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“I vote we go back to the house.” She voted they go to bed, but she couldn’t bring herself to make the proposition out loud.

Instead she leaned up on her toes and touched her lips to his, letting her actions speak for her. She had no doubt Riley was as smart as she gave him credit for being and that soon enough she’d be in his bed.

R
ILEY SUCKED IN
a deep breath, afraid to move, afraid if he blinked he’d discover he was dreaming. Because Sophie had touched her lips to his, giving him a green light.

Did she know how much he needed her? The desire between them was obvious. Mutual. The need was something else. She’d become an anchor in his suddenly turbulent life and, at the moment, he didn’t know where he’d be without her.

He clenched his hand into a fist at his side and held his emotions in check. Testing what she was offering, he parted his lips.

Sophie responded, tasting slowly at first, grazing his lower lip before finally touching her tongue to his. She tasted minty yet sweet, and felt soft yet hot, all at the same time. His dreams held nothing on the reality of kissing this woman. A woman who loved to be in control of everyone and everything in her life, yet whose body shook with tremors that told him she was barely hanging on to that control now.

Riley felt the same way. His body shook with desire, and with the difficulty of holding back, but he respected how difficult this overture must be for her and didn’t want to drive her away. Yet in its simplicity, this was both the most innocent and yet the hottest kiss he’d ever had, bringing everything to life inside him, including things he’d never felt before. Heaven help him when he thrust inside her body for the first time.

A warm, humid breeze blew around them and he couldn’t resist uncurling his fist and burying his hand in the soft curls of her hair. The weather teased her normally controlled hair much the way he teased her, he thought, unable to control a laugh.

“Something funny?” She stepped back, looking completely ruffled and thoroughly kissed.

“Just that I finally broke through your composure and I enjoyed it even more than I thought I would.” He paused to study her. “And so did you.”

“Cocky man.”

He shrugged. “Arrogant, too. Now let’s blow this joint.” In case his meaning wasn’t clear, he held out his hand.

She slipped her fingers inside his and they started for the exit. He wove his way through the partially naked older people at the party, doing his best not to gawk. They reached the gate just as they heard a shriek followed by a loud splash.

Riley turned toward the pool.

A bald man waved from the deep end. “Come join me, Darla!” His toupee floated beside him like a dead rat. His Speedo rose to the top next.

Sophie burst out laughing. “I wish I had my camera. Nobody would believe this.”

“If my stepfather was here he’d disown me for sure,” Riley muttered.

Sophie raised an eyebrow, curiosity written all over her intelligent face.

“Ever hear of Senator Harlan Nash?” he asked her. It was a rhetorical question, really. The man had made a name for himself with his right-wing conservative views and his close friendship with the current Republican president.

“No wonder you don’t want Spencer to acknowledge you now,” she murmured. “Let’s get out of here,” she said, sympathy on her face. But the twinkle in her blue eyes told him sympathy was the last thing he’d be receiving from her when
they
took off their clothes.

B
ACK AT THE HOUSE
, Sophie trembled with desire. She’d been with other men but never one with the ability to reach past her walls. Never one who’d come to mean something to her so quickly. One day of watching him grapple with his family issues, and she wanted to help him figure things out. Of course focusing on Riley meant she didn’t have to deal with her own life: phone messages from the chaos at The Hot Zone and Athletes Only, calls from reporters asking for Spencer, and their Heisman-winning client-to-be still hanging by a thread.

But it was Riley she wanted to focus on now. She’d thrown all caution aside and she intended to enjoy it. Living for the moment wasn’t Sophie’s M.O., but with Riley it felt so right.

He dimmed the lights in the bedroom, casting a sexy, muted glow, then strode toward her. Wearing nothing but bathing trunks, he presented a powerful presence, all tanned muscle and gorgeous male.

He cornered her by the bed, sexual heat emanating from him in waves. Sophie’s legs shook and she lowered herself to the edge of the mattress.

“You’re beautiful,” he said, the sound of his voice taking her off guard.

She glanced up. “I don’t need a come-on line. I’m already here,” she said wryly.

“It’s not a line, Sophie. You’re beautiful. You must hear that all the time.”

“Actually Annabelle’s the beautiful one, Micki’s the athletic one and I’m the smart one.” She laughed self-consciously, but the labels had been given—nobody really knew by whom—and they’d stuck.

As a result, Sophie always relied on her intellect, even with men.

Riley stroked her cheek with his hand. “Whoever said that didn’t know you very well.”

A lump rose to her throat. “It’s pretty obvious which sister is an analytical pain in the butt,” she said, forcing out a laugh.

“It’s also pretty damn obvious which sister is beautiful inside and out. You care about people, even arrogant SOBs like me.” A sexy smile curved his mouth.

“Who said I care?”

Without warning, he bent his head and captured her lips in a hot, searing kiss. With no preliminaries, he thrust his tongue deep into her mouth. A tingling sensation took hold of her body and she leaned her head back, giving him complete access to whatever he wanted. His silken tongue swept inside, learning every part of her and then started over again.

She curled her hands around the comforter and held on. His mouth worked magic, arousing her in every way. Her breasts grew hot and heavy, and her nipples hardened into tight aching peaks. Dampness gathered between her thighs, leaving her a trembling mess by the time he was through.

“You did,” Riley said when he finally lifted his head.

“I did what?” She couldn’t think over the loud beating of her heart.

“That kiss just said you cared.”

Sophie laughed, but she knew just how to wipe that smug look off his face. “I didn’t know you needed a woman to care in order to have sex.”

“With most women I don’t.”

Good thing she was sitting or she’d have passed out. “Just how many women have there been?” She closed her eyes, mortified that she’d even asked.

He chuckled low and deep. “Enough, but not as many as you obviously think.” His tone grew serious.

Oddly, she believed him and she was glad. She was so far gone, so enthralled with this man, she didn’t want to think about other women. And she definitely didn’t want to talk anymore.

Neither did he. He stepped forward and nudged her legs apart until he’d moved between her thighs. He knelt down, then ran his fingers over her calves.

“Soft yet muscular,” he said.

“That’s because I shave and I run.”

He chuckled, then trailed a moist path with his tongue, from her knee up the inside of her thigh. Her flesh tingled and she was sure her skin quivered at the intimate touch.

He reached her bathing-suit bottom and paused. “I wonder…with all that control of yours, have you ever really let a man
know
you?”

She swallowed hard. “Probably as well as you’ve let any woman know you.”

Riley had heard plenty from her uncle about her legendary need to control. He’d seen it on the plane. Viewed the depth to which she needed comfort, routine and the expected. And he doubted she let any man have the upper hand.

He tipped his head back and laughed. That’s what he enjoyed about Sophie. She gave as good as she got. “Touché.”

“I’m so glad—”

He silenced her with a finger as he slipped his hand inside her bathing suit to reach the secrets hidden there.

With his finger pressed on her damp folds, he rubbed light circles and watched as her eyes dilated and she struggled for control.

“I mean it, Sophie. I want to know you. I want to know how you come.”

She tried to clamp her legs closed, but his hand was already where he needed it to be and he knew she was only causing an increase in ecstasy.

“Unfair,” she murmured.

“If we’re going to do this, we’re also going to be honest.” He was pushing her emotionally, pressing her harder. He didn’t know why, only that Sophie brought out a raw, primitive need to protect and defend, to take care of her. Precisely because she’d always acted as if she didn’t need anybody, he wanted to take control and show her just how good it could be.

He released his intimate hold only long enough to ease her bottoms down her legs. Despite her annoyance with his topic of conversation, sexually he had her enthralled and she helped him by lifting her hips, giving him a view of heaven. His cock was hard as a rock, his body screaming for release. With any other woman, release would be enough, but not with Sophie.

While she eased back against the pillows, he kicked off his shorts and joined her on the bed, surprised and pleased to find she’d removed her bikini top as well.

He took in her full breasts and dusky nipples and drew a shuddering breath. “Oh darlin’, you are something.”

She blushed. “There it is again. That hint of a Southern accent,” she said with a pleased smile.

“You like it?”

She grinned. “What can I say? You’ve got a lot to like,” she said, her attention settling on his solid erection.

“Glad the feeling’s mutual.”

“Mmm.” She reached for him, but he playfully slapped her hand away. If she touched him now it’d be over before it started.

“Now quit changing the subject.” He eased beside her naked body and brushed a long, lingering kiss over her lips. “What makes you come?” he asked her again as he slipped his finger deep and deeper inside her.

She let out a moan and her hips writhed in restless motion, clenching around him.

“It feels good, but you don’t come this way, do you? You need to be on top.”

Her hips stopped moving, her breathy noises ceased.

Score one for him, he thought, pleased he knew her so well. “Baby, I’m gonna change that.”

“Nobody has before.” Her eyes flashed with the challenge.

“Luckily for you, I’m not nobody,” he said, bringing his mouth down hard on hers.

Her entire body was as silky smooth as it looked and she smelled as delicious as he’d imagined. As for preliminaries, apparently they’d had all they were going to get—this time. She was hungry for him, too, matching him kiss for kiss, touch for eager touch.

As he’d expected, she attempted to take control, hooking her leg around his and straddling him between her thighs. Fortunately for her, he was stronger and able to flip them until she lay flat on her back.

“You don’t play fair,” she said.

“You’ll thank me for it later.” He reached out, cupping her breast in his hand, feeling her distended nipple press into his palm. He fleshed out the weight and feel, all the while making sure he aroused her further with every caress, every touch.

She fought him at first, her eyes open and wary, but eventually pleasure outweighed her determination and her eyelashes fluttered shut. He took it as a sign of trust and leaned down, drawing one nipple into his mouth.

She gasped aloud, but when he began a steady flicking with his tongue, she relaxed into the sensations. Ignoring his own body’s need, he focused on hers. Never neglecting her breasts—first one, then the other—he cupped her feminine mound in his hand, determined to bring her to release and to be right there with her.

Her hips jerked upward and she whimpered, her desire for increased pressure obvious.

He slid upward so he could see her face. “I hear you,” he whispered softly in her ear, and ground his hand harder.

Her breaths came in shallow gasps and he saw she was close. He could make her come this way or he could be inside her when she did.

No contest.

He lifted himself over her and reached for the condom he’d put on the dresser earlier. She opened her eyes at the crinkling sound. Blue eyes he found way too sexy and welcoming.

She bent one leg and he said, “Don’t even try it, babe.”

“What, you think you’re a mind reader?”

“Are you telling me you weren’t about to try and flip on top?”

A telltale pink flush tinged her cheeks.

“Sophie, Sophie,” he said, poising himself over her. “Did I not promise you that you’d thank me?”

He kissed her at the same time he entered her in a smooth, damp thrust. As he slid deep inside, he realized he should probably be thanking her. Nobody had ever felt this good.

She picked up his rhythm quickly. Each time he pumped harder, she clenched her muscles, wrapping him in moist, intense heat. Each thrust brought him higher and higher still. He had to trust he was keeping his word and she was moving closer, too, because he was beyond thought, beyond reason. Beyond stopping.

Suddenly his world exploded in bright light and an ecstasy unlike any he’d ever known.

R
ILEY KNEW HER
too well. Sophie’s body still pounded with the aftermath of a release she’d had no control over. He hadn’t moved from on top of her, his breath warm against her neck. He’d played on her biggest weakness and then proceeded to break down all her barriers until he’d called the shots. Making her vulnerable. To him.

“Damn you,” she muttered, doing all she could to hold back tears. She hadn’t cried since her first time and that had been because of the pain.

He rolled off and propped his head against one arm. “I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he said, brushing her tangled hair from her face.

She shook her head. “You didn’t. It’s just…”

“You always cry after sex?”

The word
sex
did it. She smacked him in the arm but, before she could speak or explain, he spoke.

“It wasn’t just sex.” He paused. “But I don’t want to talk about what
it
was.”

In a stupid way and because she was coming to know Riley, she understood. He had walls. So did she.

“That’s fine. I don’t want to explain the tears, either. Just don’t say you proved yourself correct and we’ll be fine.”

He grinned and something inside her righted itself again.

They were two complicated people at a complicated time in their lives. She didn’t need a man to make her life complete—she never had. But for some reason it was important that she matter to Riley.