Innocent Secrets [Pine Valley 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 5

  Riley sighed. Great, now he had those two on his case as well. Refusing to acknowledge the teasing, he headed out of the kitchen. Unfortunately he wasn’t fast enough before Chase got his licks in.

  “The next time you do the budget, I’d suggest adding in extra for the water bill because something tells me it’s going to be a little high this month.”

  Laughter trailed him down the hallway to his room. The sad thing about it was that Chase was right. With all the cold showers Riley had taken since he had moved back to town, he had no doubt the bill would be higher than normal this month. Too bad he was about to make it even higher. When the water was hot enough, Riley got in and groaned when the spray from the shower beat against his throbbing cock. Jessica was the only woman that ever made him this hard. He had many dates in high school and college, and not one of the women turned him on the way she did. Riley grabbed the soap and worked up lather in his palms. He gripped his shaft with one hand and his sac with the other, knowing it wouldn’t take long before he came. Concentrating on the flared head of his cock, he rotated his hand over the tip while gently tugging in his balls. He imagined Jessica’s hands on him instead of his own. Would her slim hands have a light grip or would she squeeze him tight? Either way, he would just be happy that she was touching him.

  Tightening his grip sent shivers down Riley’s spine. He felt his cock swell and then begin to pulse as he came, trying to hold back a moan. He watched as jet after jet of the sticky fluid flowed down the drain. Once he caught his breath, he quickly washed himself and got out of the shower. With weak legs, he barely made it to the bed before he collapsed, exhausted. His first real date had gone better than he expected, and he couldn’t wait to spend more time with Jessica. Riley drifted off to sleep hoping she felt the same way about him.

  High-pitched squeals woke Riley out of a deep sleep. He grumbled, upset that he had been woken from one hell of a dream. The way his cock twitched against his stomach, he could tell that it wasn’t happy either. In his dream he was two seconds from being buried deep in Jessica’s warm, wet cunt. He knew it was a dream, but Riley didn’t care. At this point he was willing to settle for whatever he could get. He was a walking hard-on. Nothing he did made his erection go away. He had a feeling only one thing would solve his problem and that was being buried balls-deep in Jessica. Even then it would probably take a few times of him coming before things returned to normal.

  Riley rolled out of bed, knowing he wasn’t going to get back to sleep, and grumbled as he headed to take a shower. There were too many women in the house now. He could remember when it was just Ali and she rarely spoke. Don’t get him wrong, he loved his sister and was happy that Cane was here to pull her out of her shell. Now that Kerri was there, though, the noise level just seemed to go through the roof. I can’t even have a good wet dream without being woken up by the noise. Riley knew he was just complaining because he was frustrated. He was truly happy for his brothers and even a little jealous. He wanted Jessica in his house. He wanted to be able to smile knowing that she was included in whatever the other women were carrying on about. Better yet, he wanted her in his bed next to him when he woke up so that he didn’t have to dream about being buried deep inside her. He could just roll over and make it happen.

  When the water was hot enough, he climbed in, careful to keep the water from hitting his sore cock. Riley had to laugh at himself. His dick hadn’t been this sore since he was about fifteen and discovered the joys of jacking off. Jessica did that to him. He had been hard since the first day he spotted her back in town. Since that day, his right hand had become his best friend, and it seemed things weren’t going to change anytime soon. Too bad he was too sore to do anything about his hard-on now. That dream had been hot. Now he had an aching cock that he couldn’t touch.

  Once Riley was dressed, he went to the kitchen to find out what all the commotion was about. He found Chase sitting at the table with Logan and Duncan, and the man didn’t look too happy.

  “What’s going on guys? Why does it sound like a bunch of teenage girls having a slumber party in your room, Chase?”

  Duncan laughed and answered for Chase, whose frown just seemed to deepen. “Cane and Ali just told Kerri that we all agreed to give them a night out on the town. I guess they are all happy about it.”

  Well, that explained to look on Chase’s face. His brother was obviously not happy about the plans at the moment. Riley couldn’t blame the guy after he told him what Kerri had been through. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see that Chase was protective of Kerri not only because she was his former boss’s daughter, but also because he had feelings for her.

  “I take it you don’t approve?” He directed his question at Chase.

  “It’s not that I don’t approve. We could all use a night out. It’s just that everyone is going which makes it harder to keep everyone safe. I’m not sure how Cane wanting to go out turned into a huge family outing, getting me and Kerri sucked into it as well.”

  Logan laughed. “Get used to it, Chase. You are practically a married man now. This is what you have to look forward to.”

  “Hey! I heard that.” Cane pouted.

  Riley held in a laugh as he watched Duncan and Logan both jump up and race over to Cane. They both fussed over the woman, leading her to the table and making sure she was comfortable before they sat back down again. Neither of them took their hands off her, rubbing her belly or stroking her hair. He had a feeling they didn’t even realize they were doing it. He looked up just in time to see Chase doing the same thing with Kerri when she came limping into the kitchen. He wanted that with Jessica. He wanted to be able to fuss over her and have her huffing in annoyance, but deep down loving how he took care of her like he saw in Cane and Kerri. He could see the emotions shining in their eyes and imagined Jessica’s eyes sparkling like that when she looked at him.

  “Did you hear the news?” Cane asked him.

  “I just found out.”

  “Well, you should come, too. I just spoke to Jessica and she already agreed to meet us there. The only catch is that this is a girls’ night out so you will just have to look at her from across the room. Sorry.”

  Cane apologized, but Riley could tell she wasn’t sorry at all. She was happy to be getting out of the house and away from her overprotective mates even if it was just across the room. The question was could he torture himself knowing that Jessica was in the same room with him and he couldn’t talk to her? Who was he kidding? Of course he would go. Even if he could only look at her, at least they would be in the same room together. At some point he would get to talk to her. They couldn’t keep him away from her all night.

  Chase ended up settling for an out-of-the-way bar owned by a family friend. Riley had a feeling that he chose it because of its seclusion and the fact that the owner wouldn’t say anything about Ali being underage even though she wasn’t drinking. When he walked through the door, the first thing Riley saw was Jessica, who smiled and offered him a small wave. She was gorgeous, and he wanted to go over and drag her someplace private and kiss her until they both needed to breathe. A rough shove snapped him out of his thoughts and he was herded to the other side of the bar by Chase. Tonight was truly going to test his self-control.

  Chapter 4

  Jessica felt her heart stop beating when Riley walked into the bar. Although she wasn’t a drinker, she jumped at the chance to go out with Cane when she found out that Riley would possibly be there as well. It wasn’t until after she agreed that she was informed this was technically a girls’ night out and the guys weren’t allowed to bother them. Cane was her best friend, so she was happy to be included, but she was a little bummed that she wouldn’t get to spend time with Riley. She watched as he headed over to the pool tables with his brothers and groaned. The man looked just as good from the back as he did from the front. Now that she had been actually spending time with Riley instead of running from him, she wondered how she ever resisted the man in the first place. She wan
ted him, and the way her body reacted whenever he kissed or touched her, she was way past ready for him. She couldn’t even make herself orgasm as fast as he made her. Her body seemed like it lit up on fire with just one single touch from Riley. Now that her mind had finally caught up to her body, Jessica was ready to have sex, and she wanted Riley to be her first. She just had to figure out a way to tell him without sending him running.

  Jessica smiled when she saw her friend waddling over to the table with Ali and who she assumed was Kerri trailing behind her.

  “Kerri, this is Jessica. Jessica, this is Kerri,” Cane introduced them as she slid into her seat.

  “Hi.” Jessica nodded at the tiny woman.

  The waitress came by, and Kerri ordered the biggest margarita they had with a shot of tequila on the side. Jessica knew her mouth was open as she stared at Kerri. From the corner of her eyes, she could see that Cane and Ali had the same reactions.

  “What?” Kerri frowned.

  “Where do you plan to put all of that?” Jessica asked.

  Kerri laughed. “Don’t worry, it will take me all night to drink that, and I doubt if I could finish all of it. I would probably have to be carried out of here if I did.”

  They made small talk until the waitress returned with their drinks and sat what looked like a fishbowl down in front of Kerri. Her eyes bugged at the size of the drink.

  Ali giggled. “You should see the look on your face right now.”

  “Now I know why you guys were staring at me like I was crazy earlier. This thing is freaking huge!” Kerri took a sip and moaned, “Oh man, I needed that.” She took a few more sips before she slid the glass away and asked, “So ladies, what do you want to talk about?”

  “I have an idea,” Cane said as she adjusted in her chair. “Why don’t you tell us what is going on between you and Chase.”

  “You get straight to the point,” Kerri said, smiling. “Well, I think I am in love with him, but don’t say anything to him because I haven’t told him yet. I want to wait until all this trouble is behind us before I do.”

  Cane clapped and bounced in her seat like a seven-year-old girl. “Oh, this is so good. I’m so happy for you and Chase, and I can tell that he is head over heels for you, too.”

  Jessica watched as Kerri blushed. They all sat and talked and filled Kerri in on everyone’s stories. Kerri also found out that Jessica was a secret erotic romance writer, which showed how much she liked the woman because that was something that she rarely let out. Jessica was normally quiet and reserved. She usually sat back and listened to the conversations, only joining in when she was asked a direct question. Even tonight, she was just happy to be there with friends and was even content watching Riley throughout the night.

  “You do know that he is just as into you as you are into him, right?” Kerri asked, evidently noticing her staring.

  Conversation at the table immediately stopped, and Jessica could feel the blush creeping up her neck and into her face. She sighed, knowing they wouldn’t let her get away without answering. “I really like him. I just get so nervous when he’s around. I get tongue-tied and don’t know what to say. Usually I just end up making a fool of myself.” Jessica watched as Cane, Ali, and Kerri looked at each other and all three nodded as if silently communicating.

  Ali spoke first. “Okay, here is what you are going to have to do. You order a few drinks, and we all make sure that it looks like you drank all of them. When it’s time to go home, we will say that we don’t think you should go alone and need an escort. Of course Riley will volunteer in a heartbeat, but the only downside is that if things do turn out good, you won’t be getting any tonight. He will be a perfect gentleman and not take advantage of you while he thinks you’re drunk. It will give you the chance though to tell him exactly how you feel, though, and if you make a fool of yourself, then you can wake up in the morning and pretend to not remember it ever happening.”

  Everyone at the table turned to stare at Ali in shock. Who knew sweet, innocent Ali had such a devious mind? Her plan did sound good though. Jessica went over it a couple times in her head and couldn’t come up with a reason why it would fail.

  “I think I don’t know whether to be scared or in awe of you right now,” she told Ali. “Do you think it will really work? I’m not that great of an actress.”

  “The good thing about this plan is that you don’t have to be,” Cane said, joining in. “Just stumble around a few times and giggle. When you start talking Riley will just assume it’s because of the alcohol. He will never suspect a thing.”

  Jessica looked over at Kerri, who was nodding her approval. Could she go through with it? Would Riley be upset if he found out the truth? Maybe she could wait to see his reaction, and if he took everything she had to tell him okay, then she could tell him the truth. If his reaction was bad, then she could do what Ali said and use the drunken excuse to pretend she didn’t remember anything. The only downside was, if he took her news badly, Jessica didn’t think she could ever face Riley again. She would be too embarrassed. She looked over at Riley just as he looked up from the pool table and caught her eye. He grinned and winked at her, sending shivers up her spine. The man didn’t know how dangerous that grin was. It left Jessica squirming in her seat with wet panties every time. This time it gave her the courage to go through with the plan.

  Jessica spent the rest of the night too nervous to even attempt to drink anything. Her palms were sweaty, and she could feel perspiration on her upper lip. She didn’t even bother joining in the conversation and was grateful the girls seemed to know what she was going through and didn’t try to force her to talk. She kept trying to go over the conversation that she was going to have with Riley in her head. She came up with several scenarios of how he could possibly react. Her favorite was him telling her that nothing mattered and then proceeding to toss her to the bed and have his wicked way with her. Jessica snorted. You have seriously written one too many romance novels. Either way she was going to find the courage to pour her heart out to Riley.

  When Kerri stood and limped over to Chase, Jessica knew her time was up. Kerri had crossed the invisible line separating the men from the women, which gave the men permission to do the same. Logan and Duncan stopped mid-pool game and immediately crossed over and lifted Cane out of her seat, leaving Jessica and Ali alone. She gulped as Riley laid his pool cue down and slowly headed her way.

  “Well, that’s my cue to leave. I think I will go talk to Gavin and Angel.” Ali must have seen the panic on Jessica’s face because she reached over and patted her hand. “Hey, don’t worry. Just do everything we told you and things will work out. Trust me, I know my brother and nothing you tell him tonight is going to change how he feels about you.”

  All Jessica could do was hope and pray what Ali said was true. She watched Ali walk over to her new bodyguards and sit in between them. From the looks that passed between all three of them, Jessica couldn’t help but wonder if the family would have another threesome in their future. If that was true, Gavin and Angel were certainly going to have their hands full with the young girl.

  “Having a good time?”

  Riley’s question brought her attention back to him, and she realized that he had sat down across from her. “I’m having a great time, how about you?”

  “It’s better now. You don’t know how hard it was being able to see you all night but not being able to touch or talk to you.”

  Riley’s words went a long way in calming Jessica’s nerves. It made her feel better to know he was thinking the same thing about her that she was about him. Remembering the plan, Jessica tried to let out a giggle, but it sounded more like she was choking. She was going to ruin the plan before it even started.

  “Are you all right?” Riley looked concerned.

  “I’m okay,” she said, sucking in air. “I think I may have had too much to drink, though.”

  “Would you like me to drive you home?”

  Wow, Ali actually knew what she w
as talking about. Okay, calm down and don’t do anything to make yourself look like a bigger idiot than you already have. “Sure, you can drive me home if you don’t mind.”

  Riley helped her out of the chair, obviously thinking she had way more to drink than she did. Jessica didn’t complain, just used her act as an excuse to lean further into the man. She couldn’t stop herself from leaning in and sniffing Riley’s neck. He smelled heavenly, a mixture of spice from his cologne and something that was all him, giving her the urge to lick him to see if he tasted good as well.

  “How many of those drinks did you have?” Riley chuckled, catching her sniffing him.

  Heat flooded her cheeks, and Jessica looked away, hoping he would chalk her weird behavior up to being intoxicated. Too bad she couldn’t even finish the first drink she had.

  “Let me just tell Chase I’m driving you home, and then we can go.”

  He left Jessica standing there not knowing what to do. She didn’t know what to do with her hands or if she should be staggering around like she couldn’t stand. How would a person act if they were drunk? As Riley walked back toward her, she looked over just in time to catch Ali and Cane staring at her. She gave them a wink to let them know she was okay, but deep down she was panicking. Standing there she realized that she was being stupid. If her grandmother saw her now, she would probably be disappointed. Jessica was acting the complete opposite of what her grandmother had taught her. Instead of being strong, and being open and honest with Riley, here she was scheming and acting like a coward. How she expected to have a relationship with him when she started out dishonest was beyond her. The only defense she had was her past with her ex. She had been burned with him, but she couldn’t fault Riley for that.

  Ali’s plan was harmless, and Jessica’s innocent secrets were not meant to hurt anyone, but she couldn’t do it. She would tell him and if he didn’t take it well, then at least she would find out before her heart got involved. The cramp in her gut at the thought of Riley rejecting her after she told him her news told Jessica that her heart was already involved. Ignoring it, she followed Riley out to her car. Once they were on the road, she took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.