I’ll see him tomorrow, and as repayment, I’ll order pizza and let the kids have soda and chips for dessert.
Turning with a smile, the oxygen stops in my throat when I find Riley leaning against the doorjamb with his pants still low,allof his abs on show, and a wicked gleam in his eyes that says he’s about to give me a brand-new orgasm in the next three seconds. “Got somewhere you gotta be?” He nods toward my cell. “Someone else to visit?”
“No…” With faux bravery, I step forward and pretend my stomach isn’t flipping. “My pimp – his name is Terrance, by the way – was checking in to make sure I was working hard. I have no other Johns tonight, so you get the VIP treatment, but he said to make sure I get cash from you. We stopped taking checks a while back because of this one dude…”
“Ha.” Not at all humored by me, his light eyes grow darker as I move closer and stop just in front of him. I let the toes of my heels touch his before I finally meet his gaze and keep from spazzing out when his hand comes up to my jaw. “You hungry?”
I shrug. “Maybe. I suppose I could be.”
“You didn’t eat your dinner. Rumor has it you picked at what Katrina brought you while Mac stared at your tits. Now you’re here; empty belly but for the nerves.”
“I’m not nervous.” My nervous stomach flips just to be an asshole. “I just sucked your dick; I’d say that takes a hell of a lot of bravery and an iron gag reflex, so standing in front of you while we discuss dinner is a cake walk.”
“We don’t have to play this game if you don’t wanna.” He bends his neck to get closer. “You don’t always have to play hard to get. I don’t always have to play grumpy. We can just enjoy each other’s company without the drama.”
“I like drama.”I hate drama.“And I’m notplayinghard to get. This is who I am; schoolgirl, high heels, wondering where your paddle collection is hidden.” I repulse myself sometimes.
“You want me to boss you around? You wanteverythingwe say to be sexual?”
No.“Don’t try to change me, Cruz. You’re not the first man to try, and you won’t be the last. But each time a guy steps up, he usually steps away with a limp.”
“Mmm.” He turns away and shows off a muscular back. “So if I told you Princess Diaries was on TV right now, and Chinese delivery was on it’s way… would you drop the act and just be cool?”
“I am cool! This isn’t an act.”
“Okay.” I almost scream with fright when the doorbell rings. I turn to race back to my coat, but Riley grabs me around the waist and pulls me back. Carrying me to the door, but angling me away so the delivery boy doesn’t get an eyeful of anything he didn’t pay for, Riley opens the door and digs in his pocket for cash. “Thanks, Pak. Right on time.”
“Just like you ordered, Officer.” The twenty-something-year-old boy with dark hair and maybe a little muscle packed under his Sonic shirt looks me up and down with an appreciative eye and a goofy smirk. He shows no reaction when Riley growls and snatches the bags of food, and when the door is slammed in his face, he steps back with nothing more than a flirty wink and a fistful of Riley’s cash.
“Stop flirting with my delivery boy.”
“I didn’t say a damn thing,Officer.” I kick my heeled feet out and flash a lot of inappropriate skin at the otherwise empty house, but Riley doesn’t put me down. He carries meandthe food back to the living room, dumps the bags on the small coffee table between the couch and TV, then sets me on my feet and spins me back until our noses touch. “Drop the act. Have dinner with me. Later, you can suck my cock again and pretend you didn’t giggle for the princess movie we’re about to watch.”
“You can shove your dinner up your ass, Cruz. You don’t get to boss me around.”
Without a care in the world, he shoves my chest and pushes the oxygen out of my body until my back slams against the comfortable couch. With a lifted brow, he doesn’t step away until I regain a shred of dignity and put my legs back together. “Stay.”
“Woof.”
His lips firm. “Stay.”
“Up yours.”
“No. Upyours. Soon. I promise. Remote’s over there; turn it to twenty-three. I saw the ads for this earlier, and it made me think of you. Of therealyou, down there beneath the makeup, hair, and heels. Below the attitude and inability to show feelings or insecurity.”
“I was on my knees for you twenty minutes ago! I can’t get much more exposed than that.”
“That was part of your act, and I promise, I’m not complaining. Nobody has ever sucked my dick the way you do it, but when I’m not fucking you, I figure a little intelligent conversation or a joke could be fun.”
“You’re a joke.”
He rolls his eyes. “Solid burn, Deedee. Twenty-three. Do you want beer, wine, or soda?”
“I’d like a sledge hammer, please. Or wait, where do you keep the guns? My cousin taught me the coolest trick; I’d love to show you.” When he doesn’t give in to my bullshit, when his brow remains lifted, and all his abs stand out and dare me to count, I finally give an inch and relax into the couch with a huff. “Wine, please, as long as it’s white. Soda or beer are fine, too. Can I use your bathroom?”
He nods. One single nod that gives me permission to do whatever the fuck I want – except give him sass. With a huff, I climb off the couch as elegantly as I can manage, tiptoe out of the living room and into the hall, and try my best to ignore the smug grin on his lips.
I can’t handle if he gets all smug and shit. He’s too sexy to be cute; too cute to be sexy. Yet, somehow, he gets both, plus he gets to wear a uniform to work and carry a gun, and now I’m on the outside trying to stay afloat with my quick wit and – according to him – un-funny jokes.
Awesome.
All of the doors in the hall are open; laundry, bedroom, another bedroom filled with barbells and free weights. The third on the right is a gleaming white and silver bathroom, so I move from hardwood to shiny tiles and lock the door to take care of business as privately as I can. I use the toilet and wash my hands. I glance in the mirror and smile at the stupid gleam I see in my eyes, and when I catch sight of teeth marks on the top of my shoulder, heat pools in my belly at the memory of his teeth on my skin.
He’s too cute to be sexy, and yet, I kinda want to call him sir and see what else he’s capable of.
I run a finger beneath my eye to straighten the smudged makeup, and when I’m done, I blow out a long breath and fluff my hair for round three of the Riley and Andi standoff.