Rising (11 page)

“Oh. School was easy for me, but life is hard.” Savannah’s head was heavy on her neck. She was having a hard time staying upright. “I can tutor you. After work.”

She stared at the jar. When did they get another glass of liquor? “Whit, why do we have two bottles of moonshine?”

“Really? Tutor me? That is so-o sweet of you!” Whit leaned in close, and widened her eyes. “Two? I see three.” She peered up at Savannah through half-closed lids. “Seriously, about Riley. He’s not much of a talker, but there is something dark going on in that man. I thought Bobby Jack was dangerous, but anytime he wants to come over here, I have to think long and hard about it. My husband might kill you, but he would hide the body. Riley is a whole other breed of man. He would leave the body where it’s at as a warning, and then dare a person to move it.” She nodded, and then gripped her temples. “The on—only time I have seen a glimmer of humanity in the man is the few times I have watched him with you.”

It was annoying that Whit would make such callous comments about Riley. He had his obnoxious moments, but he’d always come through to save her from some serious situations.

“You make him sound like a monster.” She reached for one jar and her fingers sliced through it. Riley was a good man that most damned people apparently misunderstood. She waved her hand to the side a few times until her finger grazed the smooth surface of the glass. Savannah clutched the jar and lifted it. No point letting moonshine go to waste.

Stomping drew her attention toward the stairs. “Hey, Whit. I think I see dead people.”

The men continued up the steps. Some of them faded in and out of her vision. She rubbed her eyes and blinked furiously.

“Shit. I ain’t ready for the zombie apocalypse.” Whit stared ahead before turning her head and gazing at Savannah. The chair flipped back as she shot up. “Fight ’em off, sister. I’ll find Riley’s guns.” Whit weaved in place and staggered before inching back. “Don’t get fucking bit! Crap, Bobby Jack is going to kill me.” She turned and stumbled for the door.

“He can’t kill you! You’ll become one of them!” Savannah rose and picked up the jar. “Lock the door, Whitney… save Isaac. I’ll take as many of them out as I can!” She raised the glass above her head. “You want a piece of me fuckers…get in line!” She rushed the group prowling up the porch.

****

Riley glanced over at Bobby Jack before catching a charging Savannah in his arm. She dropped the glass and it shattered next to his boots. He looked down at the shards. The tangy, sharp scent of moonshine wafted to his nose.

Savannah squirmed in his arms. “You better not bite me, you son of a bitch!” She slammed her palm into his mouth, covering his lips.

He yanked her hand away. “You’re drunk.”

“And your ass is ugly!” she yelled.

Savannah squinted her eyes and reared up. “Maybe not ugly, but you’re no damn Riley. Now he can make a woman wet her panties in anticipat…anticipation.” She nodded and groaned.

Bobby Jack trotted to the porch and set the fast food bags on the table. He approached Whit. “Baby girl?”

“How could you let them get you, baby?” Whit pounded the glass panes on the French door. She started to sob. “Oh Lord, I can’t be married to a zombie.” She spun and slid down the door. “What am I supposed to do, put a muzzle on you and chain you up like a pet dog so you don’t eat my brains? Savannah!”

“Run, Whit, I’m going down!” She gripped Riley’s biceps as she started to drift down.

Riley dipped and heaved her up over his shoulder. He peered at Bobby Jack. “I blame you for this. ‘Let’s leave Whit here. If Savannah comes by, they can have girl talk…I bet they get along…they need friends.’” Riley shook his head after mimicking Bobby Jack’s voice.

Bobby Jack skimmed his fingers across Whit’s cheeks before sliding an arm behind her back and slipping the other one under her knees. “Hide your stash better.” He lifted Whit.

Savannah pushed off Riley’s back. “I won’t go willingly. Kill me and I will rain down hell from above!”

“A little dramatic, ain’t you, Sweetness?” Riley marched up to the porch.

She went limp. Riley shook his head. He patted her perfectly rounded ass. His dick thumped. She was drunk. No way in hell he could even make a play at seducing her. It was like the universe was conspiring to cock-block him.

Last night he called Bobby Jack back and told him there was a change of plans, but his cousin insisted on meeting him at his house. He and Savannah didn’t get a chance to talk. First thing that morning she was gone, after leaving him a note saying that she would see him later. Not once during the day did she call or text him.

He exhaled and rolled his eyes at his cousin’s back.

“I’m going to put Whit to bed and check on Isaac.” Bobby Jack fumbled for the knob.

Riley grunted in response. His life was pleasant, with no major upheavals, just the occasional fight to get the blood pumping a little, and planning to move the NWW in a different direction. He went to work on the rig as scheduled, and came home. A spitfire storms into a bar she has no business in, and now she is claiming a big chunk of his life.

How the hell did that happen?

He stomped across the porch. “Let’s get you to bed, Sweetness.”

Savannah squiggled, pushed up and kicked her legs.

Now what…

“Savannah, I can’t carry you like this.” Another time and he might have left her to sleep her drunk off in a lawn chair.

“I’m going to be sick.”

He dipped and slid her off his shoulder. She stood and wobbled before lurching forward. Riley caught her by the elbow and helped her to the railing. Savannah hit the wood hard and tipped over the top. He grasped her hips to keep her from falling over the side into the bushes.

She emptied her stomach and rocked in place. “Dear God, I’m sorry. Mr. Zombie, feel fre-e-e to eat me now.”

“I’m counting on feasting on your body, Sweetness.” He pulled her hair back away from her face. Disappointment laced his tone. “But not tonight. Woman, you know how to keep a man on his toes. Let’s get you inside.”

Savannah straightened and peered up at him, leaning in close. She wiped the back of her hand across her mouth and tilted her head to the side. “You’re not dead.”

“I’m very much alive.” He chuckled.

“Riley?” She reared back and kept moving.

He snaked an arm around her waist. “Yeah?”

“You’re sweet, I bet you taste like my favorite taffy.” She rubbed his arm.

“I know some folks that would disagree.” He shouldn’t be turned on by a drunken woman. Savannah didn’t realize what she was doing. “Put your arm around me.” Bed was the best place for her.

“Riley?” She pulled out of his embrace and leaned on the railing, turning to face him.

He sighed. “Yes, Sweetness.”

“I’m going to fuck you like you’re my battery-operated-boyfriend.” She leaned to the side, staring at him. “I hope you’re ready…” She pointed at her chest. “’Cause this sister plans to work over your fine ass like a slave in the plantation field.”

He covered his mouth and twisted around to keep from laughing. It took a few moments to get hold of himself, and when he turned to face her, she was still staring at him.

“Savannah, honey…” Hell, he had no words. In the future, he would have to keep his moonshine out of her hands.

“I’m waiting.” She stumbled forward and dropped.

Riley caught her as she fell, curling his arms around her to protect her body with his as they hit the wood planks. She nuzzled his chest and giggled. “Woo, the world finally stopped spinning for a bit.”

She wiggled against him. “Why is your bed so hard tonight?”

“Get some rest.” He pushed the hair from her face. “It will be soft by morning.”

Chapter Ten

Riley heaved the axe up and brought it down hard, cleaving the wood into two. The blade embedded in the stump beneath the segments. He jostled the handle and grunted, mumbling to himself, and shook it harder. Disgusted, he released the handle and twisted on his heel. He could chop wood another damn day.

Chores were mindless duties; he never had a problem completing them before. He had an idea it was all her fault; hell, he couldn’t get away from Savannah, even in his sleep. Erotic dreams plagued him, along with ideas of doing things to her body he really shouldn’t think of. It was still hard coming to terms with the fact she was a colored woman, not that he would admit his unease to anyone else. Sleeping next to her last night was like self-inflicted torture.

After he finally got her into bed, she clung to him, making it impossible for him to move, and he enjoyed every damn minute of it. The skin color he was taught to despise had nothing to do with the woman that needed him.

He groaned and tugged his cap off. Who was he kidding—he wanted to be there, wrapped around her body like a cocoon, keeping her safe and warm in his arms. He hadn’t lied to his friends; sometimes even just watching her made him want to be the man he momentarily glimpsed in her eyes. A hero; her savior.

What he didn’t realize was how troubled her sleep was. She would cross her arms in front of her face and whimper, before burrowing into his side and curling into a ball. The only time she quieted was when he hugged her close and whispered nonsensical words in her ear. All fucking night he was caught between a perpetual erection and the need to comfort her.

“Urgh!” He did
not
have time for this. She was the reason he was stuck in his current situation. He closed his eyes, and the image of Savannah in the overcoat with nothing under it filled his mind. Damn, but that woman had a body that would make God cry.

“Are you having some kind of fit?” The soft, sexy tones of Savannah washed over him in waves.

He turned his head to gaze at her and almost swallowed his tongue. Her hair was damp on the ends as if she just got out of the shower. She wore one of his shirts. The light fabric clung to her chest and stretched across her ample breasts. Her nipples made miniature tents in the material. It fell to just above mid-thigh and his gaze was drawn to her creamy brown skin. He groaned as his dick jerked in his pants.

“Didn’t mean to wake you.” Riley shoved his hat back on his head. “Are you feeling better?”

“My head is banging, but Whit left me a bottle of aspirin with a note under it on the kitchen table.” She shrugged and the material slid up and down her thighs like a caress. If his decision for banishment didn’t kill him, seeing her wearing his clothes bathed in bright sunlight surely would. If she was the reason for his death, at least he would die with a smile.

Savannah leaned on the railing. Her collar gaped, giving him a peek at the soft curves of her breasts. She opened her mouth and then snapped it shut. After a moment, she parted those luscious lips again. “I should apologize.” She straightened and sauntered the length of his porch, dragging her fingers along the wood. “I need to thank you, too.”

“For what?” He followed her hands.
What would her fingertips feel like, gliding across his skin?
He wiped a hand down his face. Sweat moistened his palm.

“You gotta leave, girl, before things happen that I can’t control.” Riley took a few steps back to keep from moving toward her. “I asked Whit to check your phone and send a message that you were sick. You should double-check to make sure your boss got the message.” He exhaled.

Being around him wasn’t safe for anybody right then. He’d already sent Bobby Jack and his family home. He didn’t want to disturb Savannah when she finally settled down in the wee hours of the morning. However, now that she was awake, she needed to be gone.

“I can’t leave yet.” She lifted her chin. “I had to put my clothes in your washer. I can’t go home with nothing on now, can I?”

“I got some sweatpants that should fit you.”
Why the fuck did her tone just drop to a seductive purr?
“Things are about to happen and I don’t want you around.” He held up a hand. “Before you open your mouth, turn around and get in the house.” He jogged to the stairs as he checked the woods surrounding them. “I’m right behind you.”

Savannah crossed her arms under her breasts. “Do you know you give off mixed signals?” She hesitated before moving toward him. “You held me all night. I know because every time I woke up—you were there.” She met him at the top of the steps, and cupped his jaw with her palm. Her eyes lit up as a half-smile graced her face. “You remind me of fire; beautiful to look at, impossible to touch.”

“I don’t know where this is coming from, Sweetness. But if I’m fire, baby, you are gasoline.” He growled as he covered her hand with his. Standing outside, he’d purposely made himself a target, but he didn’t want to make her one—and she was a distraction.

Her hips swayed as she pulled his hand down and around her waist. “Then I guess we’ll both burn…” She inhaled deeply. “Because for the first time in my life, I am taking what I want.”

“Hell ain’t ready for us.”

Riley snatched her up, wrapping his hands around both cheeks of her ass and holding her against his erection.
Heaven have mercy, she wasn’t wearing any underwear.

He couldn’t fight his desire…fuck, he didn’t want to. Briefly, he stared into her eyes and got lost in the unfathomable chocolate pools. He flexed his palms, reveling in the softness of her behind. “Be sure, Savannah; I can’t stop now.” It was the only out he would give her.

In answer, she locked her legs around his hips.

After this moment, she was his—and black or white, friend, family or foe, any motherfucker who tried to get between them would die.

Riley walked her backward, and they slammed into the wall. He pinned her with his body and rammed a jean-covered thigh between her legs. He kissed her hard, shoving his tongue past her teeth to wrap it around hers. She jerked the cap from his head and buried her fingers in his hair, clutching a fistful at the root and pressing down. Her nails bit into the bare skin of his back. She rolled her pelvis, grinding down hard on his thigh. His cock jammed against the button fly of his old jeans. She moaned and slipped her hand down his scalp to his nape holding his head in place as he swallowed the sounds that escaped her.

Riley pushed his hand beneath the hem of the T-shirt and slid them up her ribcage to cup her tits. Hard nipples tickled the center of his palms as he squeezed her soft orbs. Savannah tightened her legs around his waist drawing him in closer, trapping her bunched clothing and his hands. She angled her head and darted her tongue in and out of his mouth before licking at his lips and nipping at the corners of his mouth. He broke the kiss, dragging his lips across her cheek. He leaned closer, and sucked on the hollow of her throat just below her jaw.

“Oh, my fucking…” She dropped her head back against the siding with a thump.

Riley lifted his head and stared at her. “He ain’t got nothing to do with us.” Flush with her body, he pumped his pelvis in quick succession. “This is all me. Arms up.”

Her lids fluttered shut. He sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, and her eyes snapped open. She clutched his face in her hands and grazed his nose as she yanked him in close and speared her tongue in his mouth again. Riley reared back and gripped a fistful of material, ripping it over her head and off her arms.

He peered down at her breasts. Deep cocoa-colored areoles surrounded taut nipples. He pushed his leg against her pussy to hike her higher. She grabbed his shoulders and her soft bellows escalated to wails. He dipped his head and sucked the tight tip of her tit into his mouth, rolling the nub between the edge of his teeth and across his tongue. With his other hand, Riley massaged the heavy orb, pinching the extended nipple.

“More…” she cried, bowing her back and pushing more of her tit in his mouth.

Riley skimmed his palm down her side. Soft, supple skin filled his hand as he grasped her waist. He bit down and she dropped her head forward, brushing her mouth against his hair. He lowered his legs and released her breast. Streaks of moisture coated his jeans. “I am going to give you everything you want, plus some.” He bent and scooped her up.

Savannah nuzzled his neck as he carried her the few steps across the porch, and entered the house. “I can walk, Riley,” she murmured.

“Sweetness, you going to learn I tend to do what I want, and right now, I feel like carrying you.” He slammed the door behind them and moved down the hall.

“I’m heavy.” She buried her face in his neck.

“I carry and hook up steel pipes designed to handle thousands of gallon of crude oil. Trust me when I tell you, compared to them, you’re a lightweight.” He chuckled. “As Pops likes to say, more cushion for pushing.”

She raised her head and stared at him before soft laughter passed through her lips. “What am I going to do with you?”

“No idea, but we are going to have a hell of a good time finding out.” He dropped her on the mattress. She hit the bed with an
oomph
. This woman in front of him made him want to discover new things.

The sheets were still rumpled from where they had lain that morning. She scooted back up to give him room. Riley popped the buttons on his jeans and watched her eye widen as his hands moved down his crotch. His cock, free of constrictions, pushed past the front flaps and curved up. Savannah bit her bottom lip. He kicked off pants. The bed dipped when he set his knee on it. She followed his movement with her eyes. He reached out and wrapped his fingers around her ankle.

Her back hit the mattress as he dragged her toward him. “Riley.”

“Shhh. Tell me what you like, Sweetness.” He let go of her leg and crawled up the mattress to lie beside her. Riley flipped over onto his back and turned his head to gaze at her. “Have you ever been in control, Savannah?” Confusion marred her features as her brows came together. She eased on her side to face him. “Honestly?” She pursed her lips.

He twisted to his side and rested his head on his hand. Gently, he traced the outline of her aureole.

“I don’t think you lie well, girl. But give it your best shot.” He took her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers.

“I have a lot of experience.” She peered into his eyes.

“With your dildo?” He couldn’t help it. His shoulders shook with contained laughter.

“You didn’t specify
how
I was in control.” She leaned over and touched his nose with hers.

“Unleashing your courtroom tactics on me?” He pecked her on the lips and winked. “Are you willing to try something different?”

She narrowed her eyes. “How different?”

“I want to kiss you…” He freed his hand and slid his finger along her slit, “…here.”

“Oh…” She licked her lips. “Okay.”

He lay on his back and sucked his finger into his mouth. “Giddyap, Sweetness, I don’t just want a taste. I want the whole damn meal.”

“Really?” She sat up.

“Woman, you are killing me.” He leaned up and snaked an arm around her waist, tugging her over. She straddled his waist. Savannah’s excitement was infectious.

“Too low,” he grunted. Her juices seeped over his skin. “Move your ass, baby, I’m tired of talking.” He pulled her wrist.

The mattress shook unevenly as she moved up his body. She looked down at him. “You’re sure about this?”

“Shh. Let me do the loving. You just sit here and receive it.” He slid his hands up her thighs.

She settled her knees next to his head. Her pussy was bare.

The scent of woodsy spice filled his nostrils as he gently pulled her nether-lips apart and smiled against the inside of her thigh. She must have used his soap during her shower.

Riley lifted his head and sucked her clit into his mouth. He lapped at the small bundle of nerves. She tipped forward and planted her palms on the wall in front of her. Her tits jiggled as she squirmed. He eased an arm under her leg and around her thigh before he flattened his tongue and lapped her slit. Nectar flowed along her folds.

“Stop… Don’t, God please… Don’t.”

She rolled her pelvis, grinding down on him. Her juices coated his nose and chin. He darted his tongue into the entrance of her passage, and her legs closed around his head. She gripped his hair and tugged his head up, riding his face. Riley tilted his head, pulling free of her hold, and inhaled.

He alternated between sweeping his tongue around her clitoris, and then gently biting down. He raised his hand and circled her asshole with his fingers. He pressed his digit on her pucker, kneading the ring of muscles.

“Fuck, yes!” Savannah screamed.

His shaft jerked in response to her cries. He tightened his hold on her leg and pushed harder against her rosebud. She tossed her head back and bucked her hips. Tangy cream flowed over his tongue as she started to quiver. She folded in on herself, covering his head.

He smacked her butt and she jolted, scooting down his chest.

Riley freed his hand and wiped it across his mouth. She laid her cheek on his chest, breathing heavily. “You were made for loving, Sweetness.” He looked down his body and caressed her hair. Her heart beat double-time against his belly. His own heart beat just as fast and a thin layer of sweat coated his skin. He rolled them over.