Innocent Secrets [Pine Valley 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 4

  Once dressed in dark, slim jeans and a flirty silk blouse, Jessica managed to tame her hair into a ponytail and made her way to the kitchen. She had about forty-five minutes left until Riley arrived. It was just enough time to get the potatoes baking in the oven and gather everything for the salad. Nerves caused her hands to tremble, which wasn’t a good thing. The last thing she needed was to have to visit Dr. Barnes because she slipped up with the knife and cut herself.

  Jessica was accident prone while cooking. Although she couldn’t cook as well as her granny, she wasn’t half bad even if she did come away with a few cuts and burns each time she set foot in the kitchen. Today was one of those bad days though, she had already burned her arm reaching into the oven to check the potatoes, and she nicked a fingertip trying to slice vegetables for the salad. At the rate she was going, she would lose a limb before Riley managed to arrive. She needed to calm down and fast, so Jessica grabbed herself a wine cooler. She rarely indulged in alcohol, but when she did she preferred those to beer. She didn’t have the heart to tell Riley last night when he handed her a beer that she couldn’t stand the taste so she tried her best not to grimace with each sip. She never understood how people could drink the stuff. She enjoyed fruity drinks. The fruitier they were, the better.

  After a few sips, Jessica could feel herself already starting to relax. She was able to finish the salad and the rest of dinner without any more incidents. All she had left to do was to wait for Riley to show up. At five minutes to seven, Jessica began to pace. Her earlier doubts began to creep back in. All she could think was what if Riley didn’t come? What if he finally came to his senses and decided she wasn’t worth the trouble? She had to admit she wasn’t making it very easy on the man. Even he had admitted that he had been chasing her down for weeks. Her running in the other direction each time was probably frustrating for him.

  The sound of a car door shutting had Jessica racing over to peep out her front window. Her mouth went dry at the sight of Riley strolling up her front walk. The man was sex on two legs from his curly black hair down to his sexy abs that she could see through his tight T-shirt. Jessica was glad for her casual wardrobe choice at the sight of him in simple jeans and T-shirt. So far so good. Now all she had to do was get through dinner without embarrassing herself. She made a vow right then and there that she was going to try and be more open with Riley. No more running from him. Somehow this sexy man was attracted to her, and she was going to do everything in her power to keep it that way. There was no way she was going to ruin her chance with a man that she’d had a crush on for most of her life.

  “Hi, Riley,” Jessica said as she opened the door and stepped out of the way so that he could enter. She had been so caught up in checking him out in the window that she hadn’t noticed the bouquet of wildflowers in his hand until he thrust them toward her. “Thank you. These are beautiful. Did you pick them yourself?”

  Riley nodded but didn’t say anything. Was he actually blushing? Jessica could see the tinge of red creeping up his cheeks but didn’t comment. His blush did more to relax her than her wine cooler had earlier. To know someone like Riley could get embarrassed by her made her feel good. It made her see he wasn’t some unattainable god that she had built up in her head. The man was human just like she was and somehow she had a chance with him.

  “Follow me to the kitchen so that I can put these in water.” She separated one of the flowers and held it up for him. “I’ll put this one with the other one.”

  Jessica noticed Riley’s frown when she mentioned the flower from the night before, but she didn’t say anything. She wasn’t sure what that was about, but she wasn’t going to ruin dinner before it even got started by questioning him. Once she had the new flowers arranged in the vase, she took the potatoes out of the oven and turned the broiler on.

  “I hope you like steak and baked potatoes. I couldn’t think of anything else to cook.”

  “Baby, I’m a man, I would probably eat just about anything you sat in front of me.” He laughed.

  “Good.” Jessica had to keep herself from doing a little twirl after hearing him call her baby. She had no clue why she reverted back to a teenage girl around him. It was all she could do to not scribble Mrs. Jessica Matthews all over her journal. It had been a close call, but she was able to limit herself to just once. Jessica looked up to find Riley staring at her intently as if he could read her mind. It was her turn to blush then. “Everything is ready except for the steaks. I didn’t know how you like yours,” she said, clearing her throat.

  “Medium well is good for me. Do you need me to help you get anything?”

  “You can grab the salad out of the fridge and set it on the table. There is soda and beer in there also. Take your pick.” Jessica set the steaks on the broiler and placed them in the oven. It wouldn’t take long for them to cook since she liked hers cooked the same as Riley’s.

  Once the steaks were done, they sat at the table and fixed their plates in silence. Jessica had to hold back a laugh when she saw that he only had a small scoop of salad on his plate, but the biggest steak and potato of the bunch. She had a feeling he only took the salad to be polite.

  “What, you don’t like vegetables?” she teased.

  “I got nothing against them. I’m just a meat and potatoes kind of guy.” Riley wiggled his eyebrows as he took a huge bite of steak. “I’ll let you stick to the green stuff, little rabbit.”

  So far so good, Jessica thought as they finished dinner. Conversation during dinner hadn’t been strained. Score one for me, note cards zero. She was surprised at how easy it was to talk to Riley once she let her guard down. Jessica could have kicked herself for not doing it sooner. They washed dishes together and for once, she was comfortable with the silence. She didn’t feel the need to fill it with unnecessary nervous chatter. Their arms brushed together as they stood at the sink, and Jessica couldn’t help but compare his to hers. She could feel his pent-up strength in that one touch and wondered what it would feel like to have his arms wrapped around her whole body. To feel those crisp hairs rubbing against her smooth skin. She imagined his dark, tanned skin against her pale, almost milky skin. They would look beautiful together.

  Oh my God. You did not just think that. You are such a nerd. Jessica snorted at her thoughts, which earned her a look from Riley.

  “Care to tell me what that was all about? You disappeared for a minute there.”

  “It was nothing. My mind just wanders sometimes. It looks like we are finished here. You want to go find a movie on TV or something?” Jessica could feel the heat on her cheeks from blushing. She knew Riley had to see it also, but there was no way she was going to tell him what she had been thinking. He would probably run out the door regretting he ever chased after her.

  Once they were settled on the couch, Jessica could feel her nerves starting to creep back in. Instead of her sitting on one end and Riley sitting on the other, he chose to sit as close to her as possible. The whole side of her body was flush against his, and she could feel the heat radiating off of him. He seemed to not have a problem being that close because he settled in even further and laid his arm against the back of the couch behind her. What do I do? Do I lean into him? Do I lay my head on his shoulder like I really want to?

  While she was playing twenty questions with herself, Riley took action by leaning in and giving her a chaste kiss on the cheek. “Relax. We aren’t going to do anything that makes you uncomfortable.”

  He followed up the statement by trailing kisses along her jawline until he reached her ear. When he nipped her lobe, sending shivers up her spine, Jessica decided to stop thinking at that point. She wasn’t going to dwell on her inexperience any longer. She was going to go with the flow and let the one man she wanted more than anything else in the world be her guide.

  Jessica turned her head and met Riley’s lips. Her teeth knocked against his, but before she could feel embarrassed, Riley pulled back with a laugh. He gently placed his hands on each side of
her head and tilted it sideways. Once he had her positioned just right, he leaned in and ran his tongue across the seam of her lips. Jessica sighed and Riley took advantage of her open mouth by inserting his tongue. The kiss turned hot and heavy then, and she just did what came natural to her. She mimicked most of Riley’s movements until she became bold enough to try something on her own. Remembering how good it felt when he did it to her, Jessica trailed kisses along his jaw down to his neck. When she got to the point when his neck and shoulder met, she gently bit down until he groaned. Evidently, that was the right thing to do because the next thing she knew, she was on her back with Riley on top of her.

  Jessica let out her own gasp of pleasure when Riley returned the favor and nipped her in the same spot. She didn’t know if her instant rush toward orgasm was because of the bite or because Riley was on top of her grinding his erection in between her thighs. Either way, she wasn’t complaining. Jessica began lifting her hips until Riley’s cock bumped into her clit with each flex of his hips. She spared a moment to wish they weren’t separated by layers of clothes, but time seemed to stop as an intense orgasm hit. She felt like electricity was coursing through her body. All thoughts fled as Jessica happily rode the waves of euphoria. She wasn’t aware that her back was bowed until she began to come down from her high and relaxed back against the couch.

  “Wow. That was intense,” Jessica panted through heavy breaths. She was aware that Riley was watching her, but she couldn’t work up the strength to worry about how she looked at that moment. As bad as the cliché sounded, it was the second time the man had rocked her world. She had given herself orgasms before, but none of them ever compared to what Riley had done without even touching her. When they finally did have sex, and she had no doubts he was the man she was going to give her virginity to, she was afraid she was going to spontaneously combust. She opened her eyes when she felt Riley begin to lift off of her. She looked just in time to catch his grimace and realized he hadn’t come. He may have given her two fantastic orgasms, but this was the second time he had been left unsatisfied.

  Jessica reached for the button of his jeans before she even had a clear idea of what she was about to do. All she knew was that she wanted to make him feel as good as he had made her feel. Unfortunately, Riley caught her wrist before she could touch him.

  “It’s not necessary. I can wait.”

  “Are you sure?” Why wouldn’t he let her touch him? “Is there something wrong?”

  “No, little rabbit, nothing is wrong. I just want to wait. I want to be inside you the first time I come.”

  Jessica’s clit pulsed at his comment. It seemed that part of her body had no problem with his decision. In her head though, she couldn’t help but worry. Constant questions tumbled through her mind, making her begin to doubt herself. Taking a deep breath, she cleared her mind and decided to trust Riley. He said he wanted her. That was good enough for her at the moment. Leaning up, she kissed him until they were both breathless.

  “I better go.” Riley broke the kiss and stood to leave.

  “Okay, I’ll walk you to the door.” Jessica didn’t want him to go, but his grimace of discomfort as he stood convinced her that it was time. From the tent in the front of his pants, she could see that he was rock hard and it wasn’t going to go down anytime soon if they kept kissing. It made her feel good to see she affected him that way, but she didn’t want him to suffer because of her. She respected his wishes and didn’t want to do anything to make it harder on him.

  At the door, Jessica leaned up and kissed Riley’s cheek. “Thank you for coming over. I had a great time tonight.”

  “I had a good time, too. I want to see you tomorrow.”

  “I’d like that.”

  Riley smiled. “Good. I will call you in the morning and we can make plans. Good night.”

  Riley returned the kiss to her cheek and walked out the door. Jessica watched until he got into his car and then locked up. She leaned her back against the front door and sighed. She couldn’t keep the smile off her face. The dinner date had gone way better than she had expected. Way, way better if I count the orgasm that I certainly wasn’t expecting. As she turned off the lights downstairs and headed up to get ready for bed, Jessica wondered what Riley was going to do about his erection. Her insides warmed as she wondered if he would let it go down on its own or if he would pleasure himself. For some reason, she hoped it was the latter.

  Chapter 3

  How could she do this to me? I’m meant to be with her, not some small-town hick. Can’t she see that? He wasn’t sure how long he had been sitting there staring up at Jessica’s window. Her bedroom light had gone off some time ago, but he couldn’t bring himself to start his car and leave. He wanted to be there lying next to her, but it was too soon. She needed time. She needed to see that he was the one for her, not some farmer hick.

  The man was getting too close to the love of his life, and he was going to have to do something about it. He wondered why Jessica was allowing the man in her home and close to her. It was starting to piss him off that she wasn’t getting rid of this jerk, but then he realized Jessica was too nice. Yeah, that’s it. His sweetheart probably just didn’t know how to get rid of the jerk without hurting his feelings. Maybe he needed to do more to get her attention. Flowers and sweet notes were good, but obviously not good enough for his love. He needed a gift to show her how serious he was. He needed something that was going to push the hick right out of her mind.

  Sighing, he laid his head back against the seat and stared up at her window. He was in love with the fiery redhead, and he was pretty sure she felt the same way about him. Why would she write such steamy love scenes about him if she didn’t? He couldn’t wait to bring those scenes to life with her. Soon. It would happen soon. He just needed to get a few things in order first.

  With one last look up at her darkened window, he started the car and headed out of town. He decided to use the drive to come up with the perfect gift to show his Jessica that he was ready to step out of the pages of her novels and become a reality. Who would resist a romance novel hero over a small-town hick?

  * * * *

  Riley grimaced as he adjusted himself for what felt like the hundredth time since he had left Jessica’s house. He was tempted to pull over and relieve his hard-on, but fear of being seen stopped him. With Pine Valley being as small as it was, he had no doubt everyone would know about his indiscretion before morning if he was spotted. It was a simple fact of small-town life that everyone knew everyone else’s business. Riley thought of the teasing he would endure from his brothers if they heard he was found on the side of the road jacking off and decided he could definitely hold off until he got home. Once he was in his room in private, then all bets were off. He had an intimate date with his right hand.

  Unfortunately for him, when he arrived home, it seemed everyone was awake and in the kitchen. From the smirk on Logan and Duncan’s faces and the eager look on Cane and Ali’s, he had a feeling they were all waiting on him. Sighing, Riley took his seat at the table, glad that his shirt had been long enough to cover the bulge in his pants. The sooner he got the interrogation over with, the sooner he could get some relief from his aching hard-on.

  “What’s up, guys?”

  “Well, don’t just sit there. Tell us how it went.” Cane sat back, rubbing her belly.

  He loved Cane, Ali, and his brothers to death, but tonight was one of those nights he wished he lived alone. What made it even worse was the fact that he also had an audience. Chase’s old teammates both stood over at the counter looking just as interested in how his date went as the rest of them.

  “The date was good,” he said, knowing that wasn’t good enough for Cane.

  “Oh, come on. That’s it? Just good? You have to give us more than that.”

  “Okay, okay.” Laughing, Riley told them minute by minute about the date. He knew there was no way he was leaving the table until Cane and Ali were satisfied. He left out the part about
him and Jessica making out on the couch and him almost losing control. There were some things that were private no matter how much his sister-in-law and baby sister pushed.

  When they were sure they weren’t going to hear any more exciting details, Cane and Ali left the table to check on Kerri, leaving him alone with his brothers.

  “Okay, now that they’re gone, you can tell us what really happened.”

  The way Duncan grinned and wiggled his eyebrows up and down gave Riley a pretty good idea of what he was really asking. “That’s none of your business. I don’t ask you and Logan what goes on with Cane behind closed doors.”

  “You couldn’t handle it even if we told you.” Logan laughed.

  Riley had a feeling he was right. He had no problem with Logan and Duncan’s relationship with Cane, but he wasn’t the sharing type. He wanted Jessica all to himself. If that made him selfish, then so be it. Ignoring the laughing, Riley stood slowly, making sure the tail of his shirt covered his crotch before he moved from the table. There would be no end to the teasing if the guys saw his erection. “I’m headed to take a shower.”

  “Better make that a cold shower,” Gavin teased.