new t-shirt.  He picked his cell phone up off the dresser and handed it to Erin.  “Do you want to call in something while I wash my face and comb my hair and shit?”